#i hate how it's just totally fallen out of favour now

[lackadaisycal-art]

What's your literature hot take?

Mine is that head-hopping is not inherently sloppy or lazy, and that the modern expectation to always have every chapter (or whole book) from one specific character's POV limits the potential for certain kinds of comedy, suspense and other narrative nuances

#like yeah sometimes it's accidental and sloppy and rubbish #but so many classics use this voice so brilliantly #i hate how it's just totally fallen out of favour now #to the point where i see it listed as something that makes publishers dismiss manuscripts out of hand #literature #books #reading #readblr #bookblr #classical literature #anti intellectualism #it's not i just think people in that tag are people likely to have an opinion on this cndncnsnnffn #and no im not saying it's always better #or that all books should use it #i just think there should be room for it in modern literature #because sometimes it really is better

[sidespart]

The Fall of King Romulus

Summary: Twin Princes Remus and Romulus are cursed at birth with Honesty and Obedience. When Romulus, who cannot disobey any order, is told to kill his brother the next time he lays eyes on him, he changes his name to Roman and runs away. Roman joins up with a misfit group of adventures and plans to never return to his homeland. But the fae have other plans for him...

This was originally a fake fic but I decided to turn it into a real fic because it looked like fun, The fake fic can be read as a prologue. 

Warnings (for whole fic not necessarily individual chapters): Violence, mind whammying/memory altering, curse of obedience related consent issues, references to sex, references to war related injuries/PTSD, references to child abuse/neglect (YMMV on that one but just in case), antagonstic-but-not-exactly villian!Janus, Extremly-moraly-dubious-but-not-exacty-unsympathetic-Remus

Chapter 1 

Previous (prologue)     Next Chapter 2

When Roman had first left home, he had no intention of making friends.

Romulus had never had them, unless you counted Remus in their younger days. Royal life was often one of seclusion and once his… particular problem… had come to light, his parents  took the necessary steps to ensure he was as isolated from others as possible.

This was for his own good. Romulus could not protect himself. Romulus was a liability to the himself and the Kingdom. One slip before a supposed playmate could lead to discovery and disaster. His father explained this to him when Romulus was eleven, and had taken to following the young Marquis de Orenlla around like a love sick puppy when the family visited the palace.

“Suppose that boy notices,” his fathers voice was a hiss, his hand gripping Romulus small shoulder hard enough to bruise “suppose he realises you will do anything he asks, and he asks you for family secrets? Suppose he waits until your are older and orders you to favour his family, to give them position in court, to promote them above their deserved station- or to harm their enemies. Do you understand the risk you’re taking Romulus? Swear to me you will keep to yourself. Please.”

Phrasing, Romulus had come to learn, was extraordinarily important when dealing with his curse. The final ‘please’ from his father had turned the order into a request – something Romulus could technically choose to ignore. But the grip on his shoulder suggested it would not remain his choice for long. So he nodded at his father and swore to keep away and was rewarded with a smile and a hand stroking gently though his hair, before he was dismissed to go and study before his afternoon lessons.

He should have been lonely. But he had his parents and his instructors and his servants. And the occasional, highly orchestrated, public appearance wherein he would adopt a practiced air of aloof politeness, wave and make measured conversation with those who would never dare to give him an order. It could have been worse.

Still, he understood that once he left it would be necessary to speak to many more people then he had up to now. He would need food and shelter and work and direction, none of which he had had to procure for himself before.

So he prepared himself to make conversation with strangers, perhaps acquire acquaintances. He expected to find admirers once he was far South enough that he could perform with his lute without fear of recognition from the crowd. He hoped, perhaps, for some romances, some temporary but dashing companions to join him on adventures. He had read about such things during hours spent locked up in the palace library and told to entertain himself.  

He had not planned on making friends. Traveling with anyone for too long, getting to know them and allowing them to learn about him – it inevitably increased the chance of them discovering his secret. Of exploiting him as his parents had warned against. It was not worth the risk.

And yet.

And yet somehow, he had acquired three.

Virgil and Patton and Logan.

Brave and kind and wise.

Not a drop of aristocratic blood between them but without doubt the most noble companions a man could wish for. When he thought of them, of how they had accepted him into their little band of misfit adventurers, his heart felt more full, his mind more alive and sharp than it had been in years. His blood buzzed with creativity and songs of friendship, love and loyalty sprang from his lips almost unbidden.

Not right now however.

Right now sort of wanted to kill them. Specifically Virgil.

Roman scowled at the surrounding trees “If there are any depressingly dressed half elves out there who want to APPOLOGISE for being JERKS the floor is open!” he called.

The trees remained silent. They had done that the last three times he tried.

Roman left out a dramatic exhale and flopped back on the ground.

The thing was. He knew, intellectually, that this wasn’t Virgil’s fault. Not Intentionally.  

Virgil was prickly. And unpredictable. Last night, Roman had wailed in dismay at the sorry state for a fire the young man was building. Virgil had responded that they would be lucky if there was no fire at all, since that would mean no one would have to be subjected to Romans cooking. Roman had insulted Virgil’s hair. Virgil had made a creative suggestion for where Roman could stick the firewood he was holding.  And back and forth the insults went until between them they had built up the fire and set the stew boiling upon it.

It was banter. Virgil had been giggling the whole time, Patton hadn’t interjected once to tell them to be nicer.

And then this evening they’d gone hunting for firewood together. And Roman had made some sly remark, hoping that Virgil’s fire building skills had improved somewhat overnight.

And Virgil had turned round and snarled at him to “shut UP Princy. I don’t need you to help me – just, just get lost.”

Virgil didn’t know about the curse.

Romans mouth had dropped open in surprise. And before he’s had time to close it, his feet had spun round one hundred and eighty degrees and marched him away from his friend, away from the path, deeper into the heart of the forest.

His feat had carried him on a winding route, over one shallow stream and through an extremely dense thicket of brambles that left Roman desperately hacking away at the thorns in front of him before they could shred him to ribbons. He had eventually stopped after an hour of relentless marching and sprawled at the foot of an impressively knotted oak tree.

Unsurprisingly, his surroundings were totally unfamiliar. The trees grew so thick here it was impossible to see more than twelve feet in any direction. He was well and truly lost.

Roman had spent an unsatisfying few minutes ranting to the trees about elves and their unpredictable mood swings and marching and blisters and curses and Virgil’s still subpar fire lighting skills until eventually he had run out of steam and settled himself down for a good sulk.

Phrasing was important. Virgil had told him to get lost but he hadn’t said to stay lost. And now that he was lost, there was nothing to prevent him being found again.

Patton was an excellent tracker. The idea of sitting around waiting to be rescued stung Roman’s pride, but his feat had already been aching from the days travel before his unintended march. His stomach growled, the smattering of cuts from the brambles burned, and evening was already turning to night. The most sensible thing to do was for Roman to stay where he was and wait to be found.

Assuming they wanted to find him.

Roman bit his lip sharply to try and banish that line of thought. They wouldn’t leave him.

Although, he drew his legs up and wrapped his arms around his knees to fend off the evening chill, There was a strong chance they wouldn’t find him tonight. Patton had looked exhausted when Virgil and Roman and left on their hunt for firewood, in fact he’d been falling behind all day and –

Oh.

Patton and Virgil were born in Krutova and Finaley’ed respectively. Two small neighbouring kingdoms, politically insignificant and famous only for their densely forested landscapes and their intense dedication to wiping each other off the face of the Earth. For the past eighteen years bloody war had raged between the two. Roman had never asked directly, but he was fairly certain that this  conflict was where Patton had acquired his enormous broadsword, his limp and, quite possibly, Virgil.

Neither of them liked forests. They carried extra tension as soon as they stood under the shadows of the trees. In addition to that, the uneven terrain aggravated Patton’s hip, sometimes leaving him hissing between his teeth with every step.

Roman had been walking up front with Logan all day, arguing the merits of modern Raspanzean poetry compared with the old masters. He had thought they had called a halt to the day a little early, but was tired enough himself not to question it. And really, since he and Virgil had been on fire and cooking duty last night it should have fallen to the others today…but Virgil had scampered into the woods as soon as Patton was settled on his bed roll, and Roman had gone chasing after.

Virgil fretted. He fretted after all of them, but Patton most of all. And Roman had chased after him when he was already stressed about his best friend and then started needling him about his fire making skills.

Roman groaned and pressed his face into his knees.

Maybe he was the jerk.

“It sounds like it.”

Roman sighed, hating the whine in his voice as he replied “but he still shouldn’t have taken it out on –“

Romans head snapped up so fast he hit his skull hard against the oak tree behind him. Wincing he twisted his head left and right, but the area remained deserted.

He frowned. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he thought –

“You certainly are over tired little Prince,” Roman made a sound which he refused to think of as a shriek  and scrambled to his feet.

Standing not three feet- two feet – five feet- three feet from him, stood – hovered - sat – stood a figure in – black – yellow- black – shadow – gold - black. He- she – it – he? Laughed sweetly and stepped – slunk – prowled – flew – stepped closer

And drew back abruptly as Roman held up his dagger between them.

Roman’s sword was the best he could buy, made of blended steel with a bronze handle. He cleaned and sharpened it religiously and practiced often. It was beautifully made and perfectly balanced, suitable for a solider but ideal for a traveller in who knew how to use it.

Romans dagger was old and brittle. And more than once Logan had tried to surreptitiously throw it out and convince him to replace it with something usable.

But it was made of pure iron and it kept the scowling fae at bay.

Looking directly at the fae made something in Romans stomach twist. But he kept his eyes at a squint and held the dagger firm between them, even as his arms shook from the effort.

“What do you want from me?” he gritted out

“What do I want?” The fae’s face would not quite settle, the edges shifting and billowing, but when he smiled Roman was certain he saw fangs “You’re the one trespassing in my home, little Prince, I should be asking you”

Suddenly the fae was as close as he could come, his face less than an inch from the daggers edge. Up close, Roman could see two eyes clearly, one black and one pulsating with a sickly yellow light. “Come to make a deal with the devil, Princey?”

Roman squeezed his eyes shut and held himself firm, even as the shaking began to spread over his entire body.

“I am. A. Lost. Traveller.” He gasped out “I. mean. No. disrespect. To you. Or. Your court” for what felt like an eternity the shaking continued, rattling his brain and sending one knee crashing to the floor. And then it stopped.

Hesitantly, Roman cracked one eye open and looked up. The fae had, mercifully, settled its form. It had picked a face identical to Romans own, save for the yellow eye and scales that spread over its left side. A cloak of shadows hid most of its body from view, but when it moved towards Roman now it seemed to slither rather than step.

“You mean no disrespect” it nodded towards the dagger still clutched in Roman’s sweaty hands “but your bring a weapon to my home?”

“it is a shield, my lord, not a sword, despite it’s shape”

The fae harrumphed, a disconcertingly human noise, and circled Roman once. “You’re not from around here.”

“I’m lost, my lord.”

“I know that” The fae stopped in front of Roman again and rolled it’s eyes. “I meant you are not one of the town folk who trespass in my wood so regularly. You know how to speak to me.”

Roman opened his mouth to say ‘in my fathers Kingdom the Fae are welcomed, and representatives of the Saelie court attend each ball and function’ but managed to snap it closed before he made a sound. Rule one for dealing with the Fae, even those considered allies, was not to give them any information that they didn’t already know. “You flatter me my lord” he said instead.

Roman still hadn’t moved from his half kneeling pose and now the fae coiled down so that they were once again face to face. “Most humans in your position” he said, “would have already started begging for a deal to relive them of their…little problems. What’s the matter Princey, curse got your tongue?”

Roman couldn’t help the way his heart rate sped up at the faes words. But he did his best to keep his outward face calm. It was true, the first deliberate order he had received when his curse was discovered was to never talk about it, he couldn’t have brought it up to this fae if he wanted to.

But more than that – the fae who allied themselves with his father’s court had done everything in their power to remove the curses from him and his brother. Nothing had worked. “A gift once given can only be taken back by the gifter” an elder sprite in the guise of a kindly woman had told his mother. “And their gifter is unlikely to return here.”

The gifter was also unlikely to be a snake shaped creature tied to a southern forest. “I want nothing from you my lord, except to be allowed to leave your home” Roman intoned honestly.  He had wondered, for a moment, when the creature had called him Princey – but Virgil and the others often called him by that nickname. If this was a lord of the forest he could have heard them  when they passed by.

The fae stared at him for a long moment. And smiled. “Liar.”

Roman frowned – “what-“

“Roman!”

Roman jerked his head to the side, the shout had come from close by, he was sure. “Pa-Padre?”

A whisper in his ear: “time to go home Roman.” Roman quickly looked back to the fae, but it was gone. On the ground where it had been, lay a single oak leaf dyed a brilliant, autumnal, yellow.

He didn’t need to look up at the oak trees leaves to know they, like every other tree in the forest, were still a vibrant green.

“Roman! Roman are you here?”

Without much conscious thought, he reached forward and snatched up the yellow leaf, burying it deep in his pocket.

“I’M HERE. Patton? Virgil? I’M OVER HERE”

Within minuets all seven foot of Patton was crashing through the tree line and baring down on him, Virgil not far behind.

“Roman, oh my goodness we were so worried! Are you hurt? Can you stand? Why do you have your dagger – did something happen?”

“Princy! Shit are you – are you okay? I am so, - I’m really- We looked EVERYWHERE“

“I’m fine.” Roman promised ‘Its fine’ he added to Virgil, “I just – I figured you needed some space so I tried looking for wood on the other side of camp. Guess I got a little turned around” He allowed Patton to pull him to his feet, giving them both his best sheepish grin. Embarrassed but ready to laugh at himself. He really had got lost. Silly Roman.

It’s not like he could tell them about the curse.

“We’re not the far from camp” Patton told him, he glanced around frowning slightly “I’m sure we searched through here before.”

“I was trying to make my own way back,” Roman lied easily “I probably ended up walking in a circle and missed you.”

It’s not like there was any point telling them about the fae.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine Pat, what about you? How’s your leg?”

“Oh this old thing?” Patton gave them a wide smile “it’s just fine, Ro, don’t you worry. Now I think I know a short cut back, you two follow close to me alright?” and with that the large man spun round and headed into the trees.

Virgil and Roman shared an exasperated glance. The man was clearly in agony.

“Listen, Princy I-“

“I’m sorry too.” Roman cut him off.  Bumped his shoulder against Virgil’s and winked. “Now lets get back to camp before Logan paces a trench in to the ground hm?”

Slowly Virgil nodded, although he was still staring at Roman guiltily. The two of them headed into the trees together, collected Patton from where he was half collapsed against an elm, and the three slowly made their way back to camp.

By the time they were explaining what had happened to Logan, the memory of the fae had faded like mist.

With a days more travel they would be out of the forest and on a path to Steveange. The largest and greatest city of the Central Kingdoms. From there they would have to chose whether to head east, towards the coast line, west to catch the merchant festivals or north, where Roman had always refused to travel.  

Stuck between two pages of Romans notebook, a unseasonably yellowed oak leaf shivered.

Time to go home.

#sanders sides fic #roman sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #but not in this chapter #creativitwins #sidespart writes #TS: Fall of Romulus

[tenthgrove]

SorLato Week- Day 1

(A/N: Unfortunately this may be my only entry for SorLato week, going for the first time NSFW prompt. I tried to write for the other days but never got around to it. I may try to get another prompt done later on in the week but no guarantees. In the meantime, enjoy this total smut)

NSFW 18+

The small French town, somewhere in the vicinity of the Italian Border, does not have much of a night life. It’s population is old and, even at this early time of night, largely asleep.

A notable exception to this rule, is the two young men who roam the empty street of the shopping quarter hand in hand. It should be noted however, that neither of these men are aware that they are in a small French town somewhere in the vicinity of the Italian Border, because neither of them were awake for a majority of the bus journey they picked at random to get here. Well and truly, these young men are lost.

“Sorbet, where the hell are we?” one of them asks, looking up at his companion, whose breath becomes mist in the autumn air.

“To be perfectly honest Gelato I haven’t the faintest clue. Though I will say that the French sound a lot more French-like here than they did where we were this morning, so I gather we were travelling away from the border.”

“Figures,” Gelato responds. He wavers on his feet, though how likely it is he would have fallen over entirely were it not for his boyfriend’s grip is hard to tell. “Sorbet, I’m tired,” he complains.

“I can tell,” Sorbet notes, glancing at his watch. “I suppose it is time we found a place for the night. How about we find a hotel for a change? We certainly have the money for it.”

Gelato clicks his tongue.

“Who knew handing down a beat-down would pay so well?”

“I did, Gelato,” Sorbet smirks. “It was my job for over a year, remember?”

The pair spot the flickering lights of a small, unbranded hotel at the end of the street. They start towards it eagerly.

“Think they’ll want ID?” Gelato asks.

“Probably not. The unbranded ones don’t usually.”

“Fuck yes, an actual bed!” rejoices Gelato. Sorbet squeezes his hand in acknowledgment and smiles.

It is exactly 5 minutes later that the lovers find themselves alone in a rather dire looking reception, sans even the young receptionist, who has gone into the backroom to look for a room to give them.

“I beg your pardon,” she begins, returning to the pair. “But all we have left tonight are couples’ rooms. Would-”

“We don’t mind!” Gelato interrupts her a little too eagerly. She takes a good look at Sorbet, a good look at Gelato, and it seems to click for her. She puts a key on the desk.

“Alright then, 20 euros please.”

“Thanks. We won’t be staying for breakfast,” Sorbet informs her, sliding over the money. “And if anyone calls, we’re not here.”

“Noted, enjoy your stay,” the receptionist says. Gelato waves her goodbye and the couple depart for their rooms.

It is roughly another 10 minutes after that, that Sorbet finds himself sitting alone on the bed as Gelato tries his luck with the shower. This is followed, quite predictively, with the sound of screaming.

“There’s no hot water!” Gelato screeches. Sorbet chuckles lightly.

“I did warn you this was hardly a 5 star hotel, darling.”

“Sorbet I’m cold!” Gelato whines.

“Then come back to me darling. Let me warm you up.”

Gelato wastes no time in hurrying back out the bathroom, clad in nothing but his underwear, and throwing himself at his boyfriend.

“My poor darling,” Sorbet tuts, rubbing his arm soothingly. He presses a kiss to his Sorbet’s temple and laughs, teasingly.

“You’re so mean to me,” Gelato complains. Sorbet isn’t fooled. He sees the blond’s little smile.

“Oh, I’m downright evil, aren’t I?”

Gelato’s eyes suddenly go a bit wide. He perks up, settling his hands on Sorbet’s shoulders as he straddles his lap.

“Sorbet, you evil, malicious thing? When are you going to have sex with me?” he asks.

Sorbet coughs.

“Sex?”

“I’m just wondering, is all. This isn’t the first time you’ve held me like this, and to be perfectly honest it kind of makes me sad it never goes anywhere,” Gelato teases, touching his nose against Sorbet’s.

“I suppose the opportunity never presented itself, did it?” Sorbet comments. He’s trying to play it calmly, but Gelato can see how flustered he is. “D-does this turn you on?”

“Maybe. Is this an opportunity?”

Sorbet looks at the man in his arms. The beautiful, gorgeous creature he’s crossed a country with for the last month and a half, whose life he would lay his own down for in a heartbeat. He looks at the soft, blemished skin, the bare chest he’s touched so many times but never done more with, the messy, curled hair he strokes whenever his anxieties hit him. Sorbet comes to a decision.

“I don’t see why it can’t be.”

Gelato makes a little noise of excitement and dives in, pressing merciless kisses all over Sorbet’s lips. Sorbet does his best to keep up, but deep down he knows he doesn’t stand a chance. Not when his boyfriend is this eager to claim him.

“Fuck, you’re eager aren’t you?”

“How can I not be?” Gelato giggles. He pulls back with an air-headed smile. “So,” he begins. “What do we actually do?”

“We follow our instincts, I suppose,” Sorbet answers him, giving his hips a little squeeze.

“Yeah, okay. But you do actually know what to do, right?” Gelato checks.

“I know what I’ve heard, I’ll say that much.”

Gelato looks at him with shock.

“But- I’m not your first boyfriend right? There were others?”

“There were, but I never slept with any of them,” Sorbet admits. “I felt too… vulnerable, with them.”

“Oh,” Gelato enunciates. “So if you haven’t done if before, and I haven’t done it before… how do we figure this out?” he asks.

“Well, as I said before, I suppose we just go with what our instincts tell us,” Sorbet suggests, pecking him reassuringly on the nose. As Gelato watches, he unbuttons his shirt and slips it off, leaning in again to kiss him once more. His hand drifts to the inner part of Gelato’s thigh. “How about I start with touching you? Down here, I mean?”

“That would be fine by me,” Gelato answers breathlessly.

Sorbet slips a hand past the elastic of Gelato’s underwear and paws gently at what he finds. Taking hold, he begins to stroke it gently.

Gelato’s sex drive didn’t suddenly jump into existence when he met Sorbet. He’s touched himself before and liked it, but that doesn’t change the fact it feels so much sweeter when Sorbet does it for him. Already, he’s biting back the urge to moan.

“Does it feel good?” Sorbet checks.

“Mm. Can I- return the favour?”

“By all means.”

Gelato eagerly fumbles with Sorbet’s zipper and undoes his pants and underwear. Sorbet isn’t quite, hard yet, but he’s getting there. Regardless, Gelato thinks he can help him along. He takes hold of the thick shaft and strokes it roughly. He knows this isn’t exactly a competition, but he wants to win regardless.

“Fuck, just like that,” Sorbet praises him. “That’s just perfect.”

“My brain is telling me to put it in my mouth, should I do it?”

“If you want to, go ahead,” Sorbet permits. “Just watch your teeth and don’t push yourself, or you will retch.”

“I know what to do,” Gelato tuts, getting down on his elbows. “You wouldn’t believe some of the shit you overhear working in a bar.”

“Is that so?” Sorbet smirks. “Well, by all means enjoy yourself then.”

Gelato wastes no time. He sticks the tip into his mouth and starts to lick roughly, closing his lips around the first couple inches off the shaft as he uses his hands to keep the rest occupied. He mildly regrets that this position doesn’t allow Sorbet to get him off as well, but he’s too turned on by his current activities to care for the time being. Gelato swallows about another inch, so that the tip presses against the upper far edge of his mouth. He isn’t quite brave enough to push it any further, but Sorbet seems happy enough, so he’ll settle for this.

Gelato licks and sucks at Sorbet’s cock until his tongue starts to go numb. He starts to wonder how much longer this is meant to last, until Sorbet places a hand on his cheek to stop him.

“I don’t imagine you’d enjoy it very much if I shot down your throat just yet, so how about we save that for another time?”

Gelato pulls himself off, gulping strongly to try and return some feeling of normalcy to his mouth.

“Yeah that’s probably for the best,” Gelato agrees. “So what next? We fuck for real?”

“I suppose so. Would you rather top of bottom?” Sorbet offers him.

“Do what now?”

“Fuck or get fucked.”

“Uhh, get fucked. Having you inside me sounds hot as hell,” Gelato decides.

“Alright, I’m good with that. I’d think I’d prefer to top, so it works well,” Sorbet accepts. He pauses. He suddenly curses as though having realised something. “We don’t have lube. We can’t have sex without lube.”

“Sure we can!” Gelato insists.

“Gel, you will bleed, and you will cry, and you will hate me. We aren’t having sex without lube.”

“Fine,” Gelato concedes. “I’ll see what’s in the bathroom.”

Gelato disappears into the side room and Sorbet hears the sound of rummaging. Something makes him pause.

"Holy fuck I found some!"

"Really?" Sorbet asks.

"Yeah, there's a bottle in the bin, they must have forgotten to change it. There's still some inside!" Gelato affirms. Sorbet chuckles.

"I would normally be concerned about the hygienic implications of that, but fortunately for you I am very horny. We'll give it a shot."

“Right, let’s try this,” Gelato mutters excitedly, returning to the bedroom. Sorbet takes the cue to wriggle out of his pants. He takes Gelato’s hand as he sits beside him.

“So, how do you want to do this?”

“Not sure. But I want to kiss you lots.”

“In my lap then?” Sorbet suggests. “It’s probably best if you control the pace anyway.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gelato says, straddling Sorbet’s hips once more. He pours the lubricant awkwardly onto them both. He grabs both of Sorbet’s hands, and pauses.

“I’ll admit… I’m kind of nervous,” he confesses.

“You’ll be fine, just don’t push yourself,” Sorbet assures him. “But if you need to stop at any time, just say so. I’ll understand.”

“Okay. ‘Love you,” Gelato mutters.

“I love you too,” Sorbet smiles. They both lean forward. They kiss, and Gelato allows himself to sink down.

There’s an immediate tension in Gelato’s body the moment Sorbet enters him. He lets out a little noise of shock, or maybe pain, before settling his head on Sorbet’s shoulder. His boyfriend pets him reassuringly.

“Gel, are you alright?” Sorbet checks. Gelato nods. “Does it hurt?” Another nod. “We can stop if you want. We can always try again another day.”

“No,” Gelato insists, meeting his eyes again. “I can do this. I want to do this,” he promises. “I just- can’t move.”

“I can take over, if you’d like,” Sorbet offers. Gelato nods. “Alright, I’m just going to lie you down gently,” Sorbet explains, before putting an arm around Gelato’s back and carefully laying him down on the mattress, positioning himself over him. “There, shall I try moving now?”

“Please.”

Sorbet begins to gently thrust the first few inches of himself back and forth inside Gelato, the blond grunting slightly as he adjusts to the stretch. After the first few movements, his body relaxes, and all other signs of pain disappear. He eyes Sorbet with a look of relief.

“How does it feel?” Sorbet asks.

“Kind of neutral, now? Doesn’t hurt any more but it doesn’t really feel strongly in any other way? If that makes sense? Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise! It’s important you’re honest with me. It might not feel good yet because I’m not very deep in. I think the spot I’m looking for is further up. Mind if I try and find it?” Sorbet offers. Gelato is quick to accept. Sorbet slowly pushes the rest of his length through Gelato’s entrance and the blond feels the difference at once. He moans, stretching his legs and rolling back his head as he grips Sorbet’s hands for dear life.

“Oh god, you’ve found it. Right there, just keep doing that,” he pleads. Sorbet just can’t help but chuckle.

“Anything you say, darling.”

The next few minutes go by in a whirlwind of bliss. Gelato quickly gives up on any hint of dignity as he moans without care, and even Sorbet feels his grip on control start to fade. They start to forget that there’s anyone else in the world except themselves, and each other.

It occurs to Sorbet he probably can’t hold it much longer without cumming. Eager not to leave Gelato unfinished, he starts to rapidly pump Gelato’s cock to spur on his climax. A moment later and they’re both spent, lying in a breathless heap on top of each other as Gelato feels his insides becoming filled.

Sorbet kisses Gelato on the forehead, then climbs off of him. Excusing himself, he heads into the bathroom for a drink. He hears his lover calling to him.

“Sorbet, my legs aren’t working!”

“Just stay there my love,” Sorbet says mirthfully. “I’ll clean you with a towel, and you can wash properly in the morning.” He returns to his side with the promised item. “Hey, you did wonderful,” he assures him. He leans in close as though to kiss him again, but Gelato gets their first and nips his lip.

“You know what you’ve done now, don’t you,” Gelato smiles.

“Oh? you’ll have to tell me.”

“I’m going to need that every night now, otherwise I’ll be unbearably needy.”

Sorbet tuts.

“However will I survive?”

Their lips meet once more.

#sorlatoweek2021 #sorbet and gelato #la squadra

[jisungsmochi]

tutor girl - ljn

tutor girl - lee jeno fic 

based off one tree hill hehe (been binging it lately) 

word count: 8.6k (might be my longest one yet) 

summary: lee jeno was an asshole. an awfully charming asshole. he wanted nothing more than to make your best friend’s life a living hell. he had his plan ready to go, but something, or rather someone, got in the way. will tutor girl change him for the better or will he stick to his ways? 

mainly fluff but we got a lil bit of angst in there oops 

(for the sake of this au , imagine jeno and mark are the same age)

//

“you should try out for the basketball team this year. i think you should show off your abilities on the real court” you walk alongside your best friend. mark lee. you clearly remember the day you met him. you were both around nine years old, placed in the same fourth grade class. you wanted to befriend him after finding out he only lived with his mother. coming from a big family, you were always used to having others around you. so you thought you’d do the same for him.

“really? i don’t know...the guys on the team are all jerks. besides i’m fine playing by the river court, there’s no pressure” mark shrugs at you, contemplating your suggestion.

“it’s a well known fact that they’re all jerks, but they’re jerks who can get scholarships for college, isn’t that what you want?” you continued to push. you knew the true reason he was hesitant on joining the team. but you didn’t want him to hold himself back in life, any good friend would do the same.

“yeah of course. i’ll think about it, y/n. but no guarantees” he sighs, walking into his mother’s cafe. you made your way to greet his mother,

“ah y/n, it’s great that you’re here, i’m gonna need you for another shift” she smiles softly, handing you your apron.

“yes ma’am” you smile back, watching as mark sat at the counter. this was how most of your days went. hanging out with mark most of the day, then coming to work at the cafe if you weren’t tutoring a student in need as part of the tutoring program at your school. you enjoyed helping your peers and their improved marks and positive attitude gave you a sense of accomplishment.

you were having dinner with mark and his mother, soojin, like you did most nights, when she suddenly brought up basketball tryouts,

“thinking of joining, mark?” soojin asked curiously.

“i don’t know if i want to, you know he’s gonna be on the team” mark anxiously admits.

see, the thing was, mark had a half brother by the name of lee jeno. he was notorious for being a grade A asshat. following suit of his and mark’s father, lee juyoung. juyoung and soojin were high school sweethearts, winning prom king and queen in their senior year. the day before graduation, soojin told juyoung she had fallen pregnant with mark. but he couldn’t handle being a father, having just earned a prestigious basketball scholarship for some fancy college. they quickly ended their relationship after graduating, wishing to never see or hear from one another again. soojin raised mark on her own whilst juyoung went to college, where he met jeno’s mother, minji. juyoung recklessly got minji pregnant with jeno, roughly six months after mark was conceived. but he stuck with minji, as she was from an affluent background and saw a more promising and stable future with her. jeno was brought up by his father to despise mark. they first met each other at a basketball summer camp when they were ten years old, but rarely saw eachother until high school. mark despised jeno equally, infuriated that he was favoured by their father. jeno had everything. he was the basketball team’s shooting guard, always getting the glory of scoring points. he was also dating one of the most popular girls in school, kang mina. and it didn’t help that he was pleasing to the eye, aside from his jackass tendencies. jeno had it all, mark often caught himself feeling jealous of the life jeno got to live. he hated his father for leaving his mother to raise him alone. it was needless to say, the lee brothers did not get along.

“who cares if jeno’s on the team? remember that you’re doing this for you, not for him or anyone else” you encourage, knowing how he truly felt towards jeno.

“y/n’s right. you are a great player, anyone can see it. just give it a try, you’ll never know what can come from it” his mother gave him a gently squeeze to his shoulder. mark avoided looking at the both of you, softly sighing,

“alright alright, i’ll tryout! what’s the worst that could happen?” he chuckled lightly.

//

as expected, mark surpassed everyone who tried out and was able to fill the last spot in the school’s varsity basketball team. unfortunately, he was not greeted with open arms, the other boys taunting that he wasn’t as good as them. especially jeno, absolutely disgusted by the idea of him and mark having to interact.

you sat with mark in his room as he ranted about his interactions with the team,

“they all said to watch my back, that they had something planned for me. is that not concerning?” he paced in his room, your heart sunk at his words. who would ever want to hurt such a kind soul like mark?

“you should tell coach, i’m sure he’ll try and straighten them out” you suggest, unsure if it even helped.

“that’s the thing, if i tell on them, they’ll retaliate even harder. god i knew i shouldn’t have joined” he groaned,

“don’t say that, you deserve to be on the team whether they like it or not” you furrow your eyebrows in concern. you move over to sit with mark on his bed, pulling his head to your shoulder.

“jeno’s the worst of them all. he always takes low blows at me about our dad, saying that he loves him more than me. that he doesn’t care about my mother. he’s ruthless” mark mumbled, your heart aching for him. you knew jeno was an ass, but you didn’t know he would outright say such hurtful things.

“he’s just jealous because you’re a threat to him. and besides, it doesn’t help that you’re totally crushing on his girlfriend, don’t think i haven’t noticed” you tease at the end, fully aware of mark lee’s massive crush on kang mina.

“w-what?! i do not have a crush on mina!” he exclaims causing you to chuckle.

“sure you don’t buddy, don’t act like you’re not happy to join the team. you get to watch her cheer for you from the sidelines” you poke his cheeks, trying to get him to lighten up. you hated seeing him so nervous and anxious all the time. you hoped things would get better from then on, but you were wrong. lee jeno was the epitome of an asshole.

jeno wanted mark off the team and he didn’t care how he did it or who he hurt in the process. not only did he take harsh jabs at mark about his mother, but he went as far as to soaking his gym clothes in water, leaving him with no clothes for practice. he refused to hand mark the ball during practice, often getting his friends to barge into mark if he tried to get the ball off him. somehow it got around that mina had been getting closer to mark as they had been paired up for an assignment, which only fuelled more anger in jeno. he needed to be more smart if he wanted mark to quit the team.

jeno was standing with his friend, jaemin at their lockers, when they caught sight of mark talking to you.

“who’s the chick that’s always hanging with mark?” jeno curiously asks, scanning his eyes over you.

“her name’s y/n, she’s part of the tutor program” jaemin responded, looking over at jeno who had a mysterious look in his eyes.

“i might just have to sign up for some tutoring” he smirked to himself, making his way to his next class.

//

you were filing some applications for tutoring at the student centre when you heard someone knock at the door.

“hang on a minute!” you politely spoke, turning to see who it was. your face immediately fell as your eyes landed on the dark haired boy infront of you.

“may i help you?” you crossed your arms, already fed up with him.

“i hope so, you’re my tutor” jeno copies your gesture, looking down at you in amusement.

“uh no, don’t think so” you turned your back to him, continuing to file applications.

“you’re y/n, right? see it says right here” he approaches you, practically shoving the form in your face. you glanced at the section where the allocated tutor’s name should be written and there you were. you took the form from him, softly biting the inside of your cheek before looking back at him.

“look i’m sorry but i’m best friends with mark” you hand the form back to him.

“well then i’m sorry too” he snickers, causing you to roll your eyes.

“i can’t help you okay? i’ll find someone else t-“

“i don’t want anyone else. you’re the best student tutor in this program. i really need your help” jeno practically whined. part of you wanted to help him, but your loyalty to mark, alongside all the terrible things jeno has said and done, wasn’t going to change your mind.

“i’m sorry, again. i-i just can’t” you rush out of the room, feeling guilty. as much as you disliked jeno, you were never the one to turn away a student in need. all you knew is that mark could never know about this.

//

your english teacher was handing back grades for the latest assignment. your eyes couldn’t stop focusing on jeno, who was visibly distraught after receiving his grade. the guilty feeling in your stomach wasn’t going away. so what if you helped jeno? maybe you could get him to back off mark. plus it was your duty as a tutor to help students in need. and right now, jeno needed you.

he approached you again in the student centre later that day,

“hey just letting you know, i won’t be needing you anymore, i’ll be just fine” jeno sternly announced to you, gaining your attention. before you could say anything back, he held up his grade from english,

“i mean, F is for fine, right?” your eyes moved to the paper that had a large, red ‘F’ written on it. you gave him a solemn look, debating what you would say next, you didn’t know what came over you,

“okay! i’ll tutor you!” you blurted out, catching jeno by surprise as well. his lips slowly formed into a smirk, walking closer to you.

“but on one condition, mark never finds out, and you also leave him alone!” you let out a short sigh, hoping you weren’t making a bad decision.

“that’s actually two conditions” he retorts, leading you to roll your eyes, already regretting everything.

“but okay, i’ll tell the guys to chill a bit” you looked at him in shock, not expecting him to consider your conditions at all.

“then it’s settled, let’s meet at the dock by the pier tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock sharp” you walk past him,

“why can’t we do it at school?” he asked in confusion,

“because i don’t want anyone else seeing us, especially mark” you sternly respond, making sure he understood.

“aye aye captain” jeno tried to joke, but you had already left before he could finish.

maybe this was going to be harder than he thought.

//

you were sitting at a table on the dock, waiting for jeno to show up. but your expectations were low. you questioned if he was taking this whole tutoring thing seriously, but your thoughts were interrupted when he rushed to you.

“sorry i’m late, i was hungry” he pulled out a small box of pocky, offering some to you. you shook your head,

“no thanks” he nodded as he shoved one in his mouth. he had also picked up a kinder surprise egg,

“praying i get a cheat sheet for this exam” he hold his hands together, quickly making a wish. you cracked a small smile at his antics, hoping he didn’t take notice. he opened the little bag containing the plastic prizes. he pulled out a colourful beaded bracelet. it was clearly made for children, but jeno thought you’d like it,

“here, for you” he looped it onto your wrist, “don’t say i never gave you anything” he winked, causing you to cringe.

“let’s just get started, shall we?” you ignored his comments, finally beginning the very first tutoring session. it wasn’t as bad as you initially thought it’d be. to your surprise, jeno was fully attentive and had made genuine attempts to learn. but it was probably only due to the fact he needed good grades to play basketball, it didn’t suddenly turn him into an amazing person in your eyes.

//

“hey! y/n! it feels like i haven’t seen you in a while, how have you been?” mark caught up to you on your way home from school. you two would usually walk together but with his basketball practices and your tutoring sessions, you both slowly stopped.

“i’ve been good! just busy with tutoring” you shrug, happy to have your best friend by your side again.

“ah same with basketball. it’s so weird, jeno and his goons haven’t done anything remotely bad to me this entire week” mark pulled the strap of his backpack over his shoulder.

“isn’t that a good thing?” you softly smiled at yourself, remembering the deal you made with jeno.

“i mean yeah, but i can’t help but be suspicious. what if there’s some other huge thing they have planned?” mark started stressing, gliding his hand through his hair.

“maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt” you mutter, unsure why you were even defending jeno.

“since when were you on his side?” your best friend stopped in his tracks, not believing a word that just left your mouth. you pulled at the strings of your hoodie,

“i’m on your side of course! i’m just saying that maybe he’s not as evil as you think he is” you tried to pull yourself out of the hole you were currently digging.

“i don’t know, y/n. i guess we’ll have to wait and see” he paused for a moment, looking down at your wrist,

“nice bracelet” your eyes shifted to the lame beaded bracelet jeno gave you. why were you still wearing it?

//

for your next tutoring session, jeno had invited you to his house, claiming that the dock was too noisy and he couldn’t focus properly. you actually agreed with him for once, now standing outside his house. you rang the doorbell, hearing someone shuffling behind the door. jeno swung the door open, greeting you with his classic smile. he led you to the dining table, with all of his materials already set out.

“finally organised, i’m impressed” you compliment him, not noticing how his cheeks were heating up.

midway through the session, jeno became distracted. he has received a text on his phone. you weren’t sure who it was, but by the way he was reacting, he was clearly frustrated.

“hey, can you get off your phone? we still have more examples to go through” you were slowly getting annoyed by his inability to remain focused.

“sorry, just uh- it’s nothing” he mumbled, shoving his phone back in his pocket before turning to face you.

“alright, break time” you sigh, closing the book infront of you. jeno shot you a confused look,

“why?”

“because something’s on your mind, you need to clear it” you advise him, hoping he would open up to you.

“you’re right, it’s just, mina. we’ve been getting into so many fights lately, plus she’s been hanging out with mark a lot. i just don’t know where we’re at” jeno looks down at his hands that were placed in his lap. you weren’t sure what to say, you slightly felt sorry for jeno, something you’d never thought would happen.

“and my dad, he keeps pressuring me to do better in basketball. he makes everything a competition between himself and me. now with mark on the team, there’s a direct comparison which he just cannot avoid bringing up every single day” jeno continues to rant, slowly taking you back. you had no idea he was feeling like this. he always presented himself as this tough guy who had no care in the world about anything but basketball.

“i-i don’t know what to say” you honestly admit, avoiding eye contact with him.

“it’s alright, i didn’t expect you to anyway. i just keep this all inside” he sighed, relieved to be able to say these things out loud for once, without being judged.

“i think that, you should live your life the way you want. if mina makes you happy then show her that. if basketball is your passion, don’t give up on it just because of your dad or mark or anyone else. just do your best, that’s all anyone can ask for” you tried your best to give him advice, not sure if he would even take any from you. but jeno was surprised at how gentle and understanding you were. he had never had someone to properly vent to about his problems.

“y-you’re right. like absolutely spot on right. damn, i guess you’re more than just a tutor” he smiled softly,

“ah yes i am also a part time motivational speaker and hype woman” you fake cheered, making him burst out in a soft chuckle.

“thanks for this, y/n. i uh, really appreciate you listening” jeno’s eyes meet yours as you listen to his every word. you almost got lost in his eyes for a split second before you pulled yourself back to reality.

“no problem, what a friends for” you murmured, causing him to raise his eyebrows,

“oh so we’re friends now?” he shot you another smirk, clearly entertained by this entire situation.

“i mean yeah, i consider you a friend. but if you tell anyone, i will deny it” you pointed a finger a him playfully.

“wouldn’t expect anything less”

//

the following week, you were lining up for your physical education class, waiting for the basketball boys to finish up their short practice. you caught sight of mark and jeno, who seem to be in the middle of a very heated argument.

“coach wants you to be shooting guard now? you really wanna take my position, lee? then let me take y/n off your hands” jeno cockily exclaimed,

“leave her alone! you better not be messing with her or i swear i’ll hurt you a lot more than i already want to” mark gritted through his teeth.

“funny you say that, because she’s been tutoring me, and i must say, she’s a special one” jeno continues to aggravate mark. you knew he was saying these things to get a rise from the other boy. to say you were disgusted was an understatement. now, they were shoving eachother, to the point where mark was on top of jeno, ready to punch him. the coach had to pull both of them apart, along with some of the other players. it was a whole mess, mark stormed out of the gym, giving you a sharp side eye before walking right past you. your eyes caught jeno’s, he gave you a pitiful look. everything had just gone to shit.

that afternoon, you decided to go over mark’s house to check up on him. you were prepared for him to yell at you, probably still in disbelief that you were hanging out with jeno behind his back. you softly knocked on his bedroom door, you heard him grunt slightly before opening the door.

“hey” you quietly muttered, mark just raised his eyebrows before letting you enter. you sat by his study desk, unsure of how to bring up the situation.

“why’d you do it, y/n? why did you agree to tutor that jerk?!” mark broke the awkward tension, arms folded across his chest.

“i-i don’t know, mark. he needed help with his work, what was i supposed to do? turn him away?” you argue back, feeling defensive.

“yes! that’s exactly what you should have done. jeno has made my life a living hell, just for being on the team. now he’s got you wrapped around his silly little finger? i thought you were better than that” mark scoffed. you just froze. never in your seven years of friendship, had mark yelled at you like this.

“jeno is strictly just a tutoring student to me! he’s nothing more than that. and you’re the one to talk! you’re over here flirting and hanging out with jeno’s girlfriend. she’s taken, mark. your silly crush on her needs to stop” you were beyond frustrated at this point, harsh words spilled out of you like there was no end.

“he treats her like crap, y/n! she comes to me for comfort! what am i supposed to do?” mark ran his hands through his hair.

“you wait for them to breakup, mark! that’s what any logical person would do. you don’t pine after her while she’s in a relationship. you’re better than that” you whimper the last sentence, hot tears filled your eyes. mark almost broke down, seeing you so upset. but he was too mad and stubborn to comfort you.

“you really think jeno cares about you? he’s only hanging out with you to get to me!” mark continued to fuel your anger,

“mark lee, you are an asshole. who would have thought you and jeno would switch places?” you finally spat out, rushing out of his room, ready at cry your eyes out at home.

//

“y/n! wait up!” you heard the familiar deep voice behind you. you kept walking, wanting nothing more than to go home and ignore everyone and everything around you. but lee jeno was persistent. he caught up to you, moving to stand right infront of you.

“i don’t want to talk to you right now” you sternly let out, trying to walk away from him. jeno softly gripped your shoulders, pulling you along with him to a secluded spot behind the school gates.

“i know you don’t, but i want to explain myself” jeno started, he appeared to be quite distraught. you nodded along, ready to hear his explanation.

“coach promoted mark to shooting guard. i haven’t been on my best game lately, you know, with my dad always on my back. i was so mad that coach wanted to replace me. he knows that basketball is my only shot to get into college, because let’s face it, academics will not get me through” you frowned once he said that, which made him crack a slight smile,

“you’ve helped a lot. more than you know. but anyway, i got so mad at mark, i kind of went crazy. i know i shouldn’t have brought you up. that was a dick move and i’m sorry. i just wanted to hurt him. i’ve noticed that you two haven’t been talking. and i can’t help but feel like i was the reason for it. so i don’t expect you to forgive me right away. i just wanted you to hear my side” jeno finally finished, his shoulders resting. your eyes were wide, not expecting this entire speech from him.

“jeno, i appreciate that you wanted me to know your side. and i’m sorry about mark replacing you. he was going to find out about us one way or another. atleast it’s finally out” you shrugged before continuing, “mark and i haven’t been as close as we used to be. and it kind of hurts. i cried a lot after he yelled at me and i jus-” before you could finish, jeno pulled you into him. you immediately froze against him, arms avoiding wrapping around his torso. jeno didn’t know why he hugged you, something about your whimpering tone made him want to hold you.

“i-i’m sorry, you just looked like you needed it” he muttered, slowly pulling away from you.

“i-it’s okay” you mumble back to him, avoiding his eyes at all costs.

“i can leave now if you want?” jeno pulled a piece of hair away from your face, making you look up at him.

“a-actually, wanna go for a walk to the dock?” you offer, watching as his face slowly lit up,

“sure” he smiled softly at you, as you both began walking. you caught sight of mark and mina, who were staring right back at you and jeno. you weren’t sure what to do, jeno noticed how uncomfortable you felt. he too, was not too fond of the sight of mark and his now, ex girlfriend, judging the both of you.

“so are they a thing?” jeno suddenly brings up on your way to the dock.

“mark and mina? i thought you were dating” your confused tone made him smile,

“uh well we kind of broke up a few days ago. the day of the fight actually” jeno informed you. you stopped in your path, looking over at the taller boy.

“why didn’t you tell me? are you okay?” you slightly pout,

“firstly, you were ignoring me. and secondly, to my surprise, i am okay. we just weren’t right for eachother, it happens” jeno just shrugs, but you could tell there was more behind it.

“what else is bothering you? aside from your dad and basketball?” you decided to push, feeling he was holding something back.

“i just realised how poorly i treated mina. i never really put much effort into the relationship. seeing her with mark kind of struck a nerve” he explained as you both sat at the same table as your first tutoring session.

“well it’s okay to have regrets, jeno. it means you’re human” you assure him, placing your hand over his. jeno froze at your action, not used to you initiating physical touch with him. his eyes scanned to your wrist,

“hey, you’re still wearing the bracelet” he couldn’t help but feel giddy that you had kept such a useless gift.

“ah yeah, it’s kinda cute don’t you think?” you show off to him, trying to get him to laugh.

you’re cute.

jeno thought to himself. he didn’t want to admit that he had a slight interest in you. the plan wasn’t for him to fall for you. but jeno was well on his way. and he wanted to snap out of it, as soon as possible. because you deserved someone better than him.

//

as the days went on, mark slowly began to talk to you again. it would start with small conversations during your shifts at the cafe, but once you got to the point where you would ask to hang out, he always had something to do. all you wanted was your best friend back, but he seemed pretty occupied with mina’s company, you didn’t want to make things worse.

on top of this, jeno was struggling a lot with his english work. you tried your best to get him to understand but his mind wasn’t in the right place.

“i’m sorry if it feels like i’m wasting your time, y/n” jeno pouted at you,

“you’re not wasting my time, jeno. you’ll get there eventually. you just have to practice, like in basketball” you tried to develop a comparison between the two, in order to encourage jeno’s study habits.

“speaking of, are you coming to the game on friday?” jeno suddenly went off topic, not that you minded, you both needed a brain break.

“um i don’t know, i might have plans” you tried to come up with some lame excuse before he continued,

“oh come on, it’ll be a good game, we always beat this team” jeno was practically begging you at this point, you softly chuckled at his desperation,

“i’ll make you a deal, get over 80 for the english exam and i’ll go” you suggested as you pulled out your pinky. jeno hesitated for a moment, but opted to promising you anyway. your pinkies remained linked, both of you too embarrassed to pull away. as cheesy as it sounds, for just a moment, you felt everything else freeze. your focus was only on jeno, how adorable he looked with his ruffled hair, practically in his pajamas. you slowly brought yourself back to reality, a warm feeling now developing in your stomach. this isn’t good.

//

wednesday afternoon rolled by, as you were about to leave the school gates, you heard jeno call for you. he wasn’t being so discrete either, gaining the attention of others around you.

“y/n! wait up!” he was practically wheezing by the time he reached you.

“god, did you run a marathon or something?” you chuckle, helping him stable himself.

“i had to see you right after i got this damn mark, 84!!” his face lit up like you had never seen before. you could tell he was genuinely pleased with himself.

“that’s amazing, jeno! i knew you could do it” you jumped up and down in excitement for him. jeno smiled at you, pulling his arms out, signalling whether or not it was okay to hug you. you nodded ecstatically, launching yourself in his arms. jeno couldn’t believe how perfectly you fit in his arms. if only he could do this more often.

as you both pulled away, jeno still kept his hands hooked on your forearms.

“so you’ll come to the game?” he raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

“a deal is a deal!” you nod once again, watching as jeno’s eyes creased into a crescent moon shape.

“thanks again for everything, i’ll look out for you on friday!” he cheered as he released your forearms from his gentle grip, making his way back to his friends who watched the entire interaction. you couldn’t help but feel a sudden wave of heat rush to your face. goddammit lee jeno.

//

the basketball game was in full swing. you had gotten to the gym right before the game started. you looked over the court for jeno, your eyes meeting his. he gave you a slight smile, followed by a nod. you waved lightly at him, feeling slightly embarrassed that the only reason you came was to see him. mark witnessed the entire interaction, his instincts telling him that something more was going on between you two. the last thing he wanted was to see you hurt, especially if it were at the hands of jeno. mark approached jeno before the game started, he pulled out his hand to shake,

“hey, i know it’s been rough between us but let’s do our best for this game” mark pushed aside his pride. jeno cluelessly stared at mark’s hand, hesitantly placing his hand against his.

“yeah, agreed” jeno awkwardly muttered, quickly pulling away from mark, joining the rest of the team for the pregame huddle.

there was five seconds on the clock, jeno was double teamed. there was no way he could make the shot, he knew his dad was watching, probably yelling at him to take the shot anyway. but jeno couldn’t risk it, he looked to his right, seeing an open mark lee with his hands ready to handle the ball. jeno spun on his heel, swiftly making a clean pass to mark. everyone stood from their seats, all eyes on mark lee. it took a few seconds for the opposing team to realise what had happened, giving mark the perfect shot. just as the buzzer signalled the end of the game, mark lee had scored the winning basket. all the boys on the team ran to the slightly frazzled boy, pulling him in for a group hug. jeno smiled at the sight, looking over to find you, but he was met with the disappointing glares of his father instead. jeno’s smile faded, an uneasy feeling making its way through his body. you noticed that he seemed off, quickly rushing to be by his side.

“jeno! are you okay?” you tried to gain his attention amongst the loud cheers and screams of everyone. jeno turned to face you, placing his hands on the sides of your arms.

“y-yeah, i’m okay now” he smiled lightly, sweat dripping from his forehead. you pulled the sleeve of your sweater down slightly, wiping some of the sweat from his face.

“gosh you look gross” you fake gagged as he rolled his eyes.

“so you’re not going to congratulate me on winning?” he pouted, which had a tug on your heartstrings.

“andddd, congrats on winning!” you pulled him in for a hug, it was jeno’s turn to freeze at your embrace this time. he didn’t expect you to openly hug him infront of everyone but who was he to object?

“hey y/n, i’m going to have a celebratory party at my dad’s beach house tonight, wanna come? i’ll even invite mark” he offered as you both pulled away, his hands still on your sides.

“parties aren’t really my thing, you know? i’m not really dressed for the occasion anyway” you shrugged, feeling guilty for trying to ditch.

“oh come on, please? even if it’s for a little bit, i can take you home” jeno continues to budge, shooting you a doe eyed look. you shook your head at his efforts to persuade you.

“alright, alright! i think i’ll try and talk to mark first, see you soon” you give him one last smile before making your way to congratulate mark. despite the tension in your friendship, you knew that mark was too occupied, running on the high of winning, to ignore you. his eyes met yours, already expecting you to approach him.

“congrats mark, you did really well” you awkwardly greeted as he finally faced you.

“thanks y/n, i’m glad you came. even if it wasn’t for me” mark teased in a playful tone,

“w-what’s that supposed to mean?” you stutter, feeling heat rise to your face.

“i mean, you came to see jeno. i saw you two” mark explained, but before you could butt in, he continued,

“it’s fine really, it was wrong of me to make you think you needed my permission or something. jeno’s not so bad, i guess. but i still want you to be careful with him, okay?” there was the mark you knew and loved. the boy who would always give it to you straight, even if it hurt, but you knew in your heart that everything was okay. you nodded along, pulling your arms out, practically begging to hug him again. mark slightly chuckled, pulling you into him.

“i missed you, mark” you muttered into his shoulder and his hold on your tightened.

“i missed you too, loser” he whispered. as you pulled away from him, mark started walking with you to his car where you would both be on your way to lee jeno’s after game party.

//

jeno’s dad’s beach house exceeded all of your expectations. it was right by the shore, a bunch of teenagers already scattered on the sand. you and mark entered the house, greeted by mina and her best friend, jarim. you noticed how awkward mark and mina were with eachother, part of you wanting to laugh but you were able to keep it inside. you also noticed jarim practically glaring you down, maybe it was your outfit? your thoughts were interrupted when jeno came rushing to the group.

“glad you two could make it” he smiled at both you and mark, mainly keeping his focus on you.

“this place is huge” mark blurted out in awe, causing jeno to chuckle lightly. he was dressed in a plain black hoodie and some jogger pants. despite dressing down for his own party, how does he still look so damn good?

“thanks man, feel free to walk around, just don’t break anything” jeno jokingly winked, looking down at you,

“want me to show you around?” it was clear he was directing the question at you. you looked back at mark who gave you a look, telling you to go with jeno. you turned back to the dark haired boy, his eyes never left yours.

“sure” you nodded, walking alongside him, hearing soft whispers from jarim and mina.

jeno pulled you with him to an empty room. your eyes widened as he shut the door, unsure of why he only pulled you aside from the others.

“you can sit on the bed if you want” he insisted as he shuffled around the room. you followed along, still curious as to why you were here.

“is everything okay? why did you pull me away?” you questioned,

“i just wanted to thank you. for everything. for the tutoring, the mina drama and the stuff with my dad. i don’t really talk to anyone about my problems like how i do with you, and i really just want to say thanks, privately” this was the first time you saw jeno being timid. he stuck to the back of the door, eyes glued to the floor. you softly smiled at his words, making your way to meet him. you pulled his chin up, so he could look at you properly.

“you’re welcome, jeno. i’m really glad to hear that i’ve been able to help. it really does mean a lot to me” the words glided through your mouth with ease. lee jeno wasn’t as intimidating as you initially thought. he was flawed, like everyone else in the world. all he needed was someone to show him that it was okay to not be okay.

jeno placed the palm of his right hand to meet your cheek, gently brushing his thumb over it. the gesture made your heart flutter. how was he so good at this?

“y-you’re really pretty, you know?” jeno mumbled, pulling strands of your hair behind your ear. you blushed at his words, not believing them yourself.

“n-no, i’m not” you shook your head, as he halted his actions.

“why do you say that?” he furrowed his eyebrows at you, genuinely in disbelief at your words.

“i guess, i don’t really feel pretty? i don’t know. i just haven’t really been called pretty before, especially by a guy like yo-“ you cut yourself off, not wanting to finish your sentence. before jeno could say anything, there was a loud knock at the door.

“anyone in there?” the person yelled, continuing to knock. jeno turned to open the door, in which jarim, mark, mina and jaemin were all standing.

“oh were we interrupting something?” jarim smirked, clearly tipsy from the alcohol she consumed earlier that night. mina gave you a concerned look, aware of how her friend acts when she’s drunk.

“uh kinda” jeno harshly responded, mark’s eyes immediately shooting to you,

“is that true?” he questioned. you felt everyone’s eyes on you. you froze up, words unable to leave your mouth.

“aw cat’s got her tongue. were you two making out?” jarim continued to budge you both, no one responded.

“ah i see, you were about to have sex!” she slurred her words, mina having to hold her back from entering the room.

“shut up, jarim” jeno spat, causing the drunk girl to shove him further into the room. the small group all entered, jaemin closing the door behind him.

“jarim, lets get you home, okay?” mina struggles to pick up her friend.

“no no, i wanna stay. if you wanna be nasty, jeno. how about we discuss the elephant in the room? i mean, you don’t actually like tutor girl here, do you? wasn’t it all a ploy to get back at our little markie boy here” jarim exposed, chuckling to herself.

“what’s she talking about?” you finally spoke up, fists balled and tears threatening to fall from your eyes.

“no, it’s not like that, god why are you such a bitch, jarim?” jeno ran his hands through his hair, taking a step towards you. you took a step back in response, making your way to mark.

“i want to go home” you mumble to him, mark immediately taking you into his arms. he bid mina a farewell, as she apologised over and over for her friend’s behaviour. jeno tried to call after you both but jaemin held him back,

“dude, you messed up”

“i fucking know that, i have to go apologise” jeno gritted through his teeth,

“woah, you like her. you like tutor girl” jaemin was astonished, the thought of you and jeno as a couple, never crossing his mind.

“yeah, i really do. but now she’ll never want to see me again” jeno let out a defeated sigh, leaning against the door frame.

so much for a celebratory occasion.

//

you heard a knock at your bedroom door, interrupting your study session. you opened the door, eyes furrowed at the person standing infront of you.

“i’m probably the last person you expected to see” jarim sighed, clearly unsure of what else to say to you. you were ready to slam the door in her face, but you wanted to hear what excuse she had for coming to your house.

“what are you doing here?” you fold your arms, leaning on your door frame. jarim hesitates, handing you a piece of paper before speaking,

“i feel really awful about the way i acted at the party. i was drunk, not that it excuses what i did and said. but i hope you can understand that i didn’t have ill intent” jarim tried to defend herself, pleading for you to listen. you allowed her to continue, still holding the folded piece of paper in your hand.

“i’m sorry about making things awkward now with jeno, i want to make it up to you both” she paused, waiting for you to respond.

“i appreciate you coming to apologise and everything but jeno and i aren’t, and will never be a thing. i think it’s pretty clear how he feels about me” you try handing back the paper to her but she stops you.

“no you’re wrong, jeno likes you. he really does. he just has a crappy way of showing it. that piece of paper is an itinerary for your first date with him” jarim gave you a small smile.

“i’m confused? you’re suddenly playing match maker now?” you scoffed, fed up with the schemes,

“well yes! i think you two should give it a shot. just read through what i planned out. jeno will be at the cafe on friday night. it’s up to you if you want to go on the date or not, no pressure. i really am sorry again, i hope you can forgive me” jarim gave you a soft nod before leaving your house. you let out a short sigh, unfolding the piece of paper. you weren’t sure if you were ready to speak to jeno again, nonetheless go on a date with him. you couldn’t help but think about what could have happened between you two. would it be so bad?

//

on friday night, you were finishing up your shift at the cafe. mark and mina kept you company. mark was ranting about the next basketball game and mina was stressed about the upcoming cheer competition. you were wiping down your last table when the bell on top of the door rang, signalling someone had just entered. you swiftly turn to meet whoever came in, your face falling at the sight of jeno, still in his basketball jacket, staring right back at you. you walked right past him, removing your apron. mark awkwardly shifted looks between the both of you.

“y/n, can we talk?” jeno finally breaks the silence, walking closer to the counter you were standing behind. mark and mina slowly crept out of the cafe, mark mouthing a quick apology to you before scurrying off. you sighed, still unsure if you wanted to be on speaking terms with jeno.

“what is there is talk about?” you questioned, avoiding his gaze at all costs.

“the date that jarim organised, i would really like to go on it” jeno stumbled over his words, holding the folded piece of paper, identical to the one you received earlier that week.

“look, i just don’t think it’s a good idea, jeno. i mean, us going on a date? isn’t it ridiculous?” you tried to brush off any indication you were interested in him.

“it’s not ridiculous to me, y/n. just give me a chance, please?” he tried so hard to get you to look at him. you finally caved in and saw how fragile he looked.

“i can bail whenever i feel like it?” you fold your arms, hoping you wouldn’t regret your decision.

“yes, of course” jeno nodded, as you made your way to stand next to him.

“then let’s get going” you pulled your jacket and walked out of the cafe with jeno.

“okay so first thing she wrote was for us to list three things we like about eachother” jeno read off the piece of paper as you both walked aimlessly on the sidewalk.

“suddenly i can’t come up with anything” you jokingly shrug as jeno shoots you a playful glare. he started to loosen up, instantly feeling more comfortable with you.

“if you wanna be like that, i’ll go first then. i like how patient you are with me. you don’t treat me like some moron during tutoring” jeno awkwardly smiled at you, watching as your face softened. you knew how hard he was trying to get his grades up.

“thankyou jeno, that’s really sweet. i’m really proud of how far you’ve come” you compliment, watching as his cheeks start heating up. jeno moved closer to you, your arms brushing against eachother.

“i like the way you call my name, i know it sounds strange but it’s nice listening to your voice” you chuckle softly, completely embarrassed by your response. jeno couldn’t help but gush, he didn’t realise that you felt the same towards him.

“i actually think that’s cute. i’ll just keep talking to you then? even if you tell me to shut up” he smirks, nudging you gently.

“yeah yeah, it’s your turn” you tried to rush through this segment, butterflies forming in your stomach.

“i like that you’re pretty” he stopped you both in your tracks, fingers dangling near yours. you looked up at him, his eyes gazing into yours.

“i-i think you’re pretty too” you blurred, causing jeno to chuckle. you shook your head,

“ah no i mean that, i think you’re good looking? handsome? beautiful?” you couldn’t stop rambling, which only entertained him more.

“i got it” he mumbled, inching closer to you. you felt your breath hitch, never being this close to him before. you were crumbling under his gaze, suddenly pulling away from him. jeno let out a soft sigh, inserting himself next to you as you both started walking again.

you made it to the dock, choosing to sit on a nearby bench, admiring the moonlight shining on the water.

“i like you, jeno. that’s the last thing” you muttered, avoiding eye contact with the boy. jeno couldn’t contain how happy he was, wanting to pull you into him as soon as you finished speaking. but he saw how your expression dropped, a look of concern washed over you.

“i like you too, y/n. but w-what’s wrong?” jeno placed his arm around your shoulder, giving you a gentle pat.

“i-i’m scared, okay? i’ve never really been in a relationship before or even confessed to a guy. and to top it off, you and mark aren’t completely on good terms yet. so it just feels like everything is working against us being together” you ranted, jeno listening along to every word you said. he paused before responding, seeing how you were so worried about this, made his heart ache.

“hey, it’s okay. i don’t want to rush you into dating me or anything. i will work on my relationship with mark, if it makes you more comfortable. i swear, i would do anything to be with you, y/n. i can promise you that” jeno’s words brought much needed assurance to you. you finally looked over at him, his eyes dazzling under the moonlight.

“what will everyone think? i mean, i’m practically a no one. and you’re lee jeno. you aren’t scared of committing social suicide?” you dramatically point out. jeno throws his head back in laughter.

“i don’t care what anyone thinks. i just care what you think.” jeno slowly takes your hands in his, intertwining your fingers. you felt your heart race. how was he do good at this?

“how can i be sure that this isn’t another ploy to get to mark? how do i know this is real, jeno?” you mumble, still afraid of getting hurt again.

“if i could take back what i did, i would. without a doubt. y/n, i just want to be someone who’s good enough to be seen with you” jeno confesses, his words bringing a small smile to your face.

“well you should have thought about that before you humiliated me at the party! i really wanted to give you a piece of my mind, you know? there’s nothing you can do now that will make me forgive yo-“

you were cut off mid rant, feeling a pair of lips meet yours. you felt his hand gently caress your cheek, you didn’t know what came over you. you pressed your lips closer to his, if that was even possible. jeno softly mumbled against your lips,

“i’m sorry, i’ve just wanted to do that for so long” you ignored him for a bit, pulling him into you again. kissing jeno was something your past self would have beat you up for. but it just felt so damn good.

jeno broke away from your lips, giving you a quick peck on the cheek. you were intensely blushing at this point. hands now placed on the sides of jeno’s face. he looked at you with so much admiration, you couldn’t help but swoon over him.

“hate to say, but i was wrong about you” you whispered, a wide smile making its way to his lips.

“i’m all yours, y/n. i want to be there for you, through everything. i want to be the one you go to for comfort. i want you to come to my games and cheer me on. i want you to keep tutoring me until we graduate. i just want to be with you” jeno couldn’t stop rambling, the overwhelming feelings he had towards you were taking over him.

“i want to be with you too, jeno. it feels so good to finally say it” you surprise him by pecking his lips quickly. jeno’s eyes widened, he couldn’t hold back his need to embrace you. jeno pulled you up from the bench, wrapping his arms around you.

“thankyou, for everything” he mumbled against your forehead, placing a small kiss on it, as you both embraced eachother.

and that’s how you ended up dating your best friend’s half brother...it was definitely a story you enjoyed telling. dating lee jeno was filled with random rants in the early hours of the morning, breakfast delivered at your door step before he walked you to school. he visited the cafe to keep you company on your shifts, in return you would attend his basketball games, painting his jersey number in your cheek. he always searched for you in the crowd, giving you a wink before shooting the winning basket. it was ritual for you to jump in his arms after every game, whispering endless congratulations to him while kissing his cheeks. being with jeno was surprisingly drama free. he was completely loyal to you, and always showed you off every chance he could. he had also gotten closer to mark, partially due to your help. so you all ended up hanging out often, riding the roller coaster of life together.

who would have thought that the arrogant boy who despised your best friend, would become the most important person in your life?

#lee jeno imagine #lee jeno fic #nct dream imagines #nct dream fic #nct dream angst #nct fluff #jeno angst #nct imagine #nct fic #nct writings #jisungsmochi masterlist #jisungsmochiimagines

[outerjjbx]

Ship: jjpope/mayward

Words: 1.5k (multichap, i’ll be posting the first chapter here and the rest on ao3)

Ao3 link: right here

Summary: library au. pope works at the library, and jj asks for help studying.

Pope likes his job.

He does, really. It’s just- frustrating, sometimes. The stupid teenagers; the mountains of books the owner makes him stay behind to stack; that musty smell that makes him sneeze every three seconds. It can be okay, of course. He’s always loved books, and he’s always dreamed of working at a library. It just isn’t what he expected.

Between college, studying, and taking care of his dumbass roommate, he hardly has enough time for work. After the first week, the ‘wow-I-work-at-a-library-and-this-is-straight-out-of-a-romance-novel’ magic wore off, and was replaced with stress, dust, and piles of unsorted books. And, worst of all, other students from his school come in constantly, and all he can do is keep his head down and pray they don’t see him.

Pope, unfortunately, is not a very lucky person.

He’s just about ready to die when he hears his name get called by someone he definitely recognises. The blonde from his history class is sitting at a table in the corner, waving him over. Pope feels his stomach churn uncomfortably as he approaches, his hands growing sweaty as he take’s JJ’s appearance in. His eyelashes are highlighted by the sun, much like his hair, and his bruised knuckles are flexing as his fingers strum nervously against the table. Pope's mouth is dry. He fucking hates how attracted he is to this guy.

“Hey, P,” JJ smiles- all teeth, no eyes. Fake for the sake of charm. “I didn’t know you work here.”

Pope grimaces. “Enough with the nicknames, please.”

“Isn’t Pope already a nickname?” JJ grins, bringing a beaten up pen to his lips and leaning back in his chair. He lifts his foot up to the table to balance himself, the action striking the other’s blood cold.

“No feet on the table,” Pope almost-sneers, swiping at the blond’s boots. “You aren’t even reading anything. Why are you here?”

JJ holds a hand to his heart. “I’m totally reading.” He reaches across the table, picking up an old-looking textbook for their history class. “Studying, actually. Why don’t you join me?”

Pope narrows his eyes. “Seriously? Bye, JJ.”

“Wait!” the blond calls as Pope turns. “I need help studying, okay? I came here for some quiet, but I can’t concentrate. I just- I’m gonna fail midterms if I don’t get this done. I’m already behind in, like, a bajillion classes. Please, man.”

Pope pauses. “If you wanna pass, you should stop fucking around in class. I see you with John B in the back. You’re super annoying, by the way. Some of us are here to, like, get college degrees, so we can get jobs. We’re not all trust-fund sons here on Daddy’s money.”

“I’m not rich, if that’s what you’re implying,” JJ scoffs, looking almost offended.

Pope shakes his head. “No way you got here on a scholarship.”

“Okay, I won’t take any offence from that,” JJ says. “You make a fair point. The dean paid for my tuition. A special, 100% discount. Just for me.”

Pope furrows his eyebrows. “What, did you blackmail her? Did you sell her meth or something?”

“She’s my mom, dude. Chill,” JJ laughs.

Pope tries to ignore the way his stomach flutters when JJ laughs. “So you are rich,” he deadpans.

JJ rolls his eyes. “Nah, she just owes me. I grew up in North Carolina, in the Outer Banks. Right in the shitty part, like the lucky bastard I am.”

Pope can’t help the way that piques his interest. “Really? I grew up on the coast there, I visited the Outer Banks a few times.” He shuffles his feet, his posture relaxing by the tiniest degree. “How is your mom the dean here, though? She’s been at this school, for, like, decades.”

“Fifteen years, actually,” JJ corrects, pointing a finger. “Can you help me study now? I’ll put a good word in with my mom. Then you can, like, be at the top of all your classes and fulfil all your nerdy dreams. What do you even wanna be?”

“A mortician,” Pope replies. “I’m really into forensic scien-“

“A mortician?” JJ interrupts, a laugh strung along with his words. “What the fuck? That’s the grossest shit ever. I thought morticians were people who just, like, failed at being real-people doctors.”

Pope grits his teeth. “Dead people are real people. It’s a respectable and interesting science. You probably wanna be a MacDonald’s worker or something, anyway.”

“A MacDonald’s worker?” JJ scoffs, holding a hand to his chest “Pope, I’m offended! Am I not currently attending this prestigious university? The very same one that you attend?”

Pope raises his eyebrows, his head tilting downwards. “Yeah, but my mom isn’t the dean. I think we got in for vastly different reasons.”

“Vastly different- Pope! Why must you injure me so? My pride, it’s just… falling apart, at your very feet!” JJ exclaims, throwing his head back and rocking in his chair. He pauses, palm resting upwards on his forehead in a dramatic pose. “Will you pick it up for me? It’s just- it’s right over there. I don’t think I could manage.” He motions to the floor, where the sun highlights a soft rainfall of dust.

Pope scowls. “Fuck you, JJ. You can study by yourself.” He turns on his heel, his blood pumping unsteadily in his ears.

He hears a clatter behind him. “Wait, Pope! Shit, one second-” there’s another few crashes, sounds Pope doesn’t want to dignify with his eyes. “Pope, man, come on. Do me a favour.” JJ pauses, the library falling silent for one small, sweet moment. “Please?”

Pope presses his palms to his eyes and exhales sharply before turning around. “Why should I help you? You’re annoying, you’re rude, you don’t care about school-” he looks past JJ’s shoulder, where his chair is tipped over next to a pile of fallen books. “-and you’ve made a mess in my library, that I have to clean up.”

“I’ll clean that up. I promise.” As if to prove it, JJ takes a step back, without actually doing anything to fix the mess.

Pope blinks, unimpressed and growing more frustrated by the second. “Why do you even need help?”

JJ stares for a moment, eyes trailing along the shelf behind Pope’s head, as if avoiding his gaze. “I’m dyslexic.”

Pope nearly laughs. “So? Dysexic people can read. And study. I don’t see the problem.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t-” JJ pauses, motioning vaguely with his hand. “I didn’t, like, learn how to.”

Pope tilts his head. He’s trying his best to look condescending, but he’s afraid he’s failing miserably. “Your mother is the dean. The college has plenty of resources that can help you more than I can. Your old schools should have, too.”

“My old schools?” JJ repeats, eyebrows raised. “Pope, bro, you should know me well enough to know I never went there. And my mom doesn’t know, so I can’t use the ‘resources’ she apparently has anyway.”

Pope scoffs. “Your mom, the dean, doesn’t know that you’re dyslexic? Are you seriously making a learning disorder up just to annoy me?”

“I am not!” JJ exclaims, brow furrowing. A few strands of hair fall in front of his eyes, making Pope’s mouth go dry. “I was diagnosed in, like, the third grade. But my mom doesn’t know. And she can’t know.”

“Why not?” Pope asks. His voice catches, and he’s ready to drop dead if he doesn’t compose himself.

JJ waves his hand. “It doesn’t matter. But I have to pass if I wanna stay here. Can you just- help me out? Just this once?” He interlocks his fingers, twisting them uncomfortably, his purple knuckles flexing as his fingers twist. “I won’t bother you again. I promise.”

Pope considers running away for a moment. Just- running away. Turning on his heel and abandoning his responsibilities. But he’s getting paid minimum wage to be here, in this too-loud, too-messy, too-annoying library, and he’s worked hard for it. To be at this school, to be in this very building.

And JJ, the apparent son of the dean, wouldn’t be a bad person to get behind. Perhaps he’s annoying as he is blonde, and his eyes are prettier than they should be, and his stupid, worn-out boots make Pope want to stomp like a misbehaving child, but he’s the son of the dean, and Pope wouldn’t mind being on her good side.

“Will you put in a good word for me? To your mom?” he asks. He may as well take advantage of the opportunity.

JJ seems taken aback. “Yeah! Yeah, of course, of course. I’ll tell her all about you, put a good word in. And you’ll help me?”

Pope sighs. He clenches his teeth, jaw working as he hesitates to reply. After a considerable silence, he speaks. “Fine. But- don’t be annoying, okay? And stop rocking in your chair, you’ll break it.”

JJ grins, eyes sparkling, and runs a hand through his hair. “Great, man. I have my history book with me now, but if you’re still working I can, like, chill out. Or whatever.” He smiles, properly this time, like he’s been saving it until now.

Pope is definitely going to regret this.

#jjpope #mayward #television #writing #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fic #obx #obx2 #obx jj #outer banks #pope #obx pope

[cure-fanventure]

==> First, be the other girl. Second, pick up your phone.

Suddenly, you're this girl.

Your name is FENNELL DAWSON but if anyone, and you do mean ANYONE calls you by your full first name you will not hesitate to bust kneecaps.

You prefer to be called FENN - it's short, it's sweet, and it's cute. 

You are SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, the perfect age for a dancing queen, young and sweet. 

Speaking of DANCING, that's one of your hobbies. Or maybe it's easier to say it's part of your dream.

Your ULTIMATE DREAM is to become a super cute pop idol! And because of that you have a real passion for MUSIC but especially the GUITAR.

You own 3, along with a ukulele and a kalimba.

But you mainly favour the guitar.

You don't like to BRAG (okay that's a lie you TOTALLY LOVE TO BRAG you selfish brat), but you're pretty damn good at playing the thing.

You have other hobbies and interests of course. Ranging from VIDEO GAMES to ANIME and K-POP.

Your favourite k-pop group being an older one called BTS. Back in their hay day they were international pop idols and given their GOOD LOOKS, WONDERFUL MUSIC, and GREAT CHEMISTRY, you aren't surprised. Your favourite member of that group (or BIAS) is JungKook, and your room has a few POSTERS of him and his BT21 COUNTERPART.

Speaking of your room, you have successfully decorated it to be PEAK KAWAII. Pink and purple and pastel and anime EVERYWHERE, the exception being the pile of black and white PANDA PLUSHIES. All gifts from other people. You LOVE PANDAS. They're so so so cute! 

Something about that monochrome colouring is just too IRRESISTIBLE.

  You are currently sitting on a pink sofa that rests at the end of your princessey-looking bed, plucking away at guitar strings trying to come up with something that perfectly captures your FEELINGS about someone wonderful. That wonderful someone being your SUPER CUTE GIRLFRIEND Vera, who happens to be having a birthday today.

It has to be PERFECT and it has to COME FROM THE HEART, but the lyrics really aren't flowing today.

Frustrated, you put the pastel pink acoustic guitar back on its stand and grab your equally pink cellphone that has been buzzing on and off.

You had been successfully ignoring it, expecting the notifications to be messages from your ANNOYING OLDER BROTHER - TYSON.

That guy is a handful. Good guy at heart, sure, but a complete idiot who squandered his inheritance on a couple unsuccessful business ventures and back alley gambling.

Now instead of acting like a responsible adult, he's relying on you to help him out. But it's whatever. You make enough money from your shows and the few odd jobs you pick up here and there to keep yourself occupied.

But it is kind of annoying you have to be the responsible one when he's six years older than you.

Seeing the messages in question are indeed from TY,  you frown and throw your phone onto your bed. It lands face down on the plush soft blankets.

You don't hate him, you constantly tell yourself. You're just absolutely disappointed in how far he has fallen from grace. And all that pressure to support his lazy ass makes you incredibly annoyed.

Looking for a way to burn off that energy, you take your prized, custom BASEBALL BAT off the wall mount and swing it a bit, making sure not to actually hit anything.

You want to scream in frustration but you don't. You don't want to alarm anyone.

So, you just swing LOUISA (the bat) a few times before tossing her down. The purple and seafoam green bat rolls out into the hallway but you don't notice.

What you do notice is your phone buzzing like crazy again. 

Ugh. Who the hell is bothering you now?

-- anKing [aK] began pestering melodiusStarlight [MS] at 09:00 --

aK: yo fenn, you asked me to message you when I was ready to start setting up CURE 

aK: fenn 

aK: urth to fenn, come in fenn 

aK: dagan's nuts, pick up your phone 

aK: sie sind das essen und where the fuck is my girlfriend? 

aK: well, secondary girlfriend 

aK: sorry funnel cake, but have you *seen* vera's face? 

aK: i mean of course you have, you're the one who schmoozed her into living with you 

aK: so obvs you know she's like 11/10 cute, would bring her blue kind of stuff here 

aK: oh yeah make sure she takes her shot today 

aK: geez, has it been three years already? time sure flies when you're illegally renting an apartment under false identities i got from the general 

aK: he says hi by the way 

aK: and wishes vera a happy birthday 

aK: i swear, the only woman he's ever given more than half a fuck about is our little beancake. 

aK: anyway, message me when you want to jam this biz 

aK: later 

-- anKing ceased pestering melodiusStarlight [MS] --

Ah shit, that's right, Vera's birthday present from Axel! You totally forgot about that. He's been raving about the thing for weeks. If it's as good as he says it is, which with Axel is usually the case, then this will be just the thing Vera needs: a way to play through her LARPing fantasies without having to go out and deal with groups of strangers. Unlike SBURB, CURE is just a high-tech VR game, so it'll only look like you're fighting imps and fucking up the apartment. Plus no meteors destroying the planet, which is a bonus. According to Axel, it's even got some rad crossovers with other properties that Micro licensed, though those are only available at higher levels.

Your own gift for Vera this year is a matching set of state-of-the-art rigs, with a special mask that won't trigger her sensory issues. They promise the most immersive VR experience possible without a wetsuit, and at five grand a pop, they had better deliver! You made some pretty good money on your last gig, but the majority of it went into these VR consoles, so you're going to be pretty upset if they don't turn out well. Axel obviously has his own custom setup, and Kite said she should even be able to get her hands on something, so all four of you will be able to play "together" when you enter the Medium.

It's a shame about Jazz, but you haven't heard from her in a few weeks.

You feel a buzzing in your palm, and look down at your phone. A Pesterchum notification has popped up.

-- seriousMaiden [SM] began pestering melodiusStarlight [MS] at 09:30 --

SM:  Hey.

MS: Hey Birthday girl~! Happy birthday!!! (*^◯^*)

SM: Thanks!!

SM: Just wanted to give you a heads up that my ears are bothering me a bit.

SM: So I'll be staying up here for now and sticking to Pesterchum.

SM: Sorry.

MS: (;o;) aw sorry vivi. If I get too loud, lemme know ‘Kay?

MS: A-nywaay. I gotta set up ur bday gift. It’s gonna be totes amaze!

MS: Also! Also! Axolotl messaged me earlier. The General says hi.

SM: Alright, I'll message him and say thanks.

SM: Have you heard from Kite at all?

MS: （ ;  ; ）no. Not yet. Her workout should be done soon tho~!

MS: I'll let her know to get online next

MS: And then you can message Axey when you're done.

MS: Meanwhile, I'll coordinate with him, and let know you're busy, so you don't get overwhelmed. (￣^￣)ゞ

SM: Thanks so much. <3

SM: I'll come down for second breakfast after I talk to Kite.

MS: Vee...don’t tell me..

MS: (ｏ＿ｏ);;; Did you eat pancakes at 5 AM again?

SM: I categorically deny that entirely accurate accusation.

MS: ure a total dork, ya know that?

SM: Yeah but you love me.

SM: Later sweetie!

-- seriousMaiden [SM] ceased pestering melodiusStarlight [MS] --

You roll your eyes, and begin pestering your boyfriend. Vera is adorable, but she can be a bit of a handful, especially with her weird eating habits.

-- melodiusStarlight [MS] began pestering anKing [aK] at 09:35 --

MS: Yo loser

aK: yes, my delicate carrot spice?

MS: Carrot spice? Really?

MS: (> ^ <) OMG You're SUCH a dork!!

aK: yeah but you knew that when vera asked me out

aK: so the real dork here is you

aK: anyways wuss poppin jimbo?

MS: (- _ -);; Is there literally anyone else left on this planet who understands that reference?

aK: just us, sorry sugar

aK: my 1337 m3m3s are lost upon the peasantry

aK: except maybe jazz, but who the fuck knows with jazz

MS: Speaking of Jazzy, have you heard from her lately? She hasn't reached out to Vera, which is supes weird, even for her. ): 

aK: nope. her channel went dark a little bit ago, some sort of weird error on twitch's end.

MS: Weiirddd well, whatevs Jazzy is kind of a tool anyways.

aK: the tooliest?

MS: ….

MS: (￣^￣) Geez dude, you seriously NEED to get out more!!! 

MS: there’s a BIIIG wide world out there Axey.

aK: suck my dick, drake and josh is hilarious

aK: speaking of tools, what news from the flying kite?

MS: >3c ya still salty bout that minecraft server?

aK: shut the hell your mouth

MS: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

MS: She's having her turn calling the birthday girl, so don't you DARE interrupt!!!

aK: wouldn't dream of it. well, maybe kite, but i know vera gets frustrated trying to keep up with too many convos at once

MS: Thanks, Axey ~<3 I'm gonna start getting the VR thingies set up, can ya patch me over those CURE files so we're ready to go after second breakfast?

aK: pancakes at 5 am? MS: You know it.

aK: coming in hot, prepare your bandwidth

-- anKing [aK] shared file: thegame(youlostit).exe --

MS: .... srsly?!?!

MS: Mother

MS: FUCKER!!!!

MS: #≧Д≦

--  anKing [aK] blew a raspberry and ran --

You're still not exactly sure  how he programmed that function in, but it annoys you to no end. The jerk is probably sitting in his room laughing like a tool and thinking about salad. You love the little weasel to death though, so you tend to let his antics slide.

You step into the kitchen and begin making one of Vera’s favourite (second) breakfasts: tonkotsu ramen. You prepped all the tougher stuff in advance, so all that’s really left is to cook the pork, soft boil the eggs, and chop the veggies. The whole process takes about an hour, which is just enough time for Vera to wrap things up with Kite, and you move the presents from the closet to the living room.

No sooner than you finish topping off the second bowl of ramen, a loud thud and muffled swearing can be heard from the top of the stairs, and you get a ping on your phone.

-- seriousMaiden [SM] began pestering melodiusStarlight [MS] --

-- seriousMaiden [SM] set their mood to RANCOROUS --

SM: GOD DAMMIT

MS: Vee, what happened?! (°ロ°) !

SM: I tripped over your fucking bat again!

SM: Why do you even HAVE that thing?!

SM: I’m pretty sure you’ve never played baseball in your life!

MS: ∑(O_O;)

MS: OHMYGOSH I am SOSOSO sorry!!

MS: I totes thought that was leaning on my door! m(_ _)m

SM: It was. I was coming down the hall and my hip wandered a bit.

SM: But honestly, HOW MANY TIMES have I told you to keep that thing in your room!!

MS: |д･) I made ramen

SM: … Tonkotsu with extra garlic?

MS: |▽//) Only DA BESTEST for you, sugar~!

SM: You’re lucky you’re so friggin cute. I’ll be down in a second.

MS: (´ ε ` )♡

-- seriousMaiden [SM] ceased pestering melodiousStarlight [MS] --

Vera eventually makes her way downstairs, carrying the offending bat, and the two of you turn off your phones before sitting down to eat. You chatter happily about your various interests and her call with Kite (with you teasing her a bit about Kite’s increasingly obvious crush), and enjoy your food. After making sure Vera gets her shot - which is a painful ordeal in and of itself, but she can’t take the pills - the two of you sit down in the living room to open presents (as is traditional, dessert will come after).

VERA: OHMYGOODNESS THEEEEEEESEARE AMAZING!!!!

VERA: Waitwait doesthis mean that Axelgotus CURE?

FENN: Yuppers!! He totes nailed me with a fuckin meme, but I got the file!

VERA: We gottaplayitrightnow!!!!!

FENN: Woah hun, slow it down! Lemme get em booted.

FENN: Okay, YOU are getting a half portion for dessert, missy! I can feel ya vibrating from here!

VERA: OH! OHOHOHOHOH!!!! I’ll be right back!

And there she goes. It’s unreal the kind of speed she’s getting. But she’ll be back in a bit. You get the two systems booted up, and ping your home server for the file (losing the game again in the process). To your surprise, it installs almost immediately, and just as it finishes, Vera darts back downstairs, clutching one of her prized possessions: a boffer staff she made herself as part of a LARP outfit. She’s actually pretty good with using it as a weapon, but she’s probably hoping the game will be programmed to let her cast spells.

Feeling a bit lazy on a full stomach, you decide to put your bat to good use, and select batkind as your strife specibus. It’ll be easy enough to swing it around for a bit, and you plan on letting Vera do most of the combat anyways. Next, you scroll through the list of available fetch modii, which is super long. They seem to have every one that showed up in Homestuck, plus a few more that didn’t - who in their right mind would ever use a Lottery Modus?

Remembering some of the early-game shenanigans from the comic, you set yourself up with the Pictionary Modus, and look over to Vera to see how she’s coming along with hers. As you more or less expected, she’s staring at the list and chewing on one of her stimulators.

FENN: Vivibabes, you aight?

VERA: Hmmph.

FENN: You gotta spit that out ‘fore you talk hun.

VERA: Oh, right, sorry.

VERA: I’m just trying to remember what I’ve read about some of these Fetch Modii.

VERA: I think I want the Pocket Modus? Which is weird that that’s here because it’s supposed to be a prize for something. But I can’t quite remember if it does what I think it does.

FENN: Oh! Lemme look it up for ya!

You fish your phone out of your pocket, and turn it back on. As soon as it boots up, you’re immediately bombarded with Pesterchum notifications. Wondering what’s got Axel’s panties in a twist, you open the app and take a look.

-- anKing [AK] began pestering melodiousStarlight [SM] --

-- anKing [aK] is playing CURE --

aK: fenn, something really weird is going on with this game

aK: don’t install it yet

aK: i dunno if it just glitched out my n-patch or what the fuck

aK: but if it did, i don’t think it’s safe to play with your rigs

aK: fenn?

ak: fennel?

aK: fuck, pick the fuck up!

aK: damn it, you’re eating, aren’t you?

aK: shit shit shit shit

aK: okay new plan, i’ll get someone to go over

aK: got your landlord on speed dial

aK: fuck, okay, my phone isn’t working.

aK: which is fucking IMPOSSIBLE because it’s a fucking military sat phone

aK: i gotta let kite know

aK: shit, kite’s already playing. she’s seeing the same shit i am

aK: FUCK

aK: this is fucked up

aK: please please please pick up

aK: shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit

aK: fuck me. all i can do is hope for the best.

aK: message me the SECOND you get this.

MS: Axxy what the FUCK is going on??? 〣( ºΔº )〣

aK: there you are, holy shit!

aK: PLEASE tell me you haven’t installed yet!

MS: We just did! Vera’s selecting her Fetch Modus now! Σ(°△°|||)︴

MS: Explain yaself rn mister!! (╬ Ò﹏Ó)

aK: it’s not a game.

aK: it’s not VR.

aK: it’s the motherfucking apocalypse.

#homestuck #fanventure #homestuck fanventure #cure fanventure

[haticesultanas]

Fasten your seat belts because this is gonna be a wild ride™:

Selim II: everyone hates him, blames him for the decadence of the Ottoman empire, but it wasn't that simple. Also yes he made bad decisions but his father's bad decisions were blamed on his Grand viziers, whereas Selim II's bad decisions were blamed on him. Double standard much? Yes. Basically, I love him because everyone else hates him. It's spite, yes. Also, he was weirdly domestic? Like, he's always talked about for his debauchery but one of his favourite past times was play chess with his former nanny like how sweet is that???

Giacomo Leopardi: my favourite Italian poet of all time you have no idea how much I relate to his poems and to his life. He's usually just dismissed as just "sad" and "depressed" but his works are in fact so beautiful. I don't know how good the English translations are but if you could read some of them it'd be great. La Ginestra for example is a masterpiece imo

Murad V: another man with such a tragic life I can't help but loving him. He was accused of insanity and removed to the throne but in fact he had (most probably) depression and alcohol problems. He loved his children dearly and had such a sweet wit. He suffered like hell and didn't deserve the life he had... not even his funeral. It was done secretly and at some point someone opened his basked to show everybody that it was truly him. Such disrespect

Murad IV: totally different from his descendant LOL. He was authoritarian, strict, arrogant; he kind of reminds me of Peter the Great. What I find interesting about him is that he had a public persona (strict, merciless, bloody) and a completely different private persona, where he would have fun with his favourites and would also accept jokes made at his expense. He's a very interesting man imo

Lucius Sergius Catilina: okay this man was SLANDERED. HE. WAS. Everything we know about his conspiracy comes from Cicero who hated his guts and his Orationes in Catilinam were touched upon during the time to make them more beautiful and to slander Catilina more. For example, he says that Catilina was a parvenu but he wasn't, he was part of the aristocracy. His whole argument rests on the fact that Catilina is supposed to hate his own class — and this is how he turns the Senate against him — but that's not true. In this house we're Catilina defenders first and Cicero haters second.

Gustav II Adolf of Sweden: A. LEGEND. The Lion of the North. SUCH. A. LEGEND. he almost won the Thirty Years' War against the Habsburg empire ALONE. He even won his last battle but unfortunately died fighting. Also he was Christina of Sweden's dad I mean legends fathering legends.

Frederick V: another legend. HE DESERVED TO KEEP THE KINGSHIP OF BOEMIA OK? I totally supported him against the Holy Roman Empire. Though the reason why I love him is because he loved his wife TO DEATH. I just love him so much. Finally a good husband.

Dante Alighieri: I mean, could I leave him out? absolutely not. The greatest (Italian) poet of all time, he created the Italian language and gave the world the greatest masterpiece, the Divina Commedia. Do not trust anyone who says that he copied someone Martin Luther (h o w ??) or that the Commedia is just fanfiction ?? or that he was disgusting for loving a woman he met once. First of all, no, he didn't meet her once. They knew each other; once Beatrice stopped saying hello to him because he seemed to have fallen in love with another woman. Secondly, his love for Beatrice was pure. It was not carnal, it was almost holy. Beatrice was the means through which Dante could get closer to God. I mean??? No other man could beat this. Thirdly, the Commedia is written in honour of Beatrice who had died young?? Imagine someone dedicating the greatest literary work of all times to you. No other man could ever.

Prince Ahmed Kemaleddin: oh man, another legend. A little background or you don't understand just how legendary he is: Ahmed Kemaleddin was the younger brother of Murad V (above) and Abdülhamid II. Now, Abdülhamid is not nice or fun at all; once, Ahmed Kemaleddin had asked him for money and he replied that he wasn't a Jew (!!). Prince Ahmed never forgot just how condescending he was treated so when Murad V was deposed in favour of Abdülhamid II, he organised a (failed, unfortunately) coup together with his even younger brother Süleyman and his sisters Fatma and Seniha. As you can see, nobody liked Abdülhamid in the family lmao— I mean, they had taste.

Pope Gregory VII: oh man. He's so mean. I have a thing for mean popes lol, in the middle ages they were so fun. So basically Gregory VII was a monk that during a papal election led an army of Norman knights to keep the aristocracy out (at the time the Roman aristocracy basically decided who the next pope would be). When he became pope himself, Gregory VII became famous for his role in the Investiture controversy and because of the Dictatus Papae, a document which states that the pope is the highest authority on Earth (yes, above the emperor too) and that he's vicar of Christ and not of Peter. If I remember correctly, the Dictatus Papae also states that everyone — including the emperor — should kiss the pope's shoe. Like, amazing. He was so /nice/ he basically fought with everyone: emperor (Henry IV), cardinals, other lords. Everyone. I just love him so much what a legend.

#catalina-infanta #i swear i articulate better during my exams #text post

[tsarisfanfiction]

Care taking ideas:

Person A steadying Person B as they try to stand/walk

A: Alan B: Scott.

Tumble

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Gen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family Characters: Alan, Scott

I feel like I’ve written a lot of Scott&Alan recently, but any excuse to have a little brother looking after Scott is a good one in my books :D

Fluffy Prompt Generator

Alan was the youngest.  He hated it when it was pointed out, because normally when his age came into things it was accompanied by the words ‘too young’.  He hated it because it meant his brothers tried to sugar-coat anything they could get away with, so he could keep his ‘childhood’ just a little while longer.

He wasn’t so young anymore that he didn’t realise certain older brothers had lost their childhood way younger than the age he was now.  (He was still too young to realise that was why they were so insistent on his).

Smother hens masquerading as older brothers, a grand total of up to four, depending on how much of a Responsible Big Brother Gordon felt like being, as opposed to the Fun Big Brother Alan much preferred him as, meant that he was quite successfully shielded from a lot of things.  Not so much that he wasn’t vaguely aware of them, but there were sights he didn’t see.

Being the only brother on the island when Scott tripped and fell down the stairs from the den to the kitchen in hunt of something edible while Thunderbird One refuelled between busy missions (which Alan was not involved in, because none of them needed Thunderbird Three and once again his eldest brothers were brandishing his slipping homework in front of him and ordering him to pick up the slack or be grounded until the summer holidays), Alan found himself witness to one such occasion he was normally kept far away from.

The fact that Scott didn’t immediately pick himself up and keep going had Alan ignoring the homework - and the alarm John had tagged on him for leaving the table without authorisation, because yes they had decided to be that strict about it today - and running for the unmoving form of his biggest brother.

“Scott?”

The groan he got promised consciousness, at least, even if that made it even more worrying that Scott wasn’t moving.

“Scott!”  He leaned over him, tapping his cheek and watching in relief as blue eyes blinked open.

“Urgh,” his brother mumbled, clearly taking a moment to register where he was and what had happened.  “Alan?”

“Where are you hurt?”  He had to be, if he wasn’t already up and pretending it hadn’t happened.  Scott blinked at him.

“I’m not hurt,” he said.  Denied.  Alan might not be an adult, but he knew Scott well enough to know there was no way he’d still be lying on the floor if he wasn’t hurt.  He sent his best disbelieving glare at his brother.

“Sure you’re not,” he retorted when Scott didn’t fess up.  “Tell me or I’m calling John.”

John, who was no doubt gearing up to berate him for abandoning his homework the moment he got a moment to spare.  It wouldn’t be long before his second eldest brother piped up anyway.

“Alan-” Scott started, finally starting to shift and getting his hands beneath him in a way that had Alan’s eyes narrowing.  Scott didn’t normally need to push himself up with his hands; none of them did.  They were all too in-shape for that.

He tapped at his wrist.  “Last chance, Scott.”  Grandma was also in the house, and as soon as he called John, he’d be calling for her, too.

Scott stopped his denial, eyes honing in on the comm as though it was a threat.  Well, that wasn’t wrong.  Another moment of silence was all it took for Alan to bring up the link to Thunderbird Five and-

“My ankle,” Scott admitted.  First aid training kicked in and Alan instantly moved to assess it.  His brother hadn’t specified which one, but now he knew what he was looking for he could see in Scott’s movements that the left was being favoured.

“Let me see,” he insisted, batting Scott’s hands away as his brother resignedly stayed sat down.  A gentle probe had Scott obviously fighting to recoil, and Alan rolled his eyes.  “I don’t think you’re going back out on that rescue, bro,” he said.

“It’s fine,” Scott told him.  “Some ice and it’ll be good as new.”

Who he thought he was fooling with that, Alan had no idea.  It certainly wasn’t him.

“I’m getting a scanner and we’ll see,” he said.  “But I’m not leaving you at the bottom of the stairs for Grandma to trip over.  Come on.”

That time, Scott did recoil, some stupid big brother pride rebelling against the idea of being helped to stand by his youngest brother, but he was cornered against the stairs and with an eyeroll, Alan caught his arms.

“Up you get,” he said, shifting until he had Scott’s left arm across his shoulders and his own arm around his back.

“I can stand by myself,” his brother grumbled, but it seemed that Alan having hold of him was enough to stop him trying to get away.  Either that, or his ankle was a lot more painful than he was letting on.

It wouldn’t surprise Alan if that was the case.

“Nope.”  It took some effort, especially with the height difference, but he managed to get his brother to his feet.  Now, where to take him?  The breakfast stools dotted around were perfectly shaped for Scott to simply slip off the moment his back was turned, so they were out, but the kitchen wasn’t particularly conducive for lounging around-

Lounging.

He eyed the loungers by the pool.  Thunderbird One wasn’t going to be launching any time soon - Alan was under no illusions about being allowed to take Scott’s place - and if Scott was laying down... It might just take him an extra few seconds to get up.

Plus, it would elevate the ankle a little.

“This way,” he coaxed, bracing himself as Scott stumbled, clearly caught out at the change of direction.

“Where are we going?” his brother asked, confusion lacing his voice as Alan led him towards the pool.

“Mind the step,” Alan answered, helping him down to the patio.  “You need to put that ankle up.”

He saw the moment clarity struck.  Scott attempting to dig his heels in had something to do with that, but with one ankle out of action and Alan still directing forwards motion, he had little choice but to follow.

Sometimes, Alan appreciated John’s love of simple physics.

“Sit,” he ordered, nudging him down onto the nearest lounger and scooping his brother’s legs up to make sure he settled on it properly.  “And stay, or I’ll get Grandma.”

That close to the kitchen, it was a threat.

Whether it was enough of a threat to get Scott to obey, however, remained to be seen.

The answer was apparently yes, as Alan returned from his dash to the infirmary - pausing to update John out of Scott’s earshot, who rolled his eyes and obligingly turned off the ‘Alan do your homework’ alarm at his valid reason for not doing it right then - to find Scott was still there.

Scott was also, somehow, asleep, as though the act of laying down on a lounger was the last push he’d needed to get some rest.  Alan wondered if he’d have fallen down the stairs if he’d slept a little earlier.

Probably not.

Careful not to disturb him, he ran the scan.

Just a sprain.  To be safe, he scanned his head, too - all clear; no concussion, just plain exhaustion.  He could let Scott sleep a while longer before summoning Grandma to deal with the ankle.

Satisfied, he retreated long enough to snatch his homework before relocating next to his brother to get on with it.  And if his new location meant he got to enjoy some peaceful time in the sun with a sleeping brother, well, that was just a bonus.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #scott tracy #alan tracy #thunderfluff #drabbles #janetm74 #tumble

[alittlewhump]

Unbidden - Act 2, chapter 6

Masterlist | Previous | Next

Content warnings: torture mention, drowning mention, emeto/vomit as a result of drowning, restraint, suicidal ideation, fantasy violence

The demons discovered that it was nearly impossible for Morgan to die by drowning in healing potion. The healing effect always overcame the asphyxiation eventually, even when he lost consciousness under the liquid. His body's survival reflexes took care of the rest, expelling the liquid from his lungs and stomach in violent, shuddering spasms. Naturally, the vipers gave up trying to feed the potion to him in favour of this much more entertaining method. But eventually it really had started to act a little slower. His involuntary heaving was bringing up a little more potion each time, his injuries taking a little longer to heal. So they had started being even more careful with him, to prolong their amusement as much as possible.

At the moment, they had hooked a chain around his bound wrists and fed it through a fixture on the ceiling. There was not quite enough slack in the chain to allow him to kneel. They had tried dangling him by his wrists previously, but the compression of his lungs had nearly seen him suffocate before his feeble gasping had alerted them to their mistake. If they had just left him unattended a little longer, perhaps he could finally have escaped this misery, but it was not his to be so lucky.

Morgan swayed where he stood, hands suspended slightly above his head. Occasionally he would drift off and lose his precarious balance, his reflexes too sluggish to prevent himself from falling before the chain snapped taut and wrenched him back to painful awareness. The demons had left him to "rest" alone like this for... some time. He didn't know how long. It didn't really matter.

He was drifting in and out of awareness when gentle fingers touched his left shoulder. He jerked away as far as his limited range of movement would allow without losing his footing. It sometimes amused the claw vipers to treat him with a mocking kindness when they weren't being unbearably cruel. He didn't bother opening his eyes, didn't want to see the pleasure that played across their faces with each protest they could wring out of him. But the touch retreated and nothing followed. No cut, no strike, no burn. Just a voice saying something. It wasn't one of the demons, he realized. He struggled to focus. He hadn't been fully lucid in what felt like a very long time.

The chain suspending his arms gave way suddenly. Without its support, Morgan lurched backward. The chain connecting the shackles on his ankles pulled tight as he stumbled, unable to catch himself. This was more in line with what he'd expected, the breath coming out of him all at once in a surprised huff as he collided with the unyielding ground. Secondary pain crept like fire licking across his skin as partially healed wounds reopened at the impact. He caught the whimper before it left his lips, loosened the muscles in his throat so it came out a sigh instead. It was all the resistance he could muster. He was still so tired, even after the time that had passed. Hope flickered faintly as he curled onto his side in a futile, instinctual effort to protect himself. Maybe this time they would finally push him past the point of recovery. He tried to focus on the rhythm of his hatefully stubborn body as it refused to stop surviving. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. He anchored himself on the ragged breaths. Eventually - soon - they would stoke the ember of his pain into a bright flame of agony and it would consume him anew. But right now he was still something almost like a person, not just a conduit for anguish. He clung to that as best he could.

A hand touched Morgan's ribs, feather-light, then another one came to rest on his left shoulder again. He closed his eyes tighter. So it was going to be like this again, he thought dully. No preamble, just straight to work on his vulnerable arm. They had been favouring that approach lately. He waited, tense and trembling. Any moment now the hand would move down his arm, its claws painting swaths of agony across his flesh, heightening his sensitivity for whatever else they had planned. The longer it waited, the sharper his fear grew. This was another one of the games they liked, making it hard to guess when the pain was coming. There was no winning in this game. In any of them.

The voice was speaking again. Had it ever stopped? He hadn't made the effort to listen to them in a while. They didn't seem to like that, but this wasn't one of their voices, he remembered. Focus was elusive, but the sound finally resolved into words.

"... out of here. Think you can stand? I can always carry you if I have to." It sounded almost like Blaise, but that was impossible. He'd ruled out the idea of rescue long ago, dismissed it the moment it occurred to him. No one had any real reason to notice his absence, to go looking for him. They should have just assumed he had ventured out in search of information and fallen to any of the terrors of the desert. What point would there be in seeking him out? He had no knowledge that Cain didn't also have, no skills that couldn't be replaced by someone else. He cracked his eyes open, hardly daring to hope. This could still be some sort of cruel trick, a new game they had devised to toy with his mind.

It certainly looked like Blaise, for some reason. She crouched down next to Morgan, slipping her arm around his back. If this was one of their horrible games, they had gone to great lengths on the illusion. "There you are. I've got you. Come on now, up we go." She helped him to his feet and stepped back to look him in the eyes. Maybe it was real after all. "Let's get you out of here. What the hell did - no, never mind. We can talk later. Right now we have to go."

Still mentally scattered, not coherent enough to form sentences, not sure if he should even believe this was really happening, Morgan lifted his cuffed hands toward her pleadingly. He wasn't going to breathe freely until he was unbound, that much he knew for certain. And without any form of magic at his disposal, he was still totally helpless.

Blaise examined the cuffs, squinting in the dim light. "Do you know where the key is?" Morgan shook his head mutely. "Hm. I can probably pick this. Just need to get a good look at it." She glanced around quickly, then started to move toward the stone slab in the corner of the room. "Looks like there's a couple of braziers I can light over here, hang on."

Morgan moved to follow her more slowly, still hobbled by both the shackles and his unsteady legs. He was starting to feel more like himself with each passing moment, though. His eyes scanned past the doorway and he froze as he saw movement. It was one of the claw vipers passing by. Maybe it would keep going.

He was not that lucky. The demon stopped, then turned around to look at him. "It seems our little mouse has slipped from its trap," it observed as it slithered into the room. Morgan bared his teeth and stumbled back and to the side, positioning himself as far from Blaise as he could. If the viper was focused on him and had its back to the more formidable opponent, it would be that much easier for her to kill. His wits were returning, even though his coordination was lagging behind.

The snake demon played into the ploy a little too well, heading for him without so much as a glance around the room. It snatched the chain still trailing from his cuffs, giving it a rough yank that made him stagger directly into its waiting embrace. "It must be ready to play," it jeered, teasing its claws over his skin. Morgan hissed as they dug in, dragging familiar stinging lines over his ribs and down his side. Then the demon's eyes rolled back and its body went limp as an arrow sprouted from its throat. Well, that eliminated any lingering doubt. His eyes trained on the doorway now, Morgan stepped around the body and made his way over to Blaise as quickly as he could manage.

"Hey, are you... uh, you okay there?" Blaise was eyeing his side as she fished her roll of picking tools out of her pack. "I have some of those potions from Lysander if -"

"No," Morgan growled sharply. When he tore his eyes from the door to glance at Blaise, she was giving him a strange look. "It's not deep," he clarified. Words were starting to come a little easier now. These incisions were shallow, though they were bleeding freely. Still, he was never going to drink a healing potion again as long as he lived.

"All right, your call." She took the manacles in a gentle grip, examining them in the light. "You know, there's a locksmith in the city-"

"Please," Morgan said, hating the desperation in his voice. "I am useless in these." Now that freedom actually seemed possible, the restriction was getting unbearable.

"Okay, okay. Yeah. All right. I'll be quick as I can." Morgan kept his gaze locked on the doorway, watching intently for any movement. The risk was high, making her focus on this instead of just leaving. A selfish decision. He started to regret it after a moment, but by that time she was already deep in concentration. Every time he thought about speaking up to change his mind, the promise of immediate freedom won out over his deepening concern. It was a tense minute while Blaise worked at the cuffs, but they finally cracked open.

Morgan rolled his shoulders back, relishing the freedom of movement - and suddenly there was another claw viper in the doorway, this one brandishing a kris. It must have spied the corpse of the first one. Before Blaise had a chance to draw her bow, it was moving on them. Almost without thinking, Morgan poured his newly freed magic into the ground. It felt good to use it again, like stretching a cramped muscle. The earth whipped up around the demon, grasping tendrils ensnaring it before it had a chance to react. It looked briefly surprised before it was yanked under, its body disappearing beneath a mound of earth. There was a muffled crunching sound as the ground smoothed back down. The effort left Morgan light-headed, and he sagged against the stone. How long had it been? How weak had he gotten?

Blaise stared at the ground where the viper had been. "Is it dead?"

"Yes." He reached out mentally to examine the skeleton of the unfortunate demon. It was crushed beyond recognition. Perhaps he'd overreacted a little. He reached out again, more slowly this time. The earth rose up around his ankles to pry apart the metal shackles. It took more effort than he anticipated. He could tell he didn't have enough in him to form a whole new golem, but there must be... yes, there were plenty of dead beneath these sands. A single skeleton rose from behind him, shaky, weaponless. It creaked over to a weapon rack and seized a scimitar. That would have to do. He couldn't risk spending the energy on more.

"All right, come on. Let's get out of here. I don't have any of Deckard's scrolls on me but we aren't too far from a waypoint, then we'll get you back to the city. Be nice to get cleaned up, yeah?"

"...Yes." Morgan was suddenly acutely aware of the state he was in. It had been a baseline discomfort before, pale in comparison to the rest of the things going on. Layers of blood and potion were caked on his skin, and his hair was horribly tangled. He pushed aside the unpleasant sensations for the time being; that was a problem to solve later.

Blaise took the lead, retracing her steps through the winding corridors at a cautious pace. The skeleton took up the rear with Morgan between them. He was uncomfortably on edge, hypersensitive now that he was actually using his senses again instead of trying to ignore them. When they finally broke into the daylight, he had to close his eyes completely against the overwhelming brightness. The sun felt harsh on his skin. The sand felt sharp under his feet. He had to stop for a moment to try to reorient himself, pressing his hand over his eyes.

"Akarat's bane," Blaise said softly. He'd heard that curse on the lips of the mercenaries around Lut Gholein. That felt like such a long time ago. It sounded like it was aimed toward him.

"Sorry, I just need... a moment," he said. He cracked his eyes open to gauge how upset she might be. She was digging through her bag with a frown. She pulled out a square of brown fabric, shook it out, and held it out to him at arm's length.

"Here, put this on. You don't want to walk through town like that."

"I... thank you." It was a light cloak, much too large for him. He slipped it on gratefully. It got the sun off his skin, and its hood sheltered his eyes from the sunlight. "Thank you," he repeated. "For saving me. Again. I am in your debt."

Blaise waved her hand dismissively, looking away. "If anything, it's Deckard you should thank. He wanted to tell you about something he found. When he couldn't track you down, he asked me to go looking. Looks like it's a good thing I found you when I did. Come on, the waypoint isn't far."

Morgan followed in silence, concentrating on each step. If he narrowed his focus, the sensory barrage was less overwhelming. Somehow he made it back to the palace this way, just blindly following Blaise as she shepherded him into his room. He nodded numbly as she told him where she was going. Hopefully that information wouldn't be pressingly important. When the door clicked shut behind her, he breathed out a sigh he hadn't realized he was holding in. He was alone and unrestrained for the first time in... a long time. Probably. It had felt like an awfully long time. He pressed his back up against the wall, closing his eyes.

They opened again almost immediately as a bolt of irrational fear shot through him. He was still in the palace, he reassured himself, but for just a second it had felt as though he might open his eyes to find himself back in that gods-forsaken room, surrounded by demons that were all cold claws and relentless cruelty. That was impossible. He was safe now. This was real, not some feverish near-death fantasy. Morgan crossed over to the tub and leaned over it. His steps were unhindered. The ceramic was smooth and cool under his fingers. He took even, steady breaths to ground himself. This was real, he reminded himself again. His hands still trembled.

#my writing #story: unbidden #torture tw #drowning tw #suffocation tw #suicidal ideation tw #emeto tw #emetophobia tw #restraint tw #fantasy violence tw #whump #whump writing #vomit tw

[mochideleche]

maybe draco malfoy isn’t all that bad...

pairing : draco malfoy x female ravenclaw reader

summary : when one fateful day your new potions seating plan ends up with you sitting next to draco, but from that springs a little friendship with little library sessions and astronomy tower rendezvous that leaves you constantly in internal conflict 

A/N it starts in third year but it isn't a full-blown fanfic if u get me just the important parts. i tried my best to follow the harry potter plot to make it seem canon as possible but there might be some bits that don't overlap because my memory is a bit fuzzy, hope you enjoy! ;) (also my requests are open)

warnings: fluff, lil bit angsty, no smut because that’s cringe 

It started in third year when you were made to sit next to him. Of course you were scared, you were being made to sit next to the draco malfoy, the son of a supposed death eater. Yes, you had heard all the horrible things he had done, seen the way he had treated those he deemed unworthy and witnessed as he bullied countless people for his own entertainment. You despised him for it. Thankfully, you had never been at the end of his wretched tormenting but that didn’t change the way you felt towards him. 

But for Draco on the other hand, he was over the moon when he saw you sitting next to the desk he was assigned to. He stared at you, eyes focused on your textbook, hair falling in your face and your hand tapping the table as you read. He loved it when you did that, he noticed how you hands seemed to have a mind of their own when he first laid eyes on you in transfiguration, 1st year. He loved the way your eyes sparkled when you laughed, he loved how nonchalant you were when you answered a difficult question with ease and he loved the way your smile made him feel. Although, that smile was never directed at him. He would never admit it, but you were the prettiest girl he had ever seen and let’s say, he developed a soft spot for you. Making sure that none of his cronies made you their victim and always steering clear of your path when crabbe and goyle where looking to attack anything with a pulse. But he’d never let anyone know, he could never let anyone know that the cold slytherin pureblood had fallen in love with a ravenclaw sweetheart. 

You refused to acknowledge his presence, letting him drop his books on the desk and slouch in his chair, resting his chin in his hand and he looked at the front, boredom evident on his face. You sat stiff in your chair, trying all the best to concentrate on the instructions snape was setting. Not only did you have to take a dreaded class with Hogwarts’ most hated teacher, but you were now made to take the class next to Hogwarts’ most hated student. 

But to your surprise, it wasn’t as bad as you thought.

 Through out the year you and Draco became- well, close-closer than you were ever expecting, but you wouldn’t call yourself friends.

 It started when you just couldn’t seem to get your fire going and were falling behind as your classmates took the best pick of the ingredients, you rolled your eyes at your sudden inability to produce a fire and knew immediately you would be left with scraps of herbs and powders and a low grade. 

But before you could drag yourself to the store cupboard to collect what was left of the ingredients, you noticed a neat pile of the ingredients next to your cauldron. Your eyes whipped up to Draco who was staring into to his pot, already mixing the concoction with a lazy hand. He looked up to you gave you a small smile and went back to stirring. 

So he had done it. You couldn’t believe that draco malfoy had just done something nice. Maybe he wasn't all bad...

The rest of the year went on like that, little things in potions such as you starting both yours and his fires as he got the ingredients, him chopping up things you didn’t like the smell of and you tidying up his desk when he went to present his final potion to snape.

 And not in just potions too, he also sent small smiles to you in the hallways, gave you little waves across the great hall when nobody was looking and sometimes making small talk as you two approached your next lesson. 

And throughout the months, you began to realise, Draco wasn’t all he seemed to be. Of course, you said nothing of it - not to anyone, not because you were scared what people may think if they found out you didn’t totally despise the muggle born hater but because you knew that Draco didn’t want anyone to know that he didn’t totally hate his ravenclaw potions partner. 

Then came fourth year, you weren’t seated next to draco, but hermionie granger who you absolutely loved. Now the two smartest girls in the year were partners in potions. 

That year you had sat next to her in the majority of your lessons and the two of you became rather close. This was one of the reasons you weren’t so upset that you weren’t sitting next to Draco anymore. Hermionie was a great reminder of all the dreadful things Draco was responsible for doing. 

Over the summer you found yourself thinking of a certain someone. You didn’t want to admit it but maybe coming to not hate Draco was an understatement, but you didn’t want to say that maybe you had fallen for him. 

You shook the thoughts out of your head on the first day of school. Maybe it was because the attention Draco gave you made you feel special and caused you to think that you were in love with him, no- not in love- you couldn’t be in love, it was only a small crush which was entirely unreasonable and would go away soon...right? 

Besides, think of all the horrible things he’s done, they didn’t just go away because he was nice to you? He’s an arrogant pureblood supremacist, bullies other houses and freely uses the term mudblood. You could not let yourself fall in love with someone like him. 

Not to mention his father, but you couldn’t set that as a reasonable excuse, children are not their parents choices. But you still deemed Draco as a bad idea. And just looking at hermionie, an avid victim of Draco’s terror, made you guilty that you even considered  being civil towards him. 

But despite all that, nothing stopped your heart from pounding when the same blonde hair boy tapped you on the shoulder one night in the library. 

“Y/N, can I ask you a favour?” he had asked, scratching the back of his head, as his stormy grey eyes looked everywhere but you. 

“yes?” you answered, looking up at the boy who seemed, for some reason, nervous.                     

“Is it alright, if you help me with this? please” he said, placing down he herbology essay that was due the next morning.

You stared at him as if he was joking, draco malfoy, asking for help?

“You’re one of the smartest people in our year” he reasoned, pursing his lips and trying to avoid eye contact, “ so I thought maybe you knew how to-”

“I can help,” You said softly, wanting to stop Draco from trying to persuade you, it just made you all the more flustered.  

His eyes lit up and he hurriedly sat down in the chair next to you as you took your quill with a shaky hand and began explaining. 

You scribbled away at the piece of parchment in front of you as you tried to explain the various uses for different types of herbs and plants but out of the corner of your eye you could see that Draco wasn’t looking at your detailed diagrams or flowcharts, but at you. 

You hoped you weren’t as red as you thought you were. 

the two of you sat there for what seemed hours but thankfully draco had got the answers he had came for and had began on his essay. After you had explained, you had hoped he would go to another desk or back to his common room 

but he stayed there with you. 

You could not concentrate on a single word you tried to read whilst he was there. You glanced over at him, his back hunched over the desk, his eyes, narrowed, following his quill as he wrote away. 

You were surprised he took in that much, you were never a good teacher. In a weird way, it felt like the old days, when you two would get on with your work not giving each other any attention but fully aware that the other was there next to them. 

You did your best to read, your hand tapping away at the desk as it always did, when a large hand enveloped your own. 

“Do you always have to do that?” Draco asked, a small smirk on his lips and a raised eyebrow cocked towards you. 

“Sorry, I can’t help it” you replied. Your heart pounding even louder, since when did Draco take in that little detail? 

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to give your hand something to do then” and he moved his hand from on top of yours and settled his long slender fingers in between your own. Holding your hand gently. 

you were definitely as red as you thought you were now. So you turned away, not wanting him to see you blush, your face facing straight down at you book but your eyes were not reading the words on the pages. 

you heard him chuckle and that made your heart explode.

 And the night went on like that, you, trying awfully hard to read the textbook and Draco scribbling away and all the while your hands settled on the desk between you, holding on to each other. You were estatic.

However, as much as you dreaded it, the night had to come to an end, 

Draco walked you out of the library and you came to notice that you two were the only ones left in there. 

“Thank you, by the way” he said, his eyes scanning your face as if he was looking for something. 

“It’s alright,” you said and with fear of being left in awkward silence you began to walk away slowly. 

Draco seemed to get the message and began retracting too, towards the stairs that led down to the dungeons, “Goodnight Y/N” and he turned around, a large smile painted on his face.

“Goodnight Draco,” you said quietly, not sure that he heard but a small laugh escape his lips as he walked further away leaving you with an equally large grin plastered on your face. 

Maybe Draco Malfoy wasn’t all that bad. 

The rest of fourth year went on like that, little visits from Draco now and then when you were in the library. He’d sit next to you and you’d both get on with your work until curfew. 

He’d even break into small hushed chats with you and through those you got to know him more. He’d go on forever about how he wanted to travel the world, learn all kinds of magic and how he’d get himself a pet dragon. How he adored flying, how he loved his mother, how hard his father was on him. 

It surprised you, that the Draco you grew up to know was nothing like the blonde haired boy sitting next to you. He was simply- misunderstood, so to say. But you knew it was more than that.

and at the end of every session, he’d walk you out the library and wish you a goodnight. 

But you thought nothing of it. 

At least you tried to, but you heart thought otherwise. 

You kept on having to remind yourself of all the horrible things he had said and done- and it wasn’t hard either, not when he was tormenting people on the daily. Word spread and you heard it. And it kept you grounded. 

Not to mention your growing friendship with hermionie, through her you heard of all the rivalry between harry and draco, finding yourself favouring harry despite not knowing him very well. But deep down, you kept thinking, what if I could be the one to change Draco? 

As far as you knew, Draco was only ever sweet, gentle and well- pleasant around you. To everyone else he was cold, pompous and malicious. If everyone saw him how you did, they would see that draco wasn’t all that bad.

But the guilt came flooding in when you heard hermionie was crying from being bullied and being called, yet again, a mudblood by draco. He’d gone too far. 

That night when you saw him walking down the aisles of the library towards you, you scooped up your books and walked away from him.

And of course he followed you.

“Y/N!” he shouted after you as you stalked down the hallway, away from him.

He grabbed you by the wrist, you turned around and unleashed your fury.

“Why do you do it?” you asked, doing your best to stay relatively calm. 

“What-” he began, confusion washed across his face, but you weren’t finished.

“Why do you act the way you do? Thinking that anyone who isn't pureblood is less than you are, thinking that it’s alright to call people disgusting names, thinking that you can just bully anyone for your own entertainment?” You rambled, obviously shocking Malfoy greatly, he had never seen you angry before.

“You act so-so-so different towards me!” you exclaimed, trying to find the right words to explain how you felt, “not arrogant, not egotistical, not haughty at all, so why draco malfoy, do you chose to torment the rest of the school? What makes me so different that you show me someone nobody else knows? why can’t show who you really are to the rest of the world, show them how I see you? or is the person you are when you’re with me all an act?” you said, your eyes brimming with tears. 

It was so difficult, having this constant internal conflict of wether you should give draco a chance or not. It was difficult feeling so guilty whenever you heard another evil deed he had carried out yet you still let your heart loose control when you saw him.

Then he did something unexpected.

He hugged you. 

You felt his arms engulf you before you were aware of what he was doing. He pressed you against his chest, arms wrapped tightly around you as if he was scared to letting go. 

You breathed in his minty scent, the smell of his freshly washed uniform, you felt his heart beating incredibly hard against his chest. 

Then you were crying. 

You two stood there, holding each other like your lives depended on it, what an odd sight to see. For anyone who would stumble into the third floor hallway, they would be completely baffled to see Draco Malfoy hugging a crying Y/N Y/L/N. 

Because, nobody knew.

Nobody knew how Draco and you became aquatinted, nobody noticed the smiles or waves draco sent your way, nobody saw how your eyes lit up when you saw him, nobody walked up to you two when you were together in the back of the library, nobody knew how much you cared for draco, and nobody knew how hard draco had fallen for you.

“It’s because I’m not ready for the world to see yet” Draco whispered into your hair as you clutched at his sweater vest. 

The next few weeks, you were beginning to see how wonderful life could be. 

Draco no longer sneered at everyone, but kept to himself and was rarely starting fights anymore. He didn't even try to start a row with harry every time he saw him but just ignored him and walked on. And ever since that night, you had never heard him call anyone mudblood again. 

Hogwarts was relieved that they were free from Dracos torments but that didn’t mean they weren’t all still scared shitless by him.

And you were also very thankful that hermionie kept harry and ron civil too, so life at hogwarts was pretty great, you were sure everyone would see that Draco Malfoy wasn’t so bad...

Then fifth year started. 

Umbridge, made your life a living hell. not to mention, Voldemorts return. but you couldn’t let that get in your way. As a newly chosen prefect, you found yourself comforting people more than ever, telling them how things would work out, how dumbledore would come back and how they shouldn’t give up hope so easily. 

Easier said than done. 

You saw less of Draco these days. With Umbridge’s stupid rules keeping you apart. 

Although his visits always made your week no matter how infrequent they were. 

He even made an effort to sneak up to the astronomy tower where he’d bring you food from the kitchen and you’d spend all night lying next to each other and looking up at the stars. 

“Do you see it?” he asked one night, pointing up to the sky as you two stood shoulder to shoulder by the railing, “sirius, the brightest star” 

“Where?” you asked, leaning in closer to his to see his point of view, the top of your head resting just next to his chin.

“There” and he moved his hand to wrap around behind you and pointed up to the sky, his long, slim fingers coming out from the corner of your view. 

“Oh, I see it” you giggled, turning your face towards his which was much closer than before causing you to hold your breath.

“Oh really?” he smirked, bending his head down towards yours, looking down at your lips for a quick second, then back up to your eyes. 

“mhmm” you replied as you felt his arm now making its way to your waist as you turned your body to face his. 

And before you knew it his soft lips were pressed against yours. 

You couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. 

Sooner or later, you thought nervously, as you walked to transfiguration. 

Sooner or later, people will find out that i’ve been fooling around with Draco Malfoy.

These days, your never saw Draco. After your kiss, his visits began to gradually stop which made your heart ache. 

You knew it was because he had his stupid inquisitorial squad to lead but on the other hand you were rather relived.

It took a lot of convincing but hermionie had got you to tag along to the dumbledore’s army meetings. Of course you wanted to go and thought it was brilliant that harry was teaching defence against the dark arts: You absolutely despised the new system umbridge was forcing onto you and you weren’t going to fail your exam. 

But, you knew very well that umbridge was breathing down your necks trying to spot rebels who disobeyed her rules,

and one way she did that was through draco. 

Through out your little rendezvous you never mentioned what draco was doing for umbridge and neither did draco. Things were simpler like that. 

You didn’t want what you had to be ruined. One of the only things that kept you sane throughout your painful days of rigid education. 

But that very same thing kept you apart.

And oh did that barrier cause so much inconvenience when one fateful night in the room of requirement, where the walls being bashed down from the outside. 

Harry told you all to run off first, and so you did. You, dean, seamus and Angelina all running down the seventh corridor like your lives depended on it.

 But not before you saw a tuft of blonde hair out of the corner of your eye when you raced down the stairs.

There was no hope now. 

You knew draco had seen your name on that list. And it had been a week and he still hadn’t talked to you. 

Not to mention his father being thrown into azakaban. 

You knew he was suffering because of it, and you wanted to comfort him, but how? How on earth were you meant to comfort draco when you thought that lucius malfoy had every right to be locked up? 

And after what draco did to your friends? After all of fourth year getting him to change? Suddenly going back on his word and becoming horrible again and helping umbridge terrorise hogwarts, the place you though of as a second home? 

No, you had been too kind for long enough. 

Maybe Draco Malfoy was a bad idea. 

But what about all those times you spent in the library? on the astronomy tower? When he kissed you? 

No, Draco Malfoy was a bad idea and you needed to stop denying it. 

Sixth year - the first year you weren’t excited to be back. 

The return of voldemort had finally settled within the community and it made everything so dreadful. 

As a prefect, people came to you for advice and comfort surrounding school and homework, 

now people came to you scared and overflowing with anxiety wether their families would be okay or whether they would make it to another year of hogwarts. 

Then there was draco. 

You first saw him get off the train when you arrived, taller than last year, paler than ever, and with a permanent frown on his face. 

You had to admit, his black suit made him look extremely dashing but, no

You had to stop thinking of him like that. 

But he always caught your attention, the almost white blonde hair was hard not to miss.

 You tried not to notice but you couldn’t help it, you couldn’t help noticing how he looked sadder these days, picked at his food, never seen around the castle if it wasn’t in class. 

Heck you even changed your prefect duty so that it would be on the same night as his, but he never seemed to show up for it. 

You couldn’t help but worry about draco. 

But he acted as if you didn’t even exist 

The stolen glances, the small smiles, little waves thrown across the hall, all gone. But you didn’t care...did you?

Then you started hearing things, how draco malfoy was a death eater, how he was seen with death eaters during the summer and how he was the one to curse katie bell. 

You tried to not let it bother you, you shouldn’t care. 

But you did care when you heard what happened in the bathroom. 

Without a second thought you ran to the hospital wing, in the early hours of the morning when you were sure nobody would be around. 

You saw draco, his torso wrapped with bandages and your heart broke. 

Collapsing on the side of his bed you cried. Oh God how hard it was to see him like this, how hard it was to pretend that you didn’t give a damn about what happened to him, how hard it was to pretend that you didn’t love draco malfoy. 

You left as soon as you could, not wanting draco to see you at his side, not wanting to face an awkward argument and not letting him know that you still cared. 

But as draco woke up and found the side on his blanket wet and smelling vaguely of a certain perfume, he knew exactly what you’d done. 

And it made his heart break. 

The astronomy tower was where you used to go when you couldn’t sleep, which was very often but now, you avoided that place like the plague. 

It had now become yours and dracos place, where you’d spent nights together, where you’d wish on stars together, where you’d had your first kiss with him...

you hadn’t stepped near that place at all when you started the year and now you stood there, and it felt so wrong. 

You wanted some time to think, sitting down in your pyjamas, knees tucked up to your chest and staring at the sky. 

You looked at all the constellations trying to make out the ones that draco had pointed out to you-

Nope, for fucks sake.

But before you could get angry at yourself you realised you weren’t alone. 

Someone had come to the top of the stairs, their footsteps echoing down the empty stairwell, stopping once they saw you. 

You stayed put, you didn’t want to turn around, maybe if you stayed still for long enough, they won't even realise you're there. 

Oh, but they did.

He stood next to you, his glossy black dress shoes right next to your legs. 

Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. 

He sat down, crossed his legs but kept his gaze up at the sky. 

“Do you see it?” He asked softly, you hadn’t heard his voice in months.

You shook your head not knowing what else to say. 

“Sirius, the brightest star” 

Your heart pumped against your ribcage, as if wanting to escape, tears began welling up in your eyes and your voice choked as you spoke, “where?” 

He leaned in closer, pointing up to the sky and tilting his head so it brushed against yours, “There” 

“Oh I see it” you said quietly, without emotion or bounce to your voice like you had said it before. what was he doing?

“Oh really” he said sadly and you forced yourself to look at him. 

He was staring right at you with sad grey eyes. 

“I’ve missed you” he croaked out, and you couldn’t help yourself. 

You flung yourself on him, almost causing him to lose his balance and fall back, but you felt his arms encase you around your waist and he held on tight. 

Oh how you cried. 

You were sobbing, getting his jumper all wet, but he didn’t seem to care. 

He began mumbling softly, his voice cracking as he choked back tears, “Y/N Im so sorry, im so so sorry, the things I did...” 

He stroked your hair, rocking the two of you back and forth, “I had to- I don’t want to do it. I-I-I have no choice. he’s making me do these things, I can’t do it, but he’ll kill my family, he’ll kill you” 

You stopped breathing at that point, so it is true.

Draco was a death eater.

But you couldn’t bring yourself to rip away from him and interrogate him, you decided it was best if you let him let it all out.

So that was why he was avoiding you, Voldemort was threatening to kill you if draco didn't obey him. 

Oh God, what had draco got himself into?

“It’ll be okay,” You said, you didn’t think it would be but what else could you have said? 

“I’ll be here for you, no matter what happens” You stated, wrapping your hands tighter around his neck, “Promise” 

“I’m so sorry” he shuddered against you, heaving greatly and crying into your shoulder, “I can’t let him hurt you...” 

And from that moment you knew Draco Malfoy wasn’t all that bad. 

his words ringed through your ears “Please promise me, you’ll stay in your dorm tomorrow night, please I beg you” 

You couldn’t say no.

He had held your hand in between his, grey eyes pleading with you, to not lay a foot outside your common room until morning. 

And so you did. 

But as soon as you heard the commotion, fellow housemates running around and the sounds of mass of students leaving the common room, you had to leave.

I’m sorry draco.

But as soon as you got out of the castle you wanted nothing but to go back inside.

Seeing you headmaster, crumpled on the floor caused your heart to drop 10 feet. 

And knowing who had done it made your heart stop beating all together. 

At the funeral you felt so guilty, knowing that the act was going to take place but you hadn’t said anything about it to protect draco.

Of course you didn’t question him on what he was asked to do, you didn’t want to force him to speak about something he so highly detested. 

You were so conflicted, you loved a murderer. 

But you knew that he only acted to protect his family, to protect you.

You spent the next few days locked up in your dorm, crying.

Draco had disappeared and you had a very good idea why.

The day before you were due to leave school, a knock came on your door. You thought it was just another one of your friends bringing you the dinner you had always decided to skip but this time it was hermionie. 

You didn’t even question how she had got in, she sat on your bed and took a hand to comfortingly pet you. 

“ Draco didn’t do it” Hermionie said suddenly, and you sat up.

“He didn’t?” was the first of many questions you wanted to bombard her with, your heart rate picked up speed, how did she know about you and draco?

“It was snape, draco couldn’t do it” 

Relief spread over you, but it quickly disappeared, if draco couldn’t complete his task, what was going to happen to him now ? 

“I saw you together once” Hermionie started, looking at you with kind eyes, “in the library- and I couldn’t believe it, but then when i noticed how behaved he was being and i had a good guess that it was because of you” 

you nodded your head and let her to continue.

“then when you declined to join dumbledores army, well it all clicked then, but it was so strange i didn’t know why you’d wanted to date draco, no offence “ 

“none taken” you sniffled, she had every right to think that but you wondering, how could hermionie be so calm about the subject?

You felt so bad about keeping it from her that you immediately broke out into a ramble,

“hermionie, i want you to know how awful i felt at the start when i had even had the slightest feelings for draco, but then i started to see it was all an act, to please his family, he’s not all that bad, he’s sweet, caring and-” 

your voice faltered, but hermionie understood. 

“he said-” you continued, tears falling out of your eyes again, “that voldemort had threatened to kill his family- to kill me if he didn’t do it” 

Although hermionie was incredibly smart, and smart enough to figure out what was going on between you and draco, this seemed to surprise her. 

“And now he’s failed to do it, i don’t know what’s going to happen to him” you cried, and hermionie rushed to hug you.

But it brought no comfort at all. 

Seventh year, you didn’t want to return at all. 

Hogwarts was no longer your second home, but a prison.

You didn’t care about your education anymore, all you cared about was surviving. You spent countless nights planning and sneaking around the castle, trying to evacuate as many people as possible without getting yourself killed. 

You hated life.

But you had to keep going. Classes were down to about 10 people per class- mostly slytherins, and your common room now only consisted of a couple of younger years and the older students who were insisting to stay to take back hogwarts one bit at a time. You were one of them. 

Then there was draco. 

When you fist saw him in the great hall you were thankful that he was alive.

 unfortunately, the good news ended there.

 he’d ignored you, like the beginning of sixth year but now you hoped it was for good reason, because he was protecting you. besides, he had a lot of his own reasons to worry about.

 But seeing him and not being able to talk to him made you even more depressed, it just made the whole thing a lot more worse. 

As a person from dumbledores army, you were taken in, questioned about harry’s whereabouts, where the missing students had left to and how they were leaving. 

The carrows and slytherins were horrible, forcing you to drink veritaserum, locking you up until you agreed to talk and using crucio on you once or twice. 

the pain was unbearable but you didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing you crumble. 

So when you were finally kicked out of their office, you strode away with your nose held high but as you were out of sight, you allowed yourself to slump. You held back your tears though, crying wasn't going to solve anything.

Then you were pulled aside into an alcove which once held a statue but now remained empty.

Draco’s grey eyes were looking down at you with the upmost concert, scanning your face and gripping the sides of your arms tightly.

It broke draco to see you like this, he knew exactly what the carrows had done to you and everything you had to go through. He hated that he couldn’t stop it. 

You were thinner, paler and you had a fresh scar on the side of your left cheek where a 7th year slytherin had hit you during one of your questionings. 

Tears where welling up in dracos eyes as he cupped your face in his shaking hands, “leave, please,”

“Draco i can’t-”

“I know you know where they are, please leave, for your own sake, I can’t bare to see them hurt you anymore” 

You knew that draco wanted to stop them but he couldn’t do it without making it obvious he had someone to care for on the enemy side. 

it wouldn’t do any of you good. 

But you couldn’t reply as the moment was cut short by the sound of blaise and pansy’s voices echoing down the corridor. 

draco left you with one last pleading look as you stood deep within the alcove. 

“draco!” pansy squealed and the sounds of their footsteps leading away faded down the stairs. 

 the battle of hogwarts had started. 

It was a blur, you tried your best to keep everyone calm as you helped usher the students through the portrait hole and out of hogwarts wondering if you’d live to see them again. 

you were assigned to kingsley’s team but you evidently got separated from them as you battled for your life. 

Deatheaters were screaming avada kedavra, luckily none of them hit you. 

You could never imagine saying it, so you stuck with your ‘stupefy’s but at one point you found yourself standing at the body of one of your friends, so you resulted to spells that your victims couldn’t ever heal from.

It hurt seeing your friends attacked, outnumbered and hit. You faught with a constant panic within you, narrowly missing and blocking spells which would had definitely killed you. 

But you saw it through.

It pained you to see draco’s family screaming for him, no longer occupied with the war but only for finding their son. 

No doubt you too felt the same but you couldn’t see the tuft of blonde hair anywhere throughout the night or the early morning as ran through the castle. 

Once the whole thing was over, you made your way around the hall, helping to heal the wounded, comforting the mourning. But you had have enough, you couldn’t take it. 

And somehow you found yourself back at the astronomy tower.

In ruins now, yes, half of the end wall had been broken down so it opened to a 100ft drop to the bottom of the mountains, asphalt and bricks laid everywhere and half the railing had been torn off, now hanging lonely over the edge. 

staring down at the castle grounds you hoped that perhaps it could be rebuilt, even stronger for the next generation to come. How far you had come, how lucky you were to have survived, it was all over. 

then like a miracle you heard foot steps walking up of what was left of the stairs, you turned and standing there in his white dress shirt, ash stained trousers and missing his blazer, was draco.

You couldn’t believe it. At the end of the battle you didn’t know what to think but when you couldn’t spot any of the malfoys, you assumed- you had hoped, that they escaped-along with draco, to safety. But you couldn’t help but think, what if he didn’t make it out safely?

Now he stood there, in front of you- all in one piece, when you had braced yourself for the worst.

“you’re alive” he smiled, and you ran to him, jumping on him and encasing him in the tightest hug you could muster. 

Tears that you had been holding back fell from your eyes as you rammed out your ‘i’m so glad your safe’s and ‘i’ve missed you so much’s and ‘where were you?’s

a small laugh escaped dracos lips and that reply was all you needed.

“I love you” he whispered against your hair as you sobbed never ending tears of pure happiness and relief.

“I love you too,” you croaked out between your intakes of breaths with a  smile appearing on your face.

you forced yourself to step back a bit so that you could look up to the face you so dearly missed. 

“your family, are they alright?” you asked genuinely concerned. 

“Yes, they’re fine. they’ve had to come to face a lot though, and I don’t think my father would be happy if he found out i had fought for your side” he sighed, looking down at you with a tired face and a lazy smile. 

your eyes widened, “you fought for our side?!” 

your heart leapt for him even more.

“Of course i did!” he smiled, leaning down so that your foreheads touched, “I couldn’t see you at all, i tried to find you as soon as the fighting started but-”

“well im here now” you interrupted, seeing the anxiety creeping back on his face. you decided it was best to remind him that the two of you were there together and that was all that mattered. 

“and so you are” he grinned and with that he placed his lips on yours, just like he did that one night two years ago. 

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy imagine #draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #ravenclaw #hufflepuff #slytherin #griffindor #slytherclaw #ravenclaw reader

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #19

Orion Amari x MC

Word Count: ~ 3.300

_____________________________________________________________

Chapter 19: A Shoulder to Cry On

As Lizzie stepped out of the side entrance to the castle what felt like an eternity later, the storm had died down. There still was the occasional splatter of rain, but the sun was already showing through the dark clouds, casting its pale light over the dripping landscape.

She didn’t need to think where she was going as her feet carried her over the bridge and down the hills and familiar paths to the Creatures Reserve. She didn’t even register arriving there, her mind still preoccupied with everything Orion had said.

Oblivious to her surroundings, she didn’t notice the red-head straightening up from where he had sat in between a group of Nifflers as he saw her approach. She wandered right past him, so he called out to her.

“Hey, Lizzie! Over here!”

Lizzie jumped in shock at the unexpected sound of Charlie’s voice. Her foot caught in a root traversing the muddy trail and she nearly tripped for the second time of the day. Cursing her own clumsiness she walked over to where Charlie sat on the stone wall marking the end of the Nifflers’ compound.

“Why do you keep on scaring me, Charlie?” she sighed, offering him a shaky smile.

“I don’t know; perhaps you’re just really scare-able?” he laughed back at her.

Lizzie sat down next to him, his legs inside the compound, hers facing outwards. She noticed the small Niffler snuggled into Charlies armpit; it was happily fiddling with the silver dragon clasp on Charlie’s bag. She reached out and scratched the furry animal’s belly. It chattered contentedly before trying to undo the clasp once again.

She chuckled at the sight. “Have you been out here for long?” she asked Charlie without taking her eyes off the little Niffler.

“No, but I needed some fresh air after that storm. I hate being cooped up inside for too long.”

“Yeah, me too,” she hummed in response.

The Niffler grumbled in protest as Charlie leaned forward to catch a better glimpse of her face.

“What’s wrong, buttercup? You look like you have seen a ghost.”

Lizzie didn’t respond, but her shoulders started slumping and her face fell; she looked very small and forlorn, sitting on the wall beside him like that, looking all wretched and desolate.

He carefully nudged her shoulder. “Come on, tell Charlie.”

She closed her eyes and sighed from the very bottom of her heart. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Charlie pried the Niffler that was by now chewing on the strap of his bag off himself and held it up to her face. “Then tell Lord Sniffleknut, he knows how to keep a secret,” he winked as he presented the confused looking creature to her.

As its small, beady eyes fell on Lizzie’s golden necklace, it immediately started wiggling around in an attempt to escape Charlie’s firm grasp. It’s desperate pursuit of another glittering treasure drew a bubbly giggle from Lizzie that turned into full on laughter as the Niffler’s paws tickled her skin.

To Charlie’s utter horror, however, her laughter quickly dissolved into a set of heart-wrenching sobs. All of a sudden, all the tension, all the conflict, all of the emotions she had been holding back were too much for her to handle all.

Overwhelmed with the distraught girl in front of him, Charlie let go of the Niffler and shuffled closer to her. Lizzie had pulled her legs up on the wall and curled herself into a ball; she was shaking from her sobs and he carefully put his arm around her heaving shoulders and pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing at her back.

“Hush now, it’s okay, everything will be fine,” he muttered into her ear as her tears fell on the front of his sweater. He had no idea what had happened to make Lizzie so upset, but he knew she needed someone to hold onto right now.

After some time, her tears stopped flowing and her sobs were starting to grow less violent. Exhausted from her emotional outburst, Lizzie rested her head against Charlie’s shoulder; her body was still trembling from exertion. Her legs lay draped over his thighs as he held her close until she felt composed enough to let go of him. His fingers were idly twirling a strand of her ponytail as he waited for her to calm down.

Lizzie wiped away the dark traces her mascara had left down her cheeks. Her eyes were red as she bashfully smiled up at Charlie.

“Sorry for that,” she mumbled into his chest as she leaned into him again, thankful for the warmth and comfort he provided.

“What for?” Charlie shook his head. “What on Earth has gotten you so rattled, munchkin?”

Unable to keep it in any longer, Lizzie told him.

She told him everything; from Rowan’s crush on Orion to how they’d started getting his help in Herbology under a false pretence and how, despite her original plan, she and Orion had gotten closer and closer with every passing day.

She told him about how confused she had been after she had been dancing with him, the necklace he had gotten her for Christmas and their talk in the Common Room.

And she told him about how miserable she felt for lying to both Rowan and Orion, how clueless she was on what to do next after all the things she had learned today.

Lizzie drew a shaky breath after she had finished and Charlie whistled through his teeth. “Wow,” he conceded, “what a mess, girl.”

She huffed in response. “Tell me about it.”

Charlie let go of her so Lizzie could sit up straight again. “And how do you feel about all of this?”

“That’s the thing, isn’t it?” she grimaced. “I don’t know.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Ah, but I think you do.”

Lizzie was too drained to object anymore; she was sick of it. “I really like him, you know,” she whispered, “I really do. I mean, obviously I do, we’ve been friends for years now. That’s all I ever thought we were, just friends. But this now,” her gaze wandered to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, focusing on nothing in particular as she carried on, “this scares the hell out of me. Everything is so intense; I can’t think straight anymore.”

“Call me smarty-pants, but I’d say you’ve fallen pretty hard for you dear captain, missy,” Charlie chuckled.

“How could I even think of something along those lines,” Lizzie exclaimed. Her face was agitated as she raked her fingers through her messy hair. “How could I do this to Rowan, what kind of a horrible friend am I?”

“Stop with the self-loathing, will you?” Charlie chided her. She shouldn’t beat herself up over things that were out of her control. “It’s not like Rowan has any right to him. The concept isn’t exactly first come, first serve,” he reminded her.

“But she trusts me,” Lizzie sighed. “I promised her to help and not steal her guy for myself.”

“Yeah, to be honest with you, this plan of yours was a really messed up idea from the start,” Charlie snorted. “How could you even agree to that?”

“That doesn’t really make things better,” Lizzie pointed out but Charlie only shrugged it off.

“Maybe not, but it was about time someone set your head straight again.”

They had started making their way back through the still dripping trees towards the castle. Despite her protests Charlie insisted on walking her through the dungeons back to her Common Room. When they reached the hidden entrance he pulled her into another, bone-crashing hug; she breathed in his comforting scent of grass and honeysuckle.

“Everything will be alright, okay?” he whispered into Lizzie’s ear before he placed a small kiss on her hair. “I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, sweetheart.”

Lizzie smiled gratefully against his chest; she had no idea how she deserved such a friend as Charlie.

“Thank you for being you,” she mumbled. She felt the tears swelling in her eyes once again and sniffed slightly.

She could feel the laugh vibrating in his chest as he stroked the top of her head. “I’d hardly know how to be someone else.”

“Um, hey guys?”

The sudden sound of an awkward voice had them quickly breaking apart.

Unnoticed by them, Rowan had stepped out of the passageway leading to the Hufflepuff Common Room. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she took in the pair in front of her, Charlie’s hands still resting on Lizzie’s shoulders. Lizzie quickly averted her face as she rubbed at her red eyes.

As she looked at Rowan again, Lizzie’s and her eyes met and she could see the unspoken questions forming in them. Rowan adjusted the books she carried in front of her chest as she asked, “Did I interrupt something?”

Lizzie stepped away from Charlie, heat rising to her face at how the situation must have appeared to her; just what she needed right now, on top of everything else. “Not at all, Charlie was just leaving, weren’t you?”

“Exactly; see you around.” He tapped his fingers to his forehead and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Lizzie watched him round the corner before she turned to Rowan again.

“Don’t ask,” she mumbled before Rowan would come up with any questions she wouldn’t know how to answer.

The other girl pushed her glasses back up her nose and blinked sceptically. But she did Lizzie the favour and didn’t comment on what she had seen. Instead, she gripped her books tighter and stepped away from the secret door.

“It’s a good thing you’re here, I just wanted to go looking for you,” she raised the books into Lizzie’s direction at her blank expression. “We wanted to study after your meeting, remember? For the Arithmancy test next week?”

Lizzie dimly remembered them talking about revising the necessary topics sometime this morning. She smiled feebly.

“I’m sorry, I totally forgot; there’s a lot on my mind right now.”

What an understatement.

“I’ll just go and fetch my stuff; I’ll meet you at the library, alright?”

She tried to shuffle past Rowan but she didn’t step aside to make room for her.

“Why didn’t you come pack with the rest of the team?” Her brow furrowed as she looked at Lizzie intently. “Orion’s not back either.”

Lizzie’s heart skipped a beat at Rowan’s mention of Orion. But at least she seemed to have no idea about what had happened, yet.

“The meeting went a bit roughly,” Lizzie answered vaguely, “Skye ran off and I went looking for her.”

Rowan craned her head in the direction Charlie had disappeared to. “Well, that didn’t look like Skye to me.”

She looked Lizzie up and down, taking in the state her friend was in. Her hair was still messed up from the wind and her hands running through it in distress and her eyes were red from crying. She must have given quite the wretched impression.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rowan’s voice was much softer now.

Lizzie nodded quickly, straightening her shoulders in a futile attempt to look more composed than she actually felt. “Yes, don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Not giving Rowan a chance to prod into her any more, she pushed past her friend and entered the passageway. She was thankful for the dim light the torches on the stone walls were emitting; it hid her puffy eyes from any student passing her on their way out.

She leaned against the masonry for a moment and shut her eyes; the cold seeping into her body from the ancient stonework made her tremble and she was taking deep breaths to calm her nerves before she had to step into the light of the Common Room. At least now she knew didn’t need to face Orion at the other end of the tunnel.

Her breath grew shaky at the thought of him and she was annoyed with herself as she sniffed to hold back the tears that were once again building up behind her closed eyelids. She’d done enough crying for today.

Lizzie knew she had to calm herself down; she’d rather die than letting the rest of the team see her in such a state, especially the likes of Everett. She just hoped they hadn’t started gossiping yet. Her mind was racing to come up with what she would say to Rowan once the rumours would inevitably reach her.

Penny had been right; she would have to deal with the dilemma that was Rowan, Orion and her sooner rather than later. But for now, yet another lie would have to do.

Lizzie’s mouth twisted into a cynical smile as she remembered what Orion had said to her when they had sat alone in front of the fireplace a few weeks ago.

The lies we tell have a way of building up on themselves, until the mountain we have put in our wake is too high for us to overcome on our own.

She should have listened to him. Everywhere she turned, another lie was waiting for her. Even if it was only small adjustments to the truth, the constant attention needed to not get caught up in her own web drained her to a point where she was nothing but sick of herself.

Even now, she had been lying to Rowan once again. Lizzie wrapped her jacket around herself in an attempt to block off the cold that wasn’t solely coming from the wall behind her; it was her inside that made her freeze.

When was all this going to stop?

*

Lizzie and Rowan had stayed at the library long after everyone else had packed it in for the night.

Thankful for a divergence to the pressing matters on her mind, Lizzie had buried herself up to the nose in her textbook. Rowan appreciated her friend’s new found fervour, yet she couldn’t help but wonder what had gone down between Lizzie and Charlie earlier.

She had tried to ask her about him again, but Lizzie had quickly diverted her attention to a particularly difficult calculation and Rowan had let the subject drop.

They were still going over their notes when Madam Pince extinguished all the lights in the vast room with an indignant flick of her wand, threatening to kick them out herself if they hadn’t left by the time she had counted to three.

It was almost curfew when they arrived at the already mostly deserted Common Room. McNully and Orion were still sitting by the fireplace engaged in a round of chess; but before Murphy could call out for her to join them, Lizzie sped up her steps and quickly darted through the round door leading to the girls’ dormitories and out of sight.

She’d rather have a sleepover in the library with Peeves than face Orion right now. Not if she could help it.

Penny was sitting on her bed undoing her braids and Lizzie could hear Skye rummaging around in their bathroom as she entered their dorm. Tonks was nowhere to be found; much to Rowan’s dismay, Penny informed her that Tonks was sneaking around with Tulip again, doing Godric knew what kind of mischief.

Lizzie grabbed her washbag and joined Skye who was brushing her teeth in front of their bathroom mirror. Skye’s green eyes lit up with relief as she saw Lizzie enter the room.

“Where’ve you been at, Jameson?” she called out with a mouth full of toothpaste. She spat it out before she continued brushing and talking at the same time. “Couldn’t find you anywhere when I came back from the stands,” she added.

So Lizzie hadn’t been the only one seeking comfort outdoors. She smiled wryly as she started taking off what little was left of her makeup. “I’ve been to the library with Rowan; wouldn’t hurt you to check in there once in a while.”

Skye grinned at her words, clearly in a much better mood than hours before, but her face quickly grew serious again. “I’ve talked to Orion, just so you know; apologised for what I said. He said he’d think about letting me play.”

Lizzie tried to relax her shoulders that had immediately tensed at the mention of Orion; but she was glad Skye had had the decency to talk things out with him. Maybe the Cup wasn’t completely out of reach after all.

Skye elbowed Lizzie in the side, “Don’t have to think too hard to know that’s all thanks to you.”

Lizzie gave her a quick sideways glance. “Yeah,” she closed her eyes at the memory and grimaced, “we had a little chat, you could say.”

“About what?”

Rowan’s voice made Lizzie jump; she had entered the bathroom as well and must have heard her last sentence.

“Skye got herself kicked off the team,” Lizzie explained hurriedly before Skye could say something compromising. “I only asked Orion to accept her back.”

Rowan sat down on the edge of the bathtub. “How did you manage to rile him up like that?” she asked curiously.

Skye opened her mouth to reply, but Lizzie cut her off. “She slanted his tactics in front of the others, he wasn’t particularly amused by that.” She gave Skye a pleading glance to play along.

Feeling the need to make up to Lizzie for her behaviour, Skye caught on without questioning. “Still believe going all defensive is rubbish,” she explained waving her toothbrush. “Slytherin needs to be played with a hard offensive.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Lizzie agreed; she was eyeing Rowan’s reflection in the mirror who seemed to be bored of the Quidditch talk already. “He even said he’d give your take on it another thought.”

Not interested in a more detailed rundown of their tactics, Rowan got up and the left the room; Lizzie breathed out in relief as the door fell shut behind her.

Skye watched her curiously. “And what was that about?”

“I told you, it’s all a bit complicated,” Lizzie answered quietly. “Please, don’t talk to anyone about what’s happened yet, okay? At least until I have everything figured out.”

“Hate to break it to you then, but it’s quite the talk already,” Skye admitted bashfully, “It’s quite a big thing and the team talks. Everett is super pissed for one; I heard him bashing Orion earlier – I almost smacked him square in the face,” she added glumly.

Lizzie hung her head at Skye’s words. “Figured.”

“I’m really sorry, Liz,” Skye muttered. “I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it.”

“It’s alright.” What had been said couldn’t be taken back; she’d just have to live with whatever it brought with it, for better or for worse.

“But to be honest with you,” Skye spoke up again, this time sounding tentative, “I actually don’t think you guys dating would be the best idea.”

Lizzie cocked her head to one side. “Not that we are anywhere close to that, but why? You’re actually the first one to say that.”

“The team’s good as it is, we’ve got a great dynamic, all parts go together perfectly – most of the time anyway,” she added sheepishly in allusion to the disastrous Ravenclaw match, “You and him being together would rattle everything; just look how mad Everett’s gotten already.”

Skye leaned against the sink as she watched her friend braid her hair; Lizzie tried very much to look unfazed at Skye’s words.

“There is a reason professional players are not allowed to date other players, inside their own team or outside of it. It makes matters too complicated, believe me.” She put her hand on Lizzie’s shoulder and looked at her with a seriousness that was uncommon for Skye; but her expression was not unkind.

“If growing up around professionals taught me one thing, it’s that, for the sake of the team, it’s much better for everyone to remain friends.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #charlie weasley #quidditch #rowan khanna #lizzie jameson #aob #art of balance #the quidditch squad

[writerman]

Here's a prompt for you, my brother 😆Thranduil and bard fake marriage. (Bonus if Elrond totally knows it's fake, but is to amused/wants the to get together, to mention anything)

I’m so glad these asks don’t have dates on because MAN THAT WOULD BE EMBARRASSING.

Anyway, here’s a prompt response.

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

It had all started with a text from Bard on Monday night. 

Thranduil’s phone vibrated on the soft cushion of the sofa by his leg and had caused him to nearly jump right out of his skin. 

11pm Monday night, Bard should have been asleep and Thranduil should not have been pouring himself another glass of wine as he binged trash TV under the cover of darkness. 

[Bardle] Hey, how long have we been friends?

This was surely going to lead to a request of a favour, and Thranduil had sorely wished to write back ‘Too long’ but it hadn’t been long enough in his opinion. He loved Bard more than he had any of his other friends. 

They had been close since day one but he couldn’t fully recall how they’d met. 

[Bardle] I have a favour to ask…

Ah, here we go he thought but the smile on his lips was a sure-fire sign that whatever the favour was he would accept. 

Tapping a response back he asked what exactly it was he needed him to do.

There was a very long wait between his question and Bard’s reply and at first, Thranduil had assumed he’d fallen asleep but when his phone vibrated again he considered that, perhaps, the favour was too much even for Bard and the time taken to reply was merely indecision. 

[Bardle] Can you be my husband? 

A poor proposal, Bard. Try again. Hopefully, the response was light enough that Bard would understand it was a joke because Thranduil’s heart was beating so hard in his chest he was sure it was about to break through his ribs and escape. 

[Bardle] Har har funny. I need you to pretend to be my husband.

[Bardle] There’s this reunion thing for highschool and I don’t want to show up alone with no date or partner, you know? 

Can’t you just ask someone else? 

[Bardle] Hey I know I’m not your type but this is a free party.

[Bardle] Please, there isn’t anyone else I can ask. 

In all honesty, Thranduil was happy to go and was planning on agreeing before his friend had started pleading with him. Now he just felt bad for making him feel like he was less than he was. 

There had never been a time where Thranduil had thought Bard wasn’t his type, there just didn’t seem to be a moment where he felt comfortable enough to ask Bard out. Not that he would now. A few years ago he had the chance and didn’t take it because his friend was pretty much preoccupied with raising his newborn and Thranduil would rather have helped him with the baby than ruin their friendship. 

I suppose I can come with you seeing as it is only one night. 

The response was instantaneous… well, almost. 

[Bardle] THANK YOU

[Bardle] I owe you so much. I’ll get the drinks in for the next 3 months. 

That isn’t necessary, Bard. I know you can’t afford that with Sigs off to university. Plus getting out for the night might put Legs at ease.

He thinks I’m lonely. 

[Bardle] Well, you only really hang out with me… this might be good for you. 

He didn’t see the need to respond even if he did agree with him and his son. 

When Thranduil met with Bard the next day he took his seat across from him and merely folded his arms giving the man an expectant look. 

“What?” Bard asks, he stops mid-sip of his drink and sets the cup down nervously. “What?” He asks again, this time with more concern when Thranduil doesn’t answer him. 

With the roll of his eyes and a sigh, Thranduil decides to put him out of his misery. 

“Well, when is this reunion?” 

“Oh- uh this Saturday. Is that too short notice?”

It wasn’t. 

He had nothing going on. 

“It might interrupt my very important TV watching but I suppose I can just rearrange that.” The put on sigh got a smile from Bard and sat back in his seat looking visibly relieved. 

“Were you that worried I’d say no?” 

The response was a nod as Bard busied himself with looking into his coffee cup hoping to ignore Thranduil watching him. He seemed embarrassed but Thranduil had no idea why to him, the idea was hilarious and fun and if not a tad bit self-indulgent on his part. 

Pretending to be Bard’s husband, even for one night, was as close as he’d get to actually being his husband.

That didn’t sound pathetic at all… well, maybe it did but no one had to know.

The night of the reunion rolled around quickly and Thranduil was stood in Bard’s living room in a pair of grey jeans and a soft pale green jumper. He’d promised not to come too fancy, and, at first, he had planned to ignore that request but after some thought, he decided on an outfit that looked comfortable and classy. 

“You always look so good, how do you do it?” Bard was wrangling himself into a jacket as he spoke, the reunion tickets between his lips, which Thranduil plucked from him and stowed in his back pocket. 

“Luck. Mostly.” 

“Hm, well, let’s get our story straight before the cab gets here. We met while Legolas and Sigrid were just starting high school, dated for a while then got engaged a few years later. We’ve been married for what… 3 years?” 

Entirely plausible and Thranduil hated how true and accurate that story could have been if he’d just asked Bard out that day when they ended up having to walk Tilda around the park in her pram for 3 hours to get her to go to sleep. 

The moment had been perfect. Tilda was asleep and they were sat on a bench, autumn leaves falling around them the vibrant orange brightening up what would have been a dull and grey day. 

He had just been about to speak when Bard sighed and mumbled how happy he was with the way things were right then. 

Upon hearing such Thranduil endeavoured to stow away what feelings he had and remain Bard’s friend. If he needed a friend more than a partner he could be that and had been ever since. 

“Right, we’ve been married 3 years. You tried to propose to me and I thought it was a joke and said no at first.” 

That was that. Clearly believable. 

The cab was outside, they didn’t have much time now to discuss anything other than who Bard was hoping he would not see. There was a long list.

Sadly, a hitch in their plan came as an unexpected guest at the reunion who greeted them with a smile and nothing more as he was ushered away with the crowd. 

Elrond. 

Why was he even there? 

Their mutual friend had been two years above Bard in high school, he didn’t need to be attending. 

Thranduil leaned into Bard’s ear and in an awkward yet panicked whisper he asked,

“What on earth is he doing here?”

“Hell if I know. He shouldn’t be.” They whispered back and forth for a while until they were approached by one of Bard’s old classmates he introduced himself to Thranduil who smoothly revealed he was Bard’s husband.

The look his friend gave Bard was one of surprise and admiration, Bard tried not to blush and Thranduil was charmed and amused in a rush of complicated feelings that threatened to surface before they had even stepped foot into the main hall. 

Music was thumping and the party seemed in full swing already as they headed into the hall, and Thranduil’s grip on his emotions seemed tenuous at best more so as Bard put an arm around his waist to guide him through the crowd. 

Having Bard at his side introducing him as his husband was genuinely the happiest he had felt in a long time. The crash he’d experience later was what he didn’t look forward to. 

Eventually, they had to face Elrond who offered them an even brighter smile as he approached them. 

“So nice to see you two here, but, am I mistaken in thinking that Thranduil did not attend this high school… I wonder then why he has come tonight?” Of course, he would make this as awkward as possible knowing full well Bard and Thranduil would have to continue their charade with old school friends in earshot. 

“Elrond, no need play such games, you know Bard is my husband and I am here under his plus one arrangement.” Thranduil smiled though he spoke through gritted teeth as he watched Elrond’s smile grow broader. 

“Ah, perhaps my invite to the wedding was lost in the mail?” Came the light reply. 

Out of the corner of his eye Thranduil watched as Bard covered his face with his hand and shook his head. 

This was a complete disaster from the word go. 

“I admit, I am hurt that I wasn’t invited to see you two tie the knot. You certainly kept it quiet in our social circle.” The more he spoke the more Thranduil could feel his soul leaving his body.

This was absolutely a dig at him, Elrond knew how he felt about Bard, they’d spoken about it at length over many many bottles of wine. Thranduil had lamented over his lost chance and Elrond had rolled his eyes but pat his arm sympathetically at the right times. 

It was about then that Bard spoke up to try and rescue them from the torture.

“We eloped, kept it quiet because really it is no one’s business if we’re married or not.” Oh it was a weak excuse but Elrond could see how they both suffered enough in their lie and he merely nodded pretending to be satisfied with the response. 

“Of course, yes, true love matters only to those involved. By my, didn’t it take you two a long time to realise you were meant to be together? You know Thrand-” The blond inelegantly lurched forward and effectively silenced his friend with a hand over his mouth before real-world secrets came spewing out. 

“That’s enough out of you.” He hissed into Elrond’s ear before moving back to Bard’s side with an awkward laugh. “Elrond loves the sound of his own voice sometimes, desperate times takes desperate measures. If I hadn’t stopped him chattering on we’d have been here all night…” 

The rest of the night went smoothly, and Bard was able to relax and have a few drinks with some of his old classmates. They all seemed intimidated by Thranduil but he put it down to the height he was nearly a head taller than some of those attending the reunion. 

They were joined by Elrond again outside of the school while a few of them waited on cabs and rides home. He had the decency to look somewhat sheepish and apologetic but only for a moment. 

“Out of curiosity, Elrond, why are you here tonight?” Bard asked he checked his watch as he spoke. It wasn’t very late but he felt exhausted and he wondered idly if lying to people about being married had taken a toll on his morals to the extent it drained him of energy. 

Dramatic but Bard didn’t make a habit of lying to people so he assumed that’s all it was. 

“I’m headmaster, I offered to stay behind and ensure everything went well this evening. Plus, I knew you’d be there so at least if it was boring I would have a friend to chat to. Little did I know I’d have two friends pretending to be married to each other.” 

“Yes, must have been quite the sight,” Thranduil mumbled but he refused to fully join in on the conversation. If he was being honest with himself he was a tad sore that Elrond had almost blurted out his secret to the one man who didn’t need to hear it. 

“You two look wonderful together. For a moment I believed you were actually married, wouldn’t that be a hoot?” Elrond had to be drunk to be coming out with all this nonsense and Thranduil, for good measure, laughed as though the man had made a joke. 

“You don’t think we looked good together?” Bard asked quietly.

 Thranduil watched as he pulled his gaze from Elrond to him and he felt instantly put on the spot with his reaction. 

A laugh, he should have just rolled his eyes. 

“I didn’t say that,” Thranduil fidgeted for a moment pretending to check his phone and hoping to appear nonchalant in his reply but it was too much when he had heard the hurt in Bard’s voice. “I would never say that to you.” 

A car slid up smoothly to the curb and Elrond turned to his friends and bid them goodnight, but not before offering Thranduil an apologetic look as he opened the car door and climbed inside. 

They were alone now. 

It was awful because Bard looked so wounded and was waiting for Thranduil to say something more, to use his words to fix the situation but nothing was forthcoming and instead, the silence drew out. The longer it went on the more Thranduil realised that this was the last chance he had to tell Bard everything. 

“Cab’s here,” Bard’s voice was flat as he spoke and he didn’t wait for Thranduil to speak as he turned and pulled the door open and slid inside. 

The ride was silent and Thranduil hoped that he would feel a small relief when getting out at his place but he realised to his horror that he’d left his car at Bard’s and would have to end his journey at the man’s home to retrieve it.  

He’d been too on edge all night to drink anything so at least he knew he could drive home, but the fact he had to awkwardly get out of the cab and follow his friend inside was too much to bear. 

It crossed his mind that he could just get out at home and have Legolas let him in, but it seemed the cowards way out and he really didn’t want to leave Bard feeling as though he were lesser. 

So, when the cab pulled up outside Bard’s house he leaned forward to pay the cab driver before climbing out of the car and following his friend into the dark hallway. The kids were with their other parents that week and Bard had to ramble around a large house without them which Thranduil knew the man hated. 

“I need to talk to you, Bard, before I go home. I need to tell you something because if I don’t I will hold this regret inside me for the rest of my life and I don’t think I can do that.” While he pleaded Bard stood in the dimly lit hallway merely watching him with no expression, but he relented and his shoulders droop.

“It’s late, whatever this revelation is, can’t it wait until morning?”

It couldn’t. No. 

If he didn’t say it now he would never. 

“I love you, Bard. I’m sorry to just spring this on you but I have loved you for years and it took pretending to be your husband for one night for me to be able to find the courage to admit that to you.” The words rushed out and he had little to no power to stop them, and as mortified as he was that it just happened like that he couldn’t help but feel a small flare of hope as Bard’s eyes widen in surprise. 

There was a moment where neither of them spoke but Bard paced the small space of the hallway with one hand tangled in his dark hair as he muttered something unintelligible to himself. 

“Please, say something,” Thranduil’s voice cracked as panic rose, hands jammed under his upper arms to hide their shaking, and he took a tentative step toward his friend but stopped when Bard turns suddenly to face him. 

“I always thought I wasn’t good enough for you. All these years, I wondered if I should have taken the leap and asked you out but I couldn’t ever get my head around how odd we might look.

I’m not much to look at and you… well, you know what you look like because people tell you all the time. It didn’t seem to add up, us being together.” Every word that had spilled forth from Bard’s lips was with a quiet finality that left Thranduil aching from a loss of something he’d never had. 

“So that’s it?” It came out hard and Thranduil allowed himself to move again, the shaking in his hands no longer present as he curled them into fists. “You think we don’t fit and that’s that… you won’t even give us a chance?” 

This couldn’t be happening, he had been so sure that everything would work out and that as soon as he had confessed things would just be better. He didn’t understand any of what was going on. 

“I see, well, then I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” Thranduil darted past his friend and grabbed his car keys from the coffee table where he’d left them earlier that evening. “Let me get out of your hair and you can go to bed.” He easily slid past Bard who was stood frozen still in the hallway blinking like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“Wait,” Thranduil had reached the front door when Bard found his voice again. “Tell me one thing before you go?” While it could have sounded like a demand Thranduil saw it as a desperate attempt to grasp at something Bard felt he didn’t quite understand. 

“Anything,” Thranduil whispered, his eyes were focussed on the door and his body felt rigid as though it loathed to stand there and be perceived. 

“Earlier, you stopped Elrond from saying something, what was it?” 

There was no point in hiding it and it didn’t matter what he said now. 

“Nothing, just more fodder to embarrass us likely.” That wasn’t the truth he’d bottled out almost immediately because regardless of what he said it wouldn’t change Bard’s mind. “But, just so you know, when he said it was about time we got together I thought so too.” 

 “He did say that, didn’t he?” The small admission shouldn’t have given Thranduil as much hope as it did but the flicker was enough to have him try again.

“Don’t you see?” Moving toward Bard again he tried to hide the pleading tone in his voice hoping that if he sounded confident in his own words Bard would too, “Everyone in that school tonight believed we were married, no one asked if we were lying. They saw us together and thought ‘Yes they are married’. Doesn’t that mean something?” This was his last chance if Bard didn’t feel the same this was the moment he had to tell him so he could lay his feelings to rest. 

“You’re right, no one questioned us, they just… they just accepted that I had married someone that looked like they’d just stepped off a runway.” Bard let out a choked laugh as though the whole thing was still wildly unbelievable.

“Did it ever occur to you that, perhaps, they accepted it because you are just as handsome, if not more so than I?” 

“Are you on drugs?” 

“Bard, please.” 

There was an awkward laugh shared between them and the tense air around them dissipated slowly. 

“Do you want to stay for a while, I guess we have some stuff to talk about?” Bard asks as a pink blush spread over his cheeks, he’d never been embarrassed to ask his friend to stay a while longer before. 

“Is it wedding plans?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, loverboy.” 

But nothing Bard could say would get Thranduil down now, not when the door to Bard’s heart had been unlocked and thrown open. 

With a grin, Thranduil snaked an arm around Bard’s waist and pulled him closer. 

“Haven’t we waited long enough?” 

“Yeah, maybe we have.”

#Barduil #Thranduil #Bard the Bowman #Prompt #The Hobbit #mypackpride

[emiefaunwrites]

Ishimaru trying really hard to get into Leon's soundcloud freestyle rap where he says "shawty" every line

Pahahahaha this makes me laugh. Saw it last night but had NO idea how to answer it. But a good night sleep sure did help.

I don't headcanon that Leon raps. At least, not by the time he's in Hopes Peak. BUT that's not to say he didn't...dabble...whilst trying to choose his personality. So hell, why not!

This was so much fun and now that I've written it, I totally see this as happening! I literally smiled the whole way through.

Thanks for making me laugh anon! I hope you enjoy!

****************************

• There was a brief period in time where Leon convinced himself he was born to be a rapper.

• His reputation was on the verge of ruin (thanks to certain rumours) and he needed to climb the social ladder as fast as he could.

• He'd already made a good start with the ladies - the rumours not quite spreadingnas fast as he'd thought so flirting was so much easier than he imagined.

• And the first girlfriend he had told him how hot she found American rappers.

• That's all the motivation he needed.

• He bleached his brunette hair white blode, wore chains around his neck and severely baggy clothes and started a Soundcloud of his freestyle raps.

• At the time, the ladies loved it. He was the only blonde in school now, and it definitely made him stand out.

• But the persona didn't really suit him and he found it too tiring - especially how often he had to bleach his hair and how hard it was to come up with decent rap lyrics.

• So after about three months, he gave up. And fuelled by his need to be 'straight' and impress women, he set his sights on a new girl that was into punk and rock and roll and became a new version of himself.

• And the Soundcloud, full of terrible rap songs, was long forgotten.

• Until one fateful day.

• Taka was spending time with Mondo and Chi - trying to learn more things that he could do to impress Leon.

• They'd already had their first date at this point, which Taka knew was orientated more towards his interests, so was trying to return the favour.

• Mondo suggests they go through his social media pages to find out more about him.

• And as Chi's scrolling, deep and hidden in an old post, is a link to a Soundcloud.

• That's when Taka heard Leon rapping for the first time.

• It. Was. AWFUL.

• Every word was a curse and there was inappropriate comments about women and he kept calling someone a 'shorty'. What's a shorty?!

• Mondo and Chi are pissing themselves laughing, and even though Taka's horrified by what he's hearing, he demands that they stop. Leon OBVIOUSLY put a lot of time and effort into these...uh...SONGS...and it's not fair to mock someone when they've worked so hard.

• That's when Taka decides what he'll do to impress Leon. He'll learn the words to one of his songs and will perform it to him in front of class. Perfect!

• So the next few days are spent listening to his least offensive song over and over on the MP3 player that Mondo lends him. He's so glad that he's good at learning because it means he doesn't have to spend MONTHS listening to it!

• Once he's got the words down, he then listens to it to try and get the meaning of the song down. A song must have meaning after all, otherwise how will he perform it?

• But his plan comes tumbling down when Leon catches him listening to music during lunch one day and asks him what he's listening to.

• Taka tries SO HARD to deter him, tell him its just some classical music.

• But the look on his face tells Leon that he's lying. And besides, classical music doesn't have a beat like the one he can just about hear.

• 'Don't be shy! There's nothing wrong with admitting you like modern music. Come on, who is it?'

• Taka splutters helplessly as Leon plucks an earphone out and pops it in his own ear.

• Only to hear the sound of his own voice in a song he had LONG forgotten.

• Oh shit, oh fuck, no no no, Taka CAN'T be listening to this embarrassing shit!

• Glancing up at Taka, wide eyed and terrified of being mocked, he sees that the hall monitor is bright red, hiding his face away almost in shame.

• 'I'm sorry! You weren't supposed to find out like this! Not until I knew how to perform it!'

• Say what now? Taka was TRYING to perform this shit? No way, no way in hell.

• 'I was so close too! I've learnt all the words and...'

• 'You've LEARNT it?'

• With a swift nod, Taka opens his mouth and starts from the very beginning - rapping each word perfectly.

• For a few moments, Leon is gobsmacked. But about a verse in, when he remembers where they are and what part is coming up next, he slams his hands over Taka's mouth to stop him before grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the dining area.

• Taka's totally freaking out - did he really do that badly? He was SURE he'd got it right. Had he not understood the meaning of the song after all...

• By the time they're hidden behind Leon's bedroom door, Leon is practically whining in embarrassment - telling Taka how much he hates that part of his life, that he'd totally forgotten he'd ever done it, how he wished Taka had NEVER seen that awful side of him.

• 'But you worked so hard on it...'

• 'But it wasn't ME! It was just a stupid act to try and impress pointless people! I don't even LIKE rap!'

• Taka can't help but start laughing at that - the relief of not having to rap in front of his whole class making him feel giddy.

• And once Leon's calmed down, he finally realises what Taka was trying to for him. How he'd gone out of his way to learn HIS song, even though it's obvious it isn't his kind of thing at all.

• Leon isn't sure how far he's already fallen for this boy. But it's clear now that he's tumbled even further.

• (Oh, and bonus scene - he shows Taka what he looked like back in the rapping days, laughing at Taka's mortified look but nearly compusting in a gay panic when Taka tell him that he looks so much more beautiful now.)

#ishileon #kiyotaka ishimaru #leon kuwata #danganronpa #ask request

[geekgirles]

Till Death Do Us Part! AU Part 2

Part 1

Well, guys. I think it's finally time I officially expanded on my little AU where Branch and Poppy's souls were separated after a vicious pirate attack; Branch became a ghost and Poppy reincarnated. If you need more details, the link to the post is right there! Where it says "Part 1".

Before I start, extra special thanks to my dear friends @foxlanaeshrek and @tipolover22 for helping me with the ideas. I love you, darlings!

And without further ado...

Well, as I mentioned last time, the Snack Pack were all members of Branch’s crew in  their past lives, but after the pirate attack that ended their lives, their souls were separated as well.

Biggie, Smidge, and Chenille became ghosts just like Branch and still live in their old ship, while DJ Suki, Cooper, Satin, and Guy Diamond reincarnated alongside Poppy’s soul.

Just like Poppy, all reincarnated members always felt like something was missing in their lives, but there are two special cases: Suki and Satin.

Unbeknownst to Satin, she used to have a twin sister, she used to be somebody’s other half. So she always felt like she was lonelier than most kids who’re an only child, but she never understood why.

Chenille, being a ghost, does remember her sister. And the moment she realised Satin’s soul wasn’t beside her when they all gained consciousness, she couldn’t even pretend she was better off without her sister; she was devastated.

So, as Branch kept searching for Poppy, Chenille did the same with Satin.

Now that I think about it, they probably bonded over the loss of those dearest to them over the centuries. Besides, according to TTBGO, Chenille is also the most assertive of the two, so she probably can keep up with Branch better anyway.

Given all this, when Poppy brings her friends along to get to know her new--former?--old friends, the twins feel the connection they used to have once again. And they’re overjoyed. 

Though, they totally bicker with each other all the time.

Suki’s case is the most special.

She’s the only one who remembers her previous life.

Let’s say she used to be the crewmember that was closest to both Poppy and Branch.

 She was Branch’s second-in-command and, when Poppy entered their lives and became co-captain of the ship, the two girls bonded right away!

Therefore, when she saw Poppy being taken away by the pirates and Branch about to die, she promised to herself and Branch that she would find her and protect her.

A promise she did well to keep ever since she met Poppy in the present day. 

When they’re all finally (re)introduced, she sneaks over to Branch to tell him: “Don’t worry, Captain; I’m still protecting her.”

Meaning Branch will be the only one to know about her situation for a while.

Another character that we must talk about is Creek.

His is a complete different story: he is neither a ghost, or a reincarnation.

He is a descendant.

Whose descendant, you might be asking yourselves?

 Simple, he is the descendant of the man who betrayed Branch and sold the crew out to the pirates. 

He is the descendant of the man at fault for our lovers’ suffering.

Who… he happens to be a carbon copy of. Except for his… interesting fashion sense and dyed hair.

But because he really has nothing to do with what happened, he’s a bit perplexed when his childhood friend introduces him to her friends and beau from another lifetime (because that’s not perplexing enough…) and they all give him the stink-eye (read: murderous glare), especially Branch who, in addition, has this murderous aura around him whenever Creek’s near him, his friends, or especially, Poppy. 

Not to mention, not only does Branch glare daggers at a, for once, completely innocent Creek, but they also have exchanges such as this:

“Do us both a favour and shut the Hell up, you hippy!”

“...How does a ghost from the 17th-18th Century even know what a hippy is?”

Of course, such animosity appears to be way too personal to not be due to something serious. So he asks Poppy about their situation, and when she tells him their troubles are all because of a traitor who sold them out to pirates in exchange for a small fortune, he decides to investigate.

He makes that decision because he vaguely remembers old rumours about an old relative of his making it to the island with enough money to live comfortably, money he was said to have earned by working for pirates.

When  he finds what he’s been looking for, he freezes.

 It’s true.

His ancestor used to be a part of Branch’s crew! He had it all written down in a journal, even the betrayal!

Even worse, he now understands why the spirits hate him; he looks just like him.

Understanding it’s high time his family rectified from their mistakes, Creek swears he’ll find a way to help the ghosts and his friends.

As for Poppy and Branch…

As I said in the first part, Branch would do his best to be with Poppy without forcing her to give up her current life.

 So he tries to avoid talking to her about her previous one as much as possible (unless she wishes to), that way her decision shouldn’t be biased by him.

 But… he can’t help being sickeningly romantic from time to time. That girl is his weakness, after all, and he always loved pampering her back when they were both breathing.

I mean, old habits die hard (even if the one with the habits is indeed dead…).

And Poppy… Oh, poor Poppy.

She’s such a mess! The most she gets to know Branch the Snack Pack, the more she wants to know about her previous self! And the more she gets to know about her previous self, the more confused she becomes!

A part of her tells her she should just move on before it all becomes too much, but another part of her just can’t get enough!

And Branch… Oh, boy, when she’s with Branch!

He’s so different from anything or anyone she’s ever met before, and, at the same time, so familiar… It’s like meeting your soulmate.

He’s just so wonderful she can’t help but ask about what they used to be, even if it hurts. Because when he talks about what he shared with her previous life his eyes light up in such a way, and his voice holds such candor, and his ghostly form radiates nothing but pure, unadulterated love…; he’s suddenly more alive than any other person she’s ever met.

But what really moves her is not the caring way in which he still has her old self in his memory, but how all that adoration only seems to multiply when he talks to her. Her current self!

The day he invites her over to show her the way the cave and the ship illuminate under a full moon, the day when he sings to her a ballad he wrote the day they eloped, the way in which he sings how much he loves her, with nothing but warmth and love in his gaze as he looks at her and serenades her with his velvety voice… That’s the day Poppy knows she’s fallen for Branch. All over again, in a different lifetime.  

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls au #Till Death Do Us Part! AU #poppy #branch #broppy #Ghost! Branch #Reincarnated! Poppy #Satin #Chenille #Suki #DJ Suki #Creek #Biggie #Smidge #Cooper #Guy Diamond #The Snack Pack

[deepmagician]

Chapter 37: Captain Kuro, of The Thousand Plans

Today’s cover returns us to the freaky little disembodied Buggy. Having managed to get to land, Buggy tries to eat the first living thing he sees. How far he’s fallen.

TIme for the pirate captains to really begin their battle. Luffy prepares a tremendous dropkick to the face, but Kuro deals with his rubber powers better than anyone else has yet and slings him to the ground. While Luffy keeps up the offensive, Kuro’s speed lets him react to Luffy’s unusual attacks in time, as he dodges a Gum-Gum Whip and Pistol.

Aw man, that’s so cool. What a flex from Kuro, not only avoiding the Pistol but standing on it? Then he runs up Luffy’s arm and kicks him directly in the face with his stripy shoes to handily inflict both insult and injury. The catboys cheer- hooray for Kuro, they shout!

RAARR

Kuro’s plan all along has been to kill off the Kuro persona and become Klahadore, so the crew all shouting his name and cheering is kind of counterproductive. Love all their hand-raising flailing there.

You know, he kind of hates his crew? That’s probably he’s fine with murdering them and why he forces every member to become a catboy. It amuses him. TIme for a flashback to three years ago, and the last day he was Kuro...

The traditional One Piece method of showing a flashback, the panels being surrounded by black. I bet the people who print this manga dread flashbacks. We see Captain Kuro and Django as they looked three years ago. OK, Django may look strange now, but at least he upgraded from the wifebeater.

Kuro’s tired of piracy and being chased by marines, and he’s become filled with ennui. This is the moment he comes up with the first phase of his plan that’s culminating today. I wonder if he knew about Syrup Village at this stage? Regardless, a boat is put down and Kuro goes over to the Marine ship by himself. His crew waits and notices that the cannon fire has stopped, so they go over to check it out.

The crescent moon. The blood-stained swords. The raised claws. What a cool panel.

It’s a shame that younger Siam and Butchie are on the same page. Spoils the effect a little. (According to the wiki, they aren’t even real brothers? They met while serving Kuro and just decided to... be like that?)  Kuro adjusts his glasses and prepares to execute his latest plan. He notices a Marine is still breathing, and stomps on his face.

Surprise! It’s Axe-Hand Morgan! This is how he got his metal jaw, his axe hand, and presumably the prestige to become a Captain. Bet you never thought he’d come back, huh?

Not a single one of Kuro’s plans that we’ve seen so far would work without Django there to hypnotise everyone. For someone he’s contemptful of, Kuro kinda leans on him. Anyway, Django sets up Morgan to believe this random Black Cat with a passing resemblance to Kuro is the real Kuro, and the catboy to believe he’s guilty of this massacre. Before we continue, an aside about Japanese names and translations, like I tend to do, and this one’s elaborate.

This unlucky patsy who’s picked to be executed as Kuro is named Nugire Yainu, and he was the Black Cat’s shipwright. His name is an anagram of nureginu iya, which translates to ‘I do not like a false charge’. As always, Oda names everyone, and with characters this minor, who only appear for a single panel, there’s often comical names given to them, like this extremely ironic one. How do you translate this? Viz tried their hardest, and came up with Snott Mee. About the right level there, I feel. This concludes the translation portion of this entry.

Back in the present day, Kuro declares that his plans ‘never go off course’, and lunges at Luffy! If only Zoro was there, to intercept the swords. However, Luffy makes do.

Straight hauling a chunk of rock out of the ground to catch the claws was pretty smart of Luffy. Next, he yanks the boulder sideways, snapping all five of those blades, and then?

He just hits Kuro with the rock so hard he’s flipped upside down. You know, this human, not a rubber man like Luffy. Kuro’s lucky people in shonen tend to be pretty durable, because a normal man would be paste right now. WIth the momentum in Luffy’s favour, how will Kuro respond next time?

FINAL GLASSES ADJUST COUNT FOR THE CHAPTER: 3

41 TOTAL

A quick meta note, at the end of an already lengthy entry. Readers may have noticed that there was a longer than usual gap between the last entry and this one. I’ve had something come up that’s taking up a lot of my time, so I haven’t had much opportunity to write these recaps. It’s currently unclear how much longer this is going to take, so for the next number of weeks, updates may slow down in frequency. Don’t worry, it’s for a good reason. Anyway, cheers, and thanks for reading!

#one piece by piece #one piece #syrup village

[mitchsmarners]

make my way back home [when i learn to fly]

pairing: eddie kaspbrak/richie tozier [reddie] w/ stanley uris/patty blum [stanpat], mike hanlon/bill denbrough [hanbrough] & beverly marsh/kay mccall [mcmarsh] word count: 1,458 chapter 3 of 10 summary: He stiffened for a moment, thinking it was Coach Henderson coming over to yank him to his feet, but the touch was much too gentle. “Hey, Richie. Come on.” Eddie Kaspbrak’s voice whispered in his ear, and Richie had to wonder if the fall had knocked him completely unconscious. He let Eddie pull him to his feet, and mostly just stared at the other boy as Eddie helped him gather up the loose- and now slightly damp and dirty- Chemistry notes. ⤹ class scholar richie tozier and school track and field icon eddie kaspbrak rekindle their childhood friendship  loosely based off the art concept by @caliceal  

read on ao3

perma taglist: @jwilliambyers​, @stebbins​, @isaacslaheys​, @s-s-georgie​, @transrich​, @eddiefuckinkaspbrak​, @edstozler​, @emgays​, @anellope​, @thorn-harvester-ven​, @wheezyeds​, @vipertooth​, @tozierking​, @billdenbrough​, @itfandomprompts​, @loserslibrary​​ (let me know if you want added!)

Eddie’s leg was shaking a mile a minute as he sat on the bench. He didn’t know how this had happened, he’d never fallen behind before. Maybe he hadn’t always had the highest marks in the class, hell he definitely never would be, but he’d always done well enough. He knew that he needed to regularate a 70 average in his classes to be considered for any sports scholarships and 60 average to even remain on the track team. Sure, his coursework had been harder this year than last but he really thought he’d been doing okay. So imagine his surprise when he was pulled into the guidance counsellors office and told that two of his classes had slipped down under 50% and he was being pulled from the track team if he couldn’t bring his grades up within this quarter. 

“It’s still very close to the beginning of the semester, Eddie, so I don’t want you to worry too much just now.” Ms McCullough said in her usual overly cheerful voice. “You have plenty of time to get those marks back up. You’re a smart kid, Edward. You just need to get on top of the concepts you’re struggling with, and I don’t doubt that you’ll be back on track in no time.”

Eddie huffed out a frustrated breath. “I didn’t even realize there were things I didn’t understand.”

Ms McCullough hummed to herself and pulled out a small file from inside her desk. “Well, Edward, our does offer a tutorship program. Our teachers do the best that they can, but we sometimes find that some students learn better when they hear how their peers do things. I have a list-” She slid the paper across the desk while Eddie stared at her. “Every student on that list had agreed to help out students in need, this list is juniors and seniors who will be able to help you catch up in English and History.”

Eddie sighed and pulled the list closer to himself, glancing down at it. He recognized most of the names on the list, unsurprisingly, with how small the school was. Stanley Uris, Patricia Blum, Edward Corcoran, Richard Tozier… He folded the list in half and gave Mrs Cullough a forced smile. “Thank you. I’m sure this will be really helpful, I’ll get right on it.”

“You’re welcome.” Ms McCullough said. “You’re a smart kid, Edward, really. This is a very important semester for college applications. I know track means a lot to you, and you’re an amazing runner, but your grades are equally if not more significant than your running times. I want you to take this seriously, because it is. Look into the tutors and talk to your teachers, and if there’s something going on at home-”

“There’s not.” Eddie broke through her rehearsed counsellor speech. He flapped the folded piece of paper in the air and gave half her a smile. “Everything is fine, I really didn’t realize that my marks were slipping. I’m going to bring them back up. I swear. It is my number one priority.” 

Eddie fled the office before Ms McCullough could give him any more pointed but misguided advice. He booked it through the hall, nearly colliding with Mike Hanlon and Bill Denbrough in his rush to get as far away from the stupid guidance office as possible.

“Whoa, Eddie, practicing inside the building now?” Mike asked, helping Eddie steady back to his feet. Mike and Bill were both wearing their athletics hoodies, and their hands were tangled together in the middle. Eddie suddenly felt a rush of jealousy that he’d never experienced before with his friends. 

“More like running away from my problems.” Eddie tossed the list of tutors in Mike and Bill’s direction, both of them leaning over to read the names. “Apparently my marks have fallen to shit both English and History and I have until the end of the quarter to get them back up or I’m benched for the entire season.” 

“This season?” Bill gaped. “They can’t sit you out this se-se-season, this is when the scouts are going to come out, you need to be racing!”

Eddie tossed his hands into the air in frustration. “I know that, don’t you think I know that? I need to bring my grades up at least 30 percent to even qualify for the extra grants I’d need to pay the rest of the way after the potential scholarship I won’t get if I can’t run. So, I am, for lack of any other term- totally fucked.”

 “Eddie, did you look at this list?” Mike asked, handing it back to him. “Tozier is totally infatuated with you, he’d probably drop everything to help you get your grades up if you ask him to.”

Eddie scowled and snatched the list back. “Shut up, he’s not infatuated with me. Asshole.” He grumbled. “We’re just friends, barely friends. I’m not- I’m not going to ask him for some huge favour, he’s got enough on his plate. Decathlon, cheerleading, his own classes-”

“And tutoring.” Mike said slowly. “He signed up, so he’s clearly interested in doing it. It’s something on his college applications, too. Ask him, he’s basically a genius.”

Eddie knew that, of course he did. Richie had always been inhumanly smart, spitting out information that he certainly had to reason to even know. Richie absorbed everything that was ever said in his presence, and Eddie swore he never forgot anything. 

“There’s l-l-lots of people on this list,” Bill pointed out when Eddie’s hesitation was obvious. “What about Patty Blum? She’s really n-n-nice, she’s in my bio class. She’s the r-r-reason I’m p-p-passing my bio class.”

Eddie frowned at the list. “Yeah but Patty Blum is dating Stan Uris, and Stan Uris hates me.”

“Didn’t you and Stan Uris used to be friends?” Mike asked.

“Yeah.” Eddie chuckled. “That’s pretty much why he hates me. But it doesn’t matter, it was a long time ago. I’m not going to dwell on what happened.”

He noticed how Bill and Mike exchanged a glance but Eddie just shoved the paper unceremoniously into the front pocket of his backpack. “Well,” Mike said quietly. “You have to do something. So it’s up to you, you can get a tutor you know you help you and that you’ll actually enjoy working with, or you can do something stupider.”

Eddie found Richie seated around the library with Stan, Patty and the rest of the decathlon team. Stan looked up the moment Eddie approached the table and frowned immediately. “This is a closed practise.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to take your common knowledge answers to the other schools, Stanley.”

“Common knowledge? So do you know what Olympian God gave up their seat of power for Dionysus when he came into creation?” 

Eddie opened his mouth, then quickly shut it with a deep frown. He caught Richie’s eye, who gave him a half grin. “Can I talk to you, Rich? Please?”

“Yeah.” Richie pushed the books aside and stood, following as Eddie moved away from the tables and towards the bookshelves. “What’s up, Eds?”

“I have a favour to ask you, but you can feel free to say no. Like do not feel obligated to say yes at all.” Eddie said quickly and Richie shot him a grin.

“Okay.” He said. “But we both know I’m probably going to say yes.”

“You don’t even know what it is yet.” Eddie said slowly. Richie shrugged one shoulder and Eddie rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Apparently, I’ve majorly fucked up and I’m almost failing both English and History, which means if I don’t get it together I’m going to yank off the track team and I won’t be able to get the financial aid I need for school, and McCullough gave him a list of tutors and you were on it and-”

“Eddie, of course, I’ll help you with your classes.” Richie laughed.

Eddie bit his bottom lip. “Are you sure? Like, really sure? Because I know you have a lot of shit on your plate right now, with decathlon and you’re going out for the cheerleading team, so if you don’t have time please don’t worry about it, really- I wasn’t even going to ask, honestly-”

“Eddie. Shut up.” Richie said fondly. “I’m obviously going to help you.”

Eddie sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. “Okay, but if you think you have too much going on at any point, just tell me to fuck off and I can figure something else out.”

Richie smiled and shook his head. “Has anybody ever told you that you need to relax?”

“It’s come up once or twice in my life, yeah.” Eddie replied dryly.

#reddie #reddie fic #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #my writing #ttmmlmo #this be short AS FUCK #but i wanted to get something out for my one of my multichapters