#The knife is to cut a 'friendship cake'

[aphroditesmoon]

Okay but like…clarisse jealous?

I like a challenge when the prize is you

clarisse la rue x fem!demigod!reader

warnings: platonic luke x reader, kissing, title is from center by sir chloe.

wc: 2.0k

Today was your birthday, and though birthdays aren't exactly a big thing in camp half blood, considering there are probably more than 300 kids here, your cabin siblings decided to plan out a small party to celebrate it anyways.

You are easily one of the most highly respected demigod here. When you first arrived at camp, you held your ground and barely showed any fear nor awkwardness. You were friendly and charming but knew when to not take people's shit, that had earned you a favorable reputation and had gotten your godly parent to claim you after only being there for two weeks. 

People liked you. And because of the way you're perceived, they were all pretty surprised to find you in a secured relationship with the commonly known camp boogeyman.

You and Clarisse hit it off rather quickly. What started as a playful banter bloomed into a strongly bonded friendship, and then soon enough, became a romantic relationship. 

The two of you grounded eachother constantly, you compliment eachother personality wise, and you just have much more in common then people think. 

Equally as excited as your cabin siblings, Clarisse arrived right on time for your party in your cabin. The event was a private one, only your siblings and close friends are invited.

They had worked together baking a lovely raspberry cheese cake for you along with some brownies and chips. Despite it being your party, you were warned of stealing a taste of any of the food before the party begun.

You were immensely grateful when the clock finally hit 8pm and everyone invited finally arrived. "Can I cut the cake now?" You asked for the 5th time.

"Yes." Your siblings answered together, laughing at your excitement. Clarisse sat by your left, passing you the cake cutter. "Can you do it?" She mumbles as she watches you struggle to push it all the way down. 

You hummed positively and pressed on harder untik the knife finally reaches the bottom of the cake and everyone cheered. "There you go." You mutter to yourself.

Continuing to cut the rest of the cake, you soom began passing the pieces to everyone on paper plates before leaving the rest of it for yourself.

Clarisse was quick to scoop up a section of it with a spoon to wave it over your face. "Alright baby, you know how it goes, open up." Everyone else was laughing at the sentiment, but you weren't bothered by it at all, opening your mouth wide open for Clarisse to feed you like a mother does to her toddler. 

The party hat you were wearing really tied it all together. Nothing says festive more than a coney party hat with pink and yellow polka dots over them. 

"Oh this is amazing." You say with your mouth full, moaning at the taste. "Here, let me do it." You offered quickly,  taking the spoon from Clarisse to feed her the same way. 

If it was any other day, she'd rather die than get caught being babied like this, but it was your birthday, so automatically, you get a free pass. 

"Someone should take a photo." One of the girls called out, Clarisse' glare immediately shut her up. You laughed at her reaction, squeezing her cheek. "Oh no, you're grumpy again." She rolled her eyes and relaxed her face from all the frowning.

"I'm not grumpy, I just naturally look like this." She defends herself as she eats her portion of the cake. 

Music was playing on the back, a mix of Debussy and Tchaikovsky on shuffle as everyone knew how overwhelming loud party music made you feel.

It was all well and beautiful, everything went better than expected, and it's in these moments, surrounded by your loved ones and feeling your happiest, that you feel the luckiest in life. 

It was present sharing time when you heard your cabin door knocked on. You ignored it ar first, letting your sibling check on the visitor as you continue to open your presents. 

"Oh my god, it's a cat sweater!" You exclaimed at your sister's gift. She was only 10 with a passion for sewing and fashion, and she probably took days to make the sweater. You could see the slightly folded and unsymmetric edges, making it even more endearing. 

"You said it's your favourite animal." You nodded your head and bear hugged her. "It is, thank you for this." 

You were about to open your 4th present when your sibling that you had sent to check on the door came sprinting back. "Who is it?" You asked with a raised brow.

"It's, Luke." The name caused the noise around you to husb down. You could feel Clarisse stiffen next to you when you smiled. "Oh, is he joining us?" You doubt it, seeing as he wasn't exactly invited, and it was already so much people here.

"No, he said he wants to see you outside." 

You and Luke are as close as he is with anyone else. His face is usually what new campers are met with, being the leader of Hermes cabin and all, he's always taken the role of the mentor very naturally, never having a problem helping the new kids find where they belong.  

Clarisse unfortunately doesn't view your friendship with him as just that. You've seen the way she tries to size him up whenever he attempts to talk to you alone.

You stood up from your sitting position and ushered your friends and siblings to get back at the eating and dancing as you walk yourself out of the cabin to meet him.

Your hand slips away from Clarisse's. You give her a quick smile that meant 'don't worry about me', before you disappeared from her sight.

Just as you were informed, Luke is outside the door when you exit from it. He wears his easygoing grin when he sees you. You returned his smile and spoke his name.

"Hey." He greeted you. "Got the birthday girl a present." He shows you the small box he carried with him, wiggling his brows as he speaks.

"Oh, Luke, you shouldn't have." He shook his head at you nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it, just wanted to get you something." His presses the box into your hand and folded your fingers over it before taking a step back.

"Thank you, Luke." You tell him, meaning those words. He gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Your welcome. Now, I'm sure you'd like to go back to your party. See you tomorrow?" You nod your head.

"Alright then, have a good night, happy birthday." You waved at him as he walks off towards his own cabin, waiting until he's a few steps away before going back in. 

You were glad that no one really noticed you until you were near to the group to sit down. Though Clarisse's eyes were on you as soon as you entered the cabin.

Some of them stopped eating as they moved to seat crisscrossed closer to you. "What did he want?" One of them asked. 

You lifted the box up for them to see. They responded with an 'oooh' as they wait for you to open it. "It's so small." Your younger sibling noted, hovering above the box. "Maybe it's a ring." The other suggested. You snorted and shook your head.

"And where would he find a ring around here, less alone to make one." You knew it wasn't a ring. Besides the fact that he didn't have your ring size, he wouldn't give you such a bold gift that could cause a misunderstanding and piss of Clarisse at the same time. 

You opened it gently and awed at it's inside. It was a brooch. One in the size of your thumb. A golden coloured hibiscus engraved brooch. "This is lovely." You noted, letting everyone else look at it.

"It's fine." Clarisse countered, her nose scrunching at the view.

As your younger sibling held it in her hand to properly look at it, you reach over to Clarisse, intertwining your fingers together again. "What about you? No gift for little ol' me?" You ask her jokingly.

"Of course I got you a gift," she scoffed, leaning in to your side. "But I'm not gonna give it here. These chatterboxes can't be trusted."

"These chatterboxes are my siblings." She shrugged at your words. "Never said you weren't a chatterbox either." You gasped loudly, faking offense and lightly slapping her arm. Her grouch falls away, her pursed lips curved into a small smile. 

The rest of the party went well, you managed to get everyone to finish the food so there wouldn't be any leftovers. And despite the argument your cabin presented, you helped them cleanuo the mess and threw away the trash before ot was time to turn off the lights.

You made sure all your younger siblings have been tucked in and all your older ones are done with the chores before you and Clarisse leave the cabin past 11pm.

Some of the girls sent you teasing looks before you left,  but they all swore to secrecy and made sure to cover for you just incase Chiron or Mr.D heard of your little past curfew late night walks.

Once the two of you made it further into the woods, Clarisse pulls you by the arm to sit down next to her on the less harsher part of the grass. You immediately moved to wrap your arm around her neck, resting your head underneath her chin, she wraps her own arms around you and placed a chaste kiss on your hair. 

"Happy birthday." She whispers against your forehead. 

You looked up at her from your position and eyes her suspiciously. "I thought you said you had a present for me?"

A short laugh escapes her as she ruffles your hair. "My presence is not a gift enough for you?" You blinked and answered; "No." 

Clarisse laughs again and uses her right hand to pull something out of the inside pocket of her jacket. "Well, at least you're honest." She did not have a box or a wrapper like the others did. But your heart melted at the sight of the present still.

It was a string of pearls. A necklace. And you could tell from the shine and the ivory colour of it that they weren't fake pearls. They attracted you like a moth to a flame.

"Clarisse, this is beautiful." You told her, she passes it onto your hands and watch as you eye them closely. "I know. Better than the stupid pin." You brows raise at that, your gaze darts from the necklace to her face. 

"Careful Clar, some might say you sound a bit jealous." She huffs and winces at that. "I'm not jealous- I- I just...don't like him." 

"And why don't you like him?" You question her. "Because he keeps hitting on my girlfriend." She answers in a matter of factly tone. "Being nice doesn't equal flirting." You tell her.

"I know that. Does he know that?" 

Clarisse has never liked the way Luke talked to you, and sometimes you genuinely wonder if she was right and if it was you who never noticed any of his romantic advances. But your principle has always been straight to the point, if he doesn't say it outright, then it's not real.

"Well, he hasn't crossed a line so far, so I'd say yes." It wasn't that you're trying to defend Luke, you just don't see what he's done so far that deserves defending at all. 

Clarisse grunted in response and pulls you back into her arms. You refrain from holding her by placing your palms on her chest. "Wait, put it on me first." 

Something clicks behind her eyes like she just remembered about her gift. "Oh, right." You turn around with your back facing her. Clarisse places the pearls over your neck and hooks the back together in one try.

Twisting your body to face her again, you fiddled with the necklace and looked at her for approval. "Well?" She smiled as her fingers came close to your face to brush away the strands of hair covering your cheek. "It fits you." 

You let her pull you by the back of your head to kiss her, welcoming her lips with yours. 

Not that you'd ever admit it aloud, but having her by your side would always be the real birthday gift to you.

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #pjo series #pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians #luke castellan x reader #percy jackson #pjo x reader #dior goodjohn

[alexsoenomel]

Silly Little Nightmare (Dean Winchester x Reader fluff)

Summary: You have a nightmare and you go to Dean's room

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Warnings: death and fluff (sounds about right, eh?)

Word count: 1.1k

Note: Found an old fic I wrote years ago. It was horrible so I did I little editing. Enjoy!

Like/ reblog or both if you like it :)  

Not being able to sleep was a must in your book every night.  You struggled with insomnia, nightmares and exhaustion your whole life and now living with two brothers in a cold bunker in the middle of nowhere didn’t help your situation whatsoever. The bunker was your home during the day, but a fucking nighmere during the night. The water in the pipes circling around your room made it almost impossible not to focus on the damn sound and cold air was trying to creep into your bones no matter how thick your blanket was – sometimes you hated it.

One night it got the best of you, it almost tore you apart completely and drove you to the brink of madness.  When you decided to forcefully get yourself into a deep state of sleep by taking melatonin there it was: the dream – your worst nightmare. It started off as a pleasant scenario set in the late 50’s for some unknown reason. You and the older Winchester were on a mission to kill a creature who happened to have the ability to time travel. The younger brother wasn’t there; your brain was clever enough to take everything you love away from you – step by step.  It made everything too real; every sound, every touch and every damn emotion seemed enhanced. It took you and Dean to a dark alley, similar to the ones where the worst killings and robberies would happen in real life. It made you think that Dean was the bad guy; it drugged you to the point where you couldn’t see nor hear straight. How the fuck did your brain manage to do that? You were a fucking masochist so maybe that was your answer. You couldn’t hear his voice, begging you to believe him and you didn’t see the expression on his face when you first took out your sharp knife. He looked like someone else – a monster in a human form with sharp teeth and yellow eyes, but it wasn’t Dean. He tried to run, but you were faster; he tried to fight you, but you were stronger in this universe. When you stabbed him it felt like cutting a piece of cake – surprisingly easy. You didn’t hear his hard groan but as soon as he hit the ground it was time to wake up and see what you had done. Your eyes were yours and true again as well as your ears, but you…you were far from yourself. He was laying there, blood all over his shirt and mouth, he was already far away from you. His eyes were open and empty. He was gone.

“Dean?” You got on your knees. “DEAN?”

Nothing. His groans and short breaths stopped. He wasn’t moving anymore.

“DEAN PLEASE?! Wake up?!”

“DEAN?”

“DEAN?”

The tears seemed so real and yet so foreign. Like a few drops from a cold autumn’s rain on your cheeks, but at the same time that familiar feeling of sorrow and emptiness hit you. Your body became weak, he wasn’t moving. He was gone.

You woke up. Sweat. Tears. The anger…everything hit you all at once. Shaking your head, desperately trying to pull yourself together and catch your breath, you got up and went to the hallway. It was pitch black; the darkness was overwhelming making you frantically wander. He was your first love, and first loves we tend to not forget nor get over it easily. Love sometimes wasn’t what poets make it to be; all happy and sweet as candy – it sometimes left scars, sometimes deep and more painful than any other childhood trauma you may have experienced.

No one knew about your love for Dean besides your heart. Sam was a friend, or even the brother you never had but Dean was the other side of the coin. If you could explain why he made your heart work faster you could but that was the thing about love, it was unexpected and unexplainable. The life you lived, the things you had seen, you couldn’t risk losing the friendship you had so you just buried it deep in your mind. 

His room was the first one to the left. You gently opened the door and the silence was immediately replaced with soft snores coming from the bed.

“Dean?” You whispered, closing the door. “Dean?”

The sheets started moving in the dark as you sat next to him. “(Y/N)?”

“I’m sorry I-I…” You remembered the dream again. You saw his lifeless body again. “I had a nightmare.” With your sleeve you whipped the tears trying to not sound as pathetic as you thought you did. 

“Hey, comere!” He pulled your arm and moved to the other side of the bed. You went with him under the covers feeling his warmth on your skin immediately.  He smelled like mint with a dash of alcohol plus something that screamed Dean – a mix of leather and gunpowder. He wrapped his arms around your small frame pulling you closer to him.

You would hug here and there, but never like this. This was intimate and yet familiar. 

“It was about you.” You said pressing your forehead against his chest. 

“The nightmare?”

“Yeah, I killed you. I thought you were a monster and I killed you.” The tears started creeping in again as you tried your best to keep it together. 

“It was just a dream, sweetheart.” He said softly. His chin was resting on top of your head. 

“I’m sorry I woke you up. It’s just…” You couldn’t see him and you didn’t want to, you felt stupid. A grown ass woman crying over a bad dream – even worse a hunter. 

 You lifted your head up and feeling bold you placed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry.” He was still a silhouette but his eyes were on you while he was trying to restrain himself from kissing you. You weren’t the only one who had deep buried feelings in the pits of your mind. He was hooked the minute you two jammed to Ramble On by Led Zeppelin in the Impala one gloomy Sunday night after a successful hunt. 

“It’s…It’s okay.” You couldn’t see but he was flustered. 

“Can I stay? Please?”  

Something in his gut punched him, so he went for it. He kissed you. Not in the sweet ‘I have wanted to do that for a long time’ way, but ‘please never leave me I love you’ way. At first it felt like someone pushed your face into a candy bowl but with the sweetness and a light minty flavor there was also the pleasure that came with it. It literally took your breath away and you couldn’t help but moan a little.

“Stay and never leave.” He said.  

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #spn #supernatural fic #spn drabble #spn fanfic #dean winchester #spn fluff #supernatural fluff #spn fic #dean winchester x reader fluff #dean Winchester x Reader #dean winchester fluff #dean x Reader #dean x reader fluff

[whimsigothwitch]

Samhain Cinnamon Rolls

Because Samhain/Halloween is in exactly a week from now, I am sharing a Cinnamon roll recipe with you all! These cinnamon rolls are super soft and sweet, perfect for celebrating Samhain or during spooky movie nights.

Witchy tips during baking:

Mix clockwise and say your intentions for the rolls out loud, this could be "I welcome abundance into my life with open arms.", "I embrace the blessings of the harvest and celebrate the abundance it brings." or if you plan to share the rolls with friends and family: "May these cinnamon rolls nurture the bonds of love and friendship among us."

When you sprinkle the spices into the cake, do this clockwise and say each correspondence out loud as you do this: Cinnamon: for love, and warmth Cardamom: for attraction and harmony.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

500 grams of plain wheat

1 packet (or 7 grams) of instant yeast

200ml milk/water

1 egg

75 grams of soft butter

80 grams of light brown sugar

1 tsp cardamom (optional)

For the filling:

150 grams of dark brown sugar

80 grams of soft butter

3 tbs cinnamon

Mix all the dry ingredients with the wet ones, knead the dough for 15 minutes by hand or for 10 minutes if you have an machine.

After kneading, form a ball with the dough and let it rest on a warm place covered with a towel.

Meanwhile make the filling for the rolls, and store in the fridge.

After an hour, the dough should have been doubled in size. Form a rectangle and use a rolling pin to flatten it (1/1,5 cm thick).

Spread the filling over the rolled out dough and roll the dough up.

Use an knife and cut the dough in 10 equal rolls, place these in a round or square oiled baking mold/ or on a baking tray.

Bake for 15-20 minutes on 200c (392F).

OPTIONAL! Icing! Mix powdered sugar with a squeeze of lemon juice, mix well and pour over the rolls once cooled down.

#kitchen witch #kitchen magic #kitchenwitch #baking #bake #recipe #witch #witchyvibes #witchcraft #witchy #whimsical #witchythings #witch aesthetic #witches #pagan #pagan witch #paganism #pagan community #cooking #recipes #sabbat #witchy vibes #green witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #witch blog #autumnequinox #autumn equinox #cinnamon rolls #dessert #samhain

[girlygguk]

fame - jjk (three)

pairing ; idol!jk x idol!oc.

synopsis ; aera; the main dancer in one of the biggest k-pop groups in the world, Siren. debuting in 2014, it was nothing but immense hard work and perseverance (and being on the absolute verge of disbandment), but she and the four girls that grew to become her sisters pulled through. they did it. now they're performing at some of the most significant arenas and stadiums worldwide. meeting a cheeky, flirtatious and annoyingly gorgeous fellow idol that threatens to break down every wall of protection she's built around herself was not part of the plan. her career has always come first, having sacrificed and jeopardised many relationships and friendships in her journey to debut. so why does this time feel different?

story warnings ; smut, explicit language, violent & possibly triggering scenes.

chapter warnings ; explicit language, fluff, flirty jk

word count ; 3.2k

a/n: thank you sm for liking and commenting even reblogging its SO SWEEETTTT THANK YOU! first jk x oc interaction of the story finallyy

previous chapters ; prologue | one | two | drabble1 | three | four | ...

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

📅 July 22, 2015 — A year ago...

📍 PARK ENTERTAINMENT BUILDING

»��Aera's point of view «

• • •

"—Sarang ha neun Aera-shiiiii," my sisters chorused as they clapped to the beat of their out-of-tune serenade.

"Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!" They cheered, the flats of their palms slapping against the table while they waited for me to extinguish the burning sticks of wax stuffed into the swamp-green-coloured cake before me. I was informed earlier that Ha-Joon led the baking ensemble this morning, so I'm pretty sure it's ninety percent icing. The way the candles were at a thirty-degree angle, almost completely submerged in the desert, only furthers my suspicions.

With a cheesy grin, my eyes flutter closed as I put an end to the candles' lives. Little clouds of smoke whisp towards the ceiling when the flames die out, and I lean back a little to avoid inhaling the fume. "What'd you wish for?" Asami teased, swatting at Joonie's hand when the youngest tried to scrape her finger along the cake's side in hopes of retrieving some icing.

"I can't tell you, or it won't come true." I clichéd, pulling the candles out of the mountain of icing before they sunk like an injured battleship. Dumping the burnt sticks into the garbage can behind us, I turn to our leader as she scrolls through the comments of our current V-Live.

"Can you pass the knife, please, Unnie?" My request snaps her out of her daze, and she leans back from her phone like she didn't even realize she was so close to it. Then, grabbing the knife on the table's edge, she placed the handle in my direction and slid it across to me.

"We're at a thousand viewers!" Hanna screeched, her hand smacking at her knee in glee, and I joined in with the rest of the girls as we giggled at her excitement.

My jaw dropped in disgust and amusement as my assumptions about this cake's ingredients were correct. The knife dragged into the mush, slicing down an alp of icing before hitting a thin layer of cake far later than it should've. My eyes snapped straight to Joon as she bit her lip, her cheeks pink and puffed, no doubt trying to harbour a loud cackle at the look on my face.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I let out a breathy chuckle, continuing, or more so attempting, to cut the desert into presentable slices. Slapping each piece onto a paper plate, the girls pull a serving towards themselves as I go, waiting for me to dish up my own before they indulge. I lift the board that the remaining cake is melting on as we speak and put it out of the camera's view before sitting back in my chair with a huff.

Joonie's fork dug into her portion the moment I sat back in my seat, scooping a mouthful of pure icing and consuming it like somebody was trying to take it away from her. I snicker before doing the same, and a slight hum of approval escapes my lips when the fork hits my tongue, the icing surprisingly better and much tastier than I thought. I blame the shitty diet we're on. Cat food would taste good at this point.

Lifting my head, I browse the comments flooding through on our live, and my eyes widen at all the birthday wishes that dominated the comment section. "Thank you guys for the happy birthdays; you're so sweet." I gush, swirling my fork around my plate to try and find a chunk of actual cake and hopefully stop the tears I feel burning at my lower lash line.

I could feel the gaze of Nali on me, and I was failing to find a piece of solid food on my plate of pure topping, which was only making me more frustrated and almost losing the battle with the water pooling in my waterline.

"We couldn't afford two cakes." Nali blurted, and the sound of forks scraping against paper plates pulled to a halt, four heads turning to stare at the blonde.

A few moments of silence passed, and I didn't fight it anymore, my grip on my plate loosening, and I rested it on the table before bursting into a fit of laughter. I seem to have broken the dam because the rest of the girls were heaving over, a chorus of laughs and howls bouncing off the walls of our shitty little cramped office that we cleared out for the v-live.

"It was our first anniversary a few days ago, and if we made a cake for that, we would've blown our allowance then and not had enough for Aera's birthday. So it's sort of a conjoined celebration." Hanna explained to the viewers, wiping at the corners of her eyes to rid the stray tears gathering there from laughing.

Hanna, Asami, and Joon continued breezing through the comments pouring in from the fans on our live, spotting a few familiar usernames and greeting them like they were our own members. Our sweet yet disturbing maknae had finished her cake, her gaze dropping to the left when she saw Asami's unfinished plate pushed to the side, indicating she didn't want anymore.

I felt my eyebrows crinkle slightly, watching my roommate, one spoonful of icing away from a stomach ache and never-ending whining when we try to sleep later tonight, grab Asami's plate, and devour the remnants. You would think we don't feed this girl.

Brushing the hair that had fallen in front of my eye, my gaze fell to the blonde on my right to see her attention was already on me. I give her a small, thankful smile, grateful for how she had drawn the attention away from me for a moment to compose myself. Nali nodded in understanding, her hand finding mine under the table and delivering a soft squeeze that sent a wave of comfort through my body.

It had been an hour or so since we started the live stream, and we still had choreo to work on later tonight, so we responded to as many questions and messages as possible before wrapping up the celebration. Our leader, Hanna, took a screenshot of the viewer count, still giddy at the fact that we hit 1,100, which beat our personal record by far. We thanked our Allures profusely, big gummy grins covering our faces as we sent waves and kisses toward Hanna's phone as she ended the stream.

The sound of my phone vibrating on the table's edge caught my attention as we tidied up the area. Asami took the remaining cake to the kitchen and informed us she'd wrap it and put it in the refrigerator. Ha-Joon finished stacking the used paper plates and all but sprinted out the office door, muttering a quick "I'll help!" that earned a chorus of scoffs and eye-rolls from her unnies.

"That girl will return with a permanent green upper lip," Hanna grumbled, halfway through a thank-you post on our Instagram account with the statistics from today's live.

She pulled me over to get approval for the photos of me she was using for my birthday post, and I set my phone back down before getting a chance to check my notifications. She was scrolling through today's pictures, Nali's phone becoming our camera as we were streaming from Hanna's. I chuckled at how Hanna literally took a hundred photos, my face invading Nali's camera roll; you'd think it was my phone.

Settling on a few, I suggested she use the candid of Joonie wiping the green icing on my nose as the first slide. She nodded ecstatically, murmuring a quaint "yes! i thought so too" before returning to social media manager mode.

Hanna sent the chosen pictures to herself, handing Nali's phone back with a kissy noise causing the visual to retaliate with a playful scowl that paparazzi would pay thousands to capture. They both started to head towards the door, Nali with the full bin liner and Hanna with her phone clad in their hands, before the eldest turned back towards me. "Practice in 15," she announced, not looking up from her phone but her words flying in my direction.

"Okay, unnie." I smiled, and she glanced up from her device, a smirk gracing her lips as she waited for me to face the other direction before delivering a hearty slap to my ass. Winded, I spin around to return the favour but only catch sight of the raven-haired girl sprinting down the hall to catch up with Nali.

"Freak," I mutter, my laugh fizzing out in the room that now only contains me. My abandoned phone remains face-down on the table, and I trudge over, tapping the screen to bring it back to life. Staring at the notification perched at the top of my cracked phone screen, it glares back at me before my phone fades out due to inactivity. I continue bringing the phone back to life, each time staring at the same notification for thirty seconds before the screen goes black again.

15:34 JUNGKOOK FROM BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

Happy birthday Aera 🎂

I click on the notification, and my screen reacts to my demand, transitioning to the messages app. As I think of a response, my nail begins to tap against the side of my phone case in angst, and I almost put my phone away altogether.

It's just a happy birthday message, not a fucking proposal. My inner thoughts are demonic, taunting me as I discover five characters is apparently my limit before I delete everything and start over.

15:38 ME

thank you jungkook

Poetic. You truly have a way with words, Aera. My thumb scrambled to the side of my case, resting against the lock button, so close to ending my misery, before I saw the word 'delivered' change to 'seen' at the bottom of my message. He's fast to reply, almost as if staring at the text waiting for a response.

15:38 JUNGKOOK FROM BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

How are you?

Rolling my eyes at the basic pleasantries, I consider leaving him on read and heading towards the practice room with the rest of my members. Then, against my better judgment, I concede.

15:39 ME

i'm okay, you?

15:39 JUNGKOOK FROM BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

Just okay? It's your birthday, you should be happy! 🥳

15:39 ME

i am happy. today has been great 🥳

15:40 JUNGKOOK FROM BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

You know, mirroring the actions of someone else can often be misinterpreted as a show of affection

15:41 ME

aaaaand you fucking ruined it. i have to go practice

15:41 JUNGKOOK FROM BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

Wait Aera

Can we

Video call later tonight

My heart skips a beat, or six, as I stare at his text. He's so fucking blunt. So forward. It drives me mad. So mad that I find myself sending back a thumbs-up emoji before shoving my phone into my pocket and leaving the office that, I swear, has increased by five degrees in the last few minutes.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

The squeak of my reusable water bottle wrung in my ears as I squeezed the life out of the canister, the chilled liquid it holds trying its hardest to fight the internal burning temperature of my body. I run my hand through my damp hair in an attempt to incorporate air into the strands and allow my scalp a chance to breathe.

We wrapped up practice a few minutes ago; the rest of the girls had scrambled out of the burning suite when we unanimously agreed that we physically couldn't continue today. Hanna led the eager troops to the kitchen to prepare our dinner, and I secured the lid of my bottle shut before tailing the train down our company's hall. Stopping at my dorm once they had just entered the kitchen's quarter, I threw out a quick "i'll be there in a sec, just need to use the bathroom" before ducking into my room.

Snatching my hoodie that I threw on my bed carelessly earlier today, I flip it inside out at lightning speed, shoving my head and arms through the holes in what I'm sure is a personal best. Leaning over my bed with a huff, I grunt in triumph when I feel my phone in my grasp after a few failed attempts to grab it off my bedside table. Shoving it into the pocket of my sweatshirt, I make my way out of the dorm, looking in the direction of the kitchen before turning the opposite way and heading for the exit of our building.

A sigh of ecstasy leaves my lips as the chilled night air envelopes my frame once I push through the bulky door of our building and make my way toward the stony path that lines the structure. My butt hits the pavement with a thud, and I fish my phone out of my pocket; the device's light illuminating a ray of yellow in the darkness of the night as it comes to life.

Clicking on the familiar contact in my list, I hit the video icon and listen to the low hum of the outgoing tone as it attempts to connect me to the desired recipient. No more than five seconds pass before the loading symbol appears on the screen, the background black as the device works to load the picture of the awaiting parties.

I'm staring at the box in the bottom right corner that mirrors my appearance, halfway through pulling the hood of my jacket over my head to shield my matted hair before his bunny smile stately renders onto my phone screen.

My action is pulled to a halt, my hand releasing my shirt's hood as I take in the picture being shamelessly displayed by my busted phone. Jungkook leans against his headboard, clad in a black shirt that accentuates the shape of his arms. Speaking of arms, the one of his that isn't currently busy holding his device up runs through his woolly, fluffed hair before resting behind his head against the board.

"Saeng il chuk—" Jungkook started once my camera connected and displayed my face on the screen. A cringed scowl overtook me as I hushed him, shaking my head rapidly and begging him to stop the birthday anthem.

His cheeky giggle blew through my speaker when I cut off his song, eyebrows raised in amusement, "How's the big 19? Feel any different?"

"Days don't even feel like days right now, so no, I don't feel that different." My response is honest, eyes trailing down to the heel of my sneaker, currently scraping against the gravel beneath me that I'm sure is staining my sweatpants.

He nods in understanding, knowing exactly how I feel at the moment, having been in a similar situation in his rookie days. "Do you want me to call you Noona now?" He quips with a smirk, reminding me that I am, in fact, two months older than him.

My eyes widen as his question catches me off guard, and I do not bother to stop my eyes from rolling to the back of my head while he chuckles hoarsely at my reaction. "I will fucking kill you."

My response only seems to amuse him more, his eyes wide in faux fear, and I feel a smile breaking through onto my face, forcing me to look away from my phone for a moment. The smell of spices invades my nostrils, bringing me back to consciousness, and I glance up at the time displayed on my device.

"I have to go eat dinner," I say, watching his plump bottom lip purse into a pout.

My team probably thinks I am having abhorrent bowel movements right now. However, Jungkook's question pulls me out of my thoughts, his big bug eyes curious as he quizzes, "Why are you eating dinner at 11 pm?"

"The kitchen doesn't close until 12 on weekends, so we usually train later on Saturdays and Sundays." I shrug, shuffling a little until my back is flush against the side of the building. His eyebrows furrow, seemingly taken aback by my answer, and I'm unsure why.

"The kitchen closes at certain times?" His question is low and soft, and I can't decipher the look on his face as he says those words. This had become my reality that I adapted to so quickly since becoming a trainee. I often forget to filter out certain things before sharing with people.

"Do you want me to get you something delivered?" He asks; the tone of his voice is gasoline on the burning flame in my lower stomach.

"Oh yeah? Are you gonna supply food for five people?"

"Yes." His answer is instant, and I admit defeat to the battle with my mouth as my lips curve into a soft smile.

"Don't do that," I shake my head, pulling my knees closer to my chest as the wind picks up, and I hope it blows the phone out of my hand and into the local lake.

"Do what?" His tone is innocent though his features are anything but.

"Don't say shit like that."

"Shit like what?" The corner of his mouth upturns as he senses my frustration, my displeasure only seeming to egg him on.

The loud chatter and laughter of my members pull me back to my reality, and I let the laugh trapped in my throat escape before clambering to my feet, glaring at the boy leaning against his headboard once I steady myself, "I have to go."

Jungkook nods in understanding, looking like he didn't expect to get me for this long anyway. Just as I'm about to say goodbye, he leans up a little, the muscle in his arm tensing as it adjusts behind his head. "Wait, are you guys attending MAMA?"

I knew he meant well, but it didn't stop the unsettling feeling brewing in my stomach, the possibility of being unable to break through in our career despite the work my sisters and I put in daily glooming over my head like a heavy, grey cloud.

"Don't be ridiculous; we could never get an invite to a show like that."

"You will one day." He responds, his tone sure and confident, and I almost believe him.

"Maybe one day." I nod, a grateful smile finding its way to my lips, and he returns the gesture, his bunny teeth peeking out slightly in a cheesy grin.

"Have a good dinner, Noona. Happy birthday," he wishes, and my finger instantly dashes to the disconnect button in reflex. Giving him one final glance, I poke my tongue out teasingly, clicking the red icon that ends both the call and my suffering. 

Letting out a heavy breath, I walk back to the entrance of our building, swinging the door open and flicking the lock once it shuts behind me. My head falls forward onto the glass, and I have to stop myself from lifting it and slamming it back down a few more times.

Shoving my phone back into my hoodie pocket, I finally make my way toward my members in the kitchen. The smell that wafts from the kitchen tickles the aggressive hunger in my stomach, distracting my thoughts from other things. Halfway down the hallway, my eyes fall to the back of my head for the umpteenth time this night alone as I grind to a halt. Now I actually have to pee.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist ; @0anodite0

#jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook fic #jungkook imagine #jungkook x oc #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook fanfiction #bts #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #idol oc #bts idol au #jungguk #jeon jungguk

[scribblesandsherlock]

FNAF Movie! Incorrect Quotes (Part 3)

ABBY: I wanna walk home

MIKE: I'll join you. I'm always game for a brisk walk. Also, if I leave you alone, I'm pretty sure you'll die.

***

VANESSA: So, are we friends?

MIKE: I guess.

VANESSA: You sure?

MIKE: Sure.

VANESSA: ...Should we kiss?

MIKE: No.

Because there's still a small chance they could be siblings and I like their friendship

***

MIKE: You read my journal?

ABBY: At first, I didn't know it was your diary. I thought it was a very sad handwritten book.

***

VANESSA: Have I ever let you down?

MIKE: Do you want me to answer that or should I just glare?

***

ABBY: You promised you'd stop drinking milk in the shower!

MIKE: Stop trying to change me!

***

VANESSA: If Abby jumped off a bridge, would you do the same thing?

MIKE, sighing and getting ready to jump off: Yes. She can't swim.

***

ABBY: Mike, you love me, right?

MIKE: Normally I'd say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere I won't like.

***

[Shortly after what happened to Garrett]

MIKE's Teacher: You are very mature for your age.

Younger!MIKE: Thank you, it's the trauma.

***

MIKE: Everybody's tragic backstory gave them mad skills, and all I got was trust issues and anxiety.

***

CASSIDY: Are you the chosen one?

MIKE: I'm very much the guy who's here

***

DOUG: How much stuff do you need to be happy?

AUNT JANE: Gee, I don't know...how much stuff is there?

***

WILLIAM: Why do you think I'm incapable of doing anything nice?

VANESSA: Experience.

***

AUNT JANE: I love it when you get your comeuppance

MIKE: I love it when you shutuppance

***

ABBY: Hey, what does coffee taste like?

MIKE: Not as good as it smells.

ABBY: Oh, like shampoo.

***

MIKE: Why do people say, 'you'll understand better when you're older'?

MIKE: I'm older now, and I understand nothing

***

AUNT JANE: You're really aiming to be jerk of the year, huh?

MIKE: As reigning champion, are you nervous?

***

MIKE: Don't forget to take a scarf. It’s going to be pretty cold today

ABBY: I love you too.

***

VANESSA: What, I can't be in a bad mood? It's like people think, "Oh, Vanessa is such a nice girl, Vanessa is so happy-go-lucky! Vanessa can't be in a bad mood!" Well, you know what? Vanessa CAN be in a bad mood. And right now, Vanessa is in a very bad mood.

***

AUNT JANE: Degenerate

MIKE: Blocked

AUNT JANE: Unblock me! I got to tell you something important!!

MIKE: Fine, unblocked

AUNT JANE: DEGENERATE!

***

ABBY: Mike won't wake up after he took those pills. What do I do now?

CASSIDY: Did you try kicking him?

ABBY: Just like you suggested

CASSIDY: Then I'm out of ideas.

***

ABBY: Hey, if you put "violently" in front of saying what you're doing, it becomes 100% funnier

VANESSA: Violently dances

MIKE: Violently sleeps

WILLIAM: Violently stabs people.

MIKE: ...Violently worries about the previous comment.

***

MIKE: I don't know about this, Abbs, it's pretty dark in there.

ABBY: Don't worry, I got this.

ABBY: *stomps her feet then her Skechers light up*

***

VANESSA, walking in: What are you doing?

MIKE: Abby's making me watch this horror film about two ex-convicts who try to rob and murder a neglected child.

*Home Alone plays on the TV in the background*

***

AUNT JANE: If you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee

DOUG, internally: If I were your husband, I'd drink it

***

[When Vanessa was a kid]

WILLIAM: *sharpens knife* We got ways of making you talk.

VANESSA:

WILLIAM: *cuts piece of cake*

VANESSA: ...can I have some?

WILLIAM: Cake is for talkers.

***

ABBY, at 3 a.m.: If you work on a farm and your job is to take care of the chickens, then that means you're a chicken tender

MIKE, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling:

***

[Basically, the career counselor scene]

WILLIAM: I can excuse killing children, but I draw the line at not being able to hold a job

MIKE: You can excuse killing children...?!

***

#josh hutcherson #mike schmidt #mike schmidt fnaf #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #fnaf movie #mike and abby schmidt #incorrect fnaf quotes #incorrect quotes #william afton #abby schmidt #vanessa afton #vanessa shelly #aunt jane #Doug

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @softtidesworld @direwombat @starsandskies @strafethesesinners @strangefable @corvosattano @carlosoliveiraa @cloudofbutterflies92 @cassietrn @voidika @onehornedbeast @adelaidedrubman @nightbloodbix @aceghosts @turbo-virgins @minilev @g0dspeeed @josephseedismyfather @josephslittledeputy @titiagls @derelictheretic @afarcryfrommymain @megraen @shallow-gravy @softtidesworld @snake-in-the-garden @wrathfulrook @shellibisshe @chazz-anova @purplehairsecretlair @florbelles @inafieldofdaisies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @skoll-sun-eater @thewanderer-000 and @yokobai

Hey guys, I'm back! Three songs; one for an OC, one for a relationship between OCs, and lastly one for a fic. Respectively all in Life, Despair & Monsters, The UnTitledverse and lastly Far Cry The Silver Chronicles. Listen and read under the cut:

In the Life, Despair & Monsters, Sir Enigma Malvolio is the main antagonist who is the catalyst of the protagonists pain and the reason to why events such as these are existing. Though seemingly looking like a short human, Malvolio is actually what's called a "Displacement"; a term used for creatures from unknown and not categorized dimensions which "displace" themselves into another reality by using Breaches (tears in reality due to unstable flux of time or because something damaged reality previously). As the Director of the Ruins of the Midnight Rise, Malvolio is driven by the need to "evolve" humans, who he sees as the pinnacle of potential to become something more, however is willfully ignorant of the "weaker" side of human nature and only believes that his twisted view on how to progress humans to a satisfying state is the correct way. By horrifically experimenting on them and attempting to remove empathy and physical weakness, he merely leaves them scarred for life and often mutilated or transformed into something else. Malvolio's view on human morality and ethics is disdain towards these "rules that set back scientific and evolutionary progression for decades more" and ultimately concludes "humans are better off without them", and due to his interdimensional nature and consequence "dog who must progress to using sticks and stones in order to eat other dog so he can survive and teach more dogs this progression to further the species" viewpoint, Malvolio can never empathise or realise how wrong his extreme actions are. However, in this song, there is the implication that Malvolio has begun to enjoy creating this horrific despair on humans. Listen below:

"I've got to hand it to you You've played by all the same rules It takes the truth to fool me And now you've made me angry

I can't decide whether you should live or die Oh, you'll probably go to Heaven Please don't hang your head and cry No wonder why my heart feels dead inside It's cold and hard and petrified Lock the doors and close the blinds We're going for a ride

Oh, I could throw you in the lake Or feed you poisoned birthday cake I won't deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone Oh, I could bury you alive But you might crawl out with a knife And kill me when I'm sleeping, that's why..."

Next song is for The UnTitledverse, specifically the friendship between The Perfect Storm saga's three main protagonists; Joaquin Cobalt (a rather ordinary boy who lived with his foster/adopted-sister), Calvin Dearing (the spirit of a cartoonist from the 1930s) and lastly Mario Emmet (a shapeshifting meat-eating alien with minor reality-manipulation). Before the events of The Perfect Storm saga (and getting sucked into the Multiverse), Joaquin, Calvin and Mario knew each other. Joaquin viewed Calvin and Mario as older siblings (like Lisa), while Calvin and Mario viewed each other as friends (who have similar experiences with losing time from their lives). By the time of The UnTitledverse, Calvin is trying to search for both Mario and Joaquin, get them back home, and though the three dearly miss each other, they still have issues (both external and internal) that they must deal with. I believe Colors encapsulates the emotion felt throughout this journey of breaking friendship, regret, longing, restoration of a fire-forged bond and the bittersweet leaning towards melancholy at the end of the first saga. Listen below:

"Your little brother never tells you but he loves you so You said your mother only smiled on her TV show You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope I hope you make it to the day your 28 year old

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise You're spilling like an overflowing sink You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

Everything is blue His pills, his hands, his jeans And now I'm covered in the colors Pulled apart at the seems And it's blue And it's blue

Everything is grey His hair, his smoke, his dreams And now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means And he's blue And he's blue

You were a vision in the morning when the light came through I know I've only felt religion when I've lied with you He said, "You'll never be forgiven till your boys are too." And I'm still waking every morning but it's not with you.

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise You're spilling like an overflowing sink You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

Everything is blue His pills, his hands, his jeans And now I'm covered in the colors Pulled apart at the seems And it's blue And it's blue

Everything is grey His hair, his smoke, his dreams And now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means And he's blue And he's blue

You were red And you liked me 'cause I was blue But you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky And you decided purple just wasn't for you

Everything is blue His pills, his hands, his jeans And now I'm covered in the colors Pulled apart at the seems And it's blue And it's blue

Everything is grey His hair, his smoke, his dreams And now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means And he's blue And he's blue

Everything is blue Everything is blue Everything is blue Everything is blue."

And lastly a song for my AU adaption fic of Six Of Crows called How Good Is A Heist If It's Improvised? in Far Cry The Silver Chronicles, where in a (pre-)modern day equivalent of the fictional Ketterdam (which would be the Netherlands), the Dregs pick up two more strays; the chatty and (seemingly) crass Isiah Popov and the curt if menacing Gemini Teal, both of whom have a dislike for each other. In this fic, Isiah and Gemini (future companions of Silva and Ezekiel in the Far Cry 5 & New Dawn fics) learn to navigate robbing people without trying to kill one another and let the whole team down (despite being slightly older than the teen team), and appreciate the skills both have without snide comebacks, and eventually grow into vitriolic best buds while trying to survive a ridiculously unlucky heist. Song below:

"Sorry, I ain't got no money I'm not trying to be funny But I left it all at home today

You can call me what you wanna I ain't giving you a dollar This time I ain't gonna run away

You might knock me down You might knock me down But I will get back again

You can call me what you wanna I ain't giving you a dollar This time I ain't gonna run away Run away, run away

This time, this time This time, this time I ain't gonna Run, run, run, run Not this time

Not this time Not this time Not this time!"

#music monday #life despair & monsters #oc: sir enigma malvolio #the untitledverse #the perfect storm saga #oc: joaquin cobalt #oc: calvin dearing #oc: mario emmet #far cry the silver chronicles #six of crows #grishaverse #the dregs #wip: how good is a heist if it's improvised? #oc: isiah popov #oc: gemini teal

[shijieswife]

shijie who finds comfort in the kitchen, in the rocking motion of a knife and sizzling of a pan. who finds something she loves, something that fills her head.

shijie, who teaches her didis how to cook, something she had to learn from videos and their cooks, something beneath them. who cooks with a-ying, with a-cheng supervising in the background, peeling garlic. who gives her a-die food that he always eats, no matter how experimental or bad, with a smile.

shijie, who has a handwritten recipe book, splattered with batter and flour, running ink, filled with different cakes and sweets. who lets a-cheng chose which one that her and a-ying make. who watches in delight as muqin smiles softly at her as she eats her sweets, only fondly telling her she shouldnt be slaving away in the kitchen all day, this time.

shijie, who secretly grows tired of the beratements and mocking. shijie, who grows forlorn over the cookies she baked for jin zixuan thrown in the trash, in front of her, in front of everyone. who stops cooking for others out of love, now out of duty. shijie, who only finds peace in the kitchen, now, when a-ying sees her, truly, and guides her gently away from the fried rice that a-cheng wanted. from the soup her a-die loves, after a fight with muqin. muqins favourite cake, an appeasement. and finishes them, as she watches and supervises.

shijie, who, after moving half a country away for school, relearns her love for cooking. who learns to do things for herself - she makes her favourite soup. she cuts her hair to the length she'a always wanted, dyes it. who secretly enrolls in a culinary school. who stops talking to her muqin and lets a-ying stay in her apartment.

shijie, who bumps into jin zixuan. shijie, who starts a genuine friendship with the matured version of a boy she moved on from. shijie, who gets a poorly made cookies shoved at her, before jin zixuan runs away with a red face. who relearns her love language of gifts with cooking, as she makes her boyfriend bread he can take home for his apartment.

shijie, who now teaches her son and nephew how to make a-yings favourite soup for his birthday, something she has never told another soul a part from her didis, not even her husband or brother in law. ("its a family secret, lingling, yuanyuan" she whispers, finger to her smiling lips, as two out of five of her favourite boys stifle their giggles with their hands.)

#mdzs #modern mdzs #mdzs au #jiang yanli

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Yayyy!

Guys, I completely forgot that yesterday was @lilcatastrophe's birthday!

You are absolutely amazing!!!! Imma make myself write something in your honor, thank you so much for being so kind and encouraging!

Have I written a birthday themed thingy yet?

(My brainstorming process is saying, 'What's a stupid thing we can do to Keith' until I have an idea.)

I love the word extravagant. Flamboyant is fun too. It sounds like flamingo.

-------------------------------

Lance is distraught.

He had been planning to throw Keith a surprise birthday party in honor of their unexpected friendship. He'll never say it aloud, but Keith might actually become a closer friend to Lance than Hunk.

It's hard to say when that started.

Maybe it was late at night in the kitchen when nightmares kept them both up, and they talked for hours just to avoid sleep.

Or it could be seeing Keith laughing on some distant planet somewhere in space, after they had pulled a prank on Shiro out of boredom. (They may have switched his shampoo out for hair dye. Shiro is still quite intimidating with a neon-pink hair floof.)

There's a million tiny moments with Keith that Lance could list, but regardless, he wants to show his appreciation towards Keith in some (extravagant) way.

However, the red paladin had pulled him aside just a couple days before to request that Lance wouldn't do anything big for him.

So now Lance is having a crisis.

Shiro is no help, he apparently finds the whole situation funny, chuckling lightly anytime Lance paces past him.

Keith’s birthday comes too soon. And all Lance has to show for it is a badly wrapped knife, some alien bananas that taste like strawberries, and a cupcake that he made under the careful guidance of Hunk.

They didn’t celebrate, Shiro respects The fact that Keith hates attention, and everyone else kind of just forgot.

Lance taps his knuckles softly to Keith’s door, and there’s a muffled clamor from inside the room before Keith comes out.

Keith scans the tanned boy in front of him wearily before asking with a raised brow, “Can I help you?”

For some reason, Lance clams up and just shoved the gifts into Keith’s face.

At some point, they’ve both ended up in Keith’s room atop his bed.

Keith’s eyes widen when he sees the gifts, and for a moment Lance is ashamed. He feels pretty shabby giving Keith such generic gifts, but his spiraling thoughts are cut off by the other paladin leaping into his arms.

“Thank you. You… I didn’t know I needed this until you gave it to me.”

For a second, Lance thinks Keith is talking about the knife, but then he notices sincere amethyst eyes trained on him.

“You always know what I need, even before I do.”

The warmth that fills Lance is like summer rain and sunsets over the glittering ocean, but more importantly, it’s being here with Keith in his arms.

He stands suddenly and grabs the cupcake before carrying Keith all the way to the observatory, ignoring any protests.

Lance loves this room becomes of its lack of walls. The whole ceiling is made of a glass dome, and the only actual wall is the one with the door.

It’s almost scary, and Lance feels almost lost surrounded by the cosmos like this.

He turns to Keith and hold the small cake up.

“Happy birthday, Love. You deserve every one of these stars and so much more.”

Keith dismisses the random pet name and curls up at Lance’s side.

“Nah. This is all I need.”

They split the cake and stare up at the stars (and Lance graciously ignores the fat, happy tears rolling down Keith’s face).

And you know what? Like this, Lance really does feel like he has absolutely everything.

———————-

You’re the greatest, Kay! Once again, have the happiest happy birthday!

#happy birthday #vld keith #voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #lance vld #lance mcclain #vld #voltron #technically klance #klance #tawny post #kay tag

[btsgotjams27]

All Grown Up ~ JJK | 14

✨ title: all grown up | series (completed) ✨ pairing: jungkook x f!reader | ✨ rating: R/18+ ~ minors dni ✨ genre/au: romance, fluff, angst, friends-to-lovers, humor, banter, smut, age gap, best friends little brother ✨ author's notes: I won't be updating this series on Tumblr. Please continue this series on AO3 or Wattpad. Links below. This fic is inspired by the k-drama, Something in the Rain. ✨ author's notes 2: okay, so i do plan on editing the rest of this series! i just don't know when it'll be done.

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] prev | next ✨ it'll never be the same

✨ chapter 14 ~ we can't do this | wc: 1.4k

When he got home, he excitedly called you to tell you the good news. Little did he know, you had already decided about your relationship and were heading to talk to Yuna. You saw his call and let it go to voicemail. You knocked quietly on Yuna's apartment door and held up a cute white scalloped box as she opened the door.

"I brought a peace offering."

Yuna recognized the cake box you brought, and her eyes lit up. "You're lucky I like cake."

She grabbed the cake and left the door open for you. At least she didn't slam the door in your face. You took it as a good sign. You walked in and pulled up a stool underneath her kitchen counter. The clinking of plates and forks was resounding loudly throughout the kitchen as the silence between the both of you grew. You swear the gulps you took could be heard from the next-door neighbor. Your eyes followed her as she furiously cut a slice of cake to put on the plate.

"Don't take it out on the cake."

"Should I take it out on you instead?" she asked, half-jokingly threatening as she held up the knife.

"Okay--I get it. You're still upset." And Yuna had every right to be. You lied to your best friend and kissed her brother, amongst other things - but she didn't need to know that.

"Yeah, I'm upset. Wouldn't you be if you were in my position?" She roughly slid the slice of cake in your direction. You grabbed your fork and took a small bite of the heavily frosted rainbow cake. You looked over and saw Yuna using her fork to push around her slice.

"I can't remember the last time you were this upset at me."

She looked up and went on to eat her cake.

You cleared your throat, "I want to let you know that I'm not going to pursue whatever this is with Jungkook. I love and respect you and our friendship too much." It was a hard decision, but you'd rather not lose one of your closest friends, and for what? A relationship that probably wouldn't work out?

Yuna's mouth was full while trying to talk. "I already told him I was fine with it." She didn't look up from her cake, continuing to stuff her mouth.

Her response almost made you choke on nothing. "You did what?"

"Jungkook can do whatever he wants. I'm not his mom."

"And you're okay with that?" you asked wide-eyed. You were not expecting this when you came over today. Honestly, you were expecting her to scold you a bit more, maybe even get into a catfight, but in reality, her words would cut you more than her physical strength.

She shrugged. "I don't know yet."

You began chewing on your bottom lip, unsure what to do now. You had a plan and were ready to end everything with Jungkook.

"What are you going to do?" Yuna finally peered up from her cake, which was nearly finished.

"What do you think I should do? What do you want me to do? I'll do whatever you want." Your friendship was more important than a boy, even if it was Jungkook, even if he made you melt or gave you butterflies, which it had been a long time since someone had made you feel that way. But right now, your friendship is more important.

"I know you're going through a hard time right now, and you should sort out your feelings before breaking my brother's heart." The spite and tone in her voice told you that she wasn't okay seeing Jungkook with you, no matter what she said to him.

You silently scoffed. "Wow, that's not passive-aggressive at all. You're assuming I'll break Jungkook's heart."

Yuna set her fork down and crossed her arms. "I'm his sister, and it's my job to protect him."

You understood her position, and you'd probably do the same thing. "No, no. You're right in wanting to protect him. But what about me? Am I just going to be the bad guy in all of this?"

She stood there, unsure how to respond to everything, and you get it. You figured if this came out, it would be a little awkward between the two of you.

"Well...enjoy your cake. I'll see you if you still want to see me."

You reluctantly head towards the door, hoping that she will stop and tell you that she loves the idea of you and her little brother together and that if you guys ever got married, she would be your sister. But that was far from the truth. She let you go without saying anything else.

You were in front of your apartment complex and found Jungkook sitting on the steps with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He looked so sweet and boyfriend-like, and he immediately popped up to greet you.

"Hey! There you are."

You flashed a half smile as he pecked you on the cheek, and you slightly pulled away.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just came back from Yuna's."

"Oh--I was just there this morning, and I have some good news! But why do you look so sad? Did something happen? Did she say something to you?"

Your lips were quivering, and tears started to form behind your eyes. Jungkook quickly put down the bouquet and cupped your face.

"Hey--hey–"

Streaks of tears began to fall gently down your cheeks and onto his hands. He wiped them as they came and pulled you into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry, Jungkook. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry--I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

All you could do was apologize. Apologize for letting yourself get into this situation, apologize for letting yourself fall for him, and now apologize for breaking his heart.

He pulled away, rubbing your arms, then cupped your face again. "Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for," he said sweetly, leaving kisses on your cheeks, then he connected his lips with yours. You let him continue because you knew it would probably be the last time you could have him this way.

After being lost in the moment, you gathered yourself and tenderly pulled back from his lips. You longingly gazed into his twinkling doe eyes, trying to capture every last second you could before shattering his heart.

“Jungkook, we can't–”

He interrupted you. "Don't say it. Don't you dare say it."

"We can't do this, Kook. We can't be together."

There it was. You could hear Jungkook's heart shattering into a million pieces along with yours. Your heart began aching and throbbing, and you took it out and stomped on it repeatedly until nothing was left. He stood there speechless and trembling.

"We can make this work, and we haven't even had a chance to try," he said. His eyes were pleading with you, every ounce of him willing to do whatever it took to call you his.

You were trying to smile through your tears and sniffles. "I was naïve enough to think this could all work somehow," you chuckled, "I think I could have loved you, but we'll never know."

Jungkook was upset and frustrated that you weren't even willing to try. "I'm not giving up without a fight."

"Don't make this harder than it already is, Kook," you cried. You had already gone over every possible scenario, and it always ended up with you losing in the end.

"What did Yuna say to you?" he asked sternly, "If you don't tell me, I'll go and find out–"

He tried to walk away, but you pulled him back. "Kook--just let this go. Let me go. I'm not worth all this trouble."

"If you're not going to fight for us, then I will. You are worth all of this, and you're everything to me. Don't you understand that?" His eyes searched yours for answers, and he wondered if you wanted him as much as he wanted you.

"Kook, you don't even know me." It's true he didn't because you only let him see what you wanted him to see about your life. He didn't know about all the struggles you've had with your family, with U-jin, and with your health.

"Of course, I know you. I've known you my whole life, and I've been in love with you since I was eighteen."

You grimaced at his sudden reveal. He wasn't going to let you go so easily, was he? "Don't say that, Jungkook. Don't tell me things like that." How could he love you when you were a complete and utter mess?

"It's true. I love you and am deeply and irrevocably in love with you."

The ache in your heart was carving deeper into your soul. He can't be in love with you.

✨ previous chapter ~ the day he knew

✨ next chapter ~ it'll never be the same

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook fic #bts fic #bts fanfic #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook smut #jungkook romance #jungkook x you #jungkook x reader #fic: all grown up #jungkook noona

[brrrkdslek]

i'm busy, i'm with this person, i'm with that person, i don't have time, blah blah blah. that was the only type of responses you got from your best friend, seonghwa. well, ex-best friend sounds better in this scenario.

ever since he's met that new group of boys, you practically disappeared from his life. isn't it crazy how a lifetime of friendship can vanish in a span of one day? isn't it crazy how replaceable you are?

you stare at your phone, specifically at the post of seonghwa and his friends out watching a new movie. your bottom lip quivered, it was even your birthday today, but of course, it didn't matter anymore.

your eyes watered as the oven dings. you sniffled and fanned your eyes before taking the small cake out of the oven, you smiled and poured the batch of icing on top of it, smearing the vanilla over the cake, covering every nook and cranny, just like how seonghwa did to you.

he covered your heart and filled it to the brim. he cared and was like a brother to you, always there when you needed and you did the same. the word 'hate' couldn't express the overwhelming feeling you had towards his new friends, the ones that took him away from you.

tears fell from your eyes as you lit the singular candle on the cake, not even placed in the centre as you mumbled the birthday song before blowing out the candle.

liar. that's what seonghwa is; a liar. he lied about your friendship, about being there for you, about putting you first, he lied. you yanked at your hair and screamed, kicking down the table. it crashed down with the plate of your birthday cake.

you cried as you swiped everything from the counters onto the ground, kicking and punching anything and everything, breaking anything you could get your hands on.

your knuckles bled as you punched the wall, so pained by being betrayed, betrayed by your friend, your brother, someone whom you loved. if he acts like this, he would be no different from your parents who left you at a godforsaken age.

you took a deep breath as you grabbed a knife and sliced into the squashed cake, tears dripping onto the pink icing, gross. cutting out a slice, you placed it onto the quarterly broken plate and cut it vertically with the knife.

sitting on the couch, you put a random tv show on as you scooped up the cut-up slice of cake with the knife before placing it into your mouth. continuously stabbing the cake like how seonghwa had stabbed your heart.

#brrrkdslek 📁: drabbles #oops🤭 #lmao good luck besties #this sucks ass cuz its so unrealistic like seonghwa would NEVER oml🤓 #idk whut im doing #ateez x reader #ateez fanfic #seonghwa x reader #yeosang x reader #seonghwa angst #seonghwa x you #seonghwa x y/n #park seonghwa

[mara-tevith-solo]

Sing a Little Song For Me

Photo not mine

Part 9 of the drabble set

Warnings: blood, lots of blood, canon levels of violence, threatening of a minor, threatening of two minors, Neytiri doesn’t bluff my dude, death, dead bodies, respect for the dead, choosing sides, betrayal, justified hurt and anger, relationship shaming, ANGST, cursing, near drowning

Pairing: Colonel Miles Quaritch x Na’vi/Avatar named f!reader/oc

Words: 3.6k+

Rated 18+, I’m serious!

Taglist: @seashelldom @perseny @tinyfairies​ @kimqueenofhell​ @blueberry-thrawn​​

I couldn't bare to do it, I couldn't bare to hurt them as I slaughtered the humans, sinking my knife into soft flesh as far as I could, not caring if that meant my fist and arm were going through too. And it seemed that they shared similar sentiments, never shooting at me. But they didn't stop the humans from shooting at me, didn't try to defend me. I could understand why, I was killing their comrades. They'd said several times in the short weeks that the humans were on their side. So, when Jake and Neytiri joined the fight, I didn't defend the Recoms. Sides were drawn though the friendships remained. I ducked and weaved with Neytiri, protecting her back from the humans as I continued to play Reaper, my forearms eventually stained so thickly that my freckles could not been seen shining through.

 I mourned every single Recom, going so far as to remove the arrow from Z's head carefully after getting separated from Neytiri, closing her remaining eye and sending a prayer to Eywa for her. A soldier in an skel-suit attacked me out of nowhere, throwing me away from Z’s body with an angry cry. I crashed to the deck several meters away, honestly slightly impressed that they’d managed to do it. They were forcing me back down to the ground before I could get up, a metal fist socking me in the mouth hard enough to send my head cracking down with a hiss. 

A ped stomped down onto my stomach, forcing the air from my lungs “I hope you die!” The human snarled as they continued to stomp like they were trying to make intestine wine. I managed to grab their stomping leg and pull as I rolled away, taking them straight off balance and onto the deck, back up on my hands and feet before they could even get a word out. I was swift as I stabbed my knife into their chest, not even giving a second glance as I stood and proceeded on, ignoring the pain as best as I could. There were more important things to worry about, I couldn’t slow down.

I wished things could have been different as I shuffled through stacks of cargo and bits of flaming debris, free hand resting on my stomach just enough to sooth the persistent ache, wished that there was no war, no need to fight between each other. That Miles wasn't after a vendetta. I hated it. I hated it. Mansk was still breathing though leaned over at an odd angle as I passed, on my way to Tuk, meeting Jake there "Where's your sister?" He asked her softly as he cut her loose.

"That way." She whispered, pointing back the way I'd come, though I hadn't seen Kiri. Nor Miles for that matter.

"C'mon." Jake ushered us both away from the moonpool, the both of us making a barrier around Tuk so that she was between us and well protected.

Seeing him appear from around the pillar as though we'd called his name was stressful in and of itself, his little smirk as soon as he registered the attention he had was just icing on the shit cake. But the cherry? Kiri mortified as he held her in front of him by her kuru, his knife so tight to her throat that blood was already beginning to mix with the sea water and sweat was the damned cherry on top. "Kiri!" Tuk cried in alarm as she clung to Jake, the both of us instantly reaching down to push her back.

"Miles, what are you doing?" I asked him as betrayal and fear sapped the warmth from my being, looking between his eyes and Kiri's. I sadly recognized the man standing there, recognized the smug victory simmering in his smirk as he looked between the two of us. Jake was snarling and shaking beside me, wanting to save his daughter but knowing charging in would make it so much worse.

"Weapons down." He ordered firmly, his resolve not even flaking under my silent pleading.

"Kill him dad!" Kiri begged as the knife bit down further, making Jake growl as his own resolve deepened.

"Weapons down!" Quaritch barked angrily as he readjusted his grip to show off the original cut on her throat. "You already lost one kid today, do you really wanna lose another?" Jake hissed angrily, tail nearly hitting Tuk in its wilds arcs, his ears back flat against his head as he realized that Miles wasn't going to keep bluffing him. "Do not test me!" He growled as Jake began to charge, weapons up and ready. Jake stopped as more blood began to trail down Kiri's throat, my heart racing as I watched, keeping Tuk where she was safe and accounted for because I knew that she would try to leap in if allowed to, she was Jake's after all. He did as ordered roughly, the knife and tomahawk shattering the groaning silence of the ship. "Now kick them away. You too, Princess, weapons away." His eyes finally met mine, softening ever so slightly as I obeyed, tossing my knife into the water. There was so much apology in his face that I didn't want to see, couldn't stomach seeing as he continued. "Now," He continued as he let go of her kuru and pulled a pair of cuffs from his belt "Cuff yourself, Sully." The orange slap cuffs landed on the deck and slid another foot, waiting threateningly, patiently, for him to comply. "Cuffs on! Now!" Miles pressed angrily, his small modicum of patience wearing dangerously thin.

"No." Kiri sobbed softly as Jake picked up the cuffs.

"You son of a bitch!" His voice cracked as the first one slapped into place, still shifting foot to foot. I realized, in that moment, that either Miles was so self confident that he didn't feel like he had anything to fear from me, or he was just that sure that I wouldn't actively fight him. That I'd submit to him easily. It was kind of insulting, I'm not goin' to lie. Though the guilt hurt, knowing that he was somewhat right.  

"Runnin' outta time here, Corporal." Quaritch said as he adjusted how he held Kiri, much more threatening as his eyes flashed dangerously in the artificial light.

"No! No! Don't hurt her! Ok? Don't--" Spider darted out from behind some cargo, trying to placate the large man.

"Stand there!" He ordered raggedly, his temper getting the better of him, sounding like his old self in that moment. I instinctually flinched back from him, taking Tuk along with me without even a glance at Jake. "Don't move, not a step!" He pointed at Spider, his attention now split more thoroughly.

"Don't hurt her." Spider begged again, not hearing Neytiri until it was too late. She placed her knife against his throat with a growl, flashing her teeth at Quaritch angrily and it felt like the life had been sucked out of me, my heart plummeting to the ocean floor as Spider moved with her.

"Neytiri don't..." The words died in my throat as she glared at me, pain and hate shining through before she fixed them on Quaritch again. He swallowed heavily as he surveyed the situation, regret and fear thick in his eyes as he glanced between Spider, Neytiri and I.

"Release, or I cut." She ordered coldly.

"You think I care about some kid?" He asked, acting like he was unaffected but it was plain to see he was lying. "He's not mine." He insisted poorly, his mouth screwing tight, his eyes wide as they flashed towards me quickly, and his ears fully out and focused on Neytiri. "We aren't even the same species."

"Just don't hurt her!" Spider begged Quaritch, not stopping to think about himself.

"Mom, please don't hurt him!" Kiri begged as well. Neither of the kids cared about their own safety, they only wanted each other safe.

"Both of you, put the knives down!" I ordered, holding my hands out to try and placate them both "Please, our kids don't need to be in the middle of this!" Quaritch side eyed me as soon as I sniffled, his own poor resolve breaking further.

"Release, or I cut." Neytiri promised, not even sparing me a glance. A tiny hand grabbed my tail for security the moment I stepped forward, wanting to protect Spider, Tuk whimpering in fear behind Jake and I.

Quaritch said nothing, his hold on Kiri slacking ever so slightly though his knife stayed firm against her throat. "Let her go." I begged him, taking another half step towards him. He flinched at the movement, his focus still on Neytiri but his hold strengthening again "Please, Miles, let Kiri go. She'll kill him! She'll kill Spider!" I was ugly sobbing but I didn't care, I needed to make him understand that she didn't bluff, not with humans, especially not him.

"A son, for a son." She vowed, her eyes widening with anger at his inaction, at the fact he thought she was bluffing.

"Please, don't hurt her." Spider plead again.

She dropped the blade before any of us could react and cut Spider across his chest, making him cry out in pain, making me lunge forward a step before she placed the knife back against his throat, glaring at the both of us "I cut." I gripped my mouth as tightly as I could, trying to control my sobbing as I watched the stalemate helplessly, Jake gripping onto my forearm to steady and restrain me, no doubt feeling as helpless as I did.

When Quaritch made no motion to comply she raised her knife and pushed Spider away from her, loosing a battle cry as she prepared to plunge the knife into his chest. I screamed, pulling against Jake's hold, reaching for Spider like I could save him from so far away "No!" Quaritch finally conceded, pulling his knife away from Kiri's throat and pushing her away from him.

"Kiri!" Tuk called as Kiri backed towards us cautiously, not turning her back to Quaritch as she stayed as low as possible. Quaritch and I both watched Neytiri as she hesitated to let Spider go, my ears pinning back as a sudden rush of anger filled me, though there was nothing I could do while she still had him.

When she did finally let him go, Kiri was calling his name, the two teens instantly gravitating towards each other like magnets, grabbing onto each other in relief "Spider, get them out of here." Jake ordered, letting me go as he moved to close the distance between his family and himself. I felt like I was going to collapse on the deck from the stress and relief, my heart thundering wildly in my chest.

"I owe you a death." Quaritch promised Neytiri angrily as the Sullys began backing into the ocean, the woman snarling angrily back at him as though daring him to try it again.

"Mom! Come on!" Spider called, snapping me out of the post-adrenaline high haze and back to that moment. Miles's attention snapped to me, wondering what I'd do once made to choose. Which side would I cement myself to? He looked so hopeful that I'd choose him, that I'd stay with him and ask Spider to come with us. And oh Eywa did I wish that I could have. I wanted nothing more than to be able to live my life with him. Even if we had to live as Outcasts in the place the eye does not see.

"Ani, what are you doing?" Jake asked, trying to keep his tone gentle but there was a bite to his words that made me feel foolish and stupid. Like I was a hopelessly romantic teen secretly dating the Mayor's douchy son again. He had seen me wanting to pull away from the family, had seen my desire plain as day. He reached for me again but Miles practically lunged as he stepped towards us with a warning snarl. Jake snarled back, his ears pressing back against his head as he in turn warned the bigger male "Are you seriously going to choose him over us? Your family?"

"Jake, you don't understand. He's changed." I argued, pleading with him to try to see things from my perspective. Proving Miles right.

"He just had Kiri under his knife!" He yelled in disbelief, like he couldn't believe that he was hearing me defend his enemy.

"The old him would have killed her with a smile on his face! The old man would have let Spider die!" I argued back, my own ears pinning themselves to my skull. His ears sprung forward as he stared down at me with wide eyes, shocked that I really was defending Miles. Defending him to his face.

"Sullys stick together, Ani." He was grasping at straws and he knew I knew "I know you love him, but he's hunted this family down, made us leave our home."

"You left my son to die. You convinced me that he was safer with the RDA, that I’d just kill myself trying to free him. Your mate had him under her knife, she was going to kill him no matter how I begged." I argued, glaring up at him with tears in my eyes.

Shame drew his eyes away as he realized that I was right, that I felt justified in my defense "The devil doesn't bargain, Ani. I don't know what he promised you, but it's all a lie. I know that you haven't mated with him, I know you know I'm right, even if you don't want to admit it to yourself!" His words were like knives to my heart, hitting true as I ducked my head from the hurt. Miles had never promised me a damn thing besides redeeming himself to me and to do everything he could to protect our son and I. He'd told me the truth... or at least... I believed that he had...

I looked to Spider, my eyes focusing on the bleeding cut across his chest, at the fear and uncertainty in his eyes "Mom?" Spider asked, his voice softer, begging me to not choose, or at least to choose him. I ducked my head from Miles, unable to look at him anymore, unable to face his justified betrayal as I began closing the distance between my family and I, staying out of his reach and not turning my back on him. I tried to keep my sobs under control, going so far as to bite down on my left hand so that I didn't put my teeth through my lower lip.

He held out his arm to stop me, a silent plea to stay, but I continued my path back to my family. This made his blood boil, angering him further, his ears flush with his head and his knife held in a more threatening position "You're not leavin' are ya, Jake?" He taunted bitterly, turning broadside to me like he still had nothing to fear from me, like I still wasn't a potential threat to him. "Knowing I'm out there? Knowing that I'll never stop? I'm coming for you, and when I do, I'll kill your whole family." He promised, growling the last word to solidify his point.

Jake and I shared a quick glance, him making sure that I was still with him, that we were on the same page before we started the all too familiar dance "Then let's get it done." He didn't give Quaritch a moment to think before charging, letting me hit the bigger man first before coming in. I went low as he went high, kicking his knee out at Jake went for the head with a piece of luggage and then quickly grabbing his weapons as I went in for another punch. The two men grappled for a moment, each trying to get past the other's guards before I leapt up on Mile's back, arm around his throat, legs tight around his ribs, teeth going for his throat.

He growled as he kicked Jake towards a piece of sliding machinery before grabbing a fist full of my hair and trying to dislodge me before I could sink my teeth in. "We could have been a family." He snarled with effort, control of my head slipping through his fingers as he tried to go for a better hold. "You, me, and the kid." He continued, whipping around, trying to use my awkward position to throw me off as Jake looked for a new in. "But you betrayed me for them!" He got ahold of the bottom of my kuru and pulled, visibly flinching when I cried out in pain as I fell.

I kicked his knee again before pulling myself backwards, even though it meant getting ocean water up the nose "You betrayed any idea of our family when you let our son get hurt for your pride!" I snarled back as I stood, ignoring the hurt that shown in his eyes with my words.

Jake kicked him into a sub as it began sliding with the increased tilt of the ship, taking off his vest as Quaritch charged towards us again, knife raised and ready until Jake managed to disarm him. Before he could strike back I bulldozed into him, my shoulder straight to his diaphragm, sending the both of us vaulting into the rising water, both of us getting our breath knocked out of us by the impact as I punched and kicked as hard as the water would allow. He still only moved to subdue me, snarling as my hands slipped from his every time, even as he flipped our control points so his back was towards the surface and I was towards the deck. One of his massive hands gripped my right thigh and pulled me flush against him, his free arm circling around my back and pinning me to his chest. I was so angry I sunk my teeth into his flesh where ever I could reach, getting a mouthful of his shoulder as he audibly cried out even though it cost him precious air. His hand was fisted tightly in my hair as we both broke the surface, keeping me from removing my teeth from his shoulder and finding a new place to bite as I sucked in greedy gulps of air around his blood as it filled my mouth. "God dammit woman!" Quaritch cursed loudly as he pulled me off, shoving his watch between my teeth when I snapped at his face.

I growled angrily as I tried to sink more than my bottom teeth into his wrist, my tail nearly creating a current in the water from how hard it was flicking around. The face of his watch shattered under the pressure, leaving a couple flecks of glass to lodge into my tongue. I yipped loudly in pain as I pulled away from him, not caring that it took him a second to let go of my hair, or that Jake immediately took over the fight as I immediately began taking the glass out of my tongue so that I didn't accidently swallow any of it and cause more problems for myself. I had to race to catch up with the two when they were finally out, the taste of the mixed blood rolling around my mouth no matter how much I swallowed. I reached the two right as they had to go under, Quaritch almost immediately getting Jake in a choke hold with his legs, smiling evilly as he attempted to kill the other man.

My fist wiped the smile right off his face as soon as it connected, his eyes focusing on me before his hand snatched my throat and used it to pull my back tight against his chest, his fingers applying pressure to my arteries as though he only wanted me to go unconscious. I kicked and struggled and scratched at him, not wanting to go down without a fight. Darkness was quick as it began enveloping my vision, my hands not wanting to work properly as my fingers filled with lead. I couldn't struggle, I couldn't fight, I was stuck there as he pressed his cheek against my temple, anticipating my death like a bittersweet victory. Death didn't quite come, the ship landing on the ocean floor sent out a shockwave that dislodged both Jake and I from Quaritch, letting me drop into the murk as the two men continued to fight, Jake's arm wrapping around Miles's throat before my vision faded to black.

When I came to, a bloody Miles was leaning over me, one hand cupping the back of my neck, and the other centered over my heart. He looked so relieved as I blinked up at him slowly, my brain filled with so much fog that I could barely tell you what 2 plus 2 was. "Just breathe, Ani, that's it. Just breathe." He smiled, a bright, genuine expression as hot tears fell down onto my face. Every gulp of air felt wet and raw, like I had in fact swallowed the glass.

"Is Mom ok?" Spider asked, though he sounded so distant. I tried to sit up at the panic in his voice, but my little strength left me even time I barely managed to pick my head up.

I blinked up at Miles weakly, my vision beginning to fade again "I need to bring her back to base. She went too long without air." I could barely hear him, could barely feel his touch against my cold skin as he struggled to hoist me up with him as he stood. "Come with me, son." He begged after managing to get me up on the back of an Ikran. Spider hissed at him angrily "Spider!" He tried, though my guess was that it was useless as he got on behind me, pulling me flush against him. "Stay with me, Ani. Just stay with me." He pleaded softly as the Ikran took to the air better than I had expected. The last thing I heard was the rumbling call of Thor, his strong wing beats disturbing the air from nearby as Miles turned towards him.

#miles quaritch #miles quaritch x reader #Miles Quaritch x oc #colonel miles quaritch #enemies to lovers #jake sully #zdinarsk #angst #soulmates #na'vi reader

[dindjarinandlysakane]

The Sweetest Taste | Chapter 48 - Upwards

When Din Djarin meets a beautiful cake seller from Nevarro, do you think he’s just going to stand back and let her suffer at the hands of her abusive boyfriend? After a lifetime of heartache and pain, Lysa Kane realises she’s not on her own any more and finds an unlikely friend in the Mandalorian. And Din Djarin does not like men who treat women like that, not one tiny bit. Friendship/comfort and maybe something more…

Masterlist

Chapter 48 - Upwards

----

All of the breath left Lysa’s body as she plummeted over the edge of the bridge….

…falling down…

…down…

…into the abyss.

Everything around her seemed to move in slow motion.

Her own heartbeat echoing through her ears.

She could feel death creeping closer and closer as she fell…

…with no way to stop it.

A sorry end for a sorry life filled with nothing but pain and hurt.

That was until she had met Din and Grogu of course

And it was their faces she wanted to picture now, before death took her away under its dark wing.

The two people who had filled her life with hope and warmth in the short time she had known them.

The two people she loved more than anything else.

Lysa’s eyes were squeezed shut.

Crix had taken her over the edge with him, but he had fallen first. And Lysa did not want to see where he had gone…where he ended up ahead of her.

She prayed now, that if she found an afterlife beyond this one, that Crix would not be there with her. 

That she could finally be free of him.

Lysa felt herself hurtling down at an astonishing speed, her stomach in her throat…

…waiting for the impact…

…bracing herself…

…ready…

But all of a sudden, Lysa felt a strong arm grasp her around her middle…

…slowing her descent almost instantly.

And that arm pull her flush into a firm body, with a hard crash of her limbs against theirs.

Lysa snapped her eyes open, hearing the sudden whoosh of a jetpack.

And gasping out a ragged breath, Lysa stared up into the beskar-covered face of Din Djarin.

This unbelievable man.

The man who she had thought had saved her already in so many ways. Doing so again, when she had lost all hope of rescue.

She scrabbled to grip onto him, her sweaty palms sliding against his beskar. As her hands finally wrapped themselves around his neck, suddenly taking in a breath for the first time since she had fallen.

Lysa wanted to cry, closing her green, tearful eyes again, as Din accelerated, fighting against gravity, and pulling the pair of them suddenly upwards…

…upwards…upwards…

Until they landed on the metal bridge they had come from with a thud…Lysa’s legs immediately giving way beneath her.

But lucky for her, Din’s grip on her was strong, and he held her in place, slowly lowering her down, until her bottom hit the floor beneath her.

And unable to control herself any longer, Lysa let out a hard sob, her entire body shaking with relief.

She looked up through shimmering eyes filled with tears, to see Din knelt on one knee before her, his gloved hands still holding onto both her forearms gently.

She could tell that behind his beskar visor, his eyes were searching hers, but Lysa couldn't control herself at this very second.

The sheer relief was overwhelming.

After all that had happened, she had been certain that this was the end. That there was no one who could save her. And perhaps that she didn't deserve to be saved.

The last words Crix had muttered into her ear as he had thrown her over the edge with him, still ringing in her ears over and over-

“Even more blood on your hands now, ‘ey, Lysa…”

She knew of course that Crix had had no rescue. And with the blaster shot she had put through him, that he was dead somewhere far below.

And yet despite all that, he still managed to haunt her, even now. The ghost of him still here.

His poisonous words, seeping into her mind. Never to leave again.

“Are you ok?” came Din’s voice, as one of his hands slipped down, grasping at her bound wrists, and cutting her free with a knife from his belt. While the other one of his gloved hands, he lifted to her cheek, swiping away at the tears as quickly as they fell.

But Lysa couldn't say a word, not even able to mumble out a thank you to the man who she owed her life to. 

She gave another loud and painful sob, bowing her head and hitching in a sharp breath. Her tears, no longer tears of sorrow. But tears of gratitude and relief.

For she was safe.

She was really safe.

……………………..

Din stared at Lysa, a deep frown settled between his eyebrows, watching as she sobbed, her entire body trembling beneath his grasp.

He could see the pain coursing through her, almost visible now, as the seconds ticked by up on the windy platform.

For a moment there he was certain he had lost her. Watching as Crix had dragged her over the edge of the bridge with him.

And even now, despite her being safe here with him once more, Din’s heart seemed to be taking its time in resuming its normal pace within his ribs.

Lysa had been mere seconds from hitting the ground below by the time he had reached her. And the relief he had felt once he had her body firmly held against his, had been like nothing he had even experienced.

And so he understood now, Lysa’s tears and her upset. For the times that Din had been close to death, it had taken him a long time to recover. 

And even now, there were moments from his childhood, that fateful day on Aq Vetina just one of them, that Din still found himself suffering nightmares about, from time to time.

For the pain and the fear he had experienced in those moments, had cut a fault line deep inside him, and buried itself there.

He watched as Lysa, almost doubled over before him now, sobbed, her tears falling fast. Knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them at this very moment. And nothing he wanted to do either.

These were Lysa’s tears to cry. And he would not deny her them.

But Din suddenly remembered that despite Crix falling over the edge and Xi’an far below, there was still Ran.

But lifting his head over to where the bearded man had fallen, he could see now that there was no body there. Ranzar Malk obviously having survived his injuries and dragged himself somewhere whilst Din had been distracted.

Din knew that this wasn't over.

He still wanted to taste revenge for what his old comrades had done today…

…but right now, that could wait. For his focus was now on one person and one person alone…

He waited until Lysa’s sobs became shallower, running his hand gently down the side of her head comfortingly, until she lifted her face to his.

Her green desperate eyes meeting with Din’s.

She looked exhausted beyond belief, and Din knew there was nothing in this world now that would keep him apart from her again. No force that strong.

She didn't say anything, but she allowed Din’s hand, that was lingering at the back of her head, to pull her into him. Settling herself against him as she cried endless tears into the tunic at his neck. Din wrapping his strong arms around her. Letting her know wordlessly that she was safe here now, at last.

And like this they remained. Just the two of them. For how long Din wasn't sure.

Until a sudden voice broke through their well-needed silence.

“MANDO!”

And for a moment, Din was almost sure that it was Ran, back for more…

But as Din turned his head instantly to look. He was met with three figures stalking quickly across the far end of the bridge, furthest from the hangar, towards them.

Din’s frown deepened. But more from shock than anger…

…at the sight of Greef Karga pacing quickly towards him. Followed by Grogu in his hover pram and the Marshall of Nevarro- the IG-11 droid.

Karga was coming at them at a slight jog, looking mightily out of breath, his face a picture of concern.

“We saw what happened, we couldn't find a landing spot, and-” said the High-Magistrate, very much out of place in the cess-pit that was the moon known as Nar Shadda.

“How did you find us?” asked Din gazing first at Karga and then at IG-11 and, of course, Grogu who brought up the rear, coming to a harsh halt beside Din. At once cooing at his father and looking him up and down as if checking that all was well.

“What? You didn't think I wouldn't have a tracker put on that new ship of yours the moment it landed in Nevarro?” uttered Karga. His eyes at once falling to the visibly upset and trembling Lysa, still sobbing quietly in Din’s arms. “She- uh…she ok?”

Karga’s tone was serious and as far as Din could tell, full of genuine concern.

Din placed his hand to one of her shoulders, carefully peeling her from him, her weary gaze barely able to meet his own.

Din could feel a heat emanating from her now, he feared had nothing to do with the tears that were falling.

For he could see that Lysa’s pale forehead was now beaded with perspiration. And from here he could see that the blaster wound on her shoulder had started losing blood again.

“Did you bring a med-pack?” said Din quickly to Karga, ignoring his friend’s question. 

But Karga pursed his lips together.

“Oh I can do you one better than that,” he replied, stepping aside as IG-11 stopped forward.

“Upon reprogramming, several of my previous protocols were put back as they were,” came the monotone voice of IG-11. “These protocols include medical care. Stand aside please.”

And with that, Din shuffled back as IG-11 crouched down beside them both on long metal legs, scanning Lysa immediately. A bright green light skimming quickly over her face and body.

“You have suffered blood loss and are at risk of infection to your shoulder wound,” came the voice of the droid again after a long couple of seconds. “We need to get you on board and start treatment with immediate effect.”

At the Marshal’s words, Din gave a frown, before he looked at Lysa, wanting nothing more than to fling off his helmet right now and provide her with the comfort of his expression. Of his eyes conveying so many things that words right now could not. But he refrained, moving a hand to Lysa’s waist and helping her to standing once more.

She leaned her weight onto him, feeling, to him, unsteady on her feet.

Grogu beside them gave a chirp, looking at Lysa hopefully. But right now, she seemed to be keeping her tearful gaze fixed firmly to the floor, focusing on walking straight.

“How did you all even get here? asked Din, staring around, before looking back to Karga who smiled knowingly.

“The Stinger. I told you…it’s a great ship,” he said simply, pointing to the ship that Din had agreed to borrow from Karga just a day prior, stood at the far end of the bridge, far beyond his N-1.

In all the commotion, he had not even noticed it land.

Karga gestured with his head. “Come on, let's leave this hole before we run into any more trouble.”

And with that, the High-Magistrate turned and headed back toward the ship they had arrived on.

Din, giving one last look towards the hangar behind them, scanning the area for any survivors one final time. Before he turned, pulling Lysa with him carefully as they walked down the bridge towards the awaiting ship.

Their pace was slow and after a moment or two Grogu, IG-11 and Karga were several feet ahead, leaving Lysa and Din walking quietly side by side bringing up the rear.

“I’m so sorry, Din,” came Lysa’s hoarse voice, in what was barely a whisper. She sounded tearful and distraught.

Din glanced her way, tears visibly slipping from her eyes as they walked.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” said Din with a deep frown, shaking his head.

Lysa turned her face, staring his way. Her sad, lost-looking eyes meeting with his, behind his beskar.

“Din…” she said, her green eyes desperately trying to search his, hidden behind his visor, a warmth filling her gaze now as she looked up at him. “I-”

But her expression suddenly changed to one of confusion in front of his very eyes.

“...I don't feel so good…” she managed to mumble out, blinking several times in quick succession and giving a hard swallow.

And before Din could do anything, he watched as Lysa’s eyes rolled back in her head and her feet gave way beneath her.

Din tightened his grip on her waist, but was barely able to keep her upright, as his eyes darted back and forth over her ghostly pale and clammy face.

Din’s heart began to pound faster and faster within his ribcage.

“Lysa?” he said quickly, rousing the attention of Karga and IG-11 up ahead.

“Get her on board…hurry,” said Karga to Din instantly, his expression full of worry.

And so manoeuvring her within his grasp, Din bent his knees a little, before hauling Lysa gingerly up into his arms.

He could feel that she was hot to the touch, burning up, looking far paler now than she had a moment ago. All colour drained from her face.

Din hitched in a sharp breath as he strode ahead, making hurriedly for the ship.

Knowing one thing for certain…

….he couldn't lose her. Not now.

…………………………………….

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[aita-ghosting]

Was I the asshole for ghosting a ghost?

I (22f) was in a group of friends with two other girls (Names changed here to Winnie and Sarah.) who were the same age as me. Sarah and I have known each other since high school, whereas Winnie and I met at a party about three years ago now. We three became close friends leading up to Winnie's wedding, and a lot of the time it felt like Winnie and I were closer friend with each other than with Sarah.

Throughout the three years of friendship we shared many hangout days, girls nights in, and well, a lot of effort to Winnies wedding. Sarah and I ran errands, did flower arrangements in advance, and agreed to do make-up and pick things up at the last minute in our roles as bridesmaids. I even spent a night altering Winnie's wedding dress while riddled with a flu.

However, as we approached the wedding date, Sarah and I noticed a bit of a change in Winnie, particularly in her attitude towards us. She started talking to us less, and when she did it was only to ask us to do something for her. She didn't initiate hangouts anymore. Now, we thought this was to be expected at first- after all, she was about to get married and that's got to be a stressful occasion.

The wedding day rolled around and Sarah and I helped make sure the day went smoothly. We helped Winnie get ready, and did the various tasks we were asked to do- including purchasing a knife for the cake cutting.

And almost immediately, Winnie ghosted us.

It was almost like a switch had been flicked and she didn't seem to want to see us anymore. We gave it a couple of months- newlyweds are newlyweds of course- but as time went on, nothing changed. She never contacted us, and when we tried to arrange hangouts in our shared group chat she left them on read.

Sarah and I kept hanging out, and became simultaneously concerned about and admittedly a little annoyed with Winnie- she does have social anxiety, but that was never an issue in our group until she ghosted us. She had voiced in the past that she felt very comfortable around us. So it made no sense to ghost like this.

We arranged a meet up to try and discuss it with her- wanting to make sure everything was ok, and that she was ok, as well as ask her to be a bit more active in our friendship. Any friendship needs to be 50-50 and not one sided. We talked, laughed it up a bit, and ultimately it was agreed that we would all put more effort into our little group.

Six months later and still no change has happened. All attempts to contact her are ignored. Her Facebook page is filled with positive updates in her life that she hasn't told Sarah or I about.

Finally, during a break from work I am lurking around a park drinking a cup of tea and who should stroll past, but Winnie?

I walk up to her and do a goofy little dance to try get her attention- y'know, as you do. But she utterly ignored me. No eye contact, no wave, nothing. She walked past as if I were not even there, and that really hurt. Even calling her name proved useless, and I know for certain it was her. She has very distinctive hair and features.

So after a long conversation Sarah and I decided to ghost her back- unfriending, blocking, and just removing any way she had of contacting us, because evidently she didn't want to be friends anymore.

Within days Winnie had tried to message Sarah, and asked a mutual friend to find out what she had done wrong, and I told him all that I have told you.

She posted a massive rant on Facebook detailing how upset she was and how terrible "certain people" were for "dropping her like a ton of bricks" which felt wrong, as she had done it to us first.

However, part of me is worried we did the wrong thing.

Am I the Asshole for ghosting the friend for ghosting us?

TL/DR: My friend ghosted our group and after nearly a year of radio silence is furious when we unfriend her.

#aita

[callsignspark]

Mar(r)y Me - strawberry shortcake recipe

Mar(r)y Me is the love story of Bradley Bradshaw and Mariella Vertucci, as told through friendship, laughter, and food. As part of writing their story, I’m sharing the recipes for the food featured in each part. Most of these recipes are family recipes that I’ve changed and developed over the years to make them my own. Any recipes that aren’t mine will have the proper credits listed. Let me know if you make these!

The full version of part two will be dropping tonight, June 16th, at 6PM EST! See the part two teaser here!

strawberry shortcake with lemon pound cake prep time: 15 min | bake time: 75 min | makes about 12 servings

the perfect summer dessert, even if you do have to turn on the oven. or skip that step and get store-bought pound cake! the important part is that no matter what, you cover the final product in enough whipped cream that each bite gets its own fair share. (don't forget to squirt some whipped cream directly into your mouth. it's a crucial step of the baking process.) as you'll read in part two, Mary's Aunt Denna came up with the perfect sugar-to-berry ratio for this dessert, credits my own Aunt Denna for this recipe. and a special thanks to my cousin for being a terribly undatable person and her only child, so this recipe was given to me and not you! also if this recipe seems super indulgent and full of butter and sugar, that's because it is. it's pound cake.

ingredients:

1 pound softened butter (4 sticks)

2 cups granulated sugar

8 large eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

juice and zest of 1 large lemon

1-quart strawberries, rinsed and cubed

1/2 cup white sugar (for the strawberries)

1 can of your favorite whipped cream

instructions

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and flour your pan(s). I typically use a Bundt pan for this recipe.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter then add 2 cups of sugar. Beat until well mixed.

Add the eggs and mix until combined. It may help to crack the eggs into a separate bowl, whisk them some, and then add them to the batter.

Add the salt, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Then slowly add the flour, and mix to incorporate. Be careful not to overmix your batter.

Pour into the prepared pan(s).

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes* or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean**.

Allow the cake to completely cool on a cooling rack before slicing.

As the cake is baking: combine the diced strawberries and 1/2 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. Cover and let sit in the fridge for a minimum of two hours***.

To serve: cut a thick slice of pound cake, add a few spoonfuls of strawberries (be sure to add some of the strawberry syrup!), and a swirl of whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Notes *If the pan(s) you are using make the cake thinner/smaller than it would be in a Bundt plan you may need to adjust the baking time. **This means there is no raw batter on the knife. If only baked crumbs come out - it's baked, take it out of the oven. ***The juice from the strawberries and the sugar will create a simple syrup. The longer it sits, the more the strawberries will break down and create the syrup. When serving be sure to mix the berries in the syrup before spooning on onto the cake.

fic tag | main masterlist | credit for dividers here

#elle's recipes #DSS universe #MM fic #food #elle writes #mar[r]y me fic

[atths--twice]

Next chapter is ready. Hope you enjoy it.

The day spent at the wedding leads to a discussion and hopefully, some healing tears.

(Not sure if this chapter needs any type of trigger warning, but just in case… TW for discussions of narcissistic behavior and actions that come with it. ❤️)

Chapter Five

“Do it! Do it!” the crowd chanted as the bride and groom cut the cake.

“Hey!” Torin, the groom, yelled as he stepped back, holding up a hand. The crowd quieted somewhat, murmurs and laughter still heard. “I want to say two things to your… requests. First, look at my beautiful bride.”

Cheers went up as Karinne, the bride, stepped back and held up her hands, dancing in place and smiling. Torin grinned at her and nodded happily.

“Behold her dress, her makeup, her hair.” Karinne pointed to each as he said it and the crowd laughed. “Do you see how stunning she looks today? Why would I ruin any aspect of that by shoving a bite of cake into her mouth? Chance it ruining a dress she might one day want our daughter to wear? Or perhaps she’ll give it to someone who doesn’t have the means to buy a dress and she wants them to have the opportunity to feel as beautiful as she did when we got married. I don’t know what the future holds.”

The crowd was really quiet now, listening intently to Torin. He smiled at them and then at Karinne who smiled back as she tilted her head, staring at him lovingly.

“My wife… my wife, you guys…” He laughed and Karinne laughed too, taking a hold of his left arm and kissing his cheek. “Karinne is the kindest, most selfless person I know. I wouldn’t do anything to cause her undue harm. Even something as seemingly innocent as getting cake on her or her dress. I love her too much for that type of behavior.”

“Awww,” the crowd said in unison.

“And the other thing?” Karinne asked, looking up at him, her eyebrows raised.

“Right,” he said, reaching for the knife to cut their slice of cake into a bite-sized piece. “She said she’d up the life insurance policy if I even thought about it. And that I should be prepared to sleep with one eye open… forever.”

“Too fucking right,” Karinne said and her mother gasped in surprise, saying her name in a disapproving tone, as everyone else laughed and cheered.

Torin smiled as he offered her a bite of cake and she accepted it graciously. He kissed her amid more cheers and laughter. Karinne fed him a piece, kissing him again, the crowd whistling and howling loudly.

Fox laughed silently as he captured every moment, zooming in close, as he thought about how much more he now liked Torin.

So many people, men especially, found it funny to do the cake smash and he hated taking those pictures. Seeing the hidden hurt and anger in the bride's face always made him feel uncomfortable and wished he could erase the pictures, but the men loved seeing them.

The staff appeared to begin cutting the rest of the cake as he looked across the room to find Dana standing with a group of children, whom she was photographing. He smiled with a nod, thinking how naturally she had taken to the task, though she did have misgivings at first.

Earlier that morning, he had arrived at Dana’s room, all of his equipment in a large backpack and another smaller backpack, which he handed to Dana. They had then walked down to the bungalows where Torin and Karinne were staying.

“I have something I want to run past you,” Fox had said to her as they neared Torin’s bungalow.

“What’s that?” she had asked.

“I would like for you to take pictures today as well.”

“What? Why? No. I can’t do that. I’m not… You’re the photographer.”

“I am,” he had said, stopping her and smiling. “But you have a keen eye and you’ve made suggestions that have panned out to be better than my own plans.”

“That hardly qualifies me as someone who could… Fox… I don’t think…”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, just as with the room service,” he had said, smiling again and she had given him a look. “But… I think you’d be good at it. You’ve been working with me for six months. You know a hell of a lot about photography and like I said, you have a very keen eye.”

“This is a wedding. At a beautiful resort. I’ve only been to one other one with you and that…”

“That wedding was crazy,” he had said, laughing at the memory of the bridesmaids fighting and then the mothers of both the bride and the groom. The bride had cried and the groom whisked her out of the room, telling everyone to go to hell. “I’ve never been to a wedding that chaotic. I don’t think today will be that way.”

“I hope not.”

“Me too. So, whaddya say?” he had asked. “You could be… like a behind the behind the scenes photographer. I’m there to take pictures behind the scenes, get the before and after, and you could be the one who gets the pictures behind those moments. The candids and most likely unsuspecting ones.”

“I don’t know,” she had said, sighing and then shaking her head again, twisting one of her long braids as she looked around. ”I just don’t want to mess anything up.”

“You won’t,” he had assured her, smiling broadly. “The camera is in your backpack if you change your mind. Let’s get going.”

Without waiting for her to answer, he had continued walking to Karinne’s bungalow. Knocking twice, the door had opened and all the women in the bridal party welcomed him and Dana inside.

He had spoken to Karinne who was wearing a blue silk robe, her hair up in large rollers as she nursed a large cup of coffee. She had smiled and hugged him, telling him to do whatever he needed to do.

As he had begun taking pictures of the bridal party getting ready, he had looked around and seen Dana with the camera out, taking pictures of her own. Smiling with a quiet hum, he had continued his work.

They had gone over to Torin’s bungalow after an hour or so, getting some pictures of him and his groomsmen as they also got ready. Though it was early, they were enjoying some whisky along with a platter of sandwiches.

“Maybe it would be a good idea to hide the glasses for a few pictures, guys,” Dana had suggested and the men had laughed, nodding in agreement.

Fox had stepped back and let her take the lead, watching how she had handled the men and how they responded to her. They had laughed and joked, causing her to smile and tease them back, sounding a bit like her old self.

They had left the bungalows after another hour and gone to the venue, to get pictures of the reception hall, the cake, and where the ceremony itself would take place.

“It’s beautiful,” Dana had said, taking pictures of the flowered arch and looking out at the surrounding green hills. “I’m sure it’s expensive, but wow… it’s beautiful.”

They had then taken a break, grabbing a quick early lunch before the guests began to arrive and the wedding started.

Now, an hour into the reception, the music played once again as slices of cake were served to the guests sitting at the tables. People were on the dance floor, laughing and twirling around, everyone having a great time.

“No drama so far,” Dana said, coming to stand beside him.

“No,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I think we’re in the clear.” He looked at her and smiled as she watched the guests, the camera held in her hand. “You having fun?”

She looked at him and held his gaze as she let out a deep breath.

“I am. I’m not sure how good any of the pictures are, but I…”

“Will you take a picture of me?” a little girl said, running up to Fox and stopping in front of him, interrupting their conversation. “When I’m dancing?”

“Sure! Show me what you got!” he said, nodding at her and stepping with her towards the dance floor. Dana chuckled beside him and he smiled at the sound.

Two hours later, tired but happy with the job they had done, he and Dana rode up the elevator to their rooms in silence. He walked her to her room and said goodnight, taking the backpack from her.

“I think I’m going to take a bath and then sleep until check out time tomorrow,” she said, closing her eyes and sighing.

“A good plan,” he said, nodding and smiling. “Thank you for your help today. Makes it easier when there’s more than one person.”

“Thank you for letting me, no… for giving me the opportunity to take pictures. I liked it. A lot.” She smiled and he shifted the backpack to his other hand as he nodded again.

“You’re welcome. You enjoy the rest of your evening. Order some food if you like, chill out, get some sleep.”

“Thanks. Goodnight, Fox.”

“And to you, Dana.” He smiled and stepped back, waiting to leave until she closed the door and locked it.

He rolled his neck as he entered his room and set the bags down. Yawning, he stretched and exhaled deeply. He was tired, but as his stomach growled, he knew he needed something to eat.

Calling down and ordering a cheeseburger, fries, a slice of lemon pie, and a bottle of red wine, he stepped into the bathroom and took a long shower, letting the day wash off of him.

In pajama bottoms and an old college hoodie, he took out his laptop, set it onto the table and powered it up as he waited for his food. Rubbing a towel over his damp hair, he then tossed it on a chair and picked up the small backpack, curious to see what pictures Dana had taken.

He took the memory card from the camera and inserted it into the slot on the side of the computer as he sat down. When the prompt box opened, he double clicked it and watched as the many pictures began loading as tiny thumbnails. Clicking on the first one, he leaned closer to the screen.

A knock sounded at the door a few minutes later and he jumped, his heart racing. Getting up, he looked through the peephole and saw it was his food.

“Hello,” he said, opening the door and letting the young man enter his room. “Thank you.”

“No problem, sir,” the man said, smiling as he pushed the small cart to the middle of the room.

Fox reached for his wallet and took out ten dollars, handing it to the man and thanking him again as he left.

He took the plate of food off the tray and placed it beside the laptop, wanting to eat as he looked at more pictures. He picked up a fry and moved the mouse to bring him back to the pictures.

“Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “She got some great shots. So many I would have missed.” Clicking onto the next one, he sat closer and stared at the screen, the fry remaining, for the moment, uneaten in his hand.

Ten minutes later, he was on his second viewing as he ate the last bite of his cheeseburger, leaving the majority of the fries on his plate. He picked up his glass of wine and took a large drink before setting it back down.

“Just… so many,” he said, clicking on a picture and adding it to a folder he had created.

A knock sounded at the door again, quieter than before and he turned his head with a frown. Rising, he wiped his hands on a napkin and walked to the door.

Looking out the peephole, he pulled back in surprise as he unlocked and opened the door.

“Hi,” he said to Dana, who was standing there in black yoga pants, a purple fleece hoodie, and brown fuzzy boots. Her face was free of any makeup and her hair was down in loose damp curls.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“Everything okay?” he asked and she nodded.

“It’s weird, but as tired as I was just a little while ago, now I feel wide awake.”

“It’s been a long day being on the go, it catches up to you.”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip and cleared her throat. “Could I… could we… Would you maybe like to watch a movie or something?”

“Shit, I’m sorry. Come in,” he said, stepping back and gesturing for her to enter the room. “Did you eat?” He closed the door and locked it before looking at her.

“Yeah. I got a grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was really good.”

“Good. Would you like a glass of wine? Or some of the lemon pie I have there?”

“Some wine would be good, thanks.”

He poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her with a smile.

“Thanks,” she said, glancing around the room and landing on his laptop.“Oh, are you looking at the pictures already?”

“Yeah. Actually, I was feeling the same way as you- suddenly on that second wind. I was curious about the photos you took today, so I thought I’d check them out.”

“Oh… how bad are they?” she groaned.

“Bad?” he asked incredulously. “The last thing they are is bad.”

“Fox, you can be honest. I can take it.”

“I am being honest. Here, look at them with me.” He pulled over the other chair and waited for her to sit before sitting beside her and opening the folder of pictures. “Some of these are so good and if you hadn’t taken them… Well, just look.”

He clicked on a picture of Karinne looking down with a smile as her mom added a hairpin to help keep her veil in place.

“This is beautiful and something I completely missed as I was taking pictures of something else entirely. Look at the moment of softness that this one picture holds. The smile on Karinne’s face and her mother’s hands. The sureness of what she’s doing. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s…” Dana said, shaking her head as she set her glass of wine down. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

“This one,” he said, clicking onto the next one of Torin in his suit and holding his glass of whisky, one eyebrow raised as he stared at the camera. “This looks like it could be a picture you’d see in a magazine advertising suits or something. I’m going to see how it looks in black and white once I start editing, but I can honestly already tell it will be amazing. And this…” He clicked to the next one of all the men standing in a group and laughing, Torin’s head back and his hand on his chest. “This picture is so good. It encapsulates so much.”

“Fox…” Dana said quietly, shaking her head again.

“But this one…” He clicked through a few pictures until he landed on the one he wanted and he smiled. “…this one is my favorite.”

It was a picture taken of Karinne’s bridal bouquet as it lay on a table at the reception. The flowers were in the foreground and in the background, slightly out of focus were Karinne and Torin. Standing together, forehead to forehead, his hands were at her waist and there was a smile on her face.

“It captures the day so perfectly. The beauty, the quiet moments that are more important than the grandiose ones. At the end of the day, the wedding was so quick, with so many things happening all at once, but what’s left is the marriage. Those flowers might be saved or preserved, but they will still be less of what they were. The marriage is opposite. It’s the beginning of what will bloom and continue to grow. This picture…” He smiled as he stared at it and shook his head. “…it encapsulates it so well. Truly it does. I really like it.”

He turned his head to look at Dana and was surprised to see that there were tears running down her cheeks.

“What? Dana, what’s wrong?”

She stood up forcefully and walked away from him, stopping by the door and shaking her head.

“Shit,” he heard her say as she drew in a shaky breath.

“Dana?”

“I… hate him,” she sobbed out and he exhaled as he closed his eyes briefly knowing that she was not talking about Torin.

Tom.

She began to pace, shaking her head and crying, trying to speak and failing. He said nothing, letting her cry and release the hurt she had been carrying inside for far too long.

“I hate… hate myself sometimes too,” she cried. “Hate what he… how he changed me… how I let him…”

“No,” Fox said quietly, not wanting her to have that thought in her head. “He’s an abusive narcissist. He knew what he was doing and he was very good at it.”

“But I let it happen.”

“No, Dana,” he continued in the same quiet voice.

“How?” she cried. “How can you say that? You saw it. You knew. You tried to tell me. My sister said it and a couple of my friends… I just…”

“It’s hard to see it when you’re in it. Hard to know it’s bad when it feels like it’s right. And it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s hundreds of little things said or done in different ways, exactly so that you don’t see it. If it was… if he was who you know now, you wouldn’t have given him the time of day.”

“No,” she whispered. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“No,” he agreed.

“He… it was little things,” she said, sniffling softly. “Things I questioned even then, but…”

“You weren’t sure.”

“So many small things…” she said. “I like to paint. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I find it calming. I’m not an artist, but I like the things I have done.”

God, Fox thought. This asshole better not have said anything to discourage her from something she loves.

“I’d never really shown anyone. But I… I wanted to impress him, I suppose. To share more of my interests.” She let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “He didn’t say much, but it was the way he looked at them. The things he didn’t say. The frown on his face… he…”

That piece of shit.

“I put them away and played it off. Made excuses. But it hurt.”

“Of course it did.”

“After he met you, he asked me how I met you, how I had come to work for you. I told him about the day I came in. About how the picture of the little girl in the window left me curious. She was so happy and I thought- I want to know who captured that happiness so perfectly. That was part of the reason why I came in and when I did, I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It felt right to me.”

“I agree,” Fox said softly with a small smile.

“But…” She shook her head and started crying again, wrapping her arms around herself and rocking slightly. “When I told… told him that story, he… had this look on his face that made me stop before I was even finished. I asked him… what he was thinking and he said it sounded like… like I had pushed my way into your life. Like maybe… maybe you hadn’t really wanted me there, but asked me out of pity.”

“What?” Fox asked, standing suddenly to his feet, catching the chair as it tipped backwards. “He what?”

“He said that it actually went along with something that had been weighing on his mind, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything. Didn’t want it to hurt my feelings.”

“Goddamn liar,��� Fox said through clenched teeth. “What did he say?”

“He said that he had been noticing, that sometimes I’m… too much.” She sniffled and closed her eyes.

“That you’re what?” he asked, the anger he was feeling causing him to start to breathe hard.

“That I…” She looked up at the ceiling and took a few deep breaths before dropping her head and closing her eyes again. “That I can be loud. That I… draw attention to myself with my voice or how I’m dressed. That I can come on strong and that I should try to… hold back from doing that and to be aware when I’m monopolizing people’s time.”

“Fucking hell,” Fox breathed, shaking his head.

“I laughed at first, thinking he might have been joking or maybe he was jealous of you… or, I don’t know. But then… I started to think about it and I…”

“You thought he might be right.”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice barely audible.

He shook his head and stared at her as she stood there looking so small and broken. He stepped toward her and then stopped when she opened her eyes and looked back at him, her eyes full of tears. Not wanting to push her or invade her space, he stayed where he was standing.

“He lied to you. I know you know that now.”

“Yeah,” she said, angrily wiping at her tears. “Took me long enough to figure it out.”

“Dana,” he said, shaking his head.

“God,” she breathed, crying softly again.

“He is a selfish piece of shit who took advantage of your kindness and happiness,” Fox said in a low voice. “He liked it at first as it drew him to you. I’m sure he liked the attention from his friends and family when they asked after you as well. But when they showed a continued interest in you, perhaps asking too enthusiastically after you, he had to put a stop to it.”

“I don’t…” She cried harder and shook her head.

“He tried to change you because he saw you as someone happy and bubbly and while he liked that, he couldn’t have you remain that way around him. He was the alpha and you… you had to become less to allow him to keep that standing. Your brightness needed to be muted, your happiness quieted, because if it wasn’t, the focus would no longer be on him, but drawn to you. Your light needed to be dimmed to allow his to shine.”

Tears were falling from her face and landing on her hoodie. He wanted so badly to hold her and take away her pain, to remove any doubts that she had, any suffering that fucking asshole had caused her.

But he couldn’t. Not entirely.

“Dana,” he said softly and she wiped at her face with her sleeves. “I know I can’t simply say he was wrong and have you believe me, completely forgetting how he made you feel. I know that I can’t. But, he was wrong. So incredibly wrong. You are not too much, not even a little bit. He is not enough and he knows it. So he takes from others in order to be whole… to stand taller.”

“I do know that… now. It’s just…” she whispered, sniffling as she wiped her face again.

“And I did not hire you out of pity,” he continued, his voice even quieter. “Or for any other reason than I liked you.”

“I know that too. I do. It’s just…” She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I hate that he planted that seed of doubt in my head. I hate that… that I’m second guessing myself now. That I… hold back and worry about how others are perceiving me. I hate that one person can have that power. That he can…” She shook her head and blew out a breath. “That he can make me feel the way I do, like I’m disconnected from everyone and everything.”

“I know that-”

“And then you… listened to me, trusted my instincts, allowed me to take those pictures today and then actually liked them…”

She started crying again, pacing back and forth as she did. He said nothing as he watched her, cursing Tom and wishing him nothing but pain forever.

She went into the bathroom and shut the door. He heard her blow her nose and then the sink running. When she came out, she kept her head down and she held some tissues in her hand.

“Your faith in me,” she whispered, not meeting his eyes. “Hearing your praise… right now, it feels too good to be real. As if you’re telling me what I want to hear. Or what you think I want to hear.”

“I’m-”

“I know you’re not. I know,” she said, raising her head and looking at him. “I do. And before… before all of this, I would have seen what you do in the pictures. I probably would have joked that I’d be the photographer people asked for now.” She attempted a laugh, but it came out in a sob and she held the tissues to her face.

“Dana,” he breathed, closing his eyes and feeling helpless as he listened to her crying.

“I think you’re safe,” she said, ending the sentence with a small sob and he opened his eyes.

“Maybe for now,” he replied with a small smile which she tried and failed to return.

“I can’t share your enthusiasm right now. I only see what I could have done better or think that you’re just being nice.”

“I’m not. I don’t do that. You know me.”

“Yeah,” she breathed, dabbing at her eyes. “But I’m still thinking about it.”

“I know how those thoughts feel,” he said.

“I hate them,” she breathed and he nodded.

“I know you do.”

She nodded and blew her nose, putting the tissue in her pocket and using another to wipe her eyes.

“I’m so sorry you went through that,” he said quietly and she nodded again. “I’m sorry it’s… that it’s made you second guess yourself, made you feel less than you are.”

“It really fucking sucks,” she whispered and he nodded.

“I know,” he agreed. “Negative words, the ones meant to cause pain or fuel that doubt, especially spoken by someone we care about, or thought we cared about, they hold so much more power than any positive words anyone else could say.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, sniffling as tears fell once again. “It’s really stupid.”

“We’re broken that way as humans.”

“Yeah,” she repeated and then looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.

Unable to take it anymore, he walked closer and waited for her to step back if she was uncomfortable, but she did not move. Taking it as a positive sign, he put his arms around her and pulled her close. Her arms went around him almost immediately and he knew that she had needed the hug as much as he did.

“It will get better,” he whispered, rubbing her back slowly.

“You promise?” she whispered.

“I do,” he replied. “It might take awhile, but it will.”

“Yeah,” she said, letting out a deep sigh. “Yeah.”

She pulled back and blew her nose again. Walking to the trash can, she blew her nose once more and tossed the used tissues into it. Letting out a deep breath, she turned and gave him a sad smile.

“I think I should go back to my room. I’m feeling tired now.”

“Yeah. Understandable. I could walk you over.”

“You don’t…” she began and then stopped herself. “I’d like that. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he assured her and she nodded. “Would you like to bring the wine with you or the pie?”

“Maybe just my glass of wine.”

“Take the rest of the bottle, too.”

He picked up the bottle and pushed the cork into it. Handing her her mostly untouched glass of wine, he then grabbed his key card from the dresser. Opening the door, he waited for her to exit ahead of him.

She walked silently beside him, sniffling a few times, one hand in the pocket of her hoodie.

When they reached her door, she inserted her key card and opened the door.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I didn’t intend for that to happen, but thank you. For listening and… being my friend.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered back, handing her the bottle of wine. “If you’d like to take some time off-”

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to do that. I… I need to work. I need that constant right now.”

“Okay. But if you think you do and you change your mind, just let me know.”

“I will.” She smiled softly and then sighed. “Thank you for being so understanding. So… Thank you.”

“Of course,” he said, squeezing her upper arm gently. “Goodnight again, Dana.” She stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded.

“Goodnight again, Fox.”

He stepped back and smiled gently as he waited for her to walk inside and lock the door.

Sighing, his steps feeling heavy, he walked back to his room.

Pushing the food cart out into the hallway, the lemon pie untouched, he turned off the lights and closed the computer.

He brushed his teeth and used the bathroom, too many thoughts crowding around in his head.

Laying down, his thoughts traveled to Dana. He exhaled as he closed his eyes, asking the universe for help with the healing she so desperately needed.

#alternate universe #the x files #x files AU #light angst #weddings #photography #discussions #helping to heal #sadness #comfort #compassion #friendship #caring

[nolanfa]

Yay, another fic I’m gonna harass you about for two weeks! So this one is If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked a Cake, by OddityBoddity. It’s about a baking contest? Kinda? Also it’s focused on Clint&Bucky, and we clearly need more long friendship fics. Also contains the very best first paragraph, which it just so happens is what this illustration is about: “So he’s lying on his belly. Lying on his belly in an air duct that, let’s face it, was too small for him when he wasn’t in the radiation suit. And he’s lying on his belly in the air duct in a radiation suit and there’s a weight on his back, and there’s a metal arm around his neck and Clint Barton knows that there are times there’s just nothing you can do about the way things go, that there are, well, there are just some times you lose. There are those times when you find yourself with a super-soldier sitting on your back with his arm around your neck and your favourite paring knife poised to cut open your radiation suit and you know you’ve been had and you, well you find yourself thinking, Okay but seriously, seriously this was not how it was supposed to go.“ More art for this fic here (on tumblr so only published ones) or here (on ao3; new art will be added in new chapters at roughly the same time as on tumblr). This one here is the first out of five total planned (unless the pictures multiply on their own like they sometimes do). @buckybarnesbingo This is for the “seeing red“ square of the bingo, because I figure Bucky is pretty mad.

#oddityboddity #headcanonsattheendoftheline #marvel #fanart #clint barton #winterhawk #hawkeye #bucky #buckybarnesbingo2022 #fun fact: I initially fucked which arm was metal #and had to flip the entire pic #because I only realized it when *everything* was done and exported #nosart #winterhawk friendship #fandom #nosfinal #krita #made with krita #fic rec #2D