Person A works in a library and can hop into books and live in their worlds physically. Person B is a frequent library visitor who Person A has a huge crush on. So Person A finds out which books are Person B’s favorites, and starts bringing them gifts from those worlds and eventually taking them on dates inside the books.
In their casual bubble, Greg and Cynthia kept the world out, and Luis tried his best to bring ours together.
“You put on some sunscreen?” Luis asked.
I shook my head. He slapped a big scoop on his shoulder and handed me the bottle.
“Do you wanna wrinkle sooner than me?” he asked.
“No, I definitely do not .” I said.
I put some sunscreen over my face, my eyes caught in Greg and Cynthia’s little sphere.
“I’m not interested in meeting your mom right now.” Greg said.
“You say that like it’s a choice.” Cynthia said.
“Isn’t it?” he asked.
“If you’re planning on proposing to me then you must.” she said.
I handed Luis back the bottle of sunscreen. A smile drew on across his face.
“Do you want me to get your back?” Luis asked.
I paused for a second. In my mind I began to picture Luis’ skin pressing down on me. The stillness of my heart broke into a thump, a cool breeze ran down my spine and I felt the sunlight tease me.
“Paloma?”
I shook my head. Luis’ smile went away.
“When was I planning to propose?” Greg asked.
“Well after everything I thought maybe-” Cynthia said.
“Well…I don’t know. I mean we haven’t talked about it much.” Greg said.
The fire in Cynthia’s eyes slid across the grass burning a hole in Greg’s brain. He didn’t realize it or maybe he didn’t care how much smoke came out of him as a result. He just kept running his mouth never finding a place to rest. Despite her patience Cynthia looked about ready to gnaw Greg’s head off. A knee jerk reflex made me shoot up from the ground and move towards her. Similarly Luis grabbed my hand the second I moved.
“Paloma.” Luis said my name dryly.
“Cynthia I think there’s an ice cream place around the corner.” I said.
Greg shot me a stern look, the hole in his head still fresh. Cynthia put her bag over her shoulder. Greg avoided her gaze as she made her way to me. Luis let go of my hand.
“When will you be back?” Luis asked.
“When he patches himself together.” Cynthia said.
Greg turned his face away from us. I could sense Luis headbutt himself. I could hear him suppress his emotions for the sake of maintaining our relationship. Whatever that was anymore
“Well talk later then?” Luis asked.
I nodded. Five maybe fifteen minutes went by until we reached the ice cream shop across the park. Cynthia didn’t speak once as we went through the door.
“Hi, welcome.”
A tall man in a dark green apron greeted us. His name tag sat across his chest with the name Austin written in flashy colors. Cynthia ignored him. She took a glance around the shop and made her way to an empty table.
“Hi.” I said.
I approached the counter with a knot in my stomach.
“What can I get started for you?” Austin asked.
“What do you recommend?” I asked.
“We have our daily flavors, our seasonal flavors and…. Actually I may know something you might like. It’s a little out there, but it’s a nice blend of things.”
I read his flirty gesture with Luis in mind. He looked at me and I shot a quick look at Cynthia. A small laugh left my lips. Austin caught me back into his gaze.
“Is that ok?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. Sounds great.” I said.
I could feel Luis breathe behind me even when he wasn’t there. I knew the number of words he’d say to the poor guy trying to make me some ice cream. For a short moment I pictured a bruised Austin sobbing in pain as Luis stood over him. His ego once again beaten into nothing and the purple, blue, and red of Austin’s face only reflected Luis’ own beaten self.
“Great. That’ll be 12.99.” Austin said.
I handed Austin a twenty dollar bill and told him to keep the change. He put the extra money into a tip jar by the register. With a hint of red on his cheeks he smiled.
“I’ll bring it out to you.” he said.
By the time I sat down Cynthia had her eyes glued to the window.
“You think he’ll change his mind?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” I said.
She shook her head holding a strong poker face as she tapped her finger on the table.
“I wish he would just…” she paused.
Austin brought over two vibrant double scoop ice cream cups to the table.
“Let me know what you think.” he said.
“I will, thank you.” I said.
He shot me a smile while Cynthia snatched her cup up.
“Enjoy.” He said.
I took mine and Cynthia glared.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You know what I mean.” Cynthia said.
“I don’t think we are here to talk about me.” I said.
“No, but I’d rather do that right now than talk about Greg.”
“Are you sure?”
Cynthia nodded.
“OK.”
“So?”
“There’s not much to say.”
“Luis seems mad at you. I mean to me he is still thinking about-”
“Akito?”
Cynthia nods. I take a bite of my ice cream, the savory flavor mixed in with unreasonable fear. My emotions swim around then suddenly come to a stop as someone steps through the door. Austin’s voice echoes from the counter and the new customer asks for a flavor recommendation.
“You know Greg… Greg is impossible.”
“Yeah and I’d say we aren’t any different. It’s probably the reason we’re all friends.”
Cynthia’s eyebrows arch while I laugh.
“I think you mean that’s why Greg and Luis are friends.”
“I guess. I mean am I much different from either of them? If I were, maybe it would be easier to pretend like things have changed.”
Cynthia took another bite of ice cream. Akito resurfaced somewhere in the back of my mind. The thought of Luis quickly rushed in to push the memories aside.
“Why is it so hard for him? The world fell into a vortex and now things are barely back on track and… Maybe I’m wrong but nearly dying should’ve kicked his ass. I should’ve kicked his ass.”
“Everyone should kick his ass.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
A buzz came from inside Cynthia’s purse. She pulled out her phone as sparkles suddenly burst from her eyes.
“What did he say?”
“He’ll think about it.”
I scoffed a little at the phrase.
“Should we head back then?”
She shook her head.
“No, let’s just finish and go home.”
Something about her response made me feel a little better and made the ice cream taste a little sweeter.
The reason I
Use my voice
When strings tear
The sound apart
Guide my hand
From mind to paper
Kiss me ever
Good morning and good night
A touch so sweet
And lingering, yet fleeting
There is no reason to your rhyme
All the same, is there?
I wonder, do
You ever think
What thought you put inside my head? When a line cannot end
And a
thought
rips
a
part
Where are you?
Lost in fog
Again, again
I struggle to see
The point in all of this
An inspiration you are
A ghost as well
Why must your thought
Bring painful bliss so well
Must you repeat
What I already know
A speakeasy
I can never speak easy
Tiring eyes and a story undone
A song not finished
Is it ever?
The thoughts they clash
Gladiators on a map -
Can you quiet for once?
Begone, but stay
Nay, oh well
Take my hand
And squeeze
Take me into your embrace
And drown with me again
In lakes of silence
Where no soul
Will dare to find
The order to chaos
The answer to riddle
My life, you know
Is already yours
Has always been
Will it too?
It will.
My fingers tap against the wooden table as I wait for her to be done. How long can one person take? I mean, really. I was done in a matter of minutes.
The door opens. She steps out, takes one look at me and shakes her head, barely containing the tears beginning to slip down her face. I walk over, wanting to reassure her, but she shrugs away my touch.
“This is all your fault. I knew I wasn’t ready!”
“No, you were just scared.”
“Well, now I’m a failure too.”
“C'mon, you’re not-”
“Just forget it. Enjoy, I guess.”
“Lou-”
“Just… leave me alone.”
I try to follow her, to reassure her, to do anything a good friend should do, but she manages to escape me and leave me behind. I don’t even know how she escaped. One moment, she’s basically beside me, the second I’m in the middle of a crowd and she slips from my grip, knowing I’d be distracted.
“Fuck.”
I can’t go to another country alone. No, we agreed we’d go abroad together. Go to university, laugh at the locals, avoid our deadlines. Now she can’t come and I have to decide whether to give up an opportunity of a lifetime and acknowledge my dream won’t come true, or to go ahead and potentially lose my best friend.
Neither is a decision I want to make.
Instead, I end up outside a McDonald’s, looking over their menu and determining a greasy burger should help. If not for my empty stomach, then at least for future me when I inevitably decide to binge drink alcohol.
To my surprise, I receive a phone call as I bite into my burger, almost annoyed at the timing, if it wasn’t a dear beloved friend.
“What?” I say, mouth full as I answer the phone.
“Good to hear nothing’s changed,” says Isla. “Where are you?”
“Maccies.” A pause. “Hey, don’t judge.”
“There are literally thousands of Maccies in London! Which one specifically are you in?”
“Why? Aren’t you still living in the middle of nowhere?”
“Up north ain’t the middle of nowhere.” I roll my eyes. “I’m down for the weekend, but my mates have ditched me. Thought I’d see if you were around.”
“As chance would have it, I am, and very eager to get wasted.”
“Ah, now we’re talking! Send me your location?”
“Alright. But I might be done by the time you arrive.”
“Oi, nah, stay there. I’m fucking starving and Maccies sounds good.”
“I can’t just take up a seat!”
“Sure you can.”
I bite my lip and contemplate meeting her somewhere instead. But she hangs up before I can, so I send her my location and hope she’ll come fast. Partially to stop the McDonald’s staff from glaring at me, and partially to get the night started.
I lean back in my seat, send my location and relax, hoping everything will be resolved tomorrow.
this one part in particular is objectively terribly written, i recognise it, but it’s literally just fanservice for myself and i had cheese so i don’t care about anything else. i feel no shame. if this is the first time you stumble upon this story, i promise the other parts are actually better than this one.
(not a prompt but feel free to reblog and continue it, just don’t repost it)
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
synopsis: closure
Chris had been away from home a lot more than usual in the last week. The first two days, they’d told Kieran it was because they were discussing with their superiors what to do with the mess Helios had left behind, but Kieran doubted it would actually take that long.
On friday night, they finally found the courage to ask.
Chirs was washing the dishes in the sink, and Kieran was sitting at the table, watching them, indulging in the comfiness of their newfly ound home life.
“So… you’ve been working a lot lately, huh?” They remarked, trying to sound casual. “What’s that all about?”
“You know,” Chris started, scrubbing a frying pan, soap trickling down their arms, “you can’t keep living here without doing anything. I’ve been paying double for the water bill, and double for the groceries, and…” they counted every item on their fingers.
Kieran stiffened, clearly not ready to have this conversation. Sure, they’d suspected it’d happen sooner or later, but they didn’t think it’d happen now. “You can’t let them take me back there,” they defended themselves, their voice wavering a little, “please, I swear I’ll do anything-”
“Join us.”
“What?” They asked, taken aback, confused.
Chris turned around for a second to glance at them, then went back to their work. “As a Hero. It’s the only way to keep an eye on you without sending you back to jail. Join us.”
“This feels so much like a trap.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you, I just don’t trust your people,” the villain admitted before they realised what they were saying.
“I talked to them. I’ve been talking to them all week. I finally convinced them to give you a second chance. Don’t you want it?”
“I want it! I just- Why would they even accept to have me around?”
“Your potential would be so wasted,” Chris put the dishes down and dried their hands, turning to face the other. “You’re powerful.”
“I’m not!” Kieran responded, starting to lose their patience.
“You killed Helios.”
“Yeah, but only after you intervened!”
“So what? You were out of practice. That’s all.”
“I almost died! If you hadn’t been there, he would have won!”
“That’s the whole point of being a team!” Chris snapped, “Who cares if you lose when you fight alone? You won’t fight alone anymore! You will fight with me.”
They were both panting. They looked at each other, speechless, for what seemed like an eternity, before Chris spoke again.
“Please, Kieran,” they extended a hand towards them, “come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
Kieran didn’t give themselves the time to think, grabbed their hand, and pulled them into a hug, throwing their arms around them. “Thank you,” they murmured, their words muffled in Chris’s sweater, “for everything.”
Chris let out a relieved laugh and held them closer. “Is this a yes?”
“This is a yes.”
well, that’s it. the end.
Tear the sun out of the sky
Let heat engulf your chest
Tears like needles prick
Restrain the core within
Nothing will remain
Of me when I
Take my last
Won’t matter then
Nobody will
You remember me?
Endless thoughts
Seem like gust
Upon the wind
Whispers gone
Another drop
A sea of souls
Lost within
And so the poet’s words
Another song shall play
To defeaned ears and them alone
The melody, not here
Perhaps but one
Feeling I
Cannot put aside
Can put in words instead
And turn it around
Around its head,
Triumph once again?
Your words matter
So much more
Than you allow yourself
To think
Stand up, fight
Let passion grow
And pulse in evr'y vein
A voice so small
May learn to sing
And charm the audience
So now?
Nothing at all.
And yet
The world it may not change
But know:
Your breath is not in vain
“No, I don’t have a crush on you!”
“Well, I wouldn’t blame you.”
45. - a poem
I was the boat she moored in the harbor. I was neither destination nor journey–just a vehicle. At the end, the frayed rope holding me cut, and I set free.
What they don’t tell you–the hardest part–is conjuring up the helmsman you let go; it’s convincing yourself: she never leftin the first place.
Text: If no soulmate appears to you before you reach adulthood, the woods will send one. They will wander out of the trees, confused, but happy to see you.
I promise.
I lost
myself
in pieces
of your
words
I found
myself
in fragments
of myself
that you
had left scattered
behind
I gathered them
up
and created
something
new
something
stronger
than
I ever
knew
existed
-J.Wool
All writing belongs to me.
“I want to write a song as good as that!”
“Write a better one.”
Aesthetically pleasing activities that you can start doing right now:
Look, you see the stage lights? See the audience? Control your breathing now love. Your up next.
And don’t. Mess. This. Up