#goddamn well hopefully now that i'm moved out

[sapphroditewrites]

workin on a little gift for the holidays for y'all bc i'm so damn slow with the affair au (which i've weirdly started writing backwards? it's funny how that helps sometimes, but it's helped a lot)

it's not gonna be super polished and spit-shined like i usually try for, but it's something i was hoping to get around to every year, if that doesn't spoil the surprise lol

#it'll def be shorter than usual but then again #every time i say that it's never fucking short so i dont even know why im trying to speak that into existence #it's like i literally cannot shut up even when writing amazing it's a real talent that i have #plus im also trying to finish my hawkeye cracked video so i at least pushed one out this year #LMAO #goddamn well hopefully now that i'm moved out #i can save up for a beefy PC with better processing power for editing #and better storage #bc lemme tell ya an ipad is not great #and i need my mac memory for..... ok fine the sims dont judge me please i have an addiction #which is impressive of me to maintain bc whenever i buy an expansion pack #fucking TD locks my card and i have to call to confirm the purchase #do you have any idea #how humiliating that has been #literally for over a decade #even with the sims 3 #they just. constantly have done that #and i have constantly had to admit that yes #yes i am doing that. yes again. yes it's that much. yeah but this time it has cute hair cuts i like. #or yeah it's tiny home living . how do i explain that like a normal person. i talked w an agent abt the chickens for five minutes.

[star-sim]

hopeless ☆ heeseung lee

☆ horrendously down bad! heeseung x fem! reader ☆ summary: absolutely no one would have expected the dark, brooding, and rough heeseung lee to be hopelessly head over heels in love with the sweet, oblivious you. especially you. even with the help of practically the entire year, it's almost pathetic the way heeseung struggles to utter three, simple words to you, let alone look you in the eye. ☆ genre: fluff!!! pining, SUPER WHIPPED HEESEUNG, high school! au, non-idol! au, a lot of 01 liner idols + the rest of enha make appearances, btw this follows the asian school system, SO MUCH FLIRTING OMG, heeseung is kinda pathetic and awk ☆ warning(s)? swearing and dumb characters lol, there is one SA scene, but it is not graphic + very minor violence ☆ word count: 10.8k ☆ this is extremely based off of "danger" by bts, especially the lyric "you're cute, and i'm pathetic" lol enjoy!

Heeseung Lee was stressed. 

No. He was distraught. 

Distraught about how fucking cute you looked today.

Ever since he was a kid, Heeseung loved Halloween, because he loved Trick-or-Treating with his older brother and cousins. However now, at the age of seventeen, he found himself resenting it. Not because there was any issue with the holiday, but because today was Halloween. 

From across the classroom, Heeseung found himself staring, all dazed and empty-headed, at you, who was clad in your cute bunny costume. The way the fluffy, white ears stuck out from the top of your head, as well as the fluffy white coat draped around your shoulders, made you look so soft and cozy and adorable. The way your nose crinkled as you laughed with your friends, sweet sounds coming from your lips as you threw your head back. 

Were you real? How could anyone be so goddamn beautiful and not be an actual angel sent from above? What country did Heeseung save in his past life in order to get to be in your presence in this life?

"Dude, you're staring," a new voice interjected.

"What?" Heeseung tore his eyes away from you. "I wasn't."

Beomgyu Choi was one of Heeseung's classmates. And, like everyone else in their year, Beomgyu knew how enamored Heeseung was with you. Other than yourself, of course.

"I'm tellin' you," Beomgyu plopped down onto his seat, which was beside Heeseung's. He slid his chair so that he would be closer to his classmate, before throwing an arm around Heeseung. "You need to make a move. Like, now."

Heeseung glanced over at his classmate. If he ignored the fake blood on Beomgyu's chin, as well as the fake, plastic vampire teeth and the god-awful Spirit Halloween Dracula cape, he'd know that Beomgyu was 100% correct. 

Everyone (and seriously, everyone) knew that Heeseung Lee had the biggest, juiciest, most obnoxious crush on you. In fact, your own friends had even tasked themselves with the job of putting in a good word for Heeseung, saying things like "Isn't he so cool?" into your ear to hopefully guide you straight into his arms. It's such a well-known fact that some of your teachers have purposefully placed you and Heeseung next to or near each other in order to help him with his more-than-obvious crush. 

With such a big, school-wide effort, it should be expected that at least some progress was made.

Wrong!

Not even a single stroke of progress has been made.

Probably because there was one teensy, weensy, eensy, problem: Heeseung was an absolute mess around you. Heeseung was known as this tall, blunt, and rough guy at school. When he wasn't silently judging everyone, he hung out with his group of friends, who had a reputation for being delinquents. Heeseung Lee, clad in his iconic black leather jacket, was intimidating, and usually had no problem speaking up for himself. But around you? Absolutely not.

If anyone thought that Heeseung Lee could easily speak to you, they were out of their goddamn mind. There were too many instances where your classmates would push Heeseung and you together, only for him to blow it because he was completely incapable of looking you in the eye without turning red. 

In Heeseung's defense, you were the most beautiful person in the world— How is he not supposed to get nervous?

"You know I can't," Heeseung murmured, clenching his fists.

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Hee. What happened to banger Heeseung Lee? Heeseung Lee that beats up kids? I didn't think you'd be scared of talking to girls."

"First of all," Heeseung frowned, "I'm not a banger and I don't beat up kids. And also, I'm not scared of talking to girls."

His classmate quirked a brow. "Really?" Heeseung nodded. "Because the last time I remember, you could barely get a word out in front of [Name]."

At the sound of your name, Heeseung jerked in his seat, reaching out to grasp Beomgyu's arm. "Shhhh, don't say her name so loud!" he hissed, eyes quivering over to where you were with your friends.

"What?" Beomgyu looked around indiscreetly. "It's not a secret to anyone how you feel about [Name]."

"Shhhh! Shut up!"

When the bell rang, everyone scurried to their seat, and class began. As Beomgyu tuned out the sound of the teacher's voice, he couldn't help but notice the way Heeseung's eyes were completely glued to you. It was almost laughable, the way the boy's eyes were wide, staring at you like you were some god.

Oh god, Heeseung Lee was hopeless.

"Heeseung-hyung, are you free tomorrow?"

It was lunch time. Heeseung and his friends liked to hang around the rooftop of the school, because it was always empty. And plus, no one wanted to be where Heeseung and his friends were— they were too scary!

Heeseung looked at his younger Australian friend, Jake Sim (or Jaeyun Sim, as his official documents stated), who had just asked that question. Heeseung took a bite of the instant ramen that they bought from the vending machine.

"Yeah, why?"

"Good. Because you have a date with [Name] tomorrow."

Heeseung choked. As he coughed, his other younger friend, Sunoo Kim, let out a whine.

"Hyuuunggg!" Sunoo pouted. "Why'd you tell him?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise!" Riki Nishimura, the group's Japanese foreign exchange student friend, added, elbowing Jake in the ribs.

"Whatever," Jake crossed his arms. When Riki nudged him again, Jake opened his mouth to holler, "Jay, back me up!"

Jongseong "Jay" Park was another one of Heeseung's friends, probably the closest person to him. 

"You guys know Heeseung-hyung is going to fuck it up either way, right?" Jay said. "Remember last time?"

"Yeah," Sunghoon Park joined in. "No matter how much we prepared him, Heeseung-hyung still acted like a fucking idiot."

"I'm right here!" Heeseung shouted, still hitting his chest to dislodge the ramen that he choked on. 

Jungwon Yang, the seventh person in their friend group, put a hand on the older boy's shoulder, his lips lifting up into a half-teasing grin, revealing sharp canine teeth, "Hyung, don't listen to them. I think you'll really impress [Name] tomorrow."

It was Heeseung's turn to elbow Jungwon in the ribs.

When Heeseung finally finished coughing up a storm, his friends were already onto another topic, making plans for the next weekend.

"Hey, hey!" Heeseung grumbled. "Aren't you guys going to explain this so-called 'date with [Name]'?"

"What's there to explain?" Riki said. "You're going on a date with [Name]. End of story."

The eldest of the group's face contorted. "What are you guys even saying—"

"Well, it's not technically a date," Sunghoon said, taking a sip of his juice box. "You're, like, hanging out with [Name] though."

That still didn't answer Heeseung's question. 

"When? Where? What time?" he spluttered, eager for answers.

Jake huffed exasperatedly. "Do we have to explain to you everything? It's not that deep, man."

Jungwon rolled his eyes. "Hyung, [Name]'s friends are the presidents of the Environment and Ecology Club, and there's a social tomorrow. It's like birdhouse painting, or something. [Name] is attending to support her friend, so we signed you up, too."

"Birdhouse painting?!" Sunoo's features morphed into confusion. "I thought they were making bracelets?"

"No, I thought there were weaving baskets?" Riki frowned.

"Whatever it is, it sounds lame as hell," Jay remarked.

Jungwon rolled his eyes again, earning a punch on his arm. "Whatever it is, it'll be a great opportunity for you to talk to [Name]." 

The younger boy offered Heeseung a reassuring smile, only to receive a pensive one in return.

When classes resumed, Heeseung felt light-headed and distracted the entire time as he processed the fact that he was going to be around you tomorrow.

Oh god, he sounded like a total loser. Did the mere thought of being in your presence make him nervous? Yes, yes it did. You were just so pretty and sweet, he had no idea what to do. Poor boy, his teeth dug into his bottom lip, clammy palms pressing into the underside of his desk. His knee bounced, and there was absolutely no way that he could even make out a single word the teacher was saying.

Heeseung was going to pass out. 

"Hey, Heeseung?"

That's your voice. It was so pretty and nice on his ears. Was he in heaven? He wouldn't be surprised if your voice was the voice of an angel.

"Heeseung?"

Heeseung was convinced that he was in heaven now. What he wouldn't do to hear your voice every second of his life.

"Heeseung!" another voice interjected. That's what snapped Heeseung out of his daze. Too deep in his head, Heeseung hadn't noticed that the class period ended, and the short passing period had already begun.

At his desk stood Yunjin Huh, Minjeong "Winter" Kim, and... oh my god... you. The three of you had somewhat matching Halloween costumes: Yunjin was a gray mouse, Winter was a cat, and you were a bunny. And now that he looked at it, you all were holding a bag of candy.

While your two friends were giving him the"Are you serious?" looks, you looked at him with wide, kind eyes.

"Heeseung?" your beautiful voice said, fingers reaching into the candy bag that you were holding. "Would you like candy?"

He stared at you. You were giving out candy to everyone in class because it was Halloween... You're such an angel... What did the world do to deserve you...

Winter stepped on Heeseung's foot, snapping him out of his daze once again. The boy let out a small yelp in pain, and as the embarrassment settled in, he heard you let out a small giggle, lips raising up to show off your teeth.

Oh my god, he was going to die.

"Y-Yeah," he stammered out, cursing himself internally. Heeseung couldn't help but feel everyone in class's gaze glued to him. When you handed him a piece of candy, your hand brushed up against his. Heeseung could feel his ears becoming hot, the warmth rising to his neck.

You smiled at him, before saying in a sing-songy voice, "Happy Halloween!"

Heeseung had to force himself not to stare like an absolute fool.

He was really hopeless.

hee: jay i don't think i can do it tomorrow

It was 2AM when Heeseung texted Jay. He spent the entire night thinking about the "date" (probably the least necessary word at the moment), and he simply couldn't sleep.

Heeseung had embarrassed himself too many times in front of you. Like that one time you and him were on cleaning duty together, and he was so distracted by you that he tripped over a bucket of water. Or that one time he sat next to you for a few weeks and his shoes kept squeaking against the floor, making it look like he was farting. Or when he tried to look cool and suave in front of you at some social your friends invited him to only to rip a hole in his pants. And then what happened today... He could not embarrass himself again.

hee: like i think i'm going to die if she sits next to me tomorrow

It was only a matter of seconds when his friend texted back.

jay: you'll be fine trust

Heeseung frowned.

hee: stop lying to me

hee: you know how i am around her

jay: i believe in you

jay: like srsly

hee: that's blind faith

Jay typed for a little bit, before stopping altogether. Heeseung huffed. Did his friend just leave him on read? A few minutes later Jay sent a Wikihow article.

'How to talk to your crush,' it was aptly named. Heeseung deadpanned.

hee: are you being fr right now

jay: give [name] your sexy heeseung charm and you'll be walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her in no time

jay: read the article btw

How was this guy an actual person?

hee: kill yourself

jay: give her that passionate, sexy, boiling hot, hotter-than-the-sun, steaming hot heeseung that makes her just want to come up to you and give you the fattest, juiciest kiss on the mouth, i know you can do it soldier

hee: DIE

Heeseung couldn't sleep all night.

At school, the entire day was just plagued with anxiety for what was to come. It didn't help that your friends kept turning around and giving him knowing looks throughout the day. When school finally let out, Heeseung went to the classroom where the birdhouse-painting-bracelet-making-basket-weaving social would be held. His friends told him to go there the moment that school ended, but when he came, there was literally no one there.

Until someone yanked him into the classroom.

"Hey!-" he yelped, before the door slammed. In front of him stood two people that he recognized: Sumin Bae and Sieun Park, two of your friends who also coincidentally were the co-presidents of the Environment and Ecology club.

Sumin cocked a brow at him, crossing her arms. "I hope you're not as hopeless as everyone says you are."

Heeseung opened his mouth to respond, but Sieun cut him off.

"Ugh, that doesn't matter," she pinched her nose-bridge. "We told [Name] to sit near the front, so you better sit there, too."

"Right-" 

Sumin cut him off, too.

"[Name]'s favorite color is pink, and her favorite Sanrio character is Keroppi," Sumin asserted. "And she really likes things that are cute, so like fruit patterns, hearts, stars, yada yada."

Heeseung blinked at them. "And this is relevant how...?"

Sumin and Sieun shared a look.

"You are completely hopeless."

As it turned out, they were giving him details about design-elements that you liked, so that Heeseung could somehow impress you with his birdhouse painting abilities (Jungwon was right, it was birdhouse painting). After info-dumping on him, they kicked him out of the classroom to actually prepare for the social.

As Heeseung was pushed out of the classroom, he bumped into someone. Just as he was about to say, "Watch where you're going," he realized that it was you. 

"Oh, hi, Heeseung!" you greet him cheerfully, your eyes pressing into thin slits as you smile. 

Quick! What does he do? "Hi... [Name]."

"Are you here for the social, too?" The way your eyes gazed at him made him feel shy already.

"Y-Yeah...."

"I didn't know you were interested in the Environment and Ecology club..." You remarked, and Heeseung panicked— Was it obvious that he was here exclusively for you?— but what you said next made him sigh in relief. "That's great! I'm so happy that I finally have someone familiar with me here!"

He's going to faint.

When the social began, you invited him to sit next to you. Heeseung felt stiff as he sat beside you, watching the way that you happily painted your small, wooden birdhouse. Heeseung wanted to start a conversation with you, but each time he thought of something to say, his voice caught in his throat. Sumin and Sieun had given him two dirty looks already, so he needed to make a move now or their efforts would be in vain.

"W-What's that?" he finally stuttered out, pointing to the glob of green on your birdhouse. 

You laugh airily, leaning closer to him so that he can see it better. "Can you guess?"

Heeseung tries to concentrate on guessing, but it's hard when you're close to him. Quick! What's green and something that you like?

"Is that... K-Keroppi?"

"Yeah!" Your face lit up, flashing him a cheeky grin. You nudged him with your elbow, raising your brows at him playfully. "Awww, Hee, you smarty pants! How'd you know?"

Hee?

OhmygodohmygodohmygodyoucalledhimHee.

You stopped laughing, pulling away from him. "Sorry, do you not like being called Hee? Beomgyu sometimes calls you that, so I thought-"

"No, I like it!" Heeseung blurted, a little louder than he wanted to, earning a few questioning looks from people around him. The boy felt abnormally warm, embarrassed at his outburst. "I-I'm okay with you calling me that..."

"Noted!" you said, before your lips curled upward. "Now... are you going to tell me how you could tell that this green blob was Keroppi?"

"Oh uhm..." Heeseung's lips were moving faster than his head, "Y-You dressed up as Keroppi last year for Halloween with Yunjin."

Almost like you were a cartoon character, you perked up at his statement. "You remember?"

Of course he did. How could he forget? You wore a cartoonishly-big red bow around your neck like Keroppi, and had a green Keroppi-style headband. You looked adorable, especially when you went around showing off a Keroppi keychain that you got at the Cinnamoroll Cafe in Hongdae to anyone that was willing to listen.

Heeseung found himself chuckling. "Of course I'd remember your massive red bow."

You stared at him for a few moments, before a bashful grin broke out on your face. You then buried your face in your hands, letting out a groan. "Ughhhh, that's so embarrassing!"

"How?"

It's going good so far, Heeseung thought. Just don't mess it up!

You pouted cutely, your bottom lip jutting out. In the light, he could see the gloss shining off of it so prettily. "My makeup was so fucked up last year, ughhh, it looked so bad."

You? Look bad? Impossible.

"What are you talking about?" Heeseung asked, his doe-like eyes scanning your embarrassed face. "I thought you looked cute."

You stared at him. It took a few pulses for Heeseung to realize what he just said. His face instantly turned three shades warmer and panic was evident in his expression.

"I-I mean— You jus—You were really—"

He shut his mouth when you began laughing. Laughing so hard that you clutched onto his knee, keeling over yourself. His cheeks burned.

You're laughing at him, aren't you? Did he fuck up?

When you noticed the sulky expression on his face, you stopped laughing.

"Sorry, Hee," you said, giving his knee a reassuring squeeze. "It's just... You look so intimidating, when you're really just a sweetheart."

If Heeseung was red before, he was quietly literally the color of a tomato. It was a wonder that the entire room’s temperature didn’t rise given the sheer amount of heat radiating off his person.

"A s-sweetheart?"

"Yeah!" you happily respond. "You're just the cutest, y'know? Like a little puppy."

As much as Heeseung wanted to die happily now that you called him cute, he needed to keep this conversation going. Sucking in a sharp breath, the boy looked at you in the eyes. "W-Well I think the same about you... [Name]."

You looked at him curiously, so he continued, his voice soft and sheepish, "I... also think that you're the cutest."

You blinked at him a few times, before the widest smile that he'd ever seen spread across your cheeks, stretching ear to ear. If only Heeseung wasn't too busy grappling with his shyness, he'd notice the way you let out a soft, bashful giggle, shaking your head and squeezing your eyes shut to keep yourself from being too visibly flustered. Slowly, with all the courage that you had left in you, you raised your hand and placed it on Heeseung's head. You ruffled his soft locks, gushing, "God, you're so cute, Heeseung!"

The rest of the social is filled with soft chatter between the two of you, but Heeseung was honestly too captivated by you to notice the time passing. With his heart on his sleeve, and a sloppily-painted birdhouse in his hands, Heeseung mentally high-fived himself.

Heeseung's friends never heard the end of it. The moment that he got home, Heeseung spammed their groupchat, giving them paragraphs and paragraphs of the events that ensued.

hee: and then she called me cute. like CUTE CUTE, not even like she was alluding it, she used the word CUTE

hee: oh my god i think i'm gonna faint

His friends don't have it in them to flame him. After all, this was progress.

Unbeknownst to him, you were feeling the same things. Everyone knew that Heeseung liked you, except yourself. You had the opposite case: you've had the biggest crush on Heeseung since middle school, but never told a single soul about it. You're a naturally expressive and sweet person, so it was so incredibly hard hiding your feelings for him. 

After all, under that handsome and brooding outer shell, you saw his softness. This past year, you've had so many miscellaneous interactions (at least, it seemed miscellaneous-- everyone but you knew that those interactions were set up) with Heeseung. At the beginning of each interaction, he'd act all mysterious, but as time passed, he'd speak so softly and slowly unravel. 

It was so, so cute. Heeseung was so cute. To say you wanted him would be an understatement. No words were sufficient to fully express the nights that you stayed awake thinking about him, or the makeup looks that you intricately practiced to impress him, or the sheer number of times that you had to hide the fact that you were staring at him.

Maybe you couldn't hide it any longer.

"Wait, what?!"

Heeseung's heart dropped to his stomach the moment he heard the words leave his friend's lips. Chenle Zhong was one of you and Heeseung's mutual friends, and according to him, someone had confessed to you via a letter today.

"Are you serious?" Heeseung asked, pulling his bottom lip into his teeth, chewing pensively. "Do you know who wrote it?"

"Nope, but I'll try to get more info on it," Chenle frowned. "Yunjin says that [Name] laughed at the letter."

When Heeseung didn't say anything, Chenle continued. "Hey, man, that could be a sign, y'know?"

When Heeseung's face morphed into a confused expression, his friend added, "Like, maybe [Name] thinks it's a joke? Maybe she doesn't care for it."

That's what Heeseung hoped for.

Later, Chenle texted him a screenshot of the love letter. To say that Heeseung was appalled would be an understatement. The letter read,

'To my dearest [Name], you're as beautiful as the plum blossoms in the spring. Your lips are soft like pillows, pillows that I would love to fall into an eternal in. I love you, I love you, I'll love you until this paper decomposes and becomes a part of the earth, and maybe then they will be able to force me to forget you. Love, your admirer.'

Heeseung immediately sent it to his groupchat.

jakey: yo who invited shakespeare???

hoon: i had a stroke reading that

sunoo: "your lips are soft like pillows" is crazyyy

hee: chenle gave me updates, apparently [name] knows who the sender is

jay: AND WHO IS THE SENDER??

hee: i don't know

hee: but minjeong says that it's someone from class 2

niki: class 2 is full of snobs

jungwon: i'm still in shock because of "i'll love you until this paper decomposes"

hoon: WHAT IF IT'S JUNGSU HYUNG

niki: oh it's SO over for you heeseung-hyung

As it turned out, it was not, in fact, Jungsu Kim from Class 2, thanks to your friends, who were quite wonderful info-brokers. But he still didn't know who it was.

Laying in bed, Heeseung felt weight on his chest. You laughed at the letter. While that could mean that it was a joke, it could also mean that you thought the person writing the letter was funny... which could mean that you liked them back. Just the mere thought of you with someone else made Heeseung frown deeply. This entire time he was worried about how to act around you, completely ignoring the fact that you yourself could be interested in someone else! God, he was so stupid.

Heeseung needed to know who it was that sent it, and more importantly, if you were romantically interested in them.

Fear makes man do crazy things.

Like walking one's crush to school.

Look, Heeseung was mulling over the situation as he walked to school, when he saw you across the street, walking in the same direction as him. In what could only be called an adrenaline-high, Heeseung ran across the street up to you.

"[Name]!" he called out.

"Heeseung?—Oh my god!"

Poor boy was breathless, flushed in the face. It took him a few moments to catch his breath. Flashing you a grin, Heeseung said, "Let's walk to school together, [Name]."

You're silent for a few moments, before you return the smile. "Of course."

The walk was silent, only the sound of early morning traffic, footsteps against the concrete sidewalk, and the occasional sniffle courtesy of you filling the cold air between the two of you. Speaking of which, your sniffles began to get louder and more frequent. Now out of adrenaline, Heeseung was back to being shy.

Clearing his throat, Heeseung forced his voice out. "Are you— Are you sick?"

You sniffled again, bringing your hand up to swipe your nose. The two of you were at an intersection now, so you pressed the pedestrian button. "No, I just get sniffly when it's cold."

That's. So. Cute. Was what Heeseung was thinking. The way you were rubbing your hands together made you look so adorable, he just wanted to put you in his pocket. 

He must have been staring at you for a while, back in his you-loving daze, because Heeseung did not notice that the streetlight changed, and it was time for the pedestrians to pass.

Not to worry!

Heeseung was completely kicked out of his daze when your smaller hand grabbed his, pulling him along the street. His eyes were glued to the two of your hands, especially where they connected. For someone sniffly, your hands were warm. He liked the way that they fit in his.

Even in the cool morning air, Heeseung suddenly felt warm all over.

You were in the middle of the sidewalk when Heeseung stopped. Feeling bold, he dropped his schoolbag, and began slipping off his thick, black, leather jacket, before draping it over your shoulders. 

When you looked up at him with those curious doe eyes, all his boldness went away.

"Y-You're cold aren't you?" He avoided looking you in the eyes. "Just... Just take it. Y-You can give it back later... or whatever."

You giggled, slipping your arms into the sleeves.

God, you looked so cute in his jacket. Heeseung was going to melt.

And he did melt, because you began doing cute twirls to show off the jacket, posing for him.

"How do I look?" you cheekily asked, popping your leg up. 

Heeseung was speechless, his mouth just left agape. He had to force himself to speak.

"Cute..." he answered, barely audible.

A grin was growing on your face. "Sorry, I didn't hear you. How do I look?"

Heeseung squeezed his eyes shut, huffing. "I said you looked cute!"

The sight of Heeseung's pink cheeks and his cute little pout was enough for you to be satisfied. Before the boy could realize what he said, you picked up his school bag for him, shoving it into one of his hands, before snatching his free hand. You pulled him gently to continue walking, but Heeseung was frozen in place, eyes too busy on you.

"Heeeeee," you elongated your syllables. You squeezed his hand twice, tugging him again. "We can't be late to class, can we?"

Heeseung audibly gulped. "Y-Yeah. You're right.."

You guys began walking again, neither of you wanting to let each other’s hands go.

"And then she held my hand— Isn't that crazy?! She held my hand!"

"Heeseung-hyung, please, I am peeing right now."

It was the lunch period once again. As Heeseung and Sunghoon traversed the hallways to get to the stairwell, the older of two chatted about the events that morning.

"So you held her hand?" Sunghoon asked half-heartedly, barely listening. "And then what?"

Heeseung perked up. "And then we walked to class together, and then she—"

"That's cool and all," the younger friend was walking in front of him. Sunghoon turned over his shoulder. "But did you get any more information about the letter fiasco?"

Oh. 

No, Heeseung didn't.

When they reached the rooftop, his friends gently nudged him to get more information about the letter. 

"You don't want to have one of those 'too late' moments, right?" Jungwon said, chewing on his rice ball. "What if by the time you gather the courage to talk to her, [Name] is already walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her secret admirer?!"

"What's with you guys and walking off into the sunset..." Heeseung muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

"I'm serious, hyung!"

"I second that," Jay said lazily.

"I second that," Riki mocked in a squeaky voice, earning him a soft smack at the back of his head.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Heeseung asked, frustrated. "I can talk to her or her friends later, but not right now."

Jake scoffed. "What's stopping you from going back inside and talking to [Name] right now?"

The eldest boy didn't have an answer. That's true. There wasn't anything stopping Heeseung from talking to you right now. All the boys were now watching him for an answer, ready to pounce on him for being a coward.

"I don't know!" Heeseung finally said. "I've used up all of my bravery today... I don't think I have it in me to talk to her!"

His friends stared at him questioningly, until the silence was broken by Sunoo taking a loud and very obviously fake phonecall.

"Hi! Yes! Mhm. He's right here. Yeah. Mhm. Thank you!"

Sunoo hung up loudly, and looked at Heeseung with a cocked brow. "I was just on the phone with Yunjin. She says you should probably go talk to [Name]."

Heeseung looked at Sunoo incredulously, but the expectant expressions on his friends' faces made him groan.

"Fine!"

As Heeseung creeped down the school hallway, he came to the classroom that you hung out in at lunch: your homeroom. Standing outside the door, the boy took a deep breath.

Relax, it's just [Name], he had to tell himself, as if that helped at all. What was he even going to say? 

'Hey, are you dating the person that sent you that letter? If you aren't, do you want to get married to me? Haha.'

????

Just as Heeseung was about to slide the door open, he heard a very familiar laugh from inside. Of course he could recognize it. After all, it was you. 

"Yuri is so cute!" he heard you giggle. "She wrote me that little letter as a joke, but I think I'm actually in love with her."

In.

Love.

With.

Her.

"Awww, Yuri, come here and give me a kiss!"

Come.

Give.

You.

A.

Kiss.

"I'm gonna marry you, Yuri!"

Marry.

You.

Yuri.

To Heeseung, everyone was an enemy. No matter their gender or class, the moment that he heard that you got a love letter, everyone became a suspect. It all made sense now. Yuri Jo, the 'Yuri' that you were talking about and to, was from Class 2. He knew that you and her were friends, but he didn't know that you were romantically interested in her. 

Jungwon was right. Now you were going to walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand with her!

hee: guys what if [name] is already taken :(

jakey: what are you on about this time

There was something scary about a 6-feet tall guy mulling around and sulking all day, so luckily no one got in Heeseung's way as he brooded. Unfortunately, he felt his heart hurt whenever he looked at you. Almost cartoonishly, he'd turn away, close his eyes in dramatic pain, and pout. Although he acted a little bit theatrical, it was no doubt that Heeseung felt sad. He really thought he had a chance with you, and now he felt stupid.

Except, he was stupid.

But for a different reason.

"Jesus Christ, you're actually hopeless, Heeseung."

After school, your friends cornered him, somewhere where you wouldn't see. His friends were somehow in close communication with your friends.

"I can't believe you thought me and [Name] were actually dating!"

Heeseung scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, as he leaned against a locker. Before him stood Yunjin, Winter, Yuri, along with a few other of your friends, Hitomi and Minju. 

"I don't know!" Heeseung huffed. "Everyone is an enemy to me—” he glanced at Yuri— “Including Yuri.”

Yunjin scoffed in disbelief. "You're insane."

Soooo... You weren't in any romantic relationship with anyone. Yuri sent you that letter as a joke, and you were just really close to her. Good.

"I don't know how I feel about this guy getting with our [Name]," Winter muttered to Hitomi and Minju, but loud enough for Heeseung to hear.

"Hey!"

"I know, he's a total dumbass," Minju grumbled back.

"Dude, I'm right here!"

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Well, are you free on Friday after school?"

"Yeah, why?" They always asked Heeseung that question when they had some crazy plan up their sleeve. Not like he was any better.

"Wellll," Hitomi began in a sing-songy voice. "[Name] really wants to go to that Cinnamoroll Sweet Cafe in Hongdae on Friday, but none of us are available."

Heeseung nodded slowly. 

"I think it'd be a good way for you to get closer to her, dontcha think?"

And that's how Heeseung scored his first (unofficial) date with you

When your friends told you that Heeseung would accompany you to Hongdae, you almost jumped for joy. Almost. Friday couldn't come any faster. The plan was that you'd meet Heeseung at the train station at 4:30PM, meaning that you had a bit of time to change and get ready. You didn't want to get too ahead of yourself and call it a date, but oh boy did you want to.

What were you going to wear? What if you were too formal? Should you go for a casual look or something more put-together? You needed to impress him!

When Friday came, you practically ran home to get ready. You perfected your makeup, and put on your prettiest outfit. Spraying yourself with your signature perfume, you looked in the mirror. Hopefully, he'll like how you look. 

At the corner of your eye, you spot a black, leather jacket. His black, leather jacket. Without even thinking, you slinked toward it, slipping into the jacket. It smelled like him, the faint scent of his cologne lingering on the leather.

With a final glance in the mirror, you left for the train station.

On the other hand, to say that Heeseung was nervous for the date was an understatement. His heart was about to fall out of chest. He changed into something more casual, made sure to brush out his disheveled hair, and reapplied his cologne. He came to the train station 20 minutes early, just in case something went terribly wrong. He glanced at his phone. For the date, he managed to get a hold of your number, for “communication purposes.” He’d wanted to text you all week, but didn’t have the courage to.

“Hee?” your soft voice calling his name got his attention. Behold, you standing there before him, all dolled up and pretty. This must be the sight he’ll see when he enters heaven, he thought. 

“Hi,” he said, his eyes glazing over your face. You were so pretty. Did you dress up for him? He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but the idea that you wanted to look good for him made Heeseung’s heart skip a beat. “You look…”

He didn’t mean to say that. You smile bashfully. “I look…?”

“So pretty,” Heeseung breathed. “You look so pretty.”

“Thank you,” you smile. Your fingers reach for the hem of his shirt, playing with it, which sends his heart racing. “Well, I think you look handsome, Hee.”

“Th-Thanks.”

The two of you stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments, and Heeseung swears that you’re looking at his lips. You spoke up, breaking the silence. “You notice anything about me?”

Heeseung grasped the collar of his jacket gently with both hands. “My jacket.”

“I was going to give it back to you earlier,” you begin, eyes trained on his lips, “But I think I’ll keep it for today, yeah? Since I look so pretty in it.”

“Oh fuck,” Heeseung cursed under his breath, loud enough for you to hear it and giggle. “Yeah, you can keep it for as long as you want.”

“As long as I want?” you purred, taking a step closer to him. Although it wasn’t clear to anyone else, you were a mess inside. Your heart was palpitating so hard that you could hear it in your ears. Your throat felt dry, and your hands were shaking with mere anxiety and excitement. “What about forever?”

Heeseung cracked a grin. “Do whatever you want. You’re pretty.”

If it wasn’t for the train announcement, you thought you would have kissed his pretty lips right then and there. Taking Heeseung’s hand, you led him to your train cart. 

“Let’s go, Hee.”

The train is much more packed than you expected, but it was the beginning of the weekend after all. The trip from Gyeonggi Province to Hongdae should take no less than an hour. Unfortunately, because of the amount of people in the train, you and Heeseung had to stand for the majority of the time. It should have been uncomfortable, but it simply wasn't. Because you were with Heeseung.

Standing only a few inches away from the boy, your chests almost pressed against each other. You could feel his breath fan your cheeks. The both of you held onto the pole, hands barely brushing against each other when the cart shook against the rails. 

At some point, the shaking was a lot more aggressive than it had previously been. Instinctively, your hand reached for his broad shoulders for stability. Likewise, Heeseung reached for your waist, holding you in place. You and Heeseung shared a long, drawn-out look, eyes getting lost in one another's, before you both avert your gazes shyly, muttering, "sorry." Yet, neither of you moved your hands from their newfound positions.

As minutes passed on the train, your eyes were glued to Heeseung, at least when he wasn't watching. 

You loved the reddish blush that naturally decorated his under-eyes, and the natural corally red at tinted the tip of his ears. His glossy eyes and heart-shaped lips had to be your favorite feature of his, if not for his large, yet delicate hands, so gentle and soft.

You were deep in thought when you suddenly felt a hand creeping on your leg. Nimble fingers from behind, brushing up against the hem of your dress. From the corner of your eye, you saw an older man. He looked unkempt and scruffy, like a delinquent– but nothing like Heeseung. Heeseung looked much better than him.

The man reeked of cigarettes and musk. A nasty grin spread across his face as he peered down at your exposed legs. His hands creeped toward them again, now slightly pushing your dress up. Your teeth sunk into your bottom lip, your entire body stiffening. Your heart began to pound in your chest, your cheeks and skin feeling hot. 

Panic overtook your system. Your once soft breaths became much shorter and quicker, inhaling and exhaling shallow air.

You’ve never been in a situation like this; you’d  never wished, thought, or even considered something like this happening to you– why would you? You had no idea what to do, and were not at all prepared for this. The train was packed to the brim, this man was much bigger and stronger than you, and you did not know how to fight.

The hand moved past your skirt, now under it and directly in contact with your skin. The hand felt dirty, brushing against you. A small frantic whimper escaped your lips when the man’s hand squeezed your bare thigh. It was a small sound, barely audible in the vast bustle of the subway. However, someone did hear it.

Heeseung, doe-eyed and lost in his own world, immediately darted his eyes over to you the moment he heard a sound of discomfort. 

When your eyes met, you could only signal helplessly. Your gaze was wide, pupils dilated, with fear and panic. Heeseung’s eyes narrowed, staring into your eyes for a moment before analyzing your expression. The way you were extremely tense and overwrought casted a sense of suspicion in his head, and your eyes that were seemingly pleading him made him think.

Help, your eyes said.

Heeseung’s dark eyes flickered from your face, to your entire body language, and back to your face, before he spotted a few, foreign fingers creeping around your leg area.

Your shifty eyes kept moving from Heeseung’s to the side, but now that he looked at it, it was like they were pointing behind you. And lo and behold, behind you was a musky pervert, who was shamelessly touching you.

“[Name]…” he whispered. His fists clenched, teeth gritting. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling anger build up in his stomach. You whimpered again in response. He brought a hand to ghost over your shoulder, pushing you very, very, gently to the side. “Move.”

He wound up his fist and sent the hardest punch he could muster to the man square in the jaw.

The man lurched back immediately, his hand moving far, far, away from you. A groan left his lips, his head being thrown back in pain. The man’s fall had pushed a few other people down as well. Other bystanders watched on in shock. Some took out their phones to record and take pictures, others to tell their friends.

You just stood still, leaning into Heeseung, whose fist was a faint red color. With a very careful hand, he brushed the lifted hem of your dress down, which had been messed with earlier.

The man quickly got up once he noticed the new and tense silence over the subway cart.

“Hey!” he shouted, pushing himself up from his downtrodden position. “You little punk, who the fuck do you think you-”

The train announcer called for the stop. Heeseung, ignoring the man, took your arm, pulling you out the door. Before he himself left, Heeseung landed a kick to the man’s crotch, muttering, “Fucking bastard.”

"W-Wait, Hee-!"

Heeseung was silent as the train doors opened, only pulling you along with him. When the two of you were far from the train, he finally stopped, turning to you.

"Are you okay?" was all he asked. You shifted uncomfortably at the thought of what happened earlier.

"Y-Yeah..." you played with the hem of his jacket sheepishly. "Thanks for what you did back there."

Heeseung jolted up at the mention. He didn't love using violence, despite his 'delinquent' reputation, especially in front of you. His hands joined yours at the hem of his jacket, shyly brushing up against yours. 

"Next time," he began, beginning to play with the zipper, "I'll fight every person on that train so that you can sit."

You smiled softly. "You don't have to do that, Hee."

Heeseung slowly zipped up his jacket on you, meeting your eyes, before straightening out your collar. 

"But I want to," he breathed. You gazed at him. His hands were still on the collar of the jacket, close to your face. You noticed the red smudges on his knuckles from punching the man on the train. You took that hand, opening it up, and nuzzling your cheek into it. You took his other hand. To Heeseung's surprise, you pressed soft kisses on his knuckles, rubbing them with your thumb.

"What are you..." his breath hitched when your eyes flickered to his, holding steady eye-contact. 

You pressed one last kiss on his palm. "Thank you, Hee. Really."

"Of course, [Name]," he finally whispered. "Anything for you."

And so, your first date with Heeseung began.

The sweet scent of cinnamon and pastries hit your noses the moment you guys stepped into the Cinnamoroll Cafe. When you were seated, you took a look at the menu. So far, the date was going smoothly. Other than the run-in at the beginning, the chemistry between the two of you was sparking. The conversation was flowing, and if that already wasn't a dream come true, you kept touching Heeseung. On your end, you were practically vibrating in your seat with the sheer amount of excitement you had bubbling in you. You couldn't believe you were on a date with the Heeseung Lee sharing a strawberry banana parfait. 

"Hee," you said, motioning him to come closer to you. He did, so you cupped his cheek, bringing your thumb up to wipe a stray piece of the parfait from his cheek. 

"Oh-" Heeseung's face reddened. How embarrassing! Did you think he was a slob now? You only giggled, bringing both hands up to hold his face. You squished the boy's cheeks, laughing at the way his brows cutely crashed into each other.

"You're so cute, Hee," you said, playing with his cheeks. "The cutest."

That's all you, he thought. You're going to drive him crazy.

Or, at least he thought he thought.

Did he just say that out loud? Heeseung groaned when you threw your head back laughing, hiding his own face in your palms. You chuckled.

Feeling bold, you cupped his cheeks again. You leaned closer, holding his face close to yours. You kissed a soft and chaste kiss on his nose. You couldn't help the heat that rose to your cheeks as the boy flopped over the table, hiding his face in his arms. You ran your fingers through his hair comfortingly, cooing at his cuteness.

"You can't do this to me," Heeseung murmured.

You laughed. It wouldn't hurt to tease him a little more, right? You leaned down, giving the boy another kiss. This time, though, you kissed the top of his head.

"Hee, baby, you're just the cutest, you know that right?"

Heeseung combusted.

After the Cafe, Heeseung and you walked around the Hongdae Festival Street. By now, it was beginning to get darker outside, the air cooling down. It was cold, but to Heeseung, it was perfect, because now he had an excuse to hold your hand. As the two of you walked and talked, you enjoyed the sight of the lights and bustling street. 

Suddenly, a new voice interrupted the two of you's conversation. Turning around, you saw two guys who looked around your age. They were holding a camera and a microphone.

"Hi!" they said, smiling. "We're interviewing couples in Hongdae, would you guys like to be in it? We’ll blur your faces."

Heeseung glanced your joined hands, then back at the two guys, then back at your hands, "O-Oh, we're not a coupl—"

You cut him off. "Of course, we'd love to!"

You flashed Heeseung a grin, squeezing his hand twice, almost as if to say, 'Just go with it.' His ears began to burn, his neck prickling with warmth, before clearing his throat. "Y-Yeah..." he squeezed your hand, "We'd love to."

The two guys cheered, turning on their camera. "All right, first question. How did you guys meet?"

"We went to middle school together," you were quick to answer. "I thought he was really cute, but we didn't start talking until this year."

You didn't know what the fuck you were saying. Was it risky to be so truthful for an internet interview, right in front of your long-time crush? Absolutely. But your heart was pounding so hard in your chest, simply waiting for Heeseung's response.

On the other hand, Heeseung's mind was in complete shambles. Were you telling the truth? The way you answered so smoothly with absolutely no hesitation made it almost seem natural.

"And you?" the interviewer asked. "What did you think about her when you first met?"

"I—" Heeseung's breath hitched. "I thought she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen."

The way you glanced at him made Heeseung's heart feel like it was about to fall out. "I.. I still think that."

Your expression was unreadable, your lips pressing into a thin line. Then, a huge smile broke out on your face.

"Awww, Heeeee! I didn't know you thought about me like that!" You squeezed his hand again, and he squeezed it back.

"How long have you guys been together?" the interviewer asked.

"We just started dating!" You answered enthusiastically, a weird, surprised sound coming from Heeseung.

The rest of the interview went smoothly, with you mostly answering the questions. You quietly thanked the interviewers, and you and Heeseung were on your way.

Your words kept ringing in Heeseung's head.

Especially your answer to the question, "Why did you like him?"

You answered, "Because he's so perfect."

Heeseung? Perfect? He couldn't believe his ears! Were you telling the truth?

A calm silence fell over you and Heeseung as you walked the bustling streets of Hongdae. That question lingered in his mind, and before he knew it, his mouth was moving faster than his mind.

"Did you mean anything you said?"

His voice seemed to reverberate against the night air, ringing in his ears. You chewed on your lip. Then, you sucked in a sharp breath.

"Of course, Hee," you finally answered. "If it's you, I mean everything."

Heeseung sucked his bottom lip into his teeth, biting down so hard he drew blood. Once again, his hands found home on the hem of his jacket draped over you. 

"Good." He couldn't meet your eyes, not with the knowledge that you meant everything you said. He forced his attention onto the hem of the leather jacket that you were wearing, too shy to look at you. 

Heeseung only looked up when he felt your thumb pressing against his lip, eyes widening.

"Don't bite your lip too hard, Hee," you said, a smile in your voice. You thumb swiped against his lip, wiping off the small blotch of blood on it. "You'll bleed, and I'll have to kiss it better."

Heeseung's tongue darted out to swipe over his bleeding lip, brushing against your thumb. "What if I want you to kiss it better?"

"Well, then you better not keep me waiting."

His eyes flickered to your lips. He wanted to kiss them so bad. They looked so soft. What would they taste like? You liked strawberries— maybe they'd taste like that. When he didn't say or do anything, you changed the topic, unable to hide the disappointment in your face.

"Did you mean it?" You asked. "When you said that I was the most beautiful person you'd ever seen?"

"Oh my god, yes," Heeseung said under his breath, eyes still trained on your lips. "Always."

Another silence fell of you two, simply getting lost in each other's eyes. Maybe it was something in the Hongdae air, but Heeseung felt brave. His hand slithered to your waist, bringing you closer to him. When you slid your hands up his chest, resting them on his shoulders, Heeseung audibly gulped. Your faces inched closer and closer, until you could feel his breath against your cheek. You wanted to lean in and close the gap so bad. And you could tell that he wanted to, too.

Just as you were about to, however, the sound of a car honking and tires screeching interrupted you. Heeseung instinctively pulled away, his head whipping around to look at the commotion.

Oh hell no.

You were not going to let that stop you.

You snatched Heeseung's hand, before pulling him with you. You don't know how much you ran, or for how long, but you ran and ran until you found an empty alleyway.

You pushed him against the hard, concrete wall, a bit harsher than you expected too. Holding him by his shoulders, you put all your weight on him, caging him against the wall.

"You'd let me kiss you, right?" you rasped, out of breath.

Heeseung, also breathless, stared at you, lips parted. 

"I thought I already said," he breathed, "Do whatever you want. You're pretty."

With that, you crashed your lips onto his. His lips were soft, a little chapped. It felt so surreal. The scent of his cologne made you feel dizzy. When you pulled away, it was evident that he was feeling the same as you were. 

It was a chaste kiss, but the tension was so thick in the air. Somehow, that made it even more intimate.

"Wow..." was all Heeseung could utter. Under the moonlight, with you pressed up against him, you looked so goddamn pretty. Your face was illuminated with the pale light, making you look like an angel. Was he in heaven? Did he die yet? He wouldn't mind if he died right then and there, now that you (you!) kissed him. "Fuck, you're gonna kill me, [Name]."

"But you'd like it, right? Because I'm so pretty." The teasing tone in your voice would normally make Heeseung melt, but all he could do was grin. 

"You know I would."

The rest of the night, you and Heeseung don't kiss anymore. Not because you guys didn't want to kiss, but because the adrenaline wore off, and now the both of you were shy. It was almost comical, the way both of you completely reverted back to your bashful and sheepish selves, barely able to make eye-contact with each other.

"Thank you for tonight, Hee," you hummed, as you and Heeseung walked to the train station, hand-in-hand. "I had a lot of fun."

He scanned your face. The slight curve on your lips (oh god, your lips, the way the corner of your lip had a smudge of lipstick from kissing him earlier —how badly he wanted to kiss them again) was contagious. "Of course. I had a lot of fun, too."

The train ride back was quiet. You eventually began dozing off, resting your head on his shoulder.

"You did what?!" was the collective reaction of both you and Heeseung's friends. After that Friday together, you called together all of your friends to your house, to spill the beans. Likewise, Heeseung forced every single one of his friends into his living room.

"Ouuu, you little flirt!" Yunjin exclaimed. Currently, Yunjin, Winter, Hitomi, Yuri, and Minju were seated on your bedroom floor, while you dramatically flopped around on your bed. 

It was now that you explained to your friends your long-time crush on Heeseung, much to their pleasant surprise.

"And then what happened?" Minju asked, filing her finger-nails. "Did you profess your undying love for him?"

You groaned into your pillow. "I can't!"

"Why not?" Winter quirked a brow. "You guys literally kissed."

You let out another groan. "What if he doesn't like me like that?"

Your friends deadpanned.

Heeseung Lee didn't like you. He loved you. They would know better than anyone.

"[Name], honey, you're overthinking it," Yuri nudged you with her foot. "He gave you his jacket. I think that says enough."

"Well, what if I'm just getting ahead of myself and he's just being nice?"

"Girl..."

Heeseung had a similar reaction.

All of his friends stared at him like he just punched their grandmothers.

"You can't be serious right now, hyung..." Sunghoon said, pinching his nose-bridge.

All of his friends were piled onto one couch, while Heeseung laid out on the one across from them, almost like they were in a therapy session. 

"What if she just thinks I'm a good friend?" Heeseung used his hands to speak, theatrically moving them.

"What makes you think that?" Sunoo asked incredulously. 

Heeseung groaned. "[Name] tells Yuri Jo that she wants to marry her and they're good friends."

"Okay, and?"

"Well," Heeseung huffed. "What if [Name] kissed me because she sees me the same way that she sees Yuri?"

"Well, I'm good friends with Jungwon-hyung and I don't kiss him," Riki said matter-of-factly.

"Right..." Jungwon nodded his head slowly. "Hyung, do you really think a good friend would pin you against a wall and kiss you?"

"Do you think a good friend would kiss you three times and then call you cute like a bajillion other times?!" Jake chimed in.

"Let alone choose to keep your jacket?!" Jay sounded tired.

Heeseung clasped his hands together, thinking for a few moments.

"Yes."

All of his friends groaned in defeat.

"You're hopeless."

After a lot of urging and cross-communication between friend-groups, both of your friends managed to convince both you and Heeseung to confess to each other the next Monday.

"What if I faint the moment she says my name?" Heeseung catastrophized to Jay in the school bathroom. 

"Uh, I doubt that, hyung."

Heeseung texted you to meet him under the stairwell, and that was when he was going to confess. On your end, the moment that he texted that, you decided that you'd confess to him then.

When the time came, Heeseung headed out to the stairwell. His hands were clammy, and even when he wiped him on his uniform pants, he couldn't stop the trembling of his hands. What if everyone was instilling false hope in him? Gosh, Heeseung thought he was going to throw up. His stomach was churning, he was going to collapse if he saw you right now—

"Hee?" Your voice broke him out of his internal spiral. Seemingly, there was a halo around you, a light so bright that Heeseung was blinded.

"H-Hi," he stammered, straightening out his posture and clearing his throat.

Your hands were clasped behind your back, leaning forward toward him. "You wanted to talk to me, yeah?"

Heeseung couldn't bring himself to meet your gaze, his shoes suddenly becoming interesting. "Y-Yeah..."

The hallway where the stairwell was located was beginning to feel stuffy. Heeseung had never felt so nervous in his life. He was light-headed, barely able to even balance himself.

"Hee," you reached out to touch his arm, noticing his discomfort. "Let's go outside, okay?"

Going outside should have helped him cool down, but when you shrugged on his leather jacket to combat the cool air, Heeseung realized that there was no way in hell that he was going to get through this confession without dropping dead. 

The two of you walked around the school yard for a few minutes in silence. 

How should he start this confession? He had Sunghoon and Jake write out a script for him, and he spent the entire night memorizing it, but now in your presence he couldn't remember a single word. Should he have written a letter like Yuri Jo? Heeseung couldn't possibly contain himself.

"Hee," you finally said, disrupting the silence. "I have something to tell you."

Heeseung's mind wandered to the worst case scenario. 

You're going to tell him that you're moving across the world to marry the love of your life, aren't you? You're going to say that he's a great friend and that you just got a boyfriend, right? 

No, he needed to tell you his feelings first! If he didn't now, he'd never, and he'd burst into a million pieces!

"M-Me too!" he blurted, stopping in his tracks. 

You blinked at him, then smiled.

Oh, no! It's actually happening!

He could already hear your voice saying, "Hi, Heeseung, my boyfriend just proposed to me and you're invited to the wedding."

You sucked in a breath, parting your lips to speak.

He needed to tell you first! The little demons in his head kept replaying the scene of you asking him to be your groom of honor at your wedding with the love of your life next Saturday. He could hear the marriage officiant announcing, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” at your wedding, and he imagined himself sitting in that little wedding venue holding back tears.

Oh my god, he needed to say it now, or he'll never say it ever!

"Hee, I really--"

Heeseung cut you off. He squeezed his eyes shut, hands balling into fists.

"I like you, [Name]!" he yelled.

.

.

.

You stared at him in disbelief. Or were you flustered? Heeseung couldn't tell. With too much adrenaline in his veins, Heeseung threw away all the preparation and drafted scripts he and his friends made for this very moment.

"I-I.. I like you so much, I'm scared that I'm going to explode!" Heeseung continued shouting at you. He had no idea what he was saying. All he was doing was telling you the thoughts he'd had about you all this time. "You're so, so, so pretty and I can't believe that you're an actual, real, physical, person, and you make me feel so fucking stupid, I can't take it."

Your eyes were bulging out of your head at this point, your jaw dropped. 

"I've never liked anyone like I've liked you, a-and I just wanted to tell you this before you... you go off with someone else!"

Heeseung kept his eyes shut when he was done confessing, letting out a labored breath. There was no way that he could face you. The silence that fell over the two of you made Heeseung's heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. He squeezed his eyes in embarrassment. He gripped the hem of his shirt to relieve the bubbling anxiety inside him. Gosh, he was going to puke.

After a few moments, nothing happened. You didn't say a word. Did you just leave him there standing? Of course, you did. You were probably too kind and angelic to outright reject him. He was a fool to think that he had a chance with you—

Heeseung heard footsteps, and before he could react, he felt a pair of lips on his.

His eyes shot open.

You.

Were.

Kissing.

Him.

!!!

After he confessed!

Poor boy was so stiff, eyes wide.

Did that mean you liked him back?

You pulled away.

Usually, you had a reassuring smile on your face by default. Even during times where you were embarrassed, you almost never showed it on your face.

But this time, your entire face was painted with a flustered expression. Your cute lips jutted out in a mini pout, while your eyes were glued to the ground, avoiding his gaze.

A few pulses passed.

"I... I like you, too... by the way," you murmured.

Another few pulses passed.

You. Liked. Him.

Nonononono wait, was he dreaming?

You.

YOU.

The beautiful, angelic you. 

Liked him.

Without thinking, Heeseung stepped forward, gently grabbing your face.

"You're real, right?" he breathed. When glossy eyes stared back at him, Heeseung felt warmth spread across his chest. Your lips looked so appealing right now, he was craving them again. "I'm not dreaming, yeah?"

You blinked at him a few times. The corners of your lips quirked upward.

"Why, because I'm 'so pretty that you can't believe I'm real?' " your voice had a teasing tone in it, referencing his earlier confession. Heeseung chuckled, letting go of your face so that he could slide his hands to where they belonged: around your waist.

"Just kiss me," he mumbled, looking at you with lidded eyes.

You grinned. "Gladly."

With that, you smashed your lips onto his. Instead of the chaste, soft, kisses that you shared earlier, this one was different. You shoved your tongue into Heeseung's mouth, exploring all its crevices. Poor boy was so surprised that he squeezed your waist, letting out a small whine. The feeling of you smirking against his lips gave him butterflies.

You finally pulled away breathless, but gave him no time to breathe. You grasped his chin, giving you easy control. 

"You drive me so crazy," he murmured against the shell of your ear.

You pressed a kiss at the juncture between his neck and ear. "I drive you crazy?" you cocked your brow.

"You," you muttered. You began pressing kisses down his jaw. 

“Drive.” 

Kiss.

“Me.” 

Kiss. 

“So-” 

Kiss.

"Fucking-" 

Kiss.

"Crazy."

Before you could pounce on him with more kisses, Heeseung, red in the face, flopped over you, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. He let out a cute groan.

"What, are you getting shy on me?" you teased him, running your fingers through his hair. He shook his head against your shoulder, making you coo.

"I can't believe you like me back, that's all," he mumbled, muffled by your shoulder. 

You laughed. "How? I feel like I was so obvious."

Heeseung looked up at you with pink cheeks, frowning. "You don't even want to know how hopelessly in love with you I was."

You quirked a brow at him. 

"Yeah?" You pecked his forehead. "Try me."

Heeseung let out a breathy chuckle. He attacked your lips.

"How about I show you?"

FIN.

likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated :)

#enhypen #enhypen x reader #enhypen fluff #enhypen imagines #enhypen fic #heeseung #heeseung x reader #heeseung fluff #heeseung imagines #heeseung enhypen #lee heeseung #star-sim #vanya writes

[taintedcigs]

vampire steddie fighting over eating you out on your period will never leave my brain emmy. pls send help 😵‍💫🫠

SHUT UPPP MAR MAR U R A GENIUS AND IT'S NOT LEAVING MY BRAIN NOW EITHER. this is not proof-read and I ACTUALLY HATE HOWIT TURNEDOUT . goodbye. i am officially ashamed of how horny i am. so hopefully yall enjoy this.

warnings: 18+, MINORS DNI, SMUT, or*l (f!receiving), mmf threesome, blood, blood-sucking, period, vampire!steddie, nicknames (bunny, angel, etc.), praising. idk what the f took over me.

"W-what are you doing?" You whined, eagerness overtaking you as both of them tugged at your panties.

"Do you trust us, angel?" Steve asked, eyes all dark but pleading, and you were quick to nod.

"We're gonna take all of your cramps away, and make you feel s'so good." You look at both of them hesitantly, almost ashamed.

"B-but, a-are you sure?" Both of them almost scoffed at your response, they've been dying to eat you out during your period, and as soon as they learned it could help with your cramps, they knew they couldn't let their little bunny be in any more pain.

"We're more than sure, honey."

"And after, we're done, you'll be begging us to worship you around this time, angel," Eddie added with a devilish smirk.

You nodded, still hesitant, heat growing in your cheeks, and both of them were quick to cup your cheeks, comforting you. "No need to be ashamed, bunny, we're gonna clean you right up," Eddie growled with a smirk, "lay down and spread your legs for us, sweetheart," Steve added eagerly.

They were kneeled down to each other, eager, and greedy, both of them fighting off each other almost, making your eyes roll to the back of your head just with their touch.

"You smell so fuckin' good, princess," Eddie hummed, tongue practically waiting to lap up at your juices, while Steve tried to push him away like a child, "will you fuckin' move?" Steve growled over the metalhead, making you huff at them.

They always talked about how good it fucking feel to taste you, to taste your blood, but now that they were actually doing it, eagerness overtook them, making them fight like idiots over who got to taste you first.

"Nuh-uh, Steve, I'm going to eat her out first-" Steve scoffed, quickly interrupting the metalhead, "not if I get to her first-"

"You fuckin' promised that I'd get to taste her first-"

You pushed your legs closed with a huff, earning a dark gaze from both of the boys as they groaned, "If you two aren't going to behave, then I don't think we should-" Your rant was cut off quickly by both of their growls.

"No!" They said in unison, almost begging, pleading, the urge within them needed this, needed you.

"P-please, sweetheart, please," The boy begged, "let us suck you off, baby, we'll make you feel s'good," Eddie pleaded, eyes so desperate and their hands hot as they attempted to spread open your thighs apart again, that you couldn't even protest, a simple nod is all it took for them to dove right into your core.

Eddie's thick ringed fingers plunged into you without warning, making you arch your back as he twisted and twirled it inside of you, the coolness, added to how fucking well he knew how to use those goddamned fingers made you mewl loudly for them, flutters in your stomach grew, and heat appeared in your cheeks.

It made you feel so fucking ashamed, but the praises and the growls that left their lips downturned it, almost making you feel proud. "Doin' so good for us, princess, let us take care of you," Eddie hummed, retracting his fingers, all bloody as he lifted them up to Steve's lips, his eyes lit up, lustful and dark, unashamedly sucking off your blood off of Eddie's fingers, both of the boys groaning at you.

"Tastes fuckin' amazing, Eddie," The boy groaned, licking the residue of blood off of his cold lips, and Eddie didn't hesitate to run his tongue between your folds now, lapping up at it with kitten licks, Steve almost looked at you for reassurance, and if you weren't too fucked out you might've given him a full answer, but all you could do was nod, needing both of them to suck you dry.

He settled in on the other side pushing away Eddie's head slightly to dive into the sides of your pussy that were left unattended, sucking greedily and eagerly, none of them wanted to even let a single drop go to waste.

"You taste like heaven, bunny," Eddie groaned, humming between your walls, making you arch against both of the boy's tongues, as you struggled to hold onto both of their hair, their tongues working like magic while all you could do was cry out.

Eddie's ringed fingers dove inside of you, both of their tongues still all over your clit and your puffy lips, while Steve's padded thumb circled around your clit, it didn't take them long enough to suck you dry, and even quicker for you to cum around their tongues without a warning, thighs shuddering uncontrollably and a high-pitched moan leaving your plushy lips.

Steve and Eddie followed you not long behind, both of them creaming their pants just at the feeling of you convulsing around their tongue, all three of you left a heaving mess.

But the boys weren't done, no, not yet.

"Let us worship you, bunny," They growled, on their knees, eager to fuck both of your holes, until you were stuffed full of them.

#steddie x reader #steve harrington smut #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x reader #steve harrington x reader

[ghcstao3]

Retirement is supposed to be peaceful—at least, that's what Price had told Ghost. He'd said that, while the quiet is unnerving at first, you settle into it relatively easily until it's something in which you find solace. You learn to relax your shoulders if only a little bit, and you rediscover small joys you had completely forgotten about when your entire life was routine, routine, routine.

And now Ghost is starting to believe that the old bastard had been lying to him if only to talk him down from a ledge.

Because retirement is anything but peaceful. Sure, it's nice to be able to cook his own meals and have more downtime for his reading, and sure, it's nice to not have to be so hyper-vigilant in his own space for once—but God knows he knows nothing of the experience of silence when his neighbour is so goddamn loud.

Maybe it's Ghost's fault for choosing to live in a flat—he could find himself a home in the countryside without issue, he's sure of it, if only it didn't require so much effort and paperwork—but at the same time, he feels totally blameless. Because he is.

His neighbour, however, is not.

Now, Ghost has never encountered this person before. Never ended up stepping out as the same time as them, never bothered to introduce himself when he moved in. All he knows is that the person directly across the hall from him has no concept of respecting one's neighbours in terms of volume.

Be it making a racket in the wee hours when, presumably, making breakfast, or be it playing music or movies far too loud, or hell, be it talking to themselves about something Ghost needn't know the gist of, whoever it is knows no quiet. And it's getting on Ghost's last nerve.

He doesn't feel it quite warrants a formal noise complaint, but he does think it needs an intervention. If Ghost had to be forced out of the military due to injury, he's very well going to make the most out of his retirement.

Which involves silence.

Ghost waits until he knows his neighbour is home, if evidenced by the loud clashing of pots and pans in their kitchen, to go over and knock to finally, hopefully talk something out, but he too soon discovers that the plan is entirely useless.

Because as Ghost knocks and knocks, it's as if his neighbour doesn't hear him. Even in the lulls of little to no noise, there's absolutely no response. It's unbelievable.

He knows confrontation isn't everybody's thing—it's barely his own—but Christ. At least he'd answer the door.

Ghost leaves a note instead. Slips it beneath the door and retires to his own flat, hoping that his neighbour could at least bother to read.

And they must. Because Ghost realizes, over the course of the next few days, he can finally hear his own thoughts again.

A week goes by, and it's blissfully quiet. Maybe Price hadn't been such a liar after all.

Two weeks go by, and... Ghost realizes that no, Price is still a liar. The complete silence isn't peaceful at all, not when he'd grown so accustomed to noise.

Maybe Ghost had overreacted.

He's on his feet and across the hall before he has time to think about it, fist hovering over the door, unsure if he should knock. It didn't work last time, but he feels an apology should be spoken, not written, so certainly it's worth—

The lock on the other side clicks, and suddenly Ghost has no choice. The door swings open to finally reveal his mystery neighbour, and... oh.

Oh.

"Well, hello. Can I help you wi' somethin'?"

Ghost tries not to wince at the man's volume, though he doesn't think he's all that successful. Years of wearing a mask had not done well for him and keeping his expressions schooled.

But loudness aside... the lilt of his neighbour's Scottish accent is otherwise... pleasant. Rough in a way Ghost finds far too enticing, and brimming with life in a way his own deadpan never has been.

He tries not to linger on that thought.

"I'm..." Ghost wets his lips, feeling strangely nervous. "I wanted to apologize for my note. It wasn't very... it was rude. So I'm... sorry."

Since when is talking to new people nerve-wracking for him? Ghost must be going soft.

The man tilts his head. There's a slight furrow in his brow, and Ghost assumes it's because he's recalling the note to put a face to its scribbled words.

Ghost assumes wrong.

"Sorry, could you... repeat that for me?"

Ghost frowns. That was... not at all what he was expecting. So much for apologizing for his own note when his neighbour is going to be a prick anyway.

He opens his mouth to bite back a response, but not before his neighbour's eyes are widening and he's frantically gesturing in surrender.

"I don't mean to... I'm only asking because I'm deaf," the man hurriedly explains. "I don't... I've never been good at readin' lips."

And, well. If that doesn't answer every one of Ghost's questions.

His first thought is that he'd been stupid for not thinking of the possibility. His second is thank God for Roach.

Tentatively, Ghost raises his hands, a little out of practice but familiar nonetheless with sign language. Now he just feels even more like an arse.

"Want to apologize," Ghost repeats. "For the note."

A grin slowly appears on his neighbour's face at the use of sign, responding with enthusiasm despite the rocky start and the reason for Ghost's being there.

"My fault," the man says, shaking his head. "Never realize how loud I'm being."

"Still sorry." Ghost offers out one of his hands, finger-spelling with the other, "Simon."

"John," the man replies aloud, his smile warm as he shakes Ghost's hand. There's an awkward moment after their hands fall back to their sides, and for a second Ghost considers just turning and leaving, but thankfully John saves him from that.

"Well, I have to get to the shops," John says, and right, he'd just been leaving, "but I'll see you around?"

Ghost nods, and that seems to be enough for John to brush past, closing his door behind him.

That was certainly... something. At the very least, a better outcome than Ghost had been anticipating.

He should call Price. Tell the man that his idea of retirement is entirely twisted—because clearly he doesn't have a neighbour like John, who Ghost fears just might find a way to worm himself into Ghost's post-military life one way or another.

Maybe he shouldn't have left that note after all.

#plot point not included: soap is also a veteran and completely losing his hearing is what did him in #anyways not sure what this is or where it came from but. Here #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #soapghost #ghostsoap #ghost x soap #ghoap #writing

[raayllum]

Because @kradogsrats got me thinking about it with their Harrow and Pip and Viren meta so now I'm throwing in two adjacently related cents

The first is that there is absolutely a fucking Premonition going on with dreams in the show (specifically Viren and Callum's dark magic dreams as well as Janai's nightmare) which only makes sense because all of these are 1) connected to Aaravos and subsequently star magic, and 2) dark magic which loops right back around to Aaravos

There are multiple times that images and ideas are relayed to characters who would have no way of knowing these things in the present

For example, Viren is surprised and asks Kpp'Ar about his arm, even when we know that Viren was the last person to see Kpp'Ar before he got coined, and presumably would've already been hurt / Viren would've been aware it had happened. But that doesn't seem to be the case given the dialogue

This also means that the answer Kpp'Ar gives either has to be not truthful and purely something Viren concocted (about something he didn't know had happened), which wouldn't make sense from a character or an audience standpoint, because in an episode titled "Old Wounds" we're going to remember the one visible wound we see on screen. So if the wounds are real and Kpp'Ar is truthful, there's some wonky magic knowledge time space stuff going on (which does sound like Star and adjacent dark magic to me)

We see this again with Janai's dreams concerning Khessa evolving past the point of a reoccurring nightmare to one that actually gives her, again, what we're supposed to assume is the Truth, even though Janai was leagues away from Aaravos (although she did hear his voice) and the lack of discerning his whisper wouldn't suddenly go away for no reason

And we Know there's some overlap between the dark magic dreams and the current reality happening outside the dreams, considering Viren's material reality in 5x02-5x03 directly informs his dreaming reality ("You keep moving" -> "We have to keep moving" as one example)

Most notably with the flower, Claudia begins discarding it in the dream before she drops it in real life, with Claudia receiving the flower in real life before it appears with her in the dream. So the interplay is not consistent moving in one direction solely to the other, but very much does exist

We even see this noticeably (upon rewatches) with Callum's dark magic dreams featuring foreshadowing for future seasons. Not only does having the Key represent dark magic in the dream make extra sense because it is connected to Aaravos, who is also connected to dark magic of course, it likewise has the Ocean rune on display in particular, hinting at things that haven't yet come to pass, but things that very much will

Why does this matter? Well... when Harrow does show up in Callum's dark magic dream, he is notably chained down

Or, y'know, caged like a bird

Now, this could just be because TDP likes its poignant but hella on the nose symbolism on a regular basis. It likes to use a variety of symbols concerning freedom, with a multitude of metaphors just in this episode alone: navigating a storm and steering a sheep; keys and chains; the key; and verbally, books to go along with the idea of fate and destiny being "written" or being rewritten by yourself. And I'm willing to bet that that's Most of it

But also... the Claudia with the flower, Kpp'Ar with his arm, the cube with the Ocean rune, and all that stuff... alongside how blithering little we know about Star magic at the present. Hopefully "Dreamer's Nightmare," which focuses the princes and a town beset by horrible nightmares pre-series and set to come out early August 2024, could give some answers if S6 hasn't dropped by then

Regardless leads me to my second thing regarding what actually happened in that goddamn kindly bedroom between Harrow and Viren (innuendo half intended)

I think Harrow's soul got split

The main reason this makes sense to me is twofold on a plot level and then there's 1-2 things thematically, but let's talk about the most concrete stuff first

1) There is a significant chunk of time between the last possible chance Viren could've done the spell and when we see the binding actually fall

Now to be fair, there's a delay between Runaan's binding falling off and Rayla's (because story constraints) but it's worth noting that as Runaan makes his way to the balcony, only then does it begin to loosen. He's left the room and (rightly) assumed his job is done probably because he knew he was growing weak and still needed to send the arrow, but it's clearly something that gave Harrow a bit of time to like, Live. If Harrow had fully died earlier than that in some capacity, the bindings would have fallen off ahead of time, so Runaan did something and we know (thanks to the Flowers) that Moonshadow elves can enchant objects tied to souls, not bodies, even if other people can be fooled by their appearances

So although the novelization and the show indicate that Viren did something shady as hell ("If Viren wanted to defy his former friend one last time, he'd have to do it tonight"), it isn't something that could've fully killed Harrow at that time

Hence the split. As Kradogsrats pointed out, the Soulfang serpent spell is something that due to the unique nature of the specimen as well as it's not exactly something you can practice (S4 even emphasizes how specific ingredients have to be sometimes in order for a spell to work correctly as well as multiple TDP short stories showing what can go wrong if you lose concentration) it was something that could've gone so wrong so easily.

Some of his soul had to have stayed in his body (but possibly left Harrow momentarily unconscious). Maybe Viren thought he had failed and killed him, and that would explain why he does nothing in the hallway while the assassins are attacking (he seems to kind of know but not fully get what Runaan's binding means in 1x08), although he does seem to have a hint of reservation about Callum being there in the hallway, which wouldn't make sense if he was sure that Harrow was dead, because then who was gonna give a shit that Callum was there?

Another part of his soul could've gone in the bird, as the Soulfang was in the room and so was Pip (quite prominently displayed). Viren at least attempting the spell and it being partially successful would explain why dream!Harrow imprisons him further (after all, why not let it be Kpp'Ar, who literally got coined?) in addition to Pip. Harrow has Runaan's arrow in him during the imprisonment scene as well, so it seems likely that both Viren and Runaan had an equal hand in ruining Harrow's body on that level

The main reason I can see there being at least a partial piece of Harrow's soul in Pip is well

2) Runaan and Ezran

Even if we disregard the thematic irony of Harrow being trapped in the physical symbol of freedom (a bird), there is the fact that Ezran being able to talk to animals is like... the biggest tell that something is coming around with this goddamn bird.

Like Ezran's ability to talk to animals thus far has not had a lot of plot relevance, okay, outside of season one. Like him with Ava and the spider is the last time it's directly core relevant in ways that would be hard to get around. Like his bond with Zym could exist regardless as well as seeing through his eyes. Even if being able to talk to animals absolutely helped set that up, it's not necessary for Ezran to have the communication ability per se to have what he has with Zym, and thus far even as more animals have been introduced (most notably Stella) it hasn't really come into play.

The main reason to give Ezran an ability like this is so that he can talk to Pip. The main reason to remove Pip from the castle as of S2 is because - even in the original plans where Ezran didn't go home in 2x09, he would still would have off screen after S3 and inevitably run into Pip. So there's clearly something with the bird that will become evident upon him interacting with Ezran, hence why they've been separated.

At the same time, I don't think Harrow can wholly be in the bird just because that removes some of Runaan's teeth (and Ezran's subsequent potential beef with him) in ways the show just... doesn't do? I always think about how easy it would've been for Harrow to have no knowledge of what Viren had done with the egg/Zym until it was already over (which 1x02 kinda indicates) only for 3x06 to go "No, Harrow was fully conscious and complicit, even if he had reservations and it wasn't his idea." Our mistakes indeed. So I don't think it'd make sense to let Runaan completely off the hook, especially when we just spent two seasons giving Viren an atonement arc and showing that he can grow and change (and it'll be Runaan's turn afterwards -- especially because within the narrative of the show, killing Harrow is the Only Tangibly Bad thing he's really done, so if he's absolved of that than he doesn't really have a point of being here to the same degree).

Continent Split in Two

If Harrow's soul was split in two, not only would reconciling that (aka maybe letting it Leave Pip, the way the Moonshadow troupe and Sarai's breath had to be released) be a way for the boys, particularly Ezran, to get another shot at processing their father's death... It would also reflect the divide of Xadia itself because of dark magic, and how that literal rift metaphorically, magically, and literally, is being healed and mended over.

It would also have an interesting parallel of Claudia (presumably whether Viren lives past s5 or not) having to likewise learn to let her father go and cope/grieve in a healthier manner, and it would mean that Harrow never comes back fully formed (because Ezran has to keep being King, narratively / arc wise) but we finally understand what truly happened to him.

#tdp meta #tdp #the dragon prince #king harrow #so here we are again #analysis series #analysis

[teddybeirin]

Hiii! Hello.... 2!! 🧸💕 We're remaking this post because the previous one has slowed down quite a bit, and we're still a ways away from our goal.

TLDR: We're trapped in an abusive household & need help getting myself & our cat safely out of here, into someplace (anyplace) free of violence.

The gofundme for our escape can be found here:

Which has more details (& I am going to update it soon, after some things are taken care of hopefully today) but to add on, the cats (including mine) are still in the line of fire whenever I am not in the room to take the shouting/everything else, currently our family is impeding my access to proper food worse than usual as well, which sucks so goddamn bad :'D (I promise to share pictures of my kitty after we're out of here, & a safe distance away - to where this ask for help being easily identified if it is come across by family wouldn't put me in immediate danger, because she is so cute. You'll just have to take my word for it that she is the cutest little cat in the whole wide world for now 🐈💝)

There's no set date in mind that this needs to be met by, & I'm jumping off into the unknown anyhow with no place lined up as that just isn't possible for me. But things here have continued to worsen and get more intense, as time goes on, so it is my hope that we'll get out of here as soon as possible

With the lack of regular meals and exhaustion from lack of sleep and having to constantly manage family tension and blow-ups and household chores, it's been even more difficult to complete our main work on top of everything, despite being online it's still physically intensive (and not very good for ptsd-brain), but we are still doing our very best to keep up with that as it cannot be dropped. We still have rent to pay to our family as long as we are here.

Aside from donating to the gofundme, other ways that you could help are by commissioning artwork from us (our art-related blog where all the info for that is & will be updated is here, & more options for commission stuffs coming soon!!) or by booking a paid reading if divination strikes your fancy, or of course by reblogging this post, retweeting the tweet companion for this post, or if you feel so inclined sharing the gfm elsewhere, anywhere you like. Everyone is dealing with their own struggles right now, and it's completely okay if you can't spare any moneys to help us out of here, every single bit of help no matter what it is is appreciated.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read & to help us!!! Seeing the gfm move closer to its goal, and reading over the kind words and well-wishes we've received since asking for help like this, has already truly made a huge difference for me. It's been so difficult to hope for better, especially when I was trying to get out of here all on my own, but I feel strengthened by all of your guys' kindness and warmth. I can't thank you all nearly enough for that. 💗

#teddyposting

[cookieswithay]

"The happy feelings club!"

🧡Ichigo x Orihime🧡 Ichihime fic

💝Episode 2: Yasutora Sado! (More like Chad!) Ep. 1🧡

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

• Orihime's pov!

• Beep! Beep! Beep!

• ...Huh?

• I opened my eyes and rubbed them a bit. What time is it?

• Beep! Beep! Beep!

• Better yet...what day is it? I grabbed my phone and pressed the power button.

• "Thursday."

• Thursday...a school day! Ah! I gotta get ready! I (almost) fell out of my bed and scrambled around my room. There's so much to do! Breakfast, clothes, my hair! Oh! And where's my bow!? I can't leave without it, Sora bought for me! And it's so pretty-

• 💭Orihime.

• I stopped in my tracks. My brain was suddenly full of moving pictures from yesterday...that guy. ...Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki. I get to see him again today. I wonder...if he wants to see me too. Did I make a good first impression? Or...was I too much again..?

• My door suddenly opened.

• "Orihime! Are you awake?"

• "I made breakfast alre-"

• Eep! I jumped and covered my chest.

• "Sora! I'm getting dressed!"

• "Leave!"

• My brother covered his eyes and shut the door. That...was scary and a close one. I should really lock my door more often. Or ask Sora to knock more. But, he usually does-

• 💭Meow.

• Oh yeah, the kitty! I hope Mr. Shunshi found it a good home. Or maybe it's living at his house.

• Wait...

• The guy who saved the kitty...

• He was really tall and reminded me of that one cupcake I ate.

• ...

• I wonder who he is.

              🧡🏵🌼🍊(Intro song)🧃☄🧩🧸🧡

• "Morning, Orihime!"

• "Morning, Mrs. Suzuki!"

• Everyone always is so nice in the mornings. The street rules are followed. The dogs are lively. And the birds actually let me take pictures of them! Hopefully, I have enough memory in my camera this time.

• "Orihime!"

• I turned around. It was Tatsuki! I waved back.

• "Hiiii!"

• She caught up to me and pinched my cheek. And that really hurt!

• "Why didn't you wait for me?"

• "I told you I was gonna be late."

• Oh yeah. She did, didn't she? I blinked back tears.

• "I was waiting! But then, I saw a pigeon and I followed it!"

• Tatsuki sighed and let me go. I rubbed my cheek. ...Was that bad? She pushed her hair back. She always does that.

• "Oh well."

• "I caught up to you now."

• She slung her arm over my shoulders.

• "Now show me that pigeon you took a picture of."

• Oh yeah! The pigeon!

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• This desk is making my face really cold, but it's better than interacting with my class. Haha, they think I'm sick. (And, trouble. Cause my hair) Although, I'm sure I can't keep up this flimsy facade, at least it'll hold me for awhile. Maybe I'll even trick Keigo and Muzuiro. ...Probably just Keigo.

• Wait a second...

• I can hear myself breathe. Why's it so quiet all of a sudden. I raised my head.

• Hey...

• "Is this class 2-B?"

• (I had to guess the class, the internet was useless!)

• It's that guy again. The one who saved the cat the other day. He goes here? Everyone looked too scared to say anything, so I stood up. Losers.

• "Yeah, you got the right place."

• He looked at me.

• "Thank you."

• He said. Everyone freaked even more when he fully walked in. A few one 'em looked like they might even pass out. And this guy is completely oblivious. I "coughed" and pointed to the empty seat next to me. I hope this guy gets the hint. He strikes me as someone's who slow on the uptake- Oh, nevermind. He's coming.

• ...Goddamn, he's tall. The moment this guy sat down, I was...intimidated? No, not intimidated...overwhelmed. He's HUGE. His hair covers his eyes and he's tan. He's probably not from here. And if I get crap for just my hair, this guy probably has loads of problems.

• ...

• Do I wanna be friends with this guy-?

• "Ichigo!"

• I looked through the door. It's Orihime! Kensei won't be back for a hot second... Maybe I can just say hi. (Keigo said it too, but I drowned him out.)

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• I tried not to laugh as Ichigo "walked" towards me.

• (He tripped over someone's backpack and his friend was tugging on him🤭)

• He eventually got out of the classroom and leaned on the door.

• "Good morning, Orihime."

• I smiled and bowed down. All my hair falling with it.

• "Good morning, Ichigo."

• He cleared his throat and looked off. ...Do I have breakfast on my face?

• "Do you want something or are you just saying hi?"

• That's...a good question. I...don't have a reason. I just spotted his orange tuft of hair and spoke to him before I could even think about it.

• So, I shrugged. And that made Ichigo laugh.

• "Ah-em."

• Oh yeah...Tatsuki's still here. How embarrassing.

• "Since when do you two know each other?"

• Wait, Tatsuki's knows Ichigo? Since when? Did she always know him or did they become pals here?

• "I'm the new member of the 'happy feelings club'."

• Oh, he's gonna explain.

• "I'm sure Orihime told you all about the cat situation."

• Tatsuki sighed.

• "She sure did. She called me the moment she got home."

• As they talked, I looked through the window of class 2-B. Huh? Most of the girls in this class are the ones that say they'll come to the HP club, but don't. ...It's the kitty saver again!

• That gives me an idea..!

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• "Ichigo, be more careful, you moron."

• Tatsuki sighed, crossing her arms.

• "You would've died, if Orihime didn't come along."

• "I know."

• I already got the 'be safe' careful speech from Yuzu yesterday. (Mr. Shunsui gave my old man a call about what happened.)

• "Ichigo! Ichigo!"

• I looked down. Orihime's on my arm. She's making the "lean down" motion too. So I did.

• "Can you do me a favor?"

• She "whispered." I nodded.

• "Sure, what is it?"

• She looked back at my classroom.

• "Can you ask him to join our club?"

• Huh? I looked up.

• "Who?"

• The ginger pointed at the new guy who's sitting next to me now. Mm...that might be tough. Not only did I only say 2 words to 'im, I don't know if we can trust him yet. He seems quiet, but I've been duped before.

• "Are you sure?"

• Orihime nodded.

• "He's a good person, I sure of it.

• Okay...um...

• "I'll have a answer for you after school, okay?"

• She smiled. Whew, it's okay.

• "Well, the bell's gonna ring soon so..."

• Orihime let go of my arm and stood next to Tatsuki again.

• "Bye, Ichigo. I'll see you later!"

• I chuckled and waved. Tatsuki nodded to me too. I watched them off, thinking.

• ...

• How the hell am I convince that guy to join the happy feelings club!?

🧡

• Sometime later...

🧡

• Chad's POV!

• I think Ichigo wants to be friends with me. (I saw his name on his folder earlier.) All day, he's been asking questions and just staring. I don't mind, I guess. I think he might be doing it for his girlfriend though. I saw them chatting in the hallway earlier. And right now, Ichigo's following me. Or is he grabbing the volley balls too?

• ...

• This is getting awkward.

• "Uh, Ichigo."

• He looked up.

• "Do you need something?"

• He looked away. ...I thought so.

• "Y'know, you don't have to hang around me out of pity."

• "I have friends that don't go to this school."

• I hope I didn't come of as rude but... This isn't the first time this has happened. I just want to end it before he does.

• ...

• I don't hear anymore footsteps. Guess I got my point across.

• "Hey."

• I turned around.

• "I'm not talking to you out of pity."

• ...

• "I genuinely want to be your friend."

• He walked past me and grabbed a ball.

• "Whether you want to be friends with me is your choice."

• "But just know,"

• Ichigo held the ball up to me.

• "I'm choosing you to be on my team for the game."

• I didn't say anything, but I nodded. I'm...I'm okay with this.

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• "Alright, Orihime! You're up to bat!"

• Tatsuki shouted. We girls have baseball for p.e. today! West girls against East girls! (Our school is split into two. It has a interesting reason but, I can't remember.)

• I gripped the bat tightly. Loly's pitching. If I don't hit the ball at the right time, it'll hit my breast! Or my throat, or stomach, or somewhere else painful. But, me and Tatsuki have been practicing. I'll...be okay.

• "You got this Orihime!"

• (Chizuru cheered.)

• "Good luck!"

• (Michina)

• "Hit the winning point!"

• (Machana)

• My friends are cheering me on. I can't miss the ball now. I took a breath and stared in Loly's pink eyes.

• I can do this.

• The ball flew.

• I swung.

• And..!

• "Oof!"

• A volleyball hit me in the face instead? I fell one my butt, a little dazed.

• "Orihime!"

• Is my nose bleeding? Or is that...it's probably blood. Someone pulled me up to my feet.

• "Who the hell did that!?"

• "I'll give the most painful and slow death ever!"

• It was Tatsuki. (And the other bit was Chizuru.)

• I was leaned against her shoulder. My nose doesn't hurt anymore. So, I should probably save whoever's facing Tatsuki's wrath. I stood up straight.

• "Tatsuki, it's okay. I'm fine-"

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• Shit!

• I moved Tatsuki out of the way. And stretched forward. I won't forgive myself if Orihime falls!

• I missed her by a second.

• Dammit!

• Whoosh!

• I saw Chad's hand grab hers.

• (So, I named the guy cause I don't know what's on his birth certificate. Sue me.)

• "Sorry about the ball."

• He said, oddly calm. He always is, but this was a serious adrenaline rush. My chest actually hurts. Orihime looked down. I nearly saw spirals in her eyes.

• "I'm...a-okay!"

• Whew, at least she sounds okay. Hold on-

• "Whoa, you're nose is bleeding."

• Like ALOT. Damn, how hard did I spike the ball? (...Really hard. Ikaku kept taunting me.)

• She stood up and wiped her nose.

• "Ah. No, Orihime. You'll get blood on your arm."

• I said, using my own shirt to wipe nose.

• "What's going on over here?"

• Dammit, it's Coach Zaraki. All the girls (except Tatsuki) hid behind Chad. I swallowed hard. Guess I'll explain.

• "We, uh, accidentally hit Inoue here with our volleyball."

• "So, we're just apologizing."

• Zaraki narrowed his eyes at me and then looked at Orihime. And he cupped her face with one hand. I flinched. That's not hurting her, is it?

• "Hmm..."

• The blood trickled on his hand.

• "You're fine, child. Just get some napkins and get back to baseball when you're done."

• "Got it?"

• Orihime nodded. And he turned around. FINALLY, he's leaving-

• I felt a big hand on my shoulder. Dammit, I spoke too soon!

• "You can go with her, but in exchange,"

• "You're coming to the ring tomorrow."

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• Uhh...Ichigo looks scared! Is Coach Zaraki telling him something scary!?

• I felt a tap.

• I looked back. The cupcake guy wanted something. Oh, and he has a tissue. I took it and blew.

• "You're Orihime, right?"

• I nodded. I am but...how does he know? We just met now.

• "I saw your flyer and Ichigo brought you up."

• He did?

• "Was it nice things?"

• I did NOT mean to say that outloud.

• "Uh-huh."

• No details. Okay then...

• "Ichigo told me you need new members."

• "Do I have to bring something to the table?"

• I gasped and almost cheered! But, I covered my mouth and took a deep breath.

• "Just bring anything that makes you happy."

• He remained quiet and nodded. I think I saw a little smile though! (And a brown eye too!) He picked up the ball and walked away.

• ...

• Aw, bean sprouts! I forgot to ask his name! Ichigo popped back up next time me.

• "Okay, I grabbed a hell ton of napkins and-"

• "Oh, you already got one."

• He looked around.

• "Chad went back?"

• I nodded. (That's his name?)

• We walked to the fence and I used a few more napkins.

• "Did...he say anything to you?"

• I smiled.

• "Yeah! I think we got a new member of the club!"

• "High five!"

• Ichigo chuckled and put his hand on mine. (It wasn't hard like a normal high five though.)

• I sighed. A new friend and a new member.

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•○°

• "Bye, Orihime. See you tomorrow."

• "Bye, Michina!"

• I gotta round up my things quickly. Sora's picking me up today. And I have to babysit Nel. Plus, I'm getting really really hungry, since I lost my lunch earlier. I picked up my satchel and zipped out if my classroom.

• (Not before leaving my finished assignment on Mr. Jushiro's desk. And a candy bar too. Can't let his blood sugar go down.)

• "Excuse me!"

• I dashed through the hallway. Once I get in the car, I'll test Tatsuki that I'm getting home safely-

• Once again, I slammed into something. But, this time it was a back. A tall-ish one.

• "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful!"

• I saw GLASSES next me. Oh my goodness, I bump them hard!

• The person (turns out a boy) picked up the glasses and put them back on. Huh? He has band aids on his fingers.

• "Be more careful next time."

• And he walked away. Hm. I stood up and dusted my skirt off. Sora's probably waiting-

• Hold on a sec. I bent down.

• It was a keychain. With a beautiful little doll on it. I looked at the bustling hallway. Was this the glasses boy's doll?

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

(Tag list time: @elyonholic, @o0o0thorn0o0o, @ichihimelover1503, @ichinoue, @takibikaen, @usoppsstar)

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

This accidentally longer than the first episode, but I hope everyone enjoyed this! And the intro music. I...wish I fleshed this episode out more, but I have good plans for the next episode! So please, stay tuned and warm😎)

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

#bleach #happy feelings club #episode 2 #second episode #ichigo kurosaki #orihime inoue #chad yasutora #school #ichigo x orihime #ichihime #part 2 #feeling weird #hopefully this spreads #i hope you like it #have a happy new year #stay cool #big announcement

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 S03E20 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place previous episode - table of contents

It's kinda wild how much b5 is exactly to my tastes. Take this (and many other!) episode titles for example. Pretentious? Maybe. Poetic? Certainly. Full of allusion? Definitely. Makes me get shivers? Absolutely.  They even give me things to complain about. I'm well settled into complaining loudly about Londo bullshit.

Last episode's beverage (for data point purposes) was straight tequila with pepsi chaser. The hangover was vile and I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep for three hours. Today's beverage - Bitterroot Brewing Co "Dirt Church" ipa. It's alright for an IPA.

"Z MINUS 14 DAYS"

I see we've moved several letters on from "t."

Yeah!! It's another Susan Ivanova personal log episode. The telepaths they've recruited are being dispersed. Sheridan is tired, and Franklin is still pacing the halls. 

All the telepaths are being accompanied by a single Narn bodyguard. Fingers crossed for some of those bodyguards to start developing some telepathy of their own after spending a long time in close quarters with a telepath!!

Londo thinks it's time to "take care of" G'Kar?? FUCK OFF.  He wants G'Kar tricked back to Narn and executed. Thanks to the previous flashbacks, I am well aware that this plot won't play out with G'Kar's actual death. But I still want to strangle Londo. Can I isekai into B5 just long enough to goddamn murder that man?? 

Religious Theo of the religious group whatevever is being highlighted this episode. In theory I appreciate how diverse B5 is, religiously speaking. In practice....ehhh. At least when it comes to people quoting the KJV and referring to "the lord" every other sentence. 

Sheridan does look rough. And there's Delenn!!! Pretty in pink. 

"[Ivanova] said you were carrying on cranky. I looked up cranky, it said grouchy. I looked up grouchy, it said crochetly. No wonder you have such an eccentric culture. None of your words have their own meaning!" 

LOL!! Delenn is so cute. Also, very seriously, I apologize to every person who needs to learn English as an adult. It's a mess. 

Once I saw a gif of Delenn propping herself up on a elbow in bed with Sheridan and I have been FERAL to see that scene ever since. Maybe today will be the episode? Delenn climbs in bed with Sheridan to make him sleep??

Na'Toth might be alive. Or her name might simply be a trap for G'Kar. I don't think Londo's plan is going to work out. If he didn't go back to Narn for literally every other Narnuan, I'm not sure he'd go back for his aide who is probably dead. Also I 100% have more faith in Vir than this. Idk where he got them, but he has a surprisingly well-developed set of morals and empathy. 

Vir: "I won't. I won't go. I won't do it."

VIR BABY. Just say you'll do it, then go and collude and G'Kar. Londo is unhinged, threatening to have Vir's family stripped naked and whipped through the streets of Centaur's capital. What a fuck. He ought to be directing his energies towards getting back Lord Whatshisface who killed Adira on behalf of the Shadows. Refa. The show reminds me in a timely manner. 

Speaking of Refa, he's giving very desperate vibes. Trying too hard to suck up, and that puts blood in the water for the sharks to scent!!

Well. Hopefully even if Vir gives into Londo's threat and tries to trick G'Kar, his obvious nerves give away that something's wrong. 

Back to Londo and the Centauri court shenanigans. Londo is, undeniably, good at putting on the type of political front that works well on Centaur. 

Susan's blowout is so good every day I have to assume it's part of the high-tech auto-dryer when you step out of the shower...or something. Because there's no way that SUSAN IVANOVA is spending twenty minutes every day achieving the most ideal blowout that has ever been hair-dried into existence. 

OK I like the religious cabal a bit better now that I know they're smuggling up-to-date information about Earth politics into Bably 5. 

GODDANG IT. G'Kar is trying to sneak back onto Narn. Well. At least I know he lives to die another day. 

Vir, I am disappointed in. 

Centaur attack on Vir!! He lives to become Emperor another day as well. Stakes drop considerably when you know certain characters' ultimate fates. 

You know who I'd love to see again? AUNT PROPHETESS! Majel!! 

Lord Refa's eyebrows deserve their own acting credit. 

oooh, Centauri telepathy attack!! 

Poor Vir. If only he had been able to keep his position on Minbar. He looked less stressed-out when he was spending most of his time surrounded by a tranquil environment. 

The Baptist pastor is hanging out with Sheridan, who is struggling to relax enough to fall asleep while also doing paperwork. Maybe. don't do paperwork while getting ready for bed. Which the pastor is also bringing up, more delicately than I would. 

the Pastor: DELEGATE IDIOT.

OK he can stay. He is speaking common sense. 

"When youre worry tank gets full people stop coming to you, because they don't want to add to it." 

Smart. "figure out how to relax or your people will stop reading you in in an attempt to protect you." 

"Z MINUS 13 DAYS"

Zha'ha'dum minus 13 days?? 

G'Kar made it to Narn. There's climate change from the orbital bombardment. Constant wind, particulate coming down from the upper atmosphere, poor air quality. And I doubt they had recovered from the previous Centauri occupation, and possibly not even the Shadows' occupation before that! 

Emperor Cartagia is going to be traveling to B5: that seems like a significant security risk! Maybe he'll get nerfed and we'll see the glorious ascension on Emperor Londo. 

Refa's plot is to capture G'Kar instead of letting Londo do it. Fingers crossed for neither of them getting that glory. 

Delenn says there's no pattern to the Shadows' attacks. The lack of pattern is probably the point - all over the place and unpredictable so the united forces are spread as thin and widely as possible. And the tactical data sorta supports that! They haven't attacked anything in the center of the sector, so refugees are going there. And Sheridan is picking this up now, too. They could nail all the refugees at once. 

"I think this is as much about terror as it is about territory." 

Yeah. 

Hm, Delenn is horrified by Sheridan saying he needs to think like them to beat them. Unless she has a really compelling argument against it, I'm going to have to disagree. How can you counter a tactic unless you understand it? 

Londo just knocked out a Centauri guard with a punch to rescue Vir. He gets no points from me, because he put Vir in that position. 

Unfortunately G'Kar won't get to kill Londo for quite a few years, but maybe he and the resistance will get to kill Refa and his goon squad instead. 

Damn it, Londo was two steps ahead of Refa this whole time. f.ucking annoying. Well. all Centauri warmongering genocidal politics are annoying. Refa being personally in charge of the bombardment of Narn is backfiring on his right now. 

Oh so this means that Vir was an unwitting stooge in the plot all along, and that's extra scummy, considering it resulted in Vir being mindraped and made to believe he'd just given up his mentor and employer. Very very cutthroat politics. No wonder Londo didn't name the embarassment he was planning to remove on behalf of the emperor to prove House Mollari's value. 

Baptist Pastor brought a gospel singer along with him, lol. That's very on brand. And super fucking amusing juxtaposition between her music and Refa being pursued and killed. "There's no hiding place down here." Refa being beaten to death. 

Buuuut as much as I dislike Londo, I am a fan of the person responsible for untold suffering and death getting a tiny fraction of that delivered back to them. So...annoyingly... *sigh* go Londo...

It's so fucking funny that Londo had the ability to slip refa the other half of the two-part poison all along but instead he had him beaten to death for political purposes. 

Vir is angry, but probably not enough to make him break from Londo entirely. 

Delenn has a surprise for Sheridan - "the White Star was never intended to be one of a kind, only the first..." and now there's a whole fleet. 

Hm. As far as first kisses on screen go, that one was pretty dated. I'm happy for them, but the "smear your face against the other person's face" is a style I'm glad has mostly gone away. It doesn't look very pleasant, hahah. 

Mrs Sheridan, I presume?

#woodsfae b5 #g'kar #londo mollari

[artiststarme]

All dead, all dead

Well, I had a rough day so I'm taking it out on Steve again. My apologies. I decided to title it after my favorite Queen song because I think it’s fitting. I hope you like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

I should warn you before reading it, you might need some tissues.

~*~*~*~

They’d lost. Steve stood in shock with Nancy and Robin as the clock chimed for the fourth time and knew deep in his heart that Max was gone. They felt the heat in the Upside Down as the world started to tear apart and could do nothing but run to the nearest gate, which happened to be the road where Fred died, and bust through as the portal continued to burn. 

“We have to get to the trailer park to pick up Dustin and Eddie,” Nancy said resolutely, the first thing anyone had said since hearing the damning chime. 

Oh fuck, Dustin! Steve immediately took off in a sprint. How could he forget his favorite kid, his little brother, his best friend besides Robin? He’d been so in shock about the probability of losing Max that he’d neglected to think about Dustin and Eddie in the trailer. Hopefully, they’d done their job well and were able to climb through the gate before it expanded, catching everything on fire in its way. Steve could see the split of the earth racing alongside him like a cut that wouldn’t stop bleeding. 

He didn’t let that stop him though, he kept running until he couldn’t any more. He body slammed the door of Eddie’s trailer while screaming for them to open it. “Dustin! Munson! Open the door, it's Steve! We have to go! Guys!”

When his shoulder caught the door just the right way and opened, he didn’t see Dustin or Eddie. They weren’t in the trailer which meant they were still stuck in the Upside Down. 

“Dustin! No, man, this wasn’t the goddamn plan! Dustin!” He screamed, trying to find a way to get back through the gate. The sheet was torn in half and the small kitchen table had a broken leg. “Fuck!”

“Steve?” He nearly gave himself whiplash with how quickly he cranked his head to look at the ceiling. 

“Dustin! Where’s Eddie? We gotta go, this place is about to go up in fucking flames.” 

“He didn’t make it. I tried to bring him home but I’m not strong enough, Steve.” Tears continued to drip from his reddened eyes. Steve was sympathetic, of course he was, he liked the dude. But they had to fucking move, now. 

“Henderson, I’m sorry but we can’t worry about that right now. The gates are spreading, you have to get out now. Stand on Eddie’s table and jump, I’ll catch you,” Steve promised him. 

Still crying silently, Dustin moved to fulfill Steve’s instructions. He dragged the Upside Down table to right underneath the gate and moved carefully to stand on top of it, favoring one leg significantly. Steve could see the flames of the expanding gates shining, moving ever closer, through the windows of the Rightside Up and Upside Down trailers. 

“It’s now or never man, let’s go. Jump Dustin!” The flames from the split earth were nearly on top of them now but he had to get out.

“But-” Dustin started but Steve cut him off.

“No Dustin, jump!”

Dustin didn’t question him again and he jumped through the gate. What neither one of them realized though was how close the blaze was. As Dustin jumped halfway through the gate, the entire ceiling of the trailer burst into flames in a ball of fiery fury. Steve was sent sprawling to the ground with the force of the quake. When he looked up to the ceiling where the chasm was growing rapidly, he saw the gate turn into fire and engulf Dustin. His face contorted in pain and he screamed a wail of anguish before he was ripped in half and eaten by fire. 

No. No, Dustin. Steve screamed as he saw what used to be Dustin turn into a cremated shell of soot. He screamed as he lost his little brother to the world that took away their childhoods and shattered their illusion of safety all those years ago. He screamed in grief as he realized it was his fault and if he’d moved just a little bit faster, maybe Dustin would still be alive and in his arms right this second. 

He had screamed his throat raw by the time the girls had caught up to him. They were both panting and Nancy pulled him out of the burning trailer in an act of desperate strength. He would never forgive her for making him live after seeing his brother burn. 

Her and Robin held him down just a few feet from what used to be Eddie’s home. He kept struggling to get back inside but they wouldn’t let him, pinning his limbs and whispering muttered reassurances that would never mean shit. 

The other residents of the trailer park ambled their ways outside, peering at the reddening sky and watching fractures open up throughout the park and town. Some of them looked at Steve in pity, watching as he grieved the one person that had believed in him from day one, the kid that gave him a family when he didn’t have one, and stuck by him even though Steve knew he was difficult to love. He wouldn’t recover from this, he couldn’t.

Steve’s grief overtook him and the raw pain that he was experiencing was enough for even the universe to have mercy on him. 

His mental break was strong enough to fracture time itself. Time rewinds and unravels.  The world goes black and when his eyes reopen, Steve is laying in his bed, all alone in his big house again. He goes back to a day when he still had a little brother, Max was still a bitchy little kid, and Eddie Munson had no knowledge of what the Upside Down was. And Steve makes a vow that he will not be going through that pain ever again. He was going to save them all.

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#oof I'm sorry #Grab the Kleenex again! #should this one have a part 2 or should I leave it? #Dustin sees Steve the same day he wakes up and is really confused when Steve starts crying on him and apologizing nonsensically #He goes to Eddie's trailer and when he opens the door Steve randomly kisses him and leaves #He's never been more confused in his life and hunts him down at Scoops for answers but only gets more questions #stranger things #steddie #steddie ish #fanfic #steve harrington #dustin henderson #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #max mayfield #eddie munson

[rainydaywhump]

Reed - Lost Passage

...and by 'lost,' I mean 'I wrote this and lost it somewhere in my files, so I just skipped ahead in the story and left out a ton of whumpy things that I've only just now found again.'

So, yeah. Takes place after this passage. For the TL;DR context, Reed has been rescued by Cervine, but he doesn't quite trust her yet. He tried to turn the knife she gave him on himself, paranoid about being interrogated again, and she tackled/restrained him so that she could re-treat the wounds he reopened in the process. This passage takes place shortly after Reed wakes up, still restrained but thinking a little more clearly.

Enjoy!

Themes and CWs: male whumpee, female caretaker, medieval-ish setting, references to past torture/interrogation, exhausted whumpee, restrained whumpee for their own good at first, both of these badasses need a hug and some goddamn coffee

“Are you in pain? Are you having breathing difficulties? Can you hear me?”

If his chest wasn't tight and his lungs weren't constricted from waking up for a second time in an enclosed space, Cervine's rapid-fire words would've been the thing to wind him. All of the above, Reed thought, but he didn’t have the motivation nor energy to explain himself on each point.

“Closed spaces. C--Cave,” he said tightly. “Can’t – can’t breathe.”

Cervine paused for a moment, and the familiar sensation of shame washed over the injured agent. He didn’t like to let people know that he was claustrophobic, he was a goddamn spy, after all – wasn’t he supposed to be tougher than this? The irony that he questioned himself after surviving two weeks of interrogation was not lost on him.

But instead of ridiculing him, Cervine said, “Okay. I was going to take off those restraints after we had a talk, but –”

Reed’s muscles went stiff.

“Not that kind of talk. I'm not the enemy, remember? Stay with me, Reed, stay with me.”

He blinked, and suddenly her hand was enveloped around his bound one, and she was saying words that he couldn’t understand through the haze that suddenly fogged his senses, but he knew enough not to protest. Reed worked to get all of his frozen muscles under control and made a sound that hopefully sounded like agreement.

“— you understand? I’m going to take your restraints off now, but they’ll go back on if you try to hurt yourself.” The other agent's voice cut back into his hearing.

Cervine waited for him to nod – it was all he could do now; he didn’t feel fully capable of speech now – before she continued, freeing him from the soft cuffs around his ankles first, then from the restraints around his thighs – rope, but cushioned with spare cloth, he realized; finally, she undid his wrist cuffs. She checked each spot thoroughly for signs of blood constriction. Reed stayed silent.

She helped him sit up, methodically and patiently having him acclimate to the elevation before giving him some water and moving on to the next step: standing. Reed’s bruised, scarred legs could barely hold him, but he had to try –

“Easy there."

She had caught him mid-fall, smoothly slipping his arm over her shoulder and supporting half his weight while they shuffled forward, the light from the outside a beacon that Reed doggedly focused on. The exit was sizable; he and Cervine passed through it with little effort. The cave was more like two massive chunks of granite slanted together than an actual water-carved route, he thought distantly. Most of him was still focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Cervine could have just carried him; it would have been easier for her, he thought. But he liked the feeling of autonomy, as little as it was.

She sat him on the grass and went back in the cave to fetch two blankets – one for him to rest on and the other to cover him – as well as an oilskin bag from her larger pack. For his part, Reed kept himself quiet and docile and malleable.

The fresh air and mostly-open sky calmed his breathing and almost made him feel safe.

He wondered if the other agent would let him see the sky at night, too. He wanted to see the stars again. The last time he’d seen them, he had wondered if they would be one of his last.

Don’t discount that, he told himself. You don’t know if you can trust her, remember?

“I’m sorry I don’t have any clothes for you yet,” Cervine said, breaking him out of his thoughts. While he was consumed by his thoughts, she had taken out several bundles from the bag and was busily arranging them on a bare patch of ground nearby. “I have one extra change of a tunic and trousers, but I had to wash them in the stream yesterday.” A stream, Reed noted distractedly. So that was where she was getting her fresh water from. “They got a little bloody from…ah, never mind. They’re drying now.” She gestured to the side of one of the moss-covered boulders. Reed only saw them after a few moments of searching. They were mottled green, brown, and gray, and they blended in perfectly.

Reed found himself listing to the side. He tried to fight it, but he quickly relented and forced himself to lie down properly so that he wouldn’t just crumple to the ground later.

He was acutely aware of how helpless he really was, yes, but he was fairly used to that at this point. He had to be; it had been a waste of effort to struggle against his captors before, to act as if he really stood a chance. But what bothered him here was just how unclear his new captor’s – rescuer’s? – intentions were. She hadn’t given him any reason to distrust her, really, but Reed, after two weeks of merciless torture and humiliation and manipulation, couldn’t bring himself to trust.

Two objectives. That’s it. Gods, he was exhausted. Warmth from the sun and the blanket permeated his starved and broken body. His eyes closed on their own accord, though he was determined to stay alert.

“Reed, are you awake?” he heard Cervine mutter somewhere far, far away, and so it almost jolted him awake when he felt her hand test the temperature of his forehead. After that it brushed his hair back from his forehead. “This is unprofessional of me,” her voice came, floaty, but her cool hand remained clear and present on his skin for another few seconds before she drew it away. “He’ll be alright. He will.”

Her words sounded nothing like the calm, logical tone they’d held since he had first heard them. She sounded almost desperate, and there was a level of care there that almost convinced Reed that she really just wanted to help him, that she wasn’t just lulling him into a false sense of security for the enemy.

He drifted among hazy nothings for what could have been seconds or an hour; Reed couldn’t tell. As usual, time was lost on him.

And that was when the nightmares started.

...

Taglist: @i-eat-worlds @pigeonwhumps @den-of-whump @generic-whumperz @turn-the-tables-on-them Thanks for reading, everyone!

#whump #whump writing #whumpee #whump rescue #male whumpee #multiple whumpers #whump recovery #exhausted whumpee #spy whump #military whump #medieval whump #hurt comfort

[thatiranianphantom]

No, but it really is going to be okay, a rambly Nancy Drew/Nace meta

I'm just closing my eyes and picturing this:

I feel like you can sum up my thoughts on 412 as this:

But should you be in the mood for a brain dump (hopefully a reassuring one?), click that cut, my friend.

Okay, let's get some disclaimers out of the way to begin with.

I only read the subtitles, and watched certain parts, didn't see the entire episode. So there could very well be nuance here that I am missing.

I, too, am frustrated with how this season has shook out. Being disappointed that they are literally leaving things to the finale is valid. I would never have done the season like this given the chance. And being let down by that is okay! Goddamn, there was a lot of lobster boy in this season, and they, as of now, inexplicably expected the viewers to be emotionally invested in him?

I could end up being the world's biggest clown, and be 100% wrong on everything, or again, there is nuance here I didn't see or consider, leading to me being wrong. I am accepting that as a real possibility.

HOWEVER,

Here is what (to my understanding) the show would like me to believe:

Due to something maybe involving the pickled curse, Ace had to choose to save Captain Thom or the captain Alice, and he saved Thom but couldn't save Alice. Captain Thom and Ace are alive and do not remember, and yet Alice is still dead.

Ace was riddled with guilt and called Nancy, who on her own, erased this, mooting the conversation we saw in 408. This only erased the memory of the sin, not the sin itself. Nancy didn't undo the sin, she just erased the memory. We know this, because Alice is still dead.

Ace and Nancy are no different in 408 than they were in 409, the only thing that changed is the events of the night of 408, which they do not remember, thus it wouldn't have altered their behaviour.

George, Nick, Bess and all of the crew were unaffected, memories and behaviour wise, by anything that happened. There is nothing supernatural coming between Ace and Bess, nothing that is making Nick push Nancy towards Tristan, nothing that is making Bess and George particularly close.

The Nancy of 409-411, the one who referred to Ace as a "relationship" and her "ex", is no different from the Nancy of before 408, who was pining hard over Ace. Again, the only thing that changed, neither of them remembered.

Ace and Nancy are cold and bitter to each other in a way they've never been in 4 seasons. He didn't want her at the Seder, so much to the point that Bess panics when she shows up, despite inviting both her dads and her dad's girlfriend. And yet that relationship, which, again, is portrayed quite differently in 409-411 than before, is enough for Nancy to abandon the entirety of her morals and belief system to save and protect Ace. Instantly.

Nancy and Ace have some memory of being something to each other, enough for them to acknowledge them both not having moved on, but the actual interactions they are referring to are and have been extremely vague since 409.

Ace, the person who knows Nancy better than anyone, is attached enough to a ghost that he will yell at Nancy repeatedly and ask her why she has to solve something. A ghost he met what was canonically probably no more than a few days ago.

Tristan, who has been in 5 episodes, and the ghost, who has been in 3, are just as significant as love interests as the 4-season buildup to Nace.

George is moving away from Horseshoe Bay, and completely supports Nick's relationship with Jade (this one may be real, but my Fanson heart doesn't want it to be).

Very little from early on in the season connects to later in the season in a significant way.

The connection Nancy and Tristan have (a relationship 5 episodes in the making) is stronger than the connection she feels to Ace (a relationship 4 seasons in the making).

Look. LOOK. Look.

Maybe some of this is true. Maybe indeed, Nancy and Ace have truly just moved on, they are different people, they are interested in different people. Maybe platanchors can't platanchor forever, and they truly did intend to do away with 4 seasons of character development (How very HIMYM of them).

But in Nancy Drew, a show that nearly always lays out its mysteries with explicit, agonizing detail, and centers itself around the fundamental concept of love being the most powerful thing in the world, capable of spanning time and space, that is a lot to ask me to swallow at face value. All of this together makes very little sense, given what we've seen, not only in the past season but the past year.

And these are a few things that I find, at best, extremely fishy about the whole affair.

Why hasn't Nace or anyone mentioned the curse since 407? Nick is pushing Nancy to Tristan despite having a despondent Ace grieving over Nancy at his doorstep two episodes ago?

How am I expected to buy that between 408 and 409, Nancy and Ace just up and moved on, decided they were nothing to each other, and jumped right in with their whole asses to their love interests, if the sin that was erased only changed the events of one night, which until now, neither remember (and Ace still doesn't). The fights also really seemed to show that what they remember and what we, the audience, saw, is fundamentally different.

The mystery seems so lackluster. I don't know how to explain it except that the writing on the mystery seems so lazy in a way it never has before, unless there was a twist that upends the entire thing that they've been laying hints for this entire time. I believe we still don't know what started the fire in the first place. We know that in order for the Sin Eater to erase a sin, you have to pay a toll. What if the toll was Nancy and Ace forgetting what they were and Nancy being bound to the Sin Eater? That would explain both the forgetting and the connection with Tristan. We still don't know what Chief Lovett and Nashua's connections are. Via Kennedy, we still don't know Tristan's full importance.

The ND writers are very well aware of what the fandom wants. They are extremely interactive with the fandom. The writers are still talking to the fandom. I just have so much trouble envisioning a scenario where they essentially say "lol just kidding on that nace thing, enjoy the chronicles of nancy and lobster boy" in the penultimate episode, unless there is a twist we weren't expecting that brings the whole thing back to Nace.

Openly admitting this is thinner and more subjective, but I feel like Kennedy has been about as reassuring as she is allowed to be, the writers have been tweeting things like "there is nothing to be afraid of", and this episode has been described as setting the bases for 413's home run (or something to that effect, I don't sportsball).

It almost seems like they want us to take this at face value, to set it up for the Nace twist at the end. ND loves its ending twists.

And all of this (so close to shutting up I promise) brings me to the 413 description.

Few things here. While it is possible that Nancy figuring out the sin she erased was the "most shocking discovery yet" I have some...pretty severe doubts. And if it wasn't, we haven't gotten to that revelation yet. And we know based on this description that this revelation has something to do with Ace. Again, it is possible that this is Nancy finding out about her sin, but it almost feels like that's been dealt with in 412? Are they going to...rehash it again in 413? I doubt it. This lends a lot of credence to my theory that there is a twist yet to be had. One that will bring us epically back around to Nace.

Now, could I be wrong about all of this? Maybe. I haven't seen the finale, I am but a clown on the internet. And again it is valid to be disappointed in the way the show has chosen to approach this. I do think there is a conversation to be had about the somewhat aggressive way we consume media, especially when given access to artists via social media, but that is an entirely separate conversation. But do I think Nace is over and done for good and we should just give up now? All I can say is

#Nancy Drew Spoilers #Nancy Drew CW #Nace #Nancy Drew

[vellichxrr6782]

— dancing with our hands tied.

character[s] — diluc ragnvindr.  theme & genre — sort of enemies to lovers? ballroom dancing/waltz, fatui harbinger! reader. cw/tw — grumpy diluc, flirty reader word count — 1916 words. a/n — i realised i suck at writing enemies to lovers so ill stick to angst and major character death after this <3 title is from dancing w our hands tied by taylor loml

"i'm surprised, master diluc, you're quite peaceful from what i've seen. my comrades make you out to be an absolute devil." you commented, "it's such an honour to be in your presence."

"oh, trust me, if people weren't watching right now, i would break all the bones in your body."

"how very charming of you, master diluc."

diluc had no clue how a goddamn fatui harbinger snuck into his banquet. he was holding a party for the winery's opening anniversary, and all concerned people were invited.

everyone, except, of course, fatui. so how you, the 12th harbinger invited themselves gleefully to the party, was enough to piss diluc off.

of course, this wasn't his first time meeting you. he'd met you when he was a bit younger, a few months after his father's death. diluc was clearing out a fatui camp near dragonspine, and much to his surprise, a fatui harbinger was actually leading the group.

so the harbingers actually worked? what a shocker. you and him quarrelled a little, and even fought. diluc had fought many fatuus, and you were not as strong as your other harbinger colleagues, but you were still a formidable opponent. if he was to be completely honest with himself, he didn't hate your company, but he didn't like it either. still, diluc left it at that, and thought it was your last meeting with him.

if he knew you would show up to his banquet after years, dressed in fancy clothes, in stark contrast to your usual battlewear, and walking up to him to dance? he wouldn't have believed it.

he was holding a party for the winery's opening anniversary, and all concerned people were invited.

everyone, except, of course, fatui. so how you, the 12th harbinger invited themselves gleefully to the party, was enough to piss diluc off.

he'd heard wind of how a harbinger was in mondstadt, who came to sort something out with the goth grand hotel. the knights were wary, all aware of the fatui's antics, but still indebted to them due to the incident with ursa the drake.

diluc, however, didn't give a shit. indebted or not, he didn't care. you were a harbinger, and therefore his enemy. and even if diluc decided to be fair and give you a chance (which wouldn't happen, hopefully), you were making it really difficult for diluc to not find you intolerable.

you wrapped your arms around his neck, a wry smile spreading across your face as you observed the distaste on his. your feet moved with his in sync, although you had to admit, you were struggling a little to catch up to him. "master diluc, slow down a little," you chuckled, annoyance obvious in your tone.

"stop calling me that, it sounds more like an insult rather than a respectful title from your lips." diluc frowned, furrowing his brows in vexation.

"i'm afraid i don't know what you're talking about, master diluc." you replied in an innocent tone, and diluc rolled his eyes in response.

his grip on your waist tightened as he gently spun you around the ballroom, his calm, calculated movements turning into fierce and annoyed stomps of his feet.

"my, you seem to be irritated. whatever's the matter?" you raised a brow, smirking. diluc swore he felt his blood boil. you internally winced at his hand tightening against yours, but didn't let it show.

"i'm sure you're well aware, l/n. drop the innocent act before i drop-kick you."

gods, you would've actually been scared right now if it wasn't for two things. one, you're a harbinger. it's pretty normal for you to get threats like this, so you get used to it. two, diluc looks like a grumpy kitten. you couldn't possibly take that seriously. he'd changed since you'd last seen him all those years back. he was a young boy, driven by his fury and emotions. now he was much more dignified, but still had the same temper, it seemed.

whispers of 'my, master diluc and that mysterious person look so cute together!' echoed through the room, and diluc swore he'd never wanted to commit murder more in his entire life.

"well, it seems we can't start fighting here, now can we?" you grinned, "so just follow my lead, and let it be. i'm not your enemy in this moment."

"then what am i supposed to treat you as?" diluc grit his teeth, but he knew you were right. he couldn't cause an uproar here, not when everyone was watching.

you leaned in close, your lips brushing past diluc's neck gently, your breath warm as you whispered.

"treat me like a lover, ragnvindr."

the violins sung an intense tune, the rhythm of people moving around grew faster. the trombone blew an elegant symphony, fitting the graceful atmosphere.

the cold look in diluc's eyes softened, as he sighed. his movements filled with anger slowly melted into a graceful dance alongside the melody of the orchestra.

his fingers interlocked in yours, arms wrapped around your waist. "you think this is a game, don't you, l/n?" diluc smirked, his voice firm as it sent shivers down your spin, and your eyes widened in surprise at his sudden change in demeanour. "let's play, then."

the music sped up, the chatter of people drowned as the spotlight focused only on you and him. it was all that mattered. your breaths were in sync with his, hair flowing in the wind as diluc spun you across the ballroom floor. the maestro flicked his baton from one group to another, tapping of feet on the marble floors of the manor resounding in the air.

moonlight flowed into the room, illuminating the floor with a shade of silver. your heart was racing, being so close to someone your colleagues deemed an enemy. but to you, he wasn't an enemy.

diluc was so close to your face, you could see each soft feature of his, glowing under the warmth of the lights. his lips were beautifully soft, untouched by anyone else, and it only made them more desirable. his gaze burned like a passionate fire, and even though it made adrenaline rush through your veins, you wished it would last forever.

god. diluc hated this feeling. was it because it was unfamiliar, or because it was wrong? then again, what was he supposed to do? it was impossible to ignore and irresistable to the point where diluc didn't care. screw the consequences, he thought, hesitating.

why would you have come to the party, and chosen to dance with only diluc, if you didn't want something from him? maybe if you and him were in different situations, where you weren't someone he'd deemed an enemy, in a world where you were just a normal person, would he have felt differently about you? would he have embraced whatever warmth from you that he was denying?

he hated the way you made him feel. confused, conflicted, and angry. it was as if something was telling him not to cross his lines, but what was he to do when you'd been crossing them for him?

in this close proximity, all eyes on you both as you danced across the ballroom, he was sure everyone thought you both had something going on between each other.

how was he supposed to hate you? well, till then, he'd just hate the way you made him feel.

you laughed shakily, "hah, you're surprisingly good at dancing.." a blush covered your cheeks as you realised you should stop complimenting him.

"you're not too bad yourself." diluc replied, closing his eyes momentarily as he stepped towards his right, then left. "you look breathless, though. something on your mind?"

you quickly replied no, perhaps too quickly, and you looked away. all that cockiness and attitude of yours melted away, much to diluc's joy. you were now a little embarrassed, considering he was actually pretty good at dancing and your heart was fluttering from how close he was to you.

and for the finale, diluc gently bent you down, his chest so close to yours where you could hear every beat of his heart, and let it imprint in the deepest parts of your mind.

the orchestra stopped all of a sudden, and so did you and diluc. the people applauded, and resumed their chattering.

you breathed in and out heavily, looking down at the ground. diluc composed himself quickly, his hands still placed on your waist, as if he couldn't let go. his lips were almost touching yours, and you swore diluc's gaze flickered to them for a mere second, as if he were thinking about doing something, but couldn't.

"well, that was... something." you muttered, a deep blush tinting your cheeks.

what would your comrades say when they found out, you had danced with the devil? well, it didn't really matter to you anyway. the harbingers did betrayal best. you were simply following whatever unspoken code of conduct they had set for you.

"now, where's that smug smirk of yours?" diluc had a soft smile on his face as if he'd won. "anything else you want to say?"

"didn't think you could be such a romantic, diluc." you grinned, "are you sure your display of affection was just a bluff, or are you truly in love with me?" you joked, not expecting a serious response from him.

"and if i said i wasn't bluffing?" diluc adjusted his gloves, raising his brows, "what if i am truly in love with you?"

"i...um, what?" you gaped, eyes widening like saucers. "you're not serious, right?"

diluc held back a laugh, "you should've seen your expression in the mirror."

you massaged your forehead, "haha, very funny. i'm sure you can think of better jokes, diluc. i believe in you."

"what an honour to have you believe in me." he crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes in satisfaction. "it'll take a lot more than a dance to get me to even consider you a friend."

"my, and if i'm thinking about completely skipping over the friendship stage and straight to lovers?" you tilted your head, and diluc simply shrugged.

"you'd be delusional then."

"hah, was that a fatui pun?" "a what?" "never mind."

"well, if you'll excuse me, i have other guests to attend to." diluc bowed slightly. "you may ask adelinde to escort you straight out the door."

diluc wouldn't be lying if he said something was stopping him from leaving. still, he didn't want to let his newfound emotions get the better of his rationality.

"what a shame, i really wanted to take up more of your time." you frowned, raising your voice so he could hear you, "must you leave your beloved so soon?"

diluc didn't respond, instead choosing to look daggers at you. he whispered after a few seconds, "people will think we're lovers, l/n. please mind the way you speak."

oh, so he didn't want people to think you both were lovers, huh? well, after that passionate dance, you didn't think anyone had a doubt. but seemingly, they still were clueless.

well, wouldn't it be good to clear things up for them?

you approached him, taking off his glove from his right hand. diluc froze, "just what are you doing, y/n-?!"

you closed your eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. a furious blush rose to his cheeks, eyes widening. you smirked while looking up at him, your voice low.

"till we meet again, diluc ragnvindr."

published on; 21st september, 2022 writing belongs to @/vellichxrr6782 on tumblr.

#[🔖 vellichxrr writes ] #diluc #diluc ragnvindr #diluc x reader #genshin impact diluc #diluc ragnivindr x reader #diluc x you #diluc genshin impact #diluc genshin x reader #diluc x y/n #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin x you

[goodbyeapathy8]

Had another divorce hearing this morning (at this point, 3+ years into the damn process, I've had close to 20 hearings… which is just… yeah.)

The good ish news is, the ex didn't show up again. It's good because every time he does show up, I inevitably have nightmares after seeing his ugly (and abusive) mug. The bad news is, it's a cruel form of hope because it makes me think he won't show up the next time and then he does.

Today was my first time self representing and it gave me a ton of anxiety the past few days. Well, that and the whole fundraising efforts for April rent and bills. I haven't gotten much sleep, maybe a couple hours here and there.

It was a trial setting conference, basically a hearing to decide if the parties are ready or not for moving forward and it's the only reason I was even semi okay with self rep. I now need to work on finding a pro bono lawyer that's gonna help with the last (hopefully) bit of this cursed divorce… I'm not looking forward to that process because I have very little hope I'll find someone good. Not with the luck I've had.

However, it's a different judge than the one that was seemingly empathetic to the ex. It's also the one who will be making the final decision, which is set for September 6th. I have until mid August to file the last papers so there's still a few months of pro bono lawyer searching… Blegh.

The worst part about today was having to listen to other cases (as you do for these goddamn hearings). There was one that triggered me deeply and it made me angry that that person was verbal vomiting and being selfish. I know more than anyone else how frustrating it is but I also think it's selfish to subject other people to your traumas because YOU need to be heard, over what the judge was saying as well (that this is not the time and place).

So yeah. I'll be decompressing the rest of the day and doing nothing because, as usual, it was stupidly stressful.

Last but not least, thanks a ton to everyone for sharing the mutual aid post as well as friends who have sent funds. I appreciate y'all greatly and it's helping me hang on to what little sanity I have left.

Also! Another way you can help (but it's a bit slow as TikTok does payouts on the 15th) - I made a mutual aid video that you can watch and help bring in views.

Login (if you have an account) and watch the video below for at least 5 seconds

You can rewatch the video and it'll count as a new view!

Better yet, just have the video muted and let it autoloop

Best practice : watch video all the way thru at least once, leave a long comment on the vid, save it, repost it on TikTok

(I'm part of the creator's fund and videos that go viral can bring in some cash. It's not a whole lot but it's a super easy way to help out that doesn't require sharing).

Mutual aid TikTok video here.

Also, please please do NOT spam like my other TikToks as that means my videos don't make it to the feed.

(What is spam liking? Clicking "like" for over 5+ videos in a row. It downgrades the account as suspicious, which means it lowers the priority of my videos and basically stops putting them on the FYP. Saving the video to your favorites doesn't cause harm tho, from what I understand.)

#Divorce #phoenix personal post #mutual aid #ao3 author #tiktok

[neoyi]

Sooooooo, obvious Pizza Tower spoilers for the final boss and stuff.

I finished Pizza Tower the other day. The game was already plenty good using anxiety and anger as a vehicle for Peppino's motivation and the situation he's been placed in. It's not just his animation, where left idle, he will nervously gesture (teeth-clattering, biting his hand, etc.); it's also the music which draws the line between smooth techno backdrops to FRANTIC FRANTIC FRANTIC, the fact that everything is literally out to get him, and the brilliant escape sequences per level that forces Peppino to haul ass or he'll DIE.

Normally, I can't stand games where you're forced to escape with a timer, but Pizza Tower feels so appropriate because it's suppose to be anxious and heart-pounding. It also helps that the game has such tight, well-defined controls. Peppino is fast, so you get a sense of speed that helps defy the clock when you're on the move, but he can also stop on a dime, so you never feel hindered from what could be a costly mistake if Peppino was a bit more loose. Not to mention the timer is often generous. Once I got a groove on the game's control schemes, the time you had to get the heck out felt marginal enough while juuuuuust a tad left over that it still left you feeling wrecked, but never frustrating.

All of this is a great, great tool to teach you for the upcoming final boss and oh my god, OH MY GOD, so rarely do I feel anything could get me pumped up as Pizza Tower does with Pizzaface.

The whole ass fight is a great demonstration of what happens when you push a man to his limits. We've seen Peppino mad, but never has he been filled with SO MUCH WRATH until now. By the time Pizzaface (quickly revealed to be Pizzahead) started bringing in the other bosses for a rush, it felt so justified when Peppino started SCREAMING with rage. He's had it, this is the fucking straw. This motherfucker and his minions had fucked with him for the

LAST. GODDAMN. TIME.

I tend to dread boss rushes (it depends), but Pizza Tower knows it. It knows because Peppino was also dreading it. No, none of this bullshit. No more. He's DONE. Other than each of the main four being truncated to a manageable level, Peppino straight up BEATS THE CRAP OUT OF THEM when he physically contacts them. FUCK THIS SHIT, FUCK EVERYTHING, he's probably thinking.

Then he proceeds to CREAM the fuck out of Pizzahead.

Pizzahead, who had the audacity to mess with his restaurant; Pizzahead, who sent wave after wave of enemies to stop this pissed off Italian; Pizzahead, who dares to put on a smile and pull off silly little pranks and other misfits during the boss fight because he's NOT taking Peppino seriously, a mistake he's paid for with several broken (cheese???) bones.

And a lot of this wouldn't have worked if the music didn't go hard. But they went hard. I'm gonna upload a Youtube link where someone compiled all three songs into one, because it just feels like the kind you have to listen to back-to-back.

This is like right up there with Final Fantasy VI's final bosses, where it had four major phases, each with their own songs, but you had to listen to all sixteen minutes of it because it just wouldn't feel right otherwise.

"Unexpectancy" is in the same boat.

The guitar riff, the rise in tension, the goddamn sampling of an old 1920s public domain song, "After You Get What You Want, You Don't Want It" by Van & Schenck (which seem appropriate given the lyrics talk about someone who can never be satisfied even after getting everything they want) - the whole ass thing is so. Damn. EPIC. And after the final fight, you have to get the hell out of the tower before it crumbles. Not just one level's worth, but the WHOLE ASS tower. Everything you've learned and hopefully mastered by this point will be tested as Peppino dashes like Sonic on drugs.

And it's so cool because you can pick up both your friends and the bosses (who, I guess, learned their lesson or something) to get the hell out (I guess the pig citizens are dead now cuz' they don't count.)

Like by the time you're outta there, you feel an IMMENSE sense of relief and satisfaction. Peppino won. YOU won. He can rest now and save his restaurant from debt (and maybe take his amlodipine while he's at it.)

Maybe because I'm so prone to anxiety myself, Pizza Tower - this silly little game - somehow ended up being not only relatable, but absolutely CATHARTIC.

It left me feeling so good by the time I finished. That a man like Peppino, where everything feels like it's out to get him (which, fair, they are), still decided that he's not going to put up with this bullshit, so he goes out and FIGHTS.

I don't think I have the strength to get all P-ranks in this game, but I'm so glad I played Pizza Tower. It was an incredibly fun, satisfying, validating experience.

#pizza tower #neoyi talks

[cuethediscoandthedrinks]

Maybe some headcanons about early days of dating Jim Hopper? 👉👈 or maybe general dating... 🌺

nice idea!

i'm giving full warning that i went off and it got monster long and random but enjoy lovelies <3

dating headcanons + chief jim hopper~

🧡he's not a huge fan of overt pda, so straight off the bat the relationship would be lowkey

🧡if you were in the early stages, maybe some shared flirty looks and a hand to the mid of your back would be the go-to moves. not enough to draw obvious attention, but enough to let you know he's there, yk?

🧡although if you were more serious, some brushing up behind you; cuddling w your head in his arms; maybe some lil not so secret makeouts at work would be his jam too

🧡i think depending on who you were/how you met, the dates would range too. coworker? mostly some back and forth flirting on the job; some sarcastic phrases, a couple of "well.. we'll see 'bout that sweetie", and many an "i told you so.. goddamn it"s.

🧡ofc he'd only love it more when you retorted with an equally sassy remark, but a small blush and "pfft" would be enough to keep him satisfied with the chill dating atmos tbh

🧡likely nicknames too. 'sugar', 'doll' are usually the common day-to-day ones, but also an occasional sarcastic 'sweetie' when he's caught u out about something, or is trying to win an argument would happen too

🧡if you happened to meet in a different context, without a preexisting relationship, i'd imagine some more formal 'date' dates,

🧡maybe a classic dinner and a movie, bc he's been out of the dating game for a while, and references back to like lowkey 70s dating almost solely the cutepie

🧡could also be an event; maybe an annual hawkins celebration of some kind, or maybe a holiday like halloween. something that's like a "well, i've gotta go anyway, so idgaf if you do or don't but like, i'm down if u are, but i also don't care, but pls go i love u" kind of vibe;

🧡he's ultimately a little insecure about putting his heart on the line, so honestly, i think he'd dig if you took charge and let him know what you'd like to do too

🧡as long as he can spend time with you, and you're comfortable enough to open up to him (and him you, which is relatively easy, bc his personality changes for legit no one), he's pretty content with any kind of date although hopefully something with less physical exertion, and more eating and shitting on things that piss him off lmao

🧡once you're past the more formal dating zone, there's likely a lot of car drives into the country, listening to his favourite tunes; he'd love to share music taste with you, and would ofc be up for a big debate over who reigns supreme in the soft!rock and jazz genres

🧡lots of stopping for ice cream, maybe some strolls or sitting at park benches when he's got days off;

🧡a lot of him taking charge if walking in the forest too, bc he wants to be 'manly' and forge a path w his big man boots. also swatting away flies w his hat bc he's the size of a literal giant and it's not only you who digs his enormous stature, ur now also competing w the wildlife

🧡if not, then usually on rainy days in, a date would consist of laying on the couch, watching a couple movies and cuddling together but don't tell anyone bc he needs to be big scary cop man grr grr

🧡depending on his comfort level with you, he'd either be lowkey chatty, or more quiet and introspective. the occasional reminiscing of old memories, maybe sharing an anecdote or two, but not a lot of wordy convos much of the time

🧡if he's feeling extra social, he may just flip the convo on you and ask you a bunch of questions, being a surprisingly good, intent and caring listener when he's feeling more lowkey.

🧡and ofc, he'd love nothing more than to see you get angry abt something and help you shit on it like crazy, just getting it all out and vibing with that emotional catharsis, bc the one emotion he does do well expressing is anger lmao

🧡i see him as more of a doer than a thinker; like, he doesn't dig getting bogged down in his past trauma with anyone else tbh. maybe late 2am chats when he can't sleep, and feels extra vulnerable you could get some deeply personal, nostalgic energy, but other than that he'd rather say nothing that say something all heavy and emotional

🧡bc of this, during dating and his relationship, i think he's express those internal sentiments w a lot of projecting his issues onto observations about others tbh;

🧡likely via people watching, ranting about others, and ofc movies too. "well, of course she cheated on him. he's barely home, and would rather work all day.", "yeah, i call bullshit on that", "no, i don't buy that for a second.", "yeah..NO"-type phrases, yk?

is also a pretty big fan of reality tv and survivalist movies/tv shows, but u didn't hear that from me.

🧡a lot of talking him down and lowkey deescalating when ur watching movies or talking about the news; bc he'll either give up and get pissed before listening to the end of your story, or he'll get riled up and go on a mini-hop!rant; i.e. that's why your convos are usually about doing things as opposed to exploring ideas and hypotheticals, lmao

🧡i feel like despite being the one to broach the dating situ, he'd be a little more wary of going right in feeling-wise

🧡he likes you, sure, but he's not about to dump his whole heart and soul into a relationship that could end in heartbreak, but deep down, he's a big ole' teddybear y'all we know this don't lie

🧡although if he did end up trusting you and wanting to take things further, he'd eventually just come out and say it

🧡i don't think he's one for keeping everything pent up, and keeping secrets. if he has something to say, he'll legit just say it

🧡he's a big flower guy too i think. although he does this cool hop!man thing, where he buys flower types not based on what he assumes you'll like, but, like, just what he likes. he lowkey sees it like buying anything else, except for you

🧡so..toilet paper, he's getting the soft obv; beer, he's buying his fave brand bc ofc ??; likewise, flowers, he's getting pansies or some yellow shit bc yellow is his fave colour, so you probably like it too, right ??

🧡like, he just works in that steam-roll kind of way, where he doesn't overthink things. there are like 2-3 max steps to any action in his life. any more, and he's legit not doing it, or smushing it right back into 2-3 steps

🧡once you've been dating for a while, it becomes apparent that he's not a dating guy though. he's not for going all around town, serial dating or meeting a bunch of different people. he's not casting a wide net, like at all

🧡he settles quick into the relationship part of dating. stopping off at his house w groceries is like a normal thing for him. cooking him a meal, and bringing some to his work is kind of a given after a while

(highkey he loves packed lunchboxes; like, a little note w a smiley face, some apple slices and a sandwich cut into triangles is his JAM fight me bc he's a big softie and i now choose this as canon)

🧡same with just meeting after work, or school or whatever, and just going to his or your place. 'date' dates soon fall out of fashion, bc i think he sees it as more of a courting thing than a long-term vibe

🧡just chilling and feeling at ease with each other is more his thing tbh. he likes you, so he dgaf where you two go, as long as you're both happy and chill.

🧡like i said, and maybe it's a little too boring for some, but legit going back to his place, lying on the couch or in bed, eating, fucking and sleeping is probs an ideal end/beginning of the day for him,

🧡doesn't have to be more complicated than that

🧡he's had to deal with nuance to hell w his past relationships, and his work gets arduous trying to figure out the mysteries of demogorgons and a bald and american millie bobby brown

🧡he's just here to date u and chill, he needs some good beer, a cuddly partner and a day off and he's a happy camper ngl

hope u enjoyed lovelies! i dug this prompt omgbrcat, thanks for requesting. :)

also, feel like requesting too? here's the link, i'd love to hear it!

#stranger things x reader #stranger things #hopper x reader #hopper x you #hopper fluff #stranger things fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #jim hopper fluff #jim hopper x reader #stranger things headcanons #stranger things drabbles #chief jim hopper x reader #cuethediscoandthedrinks #cuethedisco #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fluff

[andguesswhat]

Diary of a mall Santa Claus

Tumblr ate my post... :( I hope this works....

20

Rehearsal Day

*

Armie rolls around in his bed, he did not sleep well. The conversation he had with Timmy still haunts his mind. "I'll be back. Soon. In January. I promise you that." "And then?" He had shrugged. "I don't know, we'll see." "I don't want that." "You don't want what?" "`We'll see...' I'd like to be with you. Like, really." "But so do I." "And what would that be, then? A long-distance relationship?" And Armie felt sick to his stomach. How could it be that he had been so happy just a moment ago and now none of that was going to be possible? "But there's nothing keeping me in Los Angeles. And I love New York." He took a deep breath, his heart pounding. "I can move here." But the hoped-for smile in Timmy's smile failed to materialize. Instead, Timmy looked down at the floor and said softly, "I don't want you to move to New York because of me." "Why not?" Armie would have preferred to withdraw the question immediately, so afraid was he of the answer. "Because..." Timmy looked at him. "Because we've only known each other for just three weeks. I don't want you to move here because of me and then realize I'm not who you want to be with after all... All this pressure…!" Armie would have liked to tell Timmy that he didn't have to worry about that. That he was pretty sure he wanted to be with him very much, and was also pretty sure that wouldn't change anytime soon. But he understood Timmy's objection. After all, it could just as easily go the other way. Timmy realizing that Armie wasn't who he thought he was. Timmy was right, such an action would only add unnecessary pressure. So Armie kept silent. But he took Timmy's hand in his and slowly ran his thumb over every inch. Over those elegant fingers, the fine bones, the soft spot at the wrist.... There had to be a way out. He stroked Timmy's cheek, ran his index finger along the jawbone.... Gently ran his thumb over Timmy's lips.

If he had his way, he would never want to give Timmy away again. "And if I get a job here, can I move to New York then? Please?" Timmy looked at him attentively, laughed softly and finally smiled at him quite hopefully. "Maybe."

Maybe.

So Armie just needs a goddamn job. His cell phone beeps. A message from Timmy. “Can you do a British accent?” Armie speaks a high-brow message into his cell phone in his best British accent, ending with "Why?" His phone beeps again. A link to an audition tomorrow. A small production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" on Off Broadway. The thought is sweet, but also plenty crazy. He hardly has any experience on stage!

Armie has to smile anyway about Timmy's adorableness. It beeps again. “I'll ask Luca if he's free for us tonight.” Luca is an Italian lecturer at the university, of whom Timmy thinks very highly.

Armie sighs.

He can't disappoint Timmy now, can he? * In his acting class, he takes the precaution of practicing everything he does in a British accent, earning a few strange looks, which makes him doubt the whole idea even more. He'd better make sure he gets a job as a dishwasher. But Timmy's enthusiasm is unstoppable. When Armie shows up in the locker room in the afternoon, Timmy greets him exuberantly, his eyes light up, "We can go to Luca's after the shift!“ and then he is already kissing him, and it's so light and playful, like everything is already settled.

And Armie can't bring himself to tell him the truth. He has to at least try. For his sake. After their shift, they meet with Luca in a small rehearsal room and after 20 minutes it's already clear that this is going to be a long night but one that Armie never wants to miss. The creativity that suddenly unfolds in that room as they three talk about the play, the roles (John or Algernon) and Oscar Wilde is something Armie has never experienced before. It's so exciting and enriching. His acting class is quite nice but really complete bullshit in contrast to this. Here he is supported and challenged, and an "I don't know" is not allowed. By both of them. And it feels amazing. "Leeave ze bullshit aside, Armie! You knoow zeese peeople, don't youu? You knoow how rrich peeople are, rright?" Luca says and Armie is already so much in love with Luca, Timmy and this whole situation. Completely exhausted, he falls into bed late at night. With a happy and hopeful smile on his face that everything is going to be alright. *

#Charmie #Charmie advent calendar #day 20