#so i'll just block 'em when i find them in the notes

[ddejavvu]

Sun-Kissed - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Summary: Jake finds out why you go through a particular scent of candle so fast

Contents/Warnings: none! pure fluff :)

WC: 1.0K / navi

Please send me top gun requests!!

The first 'darlin'' that leaves his lips is what has you nearly tackling Jake where he stands in the doorway. There's no better way to wake up than to the sound of his voice, and it seems as though, during your catnap, he's taken a trip to the store.

"Three this time," He brandishes the bag in his hand, glass clinking together and swarming your tummy with butterflies, "I cleaned 'em all out for 'ya."

"Thank you!" You gush excitedly, sleepy hands nearly fumbling the bag as you try unloading your haul.

"Easy," Jake chuckles, the sound deep and warm in his chest. You pay no mind to his teasing, "You might break 'em if you aren't careful."

"I'd cry," You groan, picking up each navy blue tinted candle from where it lays in the shopping bag. You set them label-forwards on your nightstand, the block lettering on the picture of the beach reading sun-kissed, "If they're out of these it means I gotta wait a week for restock."

"There's three candles here." Jake frowns, lower lip plumping as it sticks out in confusion, "You wont' go through all these in a week."

"You're leaving on Wednesday," You remind him, trying to keep the glum note out of your voice, "I'll have almost two full days without you."

"Yeah," He still seems confused, and you almost giggle at how one of the most intelligent people you know can be so slow on the uptake.

"I burn them when you're not here," You explain slowly, watching the gears turn in his brain, "Because they smell like you. Whenever I miss you I light one, and let it burn until the whole house smells good."

He stands there, expressionless. His eyes shine, and you wait for anything, any reaction he'll offer you. You'd kill to know what was going on inside his head, what's making him bat his eyelashes like he's a perplexed toddler.

Then he lunges. You're entrapped in his strong arms before you can process that he's even moved, a slight sniffle coming from where he's pressed his face into the crown of your head. He's clutching you tight, almost too tight to breathe, but he's warm and smells like your candles and you can hear his heartbeat through his t-shirt.

"'Dunno how y'got me all weepy," He breathes, a weak chuckle coming from his mouth that's mottled with a hint of tears, "It's just a stupid candle."

"Stupidly good smelling," You hum, face pressed into his chest and words muffled there, "I swear you're secretly running this candle company, it smells exactly like you."

"You found out my secret," He sighs, crestfallen, "I haven't been on base at all. I've been engineering a candle company to get you hooked on my smell."

"Dastardly," You peek your face out of where it's smothered in his chest, hair amiss as you sleepily grin at him, "Are you even a pilot to begin with?"

"Nope," He grins, popping the 'p', "Just smelly."

"Yeah," You fake disdain, your nose wrinkling at the bridge as your eyes scrunch, "I didn't wanna be the one to tell you, but I think you should shower."

You make a break back for the bed, escaping his arms before he can trap you in them again. But he's faster, he always is, and yanks you back with a loud, incredulous chuckle.

"Hey!" He holds you facing him, keeping you pressed tight to his torso. His smile is blinding, as bright as the sun, "I went on a journey to the craft store to find these," He urges, memories of the horrors of the knitting ladies in aisle six flashing through the intensity in his eyes, "I had to fight my way through the cool teens with sewing machines to get those candles for you," He huffs, "Sorry if I'm a little sweaty."

"Did they put up a fight?" You know the group of high-schoolers well, and you envy their craftiness.

"One of 'em tried stabbing me with her needle," He dramatizes what was probably the pointed end aimed in his general direction as she stitched up a loose seam, "I swear I barely made it out of there alive."

"Well thank you, soldier." He bites his lip at the title, and you smirk knowing he won't fight you on it, not today, "I don't know what I would do without you."

Your comment is teasing, and he knows it. But it's truthful, too, and you take your time relishing in his presence now that you're nearing another few days of him away from you.

"Me neither," He admits, and it's shocking to see the great Hangman admit that he isn't always one step ahead of the game, "But I'm glad you've got something to help when I'm gone."

"Me too," You nod, leaning closer to the shining smile of his, yearning for the taste of it, "But the real thing's always better."

He leans in to press his lips to yours and you're sun-kissed, warmth flowing through you as you clutch tight to his chest. He has the remarkable ability to flood the room with brightness when he steps in, and it's even more brilliant when he kisses you. Now you break away glittering, the light in your eyes matching what's still radiating from his smile.

"I love you, darlin'," He speaks soft and low, the epitome of fondness.

You return the sentiment with as much love as you can squeeze into your voice as possible, "'Love you too, Jake."

--

Stepping out onto the porch becomes a difficult task on Wednesday morning. You mourn the absence of your husband, because it means you nearly fall flat on your face over the box on your doorstep instead of being caught in his strong arms like a damsel in distress. You straighten up from where you'd landed on your knees, peering suspiciously at the open-topped box you're hovering over. In it are round glass jars, what you recognize almost immediately are sun-kissed candles. There's sixteen in the crate, four by four in the cardboard box. There's a note on top of one of the lids, taped there and flapping in the gentle breeze. It's in his handwriting.

Angel, it reads, and your heart skips a beat.

Angel,

I thought you could use more of these, just in case you run out. I don't want you to get lonely, two days feels like a lifetime when you're not there. Don't light the house on fire, please ♥

XOXO, Jake

#jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #hangman #hangman seresin x reader #hangman x reader #hangman seresin #top gun #top gun x reader #top gun maverick #jake seresin x you #jake seresin x y/n #hangman x you #hangman x y/n

[intimacyequalsdeath]

Will you be my Valentine? Sugar Day 4 Lester Sinclair

Day 4 cuties!! As usual I hope you all are enjoying this very chill and casual mini series for Valentine's day! After this is over I hope to get back into regularly posting regular fics throughout the rest of the year.

Notes: Minors DNI (You will be BLOCKED), SFW, No specific descriptions or pronouns are used for the reader. If pronouns are used the reader will use they/them unless otherwise specified.

"God Lester, How many times have I told you about blood stains?"

You mumbled to yourself while you scrubbed the stains out of one of Lester's shirts. He was out today as usual cleaning the roadkill off the backroads of Ambrose and you were at home diligently washing one of the only good shirts he had.

"Your daddy needs to learn to be more clean"

You said to Jonesy, who was laying next to you on the floor, wistfully gazing up at you as you scrubbed the shirts. Almost as if she could understand what you said she let out a sigh and rolled over on her other side.

After a few minutes and a lot more scrubbing you heard the rumble of the old pick-up truck approach the cabin and Jonesy quickly made her way off the ground and over to the front door to greet her favorite human.

"Well hey there little darlin'!" Lester greeted her when he entered the house. His eyes locked onto yours next and he grinned.

"Hey sugar" He greeted walking over to you and wrapping his arms around your waist.

"Hey Les"

"What's wrong?"

"You" You teasingly deadpanned. You could hear Lester audibly gulp from behind you.

'W-What did I do?"

"How many times have I told you to be careful with getting stains on your good shirts and to wear work shirts out of the house?"

"Well sugar that one was the only one I could find is all! It was dark out still and I didn't wanna cut the lights on and wake you up!"

"mmm I guess that's fair"

"I got ya somethin to make up for it anyway"

He said before removing his arms from around you and heading back out to the truck to retrieve your present. In the back of your mind you figured Valentine's day was approaching so it probably had to do with that, it's very hard to keep track of time in a ghost town with no internet or cell service.

Lester came bounding back into the house a few moments later with a bunch of flowers in his hand.

'Oh Lester their gorgeous!" You praised him as he approached you and offered them to you.

You took the flowers from him and inhaled their sweet sent. You shot him a smile and leaned over to peck his lips when you realized something, the flowers still had the clods of dirt from where they were ripped out of the ground attached to the stems.

You picked off a dirt clod and looked up at Lester while holding it in your hand.

"Lester honey, what's this?"

"Uhh looks like dirt darlin'"

"Did you go outside just now and pick these?"

"No sugar I got em from the outside of the wax museum."

He said starting to turn away from you and head back outside to get on with the rest of his day. You called out to him as he left.

"Did you pick these from the flowers I planted last year?"

Lester shrugged as he walked and you could see his shoulders move up and down with a chuckle as a smile beamed across your face and the hilarity of the situation.

"Lester Sinclair! You picked my flowers!"

"I'll make up for it sugar don't you worry!" He said out the truck window.

"Well how are you going to make it up? With more flowers?"

"Nah darlin, no more flowers"

"Why not?"

"I picked em all already"

"LESTER!"

#slasher x reader #slasher fandom #slasher fic #lester sinclair x reader #lester sinclair imagines #lester sinclair #house of wax 2005 #house of wax fanfic #house of wax #valentines day

[persphonesorchid]

Cupid’s On Holiday - KSJ

Summary: You don't get it, you're a damn catch. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're smart, you're tidy, hell you'd give up your own kidney to a homeless guy if he needed it that bad. So what the issue? Failed relationships, blind date after blind date, and now your friend's competitive archery teammate is telling you he's Cupid here to help you find your one true love. You're not that desperate. He could take those golden arrows and shove 'em.

Genres: Angel!Au | Fluff, angst, smut, slight enemies to lovers, humor.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, smut (fingering, protected sex), Oc's a bit of a downer but hey! Aren't we all sometimes! If I missed anything, let me know!

Rating: Mature (Minors, please, go away.)

Word count: 17k

Masterlist

Notes: A little late, but I made it before Saturday! I really really hope you guys enjoy this!! My contribution to @raplinesmoon , @kithtaehyung and @joheunsaram 's Catch Of The Century Collab! It's been a bit of a struggle to write, so show it some love! Also, you won't understand what I mean yet, but emotions are valid and you should feel them. Thank you to THE LOMFL @xpeachesncream for beta'ing for me, Nikki I love you so so much! Thank you for being there when I screamed about this fic when lightening struck and hyping me up always. Ly babie ❤️❤️❤️

Don't forget to leave feedback guys!! I'll love to hear your thoughts ( or crazy emotional rambles) Enjoy!!

Serendipity was in full swing; music blasting so loud you can feel it in your chest. Fellow club goers crowding the dance floor in a wild flurry of limbs and ill-timed dancing. You can barely keep up with the conversation Yoongi and Jungkook are having, you’re not even sure how they’re hearing each other over the music.

Clubs typically aren’t your thing, not one for the deafening music or the people who never knew when they had too much to drink. Tonight, though, you made an exception, meeting a friend of a friend for a date you were excited to be on. You thank your lucky stars you had the foresight to grovel at Yoongi’s feet to come with you, lord knows you’d be making your grand escape through the club’s back door by now.

“I mean, it’s not that hard, right?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Dude. Grow up.”

You chuckle into your whiskey as Yoongi rolls his eyes, waving his hand to direct your attention back to him and not on the way Jungkook was snickering. The flashy strobe lights waving mindlessly in the club catch on the silver of Yoongi’s bracelet and he rights his leaning frame, propping an arm on the table between you both.

“All I’m saying is...” He thinks hard for a moment, tilting his head to squint at the ceiling. You could tell he’s gone above his limit tonight; the rosiness of his cheeks visible in the odd flashes of light. “Man up. When he gets back, tell him he’s an ass and we can go home.”

“You know she’d rather die.” Jungkook mutters, draining the end of his beer, adding the empty bottle to the rest that was steadily growing the longer you all sat there. “Too nice.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Yoongi says, brows furrowed as though he’s just heard the most distressing news in his life, “I’ll do it for you. I swear if I have to sit here and listen to that guy ramble on about himself any more I’ll actually walk out into the street and stand there.”

“I don’t find you funny.” You deadpan, kicking your foot against his shin. He only whines, reaching for your bottle of water instead of brandishing his silver tongue at you.

Yoongi takes a long drink, eyes scanning the crowd, “He’s taking a long time to get back from the bathroom.”

Jungkook lifts himself partly out of his seat – having more vantage with his height – and looks around too. “Fou-oh...”

“What?” You perk up, following Jungkook’s gaze, but you’re suddenly blocked by Yoongi, who you didn’t even see get up. He shifts every time you’d move to look around him. You open your mouth to protest, but Yoongi’s hands land firmly on your shoulders.

“How about we just go? It’s late.” The furrow of his brow and the clench of his jaw tells a lot; he’s seen something you’d be better off not seeing at all and you simply agree. You take the hand that he offers, sliding out of the booth and Jungkook follows with a frown.

When you all get outside, Yoongi throws an arm over your shoulder, and you’re grateful for his warmth as the late night air nipped at your skin. You sigh, watching mist dance on your exhale, ducking your head a little to look at your feet. It’s quiet between you three, and you realize belatedly that you should’ve asked Hoseok to come too. He’s always good at distracting you.

Of course, you should have expected it to go this way. Another failed date that’s left you feeling worse than before, you think you’d might as well give up now, resign yourself to growing old and having fifty cats to keep you company. It’s been this way for a while, your last actual relationship being exactly three years and six months ago -- not that you’re counting or anything.

You stayed out of the dating scene for a while, focusing on yourself and being happy and content with who you are first before anything. Because that’s important, you can’t love someone else without loving yourself first. It was a good run anyway, until you became lonely and Yoongi’s dry humor and good cooking no longer sustained you.

You loved him, truly, but you missed the level of intimacy he couldn’t provide you with. Even though you loved when he made a big deal about cuddling and holding your hand – and frankly would rather shoot himself in the foot than say he liked that shit. You’re honestly considering making a pact with him to get married in the next ten years or something. You feel like that’s the only way to get out of whatever curse you’re under.

You don’t know if it’s you, or what. You’ve tried meeting new people, friends of friend’s, strangers from dating apps. Your dating life is quickly going down the drain.

“Hey, get out of there.” Yoongi taps his fingers against your temple, looking a little more sober now, even though his cheeks remain pink from the cold. He frowns at you, pulling you a little bit closer to his side, “Don’t think about it, okay?”

You can’t help it though, it’ll do no good in the long run, you know that. You’ve been feeling all sorts of low, and really you shouldn’t. You don’t need someone next to you to feel complete, to make you feel like the world’s finally spinning on the right axis. You just hate that you feel like you do; everyone around you seems to be happy and with someone and you’re here feeling like the hottest dumpster fire. You want to have rose tinted glasses to wear, too.

You wanted someone to hold hands with that wasn’t Yoongi or Jungkook...or Hoseok whenever he wasn’t working at the bar and using you as his wing-woman. You wanted someone to tell you you’re pretty and not mean it in a totally-best-friend way.

You sigh, long and drawn out, shoulders sagging as you watch the pavement pass by under your feet. The cracks in the gray stone representing the cracks in your love life that’s slowly drifting away like the ashes of the universe post Infinity Snap. Oh, you wished Thanos was actually here to snap you out of existence. You can deal with floating away into nothingness than dealing with the loneliness that’s beginning to cling to the edges of your form.

“How about we stop at the convenience store?” Jungkook suggests, linking his arm with yours, he looks down at you with a soft smile you couldn’t see. “Ramen on me?”

You can’t say no when you look up and catch his smile, dimples and all, and the three of you walk a little faster.

“Damn, everything’s just going up these days.” Yoongi grumbles, reading the label of a vitamin gummy bottle with a frown. You hum, reading your own set of labels listlessly a few feet away.

You’d long lost Jungkook somewhere in the depths of the large convenience store. He’d run off to find something and it’s been five minutes of you and Yoongi walking around and complaining about prices.

Yoongi puts the vitamins back on the shelf, twisting the container until the brand label faces him. You see him glance at you in your peripheral, see him walk a little closer until he stops at your side, “Doing okay?”

You think about it for a fraction of a second and shrug, throwing Yoongi a careless ‘Ok' sign, “Yeah, A-OK.”

You really just want to go home, watch a movie and forget tonight. Maybe you can convince Yoongi to watch that movie with you, and you both can share laughs over more beers and the pistachio flavored ice-cream that Yoongi hates.

The man himself doesn’t look convinced, and it shows in the raise of his eyebrow and the way he studies you. He’s always said you’re like an open book to him and he knows how to read the lines well – as much as you hate that – you appreciate that he says nothing of it.

You know it will come up later, not now while it’s still fresh, but when you least expect it. Yoongi purses his lips at you, shaking his head before tugging you along behind him as he walks on.

“Guys!” Jungkook's call comes from behind you both, and you and Yoongi turn to his approach, and the company he had with him.

The guy trailing behind Jungkook, for the sake of your mind that grinded to a halt at the sight of him, is beautiful. You don’t think you’ve called a man beautiful before, but there’s no other word that you can use. This man with his dark hair, eyes of the deepest brown, perfect plush pink lips and the widest set of shoulders you’ve ever seen.

You stand a little stunned, just staring at him until Yoongi nudges your arm and you realize that Jungkook is speaking. You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you, briefly, but you know he’s itching to grill you and you’ll never live it down.

“Guys, this is Seokjin.” Jungkook smiles, waving a hand at his friend, “He’s on the archery team.”

Seokjin bows his head in greeting, “Hello.”

“Jungkook talks about you a lot. It’s nice to put a face to the name.” Yoongi says as you struggle to come up with anything that won’t give away how nervous you suddenly felt.

“This is Yoongi, and Y/n.”

Yoongi nudges your side again and you smile, “Nice to meet you.”

There’s a twitch in his eyebrow as his eyes focus on yours, and for a moment it feels as though he’s looking right through you. He’s looking at you, but his eyes are so intense you feel like you’re under a microscope, or having one of those weird naked dreams and nothing to cover your shame.

It seemed like the moment stretched on for ages, and you’re stuck in a void being watched by someone you can’t see.

Seokjin's lips pull into a smile and when he blinks, you do too. There’s something strange about the air in between the space you occupied, something unfamiliar but at the same time not completely unknown. You’re not quite sure how to feel about it and you’re not sure if the shiver going down your spine was from the AC.

When he looks away from you to look at Jungkook, you lean over to take the basket from Jungkook’s lax fingers – it was filled with way more things than you’d all come in for - announcing that you’re going to check out.

You and Yoongi leave them both talking, walking back to the front of the convenience store where the cashiers were. You’re wondering about what that could’ve been, teeth picking at the skin of your bottom lip, brows furrowed in thought.

“You sure you’re good, right? You seemed a bit gone back there.” Yoongi asks, unloading the contents of Jungkook’s basket onto the counter, shaking his head as he picks up a packet of mint gum and places it with the things.. “Well, actually, you looked stupid – and I don’t mean that in the way it sounds. You just kinda...blanked. Like the second you saw him you went outta your head.”

“Huh...” You look back to where Jungkook and Seokjin are still talking, still feeling watched even though he wasn’t looking. “Kinda felt like it.”

When you finally left the convenience store, a light drizzle had started. Your apartment complex isn’t far, less than five minutes from where you are.

Seokjin had parted from your small group, getting into a fancy black car parked at the curb after bidding you all goodnight.

The walk was quiet until you’d all gotten home, with Jungkook waving a little frantically at his door a good way down the hall. Yoongi made no move to get into his apartment next to yours, watching you fumble with your keys.

“Not going in?” you mumble, looking over your shoulder to catch him waving his phone at you.

“Nah, I’m gonna meet Hobi.” He says, “Need me to stay with you?”

You shake your head. Sometimes you felt as though you treated Yoongi like your therapist, he’s always there to listen when you need to vent, always being the shoulder to cry on. Always a listening ear without complaint.

“I’m okay Yoongi. Promise.” You smile, lifting the plastic bag that Jungkook had so graciously provided you with. “I’m gonna eat my woes away.”

Yoongi sighs, “You know you can’t say you’re okay and then follow with that.”

He steps over to you and hugs you a little awkwardly, patting your back. You appreciate his effort to sacrifice his comfort, even as you laugh a bit. “Text me if you need anything and I’ll come back.”

Relaxing in his hold, you sigh, “D’You think it’s just me? I mea-”

“-No.” Yoongi cuts in, rubbing small, comforting circles against your back, “Men are dicks. It ain’t you, trust me.”

He leans away, hooking his pinkie into the handle of the bag and shakes it a bit, “Eat and get some sleep, okay? Don’t go thinking too much.”

You wait until he’s down the hall and out of your sight to head inside. Kicking your shoes off, you flick on the lights and drag your feet to your small kitchen. You dig through the bag in search of your ramen, finding the chocolate popsicles Jungkook bought you.

Maybe you should talk to Yoongi about that marriage plan of yours. Just so that you’d have something to fall back on, so that later down the road when you’re sixty you’d have grandkids running around and not a few cats instead.

There’s a loud banging on your door that jolts you out of your sleep the next morning. The blackout curtains you’d bought a couple weeks ago were working, you have no idea what time it is. You also have no idea when you’d gotten to bed either, you remember eating the ramen and one of the popsicles.

You remember hearing Yoongi come home, the opening and closing of his door and the clink of his keys against the little bowl with the cat on it that you gave him.

You don’t remember much else, you certainly don’t remember crawling into bed or changing your clothes for that matter.

You groan as the pounding continues, rattling into the empty hallways of your sleepy mind and knocking on every door. Rolling over you pull your pillow with you, covering your head and willing the noise to end. Squinting at the little blue clock on your nightstand and the numbers that squint back, you lay there wondering who’d be knocking on your door this early on a Saturday.

“Police! Open up! I’ve got a warrant.” Jungkook’s muffled, disembodied voice filters through your apartment and you sigh, kicking at your covers because you know if you don’t get up he’ll stand there and ring your phone until you pick up.

Grumbling to yourself, you drag your feet to your front door and open it. Jungkook’s standing there with one hand raised, looking ready to knock again and too bright eyed for the hour. His other hand balances a coffee holder with four cups and a large brown bag.

“Don’t you have practice to get to? It’s seven am.” you step aside to let him in, covering your yawn with a hand.

“Good morning to you, too.” Jungkook rolls his eyes, wiggling the brown bag at you – the brown bag that’s doing a great job of concealing its contents. “I brought breakfast.”

You’re moving to close the door when a hand stops the motion and Hoseok’s poking his head into your entrance hallway.

His eyes are bright, even though he’s not a morning person, and his smile is brighter when he sees you, as it always is. He pushes the door open as you step back to allow it, coming in to wrap his lanky arms around you. “Heard your night sucked ass.”

His fingers tangle in the mess that is your bed head, but he doesn’t let go of you even as he tries to free them. He rubs circles into your back, and sighs, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” You laugh into his sweatshirt, the old one he kept from college even though it’s fraying at the edges and the blue isn’t as blue anymore. The one you threw up on the night Yoongi lost you in a crowd of college freshmen and you didn’t know your ass from your elbow.

“Someone has to, you know?”

Yoongi’s the last to come through your open doorway, shutting the door behind him, looking like he’d barely slept, dark hair sticking up at odd angles.

He frowns at you both, “Guys, c’mon. You’re blocking the way.” He pushes lightly at Hoseok’s back, making him walk forward still clinging to you.

“You’re gonna make me trip!” You laugh, trying to wiggle your way out of his hold. When you’re free of Hoseok’s cuddling, you trail after Yoongi and into the kitchen where Jungkook’s pulling carefully wrapped bagels out of the bag.

“What’s the catch, Jeon?” You ask, knowing that he should be on his way to practice right now. Not that you don’t trust the guy, it’s just that normally if Jungkook has practice, you won’t see him until it’s over and he’s back in the building.

“Can’t I just be nice and bring my best friend breakfast from her favorite cafe?”

“There’s always a catch.” Yoongi says as he plops down into a chair at your small kitchen table and Jungkook makes an offended sound at the back of his throat. Yoongi shrugs, pulling a coffee free from the holder and passes it to you.

“What do you need this time?” Taking the coffee from Yoongi, you take the seat next to him and Jungkook gives you one of the bagels.

“Can you drive me to practice today?”

Hoseok ruffles your hair as he passes, leaning around Jungkook to grab a coffee and a bagel for himself while Jungkook neatly folds the brown bag. “I’d take him but I gotta be at the studio in an hour...”

You hum waving a hand, “No worries.”

It’s ten am by the time you return back to your apartment. You’d stopped at the grocery store to pick up things you needed and had no choice but to lug all the bags up at once.

You would’ve liked to make trips, which you would usually do going up and down the elevator and getting weird looks from old Mrs Bailey two floors down. The elevator was once again getting serviced and you curse the stupid machine to the high heavens.

You take one step at a time, the weight of the bags digging uncomfortably into your fingers. You’re sure they’re red by now and you groan thinking about the way they’ll cramp up when you put the bags down.

“Need help?”

You almost drop your bags, body jerking in place as you stop to look behind you.

Seokjin is standing a few steps down on the platform between the flights, and you find it just a bit strange that you hadn’t heard him; footsteps echo in the stairwell. You don’t think much of it though; Yoongi walks like a cat and you can never tell when he’s behind you either.

You look down at the bags in your hands, giving Seokjin a light smile. “Yes please.”

He jogs up the remaining stairs to meet you, and you envy the bounce of his dark hair that falls perfectly back into place. He’s dressed more casually today, with a loose white tee-shirt tucked into black jeans. He gently takes the bags from one hand and reaches for the other.

“Oh, I’ve got these.” You chuckle the sound awkward to your own ears and you want the floor to open up and swallow you. Seokjin thankfully says nothing of it, though.

“Which floor are you on?”

“The one above us.”

“Oh really?” Seokjin smiles at you and waves his free hand, “Howdy neighbor.”

You blink at him, a little confused, “Huh?”

“I moved in this morning!” He’s already walking up and you step quickly to follow. “you know the apartment just before the staircase?”

“That’s great! It’s been empty for years. Hobi thinks it’s haunted because he says he keeps hearing noises.”

Seokjin laughs at that, the sound bouncing off the walls of the stairwell. His laugh’s kind of squeaky and it makes you laugh, too.

You both share a light conversation going up the last staircase, and it isn’t as awkward as you thought it’d be. It’s certainly better than last night when you tripped over your tongue just to say hi back.

Seokjin’s presence is oddly calming. Despite being a stranger, it feels as though you’ve been friends for a while. He’s telling you about how he’s planning on decorating his apartment while walking to yours, and asking your opinion on paint colors.

“White always makes a room look bigger. Could be too plain though, if you’re not into that.” You say, fishing your keys from the pocket of your jeans. He places the bags at your feet when you asked him to, “Thank you,”

“No problem,” He gives a smile, a small one that puffs up his cheeks. “Well...I better get going...lots to do.”

“Of course! Bye then.”

“If I don’t see you around, I’ll see you square.” With a very serious expression, Seokjin shoots you some finger-guns before walking away, laughing at his own joke.

You shake your head, chuckling to yourself as you unlock your door.

You throw yourself on Yoongi’s couch, which by the way, was way bigger than yours and way more comfortable.

You groan into the throw pillow, smacking your hand against the cushions. “Yoongi. You traitor. Who’s hand am I supposed to hold now?”

“Hobi’s always available for hand holding.” Yoongi mumbles, barely paying you mind as he gets ready to go out on a date. A Date! How dare he.

“His hand doesn’t get sweaty like yours does!” You turn your head, pressing your cheek against the pillow, “This is absolute betrayal. I’ll never ever forgive you.”

“Quit being dramatic.” Yoongi sighs, fastening the clip of a silver chain around his neck. You pout at him from your spot. “It’s only the first date. If it falls through you’re welcome to hold my hand for the rest of our lives.”

Yoongi doesn’t date often, you honestly can’t remember the last time he even mentioned having one to begin with. You kinda feel bad about your whining, only because you feel bad that everyone’s suddenly finding significant others while you suffer.

“I’m joking.” You say, sitting up, “You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.” Yoongi smiles, all cute and gummy. “Now get out, I’m leaving.” He helps you up off the couch, grabbing his keys from the coffee table.

“You’re so rude!” You trail after him anyway, following him out his apartment. As he locks his door you poke his side, “What’s her name anyway?”

“Justine.” He glances at you, “Jungkook didn’t tell you? She’s on his archery team.”

“You met her through that rascal?” You scoff, crossing your arms, “You guys never tell me anything. When did you even have time to meet them?”

“Hey, I do other things when I’m not hanging out with you.” He walks you to your door, patting his pockets to make sure he has everything. “I’ll call you if I need to make a run for it.”

“Just go!” You push at his arm, waving goodbye, “Let me know how it goes!”

Yoongi’s in the elevator when he finally waves back, and you stay standing there long after the metal doors shut. Staring at your door, you sigh, you’re happy for him, really. Everyone else shouldn’t suffer with you.

“Hello.”

You startle, a frightened screech leaving you as you turn. The person behind you yells, too, backing away from you with wide eyes.

You press a hand to your chest and take a deep breath, “Dude. My heart almost fell out of my ass. Why are you sneaking up on me?”

“Why’d you scream like that? You scared me!” Seokjin presses his back against the wall behind him, a hand against his chest also.

He relaxes, hands dropping at his sides, and you do the same, laughing a bit at the situation.

“Did you need something?” You ask, watching as he steps closer.

“Actually.” He puts a finger up, “I came to make you an offer you can’t possibly refuse.”

“Huh?”

Seokjin straightens his form, smiling again, “I can help you.”

You blink, looking off to the side before your eyes settle on him again, “....help me with?”

Seokjin looks a little confused now, brows furrowing and he puts his hands behind his back and chuckles. “Your problem.”

When you stare at him blankly he sighs, “I can help you find the one you’re destined for.”

“Are you drunk?”

“What? No. I’m not drunk. I’m being serious!” He says, shaking his head, “Why do I always have to do this? I hate this part.”

He’s talking to himself now, and you’re trying to slot your key into your lock without him noticing. Maybe he is drunk, or maybe he’s one of those salespeople who try to talk you into buying shady things.

He suddenly looks at you and you freeze, giving a slow, awkward smile. “Um. Whatever it is... I’m okay. You should go lie down or something.”

“I’m not drunk.” Seokjin repeats, “Your friend went out on a date right? I saw him on the way up.”

That’s weird. Yoongi only left a few minutes ago, if Seokjin took the stairs there’s no way he would’ve seen him.

“I can help you with that. Getting a date, I mean.”

“Are you asking me out?”

“Not me, no.” He seems to think for a moment, “I’m actually the only person that can help you. I’m a Cupid. And it’s my job to steer you in the right direction so you can find that person.”

You laugh and he frowns, but what else are you supposed to do? He looks completely serious, and you wave a hand at him.

“Okay.” You say even though you don’t believe him, giving him a thumbs up, “That’s nice. I’m gonna go...and you can go lay down, okay?”

You turn quickly, opening your door and slipping inside. You leave him standing there, shutting the door behind you.

“...oh-kay...”

“I’m so tired.” You press your forehead against the cool wooden table. This isn’t really the way you’d like to spend your Monday afternoon, sitting in a café trying to finish up an article due next week.

The café you frequented is a bit crowded today, some either coming in to get their fix of hot drinks to battle the autumn chill outside, or either just taking in the scenery. There really isn’t much to take in, the cafe is a small hole in the wall on a street corner, with wet roads and people passing by outside.

There’s a park across the street that looks better in the spring, empty now that it’s getting colder and winter’s on the cusp.

You raise your head to stare at your half completed article. Cursor blinking mockingly against the white backdrop of the open word document. At least it’s due by next Friday, you have time to wallow in the writer’s block that’s been plaguing you for days now.

You stare out the window and sigh, watching the people and the cars pass by, watching the light rain that’s been doing nothing but falling all morning. You thought that getting out of your apartment would’ve been better, a change of scenery to help you finish your work. Now that you’re sitting in this crowded café, it’s difficult to concentrate, you don’t know how the college kids do it.

You’re quite bored by yourself, usually, your friend from work, Brinny would be with you. If you’re not working, you could at least pass the time with some gossip or some sort of stimulating conversation. Brinny had to be at the office today, and honestly didn’t have time to meet with you, so you’re stuck struggling alone.

“Y/n?”

You turn your head at the call of your name, the barista behind the counter is waving you over. “Your coffee’s ready.”

Getting up, you hobble over, reaching the counter to take your coffee. The barista smiles at you, closed lipped with dimples you want to sink your fingers into.

Namjoon was new, and you’re glad to see he’s getting the hang of things. You’ve seen the guy spill more coffee beans than he grinds and he’s burned himself so many times that you’ve been permanently worried.

You’ve also seen him staring, always when he thinks you’re not looking. You’ve had a few conversations with him on days when the cafe isn’t so busy, he’d always have some quote from a writer you’ve never heard of or he’d talk to you about art. He’s nice.

He’s cute. Even as he fumbles now to let you know that he put an extra shot of espresso in your coffee because you look tired.

You thank him with a sweet smile before going back to your seat, hoping to remember to leave him a tip.

You sit, squinting at the time displayed on the clock widget of your laptop screen, glancing over at Namjoon again who’s busy behind the counter. Maybe you should take matters into your own hands and just ask him out. Might lead somewhere, hell, you might even have a great time.

“I mean...”

Your head whips around to the person who’s suddenly sitting opposite you. Seokjin looks fashionable in a black coat over a white turtleneck sweater as he pulls a burgundy scarf from around his neck. He’s looking at Namjoon too, squinting at the man. “He’s nice and all but it won’t work out, trust me.”

“Are you stalking me?” You ask, still a little shocked because you didn’t see him approach, you didn’t even hear the chair move. He’s just there.

Seokjin chuckles deeply, the sound a far cry from his high laugh. He turns to look at you, “Me? No. I was just passing by and saw you. Thought I should say hi.”

“Hi. You can go now.”

“Wow.” Seokjin presses a hand to his chest, faux hurt morphing his features, “You wound me.”

“Seriously. Why are you here? Because it kinda looks like you’re stalking me.” You lean back into your chair, crossing your arms.

Seokjin tilts his head at you, expression serious as he simply stares. His eyes are intense, like the night you met him and you know that the shiver that runs through you isn’t from the cold; the café is warm.

“I’m honestly trying to help you.” He says after a while, expression unchanging.

“Right. ‘Cause you’re Cupid?”

“A Cupid. We are many.” He corrects you, putting a finger up. “Trust me, asking Namjoon out is gonna do more harm than it’s worth. Some things are just meant to happen in passing.”

You sigh harshly through your nose, closing down your laptop to stare at him without it in the way. “Listen.”

“You had a really great opportunity to say “Lend me your ear!”. I find that wording more effective in catching my attention, but I digress; speak away.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath as his laugh fills the silence between you. Funny, just Saturday morning you were thinking he was kind of cute with his stupid jokes and his finger-guns and his stupid laugh. Now he’s getting on your nerves and he’s beginning to give you the creeps with how persistent he is about this Cupid thing.

It's always the pretty ones.

“Okay, look.” You raise a hand because you can see he’s about to open his stupid mouth to say something even more stupid. He gives you his full attention, leaning in a bit like he’s waiting to hear the secret to DaVinci’s code. “Do you...perhaps have a psychiatrist I can call for you? Or a guardian?”

His expectant expression drops, he looks agitated now and you’ll take that as a small victory. “I’m not craz....” Trailing off, he slumps back into his seat, “I give up. Why do I always get stuck with the stubborn ones? I’m just trying to do my job.”

He’s talking to himself again, loud enough for you to hear him. He waves a hand at you, looking out the window petulantly, “Do as you wish. Ask him out. I’ll be swinging by to say ‘I told you so’ when it crashes and burns.”

“You know. You definitely can’t be Cupid with that attitude.”

“A Cupid. It’s not just me.” He huffs, sucking his teeth, “Why am I even still here talking to you?”

“I could ask you the same thing, really.”

Seokjin side eyes you, slowly turning his head in a way that you decided at that moment was quite unnatural. There’s something weird about the motion, he’s weird, and that’s all there is to it. He’s no Cupid, and honestly kind of curious about what made him think he was.

“Go for it then.” He waves a hand in Namjoon’s direction, “Don’t let me stop you.”

You feel petty, but you also feel the indescribable need to prove him wrong, so you get up, chair scraping against the floor. “Fine. Watch me.”

Seokjin gives you an unimpressed look, sighing as though you’re the one making his life difficult.

You march your way over to the counter, now that the rush died down, Namjoon’s just sitting idly in a corner, phone in hand. He looks up at your approach, smiling sweetly.

“Hey, need something?” He asks, getting up from the chair he occupied to meet you at the counter.

“Um..” Abort. Abort! Namjoon is looking at you patiently, waiting as you wipe your suddenly sweaty hands on your jeans. You take a breath, “Are you free on Friday?”

“Huh? Y-yeah. I could be?” He looks just as nervous as you do, another small victory; you’re not alone! “Why?”

“I was thinking that maybe we can get a drink? If you’re okay with it?”

“Oh! Yeah. I’d like that, yeah. Let me just... I’ll write my number down for you.” Smiling, he goes around to the other end of the counter, looking for a paper to write on before giving up and grabbing a napkin.

You turn, ready to rub your pettiness into Seokjin’s face but he’s gone. And so is your coffee.

“Dude I mean...are you sure?” Yoongi looks skeptical, raising a dark brow at you as he wipes down a table. He settles chairs into their rightful spots, stuffing napkins into the fancy napkin holders. “Last week you were literally ready to cry over a failed date and you asked a guy out?”

“I was not.” You say, “Water on a duck’s back my friend. This guy’s actually nice, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t go off with some other chick halfway through our date.”

“Well, I thought that you’d just give it a bit of time before going again.” He pauses to look at you, halfway across the empty bar, folding the cloth he was using. “I know you want what everyone else seems to be getting – I’ve noticed it too, lots of couples running around like it’s valentines or something. But I think you should just wait it out.”

“Yoongi.” You whine his name, laying your head against your arm. “I’m not getting any younger.”

“I know.” Yoongi smiles at the offended sound you make, “Everything happens on its own time, sweetheart. Just gotta be patient. Wait a little.”

“But what if I just wait forever?” You mumble, picking at the skin around your fingernails.

“I didn’t say it for you to get sad, you know.” Yoongi walks over to you, he smiles gently, “If you wait forever then I’ll meet you at the end. You can hold my hand while we wait together..” He offers his hand to you, wiggling his fingers.

You give a watery laugh, taking his hand with a sniffle, “That was so corny.”

“Tell anyone and I’ll kill you.”

When seven pm rolls around you’re sitting at the bar, sipping on a rum coke that Yoongi gave you to calm your nerves.

The bar’s a little quiet, but you know that it’ll get rowdier as the hours go on. Yoongi’s sitting opposite you, picking at his nails in his boredom.

“I hope tonight doesn’t get busy. Hobi couldn’t come out cause he has some dance things to finalize...”

“It’s Friday, though...” You point to the door with a tilt of your head as a group walks in. Looking fresh out of the office in their business suits and briefcases. Yoongi sighs, hopping off his stool to go greet them.

You spot Namjoon coming through the door next, pulling headphones out his ears and smiling when he sees you. He reaches you in a few long strides, sitting next to you with a soft greeting.

You catch Yoongi’s double take, and the raise of his eyebrows but think nothing of it.

In the hour that goes by, the bar picks up and Yoongi has company behind the counter. Namjoon has you giggling and blushing every time he looks at you, you’d like to think this is going well.

You do the normal routine, getting to know each other, trading jokes. He’s easy to talk to and you like that.

He and Yoongi go way back – Or so he’s told you. You didn’t know this, but when does Yoongi actually tell you anything? – and they make easy conversation while he works. You’re not getting the looks Yoongi keeps trying to send you, though. You’re usually in tune with each other’s signals, but Yoongi’s been sending up smoke all night, because what does he even mean?

“You guys need anything?” Yoongi comes over for the third time, nodding at your empty glass.

“I’m good, thanks.” You wave him away, why’d he keep interrupting?

Yoongi sighs, moving away to help Jimin bring out more glasses from the back room.

“This was nice. I don’t get out much...” Namjoon says, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “I uh...wanted to ask you something...”

“Sure, what’s up?”

Namjoon looks a little nervous, playing with his fingers. “You know, last week when you came to the cafe? It was Wednesday, I think... You came with someone... Brunette about yay high?”

You know who he’s talking about before he actually asks. You sip on your rum coke just so you’d have something to do, watching as Namjoon gives a height estimate with a hand.

“You mean Brinny? Yeah...she works with me.”

You don’t blame him, Brinny’s a darling, an absolute angel. You feel like a complete clown, though. Maybe you’re cursed, or maybe you’ve pissed off some wrathful god in your past life.

You didn’t mean to visibly deflate, really you didn’t , but honestly, you’re tired. You feel like you’re stuck in an endless loop of ‘yeah, this isn’t gonna work out.’.

Namjoon pauses, eyes widening, “Oh God. This wasn’t a date was it?”

Ah, ignorance is bliss indeed. He looks genuinely worried, a crinkle between his brows as they furrow. Eyes round and a hand reaching out hesitantly, like he’s not sure he’s allowed to touch you even if he seeks to comfort you.

“What?” You snort, smacking his arm playfully. It’s the only way you can ease out of it so you don’t burst into tears in front of him. “No way! You’re a cool guy. I can totally put in a good word for you. Brinny’s nice.”

If Namjoon isn’t convinced - and you’re pretty damn sure he isn’t – he doesn’t show it. He nods slowly, smiling a little – a lot – awkwardly at you before throwing back the whiskey in his glass.

“Hey, slow down a bit, yeah?” Yoongi covers the top of your glass with a hand, frowning at you. You stare at his hand, at the rings that glint in the soft lighting of the bar with a pout. He quickly pulls it to him when you reach for it and instead passes you a bottle of water. “Drink this, sober up.”

“D’wanna.” You slur, leaning forward to press your forehead against the cool bar top. Yoongi taps your arm, and you make a disgruntled sound at the back of your throat raising your head with some effort. You prop your chin in your palm and blink slowly at him. “I wanna not exist right now. I’m so embarrassed!”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Yoongi scoffs, twisting the cap off the bottled water, he presses it firmly to your hand. The bar eventually died down, unusual for a Friday but you’re thankful. A whole lot less people to witness your downward spiral into self pity with the help of Yoongi’s fancy drinks. “I swear I thought you knew. I was trying to tell you.”

“What am I supposed to do with your blank ass stare, Min Yoongi?”

“Just drink the water.”

Yoongi leaves you be, walking away to greet someone that waved him over. You stare at the bottle with a frown before picking it up and downing nearly half. “Cupid must be on a holiday or something.”

“I wish.” Seokjin plops himself onto the barstool next to you, and you groan, because he’s the last person you want to see. You hadn’t seen him all week since you asked Namjoon out for drinks, you were just starting to get comfortable. “I could be somewhere nice and sunny right now. Instead I’m stuck looking after you.”

“How are you literally appearing out of nowhere?” You ask, a little sober now, enough to question the way he just randomly popped in.

“I’ve been trying to tell you, but all you do is call me names and hurt my feelings.” Seokjin rolls his eyes, “Enough about me though, I want to hear about your date.” He gives a cocky smile and you really want to punch it right off his pretty face.

“There’s nothing to tell.” You grumble, and Seokjin chuckles.

“I told you so.” He says, shrugging, “You wouldn’t listen.”

“That was a coincidence.” Your throat burns.

“Or was it?” Seokjin nudges your shoulder with his, “Why are you so stubborn?”

“Why are you so annoying?” You fire back and he purses his lips, raising a perfect brow at you. “I really think you’re stalking me. How’d you know I’d be here?”

“I was just passing by.”

“Right.” You huff, rolling your eyes before leaning forward, “I’m gonna be alone forever.”

“Well, if you’d let me actually do my job you won’t have to worry about that.”

Something hot is burning behind your eyes, throat tightening. You’re once again asking if you’re doing something wrong. You don’t get it, you’re a damn catch! Anyone would be lucky to have you.

You sniffle, swirling the water around in the bottle as tears blurs your vision.

“Please don’t cry.” Seokjin says, but it’s not at all comforting. It comes out in a ‘Are you serious?’ kind of way that only makes you want to cry even more, so you hop off the stool, shooting Yoongi a text on your way out of the bar.

You’re quite aware of Seokjin trailing behind you like he’s got nowhere else to be. Your phone vibrates somewhere in the depths of your bag but you ignore it, promising that you’ll just let Yoongi know when you get home.

“Can you stop following me?” You stop, turning around to face Seokjin.

“We live in the same apartment building!” He points in the direction you’re walking, rolling his eyes, “Is it a crime to go home now?”

“Well can you at least not walk so damn close to me? You’re giving me the creeps.” Turning on your heel you continue walking, and thankfully, Seokjin doesn’t follow until you’re at least five steps ahead.

“My offer still stands, you know!” There’s no reason for him to shout, but he’s doing it anyway. “This’ll keep happening if you don’t accept it!”

You stop walking again, bowing your head to stare at the concrete below your feet. His footsteps slow and stop too, waiting.

“If...If I say yes. Would you leave me the hell alone?” You sigh, looking over your shoulder at him. He’s standing a few steps behind, hands in the pockets of his coat.

“No, but I can leave you alone for the rest of the night if you want.”

You tilt your head back, looking up at the overcast sky. Hoping for it to open up and give you the answer to all your problems. Honestly, what do you have to lose? Best that could happen is that he actually leaves you alone after this and you can go back to figuring it out on your own. Even though you’d already tried that and well...yeah.

“Fine.” You mutter softly, and Seokjin jogs over to you quicker than you can make sense of his movements. “I accept your stupid offer.”

“Finally.” Seokjin smiles, prettily, the glow of the street lamp looks like a halo above his head and for a second, you really believe that he’s an angel. He sticks out a hand, “You have to shake on it.”

“Are you serious?” You deadpan, staring at his hand as though it offended you.

“Yes.” There’s mirth in his eyes and you think he’s pulling your leg, but you shake his hand anyway. “Great! I’ll see you in the morning then.”

You look down at your hand as he walks away, grimacing, “You’re so weird.”

When you look up, Seokjin is gone and you’re standing on the sidewalk completely alone.

::

True to his word, you didn’t see Seokjin for the rest of the night. You’d gotten home, stared at his closed door for a while, having half a mind to knock and ask exactly what you’d gotten yourself into.

You thought that, yes, finally, he’ll leave you alone for good. That today when you had woken up bright and early, you’d be able to get some work done, maybe even clean up the apartment a bit.

You couldn’t be happier to work from home, even though it offers more distractions than you're able to deal with, it’s better to write from the comfort of your own home.

Though, Monday you had to be in the office to discuss some things with your team manager. You know that he’s going to ask about how your article is coming along, so you want enough of it finished by then.

You’re sipping on your coffee, content to watch the world wake up from behind your window, and there’s someone knocking at your door.

Sighing you place your cup on the coffee table, taking your sweet time to walk even as the knocks get insistent. You’re expecting Jungkook at the other side, or Yoongi coming over to give you a piece of his mind for bailing on him last night.

It’s just Seokjin, though. Standing there in black track pants and a white sweater, dark blue recurve bow in hand.

“Isn’t that dangerous to walk around with?”

“Not unless you’re my target.” Seokjin smiles, “Get ready, you’re coming with me.”

“I don’t think so, I have a lot of things to do today.”

“You really don’t.” He taps your forehead with a finger, but you’re not quite sure what he means by that. “Please hurry. I don’t want to be late.”

He races back down the hall, stopping to knock on Jungkook’s door before heading to his own apartment.

::

“Tell me again why I needed to drive you two?” You grumble, car slowing to a stop in the parking lot of Straight Arrow Archery Center. Jungkook gets out with a quick thanks, jogging through the parking lot.

“So I can start today, the quicker I get this done, the quicker I’ll be out of your hair.” Seokjin takes his time getting his things from the backseat, “C’mon.”

He waits until you're out of the car, rocking back on his heels before he marches across the parking lot. You’re following with quicker steps, trying to keep up with his longer strides.

The local archery range was owned by their coach, and they practice indoors when they’re not in the back field during the colder months. A big looming building, with large windows and chipping paint. You’ve only been inside a couple of times, once when Jungkook’s team was going against a team from the city over.

The heat’s blasting in the building, and you rub your hands together to help them warm up faster. Seokjin leads you through the front entrance of the building, where they have different types of bows mounted on the walls. There’s a board behind the counter, pinned full of photos of past teams and flyers about the center and archery safety.

The back room where the range actually is, some of the archers are taking practice shots or sitting against the back wall getting ready. You see Jungkook securing his quiver to his waist, joking with some of his teammates.

“Are you any good?” You ask Seokjin just to taunt and he purses his lips at you, leading you over to one of the many benches scattered around the range.

You sit and watch him set his bow up, attaching the stabilizers, sight and clicker to the front of the bow. He slips the chest guard over his head, sliding his arm through the loop, when he’s securing the arm guard against his forearm he finally answers you.

“I can shoot an apple off your head blindfolded.” He winks, “If you get hungry or anything, there’s a vending machine outside.” With that he jogs off at the call of the coach, the rest of the team following behind.

“Alright you guys, we all know that winter’s coming up, so we have a couple of weeks left to train up for the last competition. After that, we have some time off before the regionals in February.” The coach says, clapping her hands, “So! During these last weeks, I’ll be picking six of you for the competition!”

You watch on, genuinely interested in what’s being said. Jungkook had mentioned regionals a few times, talking about his excitement and nerves. The coach goes on a moment more about what she expects from her team and a few changes for meeting dates.

“Alright, let’s do our best today!” She says, waving them off, “Teams of three please. Seokjin, you’re up first.”

You perk up more, eyes following Seokjin’s movements as he stands behind a marker taped to the ground. He pulls an arrow from the quiver at his hip, the fletching and nock a shimmering gold that catches the overhead lights. He nocks the arrow, pulling the string back to his cheek and aims.

When he releases, you barely see the arrow cut through the air, you only hear the sharp whistle and the dull thump of it hitting the target dead center. The team claps and you’re not far enough to miss their mutterings as Seokjin walks forward to retrieve his arrow.

“He’s so cool!”

Half an hour later, you’re scrolling through your phone, finally answering the million and one texts Yoongi sent you last night.

Seokjin’s skill with the bow honestly surprised you, the way he’d nock and fire off arrows with inhuman precision was actually terrifying. It almost had you believing his little tirade, just almost, you’d yet to be convinced by his claims of being Cupid.

Part of you does believe him, though, as much as you’d hate to even think it. There’s just something strange about him. The way he’d seemingly appear from nowhere, disappear without a sound and – you truly believe that it was a coincidence – the way he knew that pursuing Namjoon would not be in your favor. There’s honesty in his eyes when he speaks of it, either you’re easy to be swayed or he honest to God believes he’s Cupid.

A Cupid, your mind berates and you scowl, shaking your head.

“I didn’t think you’d stick around.” Jungkook sits on the bench next to you, digging around his duffle bag, “I can take the bus back you know?”

“I know, I’m actually waiting for Mr Sharpshooter over there.” You wave your hand in a vague direction, not too certain where Seokjin was standing.

Jungkook nudges your shoulder, “I see how it is.” He wiggles his eyebrows, “I’m definitely taking the bus home.”

“Now why would you say that?” You raise a brow, pocketing your phone, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”

“Sure it isn’t.” He over exaggeratedly winks, quieting to unwrap a sandwich and take a bite. “He’s pretty cool, though. I approve. He’ll have a hard time with Yoongi though...” He says through his mouthful, brows creased - a little angrily - as he chews.

“There’s nothing to approve!” You push his shoulder while he laughs, almost choking on his sandwich. “Kook. Can I ask you something?”

“Hm, yeah. What’s it?”

“Have you actually ever spoken about Seokjin before?” You think about how strange it is, Yoongi mentioned that Jungkook’s spoken of Seokjin before. Now that you’ve asked the question, you realise that you’ve never once heard of him. Most of the time if you’re not by yourself, you’re with the guys, and they aren’t usually by themselves either. Though, it could be nothing, could have been a conversation you weren’t privy to, just something you missed.

Jungkook rarely talks about his practices, unless something big happens, like the regionals announcement or when he wouldn’t let you, Yoongi or Hoseok forget that he fired the winning arrow during the summer semi’s even though you were all there to witness it. Seokjin’s never once come up, you don’t think.

You don’t remember seeing Seokjin in the times you’ve visited the Range or at any of the competitions, though, he seems to be well acquainted with everyone, and no one thinks it’s strange.

Jungkook stops mid bite, brows furrowing out of confusion now – and not because he really likes his sandwich – he nods, slowly.

“Yeah? I think so...” He doesn’t sound as though he believes his own words, “Yup, yeah. Definitely did.” He nods more surely, “....I think?”

“Are you sure? Because...”

“Bad mouthing me? I’ve only been gone thirty minutes, that’s rude.”

You look up to find Seokjin watching you with a raised brow. He unclips the belt at his waist to remove the quiver before he sits down, squinting at you. “What?”

“Nothing...it’s nothing...” You quickly look back to your phone, replying to Yoongi’s recent text.

“I’m gonna get something to drink from the vending machine, want anything?” Jungkook asks, shoving the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and dusting his hands, you shake your head and he shrugs, “I’ll bring you back whatever, then.”

With that he leaves, lengthy hair bouncing with his steps as he makes his way out. You could feel Seokjin’s eyes on you and you slowly turn your head to face him, he’s indeed staring at you, in a way that makes you want to squirm and be as far away from him as possible.

“You have questions.” It’s a statement, because he knows.

“A few.” You nod, studying his features. He looks absolutely normal, nothing awry about him in visage. Leaning closer to him you ask softly for the sake of not being overheard. “Are you really a Cupid?”

Seokjin raises an eyebrow, watching you with thinly veiled suspicion, “What brought this on?”

“I’m just really curious.”

Seokjin hums, “I already told you, I am. I was extremely clear. Why? Change of heart? Or are you just trying to appease me by going along with it?”

There’s a hint of bite in his words, and you suddenly remember him saying that he gives up in the cafe, and realize, if he is indeed what he claims, you’re truly making his job harder. He’s like a venomous snake, poised and ready to strike if you misstep.

For a moment, you think it’s best to never get on his bad side if the slight irritation that darkens his eyes makes you feel cornered.

“I was just wondering.” You say, “It’s just strange how you just suddenly- I don’t think Jungkook knows you as well as he thinks. Yoongi definitely doesn’t know you either.”

“Ah.” He sighs, tilting his head curiously, “What I think is strange is that you noticed that.”

“You know... you’re kind of creepy. I think, sometimes it feels as though you’re normal but then it feels odd, like you’re an anomaly.”

“I’ll try not to be. But that’s just your senses telling you what you don’t want to believe.” Seokjin raises a hand to tap your forehead lightly with a finger.

You frown, “I’m not spiritual.”

“You don’t have to be.” He shrugs, “In terms for you to understand, I walk on a higher frequency than you do. Our energies are completely different, and it doesn’t matter if you are consciously aware of it or not, you’re going to realize that.”

“Okay.” You nod, trying to absorb the words that tumbled out of his mouth even though he basically dumbed it down for you. You’re still not certain if you believe what he says or if your mind is protecting you so that you just take it and run. “Why are you helping me?”

It feels silly to ask, but you’d like to think you’re not so deep and lost within the fog of your non-existent love life that a Cupid would take pity on you enough to step in.

“I hate seeing people struggle. It’s just so sad. You humans are like lambs without a shepherd; wandering aimlessly.” He sighs as though he’s in pain, before a smile breaks and his squeaky laugh follows, “I’m joking...partly.”

You roll your eyes, “No really, I want to know.”

“I don’t think you do.” Seokjin shakes his head, mirth lights his eyes still. Though you just stare at him, waiting, and he sighs, “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I suppose I already crossed a million lines telling you I’m a Cupid.”

He taps a finger against his chin, “I’m trying to get a promotion, it’s extremely important that we get this settled.”

“...what?” You frown, narrowing your eyes at him, “Are you joking?”

“I do find myself hilarious, but no.”

“I thought angels wouldn’t lie.”

Seokjin gasps as though you’d offended him, and judging by the look on his face you probably had. “When have I ever lied to you?”

“Just then. I’m supposed to believe that angels have what? A corporate system?”

“First of all, I do not lie. I just omit small things.” He pokes a finger at you and you swat at it. You want to tell him that telling a half lie is just lying while trying to seem truthful. “Secondly, yes. But I can’t tell you anything more on that, so don’t ask.”

You grumble to yourself, leaning back and away in time to spot Jungkook coming back with more than just drinks.

“He’s quite impulsive.” Seokjin chuckles, and you can only agree.

“Where are we going?” You trail behind Seokjin, down a busy street. Once again, struggling to keep up with his long legs.

“I’ve got a few potential candidates for you, all of which can work out though it mostly depends on your choices.” Seokjin slows down for your sake, “I’m not allowed to outright tell you who’s right for you, I can tell you who’s the wrong choice however.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier if you told me?”

“It would, but it’s against the rules and frankly takes the fun out of everything.”

“You want to see me suffer?” You cross your arms, and Seokjin chuckles, shaking his head as he turns to face you. He plants his hands on your shoulders, hands drifting down to unfold your arms.

“I think you’ve suffered enough. All work and no pl-“ Seokjin pauses, looking past you. The change in his easy going expression is startling, the humor dimming to be replaced by anger, jaw tensing.

You take a half step away from him, wondering what could bring about his change of mood so swiftly. Curious, you turn to look.

A couple stopped just a few steps from you both, they're both dressed warmly to combat the weather. The guy seems a little shocked, enough that the girl you assume is his girlfriend asks him if he’s okay.

He offers her a smile, one that seemed a little nervous to you. He eyes you for a moment, with the same intensity that Seokjin sometimes does, before his eyes settle on the man next to you.

“Hyunjin.” Seokjin says, eyes flaring with something indiscernible. His voice is clipped, stare harsh as he takes a single step forward.

“Seokjin.” The man replies curtly, pulling his girlfriend slightly behind him, “How about we talk about this elsewhere?”

He motions a hand to the people passing by who was paying no mind to either of you. Seokjin turns on his heel, walking briskly and you stumble to follow.

Seokjin is unusually quiet as he leads you through the streets, and you wonder just who Hyunjin is to him for him to react this way.

You pass by familiar places, the café where Namjoon works, and across the street to the park that was suspiciously empty.

You’re afraid to ask Seokjin what the matter was, mindful of the way you can feel the anger radiating off of him. So you keep quiet, stopping when he does, and sitting on the park bench when he tells you to.

He keeps walking, stopping a good distance away, waiting.

Hyunjin sighs, placing a gloved hand against his girlfriend’s cheek. “I won’t be long, okay?”

She nods and he leaves, walking towards Seokjin. As she sits next to you, you offer her a smile, “Sorry, I hope we aren’t interrupting you two.”

“It’s okay.” She says, pushing her glasses back up her nose with a hand. She glances over to where Seokjin and Hyunjin are talking briefly. “Is he your friend?”

You snort, friend is one hell of a reach, “Fortunately not.”

“I’m Nikki.” She offers a hand that you shake.

“Y/n.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Seokjin’s voice raises and both you and Nikki turn toward them, “You can fall for this. She’s human, Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin walks away, leaving Seokjin to gawk in disbelief. They both look angry enough to ignite the air around them, and Hyunjin ignores the call of his name, eyes softening when he lays them on Nikki. She stands at his approach, taking the hand that he offers. He gives you a long look, “I’d let him cool off first.”

You can only nod, voicing a soft goodbye as they leave.Turning your head you watch Seokjin who was too busy staring daggers into Hyunjin’s retreating form.

You give him a moment, waiting until Hyunjin and Nikki are across the street, until they merge into the crowd. You sit quietly, toeing the stone path beneath your shoe, kicking at a pebble and watching it roll its way away from you.

Eventually, Seokjin makes his way back, sitting next to you with a long drawn out sigh. “I have a headache.”

“You get those?” genuinely curious, you ask, but the withering glare Seokjin sends your way makes you snap your mouth shut. “Who is he?”

Seokjin sighs, running a hand through his hair in a way that’s deceptively human. You’re once again jealous of the way the strands fall back into place like they weren’t disturbed, making a note to ask him what shampoo he uses.

“Hyunjin is...” he shakes his head, jaw clenching, “We’ve been searching for him for a year. A guardian angel. That girl is his charge and up until now they’ve both been missing.

He said that he won’t leave her. That he would rather fall because he loves her. Ridiculous. It’s wrong, there’s only one way that could end and it’s not going to be nice. His duty isn't to love her that way.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it...” You mutter quietly.

“Of course you wouldn’t. You don’t understand, there’s no way that you can begin to. He’s putting her and himself in danger.”

He quiets and you do too, the air is still charged and Seokjin goes off muttering to himself. You glance at him and you can see that he’s thinking, fingers pressed against his lips as he stares at nothing in particular. It isn’t your business, but you ask anyway, “Are you gonna tell them that you found him?”

“I should.” Seokjin replies after a moment more of silence, “For now, though, I’ll turn a blind eye. I have more important things to do.”

“Right, yeah.” You nod, eyeing him carefully, “What were you saying earlier? Candidates?”

You’re not quite sure how people find watching sports exhilarating. Though, you’re here for Jungkook – and Seokjin - sitting on a bench between Yoongi and Hoseok, cheering as loudly as you can.

Its the last competition before the break, and if the Athens shoot the winning arrow, they’ll be at regionals next year.

You’d wished him and Seokjin luck before they’d left this morning, knowing well the latter didn’t need it at all. You know Jungkook was nervous, you can see him bouncing his leg even from where you are.

“Any bets?” Yoongi nudges your arm with his, passing you a soda, “I hope Jungkook doesn’t drop his bow or anything...”

“Nah, he’ll be fine. Seokjin’s on his team, there’s no way they’d lose.”

“You’ve been hanging out with him a lot.” Hoseok comments, and you spot him dipping his fingers into the pocket of his sweater only to come out with a gummy worm.

You wiggle your fingers at him, he side eyes you but gives you some anyway. “He’s cool.” You shrug, ignoring the soft snort that leaves Yoongi.

“Right.” There’s a knowing look that Yoongi sends you, one that you also ignore.

The teams take turns, women from opposite sides going first, and then the men, all scoring fairly well for their teams. It’s a moment again before the last shooters are ready, and they can either make or break the win.

Five minutes and a couple more gummy worms after, Seokjin is finally stepping up to his marker. If he scores a full ten, the Athens would take the win.

He nocks his arrow the way you’ve seen him done before, and the crowd quiets, waiting with baited breath. He takes aim and your squeezing Hoseok’s hand, he releases the arrow. There’s the sharp whistle, louder that the stands are still, and the sound of it hitting the target.

The folks that came all the way from your city to watch cheers the loudest as Seokjin and his team celebrates the win.

You’re all gathered in your apartment after the match. Though, Everyone had decided that celebrations would wait until the morning, desperate to get home and out of the cold of the winter air and into the warm houses. You just wished someone could convince the archers in your friend group.

Seokjin had insisted on doing something, claiming to be busy the next day. He’d drag you all off to the market, rushing you around to pick stuff from a crumpled list he pulled from the bottom of his duffle bag.

“Hey,” Seokjin says greets softly, passing you an opened beer with a soft smile.

“Thanks” You smile back, because he’ll just nag your ear off until he gets you to smile. Seokjin’s been in the kitchen since you all came back, shooing both you and Yoongi attempting to help, claiming culinary genius.

Your apartment does smell aromatic; filled with a blend of different spices. You know whatever Seokjin’s making is gonna knock your socks off. “You better wow me with your cooking. After you chased me out of my own kitchen.” You tease, and Seokjin chortles.

“Trust me, my cooking is unmatched.” He says confidently, chest puffing up.

You hum around the mouth of your beer, “Uh huh. You’ll have to prove that. No one’s better than Yoongi.”

Seokjin side eyes you playfully, poking at your stomach with a finger that you grab onto, “Yeah, Yeah.”

He quiets, wiggling his finger in your grip, ��I wanted to do something nice.”

You make a confused sound in the back of your throat, because what more could he possibly want to do? He’s already helping you find the person you’re meant to be with, and on top of that, have the patience of Mother Theresa and you remain stubborn to a fault. Though, you suppose, he has his nature and you do too.

Hoseok and Jungkook are watching some age old holiday film, not paying mind to either you or Jin. Yoongi had long said he’d be back, though it’s been a half hour with no sign of your grumpy best friend.

“Wanna help me in there?” Seokjin points his thumb over his shoulder, and you raise a brow, “You can help me cut some stuff; I’ve only got two hands.”

“You sure you actually need my help?”

“She’s a disaster in the kitchen.” Yoongi suddenly appears behind Seokjin, a bottle of whisky in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. “I’ll help.”

You make an offended sound, “I’ll have you know that I am great at cutting stuff!”

Yoongi only hums, slinking off like a bored feline into the kitchen. Seokjin pats your head, “You know how to hold a knife, right?”

“Why are you cutting it like that?”

You look down at the cutting bored through the tears stinging your eyes, and you sniffle, “I could barely fucking see. I hate cutting onions.”

Yoongi shoos you away, taking the knife gently from your hold, “Go wash your eyes.”

You shuffle, partly blinded by the sting and tears in your eyes to the sink, arms stretched out before you as your only guide. A warm hand grasps your wrist, leading you forward, “I thought you said you were good at it.”

Seokjin’s voice holds amusement, and you don’t have to see him to know he’s getting a kick out of the situation. You want to tell him that your skill with cutting vegetables and the onion’s rhine burning your eyes has absolutely nothing to do with each other, but you’re too busy trying to find the tap with your hands.

He turns the tap on for you as you lean down towards the flow, and you feel his hands pulling your hair back and out of the way. Sweet relief comes with the cool stream of water rinsing the sting from your eyes, though they’re still irritated enough for you to dig the heels of your palms into them when you straighten. “Onions are evil.”

“Are they?” Seokjin gently pulls your hands away from your face, “Don’t rub them.”

“Tell that the itch driving me up a wall.” You’re a little surprised at how close he is, barely an inch away from you. The rhythmic sound of Yoongi cutting vegetables fades to background noise that you can barely focus on, distracted by Seokjin’s brown eyes peering into yours and the gentle way he swipes his thumbs under your lower lids.

“They’re all red now.” He says softly, and he seems distracted too, eyes filtering away from yours and somewhere lower.

“You guys want me to leave?” Yoongi drawls, effectively breaking the moment, “I can do that you know. Just walk right outta here.” He’s pointing the knife over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, though there’s humour in his eyes.

You pull away from Seokjin’s hands, clearing your throat, “Can I finish cutting the onions now?”

“No, but you can start on the bell peppers for me.” Seokjin hands you a small glass bowl with yellow and red peppers, and you do your best to ignore his fingers brushing yours.

When dinner was ready, the four of you gather at the table, trading laughs and stories and you feel content in this moment. Watching your boys be happy, and Jungkook laughing so hard he chokes only to be scolded by Yoongi. Seokjin next to you, close enough that you can feel the warmth of him.

You wonder how it’ll be once his job’s done and he leaves, would you miss him? He’s still as weird as you thought he was that time you met him in your hallway. You’ll miss his laugh, and the way he can comfort you without trying, you’ll miss him doing his best to make you happy even when he doesn’t have to.

The way he pulled you close when one of your first dates went wrong even with his meddling.

You’ll miss him.

Seokjin’s grown quite fond of you, he thinks, a dangerous thing, he believes. Over the weeks that passed, he’s successfully done his job; setting you on the right track to find your person.

The first couple of dates, Seokjin seeked out people you were familiar with, rather than strangers.

He’d stay close by at all times, observing from a distance. On the days when you’d rather not do anything, Seokjin would meet in your apartment. He’d never tell you that the thing’s you’d have him get up to weren’t what he’d consider fun. He’d go anyway, content to watch you instead of whatever movie you’d convinced him to watch with you.

That’s when he realized it.

Funny, really.

Seokjin has seen love before, as it is, his duty was to bring those who are fated together by a series of coincidences. A meet-cute here, a spilled coffee there, even going as far as to reunite friends who've grown up and apart from each other. He’s seen how love can make people bloom like flowers in the spring, and change like seasons together.

He’s seen love make people go distances they’d have never dared to otherwise. He’s seen it in simple words and touches, grand and minute gestures.

So, Seokjin knows what love is when he feels it. It’s that feeling he gets in his chest when you smile, poking fun at him because there’s always something that’s so distinctively human he would never understand. Strange now that it makes him happy, you’re at a point where you no longer deny him being your friend when other people ask, when you take his teasing in stride like friends do.

You’re happier now, despite the trial and error and the hoops you have to jump through to get where you want to be.

It’s the way your hand felt in his when you held it for the first time. It was after one of your many dates, a Saturday evening when the sun was already dragging the moon into the sky.

First snow, and you’d both sat on swings in an empty park far away from where you’d normally venture. Crystalline flakes fluttered into your hair and melted on your clothes. He’d given you his scarf before you could start to shiver.

He’d been content to watch you then, boots kicking at the snow that was piling up quickly.

Watching the way you found joy in a snowflake landing on your nose, and the way you’d try to catch them with your tongue. On the way out of the park, you held his hand because there was ice on the ground and you didn’t want to slip.

Even through the layer of your gloves Seokjin felt the warmth of your skin. He’s way beyond being flustered by such a thing, but heat climbed his neck and flushed his cheeks and he blamed it on the cold.

Seokjin felt something curl around his heart tightly, and he couldn’t ignore it anymore. He understands Hyunjin now, he thinks, his words play on his mind more frequently these days. Unlike Hyunjin, though, Seokjin is too rooted to his place.

The dangers that would come from you and him being anything more than what you are now are too great for Seokjin to risk it. He knows well what would come of it, and it’s nothing good. You would have to spend the rest of your life hiding from the seeing eyes of others, and the forces that will undoubtedly tear you apart.

Seokjin doesn’t want that for you. You will be more unhappy than you’ve ever been. Forced to remain in shadows even when Seokjin represents a light greater than man could ever create. It would be selfish of him to want it, to go through with it as though he’s not making you suffer.

There’s a lump in his throat as he swallows, as he looks at you now, sitting next to him, with not a care in the world.

You glow brightly, like a star, burning hot in the far distance. Far, far off. And just like a star, you’re something he could never reach, even with all his prowess; you aren’t his to hold.

Though he wants to, and it hurts that he can’t.

“Jin.” You call his name softly, and Seokjin realizes that he’s failed. It’s the first time he’s ever felt so defeated.

He’s seen you, too. The way you’d try to pretend that his feelings aren’t yours as well. He knows. He’s seen love enough to know.

The way you’d flush at your friends’ teasing, but would not deny it. The way you’d watch him as though you’ve found something that you’ve been searching for.

“Are you okay?” Your concerned tone made him realize that he’s turned to look at you, but he’s not said anything. He nods, a little unsurely and you have a right to not look convinced.

You’re different now than you were when Seokjin met you. When he’d planted himself into the memory of your friends for the sake of his task. Truly, he wasn’t supposed to, he was supposed to do his job from a distance, never to interfere. He’s watched you go on date after date and all his arrows would fall short of their target.

So, he did the most sensible thing and got directly involved. He was supposed to be finished already, it was supposed to be quick. He’s lingered too long, and now he's sunk so deeply into clear waters that it's turned to mud. He’s unwilling to lead you to the one you’re destined for – even though he knows who it is – and he’s unwilling to let himself be the one to love you instead.

His duty isn’t to love you, he knows this.

“I’m okay.” Angels aren’t supposed to lie, but he did, and he has been for a while. Trying to convince himself that he wasn’t falling in love with you.

“You’re lying.” You say, knowingly. How far have you come to be able to read him like this?

“I’ve never once lied to you.” Seokjin says, and it’s without his usual mirth. You give him a questioning look and not much else, nodding your head slowly.

“If you say so...”

Seokjin simmers in his thoughts for a while, glancing at you when you laugh at something silly.

“Y/n,” He calls softly, and you hum, turning to face him. Seokjin takes a breath, “I have to leave.”

“Right now? The movie isn’t even finished yet.”

“I know...” Seokjin sighs, running a hand through his hair. He stares at the TV screen, not really paying attention, watching a young girl ride a dragon to a far away place. He never understood your reason for having a TV in your bedroom, but it’s quite convenient for comfort.

He could just leave quietly, slip out of your apartment and out of your life without a word. It doesn’t feel right to do so without telling you, though.

“I won’t be back.” Seokjin waits for his words to settle, as the movie fades to background noise and he watches as realization dawns on you.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” You ask, voice pitching at the end, you stand and he does too, “But you haven’t – You can’t leave.”

“I have to.” He places his hands on your shoulders, trying to calm the storm before it blows in. It’s not helping, he knows, as you take a step back.

“Tell me why.” You demand, and Seokjin sees the tears in your eyes before they fall. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no. You didn’t do anything. It’s me.” Seokjin sighs, “This...this was a mistake. I never should have gotten involved.”

You call his name then, with so much pain that Seokjin feels his heart shatter in his chest. He hates it. He hates that even doing this, he still manages to make you unhappy, he’s the cause of your uneven breaths and the tears that race their way down your cheeks and he hates it.

“I’ll make sure you find them. I promise.”

“But I don’t want that! I love you. You can’t just leave.”

Seokjin lets his hands fall to his sides, staring at a spot somewhere above your head to avoid looking you in the eye. He knows what you want, of course he does, because he wants it to. You've gone and said it and that only makes things harder.

“Y/n.” He says your name firmly, and you snap your mouth shut, shoulders shaking still as you try to put an end to your tears. He takes a step closer, raising a hand to cup your cheek, “We can never be. It’s not meant to be this way.”

“Please don’t go.” You whisper, fingers curling around his wrist. “Please stay.”

His resolve is breaking. The longer he stays the harder it’ll be to walk away. Sighing he wraps his arms around you, holding you as you shatter.

Seokjin presses a kiss to your forehead and your eyes in turn, chasing away the remainder of your tears. There’s sadness still in your eyes when you open them, he tilts your head back to capture your lips softly with his.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He says, wiping away tears that still fall.

“Do you promise?”

Instead of answering, Seokjin kisses you again, hands slipping under the warmth of your sweater to meet your soft skin. He feels the shiver that runs through you, and he wonders if his hands are cold. You call his name softly and he gently quiets you, tugging lightly at the hem of your sweater, “Can I take this off?”

You nod and Seokjin helps you wiggle your way out of it. He doesn’t think of the consequences – he doesn’t want to, so he allows his mind to blank. He’ll give in only this once, he’ll give himself to you for the first and last time, no matter how selfish it seems.

He kisses you slowly, making a map of the marks he leaves against your skin. He wants to tell you everything, he wants to take every step with you, meet you somewhere along a coast where nothing matters. But here, he’ll steal this moment and keep it with him forever, until the pain of it fades and he could look back on it fondly.

He quiets the small sounds you make with his mouth, hands bringing your legs up to wrap around his waist. You fit perfectly below him, like a puzzle piece of a puzzle he’s been trying to find.

He props himself up on his hands, gazing at you, “You’re so beautiful.” He leans down, brushing his nose against you, lips finding yours again.

There’s a storm raging outside, wind sending snow pattering softly against your window. Seokjin tries not to let his mind wander, not when you're beneath him and so warm. Your skin is warm, your scent invades his senses and you’re the only thing he could see and Seokjin feels like crying. There’s something in the back of his mind that’s screaming at him, jarring and loud, that he should savor this moment because he’ll never have it again.

He pulls away from you, hooking his fingers into the waistband of your leggings, “I’m taking these off, okay?”

Your knee nudges his side, “You first. You’re still dressed.”

Seokjin chuckles, quickly pulling his sweater and the tee-shirt he wears over his head, “Now we’re even.”

He stands to step out of his sweatpants, allowing you a moment to strip the rest of your clothes on your own. He settles next to you, fingers tracing patterns against the soft skin of your inner thighs, touching lightly just to watch your eyes flutter shut and your nipples stiffen into peaks when he blows air over them. He marks you with his teeth and his tongue, taking a nipple into his mouth, hand stilling when you raise your hips to meet it.

“Impatient little thing.” He mutters, but cuts your pleading whine short, fingers finding where he knows you want him most, groaning at the wetness he finds. He rubs slow circles against your clit and catches your moans with his lips. When he’s teased you enough, when your desperate moans of his name is enough to make him rut his growing erection against your hip, he sinks his fingers into your heat, thumb never leaving your clit.

He curls his fingers against a spot that makes you cry out, your arousal drips into his palm, and he sucks bruises into the skin of your neck. Seokjin’s hips jerk forward when your fingers curl around his cock, squeezing around the base, “Fuck.”

Your other hand stills his and he pulls away to look at you, pupils blown and eyes heavily lidded, chest rising and falling with your breaths. “Can we just...”

“It’s been a while for you, right?” Seokjin asks softly, slowly resuming the thrust of his fingers, at your nod there’s a smirk on his exhale, “It’ll hurt if I don’t. Gotta stretch you out first.”

He can feel the way your walls tighten and flutter around his fingers, feel the way shudder, moans rising his pitch. “Jin- fuck, I’m so close.”

“Already?” Jin tilts his head, tone teasing. He kisses you, tongue sliding against your own, “Let go for me, baby.”

Your gasp is followed by a drawn out moan, curses and unintelligible words on the end of it. Seokjin watches you tip over the edge, unable to help the motion of his hips thrusting his cock into the loose grip your hand had around it. Removing his fingers from your heat, he lets you catch your breath, pressing a kiss to your temple, “You did so well baby, so good for me.”

Seokjin pulls away, placing a fleeting kiss on your shoulder, “Do you have condoms?” He asks, rubbing a hand on your trembling thigh. He would’ve thought you’d passed out if it wasn’t for the limp way you motion to the bedside table.

You peek an eye at him, “I’m clean if that’s what you’re worried about.” You murmur, and Seokjin smiles, shaking his head.

“That’s good to know sweet girl, but it’s not that. You don’t want what I can give you, trust me.” Seokjin turns to rummage through your things, finding the box tucked into a corner, “It’ll be hell if something unexpected happens. We’ll have a very big problem on our hands.”

“Oh, you mean...”

“Yes. It’s best if we avoid that.” He tears the glossy wrapper with his teeth, moving back to you, he kneels between your open legs. He slides the condom on and you prop up on your elbows to watch, when Seokjin’s eyes flicker up, he could see the hint of worry in yours. He raises a hand to brush your cheek with his fingers, “I’ll go slowly.”

He’s mindful of his size and how long it’s been for you as you settle again, one hand gently gripping your hip, he keeps his eyes on you, watching your every expression. He drags his cock against your sopping cunt, hand holding steady, he leans down to slot his lips to yours, “Ready?” He whispers, waiting until you nod.

A groan leaves him as he enters you, and your fingernails scratches red into his shoulders. He buries his face against your neck, teeth nipping at the skin he could reach, giving slow shallow thrusts until he bottoms out. You’re so warm and tight around him, he takes the calls of his name as prayer, you cling to him as though he’d disappear, and Seokjin thinks that some part of you knows.

Nothing you can say or do will make him change his mind, but he’ll allow you this moment. This moment where it’s just you and him and nothing else, where he can easily show you how he feels without promising anything more.

He thrusts slowly, wanting the moment to last for as long as it can, knowing that he will go on and remember this, and you, when the morning comes you would never know that you’ve loved and been loved.

This way, it’s better, it’ll be easier knowing that one day you’ll find what you need in someone else that isn’t him, without ever knowing what you mean to him at all. Things will return to the way it was meant to be, with him watching from a distance, guiding you in the way he was supposed to from the start.

Seokjin wills the tears behind his eyes to go away, and tells his mind to shut up.

Your name is a sigh on his lips, a prayer that when the time comes he could walk away. Your hips rise to meet his thrusts, and Seokjin loses his fingers in your hair, holding you closer because it’s all he could do as you grow ever tighter around him. He chases his end as you find yours, lips crashing against yours sloppily when he stills, release spilling into the condom.

“Are you okay?” Seokjin asks after a moment, when the room doesn’t feel like a sauna, and he’s finished cleaning you and himself up. Brushing back your hair that hides your eyes from his view, you kiss his palm and Seokjin tries not to let his sadness show in his smile.

“I’m okay. Can we take a shower? I feel gross.” You laugh, already getting up to walk to your closet, you throw a towel at him and he catches it.

“That’s rude, we don’t throw things.” Seokjin trails after you, taking your hand in his because he needs to be grounded right now and not think about what he has to do.

When you stir the next morning, the other side of the bed is cold, but Seokjin’s sitting at your side, brushing your hair away from your eyes.

“You’re still here?” You murmur, smiling sleepily. You open your eyes a bit to see him fully dressed in last night’s clothes.

“I’m here.” Seokjin smiles sadly, massaging your scalp with his fingers, “I have to go.”

You pull away from him to sit up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with a hand, “Are you coming back?”

He watches you quietly for a moment before he shakes his head, “I can’t.” He takes your hand and squeezes gently, “This...we can’t.” He sighs, frustrated, knowing what he has to say, what he needs to do.

Seokjin has spent thousands of years watching the rise and fall of mankind over and over, doing his duty as a Cupid to bring those who are fated together. He’s seen heartbreak, he’s seen how it shatters a person’s very being, now he knows what it feels like as he watches tears gather in your eyes because you know, too.

“Don’t go. Please. We can make this work, Jin. Please.” His throat feels tight, something is squeezing his chest and he hates it. He hates that you’re crying because of him, because he’s breaking your heart. “Please stay.”

“I can’t.” Seokjin whispers this, pulling you closer when you reach for him, the sound of your sobs etches into his core and they cut deep. He’s held you, a star, and you’ve burnt him now. Stars burn the brightest as they die, giving their all in the last moment of their lives, and like a star he watches as you implode.

Sometimes though, stars don’t always turn into black holes when they die, sometimes they scatter into matter and burn dimly forever. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Why? Why’d you let me fall for you?” You hiccup, pushing at his chest and Seokjin lets you, letting his hands drop at his side. “You knew that this was going to happen and you let it happen!”

Your tears are angry now, but still so sad, and you slap weakly at his arms. “Why?”

“I’m sorry.” He cups your cheeks with his hands, thumbs catching your tears. He wished it wasn’t this way, he wished that things were different, that maybe, you could’ve met him under different circumstances. That he wasn’t him, but you were still you. He wasn’t expecting it, like most things, it simply happened.

He kisses you while you cry, your fingers curl tightly into the material of his sweater, “I’m sorry. You have to forget me.”

You pull away from him completely, tears flowing faster now, “No.”

“Y/n.” He sighs.

“You can’t do that. What gives you the right?” You escape his reach, moving to the other side of the bed where you get off, turning to face him, “You can leave. You can go and pretend that this never happened. You can’t make me forget, I don’t want to forget you.”

Sighing Seokjin gets up too, walking around the bed to you. You step backwards until you have nowhere to go, back against the wall. “I have to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“So stubborn.” Seokjin clenches his jaw, his head hurts and he wants this to be over. The longer he stands here having this conversation, the harder it will be to follow through. He walks until he’s in your space, hand finding your cheek again. “Why are you always so stubborn?”

“Jin.” You whisper his name and his heart breaks, “Please.”

“Are you ready to spend the rest of your life knowing that we can never see each other again? Knowing me will put everyone you care about in danger. There’s no chance. It’ll break you and I’d rather not have that happen.” Seokjin says, “This was never supposed to happen. We weren’t meant to happen.”

“I don’t want to forget.” You repeat, stubbornly. “Please don’t make me forget.”

Seokjin leans down, pressing a kiss to your forehead, his fingers already at your temple before you have the chance to stop him. He leans away, just watching you, memorizing your features as though he’d ever forget. “I love you.”

You finally quiet, staring at him with wide eyes, “Jin.”

“I’m sorry.” You fall limp and Seokjin catches you before you can hit the floor, holding you to him as the dam breaks and he cries. He cries for the moments he’s shared, the moments you would now live never to remember, he cries because he knows what heartbreak is and he feels it. “I’m sorry. I love you. I’m sorry.”

After he places you back into bed, he makes sure that nothing belonging to him remains. Seokjin walks slowly out of your apartment, looking around at everything because it’s the last time. There’s no way he can come back here, he needs to go as far away as he possibly can.

Softly, he closes your door behind him, and every step he takes he feels as though his heart is being pulled out his chest. He makes it all the way down the hall, and into the elevator when Yoongi steps out of his apartment. He looks at Seokjin for a moment, no sign of recollection whatsoever. The last thing Seokjin before the doors slide close is Yoongi opening yours and going in.

“Y/n. Why the fuck are you sleeping with the window open? Are you trying to get sick?” Yoongi stomps his way into your bedroom, pulling your window shut. He turns to look at you as you sit up, “Hey. Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

“Hm?” You hum, confused, wiping your fingers under your eyes, “I...I don’t know? Must’ve been a dream?”

“Can you get ready in ten minutes?” Yoongi boldly rummages through your drawers, throwing clothes your way. “The café has deals on donuts and I wanna get some before they sell out.”

He walks to your door, while you sit, still sleepy, still confused. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah...I just...I feel like I’ve lost something.”

Broke your heart? Read the What If sequel drabble - Here

Tagging: @xpeachesncream @bangtansmauyeondan @taestefully-in-luv @blog-name-idk @madbutgloriouspond @euphoricfilter @luaspersona @mssukeyna @matchstick6812 @jinsquishes @allhobbitstoisengard @eren-fall @dontstoptime​ @eoieopda​

#persphonesorchid #bts seokjin #kim seokjin #kim seokjin x reader #bts x reader #bts x you #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #bts imagine #bts one shot #bts fanfiction #bts fic rec #BTS fic Collab #Catch of the century #Jin's dirty thirty #Fic: Cupid's on holiday #Angel au #Cupid au #Cupid!Seokjin #Slight enemies to lovers

[dopenightmaretyphoon]

Thanking you

Authors note: inspired by the fact that everyone around me is happy in jobs, and I'm still doing the same thing I did at 16. It's short!

Trigger warnings: swearing? I think that's it

Curling up next to Melissa you rest your head on her shoulder you threw your phone on the table and sighed.

"What's wrong hon?"

The softness of her voice wanted to make you cry, you couldn't find the words to tell her what was going through your head so you cuddle into her side and cry. Feeling the tears on her, Melissa pulls you onto her lap and gently rocks you.

"It's ok sweetheart, I'm here when you're ready for now I'll hold you"

What felt like years to you was really only five minutes max, you finally sniffed and moved to look at Mel

"I feel like a failure, everyone else my age is married, with kids and a perfect job yet I'm stuck working in an office cause I can't let go of my stupid fears and jump into my dreams"

You took a breath, the red went to speak but you shook your head trying to tell her you had more to say, Melissa understood and nodded giving you time to continue.

"One of my closest friends from high school just started the business they always wanted, she got the deeds to a property next door to my office block and wanted to meet up to catch up on life. How am I meant to tell her all I have to show for my life is you?"

Mel's heart clenched at the compliment but also sadness ran through her veins as she saw how much it was hurting you.

"Hon, you have done more than just that. You help people everyday, I know it's hard seeing everyone around you getting what you want but you will get there"

She knew how you were feeling, of course she did. As a kid and teenager all she wanted to be was a firefighter but back then it was different 'women aren't fit to be a firefighter' those words still sting now but she pushed them back and focused on you.

"I promise sweetheart, no one will judge you for your choices and if they do fuck 'em. You have done amazing things with your life, you are amazing, and if people don't see that, then oh well, it's their loss"

You gave her a watery smile, thankful for Mel more than you could every say. You cuddled into Melissa listening to her heart beat

"I'm going to do it, I'm going back to college"

You stated and Melissa nodded handing you, your phone. You unlocked it and started searching courses

"I can do night courses, that's perfect!"

Mel smiled at your happiness, and kissed your forehead pulling you closer to her.

"Why don't you apply later and for now we can cuddle?"

Putting your phone down you nod and move closer to the older women

"Thank you for everything"

"Nonsense hon, no need to thank me. Its what I'm here for. And if it was the other way round you would do the same"

That night you applied for the course and three months later you had quit your office job and signed the deeds for a property. Four years later you sat in your office talking to Melissa about that night

"Y'know Mel i would have never even looked at the courses if it hadn't have been for you"

Melissa looks up from the marking she was doing.

"Like I told ya before you don't need to thank me"

Giggling you stand up and walk to Melissa, she watched you with confusion in her eyes

"I'm not thanking you, what I'm doing is telling you its all cause of you that I'm here now"

#melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x reader #abbott elementary #lisa ann walter

[sevensoulmates]

I really appreciate you making the buddie meta post for 7x4, taking that many hours of your time just to write it and sharing it with us. I'm really grateful, I was literally giggling and kicking my feet while reading your post 💕

What a wonderful episode, it still feels like an out of body experience and I'm so happy Buck is finally free (I'm still in disbelief they gave us bi Buck in such a beautiful way).

I really wonder how they will give us the Eddie coming out arc. ¿Do you have any theories at the moment? Also why does it feels like Marisol will be kicking rocks sooner than expected? 👀

Thank you again ❤️

Thank you so much!! I mean I always have so many thoughts going round and round in my head about this show at all times so at least this gives me a place to put em.

I was beyond happy with everything we got in this episode. 10/10 no notes. I'm getting the feeling next episode is gonna be similar but is also gonna have some plot twists as well. The possibility of a double date has me V~I~B~R~A~T~I~N~G especially if Eddie doesn't realize the entire time that BuckTommy are on a date. Eddie and his queer blinders runs so deep and I want to see the way his face changes when he realizes.

I loved how they handled Buck having this discovery and I'm beyond happy they're not going the "gay for you" route with Buck (and I hope not with Eddie either). I'm glad Buck can exist in the world as a bisexual man outside of his relationships, but also in conjunction with them. They're all a part of him and he deserves to finally be settled in that aspect of who he is.

I do get the feeling that Buck's gonna be so swept up in the euphoria of figuring out his sexuality that he's likely going to be attributing a lot of those feelings to Tommy where he actually isn't wholly the cause. Don't get me wrong, I do think Buck is genuinely interested and attracted to Tommy, and I'm excited to see where that goes, but we're already getting some hints about potential issues with their relationship and I'm very intrigued about where that will go.

My prediction for Buck is that he's going to dive headfirst into whatever he has with Tommy and start seeking out the feelings/connection he has with Eddie, but in Tommy. I think the date will have some hints at Buck and Tommy trying to connect in certain ways and Buck in the back of his head finding *something* missing.

As for Eddie....HOO boy. I think that he's gonna be in for an interesting time. There's a chance he might break up with Marisol in 7x05, or I was also seeing spec about breaking up in 7x07, etc. IDK ANYMORE!! As much as I PERSONALLY would like to see them break up next episode, I think it would also be interesting to extend that relationship out a bit more just to show Eddie's sexual struggles and have her as a foil.

I'll give you what I would LIKE to see instead of what I speculate might happen because at this point the information we do know is confusing.

I would like to see Eddie feeling visibly weird about Buck dating Tommy. The reasons for him feeling that way can be nebulous at the start. I want this to cause some issues with Marisol, but I want his primary issues with Marisol explored separately from BuckTommy as well.

I would love to see more of his incompatibility with Marisol explored, whether that's in terms of how they act on a date, how they talk to each other, maybe even sexually (?). I want Eddie to genuinely start questioning why once again he's not feeling anything in a relationship with a woman. Like Ana could've been a fluke, but now Marisol too? I want him to think about why he just forces these relationships into something full-blown when most people would be able to recognize they're not attracted/into someone after the first few dates and end it.

I would love to see him possibly being dissatisfied with sex (if they go the demi route) and being really confused about if it's the sex itself, or the woman he's having sex with. I want some definitive building blocks for Eddie being like "I don't understand why I don't feel attraction to her" leading to an eventual "I don't feel attraction to women" realization. I think that Eddie's queer realization arc deserves more nuance and time put into it and a slow unveiling. I think it can still overlap with BuckTommy, with his feelings regarding them confusing him even more.

Buck getting kissed once by a man, understanding and accepting his sexuality right away, and being excited about it makes sense for his character. Eddie on the other hand I think is gonna struggle with it a lot more. I would like to see those struggles highlighted. Bring in more of his family (parents, sisters, etc) and show him struggling with heteronormativity around them. Show Eddie struggling to act "normal" in his interaction with BuckTommy when they're around him as a pair.

I would love it if a surprise kiss in the heat of the moment came in somewhere. Whether Buck is/isn't with Tommy and Eddie is/isn't with Marisol, would provide different ramifications. But I don't want the kiss to immediately lead to them getting together. I want them to have to sit with it, and maybe Eddie can then deconstruct his feelings about men, his sexuality, and his feelings for Buck at the same time. I wouldn't mind this struggle continuing over the hiatus and into the season 8 opener, or having this be a season 8 storyline altogether.

Either way, I do firmly believe Eddie's queer arc is coming down the line, and what we're seeing now is going to be the foundation for him to work up to it. As we know, Eddie doesn't really have sudden realizations. He kind of lets things build and build until it explodes and he is forced to sit down and think about it.

Also I don't believe Tim Minear about his "spur of the moment idea to have them kiss". What a liar. They were filming the scene with Buck, Tommy, and Eddie at the helicopter hangar back in January. That was a whole 3 months ago. Oliver literally said it was his first day back on set. You can't tell me you filmed that without knowing how the episode was gonna end, Tim. What a lying liar who lies. I do believe him that bringing Tommy in to replace Lucy probably meant they could streamline the queer Buck storyline faster in the season, but I firmly believe he knew they were planning to get to it at some point. There's no way Tim could've gotten the green light for it from ABC that fast without major lengthy discussions, both with TPTB and the writer's room. People take a long fucking time to respond to emails, Tim. Get better at lying.

#911 abc #buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #bucktommy #eddiemarisol #speculation

[jacobbaeluvr]

you can flirt now?

genre: fluff

pairing: (the boyz) jacob bae x gn!reader

summary: in which you try many ways to flirt with jacob but it suddenly backfires

warnings: uh uses of pickup lines (non-sensual ones), kissing on the neck and lips obvi, whispering, a lil cursing, uses of love, babe, cob and baby, bad humour cause i have em

notes: my woo fic is still ongoing lol idk when i'm gonna finish it

word count: 460 words

warnings pt2: this fic is not real! it's all fake so if you're uncomfortable pls block me

you sigh, the book in your hands no longer you find interested. instead, you're interested at your boyfriend's back profile. god he even looks good sitting there with his headphones on. jacob had a day off today but it seems that he's too focused on his work that it doesn't look like he has a day off.

feeling bored you got up and grabbed an extra chair before making your way beside jacob. noticing you, he placed one side of the headphones aside.

“hey baby, what's up?”

you shrugged.

“the ceiling obviously. anyways when are you done? i'm bored.”

you whined and placed your head on his shoulder. his head rested on yours after, rubbing it against yours.

“just a bit love, i'm almost done”

he then took out his headphones and started typing on his laptop.

still bored, you thought of a good idea. pickup lines.

grabbing your phone, you went on safari and searched 'pickup lines for flirting'. pressing on the first link, you tap jacob on the shoulder.

“babe, something’s wrong with my eyes because i can’t take them off of you.”

jacob chuckled.

“thanks a lot baby but i need to get this done”

giving a short peck on your lips, he continued typing on his laptop. damn it, it didn't work.

hm, let's see. ah huh, what about this one.

“babe, i’m going to complain to spotify about you not being in this week’s hottest singles.”

jacob let out a smile and ruffled your hair gently, putting your hair behind your ear before going back to his laptop. letting out a big exhale, you went back to bed. all your flirting doesn't work, fuck. hm, maybe some kisses would work.

getting up again, you tiptoed behind him carefully placing your hands on his chair before getting near his neck and giving it a peck. he made a sound of surprised but quickly recovered from it. going back to his ear, you whispered.

“cob”

“hm?”

“are you done?”

he shook his head.

“do you really need me that bad?”

“yes badly, you don't understand”

jacob laughed, it was the cutest thing ever.

“alright alright, i'll be there. let me just save this and i'll be cuddling with you okay.”

“okay!” you smiled before getting under the covers.

realising jacob is done, you open the covers before making grabby hands at him. making himself comfortable, he spooned you with one of his arms under your head and one on your waist.

“happy now?” he whispered.

“very” you replied happily.

“you know i must be in a museum because you truly are a work of art.”

did he just...

shocked, you turned with your eyes wide open.

“since when you can flirt now?”

he smiled before kissing your neck like you did to him previously.

“aww come on, i'm not that innocent love”

he rubbed his nose against your neck, kissing it at the same time. you were hot from blushing really hard.

your boyfriend can flirt now.

masterlist <3

#the boyz drabble #the boyz #the boyz scenarios #the boyz imagines #the boyz fluff #the boyz x reader #the boyz jacob #jacob bae scenarios #jacob bae fluff #jacob bae #jacob bae fluff #jacob bae drabbles #jacob bae imagines #jacob bae x reader #jacob bae fic #tbz imagines #tbz x reader #tbz #tbz fluff #tbz jacob

[sinnabee]

Hey! would you recommend anything for someone wishing to make a dca au/blog? I have many ideas but also many anxiety

yeah - just go for it!!! post ur thoughts and headcanons into the void, see what resonates, and most importantly - have fun!

the fun thing about tumblr is that you can just kinda. fuck around and goof off and it's all good!

i personally love it when people just post little thoughts about au's they have, sometimes they elaborate, sometimes they don't, but it's still fun to see! it can inspire other people who might want to hop in and ask questions, or shyly point it in another direction asking "hey what about this? does this fit? would this be a neat path?" and it's so fun!!! sometimes it's nice to just throw an idea out there and see who it clicks with.

if you WANT notes, then just remember the first five tags on a post are the ones that are gonna show up in your search results. if your anxiety says "ooooh im not ready for that," then maybe spend the first four tags rambling, and then throw something like #fnaf or #fnaf dca in there for number 5, so that it still pops up but is a little harder to find. (i also absolutely recommend giving any au you talk about it's own unique tag for organization purposes, so that you can search for it on your blog later.)

general advice about having a fandom themed blog, tho - and thankfully, i haven't really seen this hardly at all in the dca fandom - SOMETIMES people are assholes who might come into your inbox and be shitheads about your headcanons or about ships you like. man, don't even bother with them! don't answer it, don't mull it over - delete it. you aren't obligated to answer asks, you can just toss 'em if they're mean or make you uncomfortable. and don't forget the block button, too!

that's about all i can think of off the top of my head! i used to try and keep my blog strictly to my own art/writing, but i'm having a lot of fun reblogging other people's art now and being able to yell at moots and artists in the tags. again - have fun!!!

thanks for the ask, anon, and i hope you have a blast with your fandom blog! (i hope i'll see it around sometime soon! <3)

#ask #Anonymous #fandom things #fandom blog #aus #yayayayayayayaya #this was such a sweet ask to receive like aklfjaklfj #thanks for coming to me i guess??? #yo hit up the ask box again if you have another specific question :D #i love talking about this kind of stuff;;; #sinna babbles

[final-girl96]

Firefly Chaprer Thirty-Seven

Authors Note: Sorry this took so long. I was trying to figure out exactly how I wanted to do it. Also, this chapter 2,204 words, so it's long, lol.

Thank you for being patient with me. ❤️

Pittsburgh 2023

We had jumped up into the building and over a desk and around shelves that were used as a blockade. A large window looked out into the open alleyway. First we saw a woman running into the alley then we heard the sound of a vehicle. I pulled Ellie down with me to a kneeling position at the same time Joel said get down. The woman screamed and Joel peaked his head up to see what was happening. He didn't need to say anything, the gunfire told us exactly what happened.

Once they were gone we got up and headed for the stairwell. The way down was blocked so we headed up a flight and came out where the offices were for the bank. As we stepped out into the hallway there were the voices of two men talking. We rushed across the hall and hid. "How does some chick and a guy with a kid kill that many people by themselves?" One of the men said.

"Man, I don't know. But when I find 'em I'm going to kill the guy and the kid and take the chick for a spin." That made me fucking nasouse and fucking pissed off. Before Joel could even say anything or even stop me, I was walking out from behind the wall and shooting the first guy in the head. "Hey, asshole, still wanna spin?" The other guy turned towards me and as soon as he did I pulled the trigger. "That's one way of doing it." I turned to see Ellie walking up to me. "That's way to get fucking killed!" Joel said, walking past us.

I rolled my eyes and headed down the hall to a busted out window. Below it was a delivery truck so I jumped down with a thud. Two more thuds followed and then we were on a street that we could only go forward on, because, of course, the other roadways were blocked off. In the center was a red bricked building. A delivery truck had crashed into the side of it, exposing the bookstore inside.

I had actually tricked myself into thinking that we were going to have a break from that group of assholes that still linger around here. Maybe go through the books that were left and take a few. I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong. Joel pulled me back against him, pulling us to the ground behind the truck. "Are you trying to get yourself fuckig killed?" He hissed in my ear. "There are at least three men up on the second floor of that building across the street. And lets not forget the fucking trip wires."

Great now I'll never hear the end of this shit from him. I pulled away from him and checked the magazine in my gun. Almost empty, that's just great. I grabbed a loose brick off the ground and pushed Ellie behind me before throwing it at the wire. A loud bang echoed through the quiet city, dust and dirt clouded the hole in the wall from the truck. Shouting from the men on the other side of the building started yelling to each other.

Joel gave me a death glare and I shrugged. We may as well get it over and done with. I want to get the fuck out of this damn city already. I heard gravel crunch under the heavy footsteps of someone. Joel moved closer to the front of the truck and as soon as they came into his view he grabbed them, putting them in a headlock then snapping his neck. "Watch out!" I turned when Ellie yelled. Another man was running towards me. Jumping over the rubble on the ground near the truck.

I pulled my gun up and shot, hitting him in the shoulder. He stumbled back a little giving Joel the opportunity to kill him. We killed the other four guys but not without any injuries. Nothing too serious though. We checked around for anything useful and I grabbed a few books. We climbed a fire escape so we could get over the wall blocking the road. We hopped down onto yet another delivery truck.

"FEDRA Military Academy," I said, coming up beside Ellie. "Another name for an orphanage. Wonder what happened to all of the kids," she said. "This place has been closed for a long time. Those kids are no adults," Joel said, from the other side of her. "Come on, we can cut through this alley." Joel walked away from us and Ellie turned to me. "So, what are we doing after we get out of this city?"

We followed after Joel down the alley. "Get you to that lab with or without him. I mean unless you've changed your mind then we can just go wherever. Find a nice place maybe out in the country or something." Was I getting attached to the kid? Maybe a little. I know why I'm taking her to this lab and where it is. I just don't know exactly what they will be doing to her. "Um…that sounds nice, but I have a chance to save humanity. What's cooler than that?"

She skipped ahead to walk beside Joel and bombard him with a bunch of questions. I could here him sigh and knew he was rolling his eyes. We stopped in our tracks when we heard the sound of the truck we've seen a couple times. It was one of those heavy military trucks with a .50 caliber machine gun on top. They must be held up somewhere the military was to keep that thing loaded. But then again there aren't exactly a lot of people and the infected stay deep inside buildings.

We were right. The truck was sitting in front of a store. There were a few guys inside the store as well as inside the truck. It didn't take long to take care of the four men inside, but it would be fun trying to get across the street. "How are we going to do this, Joel?" I asked. He was silent as he looked around. "I'll distract them while you two make a run for it," he said. "Are you fucking crazy? They'll shoot you!"

Even I wasn't reckless enough to try some crazy shit like that against someone who has a military grade vehicle with a machine gun! "I'll be right behind you. When you get inside, hide and wait for me." Before I could even say another word he was running towards the broken windows of the store and jumping through one. There was a bang from him throwing something, then the machine gun erupted. I took that opportunity to grab Ellie's hand and sprint across the road.

As soon as we got inside a man rushed us. I pushed Ellie out of the way before I was tackled to the ground. My head snapped to the side, pain spread across my left cheekbone from him punching me. As soon as my brain caught up to what just happened I was bringing my own fist up and punching him back. He still didn't move though, he pinned me down, brought his fist back, then pushed it forward. I waited for the blow, the pain, but it never came.

Joel's boot came into view, kicking the guy in the face, sending him backwards, the sound of a loud nasty crunch was heard before he was thrown off my body. Then Joel is standing in front of me where I lay on the ground, he's hovering over the man, hands fisting to the gray material on his body, hauling him to his feet, and dragging him just outside the door.

A hand moved to the back of the guy's neck, then his face was slammed into the brick wall once, twice, three times before he went limp. The sound of machine gunfire erupted and Joel hit the ground. "Stay low and make your way to that window." He pointed to a broken out window on the other side. The three of us stayed low and slowly made our way to the window. When we got there we jumped out into an alley and ran around the corner.

As we turned the corner another man came running towards us. With Joel in front of me and Ellie, the guy went straight for him. They struggled, throwing punches at each other. I licked up a broken bottle off the ground, jumped on the guy's back and jammed it into the side of his neck. Joel grabbed the gun the man had dropped and shot another one running up behind me. Then we ran towards the alley across from us and around the corner just as the military truck busted through the iron gates.

We ran into another building, into what looked like an employee break room. Lockers were lined up on a wall and there was a small kitchen on another. We ran to the door on the other side that led to a stairwell. Of course, the only way we could go was up. The stairs leading down were like all the other staircases we've come across, blocked with furniture.

The stairs led us to the top floor and we came out to two offices. One had a fire escape, which we took, and walked across a couple boards that were put down between the fire escape and the ledge of the building across from us. There was one window open that led into a one bedroom apartment. The door to the apartment was barricaded by the furniture in the living room. "Jesus," Ellie whispered. "The window in the kitchen is open," I said.

I walked over to it only to see that the fire escape was broken and we would need to walk the ledge like we did to get to the apartment. "I'll go first, Ellie, stay between us." Joel went out the window first, then Ellie, then me. The window to the apartment next to the one we were just in wasn't far away and when Joel got there he was able to jump in since it was opened. He helped Ellie inside and then me. The room we stood in was a nursery, the door to the room opened into a hall.

Luckily the door was barricaded this time. We walked out into the hall of the building and headed down the stairs until we couldn't anymore. The door we come out of leads to different places. One went to the apartments and the other went to a toy store. This place was like a maze, nodding to go through buildings to get to a different road or alley.

We ran into a few more men as we made our way to yet another building. This time the building and floor we were on was Duality Architecture. There were modules of building and drawings of blueprints for other building ideas. A set of double doors led to an office that led out another set of double doors and to a room where a model of the Fort Pitt Bridge sat in the middle of the room. That was our destination. We get there and we finally get out of this city.

And as easy as it might seem, it wasn't. We had to go through more men and that damn truck again. It was now dark, rain fell from the sky in big heavy sheets. We were standing on the bridge, the only problem…the bridge was destroyed. One of the bombs had hit it, cutting off the city from the world that lay on the other side. Truck was trying to push through the cars and buses that separated us. "We could jump!" Ellie shouted over the rain.

Looking down below us into the river I shook my head. The water was rising the more the rain that fell, the current rushing by, waiting to suck something, anything or anyone under its dark cold depths. "Are you fucking insane? You can't swim! And it wouldn't matter if you could, the current is too strong! We'll all drown!" I shouted back. "Well, we have to do something!"

Yeah, no shit we had to do something. We all stood with our backs towards the edge, watching the bright headlights of the truck getting closer and closer. "Wait! What about up there?!" Ellie pointed upwards, Joel and I followed her finger up above us. Someone had laid boards out on the top of the arch that wasn't destroyed. We couldn't see how fair it went but it was either that or being shot down or jumping and hoping we didn't drown.

Joel and I looked at each other but didn't say a word. We didn't need to. It was decided that's the way we would go. "You go first and I'll take up the back," he said. I swallowed hard and nodded my head. It was a long way up. I wasn't afraid of heights, not really, but it was dark and raining hard. This was dangerous and a risk. I turned to Ellie and made her look me in the eye to make sure she paid close attention.

We're going to go across…take it slow and steady, don't look down, and follow exactly what I do. Joel will be right behind you, don't try to stand and walk, stay on your hands and knees, understand?" She nodded her head and I turned, then started to ascend up the ladder. Once the three of us were up there, Joel knocked the ladder down asurring no one would follow. If they did, they were going to be delayed just a little.

It was slow, very slow. I couldn't see that well with how dark it was. I had my light on, but with how heavy the rain was, I couldn't see more than maybe two feet ahead of me. When I got to the very end, I realized we were on the other side, no longer high above the raging waters. Another ladder was there, and I climbed down carefully. I went halfway down and made sure to instruct Ellie on what to do. I don't know who made this or how they did it, and I didn't care. I was just glad to finally be out of that maze of hell.

#joel miller x y/n #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel and ellie #joel miller x yn #the last of us x you #the last of us x reader #ellie the last of us #the last of us hbo #the last of us #the last of us x yn #joel miller tlou #tlou show #tlou x reader #tlou hbo #tlou series #tlou #ellie x reader #ellie williams #ellie tlou #tlou x you #perdro pascal

[umbylievable]

Context for this au is here.

Please note that this is copied from my chat logs so the formatting is a little weird lol

Under a read more bc it's a little long and I hate to be the guy blocking the view in the tag

The moment he realizes he's attracted to the Joker, or Countess as he's now calling himself, is after parading him around at one of those police galas. They've retired to their own homes. Bruce is getting out of his suit, loosening his tie, when Alfred approaches his doorway with the slightest hint of a mischievous smile "Sir." "? I thought you'd gone to bed" "I had. But you have a visitor"

Before he can inquire further, Alfred steps out of the way, and Countess is left standing there sheepishly. Bruce sighs "Go back to bed Alfred. I'll see him out" "Very good sir. Good night"

As he departs, Bruce narrows his eyes. "What is it you want?" "Well you know how I insisted on wearing this gown because I liked how poofy the skirt was?" "I recall something of the sort yes" "well I can't get it off" "what?" "Harley was over earlier and she zipped me in. And I can't get out :³" "......oh I am going to get Alfred for this in the morning. Turn around you absolute pest"

Countess lifts his skirts and bouncily turns to put his back to the doorway, humming cheerfully. There's a wire hanger swinging from the zipper. Bruce almost laughs. Almost. "what the fuck?" "Oh yeah I tried to get it off myself first with this hack I saw on TikTok but I think I did it wrong."

"Oh you think?" Bruce takes a moment to extricate the hanger from the zipper, then tosses it aside. He focuses then on the zipper itself, and upon giving it a tug, finds that it's snagged on the fabric underneath. "Hold on. It's a little stuck" Bruce grips the top of the skirt with one hand and pulls, straightening it out, hoping to release the fabric from the track of the zipper. He underestimates his strength, or maybe overestimates countess's weight. Countess loses his footing and stumbles back into Bruce a bit. "Woah there big boy!" "Just. Shut up and stand up straight." "Yes sir." countess straightens up but doesn't move away. They're almost uncomfortably close.

Bruce pulls the zipper again, and with his grip on the skirt it slides free this time. His knuckles inadvertantly drag against the skin of Countess's back and for some reason the warmth makes his heart race. "There. Now go home." "Oh thank you!! It's a good fashion piece but not all that comfortable. I didn't wanna sleep in it" He turns around to face Bruce, his usual cheerful smile on his face, the day's makeup already gone, and there is something incredibly genuine about the moment. "Are you heading back out to do your batman stint tonight?" "Of course..." "Oh well good luck!! Knock em dead. Or er. Unconscious since you don't do the killing thing." He pats Bruce's chest like he's affectionately petting a trusted dog, and then turns around and bounces out of the room and down the hall. Bruce watches him go, and rubs his face. He's hot. This is unlike him. He hopes a tour around Gotham will clear his head.

It does. Temporarily. When he returns to the batcave, bruised but otherwise unharmed, he finds Countess at the batcomputer, legs up in the chair, twirling a little.

Bruce scowls, pulling off his cowl "what are you doing? You were supposed to go home" "I did!! See, I put on pj's." He holds him arms out in a demonstrative gesture, showing off what are clearly a woman's pajamas. The shorts are both too short and vaguely too tight. "Are those Harley's?" "Yeah she said she hated them so I could keep em!! They say 'cocked and loaded' on the ass uwu" "that's disgusting" "I thought it was funny"

Countess wiggles out of the chair "Anyway Alfredo went to sleep and I promised him I'd keep an eye out for you." "No you didn't." "Ok so I told him I'd left something here and then locked myself in the batcave but that second part was an accident."

Bruce sighs. "Well I'm home and I'm fine. Get out" "Locked iiiin." "Oh for fuck's sake. Computer, end lockdown protocol" The computer whirrs, and there's the sound of a heavy door unlocking "Lockdown ended" "Thank you. Sleep." "Very well. Entering low power mode" The light on the screen dims. Countess whistles "Fancy!! I was gonna try hitting a bunch of buttons but--" "It would have killed you" "Yeah that's what I figured!!" "Now get out" "You're so ornery when you come back from batmaning. You need an outlet for that stress" "Such as?"

Countess goes over and lightly dances his fingers up the front of the batsuit before bopping Bruce on the nose. "I'm available :³" it shouldn't surprise Bruce; this isn't the first time countess has come onto him, after all. He takes some kind of glee in the look of disgust that passes over Bruce's face after the fact.

But this time Bruce recalls the warmth of his back, the overly pronounced shape of his spine. He pictures the words on the back of those too-small shorts. There's the faint scent of sugar and cheap scented lipbalm. Something about it is...alluring, and he doesn't know why.

He briefly contemplates shoving it down. Ignoring it, like he does most of his feelings. But they're two consenting adults, he reasons, and it's late and everyone is asleep, and there are no witnesses here but the two of them (in case this inspires some kind of shame in the morning. At this point he's unsure).

Bruce allows a smirk to come across his face, and the look catches Sountess off guard. He withdraws his hand. Bruce grabs his wrist. Countess's eyes light up "Ooh you mean it batsy?" "Don't breathe a word of this to anyone" "Heehee if you're half as aggressive in bed as you are as batman I expect not to be able to breathe at all..."

#batman #batman au #batjokes #umby posts batman

[evandarya]

Seeds of the Father

Chapter 3

{Read on AO3} {Chapter 2}

Don't Underestimate the Power of a Planted Seed

Danny shut off his alarm clock with a groan and sat up in bed. He didn't bother calculating how little sleep he had gotten. Between Skulker hunting him for most of the night and studying for finals, he already knew it wasn't much. He checked his phone and cleared any notifications. A text from Tucker, reminding him to bring his notes for calculus, and a Tweet from Bruce Wayne about some benefit he's hosting over the weekend.

He thought it was weird to follow his brother and father on social media, but Jazz said it was good to find connections with family even when you couldn't be there with them. Jazz was usually right about these things.

Danny packed his backpack and headed down the stairs. Jack and Maddie were at the table, a selection of cereals and milk set out for breakfast.

"Morning, Danno!" Jack said. "Want to see our latest invention? I call it the Fenton Ectoplasm Disrupter!" He said, holding the cube-shaped object up. "One hit of the red button will neutralize any ectoplasmic entity in a ten-block radius!"

"It's not functional yet, but hopefully in the next few days we'll get it working," Maddie said.

"That's great," Danny said tightly. That thing would never work if he had anything to say about it. Danny's phone pinged in his pocket and he checked it quickly. It was a selfie of Dani flying above the Gateway Arch. It had only been a few months since she had been stabilized, but they had kept in constant contact just in case anything happened. "I have to get to school."

"Right. Last day of Junior year. I can't believe my little boy is growing up so fast." Maddie said, pinching his cheeks before giving him a tight hug. "Knock 'em dead, honey."

"I'll do my best, mom," Danny said, returning the hug. He jogged out the door and up the street towards the school. He met up with Tucker and Sam outside his locker and handed over his calculus notes to his friend.

"You are a lifesaver." He said, flipping the notebook open to the right page and starting to study.

"How are you failing math when you take the best notes?" Sam asked, glancing over Tucker's shoulder.

"Because ghosts keep eating my homework," Danny said, stashing his lunch in his locker and grabbing his English book. "Are you ready for the English final? Because I am not. I keep getting William Wordsworth and William Blake mixed up."

"Fenton!" Dash Baxter's voice echoed down the hallway, causing everyone to stop and stare. Dash used his broad shoulders to push his way through the hallway until he was right in front of Danny, trapping him against the lockers with his bulk. "I'm going on a vacation to Europe for a month, so I gotta get a month's worth of bullying in before school ends today. You're first on my list."

"Maybe I can be last on your list," Danny suggested. "And you can grow up. Seriously. Aren't we too old for this game?"

Dash's cheeks turned a ruddy red. Instead of backing off, he reared back and took a swing. Danny dodged to the side at the last second and Dash's fist crashed into the locker behind him with a resounding clang. Dash howled and clutched his hand to his chest.

"Oo, that didn't sound good. You may want to get that looked at," Danny said. Kwan came up behind Dash and guided him to the office while Dash shouted curses back toward Danny.

"Danny," Sam said reproachfully

"What was I supposed to do? Let him hit me?"

Sam sighed "We need to get to class."

Classes passed quickly, and Danny was excited about the summer he had planned. He had gotten into a summer space camp that prepares prospective students for work in aerospace engineering. It had been a grueling interview and application process that had taken up most of his time not spent at school or ghost fighting.

His good mood started to tank when he glanced out the window during his English final and saw the shadows, two of them on the roof of the building across the street. He'd recognize the League of Assassins anywhere, which means Grandfather found him. This was bad. This was one of his worst nightmares.

"Mr. Fenton, I can assure you that the answers to the test are not out the window," Mr. Lancer said quietly, snapping Danny's attention back to the classroom.

"Right. Just thinking." Danny said, turning back to his test. When he looked back toward the window, the shadows were gone.

***

Danny practically sprinted to the courtyard after class. He had to find Sam and Tucker and get them somewhere safe. He had no illusions that Grandfather didn't already know about them. He had to assume the worst.

"Danny!" Tucker called, holding three sack lunches. "They have the peanut butter and honey sandwiches you like!"

"Tuck, where's Sam?" Danny scanned the courtyard but couldn't find her.

"Last I checked she was arguing with the lunch ladies about whether or not honey was vegan," Tuck said. "Is something wrong?"

Danny scanned the surrounding buildings until…there, in the alley between the bank and the pharmacy. Two shadows that didn't belong.

"We have to get to my place."

"Can you believe they don't have any alternatives to honey?" Sam asked as she stomped over. She froze at the heavy feeling in the air. "What's going on?"

"It's not safe here. We have to go." Danny said and grabbed his two best friends by the hand and pulled them along behind him to Sam's car. It was an old hearse that they had found after a battle with Technus. The three of them had spent so much time fixing it up and painting it purple and black. They playfully called it The Corpse Mobile.

They all piled in and Sam started driving. "Do you want to tell us what's going on?" Sam ventured after they pulled out of the parking lot.

Danny kept his gaze on the dark spaces between buildings and on the roofs. "You know I'm adopted, right? And the family I came from…wasn't the best." Sam and Tucker both went stiff at that. Danny never spoke of his past with them. He wasn't intentionally keeping it from them, it was just never the right time to tell his friends that he's a trained assassin with a double-digit body count. "I've been hiding from them, and they found me."

"In hiding, like witness protection?" Sam asked. "Is that why you're so weird about photos of you on the internet?"

"Something like witness protection. And yes. Grandfather has some of the best connections in the world, so the less proof of me out there the better.

"How did he find you?" Sam asked as they pulled into Danny's neighborhood.

"Park around the back," Danny instructed. "I don't know, but I do know that you aren't safe. Grandfather has no issues hurting people to get what he wants."

Sam parked the car and Danny phased through the door. They used the secret tunnel entrance to the lab, startling Jack and Maddie.

"Danny! What are you doing using the emergency entrance?" Maddie said and Danny picked himself up.

"Grandfather found us," Danny said, crossing to the computer banks.

Maddie froze for a second before coming back to herself. Her demeanor completely changed. "You're sure." She asked, switching to Arabic.

"Yes. I have seen five of his assassins in the last hour." Danny responded in kind. "Tucker, can you hack into the city surveillance grid?"

"In my sleep," Tucker said, glad for something that made sense. Within a few minutes, cameras from all over town popped up on the screens. Immediately Danny counted twenty assassins.

"There's so many of them." Maddie breathed.

"Those look like ninjas," Sam said. "Your grandfather sent ninjas after you?"

"They aren't very good If we caught them on camera." Jack boomed.

"It's a scare tactic," Danny said.

"They want us to see them. To get scared and give up hope before the fight starts."

"What do they want?" Danny wondered out loud.

"You, right?" Sam asked, "I mean, he'd want you back, you're his grandson."

"The last time I saw him he ordered my death. He'd kill me before looking at me. It's something else." Danny cast his eyes around the lab before they fell on the swirling green of "the portal. He's here for the portal."

"Of course he is." Maddie said bitterly. "Damn. Right as we were making some headway."

"Mads? What are you doing?" Jack asked as Maddie plugged a data stick into the computer.

"We have to shut it down. Father can not get his hands on our technology. Danny, Sam, and Tucker, I need you three to destroy as many physical blueprints as you can find. Tear them up, burn them, whatever. Jack, I need you to dismantle as many of the weapons as you can and put the cores in a duffle bag."

"Mads. This is our life's work." Jack said. Danny had already pulled a box of blueprints out of a cabinet and had started a fire in one of the decontamination sinks.

"I know, honey. But if Ra's Al Ghul gets access to our tech he will be unstoppable."

"But, we won't have anything."

"We'll have each other and the kids. Everything else is material." At that Jack nodded and went to the weapons wall and started dismantling guns.

It was fifteen minutes later that they heard the front door open and close again before a shaky scared voice called. "Mom? Dad?"

They all met eyes. "Jazz." Danny was first up the steps, and there in the living room, stood a man he hadn't seen in years. He looked just as Danny remembered him, right down to the green robe and the slight scent of cardamom and ginger to cover the stench of rot. He had Jazz held against his chest and a knife pressed against her neck. Danny felt his blood begin to boil.

"Ah. Danyal. I was wondering where you had disappeared off to." Grandfather spoke. "I can see you are just as much a disappointment now as you have always been. I've had my men on you for weeks and you never noticed."

"Grandfather." Danny greeted and had to stop himself from bowing his head to the man. A move that was not lost on the older man as his frown became dangerous. "Put the knife down."

Behind him, Danny heard the ever-present hum of the portal stop. Good. No portal access for Ra's unless he can get someone to turn it back on again. Danny heard Maddie's steps coming up from the basement.

"Father. Let go of Jazz." She said as she came into the living room.

"Adeline. You haven't changed at all. Still running your experiments, I see." He said, nodding toward Danny. Maddie stiffened beside him, but Ra's continued. "A scientific mind like yours probably couldn't resist the allure. A subject no one would notice went missing? Who was already supposed to be dead? How could you say no?"

"Mom, what is he talking about?" Danny asked, a pit forming in his stomach. It couldn't be.

"I never did any experiments on my children." She denied.

"No? Did you know, hafid, that Adeline used to take animals and inject them with water from the pit, just to see what would happen?" Ra's said, he finally moved the knife away from Jazz's throat and let her go. She stumbled over and Maddie caught her before she fell. No need for a hostage now. "Much of our understanding of the properties of the pit comes from her experimentation."

"And I used to play a game to see who can torture someone to death the longest." He spat. "What's your point?"

Ra's smiled as if he had been waiting for the question. "Are you sure your accident was an accident?"

A weight dropped into his stomach and ice flooded his veins. "No." He let himself go boneless and fell to his hands and knees. "It's not true!" Danny put his head on his arms and phased one hand through the floor. He gripped the hidden ectogun and shot up faster than the human eye could track. The shot landed square in his Grandfather's chest. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it did stun him long enough to get into the basement and lock the door. Jack was at the top of the stairs and leaned his bulk against it.

"I'll hold him, you guys get out." He said.

"That won't stop him for long," Maddie said. "Danny, he's after you. You need to take your friends and Jazz and get out of town unseen."

"Unseen? But I…"

"Danny," Maddie said seriously. "I know about Phantom. I've known since Pariah Dark." She hugged him. "I am so proud of you." She let him go and went to get a hazardous waste bag.

"Mrs. F, we can't just leave, what about our parents?" Tucker said.

"I'll figure something out." There was a banging on the door to the basement. "Now, there isn't much time, no phones, no cards, in the bag." Danny sent a text to Dani letting her know he'd be radio silent for a while before taking out the sim card and snapping it in half and putting the ruined card and phone into the bag. Sam and Jazz followed suit, but Tucker took a moment to say goodbye to Sinead first.

"He's stronger than he looks," Jack called from the top of the stairs.

Danny crossed to a blank section of wall and reached his arm through and pulled out two black duffel bags and tossed them over his shoulder. The basement door was splintering. They didn't have much time.

"Danny." Maddie held up a third duffle bag and a data stick. "This is all that is left of our research. Use it well."

Danny took them. "Okay. I will." Maddie grabbed an ectogun and turned toward the door.

"Now go. Don't let Father win." She said, aiming at the door.

Danny transformed and grabbed his friends and his sister and rose out of the house and into the backyard. They piled into the hearse and Sam started driving. Danny used all his concentration to make them invisible so he wouldn't have to think about how he just abandoned his mom and dad to their fate.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #batman #dc comics #crossover #fanfic #damian wayne #maddie fenton #jazz fenton #twins au #sam manson #tucker foley

[wanderingaldecaldo]

Hi! I'm WanderingAldecaldo, aka wash (or W). I'm a longtime writer, new modder and virtual photographer, and very much still taken with Cyberpunk 2077 and Mitch and Val and Rosalind Myers.

About me: mid-40s, bisexual, nonbinary, recently diagnosed audhd, married, cats, the usual nerdy stuff. Besides Cyberpunk 2077, you'll find content about Bioware, RDR2, Our Flag Means Death and Izzy in particular, various sci-fi and movies, random video games and music stuff, plus some politics.

I try to tag things well so if I can tag something for you, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Anons are off but DMs are open and private. I block empty blogs with default icons, I don't necessarily follow back, and I have learned that blocking and filtering are the keys to a good fandom experience on here. I run on a pretty deep queue (usualy 3-4wks) though I do occasionally go on reblogging sprees, especially on Fridays because, ya know, #fem v friday. (Also when I'm bored and goofing off at work. Shh, don't tell my boss.)

My OCs, links, and more after the cut.

Valerie Vermilion

StreetKid!V is my original V, and the first OC I've ever grown really attached to, despite having written thousands of words for several others in Bioware properties. Corpo!Val is from an AU where V is recruited into Arasaka in her teens.

Tags

#valerie vermilion (all) #streetkid!val (note: inconsistent usage, plus old posts not tagged) #corpo!val #val things (various)

oc profiles

Hilary Navarro

Hilary debuted in my StreetKid!V longfic, No One's Gonna Love You, as the family's best netrunner, and she will have a larger part in the sequel. 👀 She's bright, bubbly, and fun, just like her bubblegum hair. #hilary navarro

Travis (aka the Dirtbag)

Travis doesn't have a full name yet, poor thing. He's a sopping wet creature. He's a horrible awful man. He's my babygirl and I love him. #travis needs a tag i guess

Antonio (Tony) Varga

Tony was a childhood friend of Jackie who cut ties when he left the 'Tinos. He regrets never making up with Jackie before his death, but he'll make it up to Lupe. #antonio varga

Gabriella Varga

Older sister to Tony, and childhood crush of Jackie. A friend to all Heywood. She and Tony are still close. #gabriella varga

Apex Predators — Val & Mitch

These two have been consuming my brain since February 2021, about a week after I started the game. They started off with a spark of an idea that became No One's Gonna Love You, and I've still got more to go. I have a ridiculous number of WIPs for them; currently I'm working on the Corpo!Val AU story, and possibly after that I will write the actual "Apex Predators" fic. (I have finally accepted that I'm never gonna get to that fic, and will likely rename the ship because of that fact.)

#ship: apex predators (all) plus corpo version ship profiles

plus #mitch anderson

Business & Pleasure — Richard & Val

Richard belongs to dear friend @/dustymagpie. Corpo!Val isn't one for romance, but she still has needs. Who better to service them than handsome escort Richard Ripper?

#ship: business & pleasure

Panzerboys — Mitch & Scorpion

Mitch's dialogue in "I'll Fly Away" makes it pretty clear they didn't have a sexual relationship, but I'll die on the panzerboy hill. One day I will write their love story. #ship: panzerboys

Hilary + Carol — name tbd

Carol is my favorite (non-Mitch/non-Panam) Nomad. She's funny and smart and tough and a total milf and deserves some love. Carol is a real heartbreaker, love 'em and leave 'em type and never dates within the clan, but Hilary is gonna change that. #carol + hilary tag tbd

AO3

Into My Arms — StreetKid!Val/Mitch series

"Blaze of Glory" — mature; pining; 2696 words

No One's Gonna Love You (aka NOGLY) — explicit; friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, lots of angst (and lots of smut); 59338 words

"Work It" — explicit; PWP; 1798 words

"Cut Your Hair" — mature; fluff, light angst; 3032 words

"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" — explicit; smutty angst? angsty smut? take your pick; 7045 words

"Lover's Spit" — explicit; more smutty angst, my fave! 4058 words

"Triangles" — Mitch/Scorpion/Fem V; explicit; PWP; 4418 words

"Changes" — CBP77 Reverse Bang entry based on art by silkspectre; Johnny/Fem V; explicit; PWP; 5468 words

"Know Your Rights" — for SteelPhoto as part of art trade; Jackie & River; teen & up; 1312 words

"Burning Chrome 2077" — collection of drabbles and ficlets from the Lizzie's 2021 spring prompt event; mature; allllll sorts of stuff, including bad poetry; 7162 words

Writing Tags

all writing: #wash's writing, #wip wednesday, #smutty sunday

meta tags: #about fanfic, #about writing

story-specific: unnamed corpo!val au brainrot, pre NOGLY, NOGLY, post NOGLY

Nexus Profile

Clothing Mods

Edgerunner Jackets — Cleaned & Recolored [fem & masc V]

Loose Fit Pants — Cleaned & Recolored [gender inclusive]

Cut-off Vests — Cleaned, Cropped, Recolored [gender inclusive]

High Heel Shoes — NPC heels with 7 Colors [fem V only]

High Heel Shoes — now ArchiveXL, 28 Styles [fem V only]

Cowboy Boots — Cleaned & Recolored [gender inclusive]

Pride Tees — Cropped & Recolored [gender inclusive]

Masc V Jeans — Refit & Recolored [masc V only]

Photomode Mods

Specialized Photomode Packs [fem V]

"Night Out" Photomode Pack [fem V]

NPC Mods

Mitch's Alternate Outfit(s)

Mitch's 4K Face Re-Texture — default and without scratches

Mitch's Jacket Fix — fixed the broken mesh of Mitch's jacket

Locomotion Mods (Placide to MA, Teddy to corpo, Scorpion to corpo)

pfp from this amazing piece made by my love @/impishbiscuit

header by me

art + VP I have commissioned

twitter (mostly nsft stuff, when I remember to post it)

mods I use

...more as I remember to add it

Credits: I totally ripped off was inspired by my dearest @/fereldanwench for this post. Love you, bb. 😘😘😘

Last update: 16 Nov; update about me, fics

#about me #personal #meta #mods i made #my screens #wash's writing #mitch anderson #valerie vermilion #rosalind myers #working au title: the president's merc #previously pinned post #mitch x val

[bryhaven]

EDUCATIONAL POST: Signs that Mikasa Ackerman is in a TOXIC relationship

Now I'll be saying from the get-go that this post is NOT meant to undermine any Mikasa ship, especially with Eren. And NOT undermining the author and their writing. I didn't want to have to do this. But I'm forced to put this out here because some shippers and haters alike keep claiming and some even harassing other shippers (mostly the RM stans), and say that EM is not toxic. And even add that our ship RM is problematic.

I am the type of person that when given a nonsense argument, I will slap you with facts. Or give you a witty comeback (if I feel bitchy enough). This person below called me toxic and judgmental, claimed that those of low IQ cannot understand what Eren did blah blah blah. And then blocked me once I gave them a comeback.

Hence, this post is here to define what a TOXIC relationship is. And please take note that I will only discuss the parts where the relationship became toxic. Because someone might come saying, "But before that..", "But after this.." and so on. It doesn't even matter what happened before or after. Or even all the reasoning behind the actions. Remember, the end doesn't justify the means. The fact remains that the relationship became toxic.

According to Dr. John Delony in ramseysolutions.com, there are signs to check and find out whether you're in a toxic relationship.

1. Not feeling safe. This pertains to both physical and emotional safety. I don't see Mikasa feeling emotionally and physically safe when she talked about her thoughts and feelings, especially in the table scene with Eren. Her voice didn't matter to him because he was only set in completing his goal. And whenever she tried to speak up further, he would just brush her off.

2. Bad (or nonexistent) communication. This type of communication includes gaslighting, manipulating words, and being dishonest. Eren didn't tell them the entire truth and also used words to manipulate them, particularly Mikasa, into believing something else that he made up. Again, to further his own purposes.

3. Feeling neglected and exploited. I don't see Eren honoring or even seeing the reason why Mikasa was being overly protective of him back in the day. He was always angered at her whenever she tried to just watch out for him, or whenever she was being clingy. This is a psychological need that she has which was developed from a trauma, and Eren couldn't tend to or even acknowledge that.

4. Feeling like you’ve lost yourself. It is needless to say that Mikasa lost her sense of self here after hearing Eren's words. Eren clearly set off an anxiety alarm.

5. Judgment—not curiosity—is the norm. The way this was phrased, even in the manga, seemed judging and imposing. It's like he's judging her ability to fight with that length of hair which ended up imposing on her to do something about it. To rephrase it into the lifeblood of a relationship which is curiosity, he could have said something within the lines of "Does it bother you in training if you wear your hair down like this/with this length of hair?". Or he could have exuded care like "Would you be alright fighting with your length of hair?" or "Maybe you should try tying your hair so it doesn't bother you?". But then, no. He did not.

6. Feeling belittled and ashamed. Eren made her feel less than, and rubbed her nose in something from the past.

7. Not receiving empathy. Eren would either dismiss her when she tries to share something important or speak her thoughts, and she is usually met with apathy. Because Eren would usually direct the conversation back to himself and even try to one-up her in conversations since he is mostly focused on his own goals; when Mikasa here is only wanting for him to be safe. He often saw her as a bother, and always reasoned that she had no reason to do that since she's not his mother.

8. Playing a dysfunctional role. Service and sacrifice are parts of a good relationship. But then, it should be mutually giving and supportive. In this one, Mikasa more than often fulfills a mothering role. She made that promise to Carla to look after Eren. She always goes out of her way to care for him, even sacrificing her own safety. And because of that, she has grown to believe that it is her job to fix him, at the expense of her own feelings, needs, and joy. Sure, he has given her a reason to continue on living, inspired her to fight. But she has paid him more than enough for that service.

9. Feeling controlled or manipulated. Aside from manipulating her with words in the table discussion scene, Eren tried to tip the balance in his favor. This is in the sense that he makes use of her strength in the attack on Liberio. Even though this is Mikasa Ackerman with superhuman strength we are talking about, he still put her in harm's way by making her fight in the frontline. Whether or not it is in her will to do what he asked her, you can still see the hesitation and uncertainty in Mikasa while knowing what she was about to commit. And she follows anyway because of Eren and his reasonings. And a recurring theme in her thoughts is something within the lines of "Is this what Eren wants?" or "What if Eren will..", and her mind always spirals back to Eren. Mind control right there.

10. Living under a cloud of rage. Needless again to say (and for a picture since Tumblr doesn't allow more than 10 pics in a post. Urgh. Lol), Eren has been a chronically angry person. He is always frustrated by something, and often explodes in episodes of rage. A person like that cannot be fully supportive in a relationship. And though he has his own reasons for it (and some are understandable), it doesn't justify the things he made Mikasa undergo. And a crime is still a crime in the end.

And there you have it. EM has actually ticked all 10 boxes.

Again, I am just explaining the toxicity in the relationship. Not taking bias over something just to explain this, and not hating on any character. You can still understand or even like a character even though you don't align with their intentions, or even if you don't like their development.

If EM is your cup of tea, then by all means, go ahead and ship it. But DON'T go harassing others for it, or reblogging their posts with nonsense captions, or calling them out with rude descriptions, and then block them if they finally give you a comeback.

And DON'T go claiming that EM is not toxic, dysfunctional, or unhealthy in any way when you don't even have the FACTS to back it with.

Over and OUT!

#mikasa ackerman #eren yeager #eren jaeger #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #aot snk #eren aot #mikasa aot #haven thoughts #haventhoughts

[izzy-b-hands]

10V

Onwards and in theory upwards, though the upwards part isn't going as well as it could be.

Vampire feeding lessons. A gun with particular bullets. And a Fuh-Cking GUY as Nandor would say, makes another appearance because of course he does.

NSFW for the feeding sequences and for a sequence of gun violence.

---

They run back, and in his rush Stede breaks the door down.

Jack stands at the top of the stairs. "Kids are all packed up, ready to go. I'll read 'em more Twilight on the way to wherever we're headed."

Izzy stares. "How the fuck-"

Jack shrugs. "Had a feeling. I'm usually never wrong, so I told them we needed to be ready for when you got back. Good kids, listened right away."

Louis peers out from behind Jack, clutching his leg.

"It's alright," Stede says. "We're going on an adventure."

"Like a spy?" Louis asks.

"Yeah," Stede sighs, but smiles. "Like a spy."

--

They meet Wee John and the crew at the end of the block.

A chorus of voices welcomes them into what indeed is a very tight squeeze for them all.

It's worth it though. They speed on one of the first roads out of town, Ed and Izzy forgoing trying to retrieve their things from their house.

That turns out to have been a smart choice. A crowd stands in front of it, cheering as it burns.

The police zip by once or twice, but always in the opposite direction. It's by sheer luck that neither car turns around to follow them.

Louis curls up on Izzy's lap, refusing to lift his head for the first half hour of the drive. All he can think to do is to pat Louis' back and wipe away any tears when he finally sits up.

It doesn't feel like enough though. Nothing he could do for any of them feels like it would be enough.

Mary texts to meet them a few towns over, near the currently empty fairgrounds. There, she agrees to take the kids to keep them safe. Once they're settled again, she'll bring them by and work out a visiting schedule.

Izzy repeats it over and over again to Stede after the drop off with Mary.

Stede rests beside him, curled in as much as possible, face hidden into Izzy's shoulder. He doesn't say anything to the repeated reassurances.

By then, the sun is close to rising, and they work to cover the windows with a mixture of too much duct tape and volunteered sweatshirts and coats.

"The first time is always a lot," Ed says softly as they huddle in the furthest back seat together.

Jack is half asleep on Ed's shoulder, but he nods. "Always messier than you expect it or want it to be. You did just fine, Stede. For doing it in public, at least. Don't do that normally though."

Stede groans and snuggles between Ed and Izzy. "Yeah, I wish I'd thought of that before...but I couldn't push it away. I was hungry and it would hurt Nigel and Chauncey has never been a gem either-"

"People die," Izzy interrupts. "I've hunted people down for Ed to finish off, for years. If not you, it would have been something else."

"I think you might be desensitized," Stede says.

"He may be," Jim, cozy between Izzy and Olu notes. "But he's not wrong. Both things can be true at once."

"Regret it?" Izzy asks Stede, fearing the answer.

Stede shakes his head. "It's odd. I didn't...dislike, killing Chauncey. The part that was bad was simply that I was seen and caught. I..."

Izzy takes one of Stede's hands in his, and Ed follows suit with the other.

"I sort of want to do it again," Stede whispers, sounding a mix of excited and horrified. "Can I, if we need-"

"We have no blood with us," Olu interrupts softly. "So we'll all have to do that if we can't find animals. Sleep for now though, trust me."

It's an uncomfortable tight fit being all together at first, but after a few moments of actually trying to rest, Izzy settles.

They're all increasingly cooler as they slip to sleep, and being so close evokes the memory of the warmth of cuddling.

--

"Wakey wakey," Ed jokes with a groan as he climbs out of the van. "Come on, boys. If you don't get up, you don't eat."

Izzy trails out with the rest of them onto a dark dirt road. The van is pulled as far to the side as it can be, and the remaining humans of the crew are already taking their turn to sleep.

"Don't fuck with owls," Ed says as he tries to braid his hair.

"Here," Izzy steps behind him and takes the hair tie in his hand. "I got it."

"Thank you," Ed smiles. "Anyway, like I was saying. Stede, no owls. They'll fuck you up, and they taste nasty on top of it all."

"Stick to rabbits, small birds, frogs," Jim adds. "You'll need more than you think, so hunt until you think you can't eat anymore without being sick."

They split into two person teams: Ed and Jack, Olu and Jim, and Izzy and Stede.

"How do we know this is safe?" Stede asks as they prowl through a field. "Is this public land?"

"Probably not," Izzy replies. "Ed's eaten plenty of creatures from private land as much as public. I've buried bodies on both sorts too."

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Stede chuckles. "Just don't get caught either way?"

Izzy nods. "Hang on."

There's a snap of a broken stalk near them.

Stede raises a brow as they approach the sound, and Izzy shrugs. Either the sound overtakes them, or them it. Might as well be the latter.

A terrified deer suddenly bolts out, and it's by some new instinct that Izzy finds himself jumping on it, fangs in deep so he might not be tossed off.

Stede bites hard at the other side of the deer's neck, and finally it falls.

"Not bad," Stede says after, wiping blood from his mouth. "Sort of like eating venison."

Izzy leans against him and giggles. "Liquid venison."

Stede chuckles. "We should have saved some, shouldn't we?"

Izzy shakes his head. "We've nothing to store it in. Ed always ate his fill while traveling, whenever we stopped. I'm guessing we should be doing the same."

They stand and walk on, whispering between them as to what they might try next.

A snap of a twig, as they left the field.

"That's not a deer," Stede remarks with a frown. "Too heavy."

"Is that a fat joke, Bonnet?"

--

"I'm awfully sick of you," Izzy sighs as he and Stede turn to face Nigel. "And this is only my second time seeing you. I can't imagine how terrible it must have been for your bro-oh, so sorry."

Nigel growls and holds up a silver pistol. "Shut up."

"I can attest to it being a chore," Stede adds. "Remember those days, Nigel? I cried and begged to leave every time. I think you enjoyed seeing me like that more than having me as a playmate."

"These bullets," Nigel says testily, ignoring Stede's question completely. "Are made from one of the hardest woods available. Hand made for me. Do you know what that means?"

Izzy draws in a sharp breath. "Bullets like stakes."

"Little mini ones," Nigel grins, the shine of his eyes glimmering under the moonlight. "But they do their job well. I haven't needed them in so long, and I never did think I'd get to use one of them on you, Bonnet. What a pleasant surprise."

Izzy tackles him, and shoves Nigel's outstretched arm to the ground. His grip around the pistol remains right, fighting to raise up towards him.

He hears Stede calling for Ed, Jim, someone. He stops paying attention before hearing any response, however.

Far more entrancing is Nigel beneath him, grunting and struggling and swearing at him as they fight over the gun.

He hears it go off, and briefly feels a bright, blazing pain before dropping onto Nigel.

#text post #ofmd fic #stizzy #steddyhands #vampire au

[realhankmccoy]

I've been talking to some a-holes from my past -- one of the things i like to do is apologise to people who hurt me.

It's always been sort of a thing, then i got sick of it, then now that I sort of see in Trump's America, people are really only 1/10th human anymore -- especially compared to so many other places I've lived, where people are more humble, more sympathetic, more socially generous, more robust as human --

most people in this one at this point, fuck, you'd have to literally pay me to be around em which is the only reason I'm in America, actually, is the pay is great compared to most nations.

so, i mean, hey -- i'm just not intimated by 1/10th humans in the least, and even at 1/10th they logically get down for up and up for down. It's really a pathetic shithole country, this one.

captious americans think you can't permit anyone anything and you have to deny them their accomplishments like trump does. YOU ARE NOTHING. YOU DO NOTHING. I WOULD NEVER LOOK TO YOU FOR ANYTHING. It's everything short of coming out and saying YOU ARE WORTHLESS, ALL THE WORTH IS IN ME. Trump and his cucks can't quite say that, because even though they are villains, they walk it right up to the edge of what they can get away with without being revealed to the world as the sort of supervillains / supersociopaths they actually are in the way they work on rising themselves to the top of capitalism while pushing others down it.

so, i'm back to playing Mary Poppins, trying to set a good example. now, i'm not sure how much good it does to apologise to your systemic oppressors and people who tried to almost violently wound you wish words. not sure how much good it does to leave them on a pleasant note. perhaps i'm making it worse, as they never learn anything about their bad behaviour or affluenza.

but they never learn anything much from me sharply correcting their errors or blocking them, either. well, they sometimes do. when they learn that nobody is going to forever indulge their 'mental illness', sometimes they snap back to the opposite side of affluenza: capitalist careerism and 'i'll show him' and get their shit together to prove that they were a more valuable commodity than me all along, and I foresake them -- it's all very Abrahamically defiant and capitalism-reaffirming of them.

so, i tend to see the usual shit of how the American hates acting sensibly, resents your logic, wants to 'win' at everything compared to you, 'hates' you if it cannot, hates and disdains you if it beats you because then you made nothing of yourself, etc.

I dunno, you really can't expect much from people in the US of A-holes and it's always meddling with guinea pigs to see how you can turn these vicious haters of gays into something resembling a human you wouldn't mind sitting in an office with for 8 hours -- even if there's no fucking way you could turn them into somebody you'd want to be friends with and they are a million miles from a Romeo -- I'd imagine they find Romeo to be quite cliche and all Americans narcissistically find more worth in themselves than a 'cliched Romeo', that's how cleverness fries em. They're not clever, they just concocted an easy answer for why being a demanding, needy child is clever. They're a male product of American capitalism through and through, just as awful as most of the males this system has produced. gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme is what flows through them as aggressively as it ever has through Elon. you can't re-raise them as salt of the earth from Myanmar or Spain. the sickness is in them and it rarely is quelled for long -- the sickness is called affluenza.

one of the guys i've been flirting with said something about how most homos are a little bit narcissistic and manipulative at times. i'm thinking, well, have you ever considered that american males are this, and all the gays are -- the gays are just as fucking vile as the american male, only turned out to be homo by accident? we know the american male is vile. you think the mere flip of the dick on at 13 for boys boys boys is gonna correct that?

if i am a good person, my goodness much predates 13, that's for sure. it was teaching daily vacation bible school at that age for a very liberal church. i know the idiot American thinks socialism is the opposite of christianity -- but they don't know anything about how there are many forms of socialism and christianity.

i feel good compared to 90% of Americans. i try to be objective. that means 1 out of 10 are better people than me as far as lovingkindness goes. It's hard to estimate, though, as I'm gay so maybe I've just met a lot of people who rage out on me because they cannot stand gays who don't bow their head and meekly say 'I'm inferior' -- which I'm fully capable of doing in the workforce, which they want you to do -- but then they hate you for that too because well, you're still gay. The one having buttsex naturally needs to 'learn' forever, and everyone plays teacher to me even when their minds are scrambled eggs. It's like with many things. I'm an A student or an A- student or a B+ student. Is it the best I could do? Sure, I should be trying harder. Sure, I probably shouldn't beat up on myself for not trying harder. Sure, I wish I were more. Sure, I'm aware that my father and all the other cucks' howls of me being nothing, out of line, horridly opinionated are designed by capitalist modes of production to just scream more more more in a way that is far more stupid than Andrea True Connection or Billy Idol ever could be when they used those lyrics.

and so my song is with the rebel yell, she cried less, less, less and so my song is less less less, how do you like it, how do you like it, less less less because you have to provide some protons up against these electrons.

in fact to neutralise this sick society and my own psyche in this fishbowl of a hostile and boring country, i really should be saying

less less less less less, how do you like it, how do you like it i mean 5x would be needed

insert Work Bitch by Britney Spears -- adjusted so that the part where she says work gets replaces with less. less. less. less. less.

i'm not arguing for nihilism or working less hard necessarily just that enough with screams for more and working harder at the crack of a slavemaster's sadistic whip.

i know i'd never treat others -- when i think of bad people -- the awful way that they treat me. I'm sure they have all sorts of reasons why they find themselves to be my superior and excuse their own bad behaviour and toy with me and want me to tolerate their screams of hating me and their insistence that my nephew at the age of 10 is far more mature than me and their insistence that my family was actually Accurate to say that 10 year old is more mature than me because i haven't yet ceded that ALL HOMOSEXUALS SHOULD BE CAST OUT OF FAMILY LOVE SUPPORT AND ALL MONEY like a 'good' 'mature' homosexual is supposed to do by all these people who just want other people's problems to vanish so that they never have to hear of them

and we can get back to the plot

of them wanting me to endlessly, endlessly listen to all THEIR problems and never offer solutions, my own heartfelt perspective, or even at times -- support -- which angers them as it's not THE EXACT RIGHT WORDS WHICH ARE ABRACADABRA and me carrying them off to exactly what they wanted in life on a palanquin.

hey kids

rock and roll

nobody tells you where to go

baby

[waterdroplet02]

so, back before 1.19 was released and all these snapshots and patch notes and teasers were everywhere, i deliberately didnt look at any of them because, well, partially because i stopped bothering, but also mostly because i thought it'd be fun to find everything out myself! and, well, that choice has inadvertently made my experience with the deep dark so much scarier and so much more immersive.

y'see, fear is Partially Mostly about not knowing what a thing does or entails. i like to think that humans get Scared of things because they dont know what it does or what it may do next. along with other factors that add to terror and horror, of course, but i think fear is mostly based on Not Knowing Anything About This Thing.

so you can imagine my fear when i was casually caving in a server, stumbling upon what seemed like the beginning of some sculk caves {whatever you call em}. and not only that, but as i looked closer into the Spooky Blue Area, i saw a block i have Absolutely never seen before, and. well.

leading up to this, all i'd known about the Deep Dark was

the biome exists

the Warden exists

the Warden is reactive to sound

some blocks are Also reactive to sound, and may notify a Warden

the Warden is big, mean, scary, and will Most Likely screw you over

and this block i saw i knew *nothing* about could Very Well summon a warden and i have no idea what a Warden is capable of except i know its painful. honestly, my gear wasnt Too bad and there was a chance i was fretting over nothing because i could easily combat one, but still!!

anyway, any reasonable person would've noped right out of there, but instead i snuck closer to the block, and, when it didnt seem to do anything, i just. Tried to snatch it up with my Silk Touch Shovel™. and then after that i Noped right out of there and flew out of the caves.

then when i got home i placed the Sculk Shrieker down on the porch and just left it there and it's just decoration now. i don't think i'll ever brave the Deep Dark and i probably should educate myself on what and how a Warden does but honestly i think its funnier to keep myself in fear this way

#minecraft #deep dark

[solesurvivorkat]

Pair Eyewear

My writing (and YouTube channel, and a couple other of my interests) had taken a bit of a backseat lately, because I found a new special interest to distract me:

Pair Eyewear

(Note: this turned into a bit of a longer post, so I put it behind a cut. I am NOT sponsored by/affiliated with Pair in any way, I just wanted to share some of my personal thoughts/experiences with them thus far.)

I knew my eyesight was changing just a little bit (not to a point in which I couldn't see, but I could still tell it wasn't 100% the same), and it had been years since my last eye checkup. I had to wait quite a bit for my eye appointment to be scheduled, and then wait for the appointment day to arrive.

It was really hard to wait because in the meantime, I'd discovered the beauty of Pair Eyewear, and just how addicting it can be. Longer story short, for those of you who've never heard of it: Imagine getting a pair of glasses, and then making that frame look (decoration-wise) almost any way you want/can imagine - either to match any outfit, or reflect any interest/decorative idea. That's Pair. Glasses with small magnets on the base frame - and then you can order different tops (also w/ magnets on them, to stay on the base pair) to align over the base pair to make them look different.

They have all different categories of top frames (or 'toppers', as they're often referred by):

...Not enough? Fine - you can also find people who create and sell their own toppers on Etsy (depending on the style of base frame you get - some people don't create for all styles) or Facebook. Really - the only limit is your imagination (...or your wallet, I suppose, lol).

There's also over 10 different styles of base frames (round, rectangular, cat-eye, narrow, medium, wide, etc), and 6 different colors the base frames can come in, so there's tons of room for customization.

When I finally had my eye appt. (more on that in a sec) and got my glasses prescription, I could finally try out Pair! I picked out the 'Reese' base frame (narrow, round frames... cat-eye frames ad rectangular frames seem to be really popular, but they're not for me personally).

Again - much longer story short, I loved seeing all the different colors/designs/types of toppers I could choose from (toppers range from $20-30 each, depending). After quite a bit of time looking at tons of them (and they're also coming out w/ a 'summer collection' in a couple days, God help me, lol), I purchased my base frame, a sunglasses topper, and a few other toppers from Pair:

I didn't order the star ones in time for Memorial Day, but I'll still have 'em for July 4th. The cheeseburger ones were so goofy that I knew I HAD to buy them (LOL), the silver sparkle ones were pretty, and Spider-Man is totally my young son's thing, so I knew I had to get those too. (I got a few more from misc. sellers on Facebook - I'll talk about those when they arrive in the mail)

The base frames start at $60 - however. That's the price for either a single-strength prescription, or if you just wanted to get Non-Rx glasses (blue light blocking, OTC readers, etc).

I was not as lucky, lol.

The good news is that without glasses, my eyesight is technically still 20/20 - I can see 'legally' well enough that it doesn't hinder my driving or everyday life much. But my eyesight is starting to go a tiny bit - I've worn OTC reading glasses (+1.50s) for years, and turns out I also am starting to have a tiny bit of trouble reading tiny print 100% clearly from further away (think like, hanging menus in take-out restaurants - I can read them, but the words aren't 100% crisp like they would be in someone w/ perfect eyesight).

The optometrist told me I could go w/o glasses if I wanted and I'd be fine (unless my sight suddenly got worse, and I'll get them rechecked in 2 years) - but if I wanted to wear glasses, I'd either have to get 2 different pairs (one for reading, one for further away) or just get readers and deal w/ the slightly blurry further-away tiny words.

ANYWAY - I really wanted my Pairs (lol), so I ordered what is called 'Progressive' lenses - think like, bifocals w/o the lines in the lenses. I've heard that some angles in the lenses can look slightly distorted & it may take a tiny bit if getting used to - but I was willing to take the risk (I've heard mostly good things about Par progressive glasses).

Progressive/bifocal/multifocal lenses, obviously because they have more than one strength, will cost more than just the $60 base price. Depending on what your Rx needs are (plus you can add-on blue light-blocking features, transition lenses that darken in brighter light, and some other options if you want - I did not), the cost can go from $60 to a few hundred dollars (off the top of my head, I think mine were in the $200-range).

...Yes, this is definitely more pricey - but (in theory) I would see better, and with all the customization options I had, it was worth the money. Some people have several pairs of glasses just b/c they want different styles/looks... this is ONE pair w/ different toppers you can change out. Plus, some people spend that much (or more!) for REGULAR glasses, so really - seemed totally worth it.

AT ANY RATE: If anyone is interested, definitely check it out. I should get my new glasses in the mail tomorrow (after lots of impatient waiting, lol) so I'll let you know how they are - and if anyone decides to buy from them, use the code/link below and I can save you a little money in the process. :-)

Get $25 off your first order of $60 or more!

#Pair eyewear #The Reese #Reese is the word #Reese lightning #yes I am a dork #but I'm a (relatively) happy dork #lol #prescription glasses #customizable glasses #express yourself #glasses don't have to be boring #or a burden #patience is hard #Patience is not my strong suit