#he gets bored and throws fire crackers at the ground for an hour

[dykethevvitch]

the mechanisms are right. most banger character concept is definitely "guy who really likes explosions"

#gunpowder tim #the mechanisms #like i don't think it matters what he blows up or how he makes things explode #i think he'd go crazy for it everytime #like i think he'd have the time of his life with some firecrackers #I've read every highschool au in the fandom and most of them suck #the only good ones are the ones that understand that tim is a weirdo #my fav highschool au tim got kicked out jrotc wears a trenchcoat to school and regularly has kittens in his pockets #fuck i need to write a modern au where tim is obsessed with firecrackers #he gets bored and throws fire crackers at the ground for an hour

[tbtssstuff]

Hallmark Holidays || jhs

🎄Summary: After a terrible break up, your best friend convinces you to go back to your home town. Only problem was you hadn’t been back in seven years and your ex boyfriend was still there and you kinda sort of still have feelings for him.

🎅🏻Genre: Fluff, Angst, Exs to Lovers au

🤶🏻Word Count: 7.1k

❄Warnings: Just some cursing, a little sexual innuendos, but nothing bad

🎁Masterlist🎁

-TJ/ TacoAdmin 🌮

AN: This means it’s a flashback. The ending isn’t the best, but I am pretty happy with it. Sorry it’s past Christmas, but I hope everyone had a amazing holidays!

“If you do not release the ice cream, Jimin, I swear to GOD I’ll eat you!”

“Kinky.”

“Aahh!”

All you wanted to do was drown your sorrows in mint chocolate chip ice cream, but your oh so lovely best friend seemed to be having none of it.

“Jimin.” You warn. “I’m going to count to three.”

“Really?”

“One.”

“Oh come on you’re a grown woman!”

“Two.”

“You don’t even like mint chocolate chip!”

“Two and a half.”

“For god’s sake!”

Jimin hands you back the tub of ice cream and you cheer, feeling victorious no matter how childish your method was. Taking your spoon, you scoop up the ice cream and eat it, severing the nasty minty taste.

Jimin was right, you didn’t like mint chocolate chip, but it was Sean’s favorite and you missed him.

It had only been 2 months, 3 weeks, 2 day, 10 hours, and 67 seconds since the break up, but you were still feeling the effects of it.

You loved Sean.

You wanted to marry him.

But he wanted the waitress Paula.

He got her and you were left all alone to consume pint after pint of an ice cream that you didn’t even like.

Jimin sighs and plops down beside you, side eyeing you and your ice cream bucket, but you just shrug him off and continue eating. Poor Jimin has been trying for a while now to cheer you up, but considering you were dumped right before Christmas you were very rightfully upset.

“What?” You ask, mouth full of ice cream.

“You need to stop,” Jimin motions to you, “whatever this is. Sean is gone and it sucks I know, but come on! He was boring! He never laughed at my jokes.”

“Have you ever considered that you just ar-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I am funny.”

“Yeah funny looking.” You grumble and Jimin glares at you.

“Anyway! It’s been two months - and don’t say the weeks, days, and seconds cause I know you can you weirdo - and it’s December! The month of love~” he wiggles his eyebrows at you, “you need to get back out there and stop moping.”

You shrug, putting the now empty container of ice cream on the ground next to another empty container and grab your blanket to hide under, something you always did when you were sad.

“I like moping.”

From the security of your blanket you could hear Jimin sigh and then some rustling around beside you, most likely he was gathering up your mess and leaving to throw it away.

Jimin was right and you knew you wouldn’t be moping around since December was one of your busiest months at the bakery. Everybody wanted Christmas cookies, cakes, and a surprising amount of fruit cakes and you were the one they turned to.

You always wanted to own your own bakery, ever since you were a kid, and now that you had it it was a dream come true and you were happy, before the break up that is. 

You did everything you could to achieve this.

You left your hometown to move to the city. Your parents, your friends, but most of all you left Hoseok.

Jung Hoseok was your high school boyfriend and back then your best friend. He was your number one supporter and the one that got away, but while he wanted to stay in town, you wanted to move to the city.

So on graduation day you said goodbye to Hoseok for the last time and never looked back.

That was seven years ago.

“Hey!” Jimin calls, “What is a ‘Chesterfield Holiday Bake Off’?”

You flinch at the name of the bake off you participated every year up until you left. Even now your parents send you an invitation to participate in the hopes that you’ll come home, but of course you don’t. 

“It’s nothing!” You yell back and hope that Jimin would just leave it at that, but as the blanket flew off your body, due to Jimin’s nosey ass being impatient, you knew he wasn’t going to.

“Did you know you are a terrible liar? Now what is this?” Jimin waves a very Christmassy card in your face.

You groan, sitting up and snatch the card from his hand. “It’s just a bake off my home town puts on every Christmas. I participated in it every year up until I left.”

“This is the mysterious past I don’t know about? How long ago did you leave?”

“Seven years ago. Right after my high school graduation.”

“Have you ever been back?” You shake your head. “That makes sense because I’ve never seen you take a vacation or even leave the city. So why don’t you go back? I’m sure your parents miss you.”

You shrug. “Just didn’t have the time plus too many memories and I don’t want to feel anymore heart break, now can I please have the blanket back?”

“No way!” Jimin made sure to keep the blanket far out of your grabby reach, “Spill.”

“Jimin!”

“Young lady I will count to three.”

“You can’t use that! That’s my tactic!”

“One.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“Two.”

“It’s nothing interesting anyway!”

“Two and a half.”

“Fine!” You shout. “Just sit down and shut up.”

Jimin makes a happy sound and jumps onto your bed, sending you up into the air. He laughs as you glare at him.

“When I was in middle school-”

“That’s not high school! I thought we were starting there!” Jimin whines.

“And I thought I said to shut up. It’s my story I’ll start wherever I want.”

Jimin nods, his hands raised in defense. “Sorry.”

“Good. Now when I was in middle school I met this boy. His name was Jung Hoseok and I hated him at first because he stole my animal crackers - don’t look at me like that! It’s a legit reason for someone to get mad! - and that rivalry went on for a few years.”

“It wasn’t even a rivalry. What are you 2?”

“Shut up. We were 13 at the time but it still meant a lot to me, okay.”

Jimin rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Whatever.” You mock him, “But it was high school that I got to know him. He really liked dance, was really loud, but very funny. He was my best friend and then our sophomore year we started dating. We dated all the way up to graduation.”

“So what happened?”

You frown, remembering the conversation you had with him on Christmas night seven years ago.

“What do you mean you want to break up? Why?”

Hoseok tries to grab your hand, but you pull away from him, scared that if he touched you, you wouldn’t be able to follow through.

“I’m leaving for the city to go to college and I know you won’t come with me.”

“The city? W when did you decide that?”

You could feel the tears already starting to fall and Hoseok is quick to wipe them away no matter how hard you try to keep a distance between the two of you.

“Hoseok! Please!”

“No! Not until you talk to me! When did you decide? I thought we were going to college here and move in together.”

“L last month when I got accepted for the pastry college of my dreams… I never thought I would get in, but the acceptance letter came and I I had to go.”

Hoseok was quiet for a long time, his face morphing from one of sadness to one of disappointment and then to just understanding, a small smile gracing his lips making your heart clench and cry out to him.

“I get it. It’s your dream and who am I to get in the way of that? I love you y/n, but…”

“But this is goodbye.” You lean over to kiss his cheek one last time before running back to your parents, collapsing into tears the moment you got to your mom.

“I told him goodbye and never looked back.”

You looked up to see the wheels in Jimin’s head turning, already getting the feeling that this wasn’t going to be a good sign. Jimin always had a knack for getting you into all sorts of trouble and right now that was the last thing you wanted to do.

“Welp!” He finally says, springing up to his feet and grabbing your hands, tugging you out of bed. “That settles it! You’ll close up shop for the holidays and go back to see your family! You can even join the bake off!”

“What! N no way! I can’t go back! B besides I also can’t close up the shop for the holidays, it’s my busiest time!”

“I’m sure the customers will understand. Just the other day, Miss Hannigan, that chatty bitch, was saying that you work too hard and I agree.”

“No Jimin. I’m not going and that’s final.”

How the hell Jimin got you in his car for three hours was beyond you. One minute you were attempting to stand your ground and the next he basically had you tied up, packed, and already called your mother.

“I still don’t get how you got me into this.”

“Well my last boyfriend was into-”

“AH LALALA I don’t want to hear about that!”

“You asked.” Jimin huffed.

“I really didn’t though.”

“Whatever. Now direct me, woman!”

You roll your eyes and point ahead of you. “There should be an exit coming soon. Then you’ll take a left and voila there is Chesterfield.”

“I’ve never heard of this town before now.”

“No one has.” You shake your head. “It’s barely even on the map.”

The moment Jimin takes the last left, you see your old town once again in years. So many memories flooded your mind as you drove down the roads, directing Jimin to your old home.

You passed by Carl’s ice cream shop, the place where you had your first date with Hoseok, it was close to your house and always had the best ice cream even on the coldest days.

Then you passed by the old football field. You smile remembering when Hoseok climbed up the goals on a dare and was too scared to come down. 

They had to call the fire department and that was the first night you told him you loved him. You said it kind of to calm him down and stop his blubbering, but of course you meant it.

And finally you pulled into the driveway of your old house, two stories and looking like the perfect American dream house, white picket fence and all, though one peg was missing because you got so mad at Hoseok one day that you kicked it in. Ass hat had ditched you for Selena Fera, yeah it was before you were dating, but it didn’t make you any less jealous.

“So this is where you grew up.”

You nod, unbuckling your seatbelt and open the door. “Yeah.”

You didn’t know what else to say because you couldn’t believe that you were really there after all these years. Honestly you were more scared than excited.

Jimin could sense your hesitation. He knew this must be difficult for you, but it would also be very good for you to see your family again.

Getting out of the car, Jimin walks over to you, reaching out to rub your arms. “Hey, look at me. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

You smile and hug Jimin tightly, sighing happily as he started stroking your hair. Jimin and you have had a very touchy close friendship, even when you first met in freshman year in college he would hug you, hold your hand, kiss your cheek goodbye and for the longest time you thought he had a crush on you, which you didn’t want to happen since your breakup with Hoseok was still fresh, but turns out he was just overly friendly.

It also helped that he was extremely gay, but that was beside the point.

“Y/n?” You hum in response. “There is some guy staring at us and while he is super cute, it’s a bit weird.”

A guy? Was it maybe one of your brothers? You pull back from Jimin to turn around and froze when you see the guy he was talking about.

Definitely not one of your brothers.

Hoseok stood there wide eyed, seemingly frozen in time as he continued to stare at you and Jimin. He looked so different, but at the same time he hadn’t changed a bit.

His hair was still brown, but it was a little longer than you remember and he had put in blonde highlights. The glasses he always wore seemed to have been replaced with contacts, but he still wore a dorky Christmas sweater, like he did every December.

He had one for every day of the month, he loved them so much, but this one you recognized as half of a couple sweater you bought him while you were dating. It was red with green trimming, snowflakes, mistletoe and candy canes, but in the middle of his chest was a happy looking Mickey Mouse wearing a Christmas hat.

You had the same one except you had Minnie Mouse with a white and red bow on yours. You hadn’t seen that sweater in years which made sense because you left it here when you left. Too many memories of the two of you in those sweaters.

You couldn’t even find the words to greet him, you just stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Y/n?” Jimin shakes you and you blink, trying to gather yourself.

“H Hoseok! Hi. It’s been…”

“A while, yeah.” He finished. “How have you been?”

“Good! Good…”

“Awkward… OW!” Jimin rubs his arm where you punched him. “What! It is.”

“Doesn’t mean you get to comment on it.” You turn to Hoseok. “Sorry about him.”

“It’s okay. You two seem happy together.” You didn’t miss the hint of bitterness in his voice, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of Jimin gagging.

“ME dating HER?! No way!”

“Wha- hey! What’s wrong with dating me?!”

“Well for starters you take forever in the shower.”

You continued bickering with Jimin over reasons not to date you. It went on for so long that you didn’t even notice your brother had come up behind you guys.

“Y/n!” You turn around at the sound of your brother’s voice, now ignoring Jimin, “Taehy- What the fuck are you wearing?”

Taehyung looked down at his outfit, one eyebrow raised. “What do you mean? I think I look amazing. Thank you very much.”

While yes he did, he also looked extremely ridiculous. His hair was longer than you remember, blonder too, slick back with only a few strands falling out of place, but what really got you the most was the fact that he was wearing the most outrageous suit and tie you had ever seen.

It was like an ugly Christmas sweater, red and green striped with Christmas trees, reindeers, and snowflakes, but turn it into a suit with a matching tie.

“Mom got it for me.”

You nod. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“Whatever.” Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Now come here and give your brother a hug! I haven’t seen you in years!”

It had been years and honestly you did miss your brother. That was one of the many things you regretted about leaving and taking so long to reach back out to them, but out of everyone, Taehyung understood why you hadn’t. 

Rushing over, you wrap your arms around Taehyung’s waist, burying your head into his chest and enjoying the feeling of him. Taehyung hugged you tightly as if he was afraid you would disappear at any moment.

“I missed you sis.” He whispers.

“I missed you more.”

“Ahem,” You both looked over to Jimin who was still standing there with Hoseok, “Hi. I’m Jimin, Y/n didn’t tell me she had an attractive brother.” You groan as Jimin shakes Taehyung’s hand.

Taehyung chuckles shyly, “Thanks, but she doesn’t talk about me much. I’m Taehyung and I see you’ve met Hoseok.”

“Speaking of, what brings you over here Hoseok? If my memory is correct you live a few streets over.” You release Taehyung, making sure to keep Jimin a good distance away from your brother.

Hoseok blinks, surprised you remember that about him, but he just lifts up two bags he was holding instead.

“Your mom asked me to bring over some ingredients for dinner. She couldn’t go out to get them and she said she was having a lot of guests over tonight, but…” He paused, his eyes shifting between you and Jimin, “She didn’t tell me you were coming. If I had known I would have picked up that sparkling cider you love.”

Your cheeks flush. Would he really have if he knew? How could he just say such nice things after you left and never returned? Here you were feeling awkward, but he was as warm and welcoming as ever.

“Sorry about her, here I’ll take those.” You reach for the bags, but Hoseok instantly moves them out of your reach, a soft smile on his face.

“No no! She asked me, besides you need to bring your luggage in.”

You huff because you knew he was right and he wouldn’t let you help. It was always his thing, stubborn till the end.

“Alright fine.” You make your way over to the trunk of the car, popping it open to grab your bags.

Jimin helped you grab everything and haul everything inside and in your mind you mentally prepared to see your parents after all these years.

The next few days weren’t as bad as you thought they would be.

Your parents welcomed you with welcoming arms, plus a few dozen tears from your mom, you met your brother’s husband Yoongi, and all in all you were having a fun time.

“I still can’t believe you are really here, Y/n.” Your mom smiled, scooting closer to you. “I was starting to fear I would never see you again.”

You chuckle a little awkwardly, “Yeah I’m sorry. The bakery has been really really busy.”

“Too busy to at least send a postcard? Or a text?”

“Taehyung I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Yeah but-”

“Shush! Anyway I’m sorry mom.”

Your mom waved her hand, her smile causing wrinkles to form in the most endearing way. “It’s alright really! Say why don’t you all go down to the rink and skate? I know it was your favorite growing up.”

She was right, it was your favorite thing to do during winter. You have been going since you were four and then when you started dating Hoseok he would take you there all the time and sometimes he would even bring his little sister. Sure she was two or three, but they like to teach them to skate young around here.

Jimin leaned over. “This place has an ice skating rink?”

You shake your head. “No it’s not really an ice skating rink. It’s a pond in the middle of town that freezes over in the winter. All the kids go there and it’s a lot of fun. Do you know how to skate?”

“Honey,” Jimin scoffs, “I’m gay and spent an entire year in New York. I know how to skate.”

You roll your eyes and laugh at your friend because of course he would have a comeback like that.

“Yeah mom that sounds like fun.”

“And if you are lucky Hoseok will be there.”

Ever since you came back your mom has been trying to get you back together with Hoseok. It started with her having him bring her the ingredients for dinner, since she knew you would be there by the time he arrived, and she insisted he stay to eat.

She would continue to talk about how in love you two were in high school, how great of friends you were, everything. Her last effort of the night was having you see him out which put the two of you under the mistletoe that she strategically placed there.

She was sad when she saw Hoseok only kiss your cheek and not your lips while you were surprised he even did it.

You didn’t even answer her, instead you got up and went to grab your coat. “Come on Jimin. Tae, Yoongi, you coming?”

“Why not.” Taehyung gets up from his seat and Yoongi follows him. “Sounds like fun.”

“Don’t mock me.”

The sound of children laughing and Christmas music fills your ears when you step out of Jimin’s car. You smile remembering the times you had here before.

“Hey Taehyung does Namjoon still work around here?”

“Yeah, but now they’ve got him watching the children while they skate. You know to make sure that no one gets hurt.”

“Like a winter lifeguard?”

“Yep.”

You never thought you would see the day that THAT became a thing, but here it was. You shake your head and start for the frozen pond with your group, but quickly stop when you catch a glimpse of Namjoon standing off to the side.

God he looked even better than you remember and you just know that Jimin will try to hit on him and after seeing him try (and fail) to flirt with your brother, you didn’t want to see that again.

Grabbing Jimin’s arm, you yank him to a stop. 

“Ow! What the hell?!”

“Okay look,” You start, “ My friend Namjoon is working over there and after the failure of a flirting you did with my brother-”

“How was I supposed to know he was married?!”

“The ring gave it away. Anyway, I don’t want to see it again so I’m going to tell you this now. Do NOT flirt with him.”

Jimin rolls his eyes and yanks his arm away from you. “I’m not going to ffff-”

“Hey y/n! Long time no see.” Namjoon smiles as he appears out of nowhere to hug you.

“Fucking hell okay..” Jimin finished.

“Who’s your friend?”

You inwardly groan before motioning to Jimin. “Namjoon this is my friend, Jimin. He was the one that got me out here in the first place.”

“I bet that wasn’t easy. Good job Jimin.” Namjoon smiled, his dimples on full display, patting Jimin on the back. “We are all so glad to see y/n back.”

“It was a challenge.” Jimin scoffs, “especially because she was just dumped by her long term boyfriend so all she did was lay around and mo- AAHH!”

Jimin shouts as you shove him off his feet and into a pile of snow.

“THAT’S COLD YOU BITCH!!!”

“Well you didn’t have to open your big mouth!”

“Is that true?”

You turn around to see Hoseok standing behind you guys and beside him was his little sister.

Why? Why did he always have to be around when the most embarrassing things were being said about you?

“Hoseok!” Namjoon cheered. “And little Mei! Glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss ice skating ever Joon.” Hoseok smiled, but his eyes never left you.

There was something in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place, but before you could even begin to figure it out you were ambushed by the tiny little girl by his side.

“Y/n!” Mei rushed over to hug you, her tiny hands pulling on your coat. 

You smile and lift her up, spinning her around, Mei’ laughter increased. “Hi there little Mei! I’m surprised you remember me!”

Mei giggled. “I may have been young, but I wouldn’t forget the girl my big brother is in love with!”

“Mei!”

Maybe if he was always there for your embarrassing moments it was worth it because you seemed to be there for his as well.

“Was little Mei.” You chuckle, missing the sudden sadness on Hoseok’s face. “Things are a bit different now.”

“I’ll say.”

You all turned towards the voice and what you saw absolutely horrified you. Selena Fera was sauntering over with a wicked grin on her face, wrapping her arms through Hoseok’s once she reached him. “He hasn’t been into her since she just up and left him. So selfish.”

Selena Fera has been after Hoseok for as long as you could remember, she even tried stealing him from you while you were dating and just like back then you wanted to rip the fake blonde hair out of her skull.

Though not like you could. Hoseok wasn’t your boyfriend anymore so you had no reason to be jealous anymore.

But you were.

Maybe your love for Sean wasn’t as strong as you thought if you were still thinking about Hoseok. Truth be told you always thought about him. He was always there in the back of your mind, but it was too late.

“Selena,” Hoseok greeted the blonde leech with a smile that hurt you, “I didn’t know you would be here.”

“Of course I’m here!” Selena smiled back at Hoseok, tossing her hair behind her as she spoke and you rolled your eyes, “I wasn’t about to pass up a chance to skate with you.”

Not wanting to see this anymore, you put Mei down and grab her hand, grinning down at the little girl. “Come on Mei,” You tug her towards the ice, “I’ve been dying to skate since I got here, but I can’t quite remember how. Do you think you could show me?”

You still remembered how to ice skate and it was really just an excuse to get out of there, but the bright look on Mei’s face made it that much more worth it. She nods enthusiastically and practically runs over to the frozen over pond with you in tow.

After an hour of skating with Mei - and watching Jimin show off for Namjoon - you had almost forgotten about Selina and Hoseok.

Almost.

Every now and then they would skate by you, her arms still locked around Hoseok’s and still with a smile on her face. They looked like a couple and it made you sick to your stomach.

Why hadn’t he pushed her off? Even though he was the nicest person you had ever known, Hoseok wasn’t the biggest fan of Selina. Has that changed since you’ve been gone? Who knows, it could have.

“She is just an annoying little tart isn’t she?”

“Yeah.” You nod. “She is, but what can you do about it?”

Jimin just shakes his head, not really knowing the answer. “How are you holding up?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh please!” He scoffs, moving to skate circles around you, “I know you are jealous and I’m ecstatic you are finally starting to get over boring mc boring! I like Hoseok. He laughs at my jokes and he looks at you in a way Sean never did. Are you going to take this lying down?”

“Take what? There is nothing to take. He’s obviously moved on with Selina, though I’m not sure how they would have gotten together, but stranger things have happened, and it’s not fair for me to step in.”

Jimin knew you were half right, if Hoseok did move on you shouldn’t step in, but he could just tell that he hadn’t moved on so you absolutely had a shot.

One he believed you should take.

Though not one he knew you were going to take without a little help.

Mei tugged on your coat, looking up at you with big puppy dog eyes. You knew right then whatever this child wanted you were going to give her instantly and with no questions asked. “Y/n can we get hot chocolate? I’m cold.”

Mei? Cold? Well you weren’t about to have that! You agreed (because of course you were going to. Like come on!) and took her tiny hand to take her over to the hot chocolate stand not too far from the frozen lake.

“You’ve got a hard look on,” Namjoon skates up beside Jimin, “What are you thinking about?”

“Y/n is not going to admit that she still has feelings for Hoseok or that he obviously still has feelings for her. It’s honestly frustrating to watch and I want to help her.”

“Well why don’t we team up then?”

Jimin looks up at Namjoon with wide eyes. “Team up?”

“Yeah,” Namjoon nods, his eyes looking ahead at Hoseok and Selina. He knows his friend and it was like Jimin said, it's difficult to watch him be miserable without you, “I know Hoseok is still in love with her and I want to help him. He hasn’t been the same since she left.”

“Then partners in love?” Jimin offered his hand to Namjoon, like striking up a deal.

Namjoon takes Jimin’s tinier hand into his, shaking it firmly. “Partners in love.”

Christmas Eve was approaching fast and it seems like all of Namjoon and Jimin’s plans haven't been working.

They even recruited your mother to help, but nothing!

No matter what they did Selina seemed to invite herself each time. Christmas movies at the drive in, she was there, dinner at the nicest place in town, she was there. Everywhere and Hoseok let her join each time.

Now the three of you were at the mall in the next town over trying to get last minute presents for your family. You felt bad that you didn’t think to get them anything and while you were here Jimin and Namjoon kept talking up Hoseok and how the two of you are and were.

“Okay I see what you are doing.” You tap your foot, arms crossed as you glare at Jimin and Namjoon. “It’s obvious and I don’t appreciate it!”

“I I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Save it, Jimin. You two, plus my mom, are trying to get me and Hoseok back together. Guys he's dating Selina! Can’t you see that?”

“No I promise he isn’t.” Namjoon interjects, his hand grasping Jimin’s. “He’s never gotten over you! Hoseok hasn’t been on a date since you left!”

“People change! Namjoon please.” You sigh and start away from the two. “I don’t want to interfere.”

“But he hasn’t! He’s still in love with you!”

“How do you know?!”

“Because he’s my best friend!”

You stop and turn back to them, scanning their faces to try and determine if they were telling the truth. Was Hoseok still in love with you? But Selina and him are so close. There was no way. They were just pulling your chain.

Jimin could sense your hesitation and, as your best friend, was instantly there to soothe them over, letting go of Namjoon’s hand to rub your arms. 

“Hey hey, look at me. I know what you are thinking and I promise you he is still in love with you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and you still love him. Even when you were dating Sean I could tell there was something off and now I know it’s because of Hoseok.”

“I don’t know Jimin.” You sigh.

“Well I do! Come on at least try?”

You knew they would never let up and maybe, just maybe, Hoseok still did love you like you did him. After a second of thought, you look between Jimin and Namjoon. “Alright.”

Jimin and Namjoon high five and you shook your head at them. They’re happiness was contagious though as you felt yourself getting hopeful and happy.

The feeling only intensified when you picked out Hoseok’s Christmas gift, a couples Christmas sweater that says All I Want For Christmas is You, which was the song you sang to each other every Christmas, you were planning to give it to him before confessing, and on the way home when all you could do was imagine his face when he opened it.

“He’s going to love it.” Jimin cheers as you all get out of the car, “And he’s going to love you.”

You laugh at your friend, giddily walking up to your home. Nothing seemed to be able to dampen your mood, not now when you were thinking that maybe just maybe you would have a chance with the man you’ve always loved.

You open the front door and come face to face with Hoseok himself.

“Oh!” You say, quickly hiding his gift behind your back, “Hoseok! Hi.”

“Y/n! Hi back.” He smiled down at you, a certain gleam in his eyes. “What are you hiding?”

“Oh it’s nothing. What are you doing here?

“Just dropping off some stuff for you mom.”

“Again?” You shake your head. Your mom seemed to always be asking Hoseok to get her something and while before you wished she would ask dad so you wouldn’t have to see him so much, now you were happy for it. Now that Jimin and Namjoon put the hope back in your heart you were more happy than ever to see him again. “She really likes having you as her errand boy huh?”

Hoseok laughs, his lips turning into the shape of a heart, which was your favorite thing. You loved his smile more than anything and it was definitely contagious as your cheeks started hurting from how wide you were grinning.

“Yeah, but I don’t mind. She’s family.”

Family. He thought of her as family. It made you wonder what he thought of you, but that was a question for a different time.

“Are you coming over for Christmas this weekend?”

“I don’t know.” Hoseok walked past you and you turned with him to make sure he couldn’t see behind your back because you knew that’s what he was trying to do. “Did you have something to give me?”

Your cheeks flush. “Maybe.”

“Well then I will be here, but for now I do have to go.”

Hoseok nods at you one last time before taking his leave. You watch a little love struck as he walked down your driveway until he got stopped by someone.

Someone you never wanted to see.

“Hoseok there you are! I was waiting for you!” Selina pouts, wrapping her arms around his waist, like he was her boyfriend. Your heart twisted at the sight. “I was worried.”

You couldn’t hear what he said, but that was because he spoke in a hush tone, his eyes darting towards you and your group. Then you saw Selina smirk, lifting herself on her toes to kiss Hoseok on the lips.

Your eyes bulge as the world around you slows down.

Her lips pressed and pressed against his.

But the worst part was that Hoseok didn’t pull away.

Of course he wasn’t. Why would he? You told your friends from the start that they were dating and they got your hopes up anyway. This was the feeling you wanted to avoid by not coming back here in the first place. 

Your heart was torn in two and you felt numb.

Without another word and before you could start crying for all to see, you turn on your heels and storm inside, throwing Hoseok’s gift in the trash.

“Y/n wait!” Jimin called after you, taking the gift out of the bin and rushing up to your room, but you had shut the door in his face. He banged on the door. “Please open up!”

“No!” You cry. “I’m going home, Jimin!”

Jimin clutched at the gift, biting his lip thinking about how to get you to stay. It was obvious you were heartbroken, but there was no way Hoseok wasn’t in love with you. This must have been a mistake and he had to fix it.

Or at least try.

“Y you can’t leave! What about the bake off? Remember it was why we came here?”

Of course you couldn’t leave because of the bake off. It was brilliant and would give Jimin time to knock some sense into that asshole down in the driveway.

Silence greeted him and Jimin sighed in relief. He knew he had won when he heard the door lock click and the door open, but then his heart dropped upon seeing you.

Tears rolled down your cheeks and your eyes were red and puffy. Jimin had never seen you this broken before not even when Sean dumped you.

“I I hate when you're right.” You whisper, hand coming up to lightly hit Jimin’s chest. “I hate it…”

Jimin smiled sadly and brought you into his arms, stroking your hair in order to calm you down.

“I know you do.” Was all he could say as you cried into his chest.

Hoseok has tried to get a hold of you all week and nothing.

He needs to explain to you that Selina kissing him meant nothing. In fact the moment he realized what was happening he pushed her off of him and turned to see you were already gone.

Of course you had seen. Of course you did and it was just his fucking luck.

Now that you were back and with everyone on his side to win you back, something like this was bound to happen.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be for you and him.

But if so why did it feel so good when you were together? You were his other half and now he fucked it up.

Well not him.

Selina did.

Once he realized he wasn’t going to be able to get a hold of you, Hoseok reached out to Namjoon, who surprisingly answered him on the first ring.

“You better fucking explain yourself.”

Hoseok blinked as he heard Jimin’s voice over the phone. He was with Namjoon?

“Jimin?”

“No it’s the sugar plum fairy. Of course it’s me! Now what the hell?!”

“I know!” Hoseok groans, “I don’t know what happened! One minute I was trying to figure out what Selina was talking about and next thing I know she’s kissing me! Which I didn’t want to happen by the way and when I realized it was happening I pushed her away. I only love Y/n and now I’ve ruined my chance.”

Jimin scoffs, “Yeah no shi- Wah! Hey stop!”

Hoseok could hear a struggle on the other line before Namjoon’s voice came on instead. “You did mess up, but it’s savable.”

Savable? How was this even possible?

“How?”

“Well Jimin told me he got Y/n to stay around for the bake off, remember that event? You judge it every year. So obviously you had to see her and let’s be honest she’s going to win.”

Hoseok chuckles, remembering all the times you competed in the bake off when you were younger. Looking back he really should have seen you owning your own bakery one day. You were amazing. “Yeah I remember, but what does that have to do with it?”

Hoseok could hear the smirk in Namjoon’s voice as he started explaining the plan.

Christmas Eve was finally here as well as the bake off.

You really didn’t want to participate, but you knew you couldn’t just up and leave as well. Jimin would never let it go.

Thankfully you didn’t have to think about much during the competition as your mind was completely filled with recipes and measurements. It was the one thing you loved more than anything about baking. You loved that you could just zone out and just bake all your worries away.

You were so lost in your own little world that you didn’t even acknowledge Hoseok sitting at the judging table. His eyes held a mixture of sadness and pride.

His eyes never left you until the timer hit zero and the bake off was done. Now he had to focus on tasting everything that was presented for him, though he thought back to what Namjoon had said.

Let’s be honest she’s going to win.

He knew Namjoon was right and the moment he took a bite of your white Christmas cake it was a no brainer.

After a short discussion with the other judges, Hoseok takes his place at the podium.

“After talking with my other judges, we have come to a conclusion, but before I announce the winner there is something I want to say.”

The crowd murmurs among themselves and you turn to Jimin, eyebrow raised. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t know.” Jimin shrugs, but you knew he was lying because there was a slight smile on his face.

“As you all know, seven years ago I lost the love of my life. Recently she has come back into my life and honestly I’m not sure how to react to it. I was more than happy the first time I saw her because I never thought I would see her again.”

Your heart stops. He was talking about you? But what about Selina? This must be some kind of ploy and you didn’t want to be a part of it. You didn’t even care if you won so you tried to leave, but Jimin quickly grabs your arm.

“Wait!” He pleads, “Stay please.”

“Y/n you’ve got it wrong about me and Selina. I don’t like her. Not even in the slightest. I know you saw the kiss, but she kissed me and when I realized what was happening I pushed her off. It’s always been you. I love you. Mei loves you, which means a lot to me. I want you back and if that means moving to the city to fight for you I will. I’m not going to give you up. Not this time and not again.”

He must be joking, but deep inside you knew he wasn’t. Hoseok wasn’t the type of guy to do that. Tears fall from your eyes as it finally sinks in just how much he means it. Hoseok was really in love with you just like you were him.

“Y/n?” He called. “Please.”

“Go!”

You nod at Jimin and rush through the crowd to get to the stage. Hoseok’s eyes light up when he sees you, extending his hand to pull you up to him.

“Did you-”

“I did.”

“Really?”

“Really really. I love you Y/n and I’m not letting you go.” Hoseok wraps his arms around you, pulling you close to him. “I don’t expect you to be all in right away but-”

You cut Hoseok off with your lips, wrapping your arms around his neck, smiling as you feel him eagerly kiss you back.

The crowd cheers for the two of you, the competition long forgotten, but no one cared.

You felt like you were on cloud nine and nothing could bring you down.

This really was the best Christmas ever and one you would never forget.

#castlebangtan #jung hoseok x reader #hoseok x reader #bts x reader #bts christmas #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts scenarios #hallmark holidays #tacoadmin #tbtsstuff

[sticks-and-stone]

Potts Preserve

September 21, 2019 - September 22, 2019

This was my first time camping since February when I went with my roommate and the dog we had at the time. Before that it was just camping with my father as a kid or drunk with my friends in high school (trips I almost don’t remember at all). So this trip was a pretty big deal with very few expectations or preparedness. I wanted to find a hobby that would not cost much, but would require significant planning and time out of my life before, during, and after. So camping seemed like a good fit. I decided to start planning monthly trips. So this was the first one!

When I first decided to go on this trip, I had next to no supplies. I wanted to go with whatever I had or could improvise as a way to get started on a list of things I wanted to add to my kit. What better way to figure out what I needed than to realize it in the moment! 

This trip was only going to be a quick overnight so that in the event that we realized we had too little, we wouldn’t be stuck out there for days. I found a site that was owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and was free to use with a reservation. So I booked the site and called up an old friend, Jenna. Jenna and I did a lot of drunk camping together in high school and she had a foundation of camping with her own father as a child, so I knew she would be right for the job. She and I had also gone a long period of time without hanging out, so it was a good opportunity for us to catch up! 

When we began planning this trip, I had a tent, and some other small stuff, but not a whole lot of anything else. We borrowed a cooler from my roommate, a chair from my parents, and just bought beer on our way out to the campsite.

I wanted to get a good night’s sleep before getting up midmorning on Saturday to meet Jenna and go, but I ended up staying up late. Like a child before her first trip to Disney World, I was restless, excited, and hyperactive. When I woke up (too early) the next day, all that excitement was squashed when I realized I had started my period. I was worried this would happen, but I was hoping my Day One would be on Sunday, but alas, I was going to have to go camping on my period. And not just any camping trip, a camping trip that I wasn’t totally sure I was prepared for. As it turned out, the portable toilets were close and clean enough for me. YAY!

Jenna showed up exactly on time - I really have to give her props for that. She helped me load up the car and then we took off! We stopped at my parents' house (they were out of town) for a little firewood and one of their camping chairs (Jenna did not have one) and also at a gas station for beer and snacks. Then we were on the road for real; it was about midday.

The drive down was quicker and easier than we expected. After not seeing each other  for a few years, we had PLENTY to talk about and catch up on. She told me about all of her drama, I told her about all of mine. It was lovely. We arrived at the campground without getting lost or even a little turned around at all. There were about 4 other groups there already set up and as it was late afternoon on a Saturday, everyone seemed to be pretty settled in. 

We found our spot. Unlike the other spots that people had set up around us, we did not have a fire pit, a picnic table, or a grill. Everyone else seemed to have all three. We didn’t mind and we found a nice flat place to lay our tent out. We found out later that what we chose was not a spot at all and that we were not even supposed to be back there. 

We got the tent set up and I began to work on the air pump that I had borrowed from my roommate. I needed to strip the wire so that I could split it and plug it into the car battery that dad gave me to run the fan. We had no other form of electricity and no other way to pump the air mattresses up. I broke it. I ended up strippping the wires too much and the whole contraption became non-functional. We were only there for one night, though, and what’s sleeping on the ground other than the authenticity of a camping trip? 

From the time of arrival until just before dusk (about 3 hours) we thought it would be nice to open up the tent to allow the breeze and light to enter it. Well, neither did and what did enter our tent was about 10,000 love bugs. So I went in there with our one bottle of bug spray and closed myself in. I held my breath and sprayed the shit out of the aerosol canister until I was sure everyone was dead and I could not hold my breath any longer. 

To give the homemade bug bomb a chance to work, we decided to explore the area and go on a hike. We made it about a mile away from camp and it started raining. The trail seemed to come to a dead end so we just turned around and went back. I have a terrible sense of direction and would have honestly gotten completely lost if it hadn’t been for Jenna to guide us. 

We got back to camp after our hike and I checked on our tent - no more living love bugs, but piles of dead ones on the ground. It was gross. I got Jenna and the broom and we got rid of as many of the dead bodies as we could. We would shake the rest out the next day when we packed up to leave. 

We sat around the fire and played the guitar for a bit when suddenly I realized that we were going to get bored. We had been drinking beer since we arrived and we'd been going through it pretty fast. I never really thought about how to pass the time.  

I went walking around looking for firewood. I had nothing to chop it with or nothing to cut the large limbs, but I could use leverage and my body weight for most of the work I needed to do. 

The entire time we were there, I made sure to keep a list of all the things I thought about having that we didn’t have. The first being string, the next, an air pump that plugged into the car. Then a sponge. I started to realize that we had enough to survive in the woods, but we did not have enough to THRIVE. This trip was rough supplies-wise, but we made do. Thankfully we brought enough beer to ward off TOO much boredom.

As the sun went down and the alcohol made its way further into our bloodstreams, we decided we were hungry and wanted to eat the food I had brought for us. What I had brought was really simple. It was two pre-made PB&J sandwiches, pre-made mac and cheese, and PB&J crackers. 

Dinner was a disaster. The sandwiches I made got soggy from the ice melting and the container failing to do its job in the cooler. The mac and cheese was attempted cold, but then it was decided that we would put it in the pot in the fire and see if we could heat it up. That actually worked out pretty well - but was all we had. Luckily, Jenna came armed with hummus and crackers and had bought some beef jerky at the gas station. 

We went to sleep soon after dinner and made sure we got nice and drunk first because we had forgotten that we were sleeping on the ground that night. After all the alcohol, I was ready to crash. My body temp was high though so I put on the fan and slept on top of my blankets. 

About halfway through the night I was woken up by the feeling of my bones turning to ice and cracking. I was violently shivering in my bed and wasn’t sure my toes were still attached to my body. I had to pee too. So I stood up clumsily in our little tent and put on my shoes. I looked over and Jenna was fast asleep but now wearing more clothes than she went to bed in - I guess she woke up the same way I did.  

I walked to the bathroom and peed. I took comfort in the smelly plastic bin as it seemed to have held on to the day’s heat and trapped it inside. I was suddenly disgusted with myself for enjoying a port a potty, so I walked back to the tent. 

When I got inside I turned off the fan. I looked through my suitcase - nothing but more short sleeved shirts and shorts. I took my shoes off but left my socks on and covered them with a second pair. I took the folded king-sized sheet off of my deflated twin size mattress and used that as extra cover in addition to the small throw blanket I had.  I was able to make it a few more hours like that until the urge to pee woke me up again. 

This time, it seemed warmer outside the tent so I took my double pair of socks off and slipped on flip flops. Jenna was still asleep so I stumbled out of the tent toward the bathroom. I handled my business and came back to the tent - this time, no lingering in the port-a-potty for warmth. 

As I approached the site, I saw Jenna moving around outside the tent with her flashlight. I assumed she was doing the same thing I was - taking a midnight pee - but as I got closer I could see that she was in fact setting up the fire. As I got close enough I asked if she was trying to warm up so she could sleep, and she looked at me confused and said “No, this is today’s fire, it’s 6:30”. I was shocked and confused, but proud that we had made it to morning.

We had no breakfast. So we drank more beer. We were out of water, so I decided it was time to leave. We packed up quickly and cleaned the tent and tarps and then we were on our way out. 

As we tried to exit the gate, our code wouldn’t work and we had to wait for a forest cop to show up and let us out. We probably waited an hour or so, but when he finally did arrive, he was super nice and as it turns out, from Jacksonville! We chatted with him for a while until a car pulled up behind us. We were finally on our way home! 

The ride home was a bit different than the ride there. We double and triple checked my list and talked about all of the things we HAD to get for next time, which things I already had at home, and which things needed to be purchased. Overall the trip was fine, we decided, but we could do WAY better. 

Observations: 

SO MANY LOVE BUGS - they literally covered everything 

We needed to pack the car more strategically - we had to pull everything out to get to the tent and table that we needed to set up first 

We needed rope/string

More stakes for the tarp and the tent would not be a bad idea 

A table or some platform to unpack on would be handy 

Our air pump broke - we needed one that plugged into the car. 

It's super important to keep the tent closed completely. 

We needed a shovel to dig out the fire pit 

We needed more lights around the site - the fire was not enough 

Citronella candles would not be a bad idea either 

Should have brought extra bug spray

We didn’t have much to do beyond sitting and drinking beer. We vowed to bring at least some books and crafts for next time. I want to learn to whittle. 

I needed to stay more organized with the supplies as we unpacked. Things got messy.

Get Outside, 

Stone.

#camping #outdoors #tent camping #tent #adventure #Potts Preserve #SWFWMD #Florida

[helloitsme103]

In This House

Part 1?

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” I mumble under my breath. It’s been years since someone has entered his house. Longer since they were pretty like this one was. “Who are you?” He barked from the love seat. He was bleeding pretty badly. The remains of his shirt were pathetic for him but entertaining for me. I swear to god, or whichever one made this man, they were gracious to this guy for sculpting him into a model of a being. “Oh calm down hun. You ain’t gonna die on me. Not today. No sir.” I call from the retro kitchen I call my lab. It was cute for what it was. Black and white tiles for floor and complentary back splash with accents in the form of of yellow painted cabinets and silver appliences that were seemingly updated every few years. Or.. what counts as years in a place like this. From the doorway I hear a very much irritated and painful groan. “Okay-Okay-! Hold on now!” I call as I turn off the sink. I quickly get the bucket of water from the sink- carefully though since we don’t want that baby to spill- and a med kit from my side cabinet. “On my way hunny!” I scurry into the more modern living room. The floors a dark brown and the furniture being a contrasting white. Light, sky blue walls make a more cheerful welcome than that of the hot mess of the man bleeding out on my favorite love seat. “I swear, you need to take a chill pill sometimes y’know that?” I remind him ask I make my way towards him. “W-who?” He asks through his grogginess. “Great. Left you out too long. Hold on.” I pop open my kit and take out a jar of powder I wish I could keep. With a few twists the top of the jar comes off with a satisfying pop. “God this is my favorite part.” I say just loud enough to get his attention. “Wha-” I smirk as I shover this under his nose. Direct hit. He inhales and goes into a coughing fit. Thank god I’ve done this for as long as I have. “Oh calm down hun, it wont kill ya.” I look through my bag, all the while ignoring his curses and comments. “Calm down why don’tcha. Take a seat, have a load off.” I tease while looking up and down at him while I still have a chance. Again, what a looker we have. Blonde hair, nice blood red eyes, wonder who gave him all these slashes. Again, rest in pieces his..? Is this a suite? I reach out for his chest, eyes locking his. “Whatcha doin?” He snarls. “Im going to remove your shirt.Is that alright?” For a moment he glares at me. “Not gonna drug me or some shit?” His shoulders tense a little. “Okay for one, the thing you just smelt was supposed to keep you awake and numb you up. Can have you falling asleep on me right now.” I hear him growl but his muscles loosen up. “As for everything else after this, which I don’t think I’d need to give you, I’ll always ask for your consent first. Got it?” I turn back to my kit and pull out another jar. When I turn back to him, his gaze is else were. “Hello?” He makes a noise resembling “Fine and “Hurrmph.” I rolled my eyes. “Okay then mr. I don’t give a damn.” I place the jar down on the floor. swiftly, I poke on of his wounds. “OW! The HELL!?” I smirk and bat my eyes. “Oh I’m so sorry-! How reckless of me!” 

“Is this how you take care of people witch?!” He howls. Oh we’re playing this game huh? I go though my case and pull out a letter opener. “Is this how you talk to people asshole!?” I yell. His eyes go wide and his hands begin to pop from the arms of the chair. That’s a new one.. His hands go for my head. That’s not a new one. “The hell are you-?” I don’t hesitate to tear open his shirt and throw the opener into the wall behind me. I get the jar I had and pop it open. “’Not gonna kill ya here. I don’t think anyone can truly die here. But damn do wounds hurt.” I recount dryly. “And don’t test that theory. I’m living proof of it.” I chuckle. I see him shuffle in the now copper chair as I get the the salve on my fingers. “Stay still. I know it feels weird but calm down.” He flinches when I get close to him but I keep my eyes on my work. Eventually I cover all of his wounds with the salve, him hissing and biting his lip. “Y’know its okay to scream. Most of the most masculine of people i’ve seen have screamed when encountering this.” He only glares at me and bites his lip harder. Shrugging, I let him keep this up. “Okay then. You aren’t really proving anything but fine.” I reach for a towel nearby and dunk it into my bucket. “You are very stubborn.” A glance makes its way towards me. I laugh at his attempt to be scary. “You must hear that a lot.” After a few minutes of staring at his struggling, I wring out the towel. “Now this is gonna sting. No judgement if you pass out or scream. This isn’t a challenge. It’s a fact.” He turns his head away from me and closes his eyes. Can we get an F in chat for what this man is gonna go through? 

“Trust me when i say this is gonna hurt me much more than this is gonna hurt you.” I mumble and press the thing on his chest. A scream unlike any other fills the house. Someone call Guko ‘cus this man takes the cake when it comes to screams. I stand my ground though, and make sure to wash out any wounds that I rubbed salve in. Don’t worry about him. The screaming stopped after about a minute of this. When I got done with him it was an hour later. In that time he was cleaned up, bandaged, band-aided, and set to bed in the guest room. “This one is a fire cracker.” I mumble before setting on a new record. When the player eventually starts a song I don’t reccogise starts. Its poppy, happy in tone, determined even and it gets faster. The same could be said with a feeling of hope in my chest. While I continue to sweep, more songs like this come on. All similar but unique in their own right. In a way it’s refereshing to what I’m used to. Eventually I get done and check the time. Even though it dosent matter in the long run, time keeps me sane here. The phone ends up ringing soon after. I exhale once again and answer one of the many phones this house has to offer. This one is old. It is a land line. Attached to the wall and always on. Gray in color, brick like too. There isn’t much to say with it that is of interest. Even its own ring is boring. I pick up “Hello?” I ask once again. “My hero Academy.” A monotone, computer like voice says. I sigh “Hold on for a moment.” I put the phone down and rush to the kitchen. On the counter is a worn, old, yellow, note pad and a black pen. Scribbled on it is a list going down. 

Batman: The animated series

Harry Potter: Books

The Princess Bride: Movie

Many other titles litter the page. Many that I have come to known and bitterly love. For better or worse. 

When I recover from my own memories I wipe away the tears that threaten to fall. “Cmon now. Let’s get back to work.” I remind myself and make my way back to the hall, this time with my tools. “Yes? Hello I’m back. What did you say again?” I pick up the pen in one hand and hold the phone in my other. “My Hero Academia: anime.” I cock a brow at that. “Onime?” I question. “My Hero Academia: ANIME.” I shake my head at the slower but louder voice. “Yesyesyes, I get it! Calm down.” I roll my eyes and sigh as I write it down. “Can you tell me who you are now?” I try. The line dies on me. What else was I expecting? “Wonderful.” I growled. Thoughtlessly, I slam the phone into its holder. For a moment I question. Random things mostly but I ground myself eventually. I always do somehow. “This is bull crap.” I mumble. My week walk me to the wall. I place my head on it and hide in my hair for a good minute. “Cmon. You can do this. We’ve gotten this far.” One inhale. One exhale. And my feet take me to the living room. The loveseat is gone, but there is always the couch I guess. I jump over the rest and sit on the cushioned seat. As always the remote is by my side. Always the left, never the right. There isn’t a lot of buttons on the remote. No numbers but there is a switch for channels and volume but the channel button dosent work. No information or exiting. There is an on and off though. Along with a pause and play there was fast forward and what have you. I don’t really use those that often though. What I do used however, this the microphone. “Please play My Hero Acedemia?” I say into the head of the mic. from the ceiling, a projector slowly rolls down, covering almost all of the wall. before showing the title of the show. My hero acAdemia. Okay, whatever.” The intro started. “What things are you going to make me feel My Hero?”

#my hero academia #fanfic #story

[nekojitachan]

Armies. Neil and Andrew on a mission. But I need to see protective Neil. Like that scene in the elevator when Andrew got shot but they weren't actually a ''thing'' yet, and now they are 😏. Please??? 😘 Let this day end with a smile

Okay, hopefully this meets what you wanted? It’s protective Neil/Abram enough? I’ve actually been thinking about Armies and the boys on a mission, so…

Uhm… warning for swearing and obviously the boys doing not quite nice things (it IS Armies). And I did a little quick research, but I’ve never been to Crimea so…. please forgive.

*******

Andrew shoved a fresh stick of gum in his mouth to fight offthe urge for a cigarette (plum-flavored, they’d have to hit up an Asian grocerystore whenever possible or hope that Lloyd sent them farther east than westernRussia sometime soon); at the moment, he was bored and wasn’t that impressedwith Sevastopol.

It may have something to do with the bastard who was eyeingAbram up like a piece of meat for the last couple of hours.

They were at some fancy benefit held at the Black Sea FleetMuseum, and of course Abram (or Leonid, as Mr. ‘Soon to have his eyes carvedout with a caviar spoon’ was concerned) appeared breathtaking dressed in aconservative black tux with his auburn hair darkened for the mission andeyes masked with green contacts. Andrewhad plans for his husband when they got back to their hotel later, to peel offthe fancy suit and muss up the barely tamed loose curls… but until then, he hadto prevent his husband from being bundled up and sold off to the highest bidderwhile they investigated who was attempting to sabotage the gas pipelinesfeeding out of Ukraine into Europe, casting blame on the country through whichthe pipes traversed.

Things never were simple, when it came to Abram.

Andrew had yet another caviar and crème fraiche coveredcracker as he pretended to wander around aimlessly, attention divided betweenAbram and the various conversations taking place in the room; his Russian wasgood enough to understand everything being said, but he still had enough of anaccent that he couldn’t pass for a native speaker, unlike Abram. Here and therewere pockets of Ukrainian, which he mostly understood, but the language wasn’tfavored at an event with pro-Russia sponsors. Where a good bit of the attendeeswere in the Russia military, even if they weren’t in uniform.

He kept shoving crackers in his mouth or sipping the decentchampagne the servers handed out, doing his best to avoid the very good vodkasince he was on the clock. Whenever he was pressed to speak, he mumbled orslurred so as to seem rather affected by all that champagne and vodka, and wasignored soon afterwards.

Or so he thought.

Perhaps he’d paid a little too much attention to Abram and Mr.Gouged-out Eyes. Perhaps he’d hovered a little too close when he’d heardmention of the Soyuz pipeline. All he knew was that one moment he debated if hehad enough room for another caviar cracker (they were delicious) and the next, twolarge ‘gentlemen’ who screamed FSB agents appeared in front of him as ifsummoned out of thin air – it was the close cropped hair, the barrel chests andbroad shoulders which gave the impression of barroom brawlers, the dourexpressions, the poorly hidden holstered guns (because what did they have tofear?) which always made them stand out.

“Are you enjoying theparty?” one of them asked, his accent clearly marking him from Moscow andnot Crimea, his pronunciation too urbane and northern for the area. “What do you think of it so far?”

The one on the left didn’t even try for pleasantries whileAndrew gazed up at them and grabbed a cracker. “Who invited you? I haven’t seen you around before.”

It was clear they wanted him to speak and were moments awayfrom demanding his identification papers (which he had, and decent ones at that…but not good enough to stand up to FSB scrutiny). “Bad appetizers,” Andrew mumbled as he held up the cracker, thencovered his mouth as if trying to not to vomit. He muttered something about thebathroom before he spun around and walked away hunched over, doing his best toappear sick to his stomach.

It bought him about four seconds, but that was enough to gethim safely out of reach before his Russian counterparts started yelling andgave chase.

He hated to leave Abram behind, but if the two goons wereafter him, then Abram was safe (well, other than dealing with the potentialhuman trafficker on his own… which was no contest, really). Andrew nearly raninto a server with a full tray of appetizers (ooh, some type of blintzes,dammit) which he hit to knock into the air (what a waste); that bought him afew more seconds, which he put to good use shedding the stuffy black jacket ofhis tux as he burst outside the museum.

Why the hell did it have to be so damn cold in Crimea?

It had been a bit too much to smuggle guns into the event,but he had his knives, which he used to take out one of the soldiers stationednear the rear exit. Someone tried to be a clever bastard and shoot him while hedid that, but he didn’t spend a couple of hours each week practicing throwing knivesfor the hell of it, and took out that soldier, too.

Unfortunately, that ate into his lead, which meant he didn’tquite make it to the alley across from the museum when one of the FSB agentsmanaged to get a lucky shot on his left thigh; it was clear that the bastardwanted to take him in alive for questioning, since it was barely more than a fleshwound meant to slow him down. Andrew grit his teeth as he stumbled into thewall as the pain and the shock washed through him, thrown off his pace for aprecious couple of seconds.

Part of his mind focused on the map of the city, of where hecould go to lose the agents, of the nearest safe house, of various allies and…and part of him focused on getting the bastards as far away from Abram aspossible, of making sure his husband was safe. Determined to do his job(protect Abram), Andrew swallowed a grunt of pain as he clenched a knife in eachhand and forced himself onward.

He got about six loping steps before someone shot at hisfeet. “Stop, or the next one will be in the back,” an agent called out in accentedEnglish. “We just need you able to talk, nothing else.”

Dammit, it just wasn’t his night, was it? Wishing he’d hadsome more vodka after all, Andrew tightened his grip on the knives and hopedthat he’d be fast enough to take out the agents (were there just two of themstill?) as he prepared to turn around – only to flinch when there was the soundof a gun being fired again.

Except there wasn’t another bullet ricocheting near his feetor piercing his flesh that time, and someone behind him cried out. He spun around in time to watch one of theagents from the museum fall to the ground while a soldier stumbled back intothe wall with a knife embedded in his throat, followed by a blank-faced Abramshooting another soldier the same time he shoved a knife in the remaining agent’supper right chest.

“Don’t,” Abramsaid in Russian as he knocked the taller man’s own gun aside and held what mustbe a ‘borrowed’ weapon near his left temple. “I’m not in a good mood right now, not after you shot my husband. Do youhave any idea how much he’s going to whinge about the damn thing?” Despite his light tone, that one cruel smileof his which set the Hatfords and their people on high alert had crept onto hisface.

Andrew sheathed one of his knives and limped over to the twomen, having to step over a dead body along the way; it wasn’t often when Abramdid the ‘heavy lifting’ during work like this, but he was still at the top ofhis game whenever necessary.

Dammit, Andrew hated times like these, hated when he’d messedup and Abram could have been hurt.

“Come on, babe, I’m not going to bitch half as much as youdo about the damn grout,” he said as he reached out to wrap his hand around theback of Abram’s neck to give it a gentle squeeze. “Now are you going to gutthis asshole or shall I?”

“You’ll regret this,” the agent insisted as sweat poureddown his flushed face, as predictable as ever, “you’ll be broken into patheticpieces once-“

Abram made a tsk’ing sound before he smashed the gun intothe side of the asshole’s face to knock him out, then let him slide down ontothe ground. “You going to be okay long enough for Artem to get here and helpclean this up?”

Busy removing his bowtie to use as a makeshift bandage,Andrew gave a slight shrug. “I’m heartbroken about the damn blintzes, but otherthan that, I should survive.” He wouldn’t even need any stitches, as far as hecould tell.

His husband gave him one of those looks which usually predated a grab for a bottle of gin andrants about prats (it was an idiot Brit’s sign of affection, Andrew just knewit) then rubbed his face. “I’m about to shoot you myself,” he muttered while hekicked the unconscious FSB agent twice, and hard at that.

Andrew might believe that threat if his husband didn’t thencall Artem, their colleague in Sevastopol, and bitch him out in Ukrainian to getthere as quickly as possible with some help… and to make sure there were somechocolate bars in the med kit.

He may not be fluent in Ukrainian as a certain polyglotbastard, but he knew the important words.

*******

I must admit, that was rather fun. Did it help end the day with a smile?

#nekojitachanfics #armies fic #andreil #neil as abram #andrew minyard #neil josten #abram hatford #the boys as secret agents #prompt fic

[yatorihell]

In The Darkness Chapter 36 - The Quidditch World Cup

Words: 4,394

Summary: The trio go to the Quidditch World Cup, and dark forces begin to move.

Previous chapter | First chapter

Thank you Gio (@themusicalbookworm) for beta-ing me

Read on AO3

When Hiyori found the Quidditch Cup Final was this weekend, Yato grinned slyly. She would be going home in a few days, why not make the most of the time they had left?

“You wanna go?” Yato asked. He didn't need an answer; Hiyori’s shining eyes were enough for him to turn and persuade Yukine into an impromptu trip.

On the day of the final, Hiyori practically jumped on Yato wake him up. He startled awake and pulled his duvet up to cover what dignity he had as Hiyori shook his shoulders and called his name. The room was permeated by a dusky sunrise, sending a sliver of light onto Yukine’s bundled duvet where he groaned at the racket.

“Yukine, let’s go!” Hiyori called. She kicked her legs free of her own sleeping bag which had entangled her, half-falling on Yukine as she shook him.

Yato grumbled, pushing himself up and rubbing his face. It was too early for this. He slumped forward, watching Hiyori bustle to her neatly folded clothes she’d laid out the night before and scoop them up.

“Get up, we’re going in an hour.” Hiyori was out of the door before either of the boys could say ‘good morning’ or ‘five more minutes’.

Yukine didn’t let this stop him from flopping back into his pillows with a muffled whine.

“Remind me, why did I agree to this?”

“Because you have a soft spot,” Yato yawned.

Yato turned his head and reached for the cover of Yukine’s duvet, pulling it to the floor in one swift movement.

Yukine shouted. Yato waved his hand, detangling his legs from his sleeping bag. “I have a feeling that Hiyori won’t go as easy on you if you aren’t dressed in five minutes.”

Yukine muttered something under his breath, but he knew Yato had a point.

Groggily getting dressed and wandering down to the kitchen where Hiyori was pouring orange juice, the boys prepared their backpacks. Hiyori’s own was stuffed and ready next to the front door as if she were going on an expedition – Yato could tell she’d packed for one.

Within the hour the trio were out of the front door, blinking in the startling sunlight which warmed them in the early morning breeze.

“So, how do we get there?” Hiyori asked. She walked backwards as she talked, grin plastered on her face as she held her backpack straps.

“Portkey,” Yukine said. When Hiyori looked at him quizzically, he explained, “something that takes you somewhere when you touch it.”

Hiyori ‘ahh-ed’, spinning back to walk normally. “Is there a Portkey around here?”

“On the hill, away from the Muggles,” Yukine said. He directed their attention up a small country road which looked more like an overgrown trail. After a steady uphill trek they came to a flat space.

Yukine jogged up, Hiyori and Yato following closely with clattering of pots and pans in their bags which had been able to fit thanks to an extension charm Yato put on all of their bags. Only when they reached the spot where Yukine had stopped did they find an object at his feet.

A boot.

Hiyori looked at it, and then at Yukine. “What’s this?”

“A Portkey.”

Hiyori looked at Yato as if he had gone mad. “It’s a boot.”

“Portkeys are disguised as boring things so Muggles won’t touch them,” Yato explained. He knelt on the ground and Yukine followed suit. Hiyori perplexion only grew.

“What are you doing?”

Yato looked up at Hiyori, and then at Yukine with a sly grin. “We’re going to use the Portkey.”

“Have you ever used a Portkey?” Hiyori folded her arms, not looking convinced as Yato’s and Yukine’s hands hovered over the boot.

“No,” Yukine said, but Yato simply shrugged.

“A few times,” Yato wiggled his fingers over the boot, “do you want to go or not?”

This was enough to prompt Hiyori – although reluctantly and feeling foolish – to kneel beside Yato, hand outstretched to grab the toe of the old leather boot.

Yato placed his hand on it first, followed by Yukine and then Hiyori as dust picked up around them and grew into a whipping breeze that forced them to close their eyes. the ground shifted and the world came back spinning with a dizzying light as they opened their eyes.

Hiyori’s shrill scream filled the air as they fell, spiralling out of control into nothingness, not able to make out where they were.

Yato grinned at her. “Let go!”

“ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!” Yukine shouted back.

“Trust me, let go!”

And they did.

The wind whipped Hiyori’s clothes and hair. She didn't know where she was, but she was falling. When she'd finally righted herself the first thing that greeted her was an expanse of orange sky, fiery and warm as if set alight by dragon fire.

The sight would've stolen her breath if it wasn't for the realisation that she was feather light; at the mercy of gravity which was bringing her back to earth at an alarming rate.

A hand grasped her own from behind. She turned her head, hair whipping around her face making it hard to see that it was Yato who was steadying her with an amused grin. The wind followed through his dark hair, his parted fringe allowing her to see his eyes lit up in exhilaration.

"Walk with me!"

The words were nearly snatched out of his mouth by the wind, but Yato caught hold of Hiyori's other hand and guided her. Hiyori looked back down, her feet dangling alongside Yato's, but he appeared to be walking through the air as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Hiyori straightened her legs and mimicked him, pretending she we're walking on solid ground. Their momentum slowed as they fell into large strides, looking over the fields where a forest of multicoloured tents and banners splayed across the countryside.

Hiyori grinned, tilting her chin to look back at Yato, silently thrilled.

Yato returned her look, the grin still plastered all over his face. "You're a natural!"

The ground came closer until their feet skimmed the grass, setting down gently as they reached the ground. Their arms dropped, but still Hiyori’s fingers stayed laced with Yato who stood close behind her, heart hammering out of her chest despite the elated grin on her face.

“Told you to trust me.” Hiyori could hear the smile in Yato’s voice as he let go off her hands and stepped away.

Hiyori flushed. Maybe she should trust him more often.

“Thanks for nothing.”

The pair turned in surprise at the voice.

Yukine lay flat on his back like starfish, head raised just enough to look at the pair. “I’m alive, if anyone cares.”

Yato grinned, letting go of Hiyori’s hand to walk to Yukine’s side and offer his own hand, pulling him up roughly with a slap on the back. “You’re fine.”

“No thanks to you,” Yukine shot back. “’Let go!’, of what? My life?”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Hiyori said, hoping that her cheeks weren’t too red.

“If I have a pretty boy to hold my hand and walk me down then yeah, I’ll learn in no time.” Yukine said under his breath. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed that neither of them heard this.

Their walk shortly took them to the edge of the campsite before they delved into the jungle of mismatched tents and teepees. They weaved in between the laundry lines and small campfires that had been set up outside the tents. Hiyori stared at a family of six who sat outside a tiny tent, wondering how they all managed to fit inside.

Her silent question was answered once they were in the heart of the campsite and Yato shrugged off his backpack and began to pull out a variety of items. He pulled out a tarpaulin, as well as his wand. With a chant, Yato flicked his wrist and the fabric came to life, folding itself into a perfectly pitched tent.

Yato wiggled his eyebrows at her with a grin as he pulled the tent flap open. Yukine entered with Hiyori following suit, but not before giving Yato a strange look.

Hiyori ducked her head as she entered, expecting Yukine to be face to face with her. Instead, a vast space greeted her.

Squashy sofas and velvety curtains were draped around the room, parted just enough for the window in front of her to show the multicoloured flags of their neighbours. A small table and kitchenette lay to her right, whereas green, red and yellow curtains on the left showed that there were bedrooms for each of them. Soft rugs lay underfoot and fluffy cushions were piled in the corner beside a bookcase that Yukine had wandered over to, thumbing through the books in interest.

Hiyori stood open-mouthed, taking in the impossible science of such a big space inside of a small tent. She felt Yato’s hand on the small of her back guiding her into the tent, and his words low in her ears. “Welcome to your new home.”

Yato steered Hiyori into the middle of the room before going off to his own room, returning a moment later without his backpack. Hiyori watched as Yukine flopped down on one of the sofas, putting his feet up and dumping his bag beside him whilst Yato rummaged in the kitchen.

“We’ll eat then we’ll go and get a good spot,” Yato was saying, voice muffled as his head was practically in the cupboard. Hiyori sat on the sofa opposite Yukine, head never staying still as she marvelled at the high tented ceiling and the lanterns that lit the room.

Yato popped his head around the door and Hiyori’s eyes darted from his face to the packet of animal crackers he held in his hand. “If that’s okay with you?”

“S-sure,” Hiyori nodded.

Yukine just gave a thumbs up before throwing his arm over his eyes, and soon enough, he was snoring.

~

The Quidditch World Cup was held once every four years. This year it had come down to France and Ireland to vie for the title.

A stadium had been erected not too far from the camp, white spotlights drowning out any darkness that the damp summer night brought.

Hiyori ran up the stadium steps, weaving through the revellers sporting luminous green face paint which made their faces shine as if they were about to be ill, and vivid blue that made the rowdier fans look like Scottish warriors.

Yato and Yukine wheezed as they followed her to the highest stands. They argued that the lower stands were better, but Hiyori wanted to see everything – and there was probably less of a risk of being hit by a Bludger.

Once they were packed closely together in one of the higher tiers, Yato spotted Kazuma and Bishamon a few rows below them, seemingly having come to the World Cup together. From his vantage point Yato could see they were supporting opposite teams: Kazuma with an Irish leprechaun hat, and Bishamon with blue streaks in her hair.

He watched as Bishamon leaned closer to Kazuma to shout something over the ruckus only for Kazuma to jump back before moving in closer until they were shoulder to shoulder, his face practically touching Bishamon’s.

Yato frowned. Are they making out?

This thought was interrupted by a burst of colour overhead and a thunderous cheer going up from the crowd.

Green light showered down and fizzled in the sky before another burst shot up, this time the colours morphing into a leprechaun doing an Irish jig.

Yato smiled. He looked at Hiyori who had cupped her hands over her mouth to whoop and cheer, with Yukine less enthusiastic beside her.

Movement shot up and across the stadium; flowing emerald robes announced the arrival of the Irish Quidditch team with a roar of approval from the crowd. They had completed a full circuit of the pitch and dove back down to the referee who waited below as another bang cracked the air.

This time a haze of blue stained the sky. No fancy dancing mascot, just a loud thrumming beat that shook the stadium. Yato realised after a second that it was the stadium itself, the rhythmic stamping of thousands of people in unison and a battle-like cry that went up when the French team emerged.

Hiyori had done her homework. She pointed out each team member, babbling names too quick for Yato catch before she squealed and grabbed Yato’s arm in excitement.

“That’s the youngest Seeker in the world! Belgium's Manabu!”

Yato followed Hiyori’s finger to a blur of pastel blue before the crowd rippled and shifted, a camera trained on said Seeker so that his movements were displayed to the entire stadium. He reared his broom and paused. He had dark hair and warm eyes, a smile plastered on his face as he waved to the roaring crowd which joined into one voice shouting his name.

Yato felt a scowl creeping onto his face as Hiyori joined in with the chanting crowd.

“He's probably only a few months younger than me,” Yato pouted.

“Jealous,” Yukine coughed.

Yato shot him a glare. So what if Manabu is the youngest Seeker? I’m probably much better than him.

He didn’t hear the announcer’s projected voice commence the game, quietly thinking to himself about how he could probably replace Manabu if he tried.

His eyes slid to Hiyori whose smile hadn’t left her face as she watched the teams ready themselves. The balls were released, leaving the teams tearing into each other in a bid to steal the Quaffle. Only then did Yato drag his eyes away from Hiyori, hoping that he might be able to enjoy the game despite Yukine’s comment ringing in his ears.

His attention flicked between players, catching every steal and Bludger that sent a player spiralling out of control before they caught themselves and dove straight back into the game.

It felt like one of the longest games Yato had every watched – well, tried to watch. The only thing he could hear was Hiyori shouting for Manabu’s victory and Yukine cussing loudly at every French player that zipped past them.

Hiyori leaned so far over the railing that Yato’s fingers twitched at every lunge she made to catch glimpses of the teams as they passed, restlessly watching her more intently than the game itself in case he had to grab her jacket if she pitched too far.

Yato started to notice that she seemed to be focusing on Manabu, her head following his every move as he pursued the Snitch.

He shook his head as Yukine’s voice whispered in his ear:

‘Jealous.’

I’m not jealous, Yato told himself.

Yato took a breath and stared straight ahead. The tightness in his chest only grew when he heard the crowd roar, the same thrumming beat reverberating as Manabu sealed France’s victory, and Hiyori beside him cheering.

I’m not jealous.

~

Yato was quiet on the way back to the tent – not that they noticed as Hiyori and Yukine argued about the fairness of the game.

“It’s rigged,” Yukine said bitterly.

“You’re just jealous,” Hiyori stuck her tongue out at Yukine before nudging her head at Yato who walked on her other side. “I bet Yato’s jealous too.”

Yato snapped out of his trance, tuning in to the final part of conversation. Did he really seem jealous of Manabu?

He stuttered for a second before managing to spit out a pathetic answer. “I’m not jealous!”

Hiyori had a smirk on her face. “Well, you weren’t cheering for France.”

“Oh…” Yato realised what she meant. “Well, I don’t really support those teams…”

Yukine scoffed. “You don’t need to, just pick a side and scream at the opposition.”

Yato shrugged.

The trio made their way back to the tent, changing into dry clothes and dragging brushes through their hair where the wind has teased it into tangles.

Yukine curled up in the windowsill with a book, feet tucked under a cushion to keep them warm whilst another kept him propped up.

Yato flopped on the sofa with a groan. He tucked arm behind his head and shut his eyes, listening to Hiyori shuffling around and humming softly. Before long, he was asleep.

~

A loud bang woke Yato from his doze. He shot up with a gasp, tense and wide-eyed.

“It’s just fireworks,” Hiyori’s voice sounded from behind him.

Yato looked around, finding her stood with a hand on the back of the sofa with a smile. Yato’s eyes followed Hiyori as she moved away to the kitchen.

Another bang rang out followed by screams and Yato jumped. It didn’t sound like fireworks, and the screams that followed told him that they weren’t from revellers who had been out celebrating.

He swung his legs off the sofa and moved quickly to the tent door where an orange glow shone through the canvas. He pulled it open slightly to peek outside.

Complete carnage met him.

An inferno had engulfed the tents a few rows back, leaving a herd of people stampeding away from the fire which had begun to spread to the neighbouring tents. Thick smoke billowed from the top of the teepees which had begun to collapse in on themselves, sending embers flying up into the night which had ceased its evening shower, allowing the fire to grow into a deafening roar and light the sky like a flaming sunrise.

Yato’s blood ran cold. His mouth was dry as he rounded back into the tent, managing to get out his words oud enough for Hiyori and Yukine to hear.

“We have to go!”

Yukine looked up from his book whilst Hiyori stood in the middle of the room holding a bundle of clothes. She peered around Yato at the open flap, frowning at the pitched screams and orange flickering which outlined Yato’s terrified face.

“Yato, what’s wrong?”

“NOW!”

Yato rushed forward and pulled Yukine up from the curtained window, dropping his book in the process. His protests went ignored as Yato grabbed Hiyori’s hand as he unceremoniously dragged them outside to the spreading carnage.

Yukine cursed under his breath, going unheard by the cracks of tents as they collapsed under the strain of the stampeding crowd and fires taking claim of the campsite. Screams made it nearly impossible for them to hear each other except from Yato’s shout of ‘Portkey!’ before they were swept away in the crowd.

Shoulder, hands and bags smacked into them, no doubt leaving bruises as they muscled their way through the crowd, hands keeping vice-like grips as the crowd threatened to tear them apart. All sense of direction was lost as Yato crane this head, looking for an escape from the crowd and the enclosing fire.

His bearings came too late as a rough shove had him stumbling forward, hand losing its grip on Yukine’s hand and his fingers sliding from Hiyori’s as they were separated by the never-ending stream of people running for their lives.

Yato spun around gasping. Where Yukine had been seconds before was a wailing child who was swiftly taken from view by a woman who tucked the child to her bosom before fleeing. Yato looked around helplessly.

“YUKINE!”

It was far too dark to make out any faces that weren’t lit by the flickering embers of fire – even with light, Yukine was far too short to make out through the mass that surrounded him, pushing him away from where he had lost his friends.

“HIYORI!” Yato shouted. He knew she couldn’t hear him, but he could almost hear her shout his name back as he tried to push back against the crowd.

He shouted again.

Nothing.

Rough hands pushed him backwards despite his desperate pleas, forcing him back like a tsunami devastating everything in its path.

Fireballs exploded around them, completely obliterating what little remained of the campsite and prompting the crowd to grow wilder, pushing and shoving and trampling everything and everyone under foot as they made a bid to escape.

Yato shouted for his friends as he was swept away, even though he knew all hope of finding them was gone. His ears rang with every blow he received from the relentless crowd until the world spun into a glow of amber and black.

The ground met him abruptly. Dazed, Yato lay still for a moment, feeling the boots kick his sides and trample his hands as if he was dirt. He raised his head weakly, Hiyori’s name on his lips.

A boot connected with his temple, and all was dark.

~

Yato woke under a starless sky. Light from the clouded half-moon permeated the wisps of smoke that leaked across the silent campsite, devoid of all life as its occupants fled the terror that had rained down on them.

Yato coughed once. He felt numb, not feeling his body except for the pain which cut into him as he found his feet. Ash coated his clothes in a filthy layer and lined his throat, chokign him as he called out for someone, anyone.

A hot lump rose in his throat as Yato looked around. The campsite had been reduced to tented skeletons that had twisted into molten heaps and tattered fabric where small fires devoured the leftovers of the inferno.

He was alone.

Or so he thought.

A shout rang out behind him and Yato turned stiffly at the word that had been uttered:

“Morsmordre!”

Violent green exploded in the sky and, in the next instant, the cloudy image of a skull appeared. It shimmered with lighter green hues that were no less repulsive than the serpent that slithered out of the skulls mouth, fangs bared as it crept across the sky in search of prey.

Yato felt himself go white. Bile rose in his throat and a throbbing filled the forefront of his mind as he stared at it. That was….

A half-shout, half-scream echoed through the wasteland.

“Yato!”

The throbbing left his head in an instant. Spinning around he saw a blur of motion hurtling his way, hair flying out behind her and a face that made Yato freeze.

Hiyori.

She stumbled over charred wood, clothes as ashen as her face which had tear trails running through the muck.

Yato couldn’t make his legs move; the only faltering steps he could take were outmatched by Hiyori’s pace as she flung herself at him with such force that Yato had to wrap his arms around her to keep them from pitching back.

“Yato!” Hiyori sobbed, face buried in the crook of his chest, arms wound tight around his neck.

Yato pushed down the dry lump in his throat, trembling fingers running through Hiyori’s hair and catching on the knots that had formed. His arm squeezed her waist tightly, a reassuring hug as Hiyori cried into his jacket.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Yato whispered into her shoulder.

“Yato…” a voice croaked. Yato looked up from Hiyori’s shoulder. Relief washed through him at the sight of Yukine – blond hair now grey with ash – standing in front of him, reaching out.

Yato opened up one of his arms, inviting Yukine to throw himself into the clustered bodies and bury himself against Hiyori and Yato.

“What happened?” Yukine asked. His voice was muffled, but Yato could tell his voice was breaking with emotion.

“I don’t -,” Yato started, but a chorus of chants rang out which cut his sentence short.

“Stupefy!”

The first shots missed their targets, but the others never landed as Yato dragged Hiyori and Yukine to the ground as cracks and bangs and flashes of light hit the space where they had been standing seconds ago.  

Hiyori’s sob muffled against Yato’s shoulder, not raising her face to see who was attacking them whereas Yato and Yukine watched wide-eyed at the figures encircling them.

Yato tightened his grip on Hiyori and Yukine, the sick feeling in his stomach threatening to rise as he looked back at the mark that illuminated the sky.

They weren’t… they couldn’t…

“Stop!”

A roar turned the attention of the figures who directed their wands behind the trio. In the darkness Yato could make out the barrelling figure of a man, closely followed by someone smaller as they raced in front of them and spread their arms out to shield them.  

Yato blinked. “Professor Daikoku?”

The man turned his head to look over his shoulder, expression softening with worried eyes as he regarded the huddled group.

Hiyori raised her head, expression mirroring Yato’s and Yukine’s as they looked at their former teacher protecting them.

The shorter person, a woman, turned her head next and caught Yato off-guard.

“Madame Kofuku?”

“It’s ok,” she said softly, voice contrasting the hard expression she wore on her face as she and Professor Daikoku turned back to the offending party, arms dropping to their sides.

“Which of you conjured it?!”

Yato looked in between Professor Daikoku’s at the person who was speaking. He was thin with a beaten face, pencil-thin moustache on his face, wand gripped tightly in his hand which moved between each of them in turn in an erratic fashion.

“They’re kids!” Professor Daikoku growled. He gestured around at the carnage. “How could they have done this?!”

Madame Kofuku’s voice followed, lighter than her partners but no less harsh. “You know as well as I do that the Dark Mark was cast by the Death Eaters.”

Yato felt his heart miss a beat. Death Eaters. They were the ones who attacked the camp. And they…

Yato looked back up at the sky where the Dark Mark was fading as if nothing had happened. His mouth went dry as he pointed at the spot where he thought the person had stood.

“I heard someone, over there…”

The man’s head snapped to look at the spot where Yato was pointing before back to him, suspicion evident. After a second of self-deliberation he ordered his men to follow him, black cloaks billowing behind them and wands at the ready.

Madame Kofuku and Professor Daikoku turned to the group as they unsteadily rose to their feet, hands gripping each other’s.

“What’s the Dark Mark?” Hiyori, hands and voice shaking, asked.

Yato looked at the ground as Professor Daikoku answered in a grim voice.

“It’s the mark of the Sorcerer.”

#hoo boi #noragami aragoto #noragami #yato #hiyori #yukine #hp au #harry potter au #in the darkness #my writing

[impalaimagining]

PittCon Sunday

(sorry this is so late. my mind has been reeling since I stepped into Jensen’s hug. cut comes after the gold panel)

My heart was racing as I typed this because it contains the letters to Jared story and the interaction between he and I as I gave him the binder and reliving that moment is everything I ever wanted. My liiiffeeee <3333 

Part One (Gold Panel): 

They come walking down the glass bridge. Jensen waves. Jared pushes him aside and becomes the star of the show. Jared takes off his beanie and everybody screams (still don’t understand how he does it).

Someone in the second row continues to talk to Jared from her seat instead of waiting to be selected for a question. (*heavy eye rolling from me*)

Jared and Jensen are sleepy little dorks and I love it. They’re still running on Vancouver time. Jensen didn’t sleep Saturday night, he watched the hours roll by. Jared says we should’ve called Jensen and invited him out with us. Jensen’s got “about two hours of solid” him left before it gets either “really interesting or really boring.”

Jared realizes the actress who plays Hitler granddaughter is from Pittsburgh. They’re “chuggin’ along” with filming - already on episode six. 

Jared says they’re still waiting for the call for season 14 renewal.

Fan is upset because Jensen promised to sing at SNS this year. He laughs and asks, “You believed that?!” He blames timezone switches and Rob, because Rob “likes Pittsburgh to himself.”

They’ve been on a juice diet because “summer was hard” on them (specifically Jared - who still looks incredible, by the way). As Jensen was walking on stage, he found a cup of goldfish crackers and stuffed a handful in his mouth. He comes on stage still chewing. They’re already talking about getting burgers for dinner Sunday night.

Jared envies people who can draw because he loves to do it but is “really bad at it.” Jensen makes a “mean stick figure.” They joke about they wish they could take their profession anywhere the way musicians and sketch artists/painters can. Jensen laughs and says he envisions Jared standing in front of a t-rex exhibit “To be! Or not to be!”

Jared takes on “Misha form!” while answering a question about their childhood memory. Jared tells the story of Tom starting kindergarten. He was flooded with emotions while the other parents were already used to taking their kids and just dropping them off. Meanwhile Jared is crying. Jensen says he has a lot of good childhood memories, but one of his favorite is his sixth birthday. He woke up and put on his cowboy outfit, complete with six-shooters and a sheriff’s badge. He walked outside and there was a horse in the yard for him to ride. Their yard wasn’t big, but he rode the horse in circles and shot his cap guns.

Jensen was never “into” sports medicine, but it was what he chose as he selected college major originally. Jensen says he thinks it would be fun to be a boat captain. Jared planned on going to school for engineering to follow in the footsteps of his brother. Instead, his brother ended up becoming a surgeon, and Jared thinks he would’ve followed that path as well. Jared’s other career options are doctor or teacher. “It’d be fun to be a wildlife photographer,” according to Jared. Jensen decides he wants to be a food and drink writer. Jared mocks avocado toast, Jensen says he’ll wolf one down if it allows him to travel to Italy.

Jared has so much trouble with his microphone.

They’ve never dreamed as Sam and Dean, but they dream about them and the set. Jared has had dreams about Kim Manners since his passing, where they talk, “which is... interesting.”

Danneel has to tell Jensen to stop using the Dean voice. Other times she’s like, “Can you please use the Dean voice...?”

Fan says alternate universe in s12 was out of left field but it was awesome. Asks if the boys have been surprised by anything the writers have thrown into the plot. Jensen says French Mistake. Jared says his big left field moment was when he traveled to Los Angeles before season 6 and met with Sera. She told him about soulless!Sam and he had to hide his gut reaction because he was right in front of her instead of being on the phone like he normally would be. Soulless!Sam is one of Jared’s favorite character twists. 

Jensen would never rule theatre out of his life as a future option. He doesn’t currently have plans to return to the stage, but he wouldn’t mind going back. Jared says he hasn’t done theatre in a long time, and he loved it. It’s the “best training ground possible,” but it’s hard to keep it fresh. Jared compares theatre to doing squats for thirty minutes. Jensen laughs and mocks him. joking about never skipping leg day.

A fan is getting fired for being at the convention. Asks about binge watching because she has a lot of free time now. Jensen says he watched Ozark in a week. Jared says Breaking Bad, but he’s on to Ozark because of Jensen’s recommendation. 

Fan gives suggestions for food places. A place called Burgatory. Jensen asks if there are any exits. 

“Did someone say Sanchez?” - Jared... why

Unicorns or dragons? Jared: unicorns ‘cause they’re not going to kill me, and they fart rainbows. Jensen: I’m gonna go dragons. Speaking of dragons... anybody watch game of thrones? Jared jokes about Jensen ruining the show for him by mentioning dragons. Jensen asks if everyone is caught up. Fan says no. Jensen: “earmufffssss!” He thinks they totally ripped off the demon!Dean transformation scene.

Part Two:

Jensen Ackles photo op! 

Was a little nervous but not really because like yeah he’s adorable and Jensen friggin Ackles but I didn’t have anything to tell him or show him so it was nothing like Misha (or Jared).

I walked up and said, “Hi! How are you?” He smiled and said, “I’m good. Tired. How are you?” I kind of yelled a little bit when I responded but it was so worth it. “Great now!” And then I proceeded to throw my arms around him and Chris took the picture. Jensen rubbed my shoulder as I was walking away. 

His hugs are so soft and gentle. His voice is so sweet and smooth. Jensen Ackles smells amazing and he’s so... *sigh* 

Part Three: 

JARED. PADALECKI.

This is the motherfucking ultimate high point of my weekend. I met. I hugged. I got a photo with. Jared. Padalecki. 

As I walked up, my heart was pounding let me tell you, boy. He smiles and says, “Hi!” oooh lawd his breath smells like booze and it’s something of my dreams (don’t ask.). I can smell his cologne. Y’all weren’t kidding when you said he uses a fuckton. I love it. I’m all giggly and nervous and I’m like, “I wanna show you something!” 

I spin around and pull my hair back off my ear and show him my tattoo. He - I kid you not - screams over the music playing. “NO SHIT!” I nod and give him this giant smile. “That’s my handwriting!!!” Yes it is you big, beautiful man. “That’s awesome!” I’m in fuckin euphoria and I don’t even feel him lean against my head when Chris snaps the photo. I have no idea if I even looked into the camera at this point. I’m praying to God I did and as I leave, Jared gives me a little pat on the back and when I turn around, he’s still smiling at me. “Thanks so much!” I get a wink. I GET A MOTHERFUCKING JARED PADALECKI WINK I AM SIMULTANEOUSLY LIVING AND DYING. (the next person in line was already next to him while this is all happening, LOL)

I practically skip out of the room but there are no tears. How did I do this??? This man makes me so fucking happy I didn’t even cry??? Jared is my savior. That’s it. 

Part Four: 

Jim Beaver. What an adorable father-like man.

I’m thoroughly convinced he’s drunk when he comes on stage. Jim Beaver danced. Like... heavy footwork, light on his toes danced. He’s holding a coke can and I can pretty much guarantee it wasn’t just soda in that can. 

I don’t remember much of his panel but the first thing he said was, “Hey idjits!” 

A fan asked him to say balls. It was... kind of awesome. 

A young girl came up to the mic to ask a question. He called her on stage and knelt down at her eye level. “Is that all you see???” She laughed. She has the same name as his daughter. They’re spelled the same way. “Are you my kid?? How weird would that be if my kid came all the way here and I didn’t know it. I didn’t buy her a plane ticket, I know that!” She asks her question (which I forget because I suck) and after he answers, he hugs her and sends her back off the stage. 

Part Five: 

J2 main panel. Boys come running down the center aisle through the crowd. Pretty convinced their body guards/handlers hate them lmao.

I’m not going to go through every question like I did for the gold panel. Jared and Jensen are perfect. That’s just about all you need to know. 

Jared’s pretty sure he’s going to get in trouble for jumping. His back has been hurting. “The medicine, it works!” 

It’s a glorious Sunday because “Dallas hasn’t played yet.”

Jared’s pretty sure turning 35 makes everything stop working.

Jim Beaver walks by in the glass bridge. Jared has the crowd yell “come back!” 

Jensen thanks football fans for giving up opening day to be at the convention. Says it’s hard not to be in front of a tv on the first football Sunday. Terrible towels come out.

Jared compares having three kids to “drowning... and then someone throws you three kids.” Jensen originally only wanted one kid, but Danneel wanted three. They compromised on a second pregnancy. ... “You always find a way to get what you want, don’t you, ladies?”

Jensen apologizes for having to leave the J2 photo ops earlier in the day because Danneel had called him multiple times. He thought something was really wrong. When he called back, she asked if he could FaceTime quickly. Arrow was saying “dada.” “Unfortunately, it was our plumber that was there...”

If I had been playing the SPN Con drinking game I would’ve been wasted the entire weekend. Good Lord. 

Jensen’s favorite episode to film was Baby. Jared’s favorites include episodes like Baby, French Mistake, Changing Channels, and Hollywood Babylon. It was the first time they were allowed to make fun of themselves and the industry. After filming Hollywood Babylon, they convinced the crew to give them the bigger trailers since they were already on set. 

Working with kids depends on their parents.

Jared mentions GameBoy. Jensen has a moment like dude you’re so old why are you bringing up GameBoy. It becomes a running joke throughout the panel. 

“Does your face hurt, Jensen?? Because it’s killin’ me!” ... dorks. 

They turn off Sam and Dean when they go back to their real lives. It’s easy for them at this point to flip the switch of the emotional pain Sam and Dean go through because of their friends and especially their family.

Part Six: AUTOGRAPHS AND THE BINDER (!!!!!!)

Guys guys guys I’m freaking out at this point. I know how much trouble I could get in for giving something to Jared. The handlers are going to hate me. According to a friend, “They’ve kicked people out for less.” hashtag fuck.

Something happens with another fan and the woman announcing rows to head back to autos is wrapped up with other things. I waited so much longer than I should have. It was horrendous and put me that much more on edge. 

Finally my row is called. I’m only in the fourth row. Why did it take this long. 

Steve Miller Band is playing from Jared’s phone onto a bluetooth speaker while I’m standing in line. When I get to him, it’s Fly Like An Eagle.

“How’re you, sweetheart?” *dies* He signs my book. “Did you read it?” I nod and say yes, of course. “And...?!” I told him I loved it and I thought it was very brave of him to share as much and as honestly as he did. He smiles and then I bring up the binder. 

Me: “I actually have something to give to you, and I know it could get me in a lot of crap for doing it this way. This is a project I put together. It’s letters from me and a lot of my friends because we just wanted to thank you for what you’ve done and let you know how much you mean to us. I don’t expect you to read them all, there’s a lot of them in there.” J: “I do like to read! *he’s flipping through them, paging to see just how many there are* No way! Damn girl!!!” Me: “It’s just something we did for you.” J: “Thank you. Thank you very much. Please pass on my gratitude to whoever sent you a letter.” Me: “I will, thank you!!!” J: “Thank you.” AND THE FREAKIN’ SMILE OMG. 

I don’t know how I lived. I don’t know how me and my shaky knees made it to Jensen’s autograph line but I did and he is such a sweetheart, my goodness. 

I slipped Jensen my book and he was just so tired omg it’s so sad and adorable. He signed the wrong page of my FDEWB book because sleeeepy. 

He slid it across the table to me and I thanked him for everything. He said “You’re welcome.” And patted the back of my hand and again, *i die*

THUS CONCLUDES MY FIRST EVER CON WEEKEND MY LIFE HAS BEEN MADE AND JARED HAS THE LETTERS AND MY SHIRT /STILL/ SMELLS LIKE HIM.

#Taylor Takes PittCon #PittCon 2017: The Jared Padalecki Project #PittCon2017 #PittCon #SPNPitt #Supernatural PittCon #Supernatural Pittsburgh

[you-told-me-to-buy-a-pony]

Claude: Presidential Disaster

*Made with AI Dungeon

Your name is Claude. You are the heir to House Riegan and a proficient archer, as well as a stoner. You and your roommates, Dimitri and Edelgard, are secretly competing for class president at the Officers Academy. Not only will the student body vote, but your new professor, Byleth, will be voting as well. Dimitri and Edelgard hate each other, constantly stealing each other’s stashes. As the master trickster that you are, you hope to take advantage of their weird feuding to secure a very valid victory. One day, you tell your best pal Hilda to help you win the class presidency, guaranteeing her a spot as the VP. You have no idea what's going on in the world outside your window, but you know this much: there is a war brewing between two rival families. The Delantium Kingdom has been fighting with its neighbor, the Nuro family.

> Ignore the commotion, smoke some weed, and watch Dimitri and Edelgard argue

You sit on your couch and wait for Dimitri and Edelgard to fight again. It isn't like you want to see them arguing anyway. After all, they aren't exactly friends anymore. They were never really close after you left school either.

> Wonder why Dimitri’s such a miserable dude

Edelgard is a bit more interesting than Dimitri. She's got a little more personality and she doesn't act like an angry dum-dum all the time. You always wondered why she was so mad at everyone. Maybe it had something to do with her mother?

> Shrug

You shake your head. It's just a game, nothing serious. Besides, you’re not here to get into trouble or anything. You just wanted to relax and enjoy yourself.

As the argument continues, you begin to feel bored by it all.

> Find your pal Hilda

The next morning, you wake up early and walk down to the Officers Academy. You look around and see a lot of people milling about. Most of them are students from the academy, but there are also guards patrolling the halls.

> Wait for Hilda to meet you

You decide to wait until Hilda arrives. When she finally does, you grab her hand and say "Good morning."

"Morning," she says back.

She leads you through the corridors and eventually to a classroom where the rest of your group is waiting for you.

> Tell your group, the Golden Deer, that they can help you campaign for class president

Hilda nods and smiles. "Alright, I'll go talk to my group about this."

You nod and follow her out of the room. A few minutes later, you hear a loud noise coming from one of the classrooms.

> Smoke

Smoking is bad for you. You need to keep your mind off things. You grab a small baggie and light up the joint. Your eyes are already starting to hurt from staring at the ceiling all night long, so you put it away in your pocket.

> Go check out the commotion

You walk over to the door and peek inside. There's a bunch of yelling going on outside. You can only assume that someone has broken into the building and set fire to most of it. The windows are shattered as well, giving you a good view of what's happening outside.

> Ready your bow and prepare to fight intruders

You take a deep breath and raise your bow. You aim carefully and release the string. The arrow flies straight towards the source of the shouting.

A loud explosion follows right after. Pieces of wood fly everywhere as you duck behind cover.

> Look for Edelgard and Dimitri

You run back to the room where you left Hilda and the others. You search for them, but they're nowhere to be found.

You look around and realize that you don't know how to open any of the doors in this room.

> Turn back and keep looking for others

You turn back to the room and start searching for other survivors. You hope that if anyone else was here, they might still be alive.

You continue searching the rooms and hallways of the academy. Eventually you come across an old man sitting alone in a corner of one of the rooms.

> “Hanneman, is that you?”

"Yes, it is." He replies.

> Ask him if he is alright

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." You apologize.

He sighs and looks down. "It's fine. It just...it's been a rough day."

"Yeah, it has..." You reply.

> Ask him if he is wounded

"No, not yet." He says.

You ask him if he knows anything about who might have done this or why.

"Nothing really." He replies.

> Offer him some weed

"Hey Hanneman, would you like some weed?" You ask.

"Sure!" He replies.

You quickly leave his room and head back to the dining hall where you find that everyone is there eating their meals.

> Look for your pal Hilda in the dining hall

You quickly make your way back to the dining hall where you see Hilda sitting at a table with several other people. She notices you and smiles.

"Hello Claude." She greets.

"Hi Hilda." You return her greeting.

> Ask her how you will win the class presidency

"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough." She replies.

She continues to eat her food while you sit down next to her.

You continue to talk with Hilda for awhile longer until she asks you a question.

"So what are you going to do after winning the election?" She asks.

"What am I doing? What are you talking about?" You respond confused.

> “I’m gonna be a rad class president!”

"A rad class president! A real leader of men!" Hilda exclaims.

You smile and nod your head in agreement.

> !Edelgard and Dimitri start arguing a few tables away

"Oh my god, you're joking right?" You hear Dimitri shout from across the room.

You turn around and see Edelgard standing behind you with a scowl on her face.

"Dimitri, calm yourself." You tell him.

> Ask Dimitri why he’s fighting with Edelgard again

"Why are you fighting with her again?" You ask.

"Because she's stupid as usual." Dimitri answers.

"And you're just jealous because she's pretty?" You ask.

"Shut up!" Dimitri shouts before storming off.

You sigh and look over at Hilda who seems to be enjoying herself in the sun.

> Ask Hilda if she’s enjoying this top-tier comedy

"Hilda, are you enjoying this top-tier comedy?" You ask.

"Yes, it's great!" Hilda responds happily.

You walk back to your own table and sit down next to her.

> Eat popcorn and watch as Dimitri yells at Edelgard for stealing his crack stash

You begin eating some popcorn and watching the two of them argue. It doesn't take long before you see Dimitri grab a bag full of crackers from one of the tables and throw them at Edelgard. The bag hits her square in the chest causing her to fall backwards onto the floor.

> Watch in amusement as Edelgard fights back

You watch as Edelgard grabs a handful of popcorn and throws it at Dimitri. He catches the bag but not before it smacks into his nose. He screams in pain and falls backward onto the ground.

> Laugh

You chuckle to yourself as you watch the fight. This is so much more entertaining than listening to someone talk about their problems.

As the fight continues, you notice that Dimitri has lost a lot of blood now. He looks like he might pass out soon.

> Tell him to give up

You decide to try something different. You want to help Dimitri out, but you don't know what to do yet.

"Hey Dimitri, I think we should stop the fight." You say.

He looks at you confused by your sudden change of attitude.

> Ask Edelgard to return Dimitri’s crack stash

You look at Dimitri and ask Edelgard if she can retrieve his crack stash. She nods in agreement.

You smile to yourself as you feel better already.

> Watch as Edelgard gives Dimitri his crack

You stand up and walk towards Dimitri. You grab a fistful of cracker and hand it to Dimitri. He takes the bag and begins chewing on the crackers.

You watch as Edelgard walks away from Dimitri, leaving him alone with his snack.

> Return to your lunch table and see how Hilda is doing

You head back to your table and find Hilda sitting there.

"How was school today?" You ask.

"It was fine." Hilda replies. "I had a good teacher."

> !”Professor Byleth is pretty chill.”

"Yeah, Professor Byleth is pretty chill." You reply.

"So, did you have any fun times today?" Hilda asks.

> !”I watched Edelgard and Dimitri fight again. Wasn’t it pretty interesting?”

Hilda laughs.

"Well yeah, it was pretty exciting seeing those two fight each other."

"Oh really?"

"Yep! They were fighting over who got to be the class president!" Hilda says excitedly.

“Really?

> !”I thought they were just fighting over Dimitri’s stash.”

"No, no, they weren't! It wasn’t even about that! They were actually fighting because Edelgard wanted to be class president too!"

"What?! How could you possibly know such a thing?!"

"Because I read it in one of her books!"

> !”We can use their feuding against them and win the presidency for ourselves!”

"Alright then, let's go get some more books and read them together!"

You both head to the library where you start reading the most boring book ever. After an hour or so of this, you hear a loud noise coming from outside.

> Look outside and see that Edelgard and Dimitri are fighting again

You look outside and see that Edelgard has been hit in the face with a rock. The pair of them are still locked in combat, but now you can hear Dimitri crying out for help.

The sound of the noise gets louder until it becomes unbearable.

> Take advantage of Dimitri and Edelgard’s recklessness and start a speech about why you’d be a better class president than either of them in an attempt to get some votes

You rush to Dimitri and try to stop him from attacking Edelgard.

Dimitri grabs you by the collar of your shirt and starts choking you. You struggle against him, but he's stronger than you think.

> Make a stupid joke

You laugh at Dimitri's expense and tell him that he should’ve killed Edelgard instead of trying to kill him. This causes Dimitri to release you and he runs off.

> Charm the students of the Officers Academy and attempt to convince them that Dimitri and Edelgard are way too violent to be class president

You run up to the officers academy and speak to all of its students.

"Hey guys, we need to vote on something! We need someone who will be less violent than these two!" You shout.

"Whoa, hold on! Who are you?"

> Present yourself and announce your decision to run for class president

You introduce yourself to everyone and explain what happened yesterday. Everyone seems to like your story, except for one person.

"Why would you want to be class president when you could be the best fighter in school? You're not going to beat me anyway." He remarks.

> Look at the idiot who spoke, obviously Ferdinand Von Aegir

"Fucking hell, do you have any idea how hard it is to become class president? There are probably ten people who want the position and only one of them has done anything worthwhile! What makes you think that you're going to be any different?"

Ferdinand looks down.

> Tell the masses to vote for you and smile

"Alright, alright, calm down. Let's keep things civil. Anyway, I'm running for class president because I believe that violence is never the answer and that you should always strive to achieve your goals peacefully if possible."

Everyone applauds your words and votes for you as class president.

> Tell the masses that you are running alongside Hilda, who will be class Vice President

You tell the masses that you are running alongside Hilda, who will be class vice president.

Hilda looks very surprised. She asks you what exactly you mean. You explain that she is a good candidate since she believes in peace and harmony, which is something that you also believe in.

> Call over Ferdinand, Edelgard, and Dimitri in order to initiate the class presidential debates!

You walk towards Ferdinand, Edelgard, and Dimitri. They stand there looking shocked and confused.

You approach Ferdinand first.

> Mockingly wish him good luck in the debate

You say "Good luck in the debate, Ferdinand. I know you're ready for this." You then turn around and wink at Hilda before walking away.

Edelgard looks at you with disgust while Dimitri just shakes his head and walks away.

> Begin the debate between you, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Ferdinand!

The Class Presidential Debates commence! The candidates are ready for battle!

As the debates go on, you feel more confident about your chances against each of the three candidates.

> !Professor Byleth approaches the podium and asks 20 intricate debate questions

Professor Byleth: Alright class, let's get right into the meat of this matter. Which of us can make the most complex argument using the fewest words?

Ferdinand von Aegir: Well...

You raise your hand and laugh at Ferdinand. He laughs back but doesn't seem to find it funny.

Ferdinand: Oh come on, I was just trying to be clever!

You: No, you were being stupid!

> Laugh at him

You raise your hand and laugh at Ferdinand. He laughs back but doesn't seem to find it funny.

Ferdinand: Oh come on, I was just trying to be clever!

You: No, you were being stupid!

> Let Professor Byleth continue asking you and the other candidates questions

You: Ferdinand, stop being so pretentious. It's not like you were actually trying to impress me with your knowledge or anything. You were just trying to be clever.

Ferdinand: (Sigh) Fine, fine, whatever. I'll try my best.

> !Professor Byleth continues asking you and the other candidates questions

Professor Byleth: Alright class, let's move onto the next topic. What do you think of our current world situation? Do you agree with the way things are currently going on?

You: Um...I don't really have an opinion on the state of things.

> Watch as Edelgard fiercely rants against the concept of nobility, while Dimitri looks on in shock.

Edelgard: This whole system is completely rotten! It's all based on lies and deception! We need to break free from it!

You: Yeah, I agree. I think we should totally kick nobles out of power.

Edelgard: How?!

> Say “I thought you had a plan? A class president needs a good plan.”

You: I thought you had a plan? A class president needs a good plan.

Edelgard: Uh, yeah...I guess...but what exactly would that plan entail?

You: Let's see here...(sigh)...

> Point out how Edelgard cannot make a plan, and thus she shouldn’t be class president

Edelgard: I'm sorry, but I just don't have any plans. My mind is too clouded by thoughts of rebellion.

You: That's because you're not making a plan!

> !Dimitri starts arguing with Edelgard just because he’s edgy

Dimitri: Hey, hey! Calm down, Edelgard! Sheesh, calm down there, ladyboy. You know you want to. Look, if you really wanted to rebel against the status quo then why didn't you just start doing it yourself?

> Watch them argue and snack on popcorn

You: (Sigh) Okay, well I suppose they both deserve to lose their positions.

You turn away from the two and go back to watching the rest of the candidates.

The bell rings signaling lunch time. The candidates stand up and begin heading towards their tables.

> Go back to your lunch table and find Hilda

You head back to your table and find Hilda sitting alone. She notices you looking over at her.

Hilda: Hi, Claude.

You: What are you doing here?

Hilda: Oh, nothing much. Just needed to get away from the others for awhile.

You: So where did you go?

Hilda: Well, I went to the cafeteria and got some food before coming back here.

> Ask Hilda where her gf Marianne is

Hilda: Hey, you know where Marianne is?

You: No, why?

Hilda: Because she's my girlfriend! And I told you so in this letter I found under my desk.

You: Huh? Why would Marianne be your girlfriend?

Hilda: Well, it was kind of an accident.

We were talking about our future together and we started kissing. It wasn't planned or anything. Anyway, I think we should stop talking about this now since it might cause problems later. Besides, you can tell me all about it when you get home.

You: Um...

> Ask Hilda if she saw the debates earlier

Hilda: Yeah, I saw them. They were pretty boring though. Everyone was just spouting off random ideas that had no basis in reality. I mean sure, some people tried to sound smart, but most of what they said was complete nonsense.

You: How was I?

Hilda: Not bad actually. I thought you'd do better than the other candidates.

You: (Sigh) Alright, alright, I'll try harder next time. Thanks for telling me everything though. It made me feel a little more comfortable with myself. Now let's eat!

> Feast like kings

After eating, you sit down at one of the empty seats near the front of the room. Your stomach growls loudly as you realize how hungry you are. You grab a piece of fruit and start chewing it greedily.

After eating, you sit down at one of the empty seats near the front of the room. Your stomach growls loudly as you realize how hungry you are. You grab a piece of fruit and start chewing it greedily.

Suddenly, someone sits across from you.

#aidungeon #fireemblem #threehouses #ferdiand #claude #crack #stack #popcorn #dimitri #edelgard #hilda #blyeth #president #classpresident #debate #ai #winner #vonaegir #ferdinandvonaeigir #fireemblemthreehouses #crackers #hubert #girlfriend #future #voting #votes #officersacademy #school #war #battle

[trip-downtheriverstyx]

First Day Of My Life || One-shot

Summary: Opal, Hades’ daughter, deals with the trials of a first day of university

The night before school, Opal does not sleep. She is like her father in that way. Often times he’s teased her it’s because she was conceived by the wicked blue candlelight of the Keres, which has turned her this colour blue on the inside—made her pale like him, made her restless, made her feel safest when the stars are out. Oh, she’s nothing like her brothers of course, both wearing the Underworld bold on their pale brow as they pass secrets to each other through the ghosts, their own invisible game of Telephone. But she is a child of Keres. A child born in the eye of Lachesis’s needle. A child who dances on the thread of fate.

And she’s Belle’s daughter too, which means she’s restless because it’s school tomorrow, and she’s excited.

There’s a soft knock on her door and she turns in her rocking chair, where she curled up with a book. It’s her father, who must have heard that tiny squeak of the chair.

“—You’re supposed to be in bed,” he said, arching a fine brow.

“I was just going to bed,” says Opal to that. “Really. I was just reading.” Her father keeps staring at her. “Alright, looking.” The stare continues. “Alright, my thoughts were wandering. I’m not nervous though, I swear.”

“You don’t have to go,” he says. He folds his arms. “I don’t see what that place can teach you that we can’t.”

“Don’t let Mum hear you say that—”

“I didn’t go to uni, I turned out just fine.”

“Well, I want a degree like any normal, Mundus 18-year-old—”

“Opal, you’re not normal.”

“Well—besides from being dead, I guess.”

Her father only blinks at the word, his lips still pressed in a line, so thin it was as though she’d drawn it on herself. He doesn’t like that language, he’s told her, not because it’s upsetting, but because it’s inaccurate. Opal Acheron is not dead. Not yet.

She’s almost dead though. She would be dead, if her father was not the ambassador of the three worlds.

“Next year, you will be 18 again,” he continues. “And if you want to go then, you can still go. In the meantime, I can take you anywhere in the world. To Japan, Germany, Russia. Anywhere.”

Opal closes her book in her lap and smiles at her father, who is quite good at pretending to be unbothered when he is just that. Only she and her mother know the correct crease on his brow to look for. It’s his tell. “Daddy,” she says sweetly. “Really, I’ll be fine. Alexandre and Bellamy will be there. That’s why I’ve waited a year to go. It’ll be like nothing’s changed.”

Her father snorts again, but he nods. “Alright,” he says. “Now go to sleep. Just because you’re dead,” he says it playfully, giving an eyeroll “doesn’t mean you don’t need sleep.”

“Yes, Daddy,” she says back to him. And as the door shuts Opal looks away from the window and to the candle of Keres there on its sill, touching the fire with the tip of her finger, and pretending, for a second, that’s she’s alive.

One year ago, Opal felt an old pain twinge in her chest and for a moment she became breathless. When next she breathed again, the air sat on her chest, growing heavier like a stone falling through her, dragging her down with it.

It was just a few days later that her father touched her cheek and made a face she’d never seen—he was terrified.

Opal had a tumor. Opal had a tumor that was too dangerous to operate on. Opal had a tumor that perhaps magic could fix, but Opal did not have anything for the magic to trade. Opal, and her family, had to make a decision.

“The only thing irreversible is death,” declared her father, looking her straight in the eye. “Before that, anything is possible.”

So Opal, 18-year-old Opal, decided to bargain with the ambassador of death.

She had not died, but she was not alive either. She stayed frozen, perfectly safe in Limbo during the waking hours, before she was called forth by the candle of Keres at night like her father before her, like the candles that burned on the bedside the night she was conceived eighteen years ago. Perhaps her father was right when he said that she was blue on the inside. She liked to think that tumor of hers was blue. She liked to think it was shaped like a flame.

When Opal wakes up, her flame is out and her bed is empty. She opens her eyes and is on top of the ceiling. She huffs—she always does that. A year in ghostskin and she still can’t keep her feet on the ground in the morning!

Her door opens and in comes Alexandre, looking up at Opal. “Still can’t keep your feet on the ground?” he teases.

“Oi, you’re supposed to knock!”

“You’re gonna make me late for our 9am. Mum’s made toast with that strawberry jam you like. If you want a taste.”

Opal closes her eyes and when she opens them again, she’s right in front of Alexandre, her once-younger brother (he’s caught up to her now—funny, strange, but still, she’ll always think him little). “Fine,” she sniffs. Alexandre bites into the toast and Opal feels her own mouth fill with the taste of strawberry. Fresh as summer, though summer is waning now, and, if Alexandre’s nose is right—it smells a little of dust and leaves outside the open window.

“Mum, I love it!” Opal throws her voice so it echoes in every single room of the house.

“She’s already at the bookstore,” scoffs Alexandre. “Bloody hell.”

“How am I supposed to—nevermind. Can we go now?”

“Aren’t you going to get changed?” Alexandre eyes her up and down. She’s in an old t-shirt from a community play (Hamlet—she was Rosencrantz) and green sofie shorts all rolled up. She blinks once and stares at him—hard—challenging their father. Alexandre just looks bored, turning and chomping on toast before clomping down the stairs.

“Up to you!” he calls to her.

“Plenty of students go to their first class in pajamas!” she calls back. “Even the ghost ones!” But she scrunches up her face and imagines herself in something else anyway. This is, after all, the closest thing to a first day of university that she will get. She imagines all the lines of her are solid, thick, real. She imagines boots on her feet and rolled down socks and—stealing Bellamy’s flannel to tie ‘cross her hips—

“Stop tryin’ to nab my clothes!” barks Bellamy from down the hall. Whoops. She forgets, sometimes, how wonderful she is at moving things with her mind now that her mind can be everywhere at once. Like father, like daughter.

Anyway, when she opens her knees, she’s walking along the stone path toward town next to Alexandre. “How do I look now, little brother?” she chirps as she skips in front of him, walking backwards.

“Boo-tiful.”

“Haha.”

“Hey, remind me--what did mum say about you possessing me if you knew the answer? That’s allowed right? She said yes to that, yeah?”

“Alexandre, we haven’t even gotten into town and you’re trying to cheat—”

“Just a question!”

In class, she cannot find a seat.

This is because she is invisible to the eye and no one will spare the poor ghost girl a place. A terrible excuse.

“You were supposed to save me that spot,” she sing-songs at Alexandre as she stands in front of his desk. He is staring through her, ignoring her now, only…

His voice fills the room, echoing off the walls of Limbo. Sit down. We’re goin’ over the syllabus.

“I have no where to sit, Xan!”

Sit on the ceiling for all I care. Stop. Distracting. Me. It’s my first day too.

Heaving a sigh, Opal turns back around toward the board where Dr. Thatch is yammering on about essays and due dates. At first she considers the sitting-on-the-ceiling method, but going topsy-turvy made her insides go all over the place. So she sets her jaw, reaches back to tighten her ponytail and then flounces through the desks and through the students toward the front of the classroom, where she sits, cross-legged, right there on the floor.

Like mother, like daughter.

Her next class is with Bellamy. He is Opal’s favourite little brother, in case you were wondering. Unlike Alexandre, he is not a cocky shit with attitude problems. He is a know-it-all with attitude problems. Opal, as a know-it-all herself, finds they share common ground. She finds him in the hallway outside their literature class, a book already open, nose in it. She flips a page from down the hall just to make him look up and scowl at her, as she skips on down.

“You’re not cramming are you? Not already? I thought that was Xan’s job.”

“I don’t think our European Folklore and Magiliterature class is going to feature Hubert’s Dune,” he tells her dryly, lifting up the book. A student—a blonde, pony-tailed creature who knows how to do eyeliner and Opal’s jealous of that-- looks at them, because Bell hates talking telepathically. It gives him headaches, he claims. Sometimes he accidentally says what he’s thinking, and gods forbid that!

His head jerks and he looks directly at her. “What? Sort of in the middle of a private conversation,” he informs her bluntly.

“Bell, be nice. She could be a friend,” says Opal.

He looks back at her and make a face. The girl goes “Uhhh…”

“I’m talking to my sister who is a ghost. If you’re new to Swynlake…” he trails off and rolls his eyes. Then looks back at Opal. “Anyway.”

“I think she’s sort of cute, you should ask her out,” says Opal.

“I don’t like girls, I like books,” he says.

“Right. Erm. Please save me a seat? Xan didn’t and it was bloody awful.”

He nods and then the door opens. When they all file inside, Bellamy puts one of his notebooks on the desk beside him and drapes that flannel from earlier. “My sister’s sitting here,” he tells a kid who comes in last minute and then stares him down until he goes away.

And Opal happily takes notes all class, she and Bell exchanging little looks every time someone gawks at the pencil twirling in the air.

Lunch hour, she lays out on the grass with Alexandre on one side and Bell—still with a book in his hands, reading as he munches on crackers—on the other. It’s beautiful out. Through Alexandre’s nose, she smells the fresh grass. If she closes her eyes and concentrates as hard as she can, she can feel the grass on his ankles and on his arms.

But she cannot feel the sun. She tries, but she can’t. It filters through her and all around and she cannot remember the last time she was warm.

“I think it’s going well, don’t you?” she murmurs half-way through the hour. Alexandre shifts on the grass and looks her way.

“Feel like you’re learnin’ anything?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she comments with a tiny shrug of her shouldesr on the grass. Then she sighs and sits up again and stares out at the busy quad, all the students rushing to their classes. She wants to be one of them. To feel the pavement scuff under toe. To feel the weight of the books on her back. She doesn’t want to keep stealing bits of life from Alexandre’s mouth and ears and eyes and nose. Maybe her father was right and all this was going to do was turn her heavy and sad inside, more ghost than girl.

She sighs again, then flicks her eyes up and sees—

Someone is looking right at her.

She looks to her left. Her right. Behind her. She reaches out on instinct to try to tug on Alexandre’s sleeve but just sends a shiver into his body, which is enough of a jolt for him to jerk up with a nasty snarl—“OI, what the HELL—”

“Xan, he’s—that boy is looking at me right? Bell? Bell,” she says his name again and jerks the book out of his hand, sending it halfway cross the quad.

He sits up too. “That was fucking rude.”

“Look, look at that boy—he’s looking at me. He sees me! He sees me, yes?”

Xan squints across the quad too and then heaves a sigh. “Christ, I guess, I dunno. What, you think we’re the only mediums in town—”

“—well usually towns only have one or two mediums,” starts Bellamy, as he leans over to grab his book.

“—Okay, but it’s Swynlake, Dad lives here, I think we’re a bloody exception,” grumbles Alexandre.

“I’m going to introduce myself,” says Opal, breathlessly. Or—she would, if she had breath to begin with.

“Uhhhh, think that’s a ba—Opal!”

But it’s too late. Opal has blinked and now she’s across the quad, standing in front of the picnic table, looking at the boy. He is eating a tuna fish sandwich.

“Can you see me?” she says. The boy drops the tuna fish sandwich.

“You can hear me!” Opal smiles and she sits right next to him without pause.

“Uh…” he glances around, then looks down at his hands. “K-keep… your voice down or—“

“Oh, I’m a ghost person. It’s okay, they can’t hear me. You can though,” she talks fast. “But you knew that, right?”

The boy swallows and nods. It’s a short jerky movement, then he breathes out a harsh, awkward chuckle. “Uh yeah, sorry…” he’s still muttering under his breath. “It’s um… it’s sort of new-ish for me… “

Ah, late bloomer. This makes Opal smile a little. She’d once wanted to be a late bloomer. She’d hoped and prayed for it, wanting to be like her brothers and her father, wanting to know all the names of the ghosts that drifted through this town. She’d come to terms with it around the time she got the tumor. Ironic, thy name is Death, she supposed.

“Is…Swynlake new for you too…then?” she asks as she curls her fingers in a fist on the picnic table. “Um, I mean—are you a fresher?”

The boy nods. “Uh yah, demonology major—”

“Me too!” Opal explains and she smiles again, so bright she almost can feel it. OR—she can, but it’s not something that lives in her cheeks. It lives everywhere, in all the energy that makes Opal, Opal. She could use that energy to project her voice, that’s how happy she is. “Me too—I mean, I’ve lived in Swynlake all my life though so…if you ever want someone to show you around or something—”

“Uh—” the boy clears his throat then glances toward her, his eyes lingering for a daring second before he looks back down at his lap. “Not to be rude, but aren’t you—you know…”

“Dead?” says Opal. And she smiles again. “No. Not yet.”

 She leaves the conversation, somehow, with a name—Harry—and a number jangling in her head. She sings it under her breath, over and over, so she won’t forget it—she makes Bell write it down in the dog ear of one of his books and makes Xan sharpie it onto the inside of his palm. And now it doesn’t seem so bad really, being a dead-ish, alive-ish girl, being stuck. She won’t be stuck forever. And she won’t let it stop her.

She walks home with her brothers, one on each side, looking straight on at the sun as it begins to set. “I think mum will be very proud of us,” she announces to them. “Xan didn’t fall asleep in class, Bell managed not to run into any poles, and I made a friend today.”

“Wa-hoo,” says Xan.

“Mm,” says Bell, reading.

And it is at that moment, she feels a tug at her navel, and it’s like being set on fire again—life flooding back into her veins, her blood rushing, toes curling into her boots—

And Opal opens her eyes and takes a breath.  

#bdrplabors #in which lauryl dooms herself still by writing 2 much oh well lmao this was great #story #excuse all bad writing