#i may regret that tag. we'll see | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mackeydoodledoo · 4 months

Text

The (Star Crossed) Lovers

Pairing: Lamina x (Fem!Tribute)Reader

Summary: You initially become Allies with Lamina out of pity after watching her district partner leave her for another group of tributes. But, you later realize you allied with her for different reasons.

Warnings: TBOSAS Spoilers, Bl00d/Injuries, Swearing, Lamina's PTSD

Key: Italics = Thoughts, +*+ = Time Skip, +++ = MC's blackout

Theme: Some Nights - Fun.

A/n: An AU if Lamina won the games. R is roughly the same age as Lamina

Tags: @bdscsjhb

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

*Lamina's POV* "Lamina," Treech calls after you

You look at him, hopeful. You begin to make your way over to him.

"No, just you," The short red-haired girl says

You stop in your tracks.

"Just you," She repeats again

Considering how he looked at you... You hoped... You hoped that he wouldn't so you wouldn't be alone... However... He looks down at the ground, turning his back to you.

"You and me then," An unfamiliar voice comes up next to you

You look over your shoulder...

"You and me," She gestures to the both of you

Without even a second thought, you nod. The both of you look over to Treech; still looking downward.

"Don't worry about him," She tells you, "He may be from home for you, but we'll show him that he'll regret not choosing you. Y/n."

"Lamina," You introduce yourself

+*+

The bombing cut your surveillance of the arena short. But, Y/n made sure to keep you alive. You half-assed the interviews. But, it was enough to get some donations for sponsor gifts.

+*+

You avoided Treech the entire night. You were still in disbelief that he left you for other tributes.

"Lean on me," Y/n's voice whispers

"Excuse me?" You look at her

"Use me as a pillow is what I'm saying," She clarifies

You turn the other way, attempting to sleep.

"Suit yourself..." She sighs

+*+

"I'll find you as soon as possible," Y/n whispers to you

"Quiet!" A peacekeeper tells them

The peacekeeper keeping an eye on Y/n pushes them forward, making you lose sight of them.

+*+

Screams... Oh, all the screams... It went on for a little while until the echoes began to subside.

You take refuge atop a beam where the boy from District 2 was hung from. You look down at him, carefully reaching out to his head. You gently caress it and tilt his head up to you.

"Please..." He sputters, "Please..."

You gently let his head back down, but tilt it at an angle; an easy access to his neck. You take your axe and drive it into his neck. You cut the rope that bound his wrists and let him fall to the ground.

As you settle yourself on the beam, you hear the whirring of a drone heading right for you. However, you could see something that was attached to it. You slowly outstretch your hand to grab it. However, you saw it twitch and you drew your hand back before the bottle crashes against one of the columns...

So much for hydrating...

"Those drones are absolute shit," Y/n's voice echoes

You look down form the beam and sigh in relief, worried for a moment that it was someone else.

"And who to think using glass bottles would be smart?" She asks, sarcastically, "You doing alright?"

You nod.

"Do I have your permission to join you up there Lamina?" She asks

"How will I know you won't kill me later?" You ask

"Well, I've never killed anyone in my life," She says, "No way in hell I'd ever have that kind of thought, even in here..."

"Fine," You answer

You cautiously watch Y/n scale the column, making her way up to you.

"Don't know how you make it look so easy," She strains, hoisting herself up onto the beam

"Right there is enough," You state

Your axe; drawn, into her direction.

"Okay, alright," She raises her hands in defeat, remaining where she was

"Are you armed?" You ask

"Kinda ran up to the stands as soon as the countdown ended... So no," She answers

You reach for a knife you also snagged from your belt, handing it to them.

"Trust me already?" She says, taking the weapon

"It's more like you're going to need it," You clarify

It was uneventful the first day... Soon night had drawn itself over the arena...

*Y/n's POV* "Come on, rest up, Lamina," You tell her, leaning against the column holding one end of the beam

You gesture to her to lay on you.

But she doesn't move.

"Lamina, it's better than sleeping like a log," You add, "I'll take first watch."

*Lamina's POV* You slowly make your way up to Y/n, your back slowly laying itself against her. Your head resting against her shoulder. She was right...

Better than sleeping like a log...

You watch as Y/n drapes her over-shirt over your upper body.

"Even in the summer, it's going to be cold at night," She says

*Y/n's POV* Your back was not going to forgive you. But, you could have been in worse cases.

"You're really warm," Lamina states

"Sorry," You say

"No no it's... Nice," She sighs, "Back home we normally didn't have much to keep us warm during the cooler months."

"Well, glad I can be your blanket," You say, chuckling

+*+

You weren't sure how much time passed... But, you could feel how heavy your eyes were getting...

Maybe it'll be okay... If I just... Close... My... Eyes... For a bit....

+*+

Your body felt like it was falling: making you jolt awake.

Lamina.

You look down at her; still sound asleep. You take a deep sigh of relief.

"Everything alright?" Lamina yawns as she sits up

"Y-yeah, just unexpectedly fell asleep," You say, "Did I miss anything?"

"Two capitol boys were right below us earlier in the night," She tells you

"They didn't attack you did they?" You ask

She shakes her head.

"Good," You sigh

+*+

"Your little friend from home and her girlfriend is next," Coral viciously tells Treech, having it echo in the arena

Lamina's head lifts off of your shoulder. You register the footsteps coming. Lamina immediately draws her weapon. You do the same. But, you could see the fear in her eyes.

"Lamina," You call out to her

She doesn't register your voice calling out to her...

"Lamina!" You grab her attention

You gently grab her face to turn her attention to you.

"We're going to be okay," You attempt to reassure her, "Only two of them can come up at a time. As long as we have our backs together, we can take them on. Do you trust me?"

Lamina nods.

You instinctively lean into her, but leaning your head upward: giving her dirty forehead a kiss before standing onto your feet, helping her up in the process. The both of you draw your respective weapons: facing opposite of each other, backs nearly touching.

The pinky from your non-dominant hand brushes against Lamina's. Hers links to yours as Coral and her district partner menacingly climb up from both sides: cornering the two of you

"The two little lovers," Coral attempts to taunt the both of you, "The good thing is you'll be dying together!"

You don't waver in the slightest.

Coral swings the trident. You take a step back, but your back is greeted with Lamina's, nearly throwing you both off balance.

Shit.. I don't have space to back up... Or move around...

Coral swings again... But, this time, you catch a part of the trident that wasn't sharp. She attempts to draw it back to herself, however, remains within your grasp. But, Coral thrusted it towards you. You fall onto the beam back first; Coral attempting to lodge her trident into your face. The only thing keeping you from meeting the spectral plane was how much force you were exerting to counter the force Coral was exerting.

Your eyes scramble around to look for a possible counterattack.

Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink........

Still gripping onto the non-sharp part of the trident, you kick the pole attached to the three pronged weapon as hard as you could: breaking it. It knocks Coral off balance, but steadies herself from he protruding column.

You scramble to your feet. But, Coral's reflexes were slightly faster. She draws the now-makeshift spear and thrusts it forward. Right at the last second, you move your head. But, it was a few hairs too late.

The sharp pain courses throughout your body as you felt warm trails of blood trickle down your cheek. You wanted to grip at it to stop the pain from taking over, the throbbing making you feel the temptation to stop fighting.

Then you hear a yelp.

Shit...

You again forgot to consider the fact that Lamina was mere inches behind you.

You only had a few mere milliseconds you had to throw together some kind of plan...

+++

It all happened so fast... Like a single maneuver...

You were attempting to keep your distance from Coral since the start of the fight, however, the next moment you saw here face inches from yours. But you look down and felt warm blood trickle onto your hand. You look back up at Coral: blood seeping from her mouth as she tries to collect herself...

"I... It's not fair..." She wheezes, gripping at your shirt, "I couldn't have killed them all for nothing..."

Her grip eases on you as your grip on your weapon ceases... Letting her fall...

Everything felt numb....

You just killed somebody... An actual human being...

You were trying to avoid that the entire time since the games started... Your tactic was to simply stay alive. To keep Lamina alive.

"Y/n!" Lamina's muffled voice echoes

"Y/n!" Her voice echoes again

You blink, slowly turning to Lamina's voice.

You began to adjust to reality again. When your vision adjusts to its shallow depth of field, the boy from 4, clearly horrified at the death of his district partner, he made the decision to traumatize you by attempting to kill Lamina.

You noticed how he was exerting his weight onto one leg.

Did Lamina injure him?

"Go for his leg!" You tell Lamina

However, he whips his net forward, making Lamina draw back into your legs. When he attempts to whip the both of you with the net, you thread your fingers in between the openings, yanking the net behind you, but pulling him forward. Lamina, still crouched onto the ground, propels her arm forward, swinging her axe across both of his legs. Making him fall off of the beam. The sound of his body making contact with the ground echoing throughout the arena.

"You two boys want to come up here?" You look down at them, attempting to intimidate them

Treech; Lamina's district partner is the first to walk away: which he looks to the ground. The boy from 10, was the last to walk away. Looking like he contemplated on climbing up.

You sigh out loud as you slump against the column, slowly sitting down on the beam... The thumping in your ears beginning to cease.

"You're hurt," Lamina states

"So are you," You sigh, looking at her arm

"Yours looks worse than mine," She counter argues

"It's only a scratch," You chuckle, touching the now-dried blood that trickled down your cheek, refusing to believe her.

*Lamina's POV* You kneel down to Y/n to inspect her wound.

"Lamina, I told you it was only a scratch," She attempts to shoo you away

But you doesn't listen to her.

"Hold still 'hero'," You say, cocking a small smile

Your hands cup herr face as you attempts to rub away the dried blood.

*Y/n's POV* But, the both of you hear the familiar noise of the sponsor drone. Your hand reaches up and catches a glass full of water. Unconsciously you hand it to Lamina.

"Drink," You say

"It's yours, you earned it," Lamina says, trying to push it back to you

"You earned it as much as I did," You say

You gently place the bottle into her palms. Keeping your hands over hers.

"It was a team effort," You smile, "Now drink."

Almost immediately she uncaps the bottle and chugs it like her life depended on it. You hear another drone coming in... Again, you catch the little parcel attached to it...

"What did they send this time?" Lamina asks

"'To prevent infection, apply to wounds generously' - Pliny Harrington," You read aloud

"My mentor?" Lamina asks, drawing herself close to you to read the note

You kneel down and begin applying the ointment upon Lamina's arm. You gently massage it into her wound... She winces, but sits through the little pain.

"What about you?" She asks

"I'll be fine," You say, beginning to close the ointment

However, she gently grabs it out of your hand, reopening it.

"You deserve it too, I don't need to be coddled twenty-four seven," She says

*Lamina's POV* "If you say so," Y/n says

As you gently apply it to her cheek, you noticed how she was leaning into your palm that cradled the other side of her head.

"You're a pretty good fighter," Y/n says

"I'm not," You chuckle

"Don't doubt yourself Lamina," She smiles, "I was zoned out for like... What a minute and you were still dealing with him. You also managed to injure him and be the one to deliver the final blow on him."

"That's because you helped keep the net away from me," You continue to argue

"It did hurt when I caught it," She says, showing her hand, "Kid really put up a fight... The both of them did."

*Y/n's POV* The both of you had uneventful things happen for the rest of the day.

"You okay Y/n?" Lamina breaks the silence

You didn't get to register the fact that you had been silent since killing Coral.

"Y-yeah. I'm," You suppress a sniffle, "I'm fine."

"You don't sound okay," Lamina says

"Well," You begin, not even hiding the tears that streamed down your face, "The entirety of Panem watched me kill somebody... I hoped... I didn't have to..."

*Lamina's POV* You remember when she told you that she had never killed a person in her life, and that she never had that certain thought.

"It'll be in my conscience for the rest of my life... Depending on how this goes..." She says

*Y/n's POV* You felt a pair of hands wrap around your head, gently. Fingers coiling into your hair, brushing it.

"I'm so sorry you had to do that," She tells you

You bury your face into her shoulder, attempting to suppress a scream mixed with sobbing.

"It's okay," She coddles you

You bunch her sleeve into your fist. Continuing on sobbing and letting out short periods of screams.

+*+

Same sleeping situations... A different night...

"Y/n, is... Is this weird?" Lamina asks

"What does?" You ask

"This..." She says

Her calloused fingers take your wrist and hoists one arm over her shoulder, the other coiling around her midsection.

"That... Even in the middle of all of this... I feel calm... Safe... With you," She says

Her hand travels up your arm draped over her shoulder. She lifts herself off of your body and turns to fully face you.

"Everything oka-"

Before you could ask her, her lips connect to yours. The feeling was the exact opposite of what you expected.

It felt soft...

"Just... That," She smiles, "In case either of us die here... I might as well be the one to confess..."

You push your upper body off of the column; reaching out to Lamina and brush more hair behind her ear. As you do so, you continue to lean forward, giving her enough time to pull sway if she wished. However, she didn't.

You gift her a light, feathery kiss, matching hers and to reciprocate the feeling back to her.

"I uh- never thought my first kiss would be in a fight-to-the death arena," She smiles

"Neither did I," You smile back

+*+

The night drags on...

You couldn't get an inch of sleep: your mind was still attempting to process the fact that you killed a person for the first time. However, you look down at Lamina; sleeping peacefully in your embrace. You gently kiss her forehead.

Knowing that the both of you survived because of the trust you put into each other, was enough to ease your mind.

+*+

The both of you felt confident enough to climb down from the beam, hearing the whirring of a helicopter: carrying a giant tube...

"Is it over?" Wovey asks, crying

"Wovey," The boy from 11 calls out to the kid

"Can we go home now?" She continues walking towards the glass cylinder

"Wovey," You attempt to call out to her as well

Your eyes widen as the glass began to crack.

"Wovey get away from there!" You yell

But it was like Wovey couldn't hear you... The cracks on the container grow...

"Lamina. Run. Now," You tell her

She doesn't question your statement as the glass broke; who knows how many snakes escaped from it... You and Lamina climb onto s horizontal slab of concrete; It was enough leverage to have one's upper body peek over into the stands, but not enough to boost oneself over.

"Step on my hands," You say, linking your fingers together

Lamina steps onto your linked hands, and attempts to step onto your shoulder, but nearly falls over. But, you use any strength you had to keep yourself steady. You hear a screams, many of them. You look over and see a rainbow dress...

"Lucy Gray!!" You scream, watching her fall onto the ground

You didn't know Lucy Gray at all... But, watching her die broke your heart... You enjoyed her song at the reaping, and her little song in her interview...

The hoard of snakes were drawing near...

"Lamina, hurry!" You look up at her

"I'm trying!" She strains

As Lamina's foot was trying to balance in your linked hands, she was also struggling to lift herself up into the stands. You were running out of strength to hold her up... You look at the ground to see the snakes closing in on you. You shut your eyes.

For a minute, you see your life flash before your eyes. Lamina sleeping peacefully in your embrace.. The kiss she gave you, should either of you die in the arena...

You open your eyes again, and with all of the strength you had left, you boost her over the stands. Nearly losing your balance.

*Lamina's POV* You heard her yelp. You turn to look at her, she had just hoisted herself up from the ledge.

"Y/n!" You yell

You curl your arms under her armpits and drag her away from the snakes, and further up the stands with whatever strength you had from a quick adrenaline rush.

"Get to higher ground," She wheezes for air

"Then come on Y/n," You say, beginning to make your way up

However, she doesn't move.

"Y/n?" You call out to her

"I..." Her voice trails down

Both of your eyes look down at her leg: noticeable puncture holes near her ankle, blood trickling from the two bite marks.

"Whatever those kinds of snakes were... Were venomous..." She says, "I... I don't know how much longer I'm going to last..."

"I'm not going without you," You sit down, taking her into your arms

"They can't trek up here," She says, "I deal with snakes all the time back home... They need a coarse surface for their body to travel..."

She looks up at you: her nose beginning to bleed... You begin to brush her hair, the back of your fingers brushing against her cheek.

"Lamina..." She sighs, "I need you to promise me one last thing..."

"Anything Y/n," You try to hold back tears

"Once you get out of here... Live your life," She begins, "Never let them change the kind, selfless, human that you are..."

You choke on a sob, but nod.

"Hmmm... Don't cry Lamina... No matter how far apart we are... I'll always be with you," She smiles, trying to wipe your tears

The corners of her mouth begin to seep blood... Y/n was just beginning to bleed everywhere... You hated seeing her in such a state...

"Everything hurts," She whines, "But... At least you're the last thing I get to see... You're the best thing that I got out of these games..."

Her hand weakly reaches for your cheek. You reach for it and hold onto it, bringing it up to your cheek.

"And you were the best thing I got out of these games too," You smile through your crying

You hold onto Y/n as you watch the life being sucked away from her, the smile fade into the natural way her mouth hangs. Her grip on your hand loosens, her hand growing heavier every second her life was dissipating. Your hand reaches up to her eyes and you gently close them.

You attempt to clean off whatever blood was seeping from her face..

+*+

You held onto Y/n's dead body for the entire night, you never left her side like she did for you since becoming allies... Like she had told you, none of the snakes had trekked up into the stands.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the winner of the 10th annual Hunger Games, from District 7, Lamina," The announcers voice echoes throughout the arena

Even after being announced the Victor, you didn't feel like it... The peacekeepers had to pry you out from your embrace with Y/n's body as they were collecting the dead tributes and the now-dead snake mutts from the arena.

The only thing you were able to retrieve off of her body, the only piece you had left of Y/n was her over-shirt that she had always draped over you during the nights in the arena.

+*+

Even after going home to 7, your life wasn't the same.

You either woke up screaming or crying...

Screaming, you nearly experienced death.

Crying, you lost the girl that saved your life, that you grew feelings for. On many occasions throughout the games. Not once Y/n had ever thought to save herself. Only thought about your life.

You told your friends in the district about Y/n... She was hailed a hero in 7: for giving her life so that you could go home.

But, even so... The nightmares never went away...

Another night... Waking up screaming or crying.

As you sit up in your bed, you attempt to wipe your tears away. However, you feel a cool pressure against your back and your midsection...

"Don't worry, I'm right here," Y/n's voice tickles your ear

You turn around to only see the wall of your room. But, you knew that feeling, you knew her voice...

It would be days, weeks, months, even years since you became the Victor of the 10th Hunger Games...

But you never forgot about the girl in the arena that was willing to give her life to save yours...

#the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #district 7 #lamina tbosas #lamina #lamina x reader #female reader #tbosas

73 notes · View notes

wannab-urs · 11 months

Text

Appropriate Reactions

Summary: Ezra is stranded without a ship and has nothing to offer you in return for a ride off The Green... So you make a deal.

WC: 1.6k

Content/Warnings: Butt stuff :) oh and just like... warning for the way Ezra talks. Excessive use of lines from the movie.

I am excited to present the next installment of the Peg that Middle Aged Man Campaign 2023. My dear friends @atinylittlepain (who made the graphic!), @beskarandblasters, @serenaxpedro, @jksprincess10, @cutesyscreenname and I are all writing a series of pegging fics for you lovely freaks. And we all have at least one out already! We'll be posting a masterlist next week, but for now, you can find them under the tag #peg that middle aged man campaign 2023.

Thanks to @str84pedro for the edit/commentary <3

Ezra Masterlist | Main Masterlist | AO3 | Kofi

The Green is a terrifying place to mine for Aurelac, being one of the rougher and less regulated prospecting destinations. As such, you don’t make a habit of talking to strangers here. Get in, get the shit, get out. That’s how you’ve always done it.

This time is different though. This time you found a man sitting on a log, helmet-covered head pressed into his hands. You tried to retreat quietly, hoping he wouldn’t notice you. It’s never a good idea to get caught out here alone. People got desperate.

Before you could safely make it back into the cover of the forest, the man looked up and locked eyes with you. You pulled your thrower on him, taking several steps back. The man threw his hands in the air and said, “Easy there, stranger. I do not intend to cause you any harm.”

He spoke with an odd cadence, some fringe-planet accent coloring his dialogue. It was oddly disarming, causing you to drop your weapon a tad.

“And why would I believe you?”

“I happen to be without a ship and therefore have no reason to dispossess you of your trophy case,” the man shot back, hands still above his head.

This shocked you, as being without a ship on The Green pretty much guaranteed you were not long for this world. His air filter would give out sooner or later and the dust would choke him to death. You may be tough, maybe even cold, but you’re not evil. You couldn’t leave him there.

You holstered your thrower and took a few steps toward the man. “I can give you a lift, but I won’t do it for free. What can you offer me?”

The man had slowly lowered his hands to gesture at himself. “Your offer is indeed generous, and I would be more than happy to sign and seal save for one glaring slip… I have naught to my name but this suit and my body.”

You considered him for a moment. It was a little hard to get a good look under the bubble of his helmet, but from what you could see, he was handsome. He had dark hair and golden skin. A mustache framed his plush lips and a scruffy beard covered his jaw. His nose was prominent and curved, which you’ve always liked on a man. Fuck it, he’s hot. “Your body will do.”

He had shrugged and stood up, striding over to shake your hand. “Name’s Ezra.”

On the walk back to your ship, you’d introduced yourself and asked for the story of how he came to be without a ship on this gods forsaken moon. It was a sorry tale and made you more than a little wary about his motivations, but he was so damn charming you couldn’t help but trust him.

Now, sitting in the captain’s chair of your ship and taking in the sight of Ezra out of his suit, you’re glad you decided to trust him. The man is gorgeous, sitting sprawled out against the wall. He’s all broad shoulders and thick thighs wrapped in a black and tan flight suit. His close cropped hair has a little blonde patch at the front and his eyes are a deep chocolate brown.

“Would I be too forward in asking how you intend to proceed, little bird?” Ezra drawls.

“Not at all. How experienced are you, exactly?” You doubt very much that he’s a blushing virgin, based on looks and age alone.

“I myself have frequently indulged, and I have not often found regret,” he throws a wink at you, the corner of his mouth quirking into a self-satisfied smirk. He knows he’s hot, damn him. But you intend to throw him for a loop.

“I’m not sure you’ve indulged in this particular technique… If you want a ride on my ship, you’ll have to let me take you, pretty boy,” you stare him down, smugness settling into your features as you take in his shocked expression.

“I… um. I have not had that particular pleasure… you do not appear to have an apparatus with which to accomplish the task at hand.” He gestures at you, clearly wondering if you’re hiding a dick under your flight suit.

“I’m full of surprises.” You stand and make your way to a small wardrobe by your bed, digging around in your stash to find what you’re looking for. You shut the door, triumphantly holding your strap out for Ezra.

The harness is made from a similar material to your flight suit. Already slotted into the ring is a long flesh colored phallus made from a soft but firm material mined on your home planet.

“Now this is somethin’ I have never seen… in all my time in The Green.” Ezra looks fascinated by your contraption, not a hint of nervousness in his big brown eyes.

“So what’ll it be, Ez? Deal or no deal?”

---

Ezra is truly beautiful. His golden skin shimmers with sweat as you pump two fingers in and out of him, lightly stroking his pretty cock. He’s laid back on your bed, thighs spread to accommodate you, a pillow under his hips to grant you easier access. “Feel good, babe?”

“Kinda nice… tingly,” Ezra chokes out, throwing his head back onto the bed dramatically. He’s extremely vocal, talking himself through the new sensation and whimpering when you curl your fingers into the sensitive spot inside him.

You lower your head and gently suck the tip of his cock into your mouth, skimming your lips over the smooth skin and taking in the earthy taste of his precum. Ezra whines and jerks his hips, trying to push himself deeper in your mouth, but you follow the motion. You just know his begging will be glorious and you’re determined to draw it out of him.

You dip your tongue into his slit at the same time you add a finger inside him. Ezra’s whole body goes taut for a moment, his head snapping up off the bed, before he relaxes into your touch. “You’re so responsive, Ez. Good boy.”

“I greatly… appreciate the compliment… little bird.” Ezra grits through his teeth. “I would also greatly…” he breaks off with a moan as you press the pads of your fingers into his prostate again. “... appreciate getting… a move on.”

You decide you’ve teased him enough for now, sitting back on your heels and slicking up your fake cock. You grip the backs of Ezra’s thighs and push his legs toward his chest, admiring the way he’s so pliant for you. You settle the tip against his hole and push in just a bit. “Good?”

“No harm done yet,” Ezra says breathlessly. You rub your hands up and down his thighs soothingly and push in slowly. Ezra sucks in a breath and blows it out quickly a few times and you giggle at him.

“Ezra, sweetheart, you alright?”

He shifts his hips, seating himself fully on your toy with a slightly pained groan. “You don’t have to be so gentle with me, little bird. I will not shatter.”

You take this as your cue to fuck him stupid. You wonder if you can render him speechless. Leaning forward slightly and readjusting your grip on his thighs, you pull out of him and thrust back in to the hilt twice.

“Slow… slow down a beat there, little bird.” Ezra’s hands flutter over his own chest and up into his hair, like he doesn’t know where to settle them.

You slowly circle your hips, rubbing against the spot inside him you know will get him back on board. Ezra tugs at his own hair and babbles a string of praise at the sensation. “There ya go baby. I’m gonna make you feel good, okay?”

You lean forward, planting your hands on either side of his head and slot your thighs under his. You thrust slowly in and out of him, drawing a circle with your hips each time. His body chases your movements like he doesn’t want you to pull away at all, hands sliding up around your waist and pulling you into him.

“Fuck, little bird, you are a miracle.” He gazes up at you in awe, as if you just told him you know where the Queen’s Lair is and you’re going to take him there. His lips part and his head digs into the sheets as he arches his hips up to you. You reach between your bodies, wrapping your fingers around his length and begin stroking him in time with your thrusts.

“Are you going to come for me, pretty boy?” You whisper before sucking his earlobe into your mouth. He whimpers and arches further into your body, hips shifting to meet every thrust.

“Please! Don’t stop birdie, I’m near- nearing my rel- release.” You stifle a giggle at his phrasing and speed up your hand on his cock. You feel his body jerking beneath you and pull back to watch his face as he cums.

His eyes are shut tight, brow pinched in the middle, and little moans and whimpers fall from his parted lips. You lean forward and suck his plush bottom lip between your teeth, grazing it lightly before kissing him fully.

You feel the hot spurts of his cum cover your fingers as he breaks the kiss, throwing his head back and groaning deep and loud. His fingertips dig into the flesh of your back, pulling you down on top of him.

He lays there, panting into your shoulder for a minute before he turns his head and whispers in your ear.

“Actions like these foment the threat of appropriate reactions.”

----

#peg that middle aged man campaign 2023 #peg that middle aged man 2023 campaign #Ezra #Ezra fics #Ezra fanfiction #Ezra x reader #Ezra x you #Prospect #Prospect (2018)#pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro fics #pedro pascal character fanfiction

166 notes · View notes

modernperplexity · 10 months

Text

Mine Ch. 2: The Waiting Room

Chapter Rating: E (+18) Minors DNI, mention of alcohol consumption and substance abuse.

Word Count: 2539

A/N: Chapter 2 is here y'all! Thank you for bearing with me. As some of you may have read in my last update, I moved across the country. It took some time to get settled and to get in a headspace where I could write again. Anywho, I am excited for you to read this chapter. We'll get to see more of the boys and Frankie being a great dad 🤍 As a reminder my asks are always open. I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!

Quick shout out to @splashofbi-fic-reblogs your comment on chapter 1 inspired one of the lines, thank you for that!

If you'd like to join the tag list click here :)

Mine Masterlist

Chapter 2 : The Waiting Room

“Catfish..what happened back there? It seemed like you were on your A-game. I thought you’d asked her to text you or-”

“Can we talk about this later?” Frankie closed the front door behind him “I’m exhausted, besides we have to go pick up Cami in the morning. My mom has...she has a date.” Frankie groaned internally, instantly regretting the last small detail he let slip.

“Shit man, even your Mom is dating...” Santiago chided with a chuckle until he was met with Frankie’s strong gaze in response,“Alright, alright...G’night”

Frankie couldn't sleep that night, despite feeling exhausted. The events of the evening kept him restless, replaying his time with you and thinking of ways he could have done better. My god was he rusty, Santiago was right, it had been too long since he had put himself out there. Pope had been a great friend, teasing aside, who cared about Frankie's well-being and encouraged him to move forward and past the darkness that he had seen his friend grapple with. He was the reason Frankie had downloaded the latest dating apps only to never complete his profile. He figured if he met someone, he prefer it to be in person.

His thoughts raced through the night. Would anyone want someone so broken with a past like his? Would you? You were so beautiful, smart, and interesting and he was just Francisco Morales the ex-pilot and recovering addict. It’s not like it mattered anyway, he reckoned he’d never see you again. His eyelids eventually grew heavy, as the Netflix show he left playing lulled him to sleep.

“Frankie..” Your heartbeat quickened for two reasons. First, you’d never imagine you’d see the man ever again. Second, your boss had just entered the waiting room and talked with the receptionist at the front desk. Luckily, she was too far away to notice the lack of formality in your interaction.

“Santiago, that little shit.” Frankie muttered under his breath. Your mind too preoccupied to fully register the moment.

“Uh..why don’t we make our way to my office?”

He followed close behind as you walked down the hall. It wasn’t lost on him how Camila’s eyes sparkled when she saw you. How she ran up to greet you and took your hand immediately. His heart was melting at the sight until the moment caught up to him. He had lost your number and figured you misinterpreted his lack of initiation as a sign of rejection. Now he was here, in your office. He thought it some trick of fate, or the handiwork of one he referred to as Pope.

Camila had no patience for you both and had contently occupied herself with the toys you had laid out for her session. Frankie inched toward the edge of his seat, “I’m so sorry. I would’ve called-”

“There’s really no need to explain, Mr. Morales” You waived him off, denying every inch of curiosity that urged you to hear his explanation. He has a child! A daughter, who so happens to be your patient. And what of her mother? Had you given your number out to a married man?

How is this happening right now.. here out of all places!?

“But I want to... Please.” His pleading voice interrupted the racing thoughts that held your attention. How could you deny those deep brown eyes? You quietly surrendered with a nod.

“If you don’t mind..” You looked out the sidelite of your office door, searching for any passersby in the hall, “keeping your voice low, the walls are pretty thin.”

“Right..well, the ink on my hand smeared when I grabbed the beers. I tried to make out the numbers but they were too far gone. I was kicking myself for not asking you to write down your name and number in my contacts or asking you to text me....or-” He sighed and looked at Cami who had now moved on to the animal puzzle at the kid-sized table to the left of him.

His earnest expression rendered you defenseless “Oh god-” A chuckle got away from you, “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just- I don’t know if it was the alcohol or my nervousness but I was trying to be mysterious and I see now that it completely backfired. Full disclosure, I never give out my number like that.”

The worry lines on his forehead eased their tension and a half smile sheepishly emerged over his pouty lips, “There was quite literally nothing I could go off. I considered asking the bartender for the name he saw on your credit card but I didn’t want it to seem like I was some creep.” He laughed, “Santiago, would not stop teasing me the whole weekend. He’s been on me to start dating again.” His hand dragged over his mouth, “God, I’m gonna kill him”.

“So… you’re not married?” You moved from the edge of the desk to a chair closer to him. Your eyes searching his for an answer.

“No, I’ve never been. I thought about it- thought it would be good for Cami when we found out we were expecting but Ashley… Camila’s mother, left us when she was still a baby.” He looked at his daughter with such devotion and admiration. You could see the hint of pain behind his eyes.

Your heart sank, “Mr. Morales, I am so sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been for you and Camila.”

“I really wish I could change things. I know I had my faults, I just wished I could’ve turned things around sooner for Camila’s sake. If I had, maybe she’d still have a mother and maybe she wouldn’t be so affected…” He couldn’t grasp why he was opening up like this, so quickly and effortlessly. It was not like him at all. It took him weeks to muster up the courage and talk about this with Will and Ben, who had both been a rock for him during his relapses and recovery periods. Hell, it took him a while to even realize what he was feeling. There was something about your presence, your soothing voice, and your gentle eyes that made his defenses dissolve.

“Is it…is it my fault?” You looked at him with concern, “That she is having a hard time talking?”

“You can’t blame yourself, Frankie” His heartbeat quickened at the sound of his name, “There are so many factors that play into why general speech delays happen- genetics, pregnancy complications, environmental factors... Please don’t punish yourself for this.”

You turned your gaze to Cami, who had so many of her handsome father’s features. She was all Frankie, from her warm chocolate curls to her rosy little lips. “You’re here and that’s what matters. I promise to do my best to help you and Cami achieve her goals.” The tightness in your throat reminded you that regardless of the gravitational pull you felt towards him the night you met, you needed to be professional. Your hard work and license were on the line.

Get it together, state your boundaries.

“With that in mind, I have to be upfront with you. I do my best to establish a professional relationship with my patient’s parents, but as you can already imagine there are lines I do not..cannot cross regardless of how we first met.”

“I understand. I would not want to jeopardize you in any way.” He lifted his cap to run his fingers through his hair, “But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay and participate in Cami’s sessions.”

“Oh.. absolutely! I think it will be beneficial. You’ll get to see and learn the techniques I use during her sessions so you use them at home” The half-smile that quickened your heartbeat made its appearance once more.

You taught him the techniques you’d be using and activities that he could implement at home to help foster a learning environment for his daughter. Cami was quick to engage with you and receptive to your encouragement. She was particularly fond of bursting bubbles and clapping along to the songs you sang with her. Frankie felt a sense of warmth well up in his heart as he watched his daughter enjoy her time with you. Although he couldn't act on this feeling, he chose not to resist it.

“Jesus Fish, we were starting to get worried. I was about to run out to get backup cases of beer in case you didn’t make it.”

“Sorry, we couldn’t find Bunzy. Pope and I just about turned the whole house upside down looking for him.” Ben rushed over to pick up Cami who had been reaching for him stuffed animal in hand, as they stepped into Ben’s backyard. “Tio Ben!” she exclaimed.

“HOLY SHIT! She.. she.. just said my name!”

Frankie’s chest swelled with pride at Camila’s progress, hardly noticing Ben’s profanity. Content in knowing that Cami was now beginning to use new two-word phrases.

“Ben! Language!” Will scowled at his brother and took a break from manning the grill to place a kiss on Camila’s cheek, “Tio Will is so proud of you!”

“I’m sorry! This is a big f-reaking deal!” Ben was beaming at the fact that his name was the first of the group to be mastered by little Camila. “Guess those speech sessions are really paying off eh? Thanks to a certain…therapist?” A knowing smile appeared on his lips as he glanced at Frankie, whose face turned multiple shades of red in response.

“Pope, seriously!?”

Santiago took a sip of his beer “In my defense…yeah- I got nothin’.”

“Nice of you to inform everyone…don’t think I’ve forgotten how you left out a key detail that night!”

“Don’t get too worked up Catfish. You’ve been acting different ever since the night at the bar.” Will added as he cracked open a beer, handing it to Frankie. “It didn’t take long to figure out.”

“OH yeah! Your dad’s got it…BAD” Ben added as he placed his black cap on a giggling Cami, “So… are you going for it? What’s the plan?”

“There is no plan, there can't be a plan” Ben groans, “She could get fired, and lose her license.. Besides, Cami does so well with her. I mean, you heard her earlier. I don’t wanna mess this up for her. Lord knows I’ve already put her through enough.”

“What about after Cam graduates?” Santiago grabbed a piece of steak and sat down at the patio table, “She’s already saying Ben’s name and it’s only been…what.. a couple of weeks?”

“She made it clear that our relationship is strictly professional”

“Papi! Eat!” Camila’s cries for food offered a welcome distraction from the current topic of conversation. Frankie reached for the toddler-friendly snacks he packed and settled her on his lap. Hearing his little girl’s progress both in and out of the speech clinic gave him peace; something he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“Hey! Sorry I missed your call. I was at the gym earlier. I’m just picking up a few things for tonight.” You chimed over the phone as you scanned the wine selection of your local Trader Joe’s. Michele had planned a wine and paint night at her place- something you hadn’t done in a while. This meant one thing, she was going all out and would be expecting an update on your current situation.

“Oh, take your time! But do you think you can bring extra popcorn? Turns out Lexi can make it after all.”

“Sure, no prob- oof!” You glanced down at the curly pigtails of a little girl who had quite literally run into you, her little arms wrapping around your calves.

“Miss!” She said, grasping you a little tighter.

“Hey, Michele? Let me call you back.” You squatted down to greet her, “We really gotta stop meeting like this Cami. Your father wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” You chuckled for a second until it dawned on you.

Shit! Where’s your dad?

Your heart began to race, your eyes searched down the aisles until you heard him calling Camila’s name in a panic. His face relaxed the instant he turned the aisle and spotted you walking toward him, Camila’s hand in yours. Your breath caught at the way his tan jacket framed his shoulders, how the curls you were so fond of peeked under the brim of his cap.

He rushed to his daughter scanning her face, her small cheeks engulfed by his hands “Jesus, Camila, don’t ever do that again!” The way he kissed and held her stirred up a warmth in your chest. A reaction proving more and more difficult to push away the more you saw him.

“Thank you so much!” he breathed,“I turned away for a second and she was gone. She must have seen you from afar.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all! I’m glad I bumped into her.” A smile lingered on your lips.

Frankie noticed your post work out glow, how your cheeks displayed a rosy shade of pink to match your workout gear that hugged the curves of your body. You looked different today, your demeanor was more relaxed out of the confines of the clinic. All this, thanks to your favorite yoga instructor. He wasn’t sure if it was the manner of your meeting or the fact that your smile never faded whenever he spoke to you that spurred on confidence within him. Surely a compliment would be harmless.

“You look very pretty today Miss”

“Oh…thank you” You instinctively smile, and turn your attention to Cami in hopes Frankie wouldn’t notice you blush in response, “So do you two have anything fun planned today?”

“We just stopped by for some snacks before heading to the park. Thought it would be a good way to get her energy out… what about you?” He took a step closer, allowing you to take in the woody scent of his cologne, “What do speech teachers do on their days off?”

His question suddenly broke the spell cast by his scent, “I have a date…a girl date really”, you fumbled your words nervously, “My best friend planned a wine and paint night and put in charge of the wine and the popcorn.”

For a brief moment, you could have sworn you saw a tinge of disappointment cast over his expression at the mention of a date. You didn’t want to dwell on it too much, not here. Not now while you felt more susceptible to his charm.

“I’ll have to try that sometime. Though I have to admit, I don’t think Cami’s paint brushes will do” He chuckled turning to look at his little one who was starting to fuss, “Well...I won’t take more of your time, I think Cami here is ready for the park. See you Monday?”

“See you Monday.”

You bit your lip trying to hold back the grin he gave you as you walked towards your car and lifted the phone to your ear, “I was going to wait until I got to your place to share but.. guess who I just bumped into?”

Previous Chapter / Chapter 3

Tag list:

@brilliantopposite187

@casa-boiardi

@gaypoetsblog

@jitterbugs927

@kittenlittle24

@leed-bbg

@ssuperficialspacecadett

@spookyjamie333

#frankie morales x you #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #triple frontier fanfic #triple frontier fic #frankie morales #mine series #modernperplexity #pedro pascal #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal fandom

99 notes · View notes

shutit-haha · 7 months

Text

Wolf Bakugo pt.1

Hybrid AU (As much as I enjoy reading about Bull Bakugo, I'm gonna keep the training wheels on for now.) THERE ARE NO QUIRKS

You met each other amidst an awful storm. The snow stung as it whipped against your skin, you were freezing despite all the coverings and still had to complete the walk home. You weren't the only one though.

"Fuck you I'm licensed," it was a nasty snarl. Something loud and startling within the silence of the storm. It took you a moment to find where it was coming from, blurry white darts obscuring your vision. You found him though, with eyes like those it was hard to hide. Ash blonde, quite large, and a scowl to match his harsh tone of voice. He was decked out in winter attire; pair of gloves, tightly wrapped scarf, layered coat and jackets, nice pair of boots.

"Yeah, well we'll see about that," this voice belonged to a much smaller frame. You wondered how he could be so arrogant when he was clearly outmatched, until your eyes caught on to his utility belt. He was a 'catcher' his belt was filled with things to immobilize men like the blonde.

"Dammit," he gritted his teeth. "You just can't see the collar cause of the scarf." He was tugging at the fabric now, yanking roughly at the deep green. For some odd reason it wouldn't budge, he tugged and tugged at the knot yet it wouldn't unravel. (Must of been some outstanding knot tying skills on his part.)

"I'm gonna need you to lose that hostility," the officer reached for something.

As a kid you always had the bad habit of jumping in the way to take the hit for your friends. Some of them just couldn't fight and well you had to take a punch before you could throw one. (Unfortunately.) This man had no relation to you, had done nothing kind, hadn't even looked in your direction. He had no idea you were there. And yet you were darting across the street, haphazardly looking for cars, and jumping in the way.

"He's mine!" One hand was extended out to the officer, the other near the hybrid. You were careful not to actually touch the bulky blonde, fearing what may happen if you do. "He-he's mine."

The officer eyed the two of you skeptically before pocketing whatever it was he had just reached for. "Paperwork?"

"I left it at home," you dropped your arms to your sides.

"You do know it's a crime to lie to people like me don't you?"

"They said they left the papers at home," that was the hybrid with the crimson eyes. "And I'm telling you," he tugged off his scarf. "I'm licensed," there was his shiny tag dangling from his collar.

The officer huffed, "you outa keep him leashed."

You backed up slightly, feeling oddly offended by his statement. The blonde just huffed and rolled his eyes. "You have a good day sir," you didn't smile.

"You too," neither did he.

"I didn't need your help," a low growl from behind you while he ties his scarf again.

You turn to face him, "yeah I know but-"

"I'm not some defenseless pup," his canines are long and white.

"I'm aware however-"

"And I wasn't fuckin' lying about being licensed," he shoves his gloved hands into his pockets.

"If you would let me speak than you'd know I just did it to be nice," you snapped at him. What the hell was up with this dude? You were then taken aback that pissed you off way to fucking quickly, he clearly was skilled at being a nag. "Although now I'm regretting it," you sighed. "I wasn't even expecting a thank you but now I want one."

"Not happening."

"Yeah I figured," you rolled your eyes.

"Hah!? The hell's that supposed to mean!?"

He was emotionally draining, this interaction alone required too much patience. "It was awful meeting you," you turn away from him then.

Except remember I had said it was cold, well the weather has a way of messing with the human body.

Your knees buckled underneath you before slamming against the icy ground, your teeth were still chattering and a harsh shiver racked through you. "Dammit," the hybrid again. This guy. "You're gonna freeze your ass out here, lose all your fingers." He grumbled as his hand gripped at your elbow to pull you back onto your feet. "Where the hell do you live," his tone threw off that whole sentence.

"You don't have to walk me home."

"Yeah I fucking do," why did it sound like he didn't want to do it?

"I can get there by myself," you used him to steady yourself. You really could get home on your own...in a minute or two. He was firm under your grip, and felt warm, oh so warm. Without thinking you swayed into him, resting against him at a peculiar angle.

"Says the dipshit who- Hey keep your eyes open!"

"I'm not dying," you moved away from him slowly. Ok so maybe you were a little sluggish, but that was only because of all that adrenaline you had just moments ago.

"Come on, dammit." He dragged you along behind him, grumbling the whole way. Obediently you followed, not realizing you hadn't given him your address until you were already at the door.

#x reader #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo x reader #wolf hybrid #hybrid au #wolf bakugou

57 notes · View notes

bossalphadotdocx · 8 months

Text

[would you save me a spark? we'll light up the dark]

Pairing: Captain John Price x GN!Reader (3rd pov)

A/N: baby's first fic on this blog! Fierce is the callsign for reader. My sister may be a doctor but I'm not one and it's too late to ask her abt medical conditions by the time I'm writing this

Cw: major character death (you, as the reader), grief, medical inaccuracies

Part 2

He held their body close to his chest. Damn his vest for blocking to feel the last warmth left in their body. He could feel their blood seeping into his sleeves, his gloves. Then he saw it. The necklace he gave them fell out of their neckline alongside their dog tags.

It made a soft cling amongst the loud battlefield. And that's when his heart truly stopped.

He regretted everything. He regretted for not telling them of his feelings earlier than he should. He regretted of the missed chances. He regretted for dismissing the hints.

"Wherever you go, captain, I shall follow." Those were the last words they told him through the comms.

"Goddammit, and here you are...going to a place where I can't follow."

He sobbed. "I'm so sorry...sweetheart."

The spark of his life...now only a fleeting embers in the air.

They hummed a tune. One that Price often heard them humming before missions. He got curious and asked them, "I always hear you humming that, what's the title?" The sergeant looked at him with a smile and they grinned.

"The title of the song is Save Me a Spark, sir. It's by Sleeping With Sirens. If you're curious, you might want to check their entire discography."

It turned out, Price didn't like most of their songs except for select few. And Save Me a Spark was one of them. In the privacy of his office, the song often on replay.

One day, Gaz walked in without knocking and he grinned ear to ear when he heard that his captain listening to a certain sergeant's favorite song. When Gaz pointed it out, Price couldn't help blushing and yelled at him to get out. He knew he wouldn't get a good night's sleep that night because obviously Gaz going to tell Soap about their captain's crush toward one of their members. He wouldn't worry much about Ghost.

One day before another mission, the team was preparing themselves. Pulling on their gears and clipping their ammo's to their vests. Price looked at one of his sergeants, his hands still busy with his vest, shuffled on his feet nervously. "I listened to their discography, sergeant but...their music way too loud for me."

The sergeant chuckled instead. "I know, cap. Rock isn't for everyone. It's nothing to be ashamed of." They said as they clicked the last things they needed to their vest.

Price felt his ears reddened. Praying no one noticed, he asked them, "What's your favorite genre then, sergeant?" He felt like it's a silly thing to ask. As if he's going back to high school years trying to make a move on a girl who looked at him weird with that question.

The sergeant put their finger on their chin and hummed. He could hear shuffling behind him and some whispers that he knew coming from Gaz and Soap. The little shits.

"Beside the obvious rock genre, I listen to pretty much anything, sir. A bit of pop, K-pop, hip-hop, anything really. It's a hit or miss too." They said. "If you want, I can give you a playlist of my favorites?" At this, he heard some hissing behind him, "Say yes! Say yes!"

To which he nodded, a bit enthusiastically. "Yes, I would love to."

The sergeant smiled and bumped their fist onto Price's vest. "After this mission then. Hope you will enjoy some of my faves too!"

He grinned. Hard not to, afterall.

"It's a promise, then."

They smiled at Price, made a salute gesture and nodded. "See you later, cap!"

After a short while, he could hear whistles behind him. The other two sergeants of 141 and the lieutenant, most especially the former two were giving him a face of both amusement and shit eating grins. Even he could see the squint on Ghost's eyes. The three of them going to be the death of him.

The mission, apparently, went awry. What he thought would be a quick "get in, get out" mission went south real quick. It's a short miracle the five of them made it out alive with only minor scratches and bruises on them. He tended to his brave soldiers, all thanks to Gaz for pulling Soap and Fierce out.

Once they're in the base clinic, it turned out that Fierce got a light concussion and they needed rest. They grumbled under their breath and Price offered to bring them to their room to which Fierce nodded, head still down. Price knew they were gritting their teeth, holding in the headache that came from the concussion.

After checking the other three for the last time, Price lead the way and put his hand on their back for a second, to Fierce to move forward, signalling them it's time for them to rest in their room. They nodded and walked beside Price.

"You must rest right away, soldier. We did some damage to them before things went shit." He tried to assure them. Fierce huffed and just kept walking beside him. Price could see them trying to keep up with his pace and he slowed down for their sake. They just got a concussion after all.

For the entirety of their walk to Fierce's room, they kept silent. One which Price would raise an eyebrow at, as he knew Fierce was quiet talkative even with him. He knew they got concussion but this...is very quiet of them.

As they arrived at their destination, Price said "Is something bothering you, Fierce?". Fierce halted their movement to open the door to their room and looked up at their captain's face, only for them to look into his eyes for a second and then lowered it to the ground.

They wriggled with their fingers then shook their hands away on their sides--Price noticed the tick. "It's nothing, sir."

Price crossed his arms, his stance was a sign of patience, silently urging them to tell him what's on their mind and he would wait for them. It was obvious the captain wasn't going anywhere until he got his answers, they sighed. "I'm upset that I couldn't tell you about my favorite songs right away after the mission, sir."

Price's eyebrows went deep into his beanie. Surprised at the answer as that's not one he was expecting.

He was expecting...some self blaming and ready to give them a piece of his mind if they did. But this one made him flabbergasted.

They both stood in silence, in the hall which thankfully no one was there to witness his moment of weakness. He scratched his mustache, a poor attempt in trying to calm down the sudden thumping of his heart. He uncrossed his arms and put them on his hips instead.

He smiled and patted Fierce's shoulder.

"It's fine, Fierce. There's always tomorrow. How about this, you can come into my office tomorrow morning and we can listen to your favorites together?" He offered.

Please say yes. Please say yes. Goodness, this feeling is worse than being shot in the shoulder.

They beamed. And it was one of the most beautiful sight Price ever laid his eyes on and he subconsciously smiled too. Fierce nodded so fast, their eyes squinted from how big their smile was it made Price worry because the last thing they all need was another trip back to the base clinic.

Then Fierce clutched their head and Price quickly grabbed their arms to help them balance themself. They quickly reassured him, sheepishly, they said "It's okay, cap. I got too excited, nothing a short rest won't help." They quickly opened their door and walked into their room.

But before they had the chance to close the door, Price held it open with his hand, leaning a bit inside and quickly he told them, "John."

Fierce looked up, confusion evident on their face.

"You can call me John...when we're in private."

The sergeant grinned, white teeth on display, and nodded. "I will see you tomorrow...John."

---

Final A/N: TBH I DIDN'T EXPECT TO MAKE IT THIS LONG and make it a series to boot? Oh god forbid. This fic alone took me almost a week what with work and masters degree I'm currently having. Don't ask when the next update is, but I'm surely hooked w this fic to continue it!

#captain john price x reader #captain john price x gn reader #john price x reader #john price x gn reader #fic #fanfic #call of duty mw2 fic #captain john price x gn!reader #john price x gn!reader #cod mw2 fic #cod mwii #cod mw22

50 notes · View notes

mooodyblue · 11 months

Text

any day now | part two.

adn masterlist

summary: after a flight back from cali to memphis, elvis finds himself somehow stuck in your apartment in 2022.

warnings: time traveler!elvis, panic attacks, mentions of his death, may contain inaccuracies and typos.

wc: 2.9k

a/n: hi, if ya wanna be tagged in this fic, reply to this post and i'll be sure to add you to the taglist! no set schedule, trying to upload at least every two weeks.

you squinted your eyes at the bright light coming through the window, sitting up slowly and checking the time on your phone. but then you remembered. “elvis..” you gasped, shooting up quickly from the couch. your eyes wandered to your bedroom door, still closed. there was no sign of him waking up in the middle of the night, you didn't hear him either. not even for a glass of water.

you eventually gathered the courage to get up and stand in front of the door, pressing your ear against it. your heart sank, noticing there was no sound coming from the otherside. you turned the knob, preparing yourself for the worst.

“oh, good morning.” elvis said casually with a smile, book in his hands.

your jaw went agape, “y-you're still here?” you said, surprised. “did you even sleep?”

“just a few hours–better than none.” he shrugged, setting the book aside.

“and you're still here?!” you repeated.

he threw his hands up, “honey, i’m just as confused as you are.”

you stared at him in disbelief. now you're really regretting not buying that pullout couch when you first moved in. you let him have first dibs at the bathroom, allowing him to shower and come out smelling like your favorite floral body wash compared to his usual axe and muskier scents from what you've read online. afterwards, you made him coffee just like he liked it as well as breakfast–not even having to ask how he liked his eggs and bacon.

you set the plate in front of him as you took a seat in front of him at the table. he looked down at the plate, eyebrows furrowed. “how did you know?”

“everyone knows, trust me.”

the two of you sat in silence for a moment, enjoying breakfast quietly as you ran through your to-do list for the day. clearly elvis was going to be with you for awhile, at least you hoped. he needed clothes and maybe his own toiletries, but how?

you didn't want to bring attention to elvis and have people continue to question elvis's existence. it was a common myth that he was still alive–a stupid myth at that. you didn't want to add onto that, let alone in the middle of walmart. having elvis lay low for awhile would be the smart move, at least not until you were sure he'd be around for awhile. there was really no way of telling how long he'd be with you.

“you think there's somethin’ i gotta do in order to go back?” he interrupted your thoughts, taking a sip of his coffee.

you raised an eyebrow, “like what?”

“i don't know. do we kiss?”

you choked on your orange juice, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. “excuse me?!”

“no! no-no, that's not—i mean!” he set his mug down, shaking his hands. “i-i-i meant like they do in fairy tales. like, a kiss wakin’ ‘em up.”

“i’m not kissing you.” you said sternly.

he looked at you in surprise, “you don't wanna kiss me?” he asked, shocked.

“why would i? we just met.”

he scratched the side of his head and scoffed. that wasn't something he was used to. everyone wanted a piece of him. “i’m not sayin’ i wanna kiss you either.” he said defensively. “it was just an idea. or maybe i need to hit my head again–if i did hit it, which i don't think i did.”

you rolled your eyes, “and i’m not letting you hit your head again.”

“are you gonna let me do anything?” he crossed his arms.

“i don't know, we'll see.” you stood up and took his empty plate. “you did spawn in my apartment after all.”

after back and forth banter and a clean up in the kitchen, you met back in the living room, pacing back and forth while elvis watched you from the sofa. you had to go back to work soon and god knows how you're going to manage leaving elvis at home by himself. for starters, he needed a phone. a way to contact you in case he accidentally started a fire from not knowing how to use something as simple as the air fryer. maybe a few books–ones he loved in his other life and ones you think he'd enjoy that you also liked. there was just so much to do. all this for him to possibly be gone tomorrow or the day after. but you still refused to talk to him about his death.

it was baffling how calm elvis was throughout all of this. why wasn't he freaking out? like he was okay with suddenly being in an entirely new world. you read books and watched documentaries but he was still a stranger in your home, but elvis was okay with that. it made no sense to you.

“honey-”

“what do you wanna know? apart from your death–what do you wanna know?” you asked suddenly, stopping in your tracks.

he sat back, sighing. “was i with anyone when it happened at least? where did they put me?”

you scoffed, “take my advice, do not go out with ginger.”

“ginger?” he raised an eyebrow.

“trust me. just don't do it.” you shook your head, crossing your arms. “you're resting at graceland.”

his lips perked up slightly, “graceland, huh?”

you sat next to him, giving him a small nod. you pulled out your phone, scrolling through your gallery until you came across your own photos at graceland, showing them off to him and swiping through slowly. the photos left elvis speechless, how his family was resting alongside him. he told you various stories as you showed him some of the rooms you got to see and brought up how surprised he was at how much different his home looks now compared to what it was back in the 60s.

elvis week, the birthday celebrations, annual events; he couldn't believe how loved he still was after all these years. you continued to tell him about his fans, records he broke after his passing, how there are literal stores and restaurants just dedicated to him. he sat there in silence, trying to fight back his tears. he was disbelief. “all these years–people still love me? t-they still listen to my music?”

you smiled at him. “more than ever. people of all ages, all over the country. they still love you.”

he shook his head in disbelief, sniffling a little as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “that's crazy.”

“which is why i don't..really think it's a good idea to have you leave. at least not yet. especially with this huge movie that just came out about you-”

“they made a movie?!” he exclaimed, sitting up.

“that’s not the point here! look, i’m gonna have to pick up some things for you and get you a phone which means i’m gonna have to leave you here home alone.” you stood up, hands on your hips. “and i don't exactly trust you with technology just yet.”

elvis scoffed, “i’m not a baby, honey. i can manage on my own. i’ll just read till you come back.”

and you prayed to god that he'd still be there when you got back.

while you searched retail and department stores for whatever you think elvis may enjoy(no jeans, nothing brown, lots of fun colors), elvis took this time to be nosy. to search around your little apartment in beverly hills that looked nothing like what he had back in his tiny world.

he had a one on one staring match with the reflection of what was now called a television. but he had to admit, it’s nice that he can now just watch his favorite movies whenever he wanted in the comfort of well-not his home, but somewhere that didn’t involve a whole process of renting out an entire movie theater. he wondered if the memphian was still around. not to mention, he can watch his favorite shows on a much larger screen and not the small ones he has back at graceland. he still couldn't fully grasp the meaning of streaming. is anyone really ‘streaming’ his old movies and concerts like you mentioned? he found that hard to believe.

then he came across your laptop. of course, not knowing what it was, he opened it, eyes widening in amazement at the lit up screen. “what the hell is a google….” he muttered to himself, eyes squinting as he navigated with the small, touchpad. he tapped on the search bar and looked down at the keyboard. he wanted to search himself so badly, the mystery behind his death and how touchy you were about it just eating him up inside. but it was better to hear it from you. despite only knowing you for a short amount of time, he trusted you more than whatever the hell google was. instead, he opted for typing in ‘time travel’, scoffing at the word fiction being in the definition. “if it ain't real then how did i get here?” he asked to no one.

he ended up reading the entire wikipedia page which was really no help to him. he didn't come by a time machine or a wormhole, just a bunch of big words that gave him no answers. he found the website fascinating though, somehow going from reading about black holes to reading about the history of microwave ovens. but he was still worried about finding himself on there and quickly clicked away.

elvis really didn't mean to pry all that much. he wasn't aware of social media, he didn't know what he was getting himself into when he tapped the little ‘facebook’ bookmark. you did in fact, have an ex. definitely could have done better. he scrolled a bit too far down your profile, coming across a photo of him that you once shared of him in the 70s. “ain't no way that's me….” he said in disbelief, enlarging the photo. “well, i’ll be damned.” he quickly closed out, shutting your laptop and shaking his head.

he looked at the framed photos you had around, studying your family and friends that you seemed to be close to. he was happy to see you had a good relationship with them, family was important to him too.

his lip curled up slightly at the various records you had in the corner, ranging from today’s artists to some of his very own. you'd have to play them for him one day. he hated listening to his own records but he was curious about the ones he had yet to record.

there were so many questions still lingering in his mind, would he even be able to leave the house at all? maybe this was his chance to start over, to have a new life. maybe you were supposed to be his soulmate and that's how he ended up in your presence. or perhaps it's just a wake up call to warn him about his future. who knows, he wish he knew. all he could do was pray and hope for the best.

when you returned, hands full with bags, elvis quickly took them from your hands and set them on the counter. he felt bad about the clothes you bought him and the phone and everything else–he's normally the one to buy people things. however, every piece of clothing, it was so him. you nailed him perfectly.

“–and i know you hate denim, like really hate it. but…” you pulled out a denim jacket from the bag, holding it up. “thought this would look nice on you. but i can always take it back.”

“god, you didn't have to do all this for me…” he said, flustered. “you’re too kind.”

you flashed him a smile, “i’m gonna set up your phone so you can….”

“i opened your…your thing.” he blurted out.

“my thing?”

“yeah…that…that thing.” he said again, pointing at your laptop.

you turned around, glancing at it sitting on the counter. “i didn’t look up myself! swear! i-i did see a photo of me but i quickly clicked away.” he defended, panic in his voice.

“how did you even know how to use it?” you picked up your laptop, putting it away in your bedroom.

“i just…pressed buttons.” he watched you move across the room, eventually sitting down at the counter. “i’m sorry.”

“you get nothing out of being nosy.” you sighed.

elvis was still curious about that photo he saw of himself, keeping his concerns to himself.

he got curiouser and curiouser as the week went on, always waking up in surprise to see he wasn't in his bed. you went back to work and he was stuck at what he now calls home, watching shows you had told him about and eating whatever in the fridge was microwaveable. but he didn't know who he was more interested in; his future or you.

there was something about you that intrigued him. you weren't jumping at him like most fans would do, not a single request from him. every person he’d ever met or become friends with had wanted something from him whether it’d be a new house, a car, an autograph or just money. granted, he left all his money back in memphis along with everything else. ugh, was he going to have to get another id? like people would believe that he was actually elvis presley. you did mention to him that some of his friends were still alive, maybe jerry could help him out. but then again, finding out your best friend who's been dead for over forty years is alive but at the same time not really alive just may be a bit too much for one to handle.

but he missed his home. his bed, his horses, the people he saw every single day. he was never alone. this was almost terrifying for him and he doesn't know how he’s going to continue to deal with being alone for long periods a day while you're gone. he’s a very lonely person in general, but not a day went by when he wasn't with someone. being with someone helped him not get too much in his head; much like what he's doing right now.

why was he here? is this god’s way of punishing him for something? he had plans, he had movies to film, there had to be some sort of explanation. you won't even tell him how he died for christ's sake. there’s something missing, a missing puzzle piece. every single night he now goes to bed wondering if that would be the last time he would ever see your face. he doesn't want to forget you or your face, but he wants to go home.

this was all too much for him. he can’t do this, he can't be here and get attached. nobody is going to believe him if he ever went back, but what if he never goes back? would it be for the better?

so many questions were lingering in his brain, giving him a overwhelming feeling. he felt himself begin to panic, shaking his head as he rested it in his hands. his chest felt heavy, panting and panicking. then his heart began to quicken, making it hard for him to control his own breathing.

“elvis? you still here?”

your voice was muffled, a loud ringing in his ears. “elvis?” he looked at you, panicked with a hand over his chest. “hey, hey. i’m here, what's going on?” you sunk down to your knees, meeting him eye level on the couch. “look at me, deep breaths.”

“i-it's hard, i-i can’t-” he panted.

“yes you can. c’mon breathe with me.” you rested a hand on his knee, taking a deep breath in and then a deep breath out.

he followed and repeated after you, doing it until he could feel his heart beat normally again. “god…i-i…i..” he let out a shaky breath.

“el, i think you just had a panic attack.” you breathed, rubbing his knee softly. “thank god i came home in time.”

there was a look of worry on his face. he couldn't remember the last time he had a panic attack. sure, he had a little bit of anxiety before filming his special but he didn't get that bad. “i’m so scared.” he finally admitted, his voice slightly cracking. “so fuckin’ scared.”

you stood up and sat beside elvis, facing him. “what are you scared of?”

“i don't know.”

you let out a small hum, rubbing his back. “that's okay.” you reassured. “we’ll get through it. i’ll help you. there's a reason why you’re here and we’re gonna figure that out.”

he looked down, nervously picking at his nails and fidgeting with the nonexistent rings on his fingers out of habit. “takin’ up too much space in here.”

“no you're not, elvis. look at me.” you turned his head, his sad eyes locking with yours. “i’m not giving up on you. it's only been a week. we’re just taking this one day at a time.”

for the first time in that week he’d been with you, he got a good look at your eyes. he gave you a soft smile, the infamous half grin you’d see photos of everywhere online. suddenly, he found himself slightly excited. excited to learn about you, your story. you were right, there was a reason he was there with you.

maybe, just maybe, that reason was you.

tags: @elvisalltheway101 @prompted-wordsmith @plasticfantasticl0ver @18lkpeters @notstefaniepresley @presleyenterprise @kiankiwi

#elvis x reader

139 notes · View notes

peemil · 16 days

Text

i'm supposed to tag nine people for this YAHOO YIPPEE but idk if i'm gonna actually tag that many. We'll See

i was tagged by @figbian THANK YOU i love doing these sorts of things, especially when i'm stressed out!

three ships: wow this sure is tumblr dot com narumitsu/wrightworth, sylvix (i'm sorry women), aaaaaaaand for the sake of #feminism, my ride-or-die femslash rarepair: asuhika ❤️

first ship: if we want to go all the way back i was a hardcore may/ash (advancedshipping) stan back in the day. i made something like 7 amvs in the span of maybe a month and a half and then BURNED THEM ONTO A DVD. AND GAVE IT TO PEOPLE.

last song i listened to: when i first attempted to answer this a few days ago, it was fucking "sissy that walk." i regret to inform everyone that, by complete coincidence, the answer once again is "sissy that walk."

currently reading: i honestly am so bad at finishing things i've started reading. i also generally don't like reading books for pleasure? people will come after me for that but i like the feeling of having finished something, which is why i tend to read a lot more essays and papers and the like, as opposed to novels.

currently watching: *sigh* vanderpump rules... though i do still need to finish part 6 of jojo as well!

relationship status: discord moderator

current obsessions: fire emblem three houses As Well. i've also recently started to seriously try to learn chess again. and as always i'm playing a lot of splatoon!

currently craving: oh man i went on a whole thing about the stuff i wanted to eat last night but i really want a melon cream soda so bad it makes me look fucking STUPID

fave color: bright teal

tagging: @sweetfloatapartment @nitroplusofficial @humhallelujah @thewrongtrouser @squimp @toasttheinkling @cow-inthe-closet @reikomakoto aaaaaand i guess that's only 8. sorry! there are some more people i want to tag but i'm so shy...

no pressure to do this obviously! but i am thinking of all of you and sending my love

#he scream at own follower

16 notes · View notes

lololollywrites · 4 months

Text

LoloLolly's 2023 Year in Review

Thank you for the tag, @discordantwords! It seems apt, as you're one of the reasons I was productive (for me, that is) this year - I so appreciate your FTH bid! I participated for the very first time in 2023 and published TWO FTH fics. Such a cool experience.

Here is my 2023 stats page from AO3. I know it's modest for most seasoned AO3 authors, but as a relatively new poster on the site, I've been thrilled so see the constant growth and explosion of support.

Completed fics:

*I currently have no WIPS, nor did I publish any ficlets this year. We'll see what 2024 brings!

Never Been Better

John gets married. Sherlock leaves the wedding reception early, but he’s fine. Fine. The seven percent solution? It helps him think. If only Baker Street didn’t seem so empty. But he’s perfectly okay. Never been better, in fact. Never been better. (Published January 30, 2023, completed February 24, 2023; Chapters 3/3, 16,109 words)

Pressure Points

(My first FTH entry for @discordantwords)

The bonfire doesn't happen during The Empty Hearse. Instead, both John and Sherlock are placed into a life-or-death situation. One that may prove too much for a still-wounded Sherlock. Excerpt: “Pressure p-points. They’re observing our reactions to the situation. It’s possible they’ll intercede should w-we be in any real danger of dying – it’s an ex-experiment. It may or may not be attempted m-murder.” “May or may not be?” “We must operate un-under the assumption that it is, of course.” “Already there, Sherlock. The water’s up to our fucking ribcages.” “Mm. So it is.” (Published May 26, 2023, completed June 14, 2023; Chapters 4/4, 19,892 words)

Cold Inside

(My second FTH entry for @shakespearelovedladymacbeth)

Sherlock has just shot Magnussen, and John feels adrift. Everything is wrong. He's fairly certain he hates his wife, too. The regrets are too numerous for him to count. Sherlock is in prison, his ultimate fate unknown and the isolation slowly (or, rather, worryingly quickly) whittling away at his sanity. Mycroft is equally untethered, scrambling for options. Perhaps John can help. And perhaps, just perhaps, they can manage to save Sherlock and rid themselves of Mary in one fell swoop. (HLV fix-it) (Published October 6, 2023, completed November 3, 2023; Chapters 5/5, 26,843 words)

#my fics #year in review #2023 year in review #ao3 #bbc sherlock #thanks for the tag!

24 notes · View notes

icedragonlizard · 6 months

Text

Taranza headcanons

I'm still going on with my "series" of tumblr posts that uncover my general headcanons for singular characters of the Kirby series, and Taranza is the one that I'll be going over next!

Like the other wave 3 dream friends, I also have a large amount of headcanons for this spider. So why not begin going over them?

As always, I'll put a 'Keep reading' tag because it'll be a long one again. Like usual, everything below the tag is purely my headcanons.

Shortly after Triple Deluxe's events, Taranza reconciles with Kirby, King Dedede and The People of the Sky. He told them that the reason why Queen Sectonia turned out the way she did was because of the mirror he gifted her, and he very heavily regrets that gift as he has deep grief over her death. They all gave their condolences to him.

The People of the Sky have welcomed Taranza to live in Floralia. That's been his home ever since Triple Deluxe's events. The castle of Royal Road functions as his 'house' that he sleeps in during nights.

Ever since he moved to living in Floralia, he's been the closest thing that the place has to a 'ruler', and he does somewhat act like it to an extent as he'll often make sure the islands are clean and tidy, and will take care of whatever troubling incidents may occur in the islands.

There are other members in the Sectra Clan that are still around, such as sectra dees, but now they're just Floralia residents. When Taranza broke the news to them about Sectonia's death, they were also sad. Floralia welcomed the remaining members of the Sectra Clan to live in the place, just like how they've welcomed Taranza.

Kirby and many other people will sometimes come to Floralia to visit Taranza and see how he's doing, and he of course always appreciates their company as they've been helping him recover from his loss.

It's no surprise that Taranza has been mourning Sectonia, and has been doing so for years and years after her death occurred.

The most painful part of his grief is how responsible he himself feels for causing her demise: with the mirror he gifted to her that corrupted her, and that he had to help Kirby kill her at the end. He's felt horrifically guilty over it, as he's afraid that Sectonia would never forgive him for it. He's been really upset that he'll never get to make up with her, and has sometimes been mad with himself because of it. He's had a really, really hard time forgiving himself.

Kirby once apologized to Taranza for killing Sectonia as he was worried that he'd be mad at him for it, but he never was. Taranza told Kirby that he's not mad at him at all, and that he doesn't fault him for making the final blow that caused her death, because putting her down was ultimately a decision that they all made together.

As much as it upset Taranza to admit it, he knew that Sectonia had gone too far off the deep end. He knew that she eventually became a danger to everyone, including herself, and that it would've ended in disaster if he didn't help Kirby and the others finally put her down.

He, with the help of other Floralia residents, have built a statue of Sectonia in Royal Road as a way to make up for her death. He desperately hopes that she'd forgive him for everything, as he's been feeling so, so sorry for it and wishes he could've taken it all back.

But despite all his grief, he's been slowly recovering over time. A combination of hugs from friends, other nice things that his friends have been doing, memories that he has with friends, and being convinced to have more hobbies and activities to spend his time on have all gone a long way of helping him heal from his loss. Of course, he's never truly stopped grieving, as he likely never will. But as the years go by, he's been getting better! He's actually been capable of enjoying life from time to time with others post-TDX.

There was, however, a time where he learned about something that reopened old wounds for him, and he needed time to recover from it. We'll go over that in greater detail later in this post further down.

Some hobbies that Taranza has developed to help heal from his loss include gardening, making things with magic, and causing mischief.

He enjoys nature, and wants to see more of it. That's what's gotten him into gardening. He does gardening on most of the Floralian islands, more specifically Fine Fields, Old Odyssey, Wild World and Royal Road. It makes him smile to see beautiful stuff come out of the gardens that he's created. He's also had others learn more about nature as they've come by Floralia to see him do garden stuff.

After TDX's events, Taranza plays around with his magic more. He figures it'd be a good idea to use his magic to make things that honor Sectonia to make it more likely that she'd forgive him for everything. This is how he's managed to create the 'Queen's Phantom' that he uses as an attack in Star Allies, although it took a little while to finally be able to perform it.

The stuff he attempts to make with his magic aren't just things to honor Sectonia, though. Sometimes, he thinks outside the box when making things. He's done things like creating a dwarf replica of the Dreamstalk, as well as things such as illusions of other people and miniature 'statues' that he'll use as a reference to eventually get bigger statues built with the help of others. The dwarf Dreamstalk replica also exists as an attack in Star Allies of course, hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Taranza's arrogant nature that was on display during Triple Deluxe has been crushed significantly by Sectonia's death, as that tragedy essentially broke his ego in half. That being said, however, he starts to slowly regrow that arrogant nature to start causing mischief.

This is thanks to a few of his friends, especially a certain egg wizard, that have helped convinced him to go out of his comfort zone to do fun things. It worked, because despite his loss, he's still a rather silly and smug guy deep down. He'll sometimes be devious in having fun.

One good example of mischief that Taranza likes to commit is to leave web messages in people's homes when they're not there. Some of them are nice messages such as "You're beautiful!" and "Stay winning!", but there's also troll messages such as "Taranza wuz here, sucka!!!" and "Floralia rules, Dream Land drools!"

The reactions that he gets from this kind of mischief delights him. He's still got a devious, shit-faced smile that he'll put up whenever he feels like being silly for a bit. A fun thing to spend his time on!

These are some of the things that Taranza spends his time doing to help have moments of enjoyment after Sectonia's death. Many people have told him that he doesn't need to just be in darkness because she died, and dwell on whatever good memories he's had with her while doing fun things to enjoy himself in the present. Ultimately, he agrees with them, as he tries to not stay in darkness.

Taranza has made many friends post-Triple Deluxe, many of which have actively helped alleviate his grief. Overall, he's good with most of the other dream friends, with only being bad with very few of them.

His four closest friends are Kirby, King Dedede, Magolor and Susie.

Kirby is basically Taranza's little emotional support buddy. The little guy gives him a bunch of needed hugs that he's very much grateful for. Kirby also may not be one to really do a lot of words of encouragement, but he often reminds Taranza that he's cared about and appreciated, and he wishes that Sectonia didn't have to die in order to save Dream Land and Floralia. Taranza, of course, has no hard feelings against the little guy for the things that happened, as he's delighted every time Kirby comes to Floralia to see him.

Dedede can be considered a 'big brother' to Taranza post-TDX. Much like Kirby, Dedede also gives the spider a lot of hugs. He often invites Taranza to his castle to hang out, who is always glad to accept the invitation. There are times where Taranza might playfully mess with Dedede by creating webs around his castle, including making web messages when the king is elsewhere. Dedede always makes funny reactions to the webs and takes it in a good-natured way.

I've already made a previous tumblr post that goes over how Taranza interacts with Magolor and Susie, so go check that out if you'd like!

However, I'd like to mention here that Susie in particular is quite important, to the point that Taranza actually considers her to be his best alive friend out of anyone. While others have, of course, given their condolences to Taranza, they don't quite get it to the level that Susie does, as she has a greater understanding of what he's going through because she herself has been through a similar tragedy.

Both Taranza and Susie found genuine solace in each other, have acted as emotional support to each other, and have been helping each other heal because they've both been through a lot.

Taranza will never, ever stop missing Sectonia, but meeting Susie has been genuinely helpful for him. He certainly appreciates all his friends, but it's particularly comforting and alleviating to have a friend that actually understands what it's been like for him.

Dedede and Susie both often act as 'protectors' for Taranza. If someone were to have the nerve to try to bully the spider in any way, then one of those two will kick that person's ass.

Going past his four closest friends, he's got more friends of course.

Taranza has been getting along with the animal friends like a house on fire! As he's an animal just like they are, he enjoys hanging out and messing around with them, and they've all visited Floralia at least once! The two animal friends that he likes the most are Nago and ChuChu. This is because Nago gives him perhaps the softest and most comfortable hugs, and ChuChu also has a bunch of limbs and an admiration for flowers, as Taranza really likes that about her!

Gooey is another friend for Taranza! The little dark matter defect feels really bad for Taranza's loss, so he's very nice to him, using his tongue to give him things like random flowers. At first, Taranza was a bit weirded out by Gooey, but then surely warmed up to him over time when realizing how cute, sweet and lovable the little blue blob is. Hilariously enough, he doesn't even mind if Gooey licks him!

Taranza gets along well with Meta Knight as well. Meta Knight really pities him, especially when learning that it was a dimensional mirror that corrupted the spider's beloved queen. He thinks that Taranza clearly deserved better than what happened to him, so he'll sometimes find him to try to have a comforting conversation with him.

The mage sisters are also friends with Taranza. Well.... Zan Partizanne and Flamberge at least. To be honest, he's not sure that he can really consider Francisca to be a friend, because he's very much unnerved by the frozen corpse collection that she has. He can't really stomach that, even though he tries his best to not let it show.

He does really like Zan though, and likes her the most out of the three mages with Flamberge being second. Taranza and Zan have both come together over their undying loyalty to corrupted higher-ups, and thus Zan is somewhat like Susie in terms of having a greater understanding about Taranza's woes than most others do, and the spider certainly appreciates having another friend like that.

Adeleine, Ribbon, Daroach and Elfilin are all on largely neutral but also decent terms with Taranza. They've all shown sympathy to him, but he's not really close enough with any of them to actually consider them as true friends. He's pleased to be their acquaintance, though!

There are, however, three people that Taranza is on bad terms with: Bandana Waddle Dee, Marx, and most especially, Dark Meta Knight.

I previously went over this on my post talking about how Bandee is a big hater, but yeah, he bizarrely still doesn't forgive Taranza for the kidnapping of Dedede, despite the king himself having already long forgiven him. Taranza however has no beef with Bandee, and really wishes his hatred would just go away, because he thinks it's ridiculous to still hold a grudge against him after all this time.

Taranza hates Marx a lot, though. This is because Marx has pretty much been acting like a bully to him. The jester does really shitty things to him, such as jump-scaring him at too far of an extent, pulling pranks that sometimes hurt him, and even going as far as to tell Sectonia jokes that will cause Taranza to have a mental breakdown. Marx has literally made him cry many times... what an absolute bully! But there's been other times where Taranza just lashes out and ruthlessly beats Marx's ass, as he's had enough of his bullshit.

While Taranza considers Magolor a great friend, he really wishes that Marx didn't come as sort of a package deal with the egg wizard, because he genuinely cannot stand Marx. He'd tell Magolor (or Kirby) to hold Marx accountable for telling hurtful Sectonia jokes. Fortunately, of course, they don't at all condone it when the jester does that shit. Susie has shot Marx with her blaster for upsetting Taranza, on top of how she herself has been picked on by Marx too!

But Taranza still doesn't hate Marx as much as.... Dark Meta Knight.

Oh. Ooooooh. Taranza hates DMK with every fiber of his being.

Remember in a further above part of this post about how Taranza learned about something that reopened old wounds for him? That something was DMK's involvement in Sectonia's corruption.

DMK wasn't the main thing responsible for Sectonia's descent into madness, but he contributed to its happening. Sectonia could've even been strong enough to resist the mirror on its own, but DMK tilted the scale in favor of ultimately making her corrupt. That was enough to make Taranza want to hunt him down when he learned about it from the other dream friends shortly after Star Allies.

Taranza literally made an assassination attempt on DMK one time, as he really wanted revenge. The rest of the dream friends came to break up the fight, as they've had to enforce separation between Taranza and DMK from now on at that point. Ever since that fight, the two rarely see each other, but in the occasions where they're forced to be nearby one another due to dream friend gatherings, Taranza hisses in sheer aggression and it causes everyone else to prevent a fight between him and DMK from breaking out.

It took a while for Taranza to calm down from the feelings of old wounds reopening after learning about DMK's contribution to Sectonia's downfall. Some of his friends have promised that they'll punish DMK in many ways to make up for the enforced separation.

Taranza and Meta Knight have both formed a 'DMK hate club'.

I'd say that's how Taranza interacts with the rest of the notable cast! Overall, he's good with most of them, and he doesn't have beef with any of them except for DMK and Marx, both of whom he despises. The rest of them, however, have given their condolences to him one way or another, and he appreciates them all for that.

Taranza has distaste for the mirror world in general, because of what happened to Sectonia. If he were to ever see a dimensional mirror again, he'd attempt to destroy it on sight. The rest of Floralia wants nothing to do with a dimensional mirror, as they now fully understand how Sectonia was corrupted by one and they certainly don't want those mirrors posing any sort of threat to their home ever again.

As a result of Taranza's disdain for the mirror world, he'd be very wary of anyone that hails from that place. He has the impression that the mirror world is a shitty place full of untrustworthy people. And funny enough, he wouldn't exactly be wrong with that impression! The mirror world has been a mess since Amazing Mirror's events, as Dark Mind's influence still plagues the place. Shadow Kirby however is one of the most sane mirror worlders, and it's possible that he and Taranza could be friends if they were to meet, since Skirby also hates DMK and he'd certainly pick the spider's side in the Taranza vs DMK bad blood.

Taranza's favorite foods are fruits, especially peaches and watermelons. There are times where he'd attempt to shove an entire watermelon down his throat and then spit the seeds at others as a prank. It's another method of the mischief he does. He thinks it's hilarious to catch people off-guard with it. It's fun for him!

Ever since meeting Susie, he's been trying to learn more about technology. She gave him a phone. He's certainly the least techy out of the wave 3 trio, as he didn't grow up with technology for most of his life, but he's glad to try to know more about something that his friends are into. Susie and even Magolor have helped him learn tech.

Taranza has taken vacations before. While he's the 'ruler' of Floralia, he lets The People of the Sky take over for the time being whenever he decides to go on a vacation. He's been to some planets, such as the planets shown in Kirby 64, as he went to Aqua Star with Susie.

His first visit to the Forgotten Land was with his fellow wave 3 companions, as they all got there through Magolor's ship. Taranza was absolutely adored by the Forgotten Land and everything it had to offer. He loved how beautiful the place looked. He had a really fun time going there! He attempted to try gardening on the flora at Waddle Dee Town when they gave him the greenlight to do so.

Taranza gets lots of gifts on his birthdays, as people give him things as acts of kindness as they still feel bad for his loss. He did have his birthdays be celebrated by Sectonia before she became corrupt, and it makes him very sad that his birthdays can't be celebrated by her anymore, and he remembers her birthday and still silently celebrates it to make up for having to help kill her. Man, that's really touching.

But post-TDX, Kirby and many others will come to Floralia on Taranza's birthdays to celebrate him, and it's a great reminder for how much grace and appreciation he's been given over the years. Even though Sectonia may no longer be around to celebrate his birthdays, he couldn't be thankful enough for the ones that celebrate him in the modern day. Susie actually writes Taranza's birthday as a day off of her job similarly to what she does for Kirby! As she's a close friend for Taranza, he really, really appreciates that.

Well, that just about wraps up the headcanons that I have for Taranza! That also wraps up this 'series' of tumblr posts for the wave 3 trio as a whole, as I've done this for both Susie and Magolor too. If you decide to also give those a read if you haven't already, I'd appreciate it!

So, who will be next to write a big tumblr post of general headcanons about? I think it'll very likely be Marx, but if it's not him, then it'll be Gooey. It will definitely be one of those two, but Marx is more likely. But for now, you have this for all three of the wave 3 dream friends!

Thank you if you've read all of this. I look forward to seeing you for more Kirby series headcanons that I'd like to share in the future!

#kirby #taranza #kirby triple deluxe #kirby star allies #kirby's return to dreamland deluxe #magolor #susie haltmann

24 notes · View notes

wangxianficfinder · 2 years

Text

In the mood for a Fic

~*~

1. For your next 'in the mood for' post, could y'all recommend some fics where Wei Wuxian asks Jiang Cheng's permission for the golden core transfer? I've always thought that would be an interesting premise for a fic, but I haven't been able to find any like that. Thanks so much for all the work you do in this fandom! @prans-micellar-water

Drowning in the Sun by Zelos (T, 8k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Transfer, Canon-Typical Violence, Brotherly Love, Sunshot Campaign, Family Dynamics, Grief/Mourning, Angst, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, [Podfic] Drowning in the Sun by flamingwell) For 1, Drowning in the Sun is a *wonderful* work, but does not include WWX asking Jiang Cheng's permission. In fact, rather the opposite. The premise of that fic is that Jiang Cheng is aware but paralyzed during the surgery and the fact that he did not consent is a major plot point

To a fault by apathyinreverie (T, 7k, WIP, Yunmeng Siblings, WangXian, Family, Siblings, the Jiang siblings having each other's backs, no matter what, LWJ approves, Romance, Canon Divergence, Fluff)

~*~

2. I wanted to express my gratitude for all the hard work you put in for this fandom! I am also in the mood for a novel canon divergence, where eveything is the same (including all the Wangxian scenes) but the confession at guanyin temple doesn't happen and they have to deal with their feelings after everything has calmed down. Bonus for more pining afterwards/them continuing being oblivious idiots.

Operation Barking Dog by RoseThorne (T, 6k, WIP, WangXian, Family, Mutual Pining, WWX Has a Fear of Dogs, Repaying Debt, Regret, Phobias, Trauma, Memories, Tree Climbing, There Was Only One Bed, Travel, JC in Seclusion, Cynophobia, POV Third Person, POV LWJ, Pining, Flowers)

~*~

3. Hi mods! Thanks for your amazing work❤️ recently my new obsession is maffia au, can you hit me your best recommendations or a list with them? Every tag is okay, but the main couple please be wangxian 😊 Thank you so much🥰

🧡Rule Number One: Never get attached. by KizuKatana (E, 130k, wangxian, criminal underworld au, dark LWJ, ABO, note all tags) has recently become a favorite I can not recommend it enough!

You & Me Baby, We'll Eclipse The Sun Series by 2501987 (M/E, 130k, WangXian, XiCheng, MIND THE TAGS, Modern AU, Mafia, Murder husbands, Torture, Possessive Behavior, Blood and Violence, Older JC, Younger WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Dark)

Say What's In This Drink? by nana_banana (E, 2k, WangXian, Established Relationship, Gun Violence, Violence, Mild Blood, Dark LWJ, Organized Crime, Murder, Crime Boss LWJ)

Miscalculated Misreckoning by LadyVamp (E, 5k, WangXian, Crimes & Criminals, Organized Crime, Assassins & Hitmen, Attempted Kidnapping, Murder, Murder Husbands, Blood and Violence, Violent Sex, Married WangXian, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX, YL WWX, Modern AU, Hair-pulling, Office Sex, Desk Sex, Dark LWJ, Protective LWJ, Dark WWX, Partners in Crime, Smut, Gun Violence, Gun Kink, Crime Syndicate Qíshān Wēn Sect, Arranged Marriage, Crime Lord LWJ, Crime Lord WWX)

LAOZU (1989) by Machinebender (E, 5k, WIP, WangXian, GonDrey, Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Modern AU, Organized Crime, Enemies to Lovers, Rivals With Benefits, Canon-Typical Major Character Death, 1980s Shanghai Triads AU) Just wanted you to know that the sudden revival of interest in the lost Martin Scorsese subtext-laden gangster epic “Goncharov” is already inspiring fusion AUs

~*~

4. Hello! May I request some warprize fics? Either of them as one is fine :)

Our War Prize Collection is right up your alley

~*~

5. Good morning/afternoon/evening dear mods! For the next I'm in the mood for fic do you think you can find any fic where Jiang Yanli is the one to go back in time? She's such an interesting character and I would love to see what she would prioritize with her slightly limited knowledge of the events of canon

💖 Sail Away Sweet Sister by sami (M, 73k, WangXian, MingLi, YZY/Mdm Lan/CS, Time Travel, EXTREME Canon Divergence, Family, Wide Focus Narrative, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Most Named/Canon Characters Lives, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Families of Choice, Parenthood, Fluff, Angst, Underage Sex, PTSD, Unforeseeable consequences, The butterfly effect, Slightly Dark JYL) though it is her ghost that travels back, which witnessed all of post canon so she does not have the limited knowledge

from the top, this time with personality by thunderwear (G, 15k, JYL/JZX, wangxian, time travel, JYL stands up for herself, family feels, WIP)

the taming of wild rivers by colorfullysarah (T, 7k, JYL/JZX, wangxian, time travel fix-it, everyone lives au, BAMF JYL, falling in love, found families, WCZ lives, WIP)

Between the sinners and the saints by Moonlit_dewdrops (T, 16k, wangxian, JC & WWX & JYL, JYL/JZX, time travel fix-it, JYL centric, canon divergence, JYL pov, found family, protective JYL)

Keeping Our Promises Unbroken by ColdBloodedReptile (M, 72k, JYL/JZX, wangxian, JC/WQ, time travel fix-it of sorts, not everyone dies au, angst w/ happy ending, fluff, family feels, JYL pov, sibling bonding, protective siblings, WIP)

Hear The Flute, Alone In Its Melancholy by effugi (M, 18k, JYL/JZX/WQ, wangxian, time travel, angst w/ happy ending, hurt/comfort, PTSD, first time, eventual romance & smut, WIP)

System user Jiang Yanli by Sassylittlebean (M, 1k, WIP, XuanLi, WangXian, Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Plot changing, JYL Lives, JYL badass, Fix-It) freshly posted today (8/21/2022)

Rise of the Peacock by JustAWanderingBabbit (Not Rated, 65k, WIP, JZX & MY, XuanLi, 3Zun, Canon Divergence, Re:Birth/Transmigration, Drabble to Full Story, Attempted Sexual Assault, unwanted sexual touching) Jin Zixuan is sent back in time to his first fight with WWX, and seeks to set things right from there; along the way, he discovers that (SPOILER) so has Jiang Yanli

~*~

6. i'm wondering if there are any fics ppl can recommend where wwx is blind? preferably finished works but i'd love to see whatever is out there!

🧡close your eyes, feel my heartbeat by ThatDesiGirl (T, 11k, WangXian, blind!WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rewriting Canon, not a fix-it but a what-if, Golden Core Transfer)

The Warmest Hands by AvoOwO (M, 46k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, major character injury, hurt WWX, blood & gore, heavy angst w/ happy ending, blindness, PTSD, alcoholism, fights, JC & WWX reconciliation, non-sexual intimacy, tenderness, WIP) is a blind wwx fic. It’s rlly good but rlly intense!

The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, WIP, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Time Travel, Attempt at Humor, PTSD, Oblivious WWX, WWX-centric, Blind WWX, Sentient Burial Mounds, Self-Indulgent, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Except Those Who Deserves to Die, Oblivious Pining, Not Canon Compliant)

🧡Bright Enough to Shine by Dreaming_Days (G, 12k, WangXian, Blind WWX)

~*~

7. hello any fics that sunshot Champlain donghua wwx meets post canon cql lwj??? i saw a fanart like that and i was intrigued to see if there where anyfics like it ^^

The Young, the Horny, the Jaded and the Jade: Partners in Time by Admiranda (M, 35k, WangXian, WIP, Established couple, Crossover, road trip with your older selves, teasing your younger selves about their obvious crushes, yin iron does yin iron things, mdzs/cql crossover, adult wangxian, Teenage Wangxian) is a stepping through time fic where young CQL wangxian meet older MDZS wangxian. It’s sooo well written and rlly fun. Updates take some time but it’s still active

Once upon in a dream... by Clarissa_23 (G, 1k, WangXian, WYB & XZ, Canon Divergence, Crack, Bratty WYB, Accidental matchmaking)

11 of this post

~*~

8. Hello! I'm in the mood for fics where someone else becomes a sentient fierce corpse! I don't mind if they're not wangxian fics.

Over the Rotted Bridge by vailkagami (T, 314k, wangxian, major character death, temporary character death, angst, hurt/comfort, canon divergence, non-consensual resurrection, YLLZ WWX, hurt LWJ, slow burn, plague, PTSD, survivor’s guilt)

We Are the Afterlife Series by NevillesGran (G/M, 187k, WIP, Yunmeng Siblings, WangXian, JYL & JL, Major Character Undeath, Canon Divergence, Fierce Corpse!JYL, Canon-Typical Needles In Heads, Yúnmèng Jiāng Siblings, JYL-centric, Canon-Typical Fierce Corpse Body Horror, Extended Junior Ensemble (ft. OCs) ) is a sentient fierce corpse!JYL AU

monsters cannot break her stride by Stratisphyre (G, 3k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, JYL Lives, outsider pov)

a bird in your teeth by Eevee (ChaosBitch) (E, 61k, YangLi, WangXian, All of the sex in this fic is consensual, But one of the participants IS a fierce corpse, JYL POV, Minor Character Death, (you probably won't be sad about it), I feel like this fic turned out surprisingly soft, but XY still does some onscreen murders, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mention of JGS's canon behavior, Mentions of XY's canon behavior, Angst, Hopeful Ending)

Of The Sun, by Enigmatree (M, 43k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, The Wen Sect, Worldbuilding, No Sunshot Campaign, BAMF WWX, BAMF WN, Cinnamon Roll WN, BAMF WQ, Temporary Character Death, BAMF JYL, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending)

There Are More Than One Reason Undead Raise Series by Storyboradinventor (M/T, XuanLi, WangXian, JC & WWX, Undead!WWX, Angst, Canon Divergence, Undead!Yiling Patriarch, Sunshot Campaign, Bittersweet Ending, Some Humor) WWX emerges from the Burial Mounds as a sapient fierce corpse

blue skies forever Series by rikke (M, 11k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, major character death in a necromantic way, necrophilia also in a necromantic way, canon divergence with the bad ending route, lwj is wwx's corpse boyfriend) LWJ dies and WWX brings him back as a fierce corpse. Mind all the tags, and be forewarned that this one turns up frequently in angst and sad ending requests.

Waiting On The Night Hunt by JustAWanderingBabbit (G, 50k, Grudging Respect Friendship, Inappropriate use of lightning storms)

and

Pieces of Us by JustAWanderingBabbit (Not Rated, 32k, dead characters being dead, Mostly Canon Compliant, Snark, Implied Violence, Happy ending.) these two stories are simultaneous and intertwined) ; post-canon; case fic; JGY and NMJ are running around as sapient fierce corpses, and XY has been possessing a series of undead backup bodies

House on Haunted Hill by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 6k, MY & NMJ, SongXiao, Original Character, Communication is hard when you're dead, We ain't afraid of no ghosts, We've been dead for years, Bad jokes because writer is in a mood, NaNoWriMo Breaktime, ghost hunt, mystery haunting, Undead Investigation Team) takes place in the same universe as Pieces of Us and Waiting on the Night Hunt; post-canon; case fic; sapient fierce corpses SL and NMJ, demi-undead JGY, and ghosts XXC and AQ are a wandering night-hunting team

~*~

9. Hello dear mods and thank you. Im itm for fics that are kinda specific. They would consist of wwx’s archery skills and basically ppl being impressed of him. Thank you

nothing is safe. by eeriemedusa (M, 2k, WangXian, Canon-Typical Violence, Sunshot Campaign, Horror, POV Original Character, bad ending (?), depending on who you are, very lightly implied wangxian, that being said: battle couple wangxian, Blood and Violence, Gore, Canon-Typical Fierce Corpses, this is inspired by a clipping. song) if “terrified shitless” counts as “impressed”; Sunshot-Era, from the POV of Wen soldiers being picked off by WWX; a rare portrayal of WWX as a combat archer/sniper.

shot thru the heart by huxiyi (G, 7k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Archery, Getting Together, Feelings Realization, wwx's canonically bad memory)

best to start by testing him by deepestbluesky (T, 1k, WangXian, The Odyssey fusion, Identity Reveal, Archery, Non-Graphic Violence, some light murder, (well okay it's kind of a lot of murder actually), Reunions, brief but inspirational cameo by MXY) Odyssey fusion, with Odysseus’ homecoming enacted by WWX as Odysseus, LWJ as Penelope, LSZ as Telemachus, and the cultivator mob as the suitors

#1a on this wangxianficrecs post may have what you’re looking for

~*~

10. I was wondering if anyone knew of any fics where the “XianXian is three!” joke isn’t so much a joke than it is a coping mechanism for Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets? I don’t mean those DD/LL/Caregiver/little or whatever it’s called type of fics (no shame to those type of fics! It’s just not what I am looking for) but a fic that kind of delves into the kind of trauma that a toddler living alone on the streets might develop? I just really want to read a fic that actually has Wei Wuxian confront his past as a little kid on the streets. Thanks!

Three by AmyNChan (G, 913) 10 inspired me to write a fic for them. I hope they enjoy.

~*~

11. Hi hi! For the next itmf can i get fics with nhs and wwx being good friends!!

You, Clouds, Rain by PaPaYa_Bites (E, 32k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WWX & LSZ, modern, found family, accidental baby acquisation, adoption but more like kidnapping, past child abuse, implied/referenced drug use, fluff & angst, humor, hurt/comfort, pining, depression, implied/referenced self-harm, guilt, family fluff, eventual smut, WIP)

a grain of millet drifting by RoseThorne (T, 7k, NHS & WWX, Assassination Attempt(s), Introspection, Regret, Travel, Post-Canon, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Ghosts, Reconciliation, Exhaustion, Pining, Pre-WangXian)

5 of this post

your problem as a mountain. by cupofwater (E, 30k, WangXian, NHS & WWX, Epistolary, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Pen Pals, Erotica, Pen Pal Book Club, Sexual Fantasy, sexual self-discovery, Smut, Letters, POV Alternating, Elements from the MDZS Novel)

Story-Shaped by lingering_song (T, 13k, NHS & WWX, WangXian, Post-Canon, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Inventor WWX, Found Family, NHS needs a new hobby, And apparently that's spoiling his Wei-Xiong, Mentioned Character Death, Alcohol, Protective NHS, Not JC Friendly, Not particularly gentry sects friendly overall tbh)

~*~

12. hi mods! i hope youre all doing well!! for the next iitmf, i'm hunting for coffee shop aus that actually have a healthy side of angst and/or hurt/comfort! preferably longer fics but i'll take what i can get - can anyone point me in some interesting directions?

7 of this post

Pan - The Smell of Home by IBurbick (E, 27k, WIP, WangXian, 3Zun, Modern AU, Coffee Shops & Cafés, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone lives, Food Porn, autistic characters, Trans Characters, Disabled Characters, pansexual characters, Asexual Characters, Lesbians, non-binary characters, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Heterosexual Characters, Threesome, Homophobia (sorry), Slow Burn, Smut, Mentions of violence/beating, Past Child Abuse, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Panic Attacks) LXC’s cafe is a beloved queer community hub, but also a target for homophobes

~*~

13. Hey! May I please request some fics where wwx is loaded?

Teacher's Pet by anobtra (animeobsessedtrash) (E, 43k, wangxian, modern, college/university au, dark LWJ, age difference, professor WWX, student LWJ, smut, bottom LWJ, check all the smut tags before reading!, possessive LWJ) this has rich wwx but warning: wangxian has a large age diff and student/teacher stuff...

The Fault in Our Stars by Vamillepudding (T, 17k, WangXian, Modern AU, Getting Together, Romantic Comedy, Comedy of Errors, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings)

Come Around and Stay by trippednfell (M, 160k, WangXian, NieLan, Slow Burn, Kid Fic, Found Family, Modern AU, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, PTSD, Blood and Injury, Dissociation, So much trauma, Angst with a Happy Ending, Musicals, POV Alternating, Baking, Yunmeng reconciliation (eventually), Friend Zoning, Literal Sleeping Together, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks) WWX is sort of stealth rich, but it does make for some great plot moments

forget-me-not by mellowflicker (E, 22k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Sugar Daddy WWX, Sugar Baby LWJ, Professor WWX, Student LWJ, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX, Secret Relationship, Age Difference, Hurt/Comfort, Chronic Pain, JZX & LWJ Friendship, Family Issues, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiāngs) WIP however author is actively updating

His Priceless Jade by bluegrass (T, 2k, WIP, WangXian, Sugar Baby LWJ, Sugar Daddy WWX, Fluff, Light Angst, Forehead ribbon: No, Silk chokers: Yes, Music Student LWJ) WIP however the chapter reads like a one shot

together, we're just enough by lulu_kitty (E, 134k, WangXian, Bartender LWJ, single dad wwx, Kid fic (sort of), Excessive Fluff, Yearning, barely there plot, neurodivergent wangxian, canonical parental issues, lwj in jewelry, accidental sugar gege wwx, fluff and eventual smut, Bottom LWJ, Service Top WWX, Bisexual WWX, Rich WWX, a-yuan is a wei but still also a wen wwx is a-yuan's biological baba, Older WWX, Younger LWJ, Slow-ish burn, Light Dom/sub)

tangled by cryptenhope (T, 12k, wangxian, post-canon, established relationship, WWX has curly hair, yunmeng siblings, soft LWJ) WWX, since he inhabits MXY’s body, is the sole remaining heir to the Mo family fortune.

Our Small Steps by tokaku (T, 9k, wangxian, post-canon) WWX, since he inhabits MXY’s body, is the sole remaining heir to the Mo family fortune.

~*~

14. Hi!!! For your next in the mood for, could you guys rec some fics where any canonically dead character comes back to life post canon?

To be Lost and Found by sanaaf (T, 9k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, Family Dynamics, Canon-Typical Violence, its about the found family but like literally, JYL comes back from the dead and has a lot to say actually, Protective JYL, LWJ is actually another one of JL's uncles, Case Fic, but barely, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, JYL Resurrection)

#5 of this post

I Call For You to Come Back by T98 (M, 18k, WIP, WangXian, CSSR/WCZ, XuanLi, Post-Canon, Resurrection, JC Bashing, Jiāng Family Bashing)

Dream of the Gold Chamber by JustAWanderingBabbit (T, 8k, 3Zun, Canon Divergence, Referenced canonical incest canon violence, Crack Treated Seriously, Dream a Little Dream, XY is a turd, He might still be redeemable, JGS is not redeemable.) WWX is reconstituted from within the Stygian Tiger Seal (it’s complicated) and JYL, JZX, and JGY are resurrected in magically-constructed bodies; a lot of canon deaths are also averted

~*~

15. hello <3 could i ask for fics where jc can tell somehow that the new core isn't his? or maybe where the core transfer links him to wwx somehow (like idk he can sense his emotions or something)? also, i'd love to read fics where they mention wwx having such a strong (or even immortal level) core. thank you!

Side Effects May Include by vibishan (T, 3k, WIP, JC & WWX, ChengNing, WangXian, Golden Core Reveal, Like Immediately, Telepathic Bond, Canon Divergence, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending)

when the stars don't line (i'll be forever by your side) by estel_willow, mandsangelfox (G, 12k, WIP, JC & WWX, WangXian, Yunmeng brothers, Sibling Bonding, JC finds out about his golden core earlier, Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Canon deaths, Canon Temporary Character Death)

A single soul (no more) by Lysdance1 (G, 983, JC & WWX, Sunshot Campaign, Canon Divergence, Reconciliation, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Character Study)

~*~

16. Hello! This is my first ask so sorry if I do anything wrong, this is for the I'm in the mood for post. I was wondering if you know any fics that A. Have a big reveal scene in them, like the golden core transfer, someone being sick, or wangxians relationship being revealed anything like that I just want to see a scene where it's like "and everyone gasped or was shocked" it can be long or short i just really want some drama, and B. Where they're dealing with an argument, like at a conference and everything is just wild, again just want that drama.

Thank you so much for the work you do and I hope you have a good day. @05142003-blog-blog

By Any Other Name by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 31k, Wangxian, Canon Divergence, Crossdressing, Misunderstandings, Identity Porn, Identity reveal, Polski Translation Pod każdym innym imieniem by tehanu, [PODFIC] By Any Other Name by sakizar) has some crazy conference drama and reveals at the end

In the circle around broken glass by Cycliph (E, 7k, WIP, WangXian, Bottom LWJ/TOP WWX, Omega LWJ, Alpha WWX, A/B/O Dynamics, Pregnant LWJ)

Spectacular by Moominmammashandbag (G, 2k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, Everyone Lives)

A Little Bit of Helpful Advice by pupeez4eva (T, 2k, JC & WWX, WangXian, Time Travel, Humor, Crack, Yunmeng Bros)

The Nie Sect Discussion Conference That No One, Ever, Will Discuss Again. by mondengel (Not Rated, 1k, WangXian, Humor) you have to be logged into the archive to read this I think?

Wei Wuxian’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good First Meeting With His Future by Enigmatree (T, 3k, WangXian, Time Travel, Cloud Recesses, YL WWX, POV Outsider) not a discussion conference, but a class however I think it fits the drama and big reveal bill!

~*~

17. Hi mods! Thanks for all the work you do. So, I came across the I'm in the mood for ask where op had asked for funny jiang cheng centric fics. I went through your list of the angsty fics (they were really good btw) and i was wondering if you had any more fics like "for what, for all but myself" by not_rude_ginger? Basically, jc-centric, angsty, long, hurt comfort. Also, no wwx/jc or jc/lwj or jc/juniors. Thanks!!

14 of this post

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

141 notes · View notes

ofmiceandpeace · 5 months

Text

Okay, so does anyone else have an affinity for Gene Forrester or is it just me? Like on a deep psychological level, and qualities as well…

In the tags of a reblog of a post I can't find, I mentioned this a little bit, but I don't know if I said it directly in a post. But anyway, it's actually kind of bizarre. (I'll get a little personal here so if you find that cringey then I wouldn't read this. It sounds a little venty at times, which was not the intention, but to explain the way my mind negatively works.)

On a shallow level, I'm introverted and I get good grades like him. I like my subjects; is that being an intellectual? I'm also not an athletic person—I’m not participating in a sport, and most likely wouldn't in the future. All of my friends do sports and some, partly due to that, are actually perfect citizens and human beings. Here I thought it gets meta.

There are people so much better than me, and I have always felt some twinge of jealousy or a deep rooted loathing for their superiority, and after analyzing that moral at the end of A Separate Peace, I realized that it totally applied to me. My whole thing is insecurity. My emotions often get the better of me, especially when I overthink, which is equally as often. Sometimes I (used to) feel like my head is just crowded from anxieties and such, leading to the aforementioned bad actions. I've actually pushed people away in the past due to this.

Onto a side point of overthinking, a lot of it is being introspective like Gene was in his narration, albeit some being his reflections from 15 years in the future. I analyze my own thoughts and motives like they're of another person (or so I think) and that just uses a lot of time and brain power, probably for no good reason. For example, I spend a lot of time mulling over events in the past that embarrassed me, or things that still make me angry months or years after its happening; things I just regret, like ruining friendships with people in the past because of my own insecurities. I don't know if I've come to terms with them yet. We'll see in 15 years.

But anyway, yeah, I don't know, most of the people around me have just amazing qualities which make my own faults more apparent to me. Relating this to A Separate Peace’s moral may have made my overthinking worse, actually, because now I just tell myself, whenever I suspect wrongdoing, “Am I jumping to conclusions because I hate them for some reason?” thus perpetuating the cycle… and I can never tell if it is this way or that.

So in conclusion I relate to Gene with his traits and the way he thinks and acts. Which is kind of cringey to write, but this is partially for myself just to put these thoughts out there which have been floating around in my head for a while. It's really strange, because it's almost a perfect fit. I haven't come across any protagonist that I've related this closely to. Maybe this is another reason why I love A Separate Peace so much? Am I secretly rooting for myself? No, but Gene’s character is just so real. It's not overly dramatized, just a boy with a tortured conscience over an incident that was caused by a realistic mental conflict.

Comparing this to another Knowles book, Peace Breaks Out features characters that act very dramatically with interesting motives and lines and whatnot. More of the plot is action in comparison to A Separate Peace; so the story is not as “believable.” This lack of action in the predecessor makes it seem boring to a lot of people—we can all agree on that. People say nothing happens. But even though they're objectively wrong, I'll say that that's what makes it interesting to me.

You spend so much time with these characters in their everyday lives, listening to the inside of the narrator’s head, or to his friend’s monologues that now and then reveal a key part of his philosophy, that you almost feel connected to them, that they are, in the most figurative way possible, real people. And in my case you may even identify with a character since they are so realistic that their traits coincidentally lined up with your own.

Extreme plot points aren't needed for an interesting story. This tiny fandom can advocate this, right? We're passionate about a 60s book that takes place in a boarding school during World War II which like no one else cares about. It's crazy…

Anyway sorry this was all over the place. I wrote what I was thinking and things probably don't make sense. Thanks for reading if you made it to the end!!

#a separate peace #asp #gene forrester #random #semi serious #analysis #☠️#i know its midnight I was just on a roll #i probably should reread this tomorrow morning and revise but i wanted to post it now

9 notes · View notes

singguks · 2 years

Text

horus academy, 04 | bts

© horus academy | all rights reserved. do not repost, translate or claim as your own. if you find this work elsewhere besides the three blogs stated, please report it to any of the writers. @singguks × @socksjinie × @bluenpjm

summary: in a school where greek methods rules, not everything is as clear as it appears to be. heart, mind, soul, and body. those are the teams of the horus academy and boarding school. but deep within the long corridors, lies dark secrets. the so-called loving families formed in the shape of teams begin to tear up when an anonymous source unravels their deepest secrets.

genre: high school au | mystery au | smut | angst | fluff

pairing: OT7 × OC's

rating: PG13

word count: 11,829

warnings: foul language, bullying, pyromania (impulse control disorder regarding fire), exposing secret relationships, femicide.

a/n: if you want to be part of the tag list so you won't miss the secret that'll be revealed next, comment down below and we'll add you :)

chapters. 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 ✩ masterlist

PREVIOUSLY ON HORUS ACADEMY

“Good morning Horus, and get ready for the Ascension,” The speakers throughout the entire school turned on as Kihyun’s voice, the school’s announcer, caught everyone’s attention. “The schedule of this week’s round will be the following—please take notes or regret not doing so—first stop, a game for intellectuals only. The second phase is for those who dare to be brave… and physical! The third and final round must be for the jacks of all trades. Best of luck to all teams- and may the greatest God or Goddess win!”

The Griffins were starting their day very uneasy… A little before the announcement of the game, the leader of the team, Archie Miller, opened the doors of their common room just to find it completely out of place.

The yellow sofas that normally stood on the four edges of the walls, against them, were placed in a circle and in the middle of the room. As he came closer to have a look at what was going on, he found a blue envelope on the floor, right at the center of the circle. It was as if it was inviting the whole team to gather around and take a seat to know what it contained. And some even managed to arrive on time to see their leader reading it alone because Archie was anything but patient or very loving.

To say the Sarx meeting didn’t go so well was more than an understatement. Archie was completely out of his mind; fuming in anger. All he could think about was how they managed to enter their common room. And he knew who had been the culprit, that was the sole reason he was so furious.

“Those damn wolves.”

[ ... ]

“And it’s… Correct!” One of the judges announced giving one more point to the Dianoia team. Jin and Kaya, the ones that were chosen to be representing their house in this first round, hi-fived each other while celebrating.

Dianoia kept leading with two points ahead while Kardia and Psykhe were disputing second place, both tied with four points each. The audience was anxious. After all, this was a game of intellect but also speed. The fastest team to reach a total of nine correct answers would be given a clue to the location of the next round, and that meant the next duo would have to reach the secret location to be given an advantage quickly. No one could leave without the so-wanted nine, and the groups were waiting right there, completely powerless; the wait was slowly killing them.

“The seventeenth question is the following…” A girl from the judges' panel announced, “Which monarch officially made Valentine’s Day a holiday in 1537?”

There was a moment of silence, some glances from the teammates being exchanged, but then Vernon from Psykhe cut through it and slammed the button in front of him and his partner. “I think I know it, but I’m not so sure,” He chuckled in a boyish manner. The Psykhe team, all sitting behind them, started to shout words of encouragement.

“We trust you, go on!” Dahyun, his partner, cheered alongside their team.

“Would it maybe be Henry, The Eighth?” He tried, “No! Wait! Ok, no, Henry, The Eighth is my answer- Ah! I don’t know, man,” He laughed again confused, starting to feel the pressure.

“Are you locking in that answer?”

He took a glance back at the Psykhe team and everyone seemed cool with his reasoning, giving thumbs up and screaming Lock it! which made him feel more confident about it. Vernon was often not sure about the information he thought he knew, but the team did not doubt him. That was why they appointed him to the spot. The boy even had a nickname in the family. Tidbits, because he often shared tiny pieces of information no one ever heard about… Actually, a lot of the Psykhe students were like that, Dahyun included. He was just the ace of it.

“Yeah, I’m locking it!”

“And the answer is… Correct! Another point for the Psykhe team!”

They all cheered in unison. Mark, from the Sarx team, slightly punched their stand, murmuring a Fuck, I knew that! At this point, the Griffins were falling way behind… And the thing was, you were not allowed to receive the clue to the next location unless you had nine correct answers. The Sarx team, having only three questions on their belt, was feeling more than uneasy.

“Okay folks, next question!” The judge called for their attention, “What is the rarest M&M color?”

Not even a second after, Nayeon from Kardia, smashed the button overly excited. “It’s the brown one! Lock it, I’m sure.” And then she turned to her partner to say, “I googled it not even a month before this.”

“And Kardia, your answer is… Correct! Congratulations!” The judge cheered, laughing, “I guess someone is an M&M enthusiast.” And to that, she received a truthful answer, shouted from Kardia’s stand.

“WHO ISN’T THOUGH?!”

“You got me there!” The judge chuckled, “Let’s carry on. Dianoia still leading with six points, close behind them with five points, we have Kardia and Psykhe now tied- again! And Sarx, you better pick it up, you only have three…”

Archie Miller, Sarx’s leader, was pacing back and forth a few meters forward, where the second phase teams were awaiting. He would have to give his very best if he wanted Sarx to secure its place as the current champions. And the way Freya was stretching overly joyful by his side made him feel even more furious, after all, he was still brooding about the Wolves’ attack on their common room.

“Nineteenth question! What is the loudest animal on Earth?”

Jin pressed the button without hesitation and Kaya looked at him alarmed. He often said things without much reasoning and she was afraid they would lose their one-point advantage if he answered something stupid.

“Sperm Whale,” He said and she looked at him incredulously, almost certain her track of thoughts was coming true and the other teams would catch up in a second. “Lock it.”

“And the answer, Dianoia, is… Correct!”

“I don’t know how I know but I know, ok? You can trust me.” He said simply when he looked at the face she was making.

“Dianoia, two more questions, and you guys are ready to go!” The judge announced and the team got loud once more, cheering and chanting Go Stags!

After that, Sarx managed to get a point, and Archie screamed more than his teammates competing in that round. Dianoia once more snatched a point, this time through Kaya, and they could already feel the taste of victory—at least for this round. Shortly, Psykhe snatched one more point and Kardia followed.

“So, participants, what is the biggest-selling music single of all time?”

You could see Kaya furrowing her brows, trying very hard to make sense of some song. The audience went silent again, some trying to think of the answer themselves, some just searching for the team who would ring the button.

Dong!

Vernon had pressed it. “Candle in the Wind from 1997.” He stated very sure of himself this time, “Lock it.”

“Psykhe… Correct!”

Their crowd cheered and the boy put a hand on top of his chest, almost fainting, making them all laugh.

“Ok, a little bit of science now… Shall we?” The judge wasted no time in introducing the next question, “What is the hottest planet in the solar system, and what is its temperature?”

“I know this!” Kaya shouted, making Jin jolt beside her with the jumpscare. She pressed the button, “It’s Venus! With um… I’d say with, umm about 460 degrees Celsius. Lock it!”

“And Dianoia, your answer is…” The expectation was in the air. Kaya held her breath, she knew she was right but at the same time, there was a chance she wasn’t. Jin held her hand tight, waiting anxiously for their final and winning point.

The audience was silent apart from the thumping of the feet of the Stags, everyone was up in their seats.

“CORRECT!”

A lot of shouting could be heard, mixed with some boos from the Sarx team.

“Congratulations Dianoia! Here is the clue!” The judge passed a black envelope to Kaya’s hands, “Solve it first and then give the location to your teammates over there!” She pointed toward Joy and Yeonjun, the participants of the second phase who were waiting a few meters away.

While the rest of the trivia game was being resumed, Jin and Kaya started discussing the words written on the envelope.

“It meanders this way and that, but prove you’re no fool. You’ll be both west and north of it, relaxing or should I say, feeling cool…?” Jin mused. “This doesn’t make much sense… Why would I feel cool?”

But Kaya didn’t mind much of his question, her brain was working to full capacity. “What do we have inside the school both north and west?” She asked him expectantly, still thinking about the answer herself.

“Um… Not much. I know North is that way for sure,” He turned to face the trail of the woods behind them. “But west-”

“So it’s inside the woods!” She stated in a hushed whisper, “What do we have there? It meanders… Meanders.”

“We better hurry, Psykhe and Kardia are one point away, I think.”

“Um, I think… Cool! It’s not the cool we’re thinking about, Jin!” She shook him lightly by the shoulders, “Think about it, it meanders and it’s cool… It’s water!”

“Water?” His nose scrunched.

“Yes! The abandoned pool!” She whispered excitedly, “That’s the only old building still standing in the woods, which is both north and I’m guessing west from here.”

“Oh, fuck.”

In a split second, both of them hurriedly went to the second team of Dianoia waiting. They briefed them about the location and how it would make sense since they were all warned through the speakers this morning the second team was the only one allowed to take an empty backpack to the challenge with them.

“For the wet clothes or any object you might find at the pool.” Kaya clarified with a brilliant smile on her face.

Once Psykhe passed their intel, Freya, and Jooheon ran as fast as they could through the dense woods. The sun was shining bright, as rays passed the little breaches between the leaves. Every little sound made the duo turn their heads, afraid they could be leading the team that had stayed behind to the next game. There was no explicit answer to the riddle so, despite being confident in Vernon and Dahyun, there was no way to know if the pool was the right place to head to.

“Should we go in?” Jooheon asked Freya. A look at him would never reveal how much of a scaredy-cat he was.

“What?” Freya asked as she kept on moving towards the old building.

The pool was in ruins. There was no certainty about how long it had been abandoned. But the long ivy branches on the walls made it clear that it had been years since anyone had taken care of it. The rumors regarding it were many. No one could understand why the school had decided to leave an entire building and simply relocate all its services.

“Didn’t someone die here?” Jooheon whispered.

“Those are just stories.” Freya chuckled. “C’mon. Dianoia is probably already inside and Kardia was just ahead of us. We don’t have any time to waste.”

The girl rushed inside, the glass doors creaking as the movement presented new to them. “Don’t leave me here!”

Jooheon rushed after the girl who was fiercely striding into the building. Freya didn’t believe the stories. About the pool. Or the boy. She had heard so many versions of it in the last two years she had been in Horus that the more she knew, the more absurd they sounded.

“There’s no way I would’ve come here after five,” Jooheon whispers, but his voice echoes anyway. The sound makes him nervous, as he tightens the grip on the strap of the black backpack he had been carrying for the game.

“Shush-” Freya stops in her tracks. “Did you hear this?”

“Is it- is it the boy?” He stutters.

Freya moves after the sound and as she does, she is perplexed by the sight. The duo from Dianoia was putting on swimming suits, hurriedly. But the creative kids with blue uniforms can’t focus on their actions. Instead, their eyes fall on the pool. It was the size of an Olympic one, but it was far from it. What once might have been crystal clear water, now was dark green, with moss floating around.

“Oh, gross!” Joy squealed as her bare feet hit the water. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Oh God-” Freya let out, her hands instinctively covering her mouth as the other rested on top of her stomach.

“Freya-” Jooheon called out, tapping the girl's shoulder.

Isn’t the weather perfect for a swim? We are not that cruel—suit up! You should dive and find the consoling sight of home. Find the board with your crest and you shall move one house ahead. And don’t think you can fool us. We might not be present, but we are always watching your every step.

The duo couldn’t believe they had to dive into the filthy water. By now, Yeonjun had helped Joy into it and the girl’s squeals were echoing loudly through the abandoned halls. Freya was quick to rush to the suits, grabbing one for herself and another for her partner.

“There,” Jooheon said softly, trying his best to not alarm the girl.

Freya followed the tilt of the head he had given her only for her eyes to lay on one of the corners of the room, by the ceiling, with what seemed to be a camera with a red light flashing. The game had become increasingly serious and there was no policy for cheating.

“Let’s get ready.” She shrugged. “There are snorkeling masks there, too.”

The boy simply nodded as he began to get ready. But he was soon paralyzed, the sudden sound of screams coming from outside alarming him. Jooheon's eyes widened and he felt like he had stopped breathing. He was certain he would see a disfigured man, running towards him and pushing him into the mossy pool, as he took his last breath of air.

“Spider!” A scream was heard and the boys fell straight on their asses.

Everyone is silent for a second until Freya bursts out laughing, the sight of Jackson Wang and Kim Mingyu both screaming over a spider being too funny for her to hold it in.

“How are you two here already?” Jackson points an accusing finger at the duo.

“How aren’t you?” Freya remarks sarcastically.

“It’s not like arrows were pointing Abandoned pool that way!” The boy from Kardia spoke again, his exaggerated personality being enhanced in moments of stress.

“I’m not going in there,” Mingyu says, a disgusted look on the boy’s face as he reaches the edge of the pool.

But as soon as he speaks, Jackson is already shoving his swimming suit up his legs, a sudden moment of courage filling his body. “For Kardia!”

“We’re being watched?” Mingyu asked as he looked around, aiming to find the lurkers.

“Top corner, to your left,” Freya commented as she put her hair in a bun.

She watched as the Kardia boy looked around, eyes finally laying on the camera. And in that same moment, a mischievous smile appears on his lips. Freya tries to focus on the task ahead of her, the thought of having to dive into those waters grossing her out more and more as time passes. Still, she couldn’t keep herself from hearing Mingyu whisper to his teammate.

“Let’s hide these.”

From the corner of her eye, she sees Jackson smirk, grabbing the last two pairs of swimsuits and running toward the old balneary with them. She thought about playing some tricks herself, but she wanted to win this year’s games. Not even for the prize, but for the satisfaction of stealing yet something more from Sarx, and getting back at them for what they did to Jungkook.

“How are we doing this?” Jooheon asks by the girl’s side. They are both standing so close to the edge, that their toes are curled in the air.

Freya sighs, considering her options. For a moment, she watched the water, waiting for Dianoia to come back to the top. As time went on and on, she was quick to notice how much more frequent their visits to the surface were.

“Do you think there might be flashlights or something lying around?” She whispered.

Jooheon was quick on his toes, the sudden mention of the item rushing through his mind. “On the backpacks.”

“Damn it!” Yeonjun let out a frustrated sigh as he came out for air. He climbed the edge of the pool, sitting down as he tried to catch his breath.

Joy followed a couple of seconds later. “I can’t anymore.”

“Let’s rest for a second.” The younger boy helped her climb out.

“We should search separate areas. I comb one side, you do the other.” Freya suggested after overhearing the other team interaction.

“Deep side first?” Jooheon asks and Freya nods in response.

“It might be best. We probably won’t have the strength to comb that part later.”

“And if we find someone else’s board?” Jooheon whispers, eyes falling on the Kardia boys that were struggling with their suits.

“We keep our mouths shut.” Jooheon nodded in agreement.

There was still no sight from Sarx and everyone in the room was glad for that. Archie was close to losing his cool during the first game, and the lack of his presence made everyone sure he was destroying everything that stood in the way of his victory. Sooner, he would be storming over those rusty doors, getting a little too close to breaking them and diving into the sludge-filled pool with no second thought.

But for the time being, the room was filled with Jackson’s squeals. Anyone that passed outside could think someone was being murdered. The mischievous boy had quickly faded into a soft one, too afraid—or better yet, grossed out—to enter the pool. Mingyu tried to give the example, but he too was petrified.

As soon as the Psykhe team was about to dive, hands securing their masks as they adjusted them perfectly on their face, Archie came rushing into the room.

“What’s the game?” He brutally asked, shoulder-shoving Mingyu out of the way as he stopped in front of the board. “Momo!”

The girl came running into the forgotten building, a little out of breath. Everyone could tell she had been forced to run after him towards the abandoned pool.

“Look for the suits.”

“Suits?” She asked confused, considering she had no time to read the pieces of information about the game on the wall.

“Swimsuits!” He screamed impatiently.

The girl looked but the longer she took, the longer Archie pressured. He cursed the game makers for not ensuring there were enough suits for everyone.

“Loser’s crops.” Jackson shrugged, knowing he would get a reaction from the Sarx leader.

“What did you say?!”

“You should work your brains as well.” An innocent smile was plastered on the Kardia boy’s face, but he was far from that.

“Whatever dude.” Archie laughed dryly as he noticed the camera. “Momo, let’s go into the water. We don’t need suits.”

“Wha-” The girl stuttered. It wasn’t enough that she wasn’t comfortable around water—or her partner—but she also had never tried to swim in these conditions. Just the smell that arose from the water made her stomach turn. “I can’t.”

“What?”

“I- I’m not a good swimmer.”

“Bro, what?! And you’re telling me this now!?” The leader lost his cool, yet again. The Griffins were motivated with micro-aggressions better than with words of affirmation. No one could understand that house around Horus.

“Relax dude.” Mingyu gets between the leader and the girl.

“Fuck off, bro.” Archie makes sure to hit Mingyu with his shoulder as he passes him one more time daringly. “You’re not going in, Momo?”

“I-I really can’t.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have brought a fucking girl to this. Pathetic.” He spits as he turns around to face the pool.

“You’re such an asshole…” Freya can’t keep quiet.

“You’re out of your mind, dude. It’s a game.” Mingyu shakes his head.

“Again, fuck off.” Archie gives everyone in the room a dirty glance before diving just as he was.

Freya dived right after. She wanted to keep the advantage her house had so far from the Griffins but at the moment, they were standing equal. Even Dianoia, who had a good head-start, was now seemingly falling behind. Joy hadn’t entered the water ever since she last sat down on the edge of the pool. Even with the snorkeling masks, it had proven too difficult to stay down for too long.

Joy watched all the other participants give their best. Her mind kept on rushing. The big windows let very little light in, most of them being covered by the tall trees of the woods that surrounded Horus. The wind made the leaves dance swiftly; the sight was almost peaceful.

Yeonjun came up again for air. He was already exhausted. The pool was more than 6 feet deep. He had a hard time reaching the bottom, much like everyone else, and even harder staying there. More often than not, his flashlight would shut out and he would be lost in the darkness, his only sense being the faint touches of his pruney fingers.

Mingyu, having the body of an athlete and the brain of a strategist, had already found a board, Psykhe’s. He stayed a little, analyzing the piece glued down, hoping that it would make it easier once he laid eyes on his. He wasn’t sure if it was from the small deprivation of air in his brain, but the more he thought about what would be the use for it, the less sense it made for him.

He came back up for air.

“You okay?” The boy from Kardia asked once he saw Freya leaning against the pool edge, her body still inside the water.

She turned to see who was speaking to her. “Yeah.” But it didn’t sound as hip as she wanted, her lungs gasping for all the air they could get. “Not as easy as I thought.”

Mingyu laughed, agreeing. “You should look elsewhere. You’ve been there for some time.”

Despite her tiredness, Freya was quick to notice the look on the boy’s face. That wasn’t a simple comment out of care or worry. The thought of him passing by her team’s board was as if a bundle of fresh air.

“I will.”

Grabbing the ledge of the pool, she moved to where Jooheon was diving and waited for her teammate to come back up. She was quick to explain the interaction she just had and justify their new search area. Her partner agreed in a heartbeat.

Not far from them, Archie had been making his best times so far. Sarx would have been proud if they were there watching. Instead, he only had Momo. It was the last time he was going against his gut, he had thought. She was quick to collect herself, giving him tips on where to look next, but the sound of her voice only made him more impatient.

Fifteen minutes passed, with each player doing their best underwater—apart from Momo, who kept crouched by the pool shining light wherever Archie would choose to dive next—and from time to time someone would emerge gasping for air, or even scream. It was difficult to know which was worse: to stay by the edge of the pool gasping for air while hearing weary sounds that came from the trees or to stay underwater wrapped in shades of dark green and floating shadows that sometimes looked like creatures watching you. Both gave everyone the chills. Even Archie, that seemed way too stoic, would look behind his shoulders or flinch when plants would appear in his way.

Freya emerged gasping, right in the middle of the pool. Jackson and Mingyu snapped their heads to look at the noise, they seemed to be strategizing while taking a light rest. “Joo!” The girl called. “You’ve seen him?”

“I think he dived there,” Mingyu pointed out since Momo was too busy—and perhaps too afraid—to diverge her concentration from Archie.

“Thank you!” Freya said excitedly while swimming her way towards the place he had pointed, just in time to catch her partner coming up for air. “Joo!”

The guy screamed, scared to see a hand grabbing him out of nowhere. “It’s me! It’s Freya” She laughed it out.

“Thank God, I thought I was done for good!”

“In a certain way you are,” She said, attracting looks from the ones still resting by the ledges, “I found it.” She whispered last.

Jooheon’s eyes got adorably rounded, “You- Really? Like— You’re sure, sure?”

“Super sure.” She winked. “C’mon!” And as they swam their way out of the pool, the players remaining went under it again, too afraid to stay behind, too eager to win, and to get done and over with this game.

The Psykhe pair was quick to get out of their swimming suits and grab the walkie-talkie with a blue string near the Rules board. Freya looked around, her hair soaking the tee she was wearing, and she thought it was best if they talked about it elsewhere. They couldn’t, in any way, share information or clues with the other teams. Jooheon was quick to catch up on her thoughts, so they both ran outside.

The radio screeched once she turned it on, and Jooheon kept fidgeting by the girl's side. Every breeze that hit his wet neck would make him jump, leaving him on edge. They were still deep into the woods, after all.

“Tae, can you hear me?” Freya called for her brother through the device.

“You guys okay?” She heard, but it wasn’t her twin’s voice, it was Jungkook’s.

“Hey! Yeah, we're alright!” She answered with a satisfied smile, and with Jooheon’s protest by her side ‘Define alright’, as he pouted, making her nudge him playfully. “And we got the clue. Write it down, ok?”

“Ok, tell me.”

“Letter H and number 7,” She started, waiting for their response.

“Ok, H and 7,” Jungkook repeated, and right after she heard Taehyung’s voice.

“Any idea of what it could be, Frey?”

Jooheon kept looking towards the crusty doors from the old pool entrance, trying to make himself useful and busy. He was on the verge of freaking out, the tales from the boy of the woods too impactful on his mind.

“It was a chessboard!” Freya described, “The pawn was in the H7 position… But I don’t know if you should relate it to chess or if it’s just a coordinate, like the letter H and number 7?”

“Ok, we’ll see what we can do with that… I mean, we’re in the woods too, but in the south part, by the Stags greenhouse.”

“Watch out for markings in the woods— or signs!” Freya spoke fast, her body getting filled with adrenaline as her mind began to formulate a million different theories of what the solution to winning the game could be.

“Alright.”

“Good luck,” She said as soon as she felt Jooheon poking at her side, notifying her a team was about to come out, “And you two better bring that trophy home, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am!” They laughed together, and that put a smile on the, most often than not, blasé girl. Something about them together felt awfully familiar, as if Jungkook had always belonged to her group of friends, or been close to her brother.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a scaredy-cat Jooheon who was tugging on her arm for them to go to the finish line and wait for the outcome of the games. Or in reality, just to escape the nightmare people made these woods to be.

While she was leaving, she offered one last glance to Mingyu, who was holding a red walkie waiting for the response of his team.

He caught her glance, their eyes meeting for brief seconds.

“See you guys at the finish line!” She said loudly, and to her surprise, it wasn’t to tease as she often would in the games.

The smile on his face grew, and the radio screeched. “What took you guys so long?!” Elena’s voice sounded through.

The sun was still up in the sky when the third game officially started, but the ones who had even the smallest of knowledge about anything sky-related knew for a fact they had to hurry up if they didn’t want to still be venturing into those woods late at night.

Taehyung and Jungkook were well aware of that. They had barely succeeded in finding their way back hours before this. But here they were, running once more between the long trees that surrounded the school, this time with another goal in mind: find an H and a 7.

“Do you think Jimin and Elena left already?” Jungkook asked his partner, his voice a little shaken due to running.

“Maybe,” He heard Taehyung answer and pant a little behind him. “We were a bit far from each other and I don’t see very well from afar” He laughed it out making Jungkook chuckle and relate a bit to his roommate.

“Oh- Look!”

They came to a halt, slowing their pace. In front of them, some of the trees could be seen with markings, some with letters, some with numbers. They glanced at each other knowingly.

They would have to search for two trees apparently, one with their number and the other with their letter.

“They’re painted with four colors…” Taehyung thought aloud making the other boy start looking at the trees once again, “You see there?” He pointed to his left. “That one has a B painted in blue but this one is painted in yellow.”

“So we have to find the blue ones with H and 7,” Jungkook concluded making Taehyung nod. “We could split up to cover more ground?” He suggested with his hands on his hips.

“That’s what they want,” Taehyung said convicted while looking around once more.

“What do you mean? Who?”

The trees were dancing with a light wind right above them. Some melodic whistles floated in the air, little birds that were probably nestling around. Despite what he had been through, Jungkook still thought the woods were almost magical. It would be nice to venture around them in a lighter situation…

“YOU’RE FALLING BEHIND!” Both of them heard Jimin’s voice echo and they snap their heads to follow the sound of it. Jimin and Elena were close by, towards their left, running further into the trees. And as they left into the distance, they could still hear the girl’s excited laugh.

“WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT!” Jungkook shouted back with a smile on his face. He kept on looking at their backs distancing further and further from where he was standing, a million thoughts spiraling in his mind. Maybe this is where I belong, he thought. And looking back at Taehyung, he found the boy already smiling at him, amused and with a complicit look plastered on his face.

For a moment Jungkook feared having to open up to his roommate for being caught in a moment like that. He didn’t think he was ready to say anything about his past yet, or if he would ever be ready for that. But thankfully Taehyung didn’t press him. Nor made fun of it, like he was sure any other guy would.

“We’re not searching anymore,” Taehyung said simply, and Jungkook wasn’t able to follow his track of thoughts, getting confused.

“What?”

“Follow me!”

The two of them trailed together between the tricky spaces around the tall trees. Jungkook had to remove the flannel shirt he was wearing on top of a tee due to the sun's rays hitting his face and torso. All the walking and running wasn’t helping either.

Taehyung’s eyes were sharp, looking for their clues. He suddenly stopped before a pine tree with a red seven painted on it and a small paper note attached. They had noticed before that each of the trees had this kind of paper glued to it, some contained the same text, and others had something entirely different.

“What are you doing? That’s not our seven! Ours is blue,” Jungkook started but Taehyung turned around swiftly putting a hand on his shoulder as if explaining some big event to a child.

“You can’t think like everyone else in this challenge, JK.” He said in a funny intonation. The more he spent time with Taehyung, the more he could see the guy was quirky and did things his way. “We only need a seven and an H. No one told us it needed to be in our official colors. Think about it. This is a challenge to make you waste time. It’s a tricky one.”

And Jungkook reflected upon his words. He was… Right. Freya never told them it had to be blue. She only gave them a letter and a number. Taehyung was brilliant. And looking at him, a growing smile forming on his face, he knew exactly why the boy had been appointed to this challenge specifically.

“Now, start digging!”

“Digging?” Jungkook asked getting confused once again.

“Look at the text on the paper.”

Look up, players! That’s right, two flags you must find… One here, and one at the other coordinate. Will you climb? Hmm, that’s dangerous. A practical solution we will share: Go to the heart of it and your tool will be there.

Jungkook read it two times, but the only thing he could take out of this was: one, climbing the tree to take out the flag swinging on the tallest tree branch, or two, go to the heart of the woods—its center—in hopes to find some tool to facilitate the process. So why the hell was Taehyung asking him to dig, he thought.

He heard him sigh, “Pine tree roots are called heart roots.” Taehyung explained already kneeling on the earthy floor to start digging the soil with a stick he found laying around, “It might be a long shot, but I don’t think so because look at this,” He fumbled with a dirty spot near the tree, “The soil is darker here, meaning someone already dug it.”

“And you know all this stuff… How exactly?” Jungkook asked surprised but found himself a larger stick to start helping.

“My grandparents have a farm… We used to spend a lot of time there when we were kids… Freya and I.”

“Huh, I see… That’s- That’s nice.”

“Look!” Taehyung poked a part of the ground enthusiastically, discarding the stick he was previously using to shift some dirt around with his own hands. When he managed to pull at a rope, a whole flag came following. “I told you!”

“Woah… You’re a genius,” Jungkook marveled.

With yet another knowing look, both of them got up quickly and started running after any tree with a big H painted on it. On their search, they passed by the Dianoia team trying to throw rocks at the flag on top of their targeted pine tree, they too seemed to be trying to think out of the box… But with no immediate success.

The Psykhe duo kept running, eagle eyes trying to do the job of finding their so-desired H. Both of them hoped the tree they found wouldn’t be next to any of the other teams, so they didn’t have to accidentally share their technique. Once they found it, a crooked H painted in yellow, they breathed relief for not being able to see a single person around, although they could hear slightly annoyed screams from the Sarx team. Something along the lines of ‘You have to push me harder, Minhyuk! I can’t climb a whole tree by myself!’ So they were the ones attempting the climbing scenario… Sarx was no joke.

With their second and final flag in their hands, Taehyung grabbed Jungkook by the arm and just advised quickly, “Now we run, as fast as you can- Just don’t leave me behind. Please?” He begged, making his roommate laugh.

With a certain nod of Jungkook’s head, they both sprinted towards the finishing line. If someone was winning the games this year, it would be them. Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh like a maniac already thinking about how good it would feel to see the Griffins’ faces, and his laughter echoed through the whole grove.

Elena and Jimin had just found their first tree when the two of them passed by running, their clothing all stained with dirt and two flags in hand. Jungkook looked like he was filming an action movie, sprinting and jumping with great agility through his obstacles, while Taehyung followed him, the difference was that he was just wagging the flags above his head like a crazy person.

“Those bastards…” Elena let out, hands on her hips as she tilted her head. “How the hell did they do it already?”

“Why are they so… Dirty?” Jimin asked a bit baffled by the situation.

Elena didn’t answer it right away, her eyes going from them to the tree marked by a big four painted in red. She analyzed it with half-closed eyes.

“Were they rolling around in the ground? Climbing a tree doesn’t make you that dirty…” She pondered. “They had to be digging. Right?” Her eyes shoot up at Jimin as if something could start to formulate in her brain.

“What, like actual ground?” Jimin had his hands on his hips, and instinctively he kicked the tree trunk in front of him.

“No, like a tree.” Elena looked seriously at him, “Of course, it’s the actual ground, Jimin!” She added and he started laughing at his dumb remark. “You’re too much!” She laughed alongside him.

“Ok, so where do we dig? Here?” He pointed towards the base of the pine tree and Elena nodded, so he crouched down and started poking the soil.

Not even ten minutes had passed by when they found the tip of the flag and started pulling it out. A little bit of hauling and more digging around the edge of it and the flag was loose and on their hands. Jimin was about to celebrate when Elena shushed him out, fearing the other teams would find out.

“Let’s cover and smooth it as much as we can.” The girl said, looking around as her hands were quick to find the piles of dirt and put them back in their place. They only needed their F now, and as they searched for it, the situation wasn’t looking so good. The Kardia duo needed to hurry up if they wanted to have at least a shot at winning first place; with any luck, Jungkook and Taehyung had got lost, with no clue on how to arrive at the finishing line. Taehyung would certainly get lost, Elena thought to herself. Not only that but the Stags passed by them, one flag on Johnny’s shoulders as they moved through the vegetation.

Rumour had it that a long time ago, Horus Academy used to be much chipper. Only the richest would be allowed to pass by the front gates and marvel at the benefits of having the crest of the prestigious school right by their hearts.

The halls were roamed by troublemakers. Grades weren’t important. Even the teachers wouldn’t try too hard with the students. An F could swiftly be transformed into an A by the end of the semester, a juicy donation made to the Horus Academy Foundation from the family acting as the factor of competence and credibility of the kids' performance.

Despite all this, nothing could be perceived more than mischief. Kids were ruthless. They would speak their minds, not a care in the world if they could be shattering you into a million pieces. Some bullying… Some hazing… But never one step further than that. It was fitting, and not even slightly strange, after all, they had been raised by parents that thought money could fix anything.

Even so, a look at the now long-lost records of the students of the Horus Academy could show that the most serious case that had turned up on school grounds had been a miscarriage—in consequence of a conceived in school-grounds pregnancy.

That was, of course, until that day. The day when all changed.

Chadwin Sinclair. Everyone knew him by his self-entitled nickname, Dragon.

The story was that he had been sent to Horus Academy after almost burning his entire mansion down, with his family sleeping and all the staff still inside. He hadn’t meant it, of course. He was only nine. But his mother—had anyone cared to ask—always found it quite disturbing how his favorite toys were a box of matches. Still, she was too depressed to care or do something about his behavior. With another child on the way, Chadwin’s parents saw no other option than to send him away to a boarding school, as he represented a great danger to what could be the perfect frontman of the Sinclair family.

And in no time, they had forgotten all about him.

During the Christmas break, his mailbox was filled with gifts. He was thrilled. There were no visitations nor, like the other students, did he get the chance to go home. But he was still happy his family bought him everything he had asked for. After all, in the eyes of a child, a Christmas morning is fulfilled by presents under the tree. To Chadwin, sitting by the fireplace with his family was, most of the time, a burden.

Sooner than expected, summer break was just around the corner and he had begun to pack. Some students had already gone home, despite there still being two more weeks left of classes.

After all, it didn’t matter if they were there or not, if their attendance was perfect and their brains matched the level of the prestige school known to the outside world. As long as the deposit came through at the beginning of each month, all was well.

Chadwin didn’t get the reception he was expecting. People teased him. Especially the older kids.

Much like his mother, everyone found it a bit odd how enchanted he was with fire. He used to take refuge in the girls’ bathroom, escaping in between bells, just him and his matches.

Chadwin completed one year with Horus Academy, then another, and another, never leaving the somewhat prison he had been sent to. He had quickly been forgotten by his family and his Christmas mornings were less and less crowded with the disguised wrapped love. So much so that he had stopped writing home. It was of no use. The far apart he grew from his family, the more the fire grew in him.

Rumors intensified once he got admitted to the infirmary. And even more when he got released from it. For most of Autumn and Winter, he had been able to hide it with the long sleeves, but as Spring came around the corner and the sun began to fill the days at Horus, everyone spoke about his arm.

It could fall off at any time.

He was probably trying to kill us all. Failed once… I guess he will forever be a failure.

What a freak.

Don’t go near him. Imagine ending up like that.

Again, children were ruthless. And if Chadwin thought he was alone before, now he was certain that he was nothing but a waste of space and air. He thought of himself as not being worthy of a kind word. They made him believe he was a freak. And despite his best attempts to leave his comfort, putting behind the warmth of the fire in his soul, he couldn’t.

So he kept on playing with it.

One afternoon, he was hiding in the Academy’s cafeteria.

Some boys had decided that he should mix his elements. The freak should be in the water—a change of pace from his good ol’ matches. They had tried to dunk his head in the toilets. And they had succeeded. Not as much as they wanted, of course. What were a couple of minutes to dear Chadwin when he got to spend so much time with fire…

As it did before, the fire inside him grew. And Horus Academy was changed forever. No one cared to look for Chadwin Sinclair as the ghastly sound of flames was blended with the screams of frightened children, running for their lives.

Horus struggled to get back on its feet. And truth be told, it almost didn’t. But as the corridors of the new buildings are roamed by a new kind of troublemakers, the Academy keeps on attempting to keep the dark secret of that day from ever being found.

“I can’t believe they’re not here already.” Freya frowned, arms crossing over her chest.

The sun was close to setting and had it been any other day, the focus of the students would be on capturing the beautiful tones that adorned the sky, with soft shades of blue, pink, and purple welcoming the moon.

“I can’t believe our advantage didn’t mean anything.” Kaya laughed drily. The girl was usually a good sport, not caring much if she lost or won, only if everyone around her was having a good time. But this— this was different. It meant too much.

“Honestly, I can’t believe you guys aren’t eating!” Jin spoke after swallowing hard on the big chunk he had taken from his hot dog.

“I’m confident.” Namjoon’s dimple made itself known as he took a step closer to the finish line. “I can already sense Jungkook and Tae turning the corner, flags in hand, a victorious smile on their faces…”

“They better not screw it. I didn’t dive in that gross water for nothing.” Freya lifted her eyebrow.

“The second we knew what the other trial was, I was certain that we weren’t going to finish.” Hoseok laughed.

“Hey man, don’t even mention it. I will have nightmares, forever.” Jackson cried, gaining a laugh from the ones around him.

The crowd is silenced by the sound of screams.

“What the—” Freya squints her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on.

“What’s happening?” Kaya spoke fast, eyes widening in comparison to the tall girl beside her. The brunette started to move, impulsed by curiosity, hand grabbing Freya’s wrist as she pushed past the group of students that stood by the finish line. “Are those…?”

“Oh my God-” Freya gasped. “Let’s fucking go!”

Jungkook passed by the two girls at full speed as Psykhe had been quick to notice what had been happening and everyone shouted his name, as well as that of the boy right after him. Taehyung was out of breath. It was obvious to anyone watching that he had a hard time keeping up with the new guy in school but the compliments weren’t any less.

Stopping by the judges' tables, Jungkook handed them the flags.

“Only the team can finish this trial.” One of the judges said eyeing him up, stating Taehyung’s absence. Jungkook puffed irritated, hands falling to his knees so he could finally catch his breath while waiting for his partner to catch up to him. His eyes fell on the time watch on one of the judges' hands.

“Very well, boys. The flags, please.” Yeri, a girl from the Psykhe house winked at them.

“We already finished. Won’t you stop the clock?” With a hand on his hip, Jungkook pressed, head nudging towards the ticking-bomb-like device.

“We need to check the flags first.” Tzuyu barked back, eyebrows narrowed as she was not pleased that the boy in front of her wasn’t someone from her house. His eyes pierced hers defiantly, as he clenched his jaw and handed her the flags he had discarded on the judges' table.

“What’s going on?” Taehyung who was lying down on the floor finally managed to ask.

“And— stop!” Wheein, from Dianoia, lifted her hands in the sky. “Everyone!” Grabbing the megaphone from the table, she stands up on her chair, expecting eyes to fall on her immediately. “Guess we have our first place! Give it up for Psykhe!”

The crowd roars, filled with wolves, and they rush toward the boys. Suddenly, they are being lifted in the air. Some boos are heard from the other houses, playfully but honestly sore from the defeat. All except the ones coming from the Sarx house. They don’t boo but a simple look at their expressions makes it clear that they would need their time to soak in the stomp on their winning streak.

Jungkook gets put down on the floor again while Taehyung still fights for his safety; his teammates are too excited about the event to even care.

Freya rushes to the new guy—that didn’t seem that new anymore as he fits the group as a glove—without even thinking, her arms swinging around his neck with excitement. He is quick to wrap her in his embrace, squeezing her tight and lifting her in the air.

“Dream team, baby!” Jungkook says into Freya’s neck making her smile widely.

“Hell yeah!” Freya can’t help but scream excitedly. Before she can even notice she is being surrounded by her housemates, a pack of Wolves, as loud as they can be, she catches herself feeling secure in this stranger's embrace. It was weird how she felt so comfortable in Jungkook’s presence yet knew so little about him. “Help!” Taehyung yelps cutting short her trace of thoughts, while almost falling to the floor as he is finally released from the sea of people he was in.

Jungkook lets Freya out of his hold to go and help her brother stabilize himself. A rushed way out of the blood flushing to his years with the sudden proximity with the deep-eyed girl.

“Everyone’s been trying to kill me today.” The twin lets out, as if out of breath.

“Drama queen…” Freya laughs, arm leaning on her brother’s shoulder.

“Do you know how hard it is to keep up with him?” He side-eyes Jungkook, who breaks out in a fit of laughter.

“You’re just simply very much out of shape.” Freya chuckles.

“Nah, I’m just that fast.” Jungkook shrugs, nonchalant, and Freya scoffs amused. Hadn’t she been interrupted, she would be quick to fight him back on his statement. Perhaps that would be a theme of conversation for another time, much like her incessant curiosity to know more about him.

“My man!” Namjoon appears, engulfing Jungkook in a hug.

“Hey, I was part of the team too!” Taehyung pouts.

“Tae, we all know you’re the brains behind the whole operation but he was definitely the one doing the hard work.” Yoongi appears with a smug smile on his lips, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Good job, guys.”

“C’mon, show a little more enthusiasm, I know you’re backflipping inside that head of yours.” Freya pokes the boy’s side, gaining attention from Jungkook.

“Uh, Psykhe.” The dripping dullness in his voice completes the blank expression on his face as his balled fist is thrown unamusedly in the air.

Freya crosses her arms, one eyebrow raised. “That’s the best you can do?”

“C’mon, louder! The sore losers need to know who’s the boss.” Taehyung joins in.

“On three…” Jungkook smiles deviously. “1…”

“2…”

“3!”

“PSYKHE!” The wolves shout in unison.

“...ATE YOUR… Asses…?” Everyone hears at the end and looks at the culprit in question—Freya. “No…? Alright. No need to look at me like that, gee.”

“You have no respect for the mourning of others, do you?” Kaya pushes Namjoon away from the circle they had formed while eyeing the electric twins, making room for herself.

“Don’t be a sore loser yourself.” Freya sticks her tongue out, teasing her friend.

“Shush it.” The younger girl demands in feigning authority for pure spite.

The group dismisses the circle-like shape and is quick to stand by the finish line, eager to see which team would occupy second place. In a matter of seconds, the crowd that had become quieter over time was reminded that there was a competition still going on and a second place to earn.

“JIMIN-AH! RUN!” Elena's strident scream can be heard even before she comes into sight. “THEY'RE CATCHING UP TO US!”

“Elena really wasn't made for this kind of situation.” Hoseok laughs, knowing that if it were him, he would also scream as loud as his teammate.

“I'm surprised we didn't hear her any sooner.” Taehyung snorts, an amused look on his face.

“YOU RUN!” Jimin giggled, grip tightening around the girl's wrist. Elena wasn't as fast as him—maybe it was the adrenaline or his insistent pulling on her arm—but she was running right by his side.

“Those two together are absolute chaos.” Kaya shakes her head. The big smile she had on her lips is quick to fade though.

Following right suit, Johnny and Changkyun turn the corner, and the screams that left the blonde's lips get more intense. The boys from Dianoia are fast and close to catching up to them.

“GO JOHNNY! GO KYUNIE! RUN!” Kaya suddenly jumps up giving in to the frenzy of the crowd, hands tightening around the fence placed between her and the running track. “JIN, LOOK AT THEM!” But the oldest of the group was nowhere to be seen.

“Go Jimin!” Taehyung swings his arms up in the air.

“Let's go, guys!” Hoseok also cheers.

And the crossing of the finish line and delivery of the flags at the judges' table is only separated by a couple of seconds from one duo to another.

Despite the thrilling emotions both teams were feeling, trying to understand their places in the games, the focus of the crowd wasn't on the judges' table. Instead, everyone started staring at Archie Miller, the captain of the Sarx house. The look on his face, as he realized that his team would finish last, was nothing compared to the cussing words that left his mouth. He was enraged. He wanted to take the path and find the team he had sent out for the third game and finish it himself.

“Can’t believe they didn’t tell us if we made it second.” Elena scoffs as she reaches her group, still trying to even her breathing from all the running.

“You never know.” Kaya teases.

“I will smother you tonight. Don’t think I didn’t hear you scream for those two.” A mean expression adorned her face as she tilted her head towards the Dianoia team.

“What?! Oh, now I’m hurt.” Jimin’s hands flew to his heart.

“Don’t mix business with pleasure, isn’t that what they say?” The smart girl laughs.

“Wouldn’t you know…” Elena sticks her tongue out to her friend as she sits down on the grassy ground next to Taehyung. “I still can’t believe you guys got first place.”

“Who else could've?” Taehyung replied with a smug smile on his face, getting shoved right after.

“You only won because you had him.” The girl scoffs and points to Jungkook, who was standing proudly next to his team captain. “You should know that you got sorted into the wrong house,” Elena states to the new boy gaining his attention.

“Look, another sore loser.” Freya jokes at the mercy of her friend teasingly. “But really, this was a collective win, guys. Look at Miller.”

The conversation is quick to die down as the Griffins finally pass the finish line. The judges don’t bother to look at their flags like they had done with the other teams. Regardless of being successful or not, they came in last and their fate was very much decided at that point. As so, they don’t go to the podium. Sarx goes home without a prize, their player's hair all messy and clothes torn from their lack of imagination completing the third game, as they were the most likely team to present it as yet another physical trial.

The third place is occupied by Dianoia. An upgrade from last year’s games. The judges make sure to assert the almost nonexistent difference between them and the second place: Kardia. Only seconds separated the two teams. The teasing between the group of friends is immense as if they had been disputing the first place, to begin with. Kaya, a naturally good sport quickly loses her composure as her roommate, alongside the other two Dragons of the group, Jimin and Hoseok, celebrates with a much-exaggerated dance for a clear win.

Screams of excitement were heard as soon as the judges mentioned the real first place once again. Wolves—and even the Stags and the Dragons—made their contentment knowing Psykhe are this year’s crowned winners.

However, quicker than expected the mood shifts.

A loud and guttural scream is heard across the open field. A human shape dashing desperately through the tall trees that marked the woods' territory—Joy.

The girl seemed out of her mind, scared, and looking like a mess. She was still wearing her swimsuit, or at least half of it since the piece was hanging from her upper body but still covering her from the waist down as if she had run in the middle of completing the task.

Her hair was disheveled and full of dry leaves entangled in it. The closer she got to the paralyzed crowd the more it was visible how she was injured as well. A cut could be seen above her eyebrow along with some ugly scratches adorning the extension of her arm and her bare feet.

“Help!” She managed to exclaim.

Yeonjun, her partner from the abandoned pool game, was by her side in a heartbeat giving her the support she needed so she could finally know she was safe. His expression was mixed with confusion and worriedness, and he wouldn’t stop saying incoherent things, as if he was certain she had been inside the school perimeters this whole time and not in the woods.

Even though she had not arrived with him at the finish line.

And when questioned about what had happened, while being wrapped with a warm blanket, Joy, still crouched on the ground and shaking, had said she had been surprised at the abandoned balneary when she went to take her swimsuit out of her body by a strange figure.

“I just got so scared, so I- I ran! And I knew it wasn’t one of the boys. I- I swear it wasn’t one of the boys that were on the pool with me.” She had said between stutters. The more Jungkook heard her piece, the more his jaw tensed, being reminded of his own episode not so far ago.

Yeonjun promptly clarified that he had waited for her, and once he called for the girl by the girls’ balneary and she didn’t answer, he even entered to check. She was simply gone. So he didn’t make much of it, just assumed she went ahead and back to the finish line.

He returned alone.

A commotion began to form among the crowd. Everyone was nit-picking on their stories. Some pointed out that Yeonjun should have said something once he arrived, others defended the boy. After all, Joy could have perfectly arrived at the safety of her dorm to take a shower and clean the stench left by the gruesome pool, just like everyone else did. Well, everyone minus Archie who kept staring at the woods by the finish line too proud and anxious to lose his precious title.

And then the gossip followed. In a question of seconds, the rumor of the boy of the woods was being spread, Jungkook’s tragic yet mysterious kidnapping as well, and looks of terror started to appear. That was until the first beep was heard.

Suddenly the sound of notifications filled the air, and even the Stags who were all over Joy stopped their interrogations to pay attention to what was going on. Something like this… Could it be…?

“What’s going on?” Kaya asks, looking around quickly and approaching her friends again. “I don’t have my phone. What’s going on?” She insists, looking between them.

“Namjoon?” Jungkook asks, big doe eyes as he can’t help but panic after taking a glance at his own screen.

“Oh, great,” Yoongi laughs drily. It was impossible to ignore all the whispers and stares directed at him.

The captain of the Wolves scratches the back of his neck, a big puff of air leaving his lips. “We have a situation here…”

“So it’s me this time.” Yoongi sighed, the weight of prying eyes still on him. “Let me see.”

“You.” Freya spat. It was like her body was on fire, rage overcoming all the positive emotions she had been feeling. “This is such bullshit.”

“Yeah, don’t think they agree.” Yoongi chuckles, glancing at the hostile faces staring back at him.

“Fuck them.” Freya gets closer to Yoongi, protectively wrapping her arms around his own, but the judging stares don’t stop. They only increase. Like a fire going out of control.

Jungkook can’t help but look at the two of them together. His eyes keep falling on the way the girl strokes the back of Yoongi’s hand with her thumb, ever so gently, and so distant from the harsh expression shown on her face.

The way Yoongi starts fidgeting in Freya’s embrace, even though he appears to be calm and collected, and the way he tightens the grip on her hand tells her all she needs to know—he’s overly uncomfortable. And she can’t stand it.

“I’ll be right back.” She says decisively to him and to her friends, who were still close to each other, each with a look of uneasiness of their own.

Freya marches straight to the mini stage, taking the megaphone Wheein was previously using to announce the results to the crowd off of her hand.

“Hey!” She shouted and a screech echoed making some of the people standing close to the speakers cover their ears. Everyone winced but started paying attention to the girl instead of looking toward Yoongi.

“This is bad,” Kaya stated anxiously.

“Good. Now that I have your attention let’s clarify some stupid and nonsense rumors.” Freya scoffed, too mad that people deliberately chose to just believe some unfound and ridiculous tweet than actually think.

“Someone take her out of there,” Kaya added, gripping Hoseok’s arm but unable to take her eyes off her friend, expectant and afraid You would drag her again to the mud.

“I’m really sorry that Joy had gone through some sort of attack and all but are you really blaming it on Yoongi?” Freya questioned baffled. “That Yoongi? ‘Cause like- Unless he has actual superpowers I can’t see how he left my side to sprint towards the woods and go scare her.”

People started looking at each other. By the incessant whispers, it was notorious that they started doubting You’s statement but also clear that some of them were still not buying Freya’s lead. And all because of a tiny detail… One that could light a fire and burn everything down. She had a motive to defend him.

Horus was filled with troublemakers, yes, but its walls also contained brilliant minds; Some bright, the brightest ever, and some ruthless—like said before. And one of them decided to speak, right at that moment, to ignite a flame.

“I’m sorry but aren’t you his girlfriend?” Bambam shouted from the back of the crowd, a scoff leaving his lips. He had his arms crossed carefreely and an annoying smug smile on his lips that made Freya clench her jaw involuntarily. The way he looked around at people made it clear that he was after sympathy. Some even started to nod alongside him. “The one that was caught climbing his window two weeks ago or so…?”

Her instinct was telling her to jump off that stage and fly up on his neck, but Freya knew better. He just wanted her to act up and lose all her credibility before the confused crowd. So she took a deep breath before smiling sarcastically, ready to give him an answer.

Jungkook however, who was the least rational person in the precinct, was so ready to act that he managed to take his first step toward Bambam, tongue poking the inside of his cheek, anger in his eyes. He remembered the boy’s face from that day in the woods when he had been cruelly tied to a tree.

But Namjoon stopped him right in his tracks. “We got this.” The team leader assured with a last confident smile before walking to the stage Freya was on.

“And what is it to you?” She questioned smartly. “Does that have anything to do with the fact Joy was attacked by someone or are you just trying to start false rumors? Perhaps you know who’s behind that stupid account, no? They seem to follow your track of logic.”

A group from the crowd let a wave of ‘uohows’ mocking Bambam who by now had his smile fading into a defeated frown. Jungkook couldn’t help but show his radiant bunny smile, victorious. Elena shouted a “Damn right” backing up her friend, and Taehyung went along proud of his twin sister.

Before anyone else could point out Freya had just been defending Yoongi because she had something going on with him, Namjoon stepped up onto the small stage.

Asking silently for the megaphone, that was handed to him after a brief exchange of complicit looks, the team leader continued. “I feel ridiculous having to even try and explain something regarding that rumor, but if it puts your minds at ease, Yoongi was with me the whole time waiting for our team to arrive at the finishing line. As soon as Freya ended her trial, she took a shower and met us here where, not only a lot of you had seen us, but also the judges.”

In a matter of seconds, the crowd was silenced and some even quietly apologized to Yoongi while passing by him.

Freya and Namjoon were about to step off the center stage toward their friends when another voice was heard. The fanfare was far from over. Among the crowd, there was a person who was still not over the events of the day. Archie Miller.

With unmistakable annoyance in his tone of voice, he exclaimed. “You know what?! This is bull!”

Suddenly all eyes were on him.

“So these damn Wolves will just get off with anything?!” He continued enraged. “First our room, our stuff, now Joy… The poor girl can’t even say a coherent sentence.” He took a glance at the girl in question, who was being escorted towards the infirmary, with a feign of worriedness that didn’t belong to his normal behavior, gaining some raised brows in return. “I say we punish them.” The Griffins' leader stated finally what he wanted all along.

“Punish them?” Freya questioned once again outraged. “Where are we? In Hunger Games or something?”

“C’mon Miller… Acting so coy. We can barely recognize you.” Elena couldn’t help but join.

Taehyung who was right behind her had to be quick, however. The last thing they needed right now was to add more fuel to the fire. Afraid Archie would unleash his anger on her, Taehyung covered Elena’s mouth with his hand, and in a swift move lifted the girl up, left arm holding her tight on her center, exchanging places with her. “Now’s not the time” He shushed her quietly.

“Taehyung what the fu-” She was about to say when he circled her yet again in his arms, leaving her face glued to his back. All Elena could do due to the height difference was slap poorly his shoulder.

The boy could almost breathe relieved knowing he had stopped chaos from happening, but the thought of peace went out as briskly as the breath he took.

“Archie… Dude. If you want your trophy that bad why don’t you go fetch it?” Jimin retorted impatiently and his best friend was almost heard swearing a couple of feet away. “There are more important things at the moment. Joy’s incident had nothing to do with anyone here… Clearly.”

There was a moment of pause; Some were expectant to what Archie could possibly answer back as everyone knew he was a walking ticking bomb. Some, the gossiping eyes of this school, were curious to know what was this “trophy” talk all about.

Archie himself took a moment just to look at Jimin. You could see his brain was working like a fuming train just by the way he walked toward the other boy with furrowed brows and a questioning glance.

“I never said anything about a trophy, Park.” He barked out, now only a meter away from Jimin.

Instinctively, Jungkook balled his fists standing side by side with Jimin. If looks could kill, Jungkook would have opened a hole in Archie’s forehead. And he wasn’t the only one, as Jackson was furiously opening a path among the crowd to reach his Kardia teammate. Freya too was about to reach Jimin to give him a deserving slap in the back of his head for being such a damn taleteller when someone grabbed her by the wrist.

As she looked up, all she could see was Mingyu’s profile, shielding her from Archie in case something unfolded. Knowing the latter’s temper, a fight was about to start.

Jimin scoffed with a smile. “Joy was attacked on school grounds and that’s where you’re stuck?”

Tension was palpable and shortly it was present everywhere.

“Hey hey, what’s going on?” Jin appeared by Yoongi’s side confused by the sudden ruckus.

“Where were you?” Taehyung asked his cousin under Namjoon’s attentive gaze, but the answer never came as Jin’s focus was purely on the fight about to happen right before him.

Much like the oldest's reaction to the scene unfolding right in the center of a mass of students present, the crowd grew closer, engulfing the two boys in a circle. Whispers were heard from every side and some were even tempted to find the right words that would finally ignite the fight. Tzuyu had left the judges table and was now quick on her feet, right next to Mandy, a close friend of Jimin’s, who had been taping the entire scene from the moment she had heard Joy screaming. No one wanted to miss a second of the spectacle.

“Are you going to let him talk to you like that?” Bambam had a devious smile on his lips as he spoke right at the ear of his team’s captain.

And that was all the incentive the impulsive red-haired boy needed. His eyes fell on Jimin and the other guys backing him up but he was sure he could take them all. Hell, he had his eyes set on the prize. Launching forward, the captain of Sarx pulls his arm back, his fist ready to clash with the now so clearly thief of his precious trophy.

“May I ask what is happening here?!” Miss Bellum’s voice froze them in their places before a fight could actually unfold. She worriedly passed by students trying to reach Archie and Jimin.

Belle, the Dianoia student who worked as a secretary for the school during her vacant hours, came right after the teacher, as it was later found out she was the one reaching out to a professor to prevent something worst to happen. She also made sure to update her biology teacher about Joy’s episode on the way, as Miss Bellum questioned her why the brunette had been admitted to the infirmary with cuts and restless behavior.

“I won’t repeat myself, boys.” The teacher scolded. “If I catch any of you fighting we’ll have serious consequences. Archie put that fist down!”

Jimin backed away, quickly apologizing to the teacher but his eyes were still on the boy before him. Archie didn’t say a word, he was far too angry for that, and in his head, this wasn’t over. Far from it.

Before he could turn back from fighting Kardia’s golden boy, the incessant notification noise traveled through the crowd like a tidal wave yet again.

📓 [ CLICK TO CONTINUE READING ]

122 notes · View notes