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twiceasfrustrating · 3 years

Text

Out in the Countryside

Rating: Teen and Up

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: F/M

Fandom: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!

Relationship: Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Main Character/Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Leviathan/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Main Character/Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Asmodeus/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Beelzebub/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader

Characters: Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)

Additional Tags: Poly!MC, Picnic, fluff, hand-holding, implied drinking, Beel carries you, kissing these idiots being dumb but lovable

Summary: Sometimes you just wanted to have a nice day out with all of your boyfriends. You had the brilliant idea to go out for a picnic and enjoy some time away from the usual busy life you all lived. The brothers decided to indulge your wish, so into the equivalent of the Devildom countryside you go.

There was a lot of walking involved with picnics. You had never realized before how much walking really went into getting away from civilization. Not even a city, just some form of civilization. Then again, you had never seen the countryside in the Devildom before, so it wasn't fair to expect yourself to know that information beforehand. Well, maybe you should have, considering the human realm wasn't that different.

You had been left in charge of carrying the blanket, even after insisting you could carry something else. The brothers refused to let you, sitting that the baskets (yes, multiple) were heavy because they had to bring enough for eight people (one of which was Beel and his bottomless stomach) and one was full of dishes. They were objectively stronger than you, so there was no reason to have you exercise your limited human strength. The only brother not in charge of carrying a basket was Belphegor, who they worried would fall asleep on the spot if he had to use too much energy. Even Beel was allowed a basket of food in addition to the one for dishes (granted, it was one that had specifically been made so that he could eat it while walking because you all knew that was going to happen, but still).

The choice not to burden Belphie quickly proved to be a smart one, because he was soon yawning as he walked and you worried he would start literally sleeping walking.

You held the blanket against you in much the same way he did his pillow and went up to him, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Jus' tired..." His words slurred together, showing just how true that statement was.

"Yeah, this walk is pretty exhausting." At least one person agreed with you. Everyone else seemed to be doing just fine. It almost made you angry because that meant they had been right about you carrying extra weight and how it would have been taxing on you. Stupid correct logic, "Hey? After we all eat, would you like to take a nap?"

The look he gave you told you that was a definite yes, but he clearly missed your intentions.

"I meant, would you like to take a nap with me? Maybe I can let you use my lap as a pillow?" You knew how much he enjoyed doing that, and you did too.

His eyes turned to you and a little "Mhm" left him. He could never turn down a chance to take a nap with you.

Still, he looked tired enough that you worried about him, so you reached out your hand to hold his and make sure that he wouldn't wander away if he did start sleepwalking. He gladly entwined his fingers with your own as you both walked along.

You both stayed like that until Lucifer spoke up, "This is our destination."

Your attention shifted, looking out ahead of you rather than on making sure Belphie was still awake. All you could do was stare in awe. It is so powerful that you find yourself letting go of the youngest brother's hand and stepping forward to get a better look at what lies before you.

The Devildom countryside was nothing like what you expected. You weren't sure what it was you expected, but it wasn't flowers. Actual flowers! Not that you recognized whatever type of flora they were, but here they were. The scene of the meadow against the pale red sky was hauntingly beautiful and all you could think of was enacting the scene straight out of a movie where you frolicked in the field. You looked at the brothers with wide eyes, begging to be allowed to go enact your plan.

Lucifer nodded, "They're safe for humans." He held out his hand to take the blanket from you, which you gladly let him.

With a twinkle in your eyes, you ran away from them and toward the field of flowers, immediately feeling how the petals softly brushed against your exposed legs. Upon closer inspection, something about them reminded you of multicolored spider flowers dripping with morning dew and dandelions with exaggeratedly large puffs. As you danced through the meadow, the dandelion puffs broke free from their stems and floated off into the sky. You stared in wonder as they flew in the wind and were carried off somewhere far away. It was moments like these where it was the clearest that the human realm and the Devildom had many similarities you never had time to think about.

The brothers watched you from the place you had split off from them, seeing how you enjoyed your first exposure to wild Devildom flowers. Your blue sundress fluttered in the same wind that carried away the puffs, making you stand out against the brilliant sky behind you. Each of them found it hard to look away and help set up the picnic like they had planned. The contrast in color made you look like a painting.

Satan paused from helping lay down the blanket to watch the wonder unfold on your face. He looked over to his next youngest brother, "Asmo, you helped her pick the outfit for today, didn't you?"

"Only the parts you can see." But those parts were still divine, "She insisted the rest of it be a surprise."

"You did well." He added before going back to helping spread the blanket.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. It was a simple outfit, but it gave them all terrible ideas about what to do with you. How else was a demon supposed to react to seeing such an innocent-looking human other than wanting to corrupt them?

"Can someone set out the food?" Beel wanted to do it himself, but he knew he was likely to eat it before anyone else could enjoy it.

Belphegor looked at him in sympathy, feeling how hungry his twin was in his own stomach, "We need to finish setting up first." He wanted to sleep though. The walk over had been exhausting and it was hitting him the hardest, "You should go check on her." He suggested, since keeping Beel away from the food was the smartest option.

"Huh? Why does he get to be the one to check on her?" Mammon burst into the conversation, "I mean- Ya should leave that kinda stuff to yer big brother. No reason ya gotta go out of yer way."

"Lmao. You're dating her and you still act like a tsun." The third-born couldn't help but laugh at how much of a trope his brother was.

He placed his hands on his hips, "Shad'up. No one understands that otaku talk of yers anyway."

"Then why are you so offended?" Levi mocked, not missing the fact that his brother clearly understood the jab well enough to know it was insulting.

"Enough." Lucifer ended the conversation before their bickering could draw your attention, "Unless one of you wants to play guard between Beel and the food, I think letting him go is the best option."

They looked at each other, knowing neither of them wanted that particular responsibility. Levi turned back to his job dejectedly while Mammon grumbled a "whatever" under his breath.

Belphie gave Beel a sly smile, knowing exactly what he had done. The redhead gave him a grateful nod before looking out to where you were now sitting among the flowers and walking toward you. He found you stroking the petals of the flowers, trying to understand how they felt soft to the touch even though they grew in a harsh environment. He sat beside you, drawing your attention to him instead.

"Oh, Beel." You pulled away from the petals and leaned against his towering frame, "Am I taking too long?"

"No." His gaze drifted down to you, seeing how peaceful your face was looking out across the field, "They're almost done getting everything ready."

You balk at his words, "Done? I didn't even help."

"Well, you looked like you were having fun. None of us wanted to bother you."

"But I should still help." You felt bad that you had left them to do all the work when you were the one that suggested a picnic in the first place.

"No one minds." They loved watching you enjoy yourself so freely. It had quickly become something akin to a hobby to them.

"I mind." It made you feel lazy to not help them set everything up. This was a relationship, so you should contribute to it as much as they did.

He didn't really know how to comment on that without undermining your feelings. It was clear you were upset about being allowed to walk away without contributing anything. You probably shouldn't have assumed they would wait for you to come back to set up, this was their date too, after all.

He couldn't think of anything to say to you, especially with your face as sour as it was. Instead of trying to use words, he reached out for a flower and plucked it from the ground. With a smile in his eyes, he placed it behind your ear.

"Watching you is nice." He gently stroked your cheek with the back of his fingers as he lowered his hand again, "Seeing you happy is the best part of a date."

The heat that rose in your body and up your face felt like it would cook you alive. You buried yourself into his shirt to hide the giddy, embarrassed smile that you were now wearing, "You can't just say stuff like that."

"Why not? Did I say something wrong?" The worry in his voice was saddening.

"Never." You shake your head and sit up ever so slightly so you can place a peck against his cheek, "Do you think they're done?"

His hand moved to his stomach, realizing for the first time since he joined you just how hungry he really was, "I hope so."

"Well then," you raise to standing and brush the dirt and pollen from your dress, "Shall we go back now?"

Nodding once again, he shifts in his spot so he can stand up. However, as he gets to his knees, he stops and looks up at you. His arms open wide And you know exactly what he's thinking about. With a shy smirk, you fall into his arms, sitting awkwardly on his bicep and trying to balance yourself.

Beel places his other hand against your knees to keep you steady as he stands up and lifts you straight into the sky. You giggle widely as you raise higher and higher, seeing how more of the area unfolds before you with height. Now you can see how the sea of colors you were just sitting in weaves together and how far it seems to stretch out.

Your eyes widen in awe, "It's amazing..." You can't really explain how beautiful the meadow is. It's not like the ones in the human realm that look delicate and fair. No. This one looks dangerous, those dew stricken petals reaching out to link each flower to its neighbor.

"You like it?"

"I love it." You couldn't imagine seeing this in the human realm. The flowers were just too unique.

"Whaddya think yer doing over there?"

You both turn to look toward Mammon, who is yelling at you from where the picnic has been fully set up. Clearly, he isn't a fan of being left out from a single intimate moment.

"I think that's our cue." You tell him, looking down but holding on tightly.

"Uhn." He turns on his heels, carefully keeping you perched on his arm and listening to you laugh at the unusual way to travel.

As you near everyone else, you both get a few looks of confusion, some of jealousy, and one from Belphie that lets you know that whatever just happened was all according to his plans. Of course, it was. The youngest brother couldn't go a day without planning something. At least it wasn't nefarious this time.

"I'm glad you both decided to join us." Lucifer said, glance drifting from Beel you, "Do you need help getting down?"

You debate for a moment of you can get down by yourself. You figure Beel would set you down if you asked, but that's not as fun as having to make Lucifer reach up to you for once, "Please?"

Stepping forward, the eldest brother places his hands against your waist and slowly lifts you back to the ground. As your feet touch the dirt below, he notices the flower in your hair, placing a gloved hand under your chin and lifting your head so he can get a better look at it.

"Yes?" You ask, wondering what he could be thinking about.

"Nothing." He bends down at the waist and presses his lips against yours, his tongue quickly assaulting your own and making your head swim before pulling away, "You look beautiful."

The haze is short-lived as he pulls away and you can only admonish him, "Lucifer! This is a group date. None of that." Quick kisses and pecks were one thing, but trying to rile you up was off-limits.

The grin that crosses his face is fully aware of what he did, but uncaring because he got what he wanted, "Of course." Even if you complained, the goal was that he wouldn't be outdone by his younger brother in your eyes. Of course, some of the others saw through him, but the only opinion that mattered on the issue was yours.

Asmo took the opportunity to skip up to you from behind and wrap his arm around your own, "Sit next to me, Darling~" He tugged at you gently to try and lead you to a spot on the blanket.

Of course, he was the first one to actually ask you to sit with them. He had no compunctions over trying to get you to pick him first and foremost. He would respect your boundaries, but he still wanted you as much as everyone else.

"Gladly." You let him guide you to the blanket and sat down where he indicated. That still left your other side open though. You pay the spot next to you and looked up, "Levi? Will you join me?"

His orange eyes sparkled so much that it almost looked like he was going to cry. Why would you ever choose a disgusting otaku like him? That was probably what he was thinking. That was also exactly why you had to explicitly choose him. You loved him as much as the rest of his brothers, but he didn't seem to believe you. Every now and again, he needed a reminder that you had chosen him just as much as anyone else.

He gladly sat on your other side and the rest of the brothers fell into different places around the small banquet. Beel looked uncomfortable as he was forced to only look at the food in front of him. Belphie, ever the good brother, passed him an entire basket of food and told him to start with that while everyone else took the chance to grab from the pile in the middle. That basket lasted about as long as it took everyone to make their first plate.

"We brought wine if you would like." Satan held up the deep red, unopened bottle for you to see.

You looked at him skeptically, "Didn't we learn that I can't handle that stuff already?" That was kind of how this entire mess started in the first place. Not that you regretted it in the long run, even if it was a nightmare to deal with at the time.

He shook his head, "This is from the human realm. At least, I assume you have some tolerance for it." Although, none of the brothers would mind another incident like the one from that night. In retrospect, some of them found the memory endearing and were mildly curious how much further it could go now that you weren't confused about your feelings anymore.

But... this wine wouldn't do that to you, "Please pour a glass." It really was the ideal of a picnic date. Not that anything about this date was traditional, but it was definitely your ideal. There was nothing better than just getting to spend a day with your boyfriends and enjoying each of them. They really did find ways to spoil you and make you so very happy that this was your life now.

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nothing-but-dreamy · 3 years

Text

ISEKAI

Pairing: FFXV! NYX ULRIC x GENDER NEUTRAL!READER

Words: 5.205

Warnings: none;

A/N: I'm sorry that this request took me so long. Mostly, because I really loved the idea. Therefore, I really hope you will like it. I had much fun to write it.

Summary: Because of a mysterious accident you land in Eos. Finding yourself in an unknown world, you're happy that you got help by someone. Nyx saves your life and quickly, he sees more in you than just a person who was in danger.

***

You were bored. Like, really bored. Your life was barely special before Corona had overtaken the world and now, with all the quarantines, restrictions and rules, the excitement was ... zero.

So, out of boredom, you started to clean your apartment. Every single corner. All of it. From your loudspeakers, random music was playing to cheer you up. Mostly soundtracks of everything you liked: Supernatural, Marvel, Dr Who, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings ... whatever there was in the gaming, movie or TV orbit drifting around, you probably liked it.

So, while you were humming with the latest tune of some triple A video game, you put the vacuum cleaner away to get a black cloth for a last task on your list before everything would be shiny again in your small apartment: the mirrors.

With slow, circling moves, you wiped over the reflecting surface. Your face was staring back at you. Mocking you. You and your boring life even without a pandemic. Sometimes, you even got the feeling of not being in the right place. That you should be somewhere else. That you belonged somewhere else. Where you would have friends and maybe even a partner…

Your eyes were taunting you. They reminded you of all the dreams you had in your youth. All the adventures you wanted to go on. All the exotic countries you wanted to visit. All the food you wanted to discover and yet, you were captured in a boring life, cleaning your apartment at 6 pm because you got nothing else better to do.

You looked into your own eyes, the cloth still touching the mirror as you whispered to yourself, "You know, it would be so great to be somewhere else. Just to be ... Away! Away! Away!"

***

"I hate these trips!", Libertus complained for the third time since they had passed the wall.

Nyx rolled with his eyes but stayed silent. He was still slowly polishing his blades. As he looked up, his eyes met the smirking expression of Pelna who thought the same as Nyx: 'cry-baby'

"Could you please shut up? Would you rather clean the training court instead?", Crowe asked, annoyed about Libertus' non stop whining.

"At least, it wouldn't be less dangerous.", Libertus argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

Crowe leant forward, supporting herself on her knees, "Oh, really? You remember the last time where we got charged with the cleaning task? Three barracks were burning, one was smoldering and the smell of smoke lingered in the Kingsglaive headquarters for three weeks.", she pointed out.

Libertus stretched out his arms as a question, "What? I just wanted to help and to dry everything faster!"

"Yes! With fire magic, god dammit! You're not the best with magic. At all. Just ... don't do that. This mission will be a bit ... easier, I hope."

Nyx' scoffed, "Please... What shall happen on a routine mission to kill some animals which are terrorizing the outskirts?"

Little did he know...

"Here kitty, kitty!", Pelna called out and tried to gain the attention of some Sabertusks that had been running into small woods.

"Seriously?", Crowe asked, crossing her arms with a frown on her face.

"What? Somehow we have to get their attention back or do you wanna run after them into the woods where the space is crap to fight against them?", Pelna argued.

Libertus stepped next to Crowe while Nyx was a bit closer to the woods and watched the scene closely. Somehow, it had become silent. Too silent for Nyx’ liking. Not one single sound was to be heard except the soft rustling of the leaves of some trees.

Then, he heard something in the distance but the bikerings of his friends were too loud, so Nyx couldn't locate the source of the sound or what it was at all. After another moment had passed, Nyx turned around with a stern expression, "Guys! Could you shut up, please? I heard something!"

"What did you hear?", Libertus asked and earned a rolling of Nyx' eyes.

"I don't know because you're still talk-", but Nyx stopped as he heard this voice again. This time it was louder and came from the nearby woods.

"Help! Anyone help me!"

"Have you guys heard it?", Nyx asked and stepped forward, closer to the voice. He still couldn't see the source so his eyes darted around to find it.

Pelna stepped to Nyx' side, "It came from the woods."

"Yes, but I can't see from where.", Nyx answered serious, drawing his brows together in concern. Running blind was a bad idea. Nyx still searched the area until a figure emerged from a bunch of bushes, running and stumbling forward.

Shocked, Nyx watched you. You were dressed in some casual, short clothes. It could be just something comfortable to chill or something to sleep with. But whatever it was, it wasn't suitable for someone who was out in the wild. So, the first impressions Nyx had about you were: reckless and … cute

"Help! Please, someone help!", you cried out once again while you stumbled forward, flailing with your arms to keep your balance. Four mean and vicious lonking beasts were chasing you. The animals were jumping out of the woods and caught up on you quickly.

This was enough for Nyx to react, "Guys! Take care of the Sabertusks! I will hurry to help them!", he commanded as he saw you falling to the ground, lying there in shock while waiting for the beasts to attack you. Without a second thought, Nyx threw his Kukri to your position.

Screaming and wheezing you crawled back over the ground, cutting deep into the palms of your hands with sharp stones. Backwards, you tried to create as much space as possible for the monsters with the ugly head, the sharp teeth and deadly claws.

Once again, you cried out for help as something appeared in front of you with a soft sizzling and a sound like fire cracking. You blinked for a moment and then, a man was emerging in front of you. He was surrounded by sparks and glitter. He knelt in front of you on one knee with burning scars in his face.

You cried out in surprise and fear, trying to crawl away from him but Nyx raised his hands to soothe you, "It's okay. You're safe now.", he said, trying to calm you but he still saw the panic in your eyes.

You crawled further till your back hit a huge rock, so your way was blocked. The guy looked back at something before he turned back to you. Obviously, he was pleased with what he saw because his expression was more relaxed than before. You noticed his incredible blue eyes and his handsome face. He looked strange with the hairstyle and the tattoos on his face. Strange but not scary, quite the opposite, which made it easier for you to calm down.

While putting away the Kukri, Nyx noticed that you became calmer even if your breath was still erratic. The pure panic became less and left were two beautiful eyes staring right back at him. Your whole appearance was eye-catching as he looked past all the dirt. Slowly, he crawled closer to you, "I won't hurt you. My name is Nyx. What's your name?", he said soothingly, stretching out his hand to you to show you that he was unarmed.

You calmed down by the sound of his warm voice and the sight of the smile on his full lips, "My... My name is YN.”

Nyx smiled softly as he heard your nice voice. As you shot him a weak smile, he felt his heart making a little jump because it was so beautiful. There was something on you he liked immediately. Quickly, he checked your skin but except for a few scratches and bruises, he couldn’t see any serious wounds, “Nice to meet you, YN. Are you hurt?”

You shook your head while moving your arms and legs a little bit to check on them, “I- I'm fine- ahhh!", you cried out in shock about the view of one of the mean beasts that had chased you as its head appeared next to Nyx'. You panicked and luckily, you passed out finally so you wouldn't notice how Nyx with the nice eyes would die before you would get killed as well.

As Nyx saw you passing out, he reached out for you, catching your shoulders before your head could hit the ground and placed your upper body on his lap. As you were secure, Nyx looked up and watched Libertus stepping closer with a dead Sabertusk body as a trophy raised in the air. He was covered in blood and had a big grin on his lips. Annoyed, Nyx sighed, "Great job, idiot.", Nyx said with you unconscious lying in his arms.

***

As you awoke, you found yourself in a room. It was grey, plain, simple and you were alone. Slowly, you sat up, your head was slightly spinning and a dull pain throbbed behind your temple but your vision became slowly clearer. As you looked around, your eyes landed on a neat folded pile of clothes. Your own were torn and dirty and so, you were thankful to change them.

While you dressed in plain black pants and shirt, you heard sounds coming from behind the door. You considered staying in the safeness of the room but your curiosity won. So, you sneaked out, looking left and right the hallway before you followed the undefined sounds.

After a few metres, you found yourself faced with the view of a courtyard. You were on the second floor and looked into a wide open area. There were men flying and jumping around, all dressed in black, uniform-like clothes. They were appearing and disappearing quickly. Someone started in one corner and landed immediately in another across the field accompanied with sparks and glitter. That you had seen this effect once before calmed you.

Like a circus show, the people were making flic-flac or somersaults. A thought struck you: maybe you got rescued by a bunch of acrobatics and the strange animals had been part of their show? You leant against the handrail to watch them excited.

Suddenly, a man, who stopped right in front of you, keeping himself steady with his hands on the handrail, brought you out of these deliberations and out of your fascination, "Oh, hey, sleeping beauty! Are you good?", the tall guy asked. But unfortunately, it wasn't the one with the incredible blue eyes.

"Libertus! Back to training!", someone called out in a harsh tone, commanding the man away from you.

"Sorry, I have to go.", and with that said, the man called 'Libertus', threw his blade and disappeared in a fog of sparkling stuff.

Still amazed, you watched the others and their 'training', leaning against the handrail with your arms again. As you got used to their tricks, you liked to watch them and how easy it seemed to move so quickly around.

So, as someone appeared next to you, you were startled about the sudden sound of an unknown voice. The owner was tall, with broad shoulders and dressed in a heavy outfit with leather and decorations, "Hi, good to see you awake. My name is Titus Drautos. I’m the Captain of the Kingsglaive.", he introduced himself seriously but calmly.

You frowned, "Kingsglaive?", you asked. You never had heard such a name.

"Yeah... They are the Kingsglaive.", Drautos said and pointed at the jumping figures, "How do you feel?", he asked, checking you quickly but your eyes were clear and there was no other sign of sickness.

"Oh, I'm feeling good again. Thank you.", you said politely, unsure if he wanted to know more but you also felt uncomfortable around him even if you couldn't say why.

"Is there anything I can do for you?", Drautos said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah, actually, I would like to speak with the man who saved me. I would like to thank him. I think 'Nyx' was his name?", you said carefully, watching the Captain’s reaction.

Drautos looked at you for a split second before he shrugged with his shoulders, stepping forward to the handrail, "Ulric!", he called out.

A few seconds later, you watched how a man appeared in front of you, emerging from sparks and glitter like on the field. This time, you were calmer and so, you were impressed how he did this. You never had seen something like this before. And once again, you noticed the glowing, fiery scars carved into his face and down his neck as he stepped in front of the Captain, taking position like a soldier.

"Yes, Sir?", Nyx said serious but already had caught sight of you staring at him. He was glad to see you awake and noticed you approaching with a curious glance. Your eyes were already distracting but Nyx tried to focus on his Captain.

"Since you were the one who had saved YN's life, I thought it would be just right if you would talk with them.", Drautos said serious, "Take care of them.", he said as if you wouldn't stay right next to him before he turned over to march away.

You stared after the tall man, "Actually, it wasn't his idea...", you said resentfully.

Nyx chuckled and closed up on you, "He seeks advantage from whatever he gets. Forget it. But I'm glad that you're awake again. You frightened me a lot as you passed out.", he said with a warm smile.

You chuckled shyly, rubbing the back of your neck, "Yeah...sorry for that. I never fainted before but on the other hand, I never was in such a scary situation."

"I know. Libertus can be frightening-"

"No! I meant this monster! I never saw something like this in my entire life.", you explained, shaking about the mere memory.

“You mean the Sabertusk?", Nyx asked, confused. Sure, not every Insomnian citizen knew all Lucis' animals or had seen them in real life but Sabertusks were so common that even the smallest kids knew about them.

"Saber- what? Nevermind. I just don't want to see any of this again."

Nyx chuckled, "Don't worry. Here in Insomnia, you're safe."

You tilted your head, "Insomnia?"

Nyx frowned and was concerned if you might have hit your head after all, "Yeah... Insomnia? The capital city of Lucis?"

You blinked several times because you had no idea what he was talking about, "Lucis? Is that a nickname for... Louisiana?"

Nyx stepped in front of you, looking in your eyes and checking your head but you seemed alright, "Amnesia, huh? Well, I guess this will be over soon. I'm sure it's coming from the shock. You're hungry?", he asked hopefully to be able to spend more time with you and watched how a broad smile spread on your lips.

"I'm starving!", you answered.

"Oh, no! Don't do that! Drautos will yell at me if I won't take good care of you.", he joked and showed you the way out of the headquarters.

As you stepped out of the building, you had no idea that the time for questions and wonders had just begun.

Nyx passed the entrance mindlessly and walked down the few stairs but as he couldn't hear you following him, he turned around just to see you staring at the skyline with big eyes. It was this moment where Nyx noticed two things:

First, the astonishment you showed as you looked at all the buildings and at the sky with the magical wall wasn't just an act and second, Nyx realized that he was attracted to you.

It was the second point that surprised Nyx the most. He barely knew you. He had just met you and still, there was something on you. He had felt it back on the field. Something he couldn't put a finger on. Were it your eyes? Or the way you looked at the surroundings as if you had never seen any of all this before? Or was it the way you looked at him?

Nyx thought about it like a magical aura that surrounded you. There was something on you he couldn't quite understand but he was eager to find out what it was. Amused but at the same time attentive, he watched you stumbling down the few stairs because your eyes were still directed at the sky. Nyx caught you at the last moment and shook his head with a grin, "Watch out, YN. Don't walk around so mindlessly or you will hurt yourself.", he whispered.

You noticed your cheeks redden, mostly as you felt Nyx’ strong hands on your body and how close he was, but as your eyes met his you saw the grin on his lips, "Usually, I'm more cautious but- have you seen the sky? It… Is it sparkling? It looks as if sparkling waves are spreading over the city…", you breathed, looking up once again.

Nyx looked from you at the sky and back at you before he placed you back on the ground, "Y-yeah… it's kinda sparkling. That's the magic of the crystal. The crystal which secures this city through the King's power?", he added as he saw your puzzled expression.

"Y-you… this city has a King? And a magical- what? A wall?"

"Very funny!", Nyx called out and laughed. He thought you would make fun of him but as you still stared at him with no amusement, he frowned, "Where do you actually come from?"

"Oh, I'm from New Jersey.”

“Never heard about it before. Come on, let us get something to eat and then we talk a bit.”

"What the hell is this building? Is this a church?", you asked, pointing at a building with two tall towers where something shot into the sky from the middle of the building, "This smoke looks … strange.", you pointed out.

This was the tenth question of that kind you had asked during the last five minutes. Nyx stopped in his tracks and looked at you, "It's the Citadel. The castle?", he tried to trigger your memories as you showed no reaction, "The 'smoke' you see there is actually the energy from the crystal that creates the wall. I told you about it before."

You nodded slowly, "Yeah… the crystal… You have some crazy stuff here.", you said, impressed, chewing on some spicy meat you had picked from a stick.

Before Nyx could react, he got a call and asked you to wait, "Ulric. Yes, Sir. Yes, we're still in the city. No, Sir.", he answered the questions asked by Drautos while he watched you wandering around. Nyx kept you in sight but was also fascinated by the way you looked at all the different things around you. He wouldn't call it naive but it seemed as if you were easily impressed. You found something interesting in the smallest things while Nyx caught himself by thinking about you as cute and … lovely.

Another question of Drautos brought Nyx back to reality and he realized that he stopped listening to his Captain a while ago, "Yes, Sir. I'm listening. Of course. Yes, I will take care of YN. Yes. Bye-", but the Captain already had hung up, "Good day to you, too, Sir."

As you noticed that Nyx was done with his call, you joined him again, "What was the matter? Are you in trouble?", you asked, concerned because you had hogged Nyx for quite a while.

"No, everything's good. It was just Drautos. Obviously, you're stuck with me a bit longer. I got the orders to look after you.", Nyx answered with a soft smile as he saw your worried expression which changed into a huge, charming, heart-stopping smile.

"Great. I still have a bunch of questions.", you said excitedly, linking your arm with Nyx' to wander further through the Crown's City.

***

But not just you had a lot of questions. Nyx too. In the beginning, he thought you would make fun of him as you asked so many things about the best known facts of Eos everyone actually knows.

But quickly, after Nyx had asked you a bunch of questions on his own, he realized that you weren't joking. Sure, as you told him that you came through a mirror, because you had been fallen through it, sounded more like a bedtime story for kids but you spoke about everything with so much conviction that Nyx believed you.

The Captain, slightly concerned about your state because Nyx had told him about his suspicion that you could suffer from amnesia, asked on a regular basis if Nyx had any new information about you. And not for one second, Nyx thought about telling him the truth.

He said neither something about your journey through the mirror nor about your life in New Jersey. That you knew nothing about Eos at all because this was simply not your world. He kept it all a secret.

Because Nyx felt the urge to protect you. Whenever he was with you in the past week he felt good. As if just your presence was able to lift his spirit. You were funny, curious and interested in him and in this, for you, new world. Nyx already liked you. A lot. It wasn't just attraction anymore, rather he really started to like you on a more emotional level even after this short of time. But he had no idea how you were thinking about him.

So, by the end of the week, Nyx collected as much courage as he could find, "Hey, uhm… Libertus and the others are meeting at Yamachang's. You… Do you wanna come with me? I- I mean us?", he asked and felt nervous. The whole week, he had been with you with no problem and now, he felt nervous because this question didn't belong to the Captain's order anymore to take care of you. For him, it was far more.

You saw the hope in Nyx’ eyes and the insecurity in his expression about what your answer would be. The past week, you had spent a lot of time with Nyx. You got to know him. His life as a Glaive. As a refugee. You had learned about his deceased family and his life in Galahd. And, not very surprisingly, you started to like the soldier with the greyish hair and the incredible blue eyes. For you, it was extremely hard to resist his charm and his handsomeness. And in the end, you didn’t want to resist him. You just had no idea how he thought about you.

You tried to get closer to Nyx so many times. You wanted to show him in a subtle way how you felt. Maybe, this invitation would give you the opportunity to make a move on him, "I would love to come with you.", the slowly growing smile on Nyx' lips gave you the sense to have done things right.

"YN, it's good to see that you're alright again.", Pelna said and gave you a drink.

"Yeah… Nyx did everything to bring me back on track.", you said and winked at Nyx who smiled shyly.

"The Captain already complained you two were just sightseeing all the time.", Crowe said jokingly.

You chuckled, scratching the back of your neck, "Yeah… I guess, the amnesia had hit me harder than I thought."

Nyx looked at you with a frown. After you had told him your story, he was sure you were okay. No amnesia or something like this. So, why were you sticking to this story instead of telling the truth?

"Oh, so, you remember where you come from and stuff?", Libertus asked.

You smiled at him, "Yes, of course.", you answered. Quickly, you checked on Nyx who still watched you. Were you seeing cautiousness in his eyes? Was he afraid of what you would say? You looked back at Libertus, "I come from Altissia. I was moving to Insomnia for a new job. As you found me, I was on my way but unfortunately, I had an accident with my car and then, the horrors with all these creatures started. You have to know, Altissia is built on water. We don't have such wildlife as Lucis has."

Nyx stared at you speechless. You were lying. Lying about everything. Effortlessly. But everything you said were things you knew from him. Nyx showed you a map of Eos. He told you as much as he knew about Lucis and Accordo. About all the differences he could remember. You turned your head and smiled softly at him. You even winked at Nyx and he saw in your eyes that you would explain it to him later.

You and Nyx walked side by side as you left Yamachang's a few hours later. The Crown's City was still buzzing. People were walking to bars, clubs and restaurants. You turned your head over to Nyx and because he was unusually quiet, you nudged his shoulder with yours, "You think they bought my story?"

Nyx looked at you with an unreadable expression, "You were lying."

"Yes and I hated it. Trust me. But what else should I say? The truth? That I fell through a mirror and landed here? Instead that I woke up in my bed in New Jersey, I awoke in an old hunters hut in the middle of nowhere?", you pointed out softly.

Nyx nodded. He understood your point. He was barely able to understand all this but he had accepted it. You had spoken so detailed about your home that there was no way that everything was just made up. But to explain everything to his friends would be maybe too much.

Suddenly, a thought struck his mind and he was surprised that he didn't have thought about this earlier. Carefully, he looked at you, "Do you miss it? Your … home, I mean."

Your brows shot up because you realized that you were barely thinking about your former life, "Actually, I uhm…", you whispered, searching for the right words, before you looked at Nyx and stopped. You had reached the plaza of the Citadel. You looked at the stream of magical power and at the beautiful sparkling light. The moon was already up and together it was a captivating view. You looked back at Nyx who waited patiently, "To be honest, I have barely thought about it since I've been here."

Nyx stepped closer to you. It was a moment that could change things and he felt it. Maybe it was silly to think about a future with someone he knew for just one week but here he was, looking into your enchanting, sparkling eyes and watching how your teeth were digging into your lower lip, "If it would be possible, if there would be a way, would you… go back?"

You also stepped forward with a pounding heart in your chest. For one week, you asked yourself how Nyx' lips would taste, how his hands would feel on your skin when he would want you and how soft his hair really felt between your fingers, "You know, as I was in this hut, before you found me? I tried to find a way to get back. Now, I think things might have changed.", you whispered.

Nyx' pulse quickened as he saw your breathtaking smile, "What has changed? I mean, this is not your world.", he said softly, stroking with the back of his hand over your cheek before he cupped your face carefully, "There's nothing that would keep you here.", he whispered.

You leant against his warm hand, even inhaling his scent, "For me, there would be a reason … rather… someone… to stay here.", you said, looking at Nyx in a certain way to tell him that you meant him. As you let your hands slid underneath his jacket, stroking over Nyx' chest, feeling him tensing, you saw that he understood, "But I- I'm not sure what this someone might think of it if I would want to stay.", you said meaningfully.

Nyx was nervous, excited and jittery at the same time. It had increased since you had started to touch him softly. Your affection gave him the courage to snake his other arm slowly around your waist to pull you closer, "You know, you have nothing to fear about this someone’s reaction. He would be more than happy to keep you here.", he breathed, nudging playfully your nose with his with a shy smile on his lips.

You mimicked his smile. The moonlight was sparkling in Nyx’ mysteriously glowing eyes which kept you in their spell, "Y- you're so sure about it?", you whispered.

Nyx nodded slowly, still looking into your eyes, "Yes, I am sure. YN, I… I'm falling for you. There's no doubt how I'm feeling about you. It's crazy because we just met one week ago but … you're so beautiful. And so amazing. The way you're interested in all these new things. How you look at everything … how you look at me… I wouldn't stop you if you really want to go back home but I… I would love to be the reason for you to stay here. With me."

You snaked your arms around Nyx' neck, pulling him closer, "You're the best reason I could ask for.", you breathed against his lips before you closed the gap finally.

Nyx responded to your move and kissed you deeply. His fingers found their way into your hair while he caressed your lips with his. The grip of his arm around you got even stronger to have you close while you played with his hair in a teasing way. He was overwhelmed by all the things he felt by just kissing you. No matter where you had come from, that you were there, with him, that you even existed was everything for him.

Under the magical, white moon of Lucis, Nyx gave you an unspoken promise. He wouldn't let you go. Never. From the beginning, you were more than just someone whose life he had rescued. You were what he had missed in his life all the time. He had been searching for something that had been out of reach. But obviously destiny meant it well and you had been falling into his life like a miracle. Literally. And Nyx would treat you like this. With his lips, he sealed this promise to you.

For the first time in your life, you felt as if you were in the right spot. You weren't misplaced anymore. You even had found people that already cared for you. You had found someone who wanted to keep you in his life. Maybe you should feel sad for leaving your former life just like that. Maybe you should feel lost because this wasn't your world. But in fact, you felt home. As Nyx kissed you, he showed you a future you never thought you would have.

For the first time, you felt excited for all the unknown things that were lying in front of you. You would discover all of these things. With Nyx by your side.

#nyx ulric x female reader #nyx ulric x gender neutral reader #nyx ulric x male reader #final fantasy nyx ulric #kingsglaive nyx #ff15 nyx ulric #nyx #nyx ulric x reader #nyx ulric #final fantasy xv #final fantasy kingsglaive #male reader #female reader #gender neutral fanfic #gender neutral reader

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arcturusreads · 3 years

Note

idk if you’re still accepting prompts but if you are can you do a merhayes first kiss? how do you think we’ll get it next season?

First Kiss - Merhayes

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how we'll get the first kiss. I feel like we're going to be cheated out of a lot of their first with the time jump but I hope you enjoy this!

Cormac Hayes had known that he had wanted to kiss Meredith for a long time. Too long. It took him a month after this realisation to ask her out on a date. Their work schedules had meant that it had taken a further two weeks before they managed to go on said date. During those two weeks, Cormac hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Meredith. He swore she was everywhere he turned in the hospital, her name always being called by someone, her laughter ringing in corridors.

On their first date, Cormac still felt a little hesitant to kiss her. He didn’t want to try and cram in too many firsts at the same time at the risk of being overwhelmed. Whilst he was certain of taking this step forward, knowing that both his boys and Irene had given him their blessing and Abi wanting him to move on, he wasn’t quite prepared to go headfirst into the dating scene. Easing in seemed like the best way to go.

By their third date, Cormac had taken Meredith to the Seattle Japanese Garden before they headed down to the beach for a picnic at sunset, he couldn’t stop staring at her lips. He felt like a teenage boy with his first crush all over again. When he’d driven Meredith home, the two of them spent half an hour chatting on her porch swing. He shifted himself closer to her, moving his calloused hand so it enveloped her. The lull in their conversation had presented him with the perfect timing. As Cormac had leaned in closer to Meredith, the scent of lavender suddenly overwhelming his senses, she jumped up from her seat so quickly that she could have had whiplash.

Slightly taken about by the sudden movement, Cormac looked up at her with a furrowed brow before slowly standing up, “Is-uh, everything okay, Meredith?”

He hadn’t been sure when he had exchanged Grey for Meredith, somewhere between this date and the last. What he did know though, was that he loved the way her name rolled off his tongue.

Taking a step away from Cormac, Meredith looked slightly worried. “Yeah, I just realised the time. I should really go in; I’ve got an early surgery tomorrow.”

Cormac wasn’t quite convinced. It was only just gone ten o’clock and he knew that Meredith was a night owl. She’d gotten into the habit of texting him the most random of questions at 1 AM and would walk into work five hours later, fresh as a daisy, if not a little grumpy if she hadn’t had coffee yet. Even so, he decided not to argue with Meredith about it.

“Night, Cormac,” she whispered, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek before going inside.

Cormac heaved a sigh, hands in his coat pockets he walked back to his car, head down. He couldn’t help but feel a little like a kicked puppy. Maybe he had just gotten the signal wrong…. Maybe she had. Or hadn’t. Maybe Meredith knew that he was going to kiss her and pulled away on purpose. It seemed the more likely of the two options. It was the option that hurt him the most. Cormac had thought their dates had gone well. Why would you go on three dates with someone if they hadn’t gone well? Having spent days building up to this moment, Cormac went home feeling deflated. He knew that it was completely up to her whether she had wanted to kiss him but that didn’t stop him from feeling like a fool for the rest of the night.

Work the next day had been unbearably awkward. Meredith had made a beeline for the door anytime they were in a room together and Cormac had no clue what to even say to her if he did manage to catch her. It wasn’t until the both of them were forced into an OR together that they had to face each other. Meredith was the first one to break the silence, not wanting the rest of the staff in the room to feel awkward given that this was going to be a long surgery.

“How was Austin feeling about his history test today?” She briefly looked up from the open abdomen and caught his eye.

Cormac felt his shoulders relax a little after hearing the warmth in Meredith’s voice. At least he could rule out her being upset with him. The two began an easy conversation over the OR table but as Cormac began to relax, Meredith felt a tightly wound coil of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. It hadn’t managed to leave her throughout the entire six-hour surgery.

When the patient was finally stabilised, Cormac looked up and grinned at Meredith. The memory of what had, or hadn’t, happened last night temporarily wiped from his brain and he rode on the adrenaline of being able to save the eight-year-old girl lying in front of them.

“Shall we go and tell the parents, Grey?” Her name was only reserved for their moments alone. Away from the prying eyes of the Grey-Sloan staff.

“You go,” Meredith quickly replied, “I’ll close up.”

“Are you sure? Because I think Helm could handle it.”

She shook her head and she asked for prolene, “I’m sure, it’s been a long surgery and I just want to see the whole thing through, but you should go. Her parents are going to be waiting.” That wasn’t exactly the reason, she was just dodging an inevitable conversation between the two of them. One that she needed to prepare herself for just a little bit more.

It hadn’t taken very long for Meredith to close the little girl up. She’d meant to take her time, but autopilot had kicked in. Her hands knew the routine without her even needing to think about it. So, instead, she took her sweet time scrubbing out, barely keeping up with the conversation that Helm was trying to hold beside her. When she finally walked out of the OR, she saw that Cormac was still stood by the OR board updating his tablet. She quietly walked past him, hoping that he would be too engrossed with patient charts to see her but luck was not on her side.

“Grey!”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Meredith slowly turned on her heel to face Cormac.

“It was a good surgery today.”

“Yeah. Saving a patient is usually a good sign,” the sarcasm that she used as a defence mechanism had slipped out before she’d been able to stop it.

Cormac raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything else, turning back to his tablet. Huffing out a breath of air, Meredith knew that it was better to have this conversation now rather than later. She’d spent all last night stewing on what had happened after she’d gone home. After much prodding from Amelia, Maggie and surprisingly Winston who seemed to be just as invested in her love life as her sisters were, she’d told them what had happened. How she had basically run from Cormac the moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Amelia had ended up howling in laughter. The Meredith Grey, Chief of General Surgery and Catherine Fox Award winner, had run away from a kiss. That had ended up earning Amelia a pillow in the face. When Meredith had finally managed to get around to the reason why, the look of amusement on all their faces had soon turned to one of sympathy. Truth be told, Meredith would have preferred the former.

They’d all had a point though, as much as she hated to admit it. She needed to talk to Cormac about what had happened. He didn’t deserve to be in the dark about what was going on. What was the point in drawing this out any longer? The anxiety had continued to gnaw itself away at her stomach and she needed rid of the feeling.

“Actually, Hayes,” He looked back up as he handed his tablet back to a nurse. Meredith removed her scrub cap, twisting it in her hands. “Can we talk?”

Nodding, Cormac followed as Meredith began to walk away. They stood in silence as they entered the lift. Meredith stopped when they got to the walkway that was directly across from the large glass window panes. Sighing in relief when she realised that no one else was around, she rested her forearms on the railing. Cormac stood next to her in silence, waiting to see what she had to stay.

“About yesterday…” Meredith began, looking out of the windows.

Cormac winced a little. He had a feeling that this was going to be what she wanted to talk about. The ease of the conversation from earlier was no longer present and Cormac began to worry that maybe Meredith didn’t want to see him anymore.

“Aye,” he pulled his scrub cap off, running a hand over his head in embarrassment. “Look, Meredith, I’m sorry if I read the signal wrong. I just thought…”

Quickly shaking her head, Meredith reached out a hand and placed it on Cormac’s arm. “No, you didn’t.”

Slightly confused, Cormac cocked his head. “So, what happened?”

Removing her hand, Meredith didn’t know where to look. The look on Cormac’s face made her chest ache. The care and concern he had for her evident in every line of his face. She decided to look back out to the windows again where the sun was slowly making its decline.

“It’s stupid,” she muttered under her breath.

“Try me, Mer.”

Rubbing her face with her hands, Meredith went slightly red. “I was scared,” mumbling as quietly as she could.

Cormac leaned in closer, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said I was scared!” She snapped at him.

This did nothing to aid in abetting Cormac’s confusion. “Scared?” He asked, making sure that he was hearing correctly.

“Yes. Scared. Which is stupid and idiotic because… well because it’s one of your firsts and it isn’t one of mine.” At this point, Meredith had begun to pace back and forth. “But everything feels different with you. I know I told you that Andrew was the first person I said I love you to after Derek and I did love him, but I wasn’t in love with him. Some parts always felt missing, like sitting a square peg in a round hole. And with you, it feels like there’s a chance of something so good and so right that it scares me. It scares me because I haven’t felt like this for so long, Cormac, and I’m afraid that it’s all going to disappear because the minute that you kiss me, I know that I’m not going to be able to turn back. I know that I’m not going to want to.”

Cormac gently caught Meredith’s arm to stop her from pacing. “You’re not stupid. You’re daft but you’re not stupid.”

Meredith continued to look down at her trainers, too embarrassed after blurting out all her feelings to say anything.

“I’ve been terrified of kissing you, Meredith. Do you know how much I had to psych myself up for yesterday?”

“I’m sorry.”

Cormac shook his head at her, giving her a warm smile. “I’m not saying it to make you feel bad. I can’t promise that I’m not going anywhere, and you can’t promise me that either, we both know that bad things happen all the time but I can promise that I’m not planning on willingly leaving you anytime soon. Grey, some things are worth the risk…” He trailed off as he laced his fingers with her, gently pulling her closer to him.

“What do you say, Meredith? Am I worth the risk?” His mouth was inches from her own, s faint smirk placed upon it and his breath fanned her face.

“Stupid, cocky Irishman,” Meredith muttered before closing the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and she reached up on her tiptoes.

Cormac held onto her waist, not wanting to let her go. Anyone looking on would have seen the two silhouettes bathed in an orange glow, completely ignoring the world around them.

When they finally broke apart, Cormac had a huge grin on his face. As much as Meredith wanted to roll her eyes, she couldn’t help but match his smile.

“So, are you going to answer my question?” He teased.

Hitting his chest, Meredith just laughed before kissing him again.

#merhayes #grey's anatomy #cormac x meredith #hayes x grey #excuse me whilst i rearrange the alphabet

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btsmosphere · 4 years

Text

Blessing and a Curse | PJM

~summary: You are the unlukiest person you know. Park Jimin seems to be the exception to the rule. But when strange dreams start haunting you, Jimin begins to piece together the events that have followed you your whole life...

~word count: 12.7k (anyone know if this is too long for a oneshot haha)

~college!au, magic!au, fluff, angst

~Warnings: nightmares, house fire, knife injury and blood, mentioned homophobia/biphobia, swearing

~a/n: happy (almost) halloween! welcome to my new oneshot, I really hope you enjoy it! -if you’re worried about the warnings, all except the nightmares happen near the end and are probably skippable, but if you might be triggered then please be on the safe side and save this for later 💜this story isn’t primarily about those things, it’s about jimin and yn being cute hehe

In the darkness of the room, only one face is visible. A woman with age-worn skin is looking at you.

She is talking.

She is: you can see it in the way her mouth moves, but she is articulating without sound.

Your ears are plugged with water, you can hear it in the way it rumbles. Maybe that same water is what is drowning out everything else, blurring the edges of this scene. Yes, the room is dark, but surely something is in the shadows.

Why would she be here alone?

There is a fire: of that you are sure. Nothing else would light the lady’s face in a scarlet glow, deepening her wrinkles until they seem carved of wood. Only her continued movement shatters this illusion.

In the glimmering light, her eyebrows sink in the middle, fixing you with a stare.

She is approaching.

Her eyes are all you can see, a flame visible within them and they rush to you. The heat of fire is no longer merely imagined. No, you feel it crawling over you as you watch her mouth move without sound.

It can’t be water around you, because you can’t move. Fire can’t survive in water. But here it is, pinning you down, smothering you.

Maybe you are dying.

She is talking.

The woman with age-worn skin is looking at you. Only one face is visible in the darkness of the room.

The room was still dark. Something was different, you thought vaguely as you blinked.

And then suddenly, everything was different.

No face is visible.

You can hear: you cough, and the sound of it reaching your ears startles you. No water, then.

More evidence of this is the fact you can see, even in the dark, the glow that fights its way around your curtain from the street lamp outside illuminating your bedroom. You can move.

You certainly aren’t dying.

That’s a relief.

Morning comes, the streetlamp has turned off and you pay no mind to the dream hovering just out of your memory’s reach. Plenty like that have come before, and plenty will follow.

Anyway, it’s just a dream.

Now, you are more preoccupied with checking and double checking your bag. Your laptop, notebooks and folders are in there. First aid kit, check. Pencil case, check. Five memory sticks, check.

On your way to campus, you dodged a ladder leaning against a house and walked right into the path of a van splashing muddy water up your jeans. Sighing, you pulled out some tissues to dry it off as best you could, backing into a wall to get out of the splash zone again.

Of course, you backed into a pile of dog poo.

Scowling, you scraped the bottom of your shoe furiously against the pavement and hurried on.

Today was one of the rare occasions when Yoongi had arrived before you. On any normal Monday morning, he would slink in after about half an hour into class, but there he sat in the entrance hall, looking blearily round at you and licking his lips as he set his coffee down.

However, your attention was drawn away by the boy sitting with him.

Park Jimin.

As you slid into the third seat at the table, you widened your eyes at Yoongi, hoping to convey your panic.

“Hey, I was just going to grab a coffee, would you like one?” Jimin smiled at you, standing.

You swallowed, quickly turning back to him.

“Oh-um, er, no, I- it’s okay. Thank you.”

“Okay,” he smiled sweetly again and walked across to the little bar across the space.

“God, just let him buy you a coffee,” Yoongi groaned, “or do you really expect anything to happen if you never say yes?”

“They always give me shit coffee here,” you sighed, glancing back at Jimin waiting in the queue.

“You say that about everywhere,” Yoongi said. He let his head fall into his hand so it covered half his face.

“That’s because it’s true!” you protested, but he had heard it before. “What are you doing here anyway? You look half asleep.”

“Jimin dragged me,” he mumbled into his palm.

“Woe is you,” you laughed, slumping back on your seat and swinging your feet. You had given up tipping your chair long ago.

When Jimin came back, it was only to scoop up his bag before heading off to his class. That was the most you ever seemed to talk to him, as much as you would like to get to know him more. Being flatmates with your closest friend in your department saw him at plenty of the same parties, but you were too scared to approach him.

Something would go wrong.

With you, it always did. Yoongi said you were just a pessimist, which held a lot of weight coming from him.

Class went smoothly. A pen had leaked in your pencil case, and promptly ran out of ink when you tried to use it, but other than that, you came out unscathed.

It wasn’t until that afternoon that the wind picked up.

After a long day of classes, you parted ways with Yoongi to go to the library, while he left for basketball practise. Tugging your scarf tighter around you, you fought against the weather on the short walk between buildings.

On reaching your refuge, you tiptoed through the rows of books to the study area. Luckily, one last spot was left by the window, where you could see the grey clouds rolling by, the odd leaf whisking past and the branches tugged by the wind.

Smile spreading over your face, you marched towards it, setting your things down. But the moment you sat, the chair’s back leg buckled, a snap resounding through the silent space and drawing glares from the other students.

Mentally cursing, you pulled yourself up and settled for the most hidden table you could find. Sure, you could handle the dust and the flickering light in this corner.

To be fair, you did get a good amount of studying done, satisfied by the time you pulled on your scarf again and set off home.

The few trees dotted around campus creaked in the gale when you passed them. Head down against the wind, you pressed on, not looking up until you heard a familiar voice. What they were saying wasn’t quite audible, but you would recognise it anywhere. Maybe your little crush was getting a little out of hand.

Looking around, you saw Jimin with a couple of friends coming out of the gym across the courtyard.

Okay, he hadn’t seen you yet. Maybe he wasn’t coming this way?

No such luck.

Their voices drew closer, so you picked up the pace, digging your face deeper into the wool around your neck. Park Jimin was behind you, no big deal. Just don’t embarrass yourself.

But the moment you took a deep breath, a scraping sound came from above you. Frowning, you looked up distractedly. There it came again, a gravelly noise somewhere overhead. This time, though, it didn’t stop, only growing louder, and there-!

A shape, sliding off the roof, right over your head. In the blink of an eye, you scrambled to move, but your feet were caught and you tripped, inelegantly face-planting the ground as a smashing sound deafened you.

A stinging pain flared in your calf.

“Oh my god! Y/N?”

From your front-seat view of the floor, you groaned, taking a moment to close your eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Inhaling, you finally pushed yourself up to sit just as Jimin rushed up to you, his two friends close behind. Forcing a grimace, you tried to ignore your burning face as he knelt down, discarding his bag.

There, right beside your leg, lay a cracked roof tile.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, bending your leg to get a closer look. The source of the pain showed itself; your jeans were torn, a deep graze on your skin underneath where the tile must have caught you.

Beside you, Jimin’s hands hovered, twitching as he debated what to do. He watched as you twisted your ankle experimentally and winced.

“You should go to the doctor,” he told you. He was right, too. At least there was one on campus that you could hopefully reach on an injured leg-

“I’ll take you, come on,” he pushed his bag into his friend’s arms and threw yours over his own shoulder. Before you could utter a word, his shoulder was under your arm, helping you stand.

“Thank you,” you spluttered, “I-I think it should be fine though-“

Right on cue, you stood on you bad foot, which instantly gave way as you choked back a cry.

“It’s just twisted!” you exclaimed, though your full weight was pretty much weighing down on Jimin.

“Best to get it checked,” one of his friends chimed in, clapping you on the shoulder as he set off walking in the direction of the health centre.

Sighing, you gave in and allowed Jimin to help as you hobbled next to him.

“That’s Hoseok,” he said, smiling again, “and that’s Tae.”

Holding up a hand, Tae bobbed his head at you with a grin.

“Hi,” you panted.

It was likely that your attempt to return a smile failed, with the bugging pain in your ankle. Either way, Tae had turned back around now, walking beside Hoseok just ahead of you two. Before long, you had resorted to hopping. It wasn’t efficient.

“Would it be better…” Jimin said, “I mean, I could- I think I should carry you.”

Managing a weak smile, you slowed beside him. Maybe you didn’t have to go far, but it felt like a marathon at the moment.

Eyes creasing in his own smile, Jimin gently let go of your arm and stepped in front of you, crouching to let you put your arms around his neck. Surely he would be able to feel your heart hammering at your ribs, pressed up against his back like this?

If he did, he didn’t let on.

Sliding his arms behind your knees, he scooped you up and you were off at a much more reasonable speed this time.

“Tae!” he yelled.

When the black-haired boy turned around, Jimin tossed him your bag.

By some miracle, you heart had chilled out by the time you entered the doctor’s reception. Maybe a short trip on someone’s back had healing effects in itself.

You were handed an ice pack and some paperwork and told to wait. Taehyung and Hoseok said they would leave you to it, but Jimin assured you he could stay. And who were you to turn him down? This wasn’t coffee.

The silence was companiable as you sat side by side, Jimin sitting forward, elbows on his thighs while you put your feet up on a chair he had dragged over. He didn’t speak until you had nearly finished writing.

“Maybe you could sue the college,” he joked, gently nudging you with his elbow.

Laughing, you signed off the last box quickly before setting the form down and giving him your full attention.

“Thanks for staying, you didn’t have to,” you squeezed out a smile.

“Don’t worry,” he assured, “I’m just glad you’re not more hurt. It was crazy, what happened.”

“Believe it or not, that’s not the first time that’s happened to me,” you admitted. A small laugh brushed by your lips.

At your words, Jimin turned to you fully, bringing his chin off his hands. For a moment he only stared with his eyebrows raised, smile faltering, unsure if you were kidding.

“You’re being serious?”

You grimaced.

“A roof tile fell on you? More than once?”

“What are the chances, right?” you sighed, “But yeah. I’m definitely the most accident-prone person I know.”

“At least you managed to get out of the way… I thought it was going to hit your head or something,” Jimin looked genuinely terrified. You were sure your heart melted as he said this with his big eyes and such sincerity.

“If by getting out of the way you mean falling on my face,” you smiled softly.

Thankfully, he saw the funny side and laughed along with you, shaking his head and sitting back. You were glad the worry had left his face.

Only one other person sat in the waiting room, a mother holding a small baby, who now turned around to glare at the pair of you, although were only laughing quietly. Either way, you both closed your mouths, noticing her child was asleep.

A screaming baby was not something you wanted to add to this situation.

“So… what do you study?” you muttered after the woman turned back around in her chair.

“Protective magic,” Jimin dazzled you again with his smile, “it’s my second year now.”

“Same,” you replied, “well, as in, I’m in second year too, but I’m not gifted. I’m doing literature.”

“With Yoongi, right?”

“Oh, yeah, of course you knew that,” you laughed, but you were cringing inside. Time to change topic. “But, umm, what’s your favourite part of your course?”

Magic was definitely fascinating to you, even though you weren’t gifted with powers and therefore were unable to study it. Less than half the population had magic, so it was just your luck to be in the boring majority.

“I’m enjoying studying curses,” Jimin was saying, “last year was mainly the basics, warding and stuff like that, so it’s nice to do something more interesting.”

“It sounds really cool,” you agreed, “I’m so jealous, I didn’t get any of my first-choice modules.”

Just as Jimin opened his mouth to respond, a doctor called your name.

“Ah,” Jimin stood, raising his hand to alert the doctor you were there as you struggled to your feet. “Do you want me to come in with you?”

“If that’s okay?”

Gladly accepting his arm for the second time that day, you let Jimin help you over to the doctor and followed her down the hallway to her office. As she checked you over, Jimin sat patiently behind you. Your frequent glances at him were definitely less surreptitious than you intended, but he didn’t seem to mind, smiling reassuringly when you caught his eye.

In the end, she bandaged up the graze and ordered you to avoid using your ankle as much as you could for a couple of days. You had just avoided spraining it, so it would be fine.

“How are you getting home?” she asked you, not looking at you as she typed up her notes.

“Oh, uh-“ you stuttered. You hadn’t thought of that. Walking all the way home would be too far when you could barely make the walk from the waiting room.

“-I’m driving her,” Jimin spoke.

Snapping your mouth shut, you stared round at him.

“Excellent,” the doctor smiled before you could say anything. She spun back to you in her chair, “that should be all. Remember to rest it, I’m sure your friend will help you out.”

Quietly smiling and thanking her, you hobbled out beside Jimin. Outside the door, he lifted you onto his back again for the short walk to the parking lot.

By car, your house was barely ten minutes away, but you chatted some more to Jimin. As he reached your street and you pointed out where he could stop, you were startled by how fast it seemed. You found yourself not wanting him to leave.

Who knew that completely embarrassing yourself in front of your crush could end up to be a good thing?

To your delight, he insisted on piggy-backing you up the stairs as well, somehow not even breaking a sweat, and waited with you at the door as you slid the key in.

“KOOK!” you yelled as you pushed the door open, but to your surprise, he had already left his room and was walking down the hall towards you.

On seeing Jimin next to you, arm around your waist, he stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. But then his eyes travelled down to your leg, bandage poking from the bottom of your jeans, and he relaxed.

“This is Jimin,” you offered, hopping over the threshold as Kook approached again, quick to slide his arm around your other side.

“Hi,” he nodded at Jimin, “thanks.”

Jimin, who let you go as it became clear Kook could take it from here, handed over your bag as well.

“Good to meet you,” he beamed, “see you, Y/N.”

From your position propped up against your roommate, you waved at him. Too soon he was gone, door falling shut behind him.

“is that the Jimin?” Jungkook stage-whispered.

“Yes…” you sighed, hiding your face in his shoulder and ignoring his excited eyes.

“Come on,” you felt the rumble of his laughter through you as he pushed you off him and pulled you down the corridor, “Jin-hyung! Y/N hurt herself again!”

“Kook…” you grumbled in vain.

The moment he dropped you ungracefully onto the sofa, Jin hurried in, already clutching a first aid bag. Seeing his concerned face, you couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s okay, I already went to the doctor.”

“Aish,” he moaned, “how do you manage to get hurt so much?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” you whined, “really.”

You met his eyes as he ditched the medical kit by the sofa. Sighing, he gave you a smile which you returned. You knew he worried too much.

“She was probably distracted,” Jungkook piped up from behind the kitchen counter which divided your space. The warning look you shot him wasn’t enough to quiet him though, you could see the mischievous grin on his face.

“Jeon Jungkook-” you hissed.

“-making doe-eyes at Jim- ow!”

“Y/N!” Jin cried, snatching you and Jungkook’s attention, “give me that.”

Marching across the space, he scooped up the book you had launched at the younger boy and tucked it under his arm. Then a smile slid onto his face, letting the two of you relax. He wasn’t really mad.

“So Jimin?” he grinned.

Shoving a cushion over your face, you groaned, Jin’s laughter loud in your ears.

Yoongi offered to drive you into college before you had even told him you were injured. Jimin must have told him what happened when he got home.

What you didn’t expect was to see your saviour again this early in the morning. You looked a mess in all honesty, hair messy and most lazy clothes shoved on to accommodate your bandaged leg. Sleep hadn’t been on your side last night, and the dream had come again, but until now you didn’t care.

Now, as Jimin gave up shotgun for you with a radiant smile, you regretted your lie in.

“Are you definitely okay to walk?” he eyed you worriedly as you limped over to them.

After the inevitable teasing last night, Jin and Jungkook had cooked for you and let you pick a film so you could keep you leg up with ice. As a result it did feel much better, and you told him as much.

“I’m glad,” Jimin smiled.

You were too busy smiling back to catch Yoongi rolling his eyes.

The room was dark… the old woman was looking at you…

As the fire danced and flickered below her, she spoke to you, but you were still deaf to her words.

Come to think of it, she looked like she was shouting.

Had you upset her?

A hand entered your vision, the woman’s hand, gnarled with age and dappled with firelight.

She was reaching out…

No.

She was pointing at you.

“Y/N! Hey!”

Your whole body jolted as a foot hit your leg. It took a moment for the pain to even register as you blinked, head falling off the hand it rested on.

As you looked up, opening your mouth to complain, your eyes met with Yoongi’s. He had a strange expression on his face.

Frowning, you looked around. The lecture was still going on.

“Sorry,” you whispered, “didn’t sleep well.”

Turning away from Yoongi, you found a group of boys behind you quickly tearing their eyes away. Their snickering whispers followed you even when you turned your back on them. But though you hunched over your work, fully intent on achieving tunnel-vision to your notebook, Yoongi didn’t share your intention.

“Hey,” he murmured, digging his knee into your leg until you acknowledged him. You were greeted with the same piercing stare from before. “You okay?”

Shoulders slumping, you sighed.

“Yeah…”

“You don’t look so good.”

“Thanks Yoongi,” you rolled your eyes at his bluntness, “just tired-“

“You were dreaming,” he informed you.

You blinked.

“Sorry?”

“You were kind of… twitching,” he grimaced, “that’s why they were laughing at you. Was it a nightmare?”

Blankly staring back at him, you tried to recall your dream. Once you were awake, it always left your mind like sand through a sieve, but when you thought about it…

“It’s just a dream I keep having,” you shook your head, “it’s why I couldn’t get much sleep last night.”

His eyebrows creased, but the sudden commotion that rumbled into life around you told you class was over. And you had missed most of it. Just your luck.

Sluggishly, you packed your things away. Just as you slung your bag over one shoulder, your phone buzzed in your pocket. Slipping it out as you pushed your chair in with your thigh, you saw two messages from Yoongi.

Pictures of his lecture notes.

Fondly smiling, you looked to your friend as he shut his book and slid his own things into his bag.

As usual, Yoongi walked with you after classes were done. Except today, when you parted ways, he made you promise to meet him in time to drive home. Usually you would spend longer in the library, but you could easily check out something to work on at home.

Yoongi’s earlier lecture notes mentioned some extra reading, so you decided to go and find the books to make up for being unconscious during the class itself.

Heading towards the classics section once you were inside, you heard Jimin before you saw him.

A loud thump made you wince, evidently the sound of a fallen book. Unable to help your curiosity, you leaned around the corner to the aisle it came from.

There, Jimin’s blond hair was just visible over a mound of books balanced in his arms, some tucked under his elbows, and a couple more trapped between his hip and the bookshelves.

“Jimin?”

You were already striding towards him, hurriedly grabbing for the books in the most precarious position.

“Thank you,” a muffled voice reached your ears as Jimin was finally able to step away from the shelf without fear of dropping any more.

“Um… what are you doing?” you asked incredulously as you hastily shoved the books onto a shelf, soon reaching out to start dismantling the pile in his arms.

“I had spare credits,” he spoke as you removed the books that blocked out his face, “so I’ve ended up taking Mythology of Magic. I thought I should do some reading…”

Laughing, you turned over the book in your hand. Woozle the Warlock and other stories.

“And you didn’t want to be any more selective?”

As you tugged the books from under his arm, Jimin looked down at his shuffling feet.

“I’ve never had to read fiction for my course, so I don’t really know where to start.”

“Well, I took that module last year,” you smiled, “trust me, there are a few books Professor Bang really relies on, but other than that there aren’t too many you should know.”

“Really?”

Jimin’s eyes were so hopeful. His smile had returned, and you were happy you could give him a positive answer.

“Would you like me to help you?” you ventured.

His enthusiastic nod made your heart leap.

“Right, well-“ you turned to the shelves to scan for the books you needed, absently pushing a couple more books onto a random shelf. Jimin followed suit, now having his hands free enough to make use of them.

“Jimin?”

The book you had just laid eyes on was lost as you jumped around, finding one of the librarians at the end of the shelves.

“Joon! Y/N’s gonna help me with Mythology!” Jimin greeted the man enthusiastically, but his eagerness was not returned.

“What’s going on?” the man called Joon asked.

Guiltily glancing at the shelves Jimin had pillaged, it became clear they were nowhere near orderly anymore.

“Jimin, this is going to take me ages, you know I have a date tonight!” Joon was busy complaining.

“Sorry Joon,” Jimin sighed, “do you want me to sort it?”

“Please. I’ll come and check you’re doing it right in a while,” Joon agreed, “Y/N will just have to help you later.”

“Sorry,” you piped up, looking at Jimin, “Yoongi’s giving me a lift home.”

“Then you can come to ours!” Joon startled you by clapping his hands together. He looked thrilled, but you were still confused.

“Ah, sorry Y/N,” Jimin said, “this is Namjoon. He lives with me and Yoongi.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you,” you said.

“You too,” Namjoon smiled, “I best get back to work.”

Before he left, he sent a dimpled smirk over to Jimin.

“Do you want some help?” you asked Jimin, the two of you staring at the mess of books, a couple still lying on the floor.

“No, please go and sit down,” he told you, “the doctor told you to rest.”

He was right, so you gave in.

Later on, you glanced at the clock. You didn’t want to be late for Yoongi when he was being so nice to you. Fifteen minutes were left, luckily, so you turned back to your work.

Next time you checked, fifteen minutes were left.

Wait.

That was the same as last time!

Now you thought about it, it might have said the same time when you checked it before that too.

Oh no.

Scrambling for your phone, you saw you were already more than five minutes late. As quick as humanly possible, you rammed everything into your bag and fled. You still had to check out Jimin’s books, so you dashed across to the machines to take them out.

Toe tapping on the ground, you waited behind the guy already using the last monitor, praying Yoongi wouldn’t be mad. You decided to send him a quick text.

You: On my way, sorry :)

Yoongi: Be quick

Just then, the man in front of you turned around, setting off briskly away from the station with coffee in hand. There was only one problem. You were in the way.

He crashed into you before you had even looked up, and warm liquid was already seeping through your top.

In your shock, your phone fell from your hand, straight into the puddle of coffee on the floor. Both of you just stood there for a second, mouths agape.

“Oh my gosh, sorry!” you garbled, at the same moment as he pushed past you, muttering something about standing in the way. Perfect.

Looking down at the bundle of books in your arms, it was clear they were ruined. Coffee was dripping off them, the edges of the pages already brown. Taking a breath, you bent down to retrieve your phone, not bothering to check it just yet. You had to get to Yoongi first.

In the end, you checked the books out anyway, knowing you might be able to tell your tragic tale to your new acquaintance Namjoon, thinking perhaps he could get you out of a fine.

Stepping outside, you were soon greeted with Jimin coming around the corner.

“Y/N! Yoongi sent me to go and fetch you- what happened?” he had stopped in his tracks. You didn’t have to be a genius to know your top was ruined, coffee clinging uncomfortably to your skin from the saturated fabric.

“Some guy spilled coffee on me,” you explained, carrying on towards the parking lot, “and my phone, and the books…”

Looking to the side to check he was following, you jumped. Jimin’s head had disappeared into his sweater as he pulled it over his head, shirt riding up as he did so. When he emerged you snapped your head away.

You tried to reject the hoodie as he held it out to you, knowing you would soak it through with coffee as well, but he insisted. It was black after all, it wouldn’t show up, and people were staring at you. Since you usually left campus later, it was busier than you were accustomed to.

Eventually taking the proffered jumper, you basked in its softness, thanking him with a smile.

Since you went home to study with Jimin, Jungkook and Jin had been insufferable, knowing about your crush. You told them they were lucky you loved them already, or you would kick them out.

Not if they kicked you out first, they said.

You laughed and told them you could just move in with Jimin. Needless to say, that made it worse.

In all fairness, you spent a lot of time with Jimin now. You regretted being too scared to ever talk to him before, since you actually got on really well. Helping him study had been fun, and you had been over more times since then, for studying but also for dinner and movie nights that Namjoon and Yoongi loved to crash.

You discovered all of them wanted to go to the Halloween festival, just like you.

October was halfway done, and that meant the excitement was well and truly underway. Every year on the weekend of Halloween, there was a festival just outside the city with music, haunted houses, campfires and ghost stories. And, of course, plenty of beer. Everyone wanted to go.

That week, you sat down with your own flatmates to put your names in for the festival. Due to its popularity among students, the festival always picked its attendees at random.

Since things were going well with Jimin, you had shed your pessimistic mindset a little. Maybe things didn’t always go wrong when you were around.

But then you didn’t get tickets.

And of course, Jungkook and Jin did.

You were more disappointed than you were when the same thing happened last year. For once, you had actually had your hopes up.

At least they were as sad about it as you. And it meant they went out on a dedicated shopping trip to get you a load of candy; it made both parties feel a bit better about you being left alone at the weekend.

When you had last spoken to Jimin about the festival, you found out he had gone last year. The next time you saw him after the bad news came at the weekend, you walked into uni to find him alone at the table you usually shared with Yoongi.

“Hey,” he smiled, “Yoongi’s just getting coffee.”

“Ah,” you nodded knowingly. You were quite happy to have Jimin to yourself for the moment.

It was only when Yoongi came back with two coffees that you sensed something was up. He never bought coffee for other people. Eyebrows furrowed, you watched as he set one down in front of Jimin.

Eager to take a sip, neither boy noticed you staring at them with something akin to horror until they rose from the rims of their cups.

“What’s going on?” you demanded when you caught Jimin’s eye.

“Sympathy coffee,” Jimin chuckled, “I didn’t get Halloween tickets.”

“Oh no, that sucks,” you sighed, “I didn’t either.”

“Hey, that could be good!” Jimin placed his drink down, “we could do something on Halloween instead?”

“Okay!” you agreed, “movies or something?”

“Great, let’s do it,” Jimin grinned, “beats sitting inside getting jealous of Joon and Yoongi.”

And so it was agreed, and you found yourself walking over to Jimin’s house on Halloween. Any other Saturday night, the city’s streets would be thrumming with life, groups of students holding each other up as they stumbled out, already drunk.

Today, though, it seemed like the entire student population was on the other side of town except you.

Mind wandering to your friends, you wondered how the festival was. Next year was your final chance to go. You hoped you could. They would probably be trekking through the horror maze, before dark so Jin wouldn’t get too scared. Or maybe Jungkook had got out his guitar for the campfire circle. You wondered what kinds of sugary food they would fill themselves with.

It was a nice evening for whatever was going on, being unusually warm for this time of year. You hadn’t even needed a coat to go out.

Jin’s cooking was sorely missed especially; you were something of a disaster on your own given your clumsiness. You swore you did exactly what the recipe said, but every time without fail, something went wrong.

Reaching Jimin’s, you happily let thoughts of what you were missing slide. Your bad luck had afforded you good fortune this time around, and you were determined to make the most of it.

Inside, you emptied all the snacks you had brought out of your bag and stared at the mountain you had collectively built on the coffee table.

“I guess we had better get started,” you laughed.

“We’re never going to eat all that!” Jimin laughed, flopping down on the sofa.

Sitting as well, you picked up your first chocolate and sent him a smirk.

“Challenge accepted.”

As anyone could have predicted, you failed the challenge. Before the first film had even ended, you slumped against Jimin with a groan, stomach threatening to burst. His melodic laugh filled your ears. You only groaned more, staring at the empty wrappers surrounding you before closing your eyes.

What you didn’t expect was for Jimin to reach his arm around you.

Eyes snapping open again, you saw his hands pulling your blanket up, but his arm didn’t move away. Well, perhaps your optimistic eating habits had landed you something good, after all.

The film ended, but you didn’t move away. Nor did he push you off.

“What next?” he looked down at you.

You found yourself a lot closer to his face than you were prepared for when you looked up at him, head pulling away from its place on his shoulder.

“Horror film?” you suggested with a small smile once you had recovered.

He threw his head back and laughed, but he did pick up the remote and start scrolling through the horror films.

“This should be fun,” he smiled, shaking his head slightly.

It was.

Well, maybe not the ghosts and blood and murderers and jumpscares.

But it sure was fun when Jimin clutched you in both of his arms, or when you pressed closer to him to hide your face away in his chest. When he screamed and grabbed at you, hiding his face away in the top of your head, you swore your heart stopped for a moment.

“We are not watching a horror film next time,” Jimin decreed afterwards, “or ever again!”

“Next Halloween?” you laughed.

He rolled his eyes.

“Maybe.”

Your grin wasn’t because he agreed with you. It was because he thought you would be with each other again next Halloween.

Reluctantly, the two of you untangled yourselves from the blankets. On your way out, you told him to keep the candy, and that you could never look at another one again.

“Sure,” he smirked, “text me when you get home okay.”

“Will do, thanks.”

After a beat, you stepped back through the doorway and gave him a quick hug. Wrapping his arms around you in return, he laughed.

“Don’t have nightmares!”

“No promises!” you laughed, waving at him as you walked away.

By this time it was dark, but your route back was along main roads, so you weren’t worried. However, you had barely reached the end of Jimin’s road before you felt flecks of drizzle dotting your face.

You picked up the pace, but there was still a while to go. You were never going to outrun the rain.

It wasn’t the first time you had been caught out by a storm, but it made it no more enjoyable. Halfway home, the rain was hammering down, stinging your cheeks with the force it fell. The sky above was a solid mass of cloud, regularly disturbed by thunder.

You were most certainly alone on the streets now, everyone having retreated inside. You just had to push on a little longer, and then you could have a hot shower and warm up in your pyjamas with a hot chocolate.

Cursing yourself for not bringing a coat earlier, you hugged yourself as you marched against the rain which was now dripping down your face, hair plastered to your cheeks.

On reaching your apartment, you broke into a run. Stopping outside the door, you fished for your keys in your pocket.

Nothing.

Chest tightening, you quickly pushed your hand into your other pocket. Your phone was still there, but no keys. Quickly, you patted your jeans to no success. Your bag was just as empty. Where were your keys?

Ever since the coffee incident in the library, your phone had never been quite the same, but you nearly cried in relief when you clicked the power button and it flashed on.

Leaning your head over to shield it from the worst of the rain, although you were also dripping onto it, your cold fingers fumbled to your contacts until you reached Jimin. No one else you knew was in the city.

Pressing call, you held the device to your ear, dial tone beeping over the drumming of the rain.

The tone cut off, and you waited to hear Jimin’s voice.

But it didn’t come.

“Hello?” you spoke.

No reply.

On pulling the phone from your ear, you stared at a dark screen. This time, when you pressed the power button, it was unresponsive.

Great.

Begrudgingly turning around, you sighed heavily. You fingers were already draining themselves of feeling, every inch of your jumper soaked.

But then, a couple of streets further, you spotted something glittering by the pavement. Your keyring!

Dashing towards it, you didn’t care when your fingers scraped against the cold metal of a drain, grabbing your keys as soon as you could. But when you held them up, you could only stare.

You were definitely the unluckiest person you knew.

The keyring charm itself was intact, but the same could not be said for the mangled metal that hung off it, which had been snapped. No key remained.

Looking back to the ground where you had collected it, you could only see dark tarmac. No key. And below the drain your keyring had been lying on was a torrent of rushing water from the storm.

You were well and truly fucked, only one option left.

Your third journey that night down the roads to Jimin’s was significantly less enjoyable than before. Even your shoes were soaked now and you were shivering from head to toe. It really wasn’t the way you wanted Jimin to see you, looking like a rat that had crawled up from the gutter, but you had nowhere else to go.

Finally reaching Jimin’s road, you were surprised to see his door fly open when you were still halfway down the street, spilling yellow light into the dark. You frowned even more when you saw him step out, wrapped in a raincoat, practically tripping down his own steps before looking around.

Closer now, you were able to catch his attention as you approached. He only stared at you, his adorable face the very picture of shock, before he ran up to you.

“Y/N oh my god! The moment this storm started I got worried, and when I saw a missed call from you I didn’t know what to do! What happened? Are you alright?”

“C-cold,” you said through chattering teeth.

“Shit, yeah, let’s get you back inside,” he grabbed your hand and pulled you with him. If only you could feel where his hand held yours.

Just across the threshold, you held back, knowing you were already soaking the ground.

“Y/N, you’re freezing, please come in,” Jimin pulled you into the living room, not that you could resist when you felt the warmth of his house greet you.

Realising you hadn’t even removed your shoes, you bent to undo your waterlogged laces, but your fingers were uncooperative.

“Here,” Jimin knelt too. You watched as his fingers deftly released your laces, and you let him slide your shoes off. His face was flushed, slightly damp too from his short trip outside.

“You’re soaked,” he murmured, sitting back and reaching for you jumper.

Together, you peeled the garment off you, heavy with water.

“I’ll get you some clothes,” he said firmly, “you’re staying here.”

Beyond the window, the rain had not let up.

“Okay.”

Making quick work of the rest of your clothes in the bathroom, you left them in a pile on the shower floor. Jimin had luckily left a towel on the radiator. Wrapped up in the warm fluff, you barely wanted to move, but eventually Jimin’s clothes, folded on the floor, tempted you enough.

Emerging fully dressed in the too-big clothes, you found Jimin stumbling down the stairs. Or rather, a moving pile of blankets.

“Any better?” his eyes peeked over the top, making it impossible for you not to laugh.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Following him into the living room, you stepped over the wet patches you had created as Jimin dropped the blankets onto the sofa.

“So what happened?” he clambered into the makeshift nest, patting the blankets beside him for you to follow suit.

“My keys found their way down a storm drain,” you sighed, “but I didn’t notice until I got home. And then my phone gave up.”

You let out a dry laugh. It really was ridiculous how the world seemed to be against you.

“Would hot chocolate make it better?”

Your eyes and mouth grew simultaneously and Jimin laughed loudly, head flopping back and soft hair falling away from his face. Anyone would have thought he had just given you a bag of lottery winnings by the way you looked at him.

“Yes, I take it?” he giggled.

Maybe the world was against you, but Jimin was the one thing that made everything better. Sitting next to him surrounded by blankets and sipping cocoa could only be made better if you weren’t just sitting next to him.

As if to prove his place as your personal saviour, Jimin soon snuggled closer to you.

After a few minutes of his head on your shoulder, your arm around him, you whispered into his hair.

“Maybe tonight was lucky in the end.”

“Hmm?” he twisted to look at you and your heart softened even more when you saw his eyes were barely open. Smiling giddily, you pulled back to look at him.

“I just always thought bad things happened to me. But it’s not so bad ending up here with you.”

A hand scrubbed over his face in an effort to wake up a little more. Embarrassment already began to encroach as you watched his mouth opening and closing. Had you said too much?

And then he shuffled closer, all those thoughts dissipating like dandelion seeds as his hand brushed your cheek. His lips lay in a peaceful smile, and you couldn’t take your eyes away as he silently shuffled closer.

“Yeah?” he breathed.

“Yeah,” you nodded, sound barely leaving your mouth.

Then his lips met yours.

It wasn’t forceful, quite the opposite. The kind of kiss that made you lean in for more, sweet and lingering, erasing any memory of what existed outside of it. Now his soft touch felt so real, so present and so… Jimin.

Hands ghosted across skin, hungry but tentative.

Time got lost around you as you gave in, indulging in each other until you lay on top of him, breathless as you paused. His eyes were smiling. He was always smiling.

Unable to believe Park Jimin kissed you, wanted you too, you stared at him, trying to soak it all in.

Another laugh passed his lips, joy overflowing. His arms tightened around your waist, squeezing you tightly against his chest, and a kiss was pressed to your forehead.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

You had to look back at his face then, just to check those words had actually passed his lips.

“Yes!”

The room was familiar, even though it was dark. Nothing could be seen but you knew you had been here before.

The woman had not moved. Was she still angry?

For the first time, the fire shows itself as more than just a glimmer lighting the wisened face. No, it is there, bright and dancing.

Taunting.

You can’t look away but it burns your eyes. That is not all it burns.

The woman’s hand reaches out, engulfed in the fire, and suddenly your silence bursts.

The fire is deafening, cracking like a monster walking on bones, roaring in its pain. Maybe the darkness is the smoke. It gets in your eyes, but you still can’t look away, can’t blink, and beyond the red beast, the woman in still there, voice finally loud and strong, surfacing in the brief moments through the blazing fire.

You can’t understand her.

But you understand she is not a friend. You know from the way her hand rises from the fire unscathed. She must be a friend to the fire, but the fire is hurting you.

You can’t move.

You can’t look away.

Smoke is in your lungs, fire clings to your skin.

You can’t scream but you need to, you need to get out of here, but no one knows you’re here, you don’t even know where here is, or how you got here, but it hurts, and she only wants to hurt you more, and-

Someone is shouting but it’s not her this time and it cuts through the fire. Then it stops and you fall back, darkness and blinding fire side by side-

“Y/N!”

Hands on your shoulder. The room is dark. Where is the smoke? Breath judders in and out of your throat. You cough. The hands draw back. The fire is gone too.

A dim light flicks on and Jimin looks at you. Propped on his elbow, he looks down at you where you lie on the pillow, other hand coming up to stroke down your face. You were used to waking up like this, alone, but now he was there and all you wanted was his warmth.

When you dived towards him, he folded you in his arms, holding you close as you breathed in his safety.

“You okay?” he spoke into the stillness.

At first, you nodded into his chest. Then you thought he might want a bit more detail about why you had woken him in the middle of the night, so you lifted your head. Nose-to-nose on the pillow, you explained.

“It’s this dream I keep having,” you whispered, “I always forget about it after, but it keeps coming back. It was… different, today.”

“What happens in the dream?” a delicate crease formed between Jimin eyebrows.

“I’m in a dark room…” your eyes wandered to the air by his ear as you tried to picture it, “there’s this woman there. And she’s always saying something, but I can never hear. And there’s a fire. Today she made the fire grow, and I could hear her for once, but I still didn’t understand what she was saying.”

“Strange…” he murmured.

“I know,” you sighed, shuffling closer to him under the duvet, “but let’s go back to sleep.”

“Not until I kiss you better,” he smirked, voice still husky with sleep as he rolled you over and planted more perfect kisses to your lips.

Quickly circling your arms and legs around him, you eagerly reciprocated. Your bodies fit together so well, both defying sleep as the kisses continued between your smiling mouths until the dream was well and truly gone from your mind.

In the morning, your phone seemed to have resurrected itself from where it was charging at the wall, and it decided to announce this loudly to Jimin’s entire apartment. Both stirring at the same time when the ringtone blasted across the room, you extricated yourselves from each other.

Jimin reached across for his own phone, groaning when he saw that it was already eleven and promptly flopping back onto the bed. You, on the other hand, abandoned the comfort of the warm bed in favour of making whoever was calling shut up.

However, just as you reached your phone, it fell silent anyway.

Opening it and scrolling through the notifications, you found it was Jungkook who had phoned. You had used Jimin’s phone to text them in the end yesterday, and they said they would come back from the festival early to let you in, so you supposed he was back.

Taking it off charge, you opened Jungkook’s messages, of which there were several from last night.

Before you could read them, though, Jimin’s ringtone started up. Looking up, you admired his muscular back as he twisted to pick it up.

“It’s Jin,” he frowned, looking to you.

Sitting back on the bed, you just shrugged.

“Hello?” Jimin greeted.

He was leaning back on one arm, but as he listened to whatever Jin was saying, he sat forwards, face growing serious.

“O-okay, yeah,” he said.

Startling you, he pushed the covers aside and pulled his wardrobe open, one hand still occupied with the phone. When he had pulled out a random pair of jeans and a shirt, he turned to you. He crossed the room rapidly, holding out the phone for you to take.

You stared between his face and the phone, then shook yourself and hurriedly took it.

“Jin?”

“Y/N, we just got back… I think you should probably come here.”

“Okay, we can come soon, what’s going on?”

“Um, well…” for a moment your heart froze as he paused, fearing what might be wrong. Jungkook could be heard faintly in the background.

“Are you still there? Jin?”

“There was a fire.”

Now it was your turn to be silent. You were aware that your boyfriend was undressing right behind you, but all you could do was sit still.

“What?” you choked.

“Listen, don’t worry, it’s going to be okay-“

“How bad?”

Another pause from Jin, and you knew he didn’t want to say.

“Most of the apartment is fine, it’s just your room…” you heard the soft creak of your sofa as he sat heavily, “just come here, okay? We’ll sort something out.”

“Y-yeah. See you soon.”

Shakily, you stood. Jimin was fully dressed, car keys already in hand.

It was exactly like Jin had said, but that still didn’t make it any better.

You knocked on the door, greeted with a lingering hug from Jin. He always gave those kind of hugs, like he was trying to hold you together with his own arms. From the outside, your place looked the same, but you could already see black streaks on the wall as you looked down the corridor, where Jungkook nervously licked and bit his lip alternately.

Yoongi and Namjoon were also there, trying very hard to blend into the wall. They took the first chance they could to join Jimin by the door as you stepped past them all towards your room.

Black seeped around the edges of your door. You felt numb as you pushed against it, swinging it open to reveal an unrecognisable space. Everything was completely ravaged by the fire, curtains hanging from the pole in rags, dark debris covering the floor and furniture stained darker than it was ever meant to be.

Your feet disturbed the dust of what was once yours, carrying you further into the wreckage.

Until a hand landed on your shoulder, you simply stood, paralysed. But then Jimin was next to you and you broke into his arms.

“The firefighters were here this morning when we got back,” Jin said, “they told us a candle set fire to your curtain and it started from there.”

You nodded.

That’s all you had been doing for a while since the lot of you had camped out in the living room back at Jimin’s. You had been huddled against him ever since as your flatmates made calls to the landlord, insurance, repair services and so on.

It wasn’t too severely damaged.

That’s what the general consensus was, and you could go back to living there after a couple of days unless any complications were found as they cleaned up the house. But for you, it was different. It was your stuff that had burned.

Even the photos in the hallway that burned, the only victims of the flames that had escaped your room, were all of you. For the thousandth time, you questioned if someone out there really hated you so much.

At least your friends didn’t.

They hadn’t expected anything of you, letting you stay silent and sorting everything out. Now that all anyone could do was wait, a lazy day was declared and the blankets made a return appearance.

Jimin invited his friends Tae and Hoseok, who were apparently also friends with his flatmates, and Jin went shopping with Namjoon, insisting on cooking later.

You had to admit, being surrounded by Jimin and your friends did lift your spirits. Taehyung and Jungkook had instantly hit it off, goofing around as crap TV played in the background. All the sweets you had failed to eat the night before came in especially useful for such a big group.

Jin’s food was excellent as always, and you had recovered enough by dinner time to notice something different about your friend.

“Did you see my messages last night?” Jungkook whispered, digging his elbow into you. You squealed, but he shushed you, looking around at the others.

It was getting dark, and you had all piled together for a film (not horror).

When the others’ eyes left you, you glared at your youngest friend.

“I didn’t. What is it?”

Beside you, Jimin’s arm tightened around your waist as he leaned forwards, resting his chin on your shoulder to hear Jungkook too.

“Yeah Kook, what is it?” he chuckled.

“Jin-hyung was on date!” Kook’s big eyes sparkled with excitement as you sat forward with a start, evicting Jimin from his spot on your shoulder.

“What?!” you whisper-shouted.

“I know!”

Spluttering for something to say, you grabbed Kook’s hands as you both bounced up and down on the sofa, Jimin hiding laughter behind his hand at the two of you.

“Who was it? How did you find out? Did he like them? Ohmygod!” you rambled.

Jungkook laughed, but supressed it quickly, smile full to bursting as he leaned forwards, barely containing himself.

“Namjoon-hyung,” he whispered.

Now Jimin’s eyes bulged from his head along with you.

“Oh my god.”

Satisfied with your reactions, Jungkook giggled as you and Jimin exchanged looks.

“Hush, you lot. And I would be careful – Jin and I are not the only ones who seem to have got up to something this weekend.”

Three pairs of wide eyes turned towards Namjoon, who was right beside Jungkook. He simply snorted a laugh, dimples making an appearance as he turned back to the film without another word.

You stayed quiet after that.

Jimin had to admit, your pessimism seemed to be justified.

From a roof tile falling on you, people spilling coffee on you, your keys vanishing mysteriously on the very night your apartment caught fire, unlucky would be an understatement. Now he sat in the library, mind drifting back to all the time he had known you.

The first time you had come round to study, he remembered staring in surprise at all your memory sticks. You kept so many on you, as well as saving your work onto enough clouds to make a storm, on top of keeping notes on paper.

Perhaps you weren’t just disorganised as you claimed. In fact, you seemed extremely organised, but you insisted your documents went missing all the time.

He placed down another book on the growing pile beside him, pulling the next one out.

When he had taken you back to your room after the fire, he sadly placed a row of charred pot plants in a bin bag. They were all dead anyway, you had said, I can never keep them alive.

Yoongi had come to the library too, under the guise of studying. If studying consisted of forcing Namjoon to let him into the staff room for unlimited coffee, then he was being very productive.

But when Jimin confessed his fears, Yoongi had also told him about you dreaming in class.

Only a few passing paragraphs had struck him as relevant so far in his quest for research, and the sky was already dimming outside. Only a couple more books sat on his left side, the books he hadn’t read yet. Sighing in defeat, he placed yet another book across to the right and pulled the largest tome yet over to him.

This one didn’t look like it had been touched in years, leather binding groaning as he heaved it open, coughing at the dust that spewed from its pages. But finally, he saw something promising in the contents.

Turning the yellowed pages, he reached his destination, instantly knowing from the illustrations that this was it. A full moon, just like the one outside the library window. A wilted plant. A spider-web of swirling black smoke.

Eyes devouring the words on the page, he eventually sat back. For a moment, he looked at the thin air in front of him, swallowing hard.

Then he sprung into action, pulling out his phone and snapping photos of the book. It shut heavily in another cloud of dust, and then it was away on the shelf and Jimin’s thumb was hovering over your contact as he rushed to his flatmates at the desk.

“I’ve found it!”

Namjoon mumbled something that sounded a lot like finally as Yoongi turned away from him towards Jimin. He was already calling you, wanting to meet up to share his findings.

The ringtone stopped, and he opened his mouth to greet you, only for your voicemail to speak first.

Brow creasing, he pulled his phone away and hung up, pressing call again.

Nothing.

“What is it?” Yoongi asked, but Jimin was looking past him. The moon hung so innocently in the sky, but Jimin’s veins were turning to ice.

“We have to go. Now.”

The week following such an eventful Halloween had been a blur. You were pretty sure tonight was the first time you had been alone since that night.

Jungkook was at home with his family for his brother’s birthday, Jin working late at the restaurant.

Jimin had been working in the library all day with his flatmates too, leaving you at your newly repaired house all by yourself. As per a yearly tradition, Jin had salvaged some pumpkins from his work that were due to be thrown out when pumpkin pie left the menu, but you were the only one around to carve them at the moment.

But you were bored. And there were plenty, too many if you were honest, and you were always terrible, so it wouldn’t hurt to practise before Jimin had to witness your shocking pumpkin art skills.

And this was how you ended up in the middle of a storm of pumpkin innards in your kitchen, wonky face leering from the unfortunate vegetable behind you as you looked around at the mess.

Having already slipped over once on the orange goo, you decided cleaning up took priority over improving your artistry. Setting the knife down, you bent down and scooped up the largest clump, a few seeds falling from your hands as you shuffled over to the bin on your knees.

Pushing your hair behind your ear and leaving a sticky orange clump while you were at it, you leaned across to another patch, right at the base of the counter.

But as you stretched out your fingers, a shape fell down your vision. Before you could even blink, you felt a sharp, stabbing pain in your arm as metal clattered to the tile.

Recoiling, you were met with bright red. The knife that had leapt from the side was the sharpest one in the kitchen, Jin’s pride and joy. Where it had hit your arm, aided by gravity, it had easily sliced into your skin which now spewed blood at an alarming rate as you jumped up, eyes glued to the injury.

Bandages. Clean it. Stop the blood.

Minor first aid had been drilled into your head since you were younger, given all the scrapes and bruises you accumulated. But now, as red spattered onto your kitchen floor, you couldn’t seem to remember the order to do things.

Where were the bandages anyway?

No, clean it. Yes.

Ripping your eyes away, you clutched the edge of the sink as you stuck your arm under running water. It burned like fire into your cut.

Snatching your arm back, you watched the pale red splash up the edges of the sink, now falling onto the counter too. Shit. Clamping your other hand over the injury, you squeezed it and hissed in pain just as the room wobbled around you.

Scratch all this. You needed to lie down.

Eyes set on the sofa, you stepped towards it, but you never made it that far.

In the brightness of the room, only one face is visible. A woman with age-worn skin is looking at you.

She is talking.

Fire blazes all around her, throwing her face into light, nearly erasing the wrinkles that cling to her.

She is louder than the fire, words you do not recognise spilling from her lips. You’ve heard this kind of thing before, though, and you know she is gifted. Her words carry the distinct sound of the language of magic.

Though you do not understand it, you know she is not a friend.

But her words change.

Within the hostile words, there is one you know. A name.

But it isn’t yours. Why are you here if she wants Eunji? Eunji is your grandmother’s name.

Before you can ask, the fire stops burning. Silence returns.

In the darkness of the room, only one face is visible. She is lit by moonlight.

“Why are we in such a hurry anyway?” Yoongi eyed his friend in the passenger seat as he chewed his lip, looking back at his phone for the third time in a minute.

“Something bad might have happened.”

Resurfacing from his blank phone screen, Jimin watched the light turn to green, relieved when Yoongi pulled away much too fast.

When they pulled up outside your building, Jimin had already thrown his seatbelt off, jumping out before Yoongi had even turned the car off. Frowning, he followed his friend as he ran to the door, nearly beating it down with the force of his knocks.

No one answered.

He had thought you could be just napping, missing the phone calls. Letting your phone die was a special talent of yours, anyway.

But no one could sleep through the racket Jimin was making.

Joining Jimin at the door, he looked around. Since you had been locked out, Jin had given in and had a spare key made to ‘save you from yourself’. Picking up a pot plant from the doorstep, Yoongi revealed the key, which Jimin instantly dived for.

“Y/N?” Jimin was running up the hallway.

Yoongi heard him gasp before he had reached the corner himself, but it made him speed up.

It was a good thing Jimin had panicked. Because there you were, out cold on the kitchen floor, blood flowing from your arm and a knife stained red lying nearby.

Yoongi already had his phone to his ear as Jimin crashed to his knees next to you, crying out your name and pulling you onto his knees. No response came. Looking wildly around him, he grabbed for a towel, rolling it up and pressing it into your arm where the blood still seeped out.

He barely heard Yoongi talking behind him as he swallowed down the lump in his throat, free hand cupping your face, running his thumb shakily across your cheekbone.

The paramedics didn’t arrive for too long. Then he blinked and they were everywhere, hands pulling him back away from you. You got lost in the water warping his vision.

But you would be okay.

That was what they said, but he could barely believe it when he walked into your hospital room at last, greeted with your eyes, awake and alive. Your sheepish smile, embarrassed at another mishap.

It felt like air had entered his lungs for the first time since it all left him when he had seen you on the floor some hours ago.

“Thank god,” he choked when his face was finally pressed into your hair, arms holding so tight you weren’t sure you would ever escape. Not that you would complain about that.

His lips found yours desperately, telling you how much he cared, how much he worried. Eyes fluttering shut, you returned the embrace, reveling in the feeling.

A cough startled you apart.

“Get a room,” Jin complained. It didn’t quite have the same effect when his smile wouldn’t leave his face.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, we are in a room,” you retorted.

Nonetheless, Jimin stepped back and let Jin hug you. Yoongi followed not far behind with a carrier of coffee for everyone. Jungkook had already called you, just before they all arrived, promising bucketloads of junk food when he came back.

“I thought I banned you from my good knives,” Jin fixed you with a stare as he sat down.

You avoided his gaze.

“The others weren’t strong enough for the pumpkin,” you muttered, aware of how stupid it sounded.

He just sighed.

“I’m just glad Jimin turned up when he did,” Jin squeezed Jimin’s knee, “how did you know to come anyway?”

“Well…” Jimin shuffled in his seat, “I sort of found something out…”

Looking to the other occupants in the room, you found their gazes just as blank as yours.

“What do you mean?”

Tugging his chair a little closer, Jimin reached out for your hand, enclosing it in his.

“I was doing some research. We all know you’re clumsy, unlucky and bad things happen to you a lot-“

“Thanks Jimin,” you said drily, eyebrows climbing your face.

“No, no! I still l- you know what I mean,” he sighed after you burst out laughing at his panic, “no, but seriously Y/N, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I study curses, and all the signs are there. Dreams, bad luck, unlikely accidents. I found a book, there was this illustration about a particular curse, it matched the scorch marks from the fire at your place exactly. It’s an old curse, elders used it to wish ill fortune on a family line, and it relies on moon magic. And tonight was a full moon, and this happened, so…”

Staring back at your boyfriend, you were glad for the grounding presence of his hand. You hadn’t understood all of what he said, not knowing anything about magic yourself, but it was clear what he thought.

You were cursed.

“But-but my family aren’t cursed,” you spoke quietly, “you said it was a family curse-”

“A family line curse,” he explained, “it only affects one person, but it’s a curse bestowed on someone else in your family. Sometimes people want to hurt a loved one of the one they curse, not the enemy themselves.”

“That’s horrible,” you whispered.

“I know,” Jimin said, “and that’s why we need to break it. I’m sure I’m right about this, it all fits. I can show you the book I found, if you want.”

Nodding, you looked at your lap.

“How do we break it?”

“That’s a little more tricky…” Jimin admitted, pushing a hand through his hair, “we need to find out who cast it in the first place. That way we can unwork exactly what was done, since it’s a highly personal curse.”

“My grandma,” you muttered.

“Sorry?”

“I think it was my grandma.”

You eyes met Jimin’s. Greeted with his full attention, you took a breath and elaborated.

“I had another dream… or, at least, I think it was a dream. It was while I was passed out. It was the same as before, but, well, it was quite different actually. But the woman, she definitely said my grandma’s name.”

“Then you’re probably right,” Jimin squeezed your hand, “shall we give her a call?”

As the dial tone bleeped in your ear, you looked around at your friends. Although Yoongi had dozed off in his chair, Jin was giving you an encouraging smile. When your eyes met, he gave you a thumbs up. Grinning, you leaned back into Jimin’s arms where he sat on the bed behind you.

“Hello?” your grandpa’s voice finally greeted you.

“Oh, hi, grandpa, it’s me,” you smiled.

“Hello sweetie! How are you?” he asked, “your dad told us you had an accident today.”

“Yes, I’m fine thank you. I was wondering if I could talk to grandma?”

“Ah, sorry love, she’s out at the moment. Bad luck.”

Not funny grandpa. Bad luck was the exact thing you were trying to shake off.

“Okay,” you sighed, “maybe she could phone me when she gets back?”

“Hold on,” your grandpa’s voice grew more distant. In the distance, a door clicked. “I think that’s her now. I’ll get her.”

Suddenly, his yell of ‘EUNJIII!’ made you jump, hurriedly jerking away from your phone.

“Hello dear?” your grandma’s voice crackled across and you deemed it safe to return the device to your ear.

“Hi grandma. I have something I have to ask you.”

“Of course,” you could practically hear her smiling, but you felt yourself growing hot. How were you meant to breach such a subject?

“Um, were you ever, I mean, how-“ a deep breath, “are you cursed?”

Wow. Real tactful, you scolded yourself mentally.

“Oh!” you grandma laughed on the other line, “I see, dear. Any reason you’re asking.”

“Um, just, that, maybe, I might be sort of… cursed, too,” you winced.

“I mean, you are quite unlucky…” she gave an awkward laugh, but offered nothing more.

“Grandma,” you begged, “please tell me.”

She sighed.

“Okay. Yes, I was cursed. I never believed it though, but ever since you came along, I started to see the truth. Your grandpa knows all this too, but I never thought it would be so bad.”

“But we can break it grandma,” you encouraged, “it can be broken if we know why it was cast in the first place.”

“You can really break it?”

“Yes, grandma.”

“I’m so sorry, I never knew anything about all this magic, I just thought… well, I can tell you what happened.

“Y/N, the thing is... I’m bisexual. And when I was your age, I had a girlfriend. When her mother found out, she was very angry. Back then, people weren’t accepting like they are now, and she wouldn’t tolerate us being together. They were from a community of magic and she blamed me for ‘leading her daughter astray’, and tried to curse me, saying I would feel her pain when I had a daughter of my own.”

“Oh,” you breathed. That made sense. Your grandma only had one child, your father. So… “I’m the next daughter in the family.”

“Yes, my dear,” your grandma sighed, “so you see why I never believed her. She was just a hateful old woman, and when your dad was fine, I thought the curse wasn’t real. I’m so sorry Y/N.”

“It’s okay, grandma,” you told her, “I still love you very much. We will break it. Thank you for telling me.”

Magic in real life was nothing like what you had seen on TV. Well, you were doing a different kind, you supposed.

Jimin had a massive book on the floor in front of him, a row of dried plants beside him. Eyeing them, you took deep breaths. Jimin’s explanation hadn’t really made sense to you, so you just planned to go with whatever the process was.

You had understood one thing, however.

“Homophobic piece of shit curse,” you grumbled, picking aggressively at the floorboards. “This would be so much better if I had to kiss a girl, just to stick it to that woman.”

Smile tugging at his lips, Jimin looked up at you.

“Do you not want to kiss me?”

“Of course I want to kiss you, idiot,” you rolled your eyes, “I’m just saying.”

Chuckling, Jimin bent back over his book.

“Well, I think we’re ready. Then you never have to kiss me again.”

“No, Jimin!” you gasped, “I want to kiss you plenty!”

“Come here then,” he laughed.

Giggling, you walked to him and knelt in front of him, returning to the gorgeous familiarity of his kiss, his hands tantalising on your waist.

“Okay,” he panted, eventually drawing back, “that was a good practise. Time to do it for real. Are you ready?”

Nodding, you climbed off him and sat, mirroring his position cross-legged on the floor. At his reassuring smile, you closed your eyes.

You felt his soft palm rest on your forehead, and he murmured something. Though it was incomprehensible to you, it did stir something in you. Though your eyes were closed, your retinas seemed flooded with golden light, while something churned low in your stomach.

The hand stayed in place as the scent of lavender engulfed you, one of the plants Jimin had prepared. He spoke again.

Suddenly, the light flashed and disappeared, the world sinking into darkness.

One face is visible.

You know her, you have been here before, and she is still talking.

But now the smoke in the room is visible, light grey tendrils rising from burning lavender. There is no fire. The woman’s voice changes then.

The language of magic continues, but Jimin’s voice is sounding through the room, and another smell meets you, a herb you do not know.

You stay there for a while. Although you do not move, you are sure you could if you wanted. You aren’t in danger here anymore.

Her hand raises. She has done that before, but this time there is no threat. You are sure of it. You know it from the way light pools in her palm, warm, innocent, inviting.

You cannot look away.

Maybe you are floating. Something is pulling at you, and suddenly you gasp, tasting the herbs in the air. It feels like something is moving inside you. You clutch your chest, feeling something curling around your heart, fighting, and then it is rising and you are choking on it.

Maybe you are dying.

Gasping and spluttering, you find no air. But something finds you. A kiss like home, sweet against your lips, and when they pull away, air spills in.

A whisper by your ears, so close the breath moves your hair.

“Open your eyes.”

The room is light, and one face is visible. Jimin smiles.

“It worked!”

Tackling your boyfriend to the floor in a hug, you press your face into his chest. You couldn’t believe it. It was really gone!

“How do you feel?” he laughed.

“Great! Amazing! Perfect!” you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face, “I could do anything! I can have plants without killing them now, right! Jin might let me in the kitchen! Oh my god, I’m going to win a video game against Jungkook!”

Ecstatic, you watched Jimin laughing hysterically under you, joy written all over his face. It suited him.

Maybe now the curse was gone, you could do anything, but there was one thing you wanted more than all that.

“I love you,” you whispered, leaning down to kiss him.

Please please please reblog if you liked it, sharing my work really helps me out! Thank you for reading💜

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possiblyimbiassed · 4 years

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John’s “therapeutic” blog

I’ve been fascinated by the wealth of content in John Watson’s blog since I first noticed it; I think it was some time after S2. For being a complementary work to a TV show, it’s surprisingly well crafted and packed with information. Joe Lidster, who has written the fictional blogs and websites of John, Sherlock, Molly and Connie Prince, is a screenwriter who has been working also with Doctor Who and its spinoff Torchwood.

Unlike the rest of the content within the BBC Sherlock franchise, for example the online game ”Sherlock the Network”, the escape room “The Game is Now” or the book “Sherlock Chronicles”, John’s blog is fully available online for free, you don’t even have to register anywhere. And unlike the other blogs of the franchise (Molly’s and Connie Prince’s blogs and Sherlock’s website), John’s blog is lengthy and has a lot of posts in it. It gives us background and explanations of cases that aren’t mentioned in the show, or only referred to, and I also think it provides a “second opinion” of what we see in the show. It’s a bit like what John says in TLD:

It certainly seems like this blog has been created as a special little treat for the fans, since most of the casual viewers of the show probably don’t even know it exists ‘IRL’. But I think the blog is much more than that; partly because it’s so heavily referenced in the show – with frequent, accurate and exact pictures of it (at least until S4) – and partly because it tells us so much about John’s character. I think John’s blog is significant and important in trying to analyse BBC Sherlock. And maybe the version of John we see in the show will actually get more nuances to it if we look at the blog, which is expressly written by John himself?

More under the cut.

As some of you might know, I’ve written a meta series (X) where I try to explore the idea (originally from @raggedyblue) that the blog describes the ‘real’ events in John’s and Sherlock’s life more accurately than the show, and that what we see in the show up until HLV is Sherlock reminiscing their life together while reading up on the blog. In my view, the show might be Sherlock’s embellished and dramatized version of the events - ironically a bit similar to what Sherlock usually accuses John of doing in both Doyle’s canon and on the blog. But I find the blog’s writing style far more prosaic than the show, and also more prosaic than Watson’s stories in ACD canon; in BBC Sherlock the roles might have been inverted compared to canon.

An example of this would be the scene in TEH (which I talked about in this meta over a year ago) where Mary is (supposedly) reading the following un-published post directly from John’s blog editor:

“His movements were so silent. So furtive, he reminded me of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent. I couldn’t help thinking what an amazing criminal he’d make if he turned his talents against the law.”

Something doesn’t seem quite right here, though. While the rest of the post is text from another, already published, post (The Speckled Blond), this first part is taken almost verbatim from ACD’s story The Sign of Four (SIGN). It describes a crime scene where Holmes has just “whipped out his lens and a tape measure and hurried about the room on his knees, measuring, comparing, examining, with his long thin nose only a few inches from the planks and his beady eyes gleaming and deep-set like those of a bird”. I see a big style difference between this and the rest of John’s blog. Since the quote above never appears on the ‘IRL’ blog, I’d rather believe that in BBC Sherlock this is merely wishful thinking from Sherlock that happens inside his Drama Queen Mind Palace. This impressive description is, I think, what he would truly wish that John had written. ;)

I also suspect that the continuing references to different blog posts in S4 are all made up in Sherlock’s mind, since John’s blog ‘IRL’ stopped updating after TSoT, when Sherlock hacked it and took over the storytelling.

Be that as it may, this meta is a reflection upon what John Watson’s famous blog actually might stand for, and what I believe it tells us about his character. In these months of quarantine, I’ve been passing the time by reading through the whole online version of the blog and taking notes of it.

Therapeutic origin

It seems like the initiative for John to start a blog came from Ella Thompson, his therapist. I believe Ella’s initial idea was therapeutic; if it was almost impossible for John to talk to her about his feelings and inner problems in their sessions, she might have found it difficult to help him. Therefore she suggested that he write it all down on his own instead. And if Ella could persuade him to talk about his life on an online blog, she would also be able to read it.

Of course this wouldn’t be the same as if John told her about his inner reflections in confidence, in a real therapy session, but maybe the blog would give him an incentive to talk about his life at all. And you have to start somewhere.

At the end of TST we see Sherlock visit Ella, but when she asks him to “open up completely” he refuses.

If S4 is happening inside Sherlock’s head (as I believe it is), this might have been Sherlock’s way of trying to psychoanalyse John, to ‘solve John’s case’, by envisioning the therapy situation in his mind palace. A well-known method of Sherlock Holmes is that he tries to put himself in the other person’s place and think about what his own response would have been to the situation. In ACD’s story The Musgrave Ritual (MUSG), Holmes says: “You know my methods in such cases, Watson. I put myself in the man’s place, and, having first gauged his intelligence, I try to imagine how I should myself have proceeded under the same circumstances.”

Which is also evidence that the character of Sherlock Holmes does indeed not lack empathetic capacity. Also in the show, John’s assertion that Sherlock “doesn’t feel things that way” etc. is basically BS in my opinion. The problem is that John refuses to see this.

John’s state of mind before Sherlock

John’s first three blog posts (in the middle of December - January) seem to completely lack motivation.

And this is maybe what one could expect from the deeply depressed John (as he appears in the beginning of the show), isn’t it? No surprises there.

Everything seems meaningless, and John only makes two attempts at blog posts to comply with Ella’s recommendations, but he doesn’t actually write anything in them. After the second attempt his old army friend Bill Murray tries to contact him, but John seems to have cut off his ties with the rest of the world; he doesn’t answer the comment.

At the third attempt over a month later, John seems to want to delete the blog he has started, but lacks the technical knowledge to do so. The fourth attempt is just a snide comment to Ella:

She doesn’t respond, however (not very surprisingly perhaps). Instead, John’s sister Harry discovers the blog and tries out this means of communicating with him. But John ignores her.

But at the fifth attempt at least John has gone out with some friends and describes it – almost bitterly. Sadly, it also seems like John met up with them mainly to avoid his therapy session with Ella.

So, the problem is that whatever Ella may have thought that the blog would mean for John’s healing, I think she aimed well but unfortunately missed the target. John Watson does not ‘open up’ himself on the blog. When he finally starts to really write - after he met Sherlock - it’s not actually about him (supposedly); it’s all about Sherlock. Basically, John goes directly from ‘Nothing happens to me‘ to ‘Sherlock happens to me‘.

What the blog tells us about John ‘after Sherlock’

John’s blog may be all about Sherlock, but there isn’t actually that much praise for Sherlock in the blog posts as one might think. My impression is that John applies his (perhaps somewhat overestimated) writing skills to project his own failures and self-loathing on his closest friend. More than anything else, I think the blog is John’s emotional outlet for his frustration over his unsatisfactory relationship with Sherlock and his own inability to improve it. Instead of trying to actually talk to Sherlock, he uses the blog to vent his frustrations over Sherlock, speculating wildly about what he believes Sherlock is thinking and feeling.

The stories and adventures are thrilling and entertaining, yes. But his assessments of Sherlock’s character are really not very uplifting. John doesn’t strike me as an ‘analytic’ person, which in this case means that John’s theories about Sherlock are rather based on his personal emotions than logical conclusions. It’s sometimes even a bit difficult to follow the chain of events in John’s posts, because it’s usually so intertwined with his gossipy and out-of-context comments about Sherlock’s personality.

Unfortunately, Sherlock doesn’t seem to realise this projection, and neither do we see him address the issue of John’s misconceptions about him. I believe Sherlock takes many of John’s jibes and insults at him at face value, which – sadly - only adds on to his own self-loathing. I also think that Sherlock trying to draw conclusions about his mysterious friend through the written blog might be a mistake; it may eventually tell him a lot about John’s problems, but to see these he needs to look behind all the cover-up of blatant criticism of him, Sherlock. Maybe that’s what Sherlock’s trying to do in S4, by setting up scenarios in his mind palace?

Judging by how John comes across on the blog – and in the show – I think Sherlock’s claim “You’re abnormally drawn to dangerous people and places” in HLV is a perfectly sound analysis - on the surface. However, I think one must read between the blog lines in order to see other possible motives for John wanting to hang out with Sherlock. Reading John’s posts textually, he gives a strong impression that he’s there for the adventures; when there is danger in the air, John’s never bored.

In the comment section Sherlock never mentions John’s evaluation of his character. Instead he repeatedly criticises John’s writing style. I get the impression that this is Sherlock’s subtle way of getting back at John without having to directly address John’s misconceptions about him. As I said above, I think John’s writing style is very different from Watson’s style in canon; far less respect for Sherlock and a far more prosaic and simple language. Canons Watson seems careful not to speculate much, while John does this all the time.

Examples that form a pattern

There’s a good deal of praise of Sherlock in John’s posts, but it has almost exclusively to do with his admiration for Sherlock’s intellectual capacity; he’s repeatedly described as ‘clever’ and after the Fall, John claims that “nobody ever really outwitted Sherlock”. But in fact, I’ve found very few blog posts where John doesn’t also criticise or complain about Sherlock in some way or another. And there are only two posts (out of a total of 45) where John says something positive about Sherlock’s character:

1. After their first meeting he calls Sherlock “strangely likeable” and “charming”.

2. In what John meant to be his last post ever (he believed Sherlock was dead), he calls Sherlock “funny”, “charming” and “everything a good person should be”.

On the other hand, there seems to be nothing in John’s own (supposed) opinions about Sherlock that he regards as too negative or inappropriate to publish online. I very much think this is about self-loathing; he projects his own shortcomings on his “psychopath” friend and flatmate. Like it’s always a relief to have a scapegoat. An additional explanation might be that if John is closeted and in public denial about any romantic feelings for Sherlock, this makes him not want to appear too ‘besotted’ on the blog. ;) Thus, he might believe he needs to compensate the praise with criticism. Problem is, with this contradictory approach the readers might ask: What is John’s actual relationship to Sherlock? Handler? Hostage? Lover? Concerned citizen? It’s hard to claim he’s a ‘real’, professional colleague, since John’s actual profession is a medical doctor. But why would John be friends with a psychopath?

To seriously claim that his best friend is a psychopath seems perfectly OK to John, though – he does it repeatedly, and quotes Donovan’s claim that Sherlock “gets off on it”. At the end of A Study in Pink, John talks about Sherlock and the serial killer as if they were both psychopaths, one undistinguishable from the other:

“The taxi driver drove him to a college of further education so they could both educate each other on - well, on how their minds worked, I guess. It's not something I'll ever really understand and, to be honest, I'm not sure I ever want to understand it. To be that much of a psychopath. To be that above the rest of us.”

John even seems to pretend to prefer ignorance to understanding, only to find one more opportunity to blame Sherlock. Here are some examples of other things John calls Sherlock publicly on the Internet:

Arrogant

Rude

Imperious

Pompous

Madman

Freak

Childish and

Not safe.

He also says on the blog that Sherlock is spectacularly ignorant about some things, like the solar system.

Little Freudian slips

In the post titled The Speckled Blonde

(which is basically a re-count of canon’s The Speckled Band - SPEC) John’s closet angst reaches new heights:

Apparently John finds it important to preventively point out to his readers that he was not sharing a bed with Sherlock. Or, actually, that he even preferred sleeping on the floor before sharing a bed with his flatmate. The thing is, however, that the information that they spent the night in Julias bedroom isn’t at all necessary for the story, since - unlike in ACD Canon - nothing of importance apparently happened during that night. John actually tells us nothing about the night as such. The only ‘feature of interest’ is that Sherlock found a suspect bottle of bubble bath on the victim’s night table, which he took to Barts for analysis (and he was right - the bath had killed Julia by poisoning). Obviously, John could have described this crime scene investigation entirely without mentioning that they had spent the night there. So, if this little morsel of information was so embarrassing for him, why did he even include it? Hmm...

In my biased mind, I can only think of two alternative explanations (not mutually exclusive, though): 1. John had spent so much fantasies and subconscious energy on reliving this night that he just couldn’t keep this info entirely to himself (Freudian slip), or 2. Something actually happened that night - something that had no bearing on the case. After all, John never says that he slept on the floor, only that he was going to sleep on it. ;)

Speaking of bubble bath, I find the fact that Julia died from it slightly suggestive, and even metaphorical, as such. Because there’s also another case on John’s blog describing someone dying in a bath: The Deadly Tealights. The victim suffocated in a bathroom where the candles consumed all the oxygen. John has included this little comment:

Why does John bring up the idea that a person taking a bath with candles would potentially be judged? What has his own bath routines to do with the crime case? Does the victim really need John to find excuses for his private life? Methinks this rather might be John’s closet angst speaking again. Someone has tried to belittle John for liking baths, and apparently John seizes the opportunity to vent about it on the blog. Metaphorically, this tells me that the closet is suffocating for John, and that the ‘chemistry of love’ is involved.

John - The Moral Compass

John is often referred to as the part of the duo who a) is more sociable and b) works like a sort of moral guide to Sherlock. The detective, on the other hand, is shown as a “sociopath” who supposedly doesn’t understand this kind of things. And – to be honest – Sherlock doesn’t actively say much to contradict this perception; sometimes he even appears to agree with it.

(I think his actions should be a clue to the contrary, though).

According to the blog, John seems to believe he himself is the adult one in this acquaintance, the one who does understand the rules of society. He repeatedly calls Sherlock “childish”. Judging by John’s descriptions in the blog, one might almost think that John had been forced to hang out with Sherlock, trying to do the best of it. But seeing as it’s entirely voluntarily it’s a bit hard to understand, for example, how John can blame Sherlock for “leaving me and Sarah to be kidnapped” in The Blind Banker:

John makes is sound like Sherlock left them to the enemy deliberately, knowing that someone would come after them. But weren’t they at home, supposedly on a date? If John didn’t like it, couldn’t he have left any moment and gone out to continue the date he was supposed to? But no; John counts himself among the innocent persons whom Sherlock “involves in his adventures”:

After reading the whole of John’s blog, all I can say is that this guy is a living, breathing contradiction. How can he be Sherlock’s moral compass if his needle is spinning all the time? :))

In The Great Game John describes himself as just a “pawn” in Sherlock’s and the killer’s great game, equalling himself with the other victims. With his insinuations, he indirectly blames Sherlock for the death of 12 people and goes back to Sally Donovan’s “freak” accusations:

Another interesting bit is this, describing Sherlock’s reaction at the pool, when John for a moment appeared to be behind everything: “I should have been horrified that he'd even doubt me for a second…” Wait – what!? John is capable of telling the whole world the most damning rubbish about his friend, but if Sherlock for any second doubted John, he’d be horrified? This part is also of interest: “But the laser sight simply moved to Sherlock's head and I was forced to let go. For a second, I wondered if Sherlock would have done the same for me but then all I knew for certain was, at that moment, I knew I was going to die.”

Before that, John had just described what could easily be interpreted as Sherlock calmly trying to talk Moriarty out of having John killed, but to John this was just “The two men talked, both clearly pleased to…”. In John’s view, he was the only one who was forced to let go of the killer because of the threat to Sherlock. Honestly, who is it, between the two of them, that most appears to lack empathetic capacity?

Creds and Competence

John appears to be a rather honest, humble and straightforward in the show, quite competent in his medical profession, and in TSoT he is highly praised by Sherlock:

But on the blog John is more ambiguous, and he isn’t always modest. Sometimes he appears to enhance his own role in the crime solving and take credit also for things that are clearly Sherlock’s doing. For example, in The Great Game there’s this:

“Between us, we worked out that while Connie's death had been made to look like the result of a tetanus infection, it had actually been caused by poison - their houseboy, â–“â–“â–“â–“â–“, had overdosed her on Botox!”

But if we’re supposed to believe the show, John actually believed it was a tetanus infection, while Sherlock deduced and later demonstrated poison:

John also expresses a slightly childish vindictiveness in making a lot of fuss about Sherlock’s failures; every single time Sherlock can’t solve a case, John points it out on the blog with glee. It almost gives me the impression that the doctor is suffering from inferiority complex. He even uses “Sherlock Holmes Baffled“ as a title for one of their cases.

This seems to be written in jest, since Sherlock frequently is rude about other people’s lower intellectual capacity, but actually hates ‘not knowing’.

I admit that this may be funny to joke about once, but it gets a little tiresome that John has to point it out every time. Why does John even do this, even as Sherlock has explicitly asked him to not publish the unsolved cases? Which I assume would not be good for their business?

If John truly is Sherlock’s colleague, wouldn’t he also be more interested in helping to solve the cases, rather than talk about the failures? It seems to me that John is struggling so hard against his own feelings for Sherlock that he feels the need to provoke rather than help him.

The Most Inhuman Human

Sherlock’s supposed lack of humanity is a recurring theme for John; he claims that “people” want to know that Sherlock is human, as if anyone - on the blog or in the show - except John had ever questioned this.

I can’t remember anyone on the blog except John showing an interest in this issue, though. In the post Many Happy Returns he writes this (my bolding):

“Yet the video... it showed the other side to him. He was rude, yeah. Arrogant. Apparently lacking in anything resembling empathy. But I'd forgotten just how funny he could be. He was so charming. So... human. It's bizarre because most people would say he was the most inhuman person they'd ever met. But he wasn't.”

He wasn’t? Wow - great revelation, John! [sarcasm :)]. But who said that, actually? Not even the haters and trolls on John’s blog ever claimed Sherlock was inhuman. It’s one thing that Donovan and Anderson called him a freak and a psychopath, but John is the only character I can think of who has ever implied that Sherlock would not be a human being. Only John calls him a ‘machine’. Which is a load of BS of course; John really doesn’t strike me as a professional doctor when he says this, even less as a friend - always trying to mark the distance.

So what’s Sherlock’s ‘complete lack of empathy’ in that video actually about (mini-episode here)? Was it because he didn’t want to go to a birthday dinner with people? Hardly - John seems to understand this about Sherlock. Or was it maybe because of his comment: “How can John be having a birthday dinner? All his friends hate him!” Well, this probably hurt a bit (even if I rather think he sounds bitter and jealous - he wants John for himself ;) ). On the other hand, Sherlock then backtracks and seems to regret his little outburst:

Mary’s role in John’s life

The blog is where Mary Morstan appears to be introduced to John; on John’s first blog post about at least a year after Sherlock’s ‘death’, she suddenly just shows up in the comment section, sending him kisses and inviting him out:

John ignores her, though, and when his sister asks him who Mary is, he doesn’t answer. Mary seems to hang in there, however, and the next time she appears is on the Deadly Tealights post (the one with the dead flatmate in the suffocating closet bathroom). And now she’s called Mary Morstan. Next time is The Inexplicable Matchbox. Both times her only comment is ‘ignore the trolls’. John rather seems to ignore her, though. Finally, he finishes his Many Happy Returns post (which was supposed to be his last) with saying that he has now “found someone” (without naming them) and should concentrate on that.

All this is a little bit weird, though, considering Mary’s comment in TEH, when she is logged in and reading aloud from the editor of John’s blog: “The famous blog, finally!” As if she hadn’t already read all his posts and tried to interact with him on the blog? Hmm.

In the show Mary just seems to come from out of nowhere, suddenly showing up in the graveyard holding hands with John.

Her anonymity reminds me of Doyle’s treatment of Mary in canon, where she’s only mentioned by name when she’s still a client, before she marries Watson.

On the blog Mary is not mentioned by name until over a year after John met her, in spite of her presence in the comment section long before that. And it’s not until John’s first post after Sherlock’s return - The Empty Hearse - that John says something appreciative of her. Suddenly she is (still without name) "...the best thing that's ever happened to me. Sorry, Sherlock :)”. For the rest of the blog posts, John’s (very scarce) answers to Mary’s comments are never flirty or appreciative in the least. Mary’s own last comment, on the very last post - this time written by Sherlock who hacked the blog after John’s and Mary’s wedding - is this: “SHERLOCK! SHUT UP NOW!”

None of this gives me the impression that John has fallen in love with Mary. The silence with which he treats Mary on the blog rather makes me think of her as someone basically not very important; a sort of substitute in a desperate attempt to fill an emptiness in his life. And I think it might be significant that as soon as John recognises the existence of Mary in his life, he seems to use her as a sort of buffer towards Sherlock. A façade. First it’s the gleeful “Sorry Sherlock :)” comment above. Vindictive, it appears. And then, in the post Happily Ever After, John insists that his and Mary’s impending (heterosexual) marriage must clearly be the reason why Sherlock chose to help a gay couple getting together, one of them leaving an abusive marriage which was basically a façade. This whole ‘conclusion’ is so stupid that I’m rendered speechless.

Summary

To summarise - for those of you with enough patience to have followed all my ramblings in this marathon meta - I think the picture of John’s character that we can discern from reading up on the whole of his blog possibly tells us even more about him than the show. If the show reflects Sherlock’s mind, albeit almost entirely focused on his own perception of John Watson, this blog might actually give more insight into how John’s own mind works. I think it shows us someone who is struggling desperately with his own feelings. Someone who is trying to mark a distance that he believes is healthy for him, but that he actually doesn’t want, towards the object of his affection, by criticising them. The full-fledged, living, breathing contradiction that is John Watson comes to its full right by the blog. We could almost say he’s ‘human’ :). Kudos to Joe Lidster and the other showmakers for providing us with this gem.

Tagging some people who might be interested: @raggedyblue @ebaeschnbliah @gosherlocked @sagestreet @sarahthecoat @tjlcisthenewsexy @elldotsee @88thparallel @sherlock-overflow-error @yeah-oh-shit

#John's blog is important #John's blogging is his therapy

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mcrmadness · 3 years

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Hey friend! This isn't part of any ask game but I was thinking about it so I'm asking anyways :D out of Bela and Farin whose solo music do you like better? And which is your favourite solo song of each?

Hi!!!

I like Farin’s solo stuff more, definitely. And I actually like FU stuff much more than even FURT, Am Ende der Sonne being my favorite solo album of his (and it’s also the go-to album for me whenever I feel angry). I am also extremely fond of Berliner Schule.

Fun fact: It took very long for Fasztination Weltraum to open for me, I really liked “Herz? Verloren!” and its B-sides so when I finally got the full album to my hands, it was a bit of a turn-off and I was almost disappointed with it. Had to listen to it so many times in order to warm up and I still think it’s probably the worst FU/FURT album so far. There’s some gems ("iDisco", for example) in there but everything else is so... basic? Like, they just don’t make me feel almost anything at all. Not positive nor negative. Just nothing. (And pretty much the same happened with Farin’s songs on HELL apart from maybe like 1-2 songs...)

From Bela’s solo stuff I own the 1st and 2nd albums on cd and they’re okay. I liked Code B more than Bingo as there’s lots of skipping to do (for me), too. I think when his third album (and also the rest) came out, I was in the middle of my “not on the mood for any new music” so I did not check out any bands or artists I like no matter how many new albums would have come out so I never did that with bela's albums either. I did watch some music videos but I just didn’t like them at all (and the album name, I think it’s “Bye”? It gave me again even more anxiety than what I had of my own that year.) because honestly, country music is just not my thing. There’s a few music styles I just absolutely cannot stand and they are: schlager, rap/hip hop and country. Even if I'm a horse groom myself, I still cannot stand country music! :DDD

And about his later solo projects I don’t even have a clue what are those or how many albums he has even done. I probably should give them a try one day but I still haven’t had the motivation nor mood for that. I’m sometimes really bad at doing this. I mean, I meant to check out King Køng for YEARS and I did that only this year. And talking of King Køng, that’s not really my cup of tea. There were some okay songs but I have to say that “No More” sounds much better when it’s in the middle of those die ärzte interviews, and it’s actually a very anticlimatic song when you hear it as a whole between all those other songs on the album. I guess I have to listen to these albums a couple of times more still, but let’s just say that I was listening to these while I was drawing and the 3rd album got eventually so boring for me that I had to quit listening to it before it even ended because I was getting way too restless and needed something faster to go with my drawing in order to keep myself focused and from becoming (mentally) hyperactive.

^Here's that part of my collection so far. (Btw I have never listened to FURT's Livealbum of Death despite owning it, idk why. I also don't have FURT's live dvd because I just would not be able to focus on that. I sometimes have trouble even focusing on dä live dvds and other concert videos but those I at least have watched all, and most of them at least once as a whole without skipping.)

***

And then the other part of your question - my favorite song from both.

Pudelsong from FU!!!

youtube

I also love songs like Dusche, or Karten. Both also have awesome lyrics (Farin's one of the rare people who writes lyrics even I can sometimes understand), I think Dusche was the first I saw with English translation and holy shit that is just genius and I still can't get over it :DDD I love surrealistic humour and stuff like that, idek how to call that really! But I like it. And Karten is quite relatable sometimes and the instrumental solo is just amazing. I also like the story in Die Leiche, I've just always been drawn to "creepy tragic stories that won't really explain themselves" like that, same with the song Schatten from Berliner Schule. It's just weird that I'm drawn to such lyrics/stories when I absolutely hate any kind of poetic "oh try and interpret me" lyrics because I don't want to fucking guess anything, I want to KNOW. But then I do love a good mystery if it has something to do with death or murder ::D

---

And from Bela I think Wiehr Thind Ssuper is my favorite? At some point I used to think that Zappingsong was my fave but I just listened to it and not anymore? Anyway - that beeping in the beginning has also been somewhere else, maybe in a video game or so and it always makes me think of this song. From Code B my fave song is Schwarz/Weiss. I've no clue about the lyrics in any of his songs so we're going soundwise here now.

And then I have to mention Tag mit Schutzumschlag (thanks I can never write that name down without looking it up from somewhere first) because when I saw the video for the first time ever, the little Tim Burton fangirl in me got loose:

youtube

Mainly because my FAVORITE SONG (or scene) from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie/soundtrack is the Mike Teavee song and one part of Bela's video is made to happen in the same room/scene :D They've also recreated some scenes and character designs so well from the Burton movie.

Lol my answer got a bit long again but did you really expect anything else from me? XD

#septicace #answered asks #farin urlaub #fu/furt #bela b

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

All in the Family

Chapter 88: The Pensieve

Sirius didn't know how he was supposed to feel when Peter turned the tables on them and asked to be given some space, but he knew what he did feel. Relief. He'd walked away without a word, hardly aware of his surroundings as he sought out the most secluded space he could find, he'd all but curled up under the desk a second after Peter was done speaking.

He felt like he'd betrayed Prongs at the upsurge of protective he'd felt, hearing of You-Know-Who torturing Wormtail. The rat deserved it of course, and much worse! But, he argued back with himself, it should come from him, them. He was the only one to hurt his friends...he scowled at himself, glad there wasn't a mirror handy or he'd have likely broken it. He'd taken countless revenge on many a foolhardy student trying to curse Peter and Remus in retaliation for whatever he and James had done, but this was no longer a school yard problem, and he'd get more than detention if he told the Dark Lord to stay away from Peter. If he cared enough at all to do that, it was the whelp's own fault going to him...

Remus sat down carefully beside him, and then brazenly took his hand and held it carefully in his lap like spun glass. Sirius did not protest, but in fact smiled just a bit, imagining James and Peter coming around the desk to see this display. That would be fun to laugh off or talk themselves out of.

The momentary wave of amusement left him feeling more wrong footed than ever. "I want things to go back to normal," he snapped, before he forced a scowl into place and jerked his head in the direction he still knew he was, "well, almost normal-" he stopped himself abruptly, his gut clenching painfully at the look on Peter's face as he'd heard of his future a haunting image. Peter regretted it, he had from the moment they'd heard of it, but this had made it more real to all of them like nothing had before. They could say James was going to die, but so long as he stood between them all it had always felt more like a figment, a threat. That, had been all too real.

"Do you really still blame him?" Remus asked quietly.

"You don't?" Sirius returned sullenly, poking his head around the corner and squeezing his hand, watching Peter and Regulus talking, actual smiles on both their faces. He sighed heavily and said cuttingly, "okay, no. Not, I mean not really, more I'm, just tired. Tired of, this," he gestured to Bagman's office, a place he'd have drooled to get to before all this madness started. "Tired of being mad," he finished wearily. "The only person who I want to be mad at anymore is, V-Voldemort."

Remus flinched uneasily, but didn't protest either, they had to start somewhere.

"That's, a start," Remus nodded, still holding his hand firmly, giving his fingers a squeeze, "but Sirius, we can't just, go back to the way things were before."

"I know that," Sirius sighed.

Remus had to keep going though, get it off his chest in the momentary peace. "I wouldn't want things to go back to 'normal' anyways, not really. I, didn't trust you Sirius, I didn't believe you, and that's one of the many, many problems about this future. Something has to change."

"What though?" His voice sounded small, he was watching James, trying to get Evans's attention. "I don't want to lose anymore," he finished in a whisper, eyes flickering to Regulus, who was now chuckling softly at whatever Peter had just said. His, friend, looked quite pleased with himself, and Sirius wondered how often Peter made them laugh instead of being the punchline. He squeezed Remus's hand back and feared letting go now more than ever.

"Change doesn't mean lose," Remus tried to pacify, but there wasn't much hope in his own voice. It was hard to imagine how they were going to get through this without losing something, someone.

Lily groaned in pain once more, slowly forcing herself to sit up and take the precious time to deduce they were in an office now and nothing else more dangerous about, before slamming her eyes shut and rubbing small, soothing circles into her temples. What she wouldn't give for a Headache Solution, she could have whipped that up by her third week in school, all she needed was a little Armadillo Bile to get started-

"Like some help there Evans?"

Well, maybe there was another way to get some tension out. "Come another step closer Potter and you'll lose that hand." She opened her eyes in time to see the digits recoiling away and smiled with satisfaction, that headache was fading away already.

He still bounced on his heels in front of her for a moment, that pretentious smile still stuck in place as he watched her get herself to her feet. She looked quickly around to see they were in a very large office indeed, more than twice the size of their average classroom, with the walls and nearly every available surface covered in Quidditch memorabilia.

She grumbled at this misfortune, but found she was the only one who was. Alice had Frank by the hand, he was nodding politely with a slightly terrified look on his face from Alice's intensity as she gave him an in-depth account of something to do with the Quaffle in an enclosed case, the year beneath it clearly meant something to her. Regulus Black was running his hands over some Quidditch robes that were worth more than her house, and Peter Pettigrew was giving him a hesitant tap on the shoulder. She was surprised for a moment not to spot the other two, but looking around with purpose now spotted the two sets of shoes peeking out behind the desk nearly buried under paperwork. She didn't know what they'd found to interest them so much, but clearly Potter didn't care either as he continued trying to engage her.

"Here you go Evans," he presented her with the book with the same gusto as if he were proposing with it instead of a ring, and no she hadn't been imagining what flamboyant and over-the-top way he'd do that too so she could find another new way to hex him. "I know this isn't really your scene, so I thought I'd let you have this chapter while we actually enjoy ourselves."

"How thoughtful," she scoffed, snatching it away anyways. He was wrong, as usual, she wouldn't mind being in this place for the rest of their journey if they could, given alternatives. However, if they ever wanted this to end, someone would have to be able to pay attention to this thing. "It's a good thing somebody here isn't a nut like you lot, or you'd still be stuck on the first book."

"I'll always be happy to have you along Evans," he grinned, and the chapter title caught in her throat as she had the misfortune of looking at him when he said that, and seeing just how sincerely he meant that. Really? After everything that had been going on, he still meant that? Was taking the time to pay her any mind at all! It was truly the most baffling thing Merlin himself couldn't answer.

"The Pensive," she said loudly and with purpose, her skin prickling uncomfortably as he leaned against a full-body figurine of some likely famous Quidditch player whom he wasn't looking twice at, eyes completely riveted on her.

Regulus was now running his hand reverently along the smooth cloth emblem of the English National Quidditch team. Maybe his parents would be just as proud if he brought fame to their name once more by joining a professional team...

He startled in surprise at the light tap on his shoulder, turning around wearily to find Peter watching him with a sort of awkward smile on his face. "So, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Regulus blinked quizzically at him for a moment, they were almost the same highest despite the age difference he vaguely noticed, before answering, "we're in Bagman's office?"

Peter looked around himself properly before he laughed, and it brought the first hint of color back into his face. The guy looked a mess, like he really had just been brutally tortured with a forbidden curse instead of just hearing about it.

Regulus stepped to the side to show the signature just under the stamp, "nearly everything in here's signed by either Bagman or someone he was on a team with, couple of rivals too. The desk means this is either his study, or his office at work."

Peter almost beamed as he nodded, but didn't really look surprised. "Darn, now you gone and ruined what I came over here to say."

Regulus bit at his lip for only a moment before he blurted out, "why are you over here?"

Peter didn't look nearly as taken aback as Regulus would have thought, like he'd been expecting the question, but Regulus explained himself anyways. "Not that I mind, it's just, I mean after..." he trailed off awkwardly, imagining his father striking the back of his head for stuttering and not finishing a sentence. 'You should not speak until you intend to be heard!' For some reason talking to this lad had never felt forced though.

"I asked them to give me some space," Peter answered quietly, his eyes looking intently at their shoes now. "I didn't want them to feel obligated to, I mean it's not like I don't deserve, I'll just take the fact that they're talking to me now and not go badgering for more until-" He stopped, swallowed, and didn't seem keen on continuing.

"Until, what?" Regulus couldn't help but ask without thinking, again. There was a hunger deep inside of him he recognized only in Peter. While everyone else continued treating this like a game, or an unfortunate accident, they alone felt their realities drawing all too near.

"Until, we know more," Peter finished, looking at him again. It wasn't true hope he felt, but it was something other than the misery that had been clouding him since his betrayal. Maybe if he served enough penance in this future, maybe if they found some proof this didn't have to happen, maybe if he did try something new, like making a friend he'd never have considered before. Maybe...

James couldn't help but laugh affectionately at his future son, this book really was a whirlwind. He was glad Evans didn't seem to notice how shaken up he still felt about the dream they'd just heard about, instead he smiled at her mutterings of Dumbledore dismissing Harry and taking care of Fudge first, they were of the same mind on that. So his son decided to help himself to Dumbledore's pensieve, and her look at him also seemed to have them agreeing he was a chip off the old block.

The pensive wasn't going to be much for a laugh though, he could already tell that what with Harry landing in the Ministry courtrooms of all places. His stomach clenched uncomfortably as he remembered Sirius had never even been given a trial in this place, and to stop himself running to him or vomiting himself, he concentrated harder on Evans. He wished he could play with her long red hair as much as she did, holding the book uncomfortably and fidgeting with strands across her eyes. He forced himself to wonder on why she didn't wear it back more rather than the uncomfortable story being played out of Karkaroff being dragged in and all that followed.

Lily wouldn't have admitted if she were in that chair herself how much Potter was distracting her, still watching her so openly like he did all the time anyways- but what was this? Karkaroff had named Snape as a Death Eater, and Dumbledore had absolved him? Something painful flooded through her as she read that, and then reread it again a dozen more times to herself. There it was in plain text, a confirmation and condemnation in one sentence. Sev was going to be a Death Eater, but he'd also leave.

"Evans?" She startled, surprised she didn't rip the page right out as she looked once more at his hazel eyes. He seemed to have spoken out of turn though, he looked just as surprised as she was. There was something, vulnerable, he clearly hadn't wanted her to see as he just as quickly turned away, leaving her with nothing to gape at. She knew what he'd been thinking though, as he turned to watch Peter Pettigrew once more.

Her throat still felt swollen and painfully tight, it should have been easier to keep going now that he wasn't watching her every move, but she somehow felt more exposed than ever. What would Sev say if he were here? Would he defend himself, or be proud of this path his life had taken? The only way she'd be able to ask would be to finish this and get back.

The next memory was only mildly distracting, Bagman, a Death Eater? She was aware the man was an idiot, but he really didn't seem the type, but then, why was he so intent on trying to help Harry this year? That still made no sense, but he was absolved of the crimes easily enough, and his Quidditch fame kept him from getting even the threat of Azkaban.

Alice stopped abruptly rhapsodizing over her favorite save ever recorded and looked to the book in Lily's hand with a sinking feeling for how this memory was starting. Frank looked just as concerned as she, Crouch had his own son on trial, this was not destined to end well.

When the time came for Crouch to state the crime, Lily didn't even seem able to say it. Potter even reached over and gave her a rough pat on the back like she was physically choking and she didn't even react! Instead she finally dragged her eyes up, right to them, and with white trembling lips whispered the slated crime.

For the second time in a very short period, the air itself went dead. Neither Alice, nor Frank even seemed to know what to do with themselves as so much information was dumped on their heads like a sledgehammer. Aurors, them? It was an idea they'd both nursed, but for the reward of that being the price of their sanity? An answer as much as a curse to why they were no more in their son's life than Lily and Potter.

Frank would have started crying, more out of frustration than anything. The Cruciatus Curse, another unforgivable curse. He'd gotten a first-hand account only minutes ago hearing that used on Peter. He felt cold all over as he wondered of his mother, and how Neville's reaction to them being mentioned before made him want to be sick. The Unforgivable Curses seemed slated to haunt every corner of his life. What had he dragged Alice into just by falling in love with her?

She in turn just felt quietly furious, like she'd drag anyone who looked twice at them to Azkaban right now. She told Lily quietly, calmly even to keep going, and she'd say it a thousand more times herself if she had to like she had back when this started. This was not their future, it didn't have to be, and if that little Junior kid had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, or been involved, she needed to find out every detail and make it right for her, Frank, and any possibility of a future.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #HP #All in the Family #GoF #Marauders #reading the books #Jilly #Wolfstar #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #James Potter #Lily Evans #Frank Longbottom #Alice Smith #Regulus Black #Peter Pettigrew

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too-much-fandoms-trash · 4 years

Text

MBAV theory and ending

Hello everyone ! Here I am to discuss our beloved but too soon cancelled show : My Babysitters’s A vampire’s. Mostly its ending but not only. Damn you Disney for that cliffhanger...

Warning, it’s a really long post ! It’s around 2k words. I didn’t put it under a cut, but I can if asked. The first part (half ?) of this post is something about the MBAV universe, that I use to explain my theory about the ending. Then I will explain it, what happened and all with that, and they a small paragraph of what could have been the beggining of season 3. I’d be really happy if you guys read, and what do you think about it. So, here we go ! (Please forgive the typos)

Anyway, before talking about the ending I want to speak about the vampires and their so called “immortality”. Throughout all the show it was clearly stated that all vampires are immortal. Yet, we see a lot of them dying (killed by wooden stakes, holy water, special daggers, etc.). Sooo, are they really that immortal, or can they just live as long as possible until they’re killed ? The show doesn’t answer it, and we never saw a vampire that was killed coming back. (Except for Jesse, but his case is a bit special, with the Cubile Animus and all, so we’re not talking about it here). But ! The movie answers it, more specificly Sarah. Remember the scene when they are at Ethan’s house and they are attacked by the pizza guy, who happens to be a vampire sent by Jesse ? Yeah ? Cool, because it tells us an intersting thing. So, Sarah kills him with a wooden stake, and a bit later Ethan asks if he’s really dead. Sarah then answers, and I quote : “ Not...dead, no, just in some kinds of limbo for souls.”

Oh boy. So, it’s clear : when vampires are killed, they don’t die. Their souls go into a limbo. But first of all, what is a limbo, you may ask ? I’m going to answer as simply as I can. A limbo is something from the catholic theology. Well, not only, but in the case of the show, it’s in this sense; let’s not forget that vampires can’t approach someone who’s holding a christian cross or just making a cross with sticks or whatever (I’m almost totally sure we see it in MBAV, but correct me if I’m wrong on that). So, in catholic theology, the “Underworld” is composed in 4 parts : Hell as we know it (”Hell of the Damned”), the Purgatory, the Limbo of the Fathers and the Limbo of Infants. Here, we don’t care about the second limbo, because it is for children who weren’t baptized. So the Limbo of the Fathers it is ! That’s still not very helpful to you, I know, but I’m getting to it. So, what is it ? It’s a place where the souls of those who have commited sins but died in the friendship of God (I’m quoting wikipedia here, ahem). So, bad people but that could still go to Heaven but only if Mr. Jesus Christ come to pardon them. But I may be going a bit too far for MBAV here. Let’s continue, shall we ? Vampires are by definition a sin, for the Religion. So, it’s clear they’re not going to Heaven. But, they are immortal beings, so it’s not as if they could go to hell anyway. However, the souls of the killed vampire have to go somewhere, so they go in the limbo. Why not the Purgatory ? I don’t really know, and my theories are not really useful in the point I’m trying to make here about MBAV. And I probably already digressed too much... but hey, a little culture never hurts.

So ! It could stop here : the souls of the killed vampires go into that limbo because they can’t go anywhere else, and it’s done. But Sarah’s sentence is not done ! Just after the limbo thing, she says : “But he won't be back here.” If she just said that the pizza vampire guy wouldn’t be back, it wouldn’t change anything, it would just emphasize that he’s dead. However, notice the “here” at the very end of the sentence. Just that little word changes the meaning ! He won’t be back here, but he will be back somewhere else. Then, we understand that vampires are really immortal ! First they are “killed”, their soul go into the limbo for an unknown time, and then they come back. As I just said, we don’t know how long their soul stay in the limbo. Sure, we never saw vampires come back on the show, but I think it’s just because it’s not in the plot. I would say it takes a few days for the soul to come back, maybe weeks but not more. Maybe it depends of the cause of death ? I don’t know. Remember that it’s just me founding out things out of just one line, I can only theorize what I don’t know.

Well, it’s great that we found that. But... what for ? Okay, we learned something but it doesn’t really apply to the MBAV story / plotline... Or does it ?

Now, I’m bringing on the table “The Date To End All Dates, Part 2″, aka the awful cliffhanger that we all hate deeply. That left us with SO many questions, and no answers. This post is now going to be about “what would have happened in season 3 episode 1 (and possibly 2 too) ?” Here’s a quick recall of how the episode ended : VP Stern, Ethan, Benny, Sarah and Jesse are at the Council and there is a big boom all over White Chapel. Anastasia, Erica and Rory are in what looks like the mountains, at least they’re not in White Chapel. Anastasia said she was waiting for the explosion to happen, and visibly just wanted to go far enough to not be in it with the remaining vampires (are Rory and Erica the two last of the Council that could make it with her ?). So, she knew what Stern wanted to do. What was his plan already ? Jesse tells us that the Council has a broadcast system, originally used to communicate with other covens, that Stern would use to spread the Lucifractor’s power all over White Chapel and thus, killing all vampires in town. But, aren’t vampires immortal, able to come back and all, as we’ve seen before ? As you know it, the Lucifractor is designed especially to kill vampires definitely by “absorbing the dark energy that keep vampires alive”, to quote Jesse. We saw Stern use it on vampires, it “shoots” like a purple lightnight, and the vampire turns to dust. So, the explosion happened. What would be the most logical thing to happen after that cliffhanger, aka season 3 ep 1 ? Main theory would be that the Lucifractor worked, which implies Sarah and Jesse being dead, along with the other remaining White Chapel vampires in town (but not Anastasia, Rory and Erica, because they are “safe” far away). Benny, Ethan and Stern on the other hand would be alive, because the Lucifractor only kills vampires and doesn’t affect humans. But... is it really what happened ? Of course not.

First of all, it is a Disney Channel show. That cliffhanger was made in the optic of having a third season, to continue the story. The show would never have killed one of its main character, especially Sarah. Count it as an argument or not, it’s true. Second of all, I bet the explosion that happened didn’t go the way Stern intended. The plan was just to broadcast the Lucifractor’s power, nothing more. But if you don’t remember, Ethan went into Stern’s mind just before the explosion. I won’t describe the entire scene, but basically Ethan tells Stern that he is just a human. That without the Lucifractor, he is totally powerless. Ethan emphasize the fact that Stern is nothing without the Lucifractor, in a cocky and clever way. And let’s not forget it’s Ethan, the “brain” one of the group. Yet he wasn’t panicking, he was confident in what he was doing, going into Stern’s mind. He had a plan. What next ? Ethan’s remarks kind of angered Stern and he tells Ethan “Stop saying that ! I can draw all the energy I need from this and then the power will be in me and I can get rid of this little bubble.” Ethan says a last thing that pushes Stern over the edge. Stern stops what he was doing (which is shooting Jesse and Sarah with the Lucifractor, who are okay just after that) and then, he takes the Lucifractor and makes the mistake. He takes the power for himself. He feels it, he says “I can feel the power, the deepest darkness. You’re such a fool, you’ll never stop me now !”. Then, still with confidence, Ethan tells the other to run, and the explosion happens.

I believe that Ethan’s plan worked. I believe he wanted Stern to take the Lucifractor’s power to himself. By dragging him down, saying he couldn’t handle it... and it worked ! Stern thought he could take it and be all powerful and everything. But... he’s still just a human. And a normal human can’t physically handle all that power, that darkness. The explosion wasn’t Stern broadcasting the Lucifractor’s power, it was him. Stern’s body couldn’t bare all that and, because of the Lucifrator, exploded. But, theeen, what if if it had the same effect, and still killed Sarah and Jesse ? To that I will answer that even if the explosion looked the same as it would if the plan worked (as Anastasia is probably thinking), it is probably way less powerful than if should have been. First because Stern was trying to take the power, the Lucifractor wasn’t in “attack mode” (I think ?). But mostly because Stern took the Lucifractor in his hands, therefore ending the “broadcast” thing. My two other arguments are that, well it’s still a Disney Channel show, and Ethan’s confidence. As I said, he pulled a very clever move. He probably remembered Jesse telling him that Stern’s great great grandfather was mostly hella greedy of power, more than willing to clean White Chapel from vampires. It’s still canon that Ethan has a crush on Sarah and that he cares deeply for her (as Grandma Weir says, more for her than anyone ! (Just because it’s canon doesn’t mean I agree with that, okay ? But that’s what it said, and I’m working with the canon)). So he definitely didn’t waste precious time running away if he didn’t have a smart plan that he knew would work.

Hey, I’m still not done ! God that’s a long post. But then... what happened to Jesse and Sarah ? Yes, I said that the explosion was less powerfull than intended, but it still happened. Remember the first part of this post ? That’s right. The limbo for souls. That’s where I believe Sarah and Jesse would have been in the beggining of season 3. Sure, they would be weak. But they wouldn’t be dead. Now, that’s just my theory coming. I don’t really have the canon help anymore at this point, so here’s what I think is the most logic thing that could have happened.

Boom. They explosion went all over White Chapel. Benny and Ethan are knocked off and wake up after a few hours, possibly at dawn. Because hey, that’s still an explostion. Ironically, Stern’s the one who turned into dust. His body really couldn’t handle that. Benny and Ethan are relived, Sarah’s body is still here and intact, yet unconscious next to Jesse’s. But even after hours, they don’t wake up. Benny and Ethan kinda panic, and go to Evelyn (grandma Weir). She has theories but isn’t an expert in vampires, so can’t really help. The plan is to find Anastasia, Rory and Erica. They believed the explosion went as planned and went away. As Anastasia said before, they’ll just wait until Stern dies of old age. (Erica and Rory want to go back to check on Sarah, but missy vampire child tells them she is dead, and with her mind control thing, they can’t do anything). But Sarah is not dead, at least that’s what Ethan says, but they could start to loose hope at some point, and the guys are on their way to find Anastasia, because if anyone knows something about what to do, it’s her (they also want to have their friends back). They find her, and here’s the what happens : Sarah (as well as Jesse) are stuck in the limbo. Normally, they would be able to “come back to life” by themselves, but the Lucifractor weakened them, therefore they can’t escape the limbo. At least, not alone. It’s up to the fang gang to go there and bring their friend back (and they hesitate, but bring back Jesse too). They go back to White Chapel, and season 3 continues.

Now, I’m done ! I really hope I didn’t annoy you guys with my long post. If you like my theory, I’d be very happy if you tell me, I might try to write it, as a real fanfiction more than just a paragraph. Please, tell me what you think about it !

MBAV will ride again !

#my babysitter's a vampire #my babysitter is a vampire #mbav #benny weir #ethan morgan #sarah fox #rory keaner #erica jones #mbav headcanons #mbav theories #mbav season 3 #mbav thought #grandma weir

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lihikainanea · 4 years

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Could we please have some angst?? Maybe Bill was spotted out with a beautiful actress or his ex, but Tiger wasn’t aware of that meeting which breaks her heart because she thinks that their thing is probably going to end now that Bill is interested in going out someone else.

oh fuck, my poor wee heart.

I’ll bet it kind of happens when he’s away too, right?

Follow me down this angsty rabbit hole. Let’s go with the ex theory. The Case of The Ex (where my early 2000s kids at? Anyone?). Maybe it’s one of those terrible ex’s too. I low key kind of love Alexis Knapp--girl’s got some fucking edge to her, something just a little insane--but apparently she’s the one he was talking about when he referenced some seriously fucked up, dangerous relationship in a few interviews. Which isn’t cool--but let’s go with something like that. Maybe it was when Bill was in his early 20′s, there’s still a lot you learn about yourself in that time and you get into bad relationships. Damaging relationships. You’re still figuring yourself out, still figuring out this whole adulthood thing, and you’re bound to make mistakes. I don't think anyone can be faulted for being a shitty person on some level in their early 20s, and for some reason I think Bill might have been a big time shitty dude.

But look--his ex is some big time actress. Beautiful, by all accounts. Maybe their relationship was pretty hyped by the press too--the paps would legitimately follow them, mostly for her, whether or not they were called. And tiger’s at home, missing her big dude, catching up on trashy reality TV and that’s when she starts to see it--pictures. A picture of him, hugging her. Laughing. A lot of pictures.

And what tiger doesn’t know is that Bill was out to dinner that night, a cast dinner, and his ex happened to be at the restaurant. What tiger doesn’t know is Bill’s blood ran cold when he saw her, he tried to avoid her, did anything he could to just leave before she saw him--but it didn’t work. What tiger doesn’t know is that Bill cringed, gritted his teeth, tried to step away from the hug but the girl flung herself at him with too much enthusiasm. Tiger didn’t see his grimace, didn’t see that the hug lasted barely a nano second before he pulled away and stepped back from her. Tiger didn’t see his eyes noticing the paps in the bushes, tiger didn’t see that that’s what made him force a smile. Tiger didn’t see that the entire interaction lasted about 4 seconds.

And tiger didn’t hear the conversation, didn’t hear the girl tell Bill that they should reconnect, go for dinner while he’s in town.

Most importantly, tiger didn’t hear Bill’s venomous response.

“No,” he deadpanned, “And get fucked.”

Tiger didn’t see him walk away and not even spare the girl a glance.

Tiger only saw the pictures.

And listen, I talk a lot about tiger wallowing in her own emotions, becoming a martyr. But let’s talk about tiger’s fire here. Because she’s still her, she’s still every bit the terrifying ball of fury that Bill fell in love with, and the one thing that will get tiger’s blood boiling every fucking time is competition. And women don’t compete with women--that’s lame. But tiger only ever HEARD of this girl from Bill, knew how she hurt him, knew the kind of hell he fought through, and this girl is now thousands of miles away putting her hands on what is tiger’s.

Tiger wants to kill them both. And she doesn’t even bother taking a few calming breaths before she calls him--is it a FaceTime? Oh, it’s a FaceTime. She wants to see his face while she destroys him.

And he answers--happy and cherubic, a big smile on his face.

“Hi kid,” he says cheerfully.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she seethes.

Bill is confused.

“You tall fucking fuck,” she says, “Fuck you, you seriously think that--”

“Whoa, kid,” he grimaces, “Easy on the fucks.”

“Easy?” she spits, “Oh, okay. Let’s talk easy.”

And I’ll bet she just goes off. And somewhere in there, Bill finally figures out what’s going on. Because in between all the fucks, she relays the story as she knows it--just you know, it’s a much more elaborate version than what actually happened. And Bill? Ohhh, tiger’s anger is revving him up. But it’s revving up every single dominant trait in him, and all he’s trying to do is get to a place quiet enough where he can snap back--put her in her place the way she’s practically begging for it, and not be heard. He finally ducks away somewhere isolated.

“Enough,” he interrupts her, “You really think this is the way it’s gonna go, kid?”

“You’re the one who--”

“Listen to me,” he hisses, “Tiger, there is going to be a boarding pass in your email in the next hour. If you want to come at me like this, then you can fucking do it to my face.”

“Fuck you,” she spits, “I’m not fucking--”

“You’re getting on the plane, tiger,” he snaps.

“Fucking make me.”

“Fucking try me, kid,” he growls.

She hangs up. The boarding pass comes in 10 minutes later, without a note. And later on that night, before bed, Bill calls her again--because he won’t ever let her go to bed without calling her, but tiger is MUCH more petty and she lets it go to voicemail.

“If you’re not in my hotel room tomorrow night, you’re in big, big trouble kid,” his velvety smooth voice threatens, “Goodnight, I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And she almost doesn't do it. She almost stays home--but her only motivation is that she wants to look at him, wants to stand there in front of him and rip him apart for this.

And Bill’s not stupid either--he recognizes her anger, but he also recognizes its true form. Insecurity. Vulnerability. (And it’s not ever an excuse to yell, but tiger isn’t yelling at HIM. She’s also not calling him names, because that’s never okay.)

And ohhhh boy, when tiger gets to the hotel room the next day, Bill is just waiting for her. Already nursing his third glass of scotch, tiger opens the door and unceremoniously throws her bag to the floor. Whips her jacket off, slams it on the bed.

“You want to talk, bud?” she snaps, “Let’s fucking talk.”

“Oh no no, kid,” Bill says with mock amusement, “You seemed to have so much to say to me yesterday, so you’ll be doing the talking.”

But look, tiger is just...tiger is a little less bold when she’s there in front of him--just like Bill knew she would be. She’s a little less courageous, like he knew she would be. And the power dynamic is shifting again, back to its natural state when it comes to these two, and both can feel it. Bill stands then, draws up to his full height. He walks slowly towards her, glaring her down the whole time, and suddenly tiger is losing her nerve in a big way. He doesn’t stop until he’s right in front of her, glowering down at her, their chests touching.

“Talk,” he demands. Tiger swallows hard, tries to grasp on to any ounce of anger that is rapidly leaving her body.

“She--”

“Who?” Bill snaps. Tiger makes a frustrated noise.

“You know who,” she says, shoving at his chest and turning away--but he grabs her elbow, whips her back around to face him.

“Who, tiger?” he asks harshly.

“Her,” she barks out, “Your ex.”

“What about her?” he says.

“The two of you,” tiger tries to keep her tone harsh, accusatory, angry--but it’s not working.

“What about it?”

“Fucking having dinner like old times, eh?” she snaps and shoves him away, but Bill’s not having it. He regains his footing and slams her back into the wall, grabbing her face in his hand.

“What did you see?” he asks. Tiger tries to shake out of his grip but it’s too tight.

“The two of you,” she snarls, “At dinner, having a great time.”

Bill jams his knee between hers, pinning her.

“What did you see?” he demands again.

“You and her,” she says, “In love like you used to be, you fucking--”

“Tiger,” he snaps, “I don’t give a shit what you think happened. What did you see?”

He’s trying to get a point across. Trying to make her realize that her mind filled in a million blanks for her, and blew this entire thing way out of proportion.

“Photos,” she says, and her answer this time is much gentler, “Photos of you and her. You were laughing, and you hugged her.”

He steps away from her then, shoves down on her shoulders to put her on her knees.

“No,” she fights back, swats him away. But he overpowers her, hooks a foot behind hers so she falls in a heap, and he grabs her face in his hands. He looks angry, he looks like a man on fire, and his grip is harsh.

“Four seconds,” he growls, “That entire interaction lasted four seconds. I wasn’t at dinner with her, I was at dinner with the cast and she happened to be at the same restaurant.”

Tiger swallows hard, but he’s not letting up. She reaches a hand up to try and touch him in some way--his chest, his arm, but he smacks it away and grabs her face again.

“Look at me,” he demands, “I didn’t hug her. She saw the paparazzi and went for it--I tried to step back, step out of the way, but she lunged. I laughed to not cause more of a scene, tiger.”

His eyes are unblinking, intense as they bore into hers.

“And when she asked to see me again, you know what I told her? I told her to get fucked, tiger. I don’t ever want to see her again,” he says.

Tiger stays silent, tries to hold his gaze.

“Four seconds,” he repeats.

He lets her go then, releases his grip on her face and stands back up. He goes to pour another scotch, but when tiger puts a foot on the floor to stand he snaps his fingers at her.

“No no, you can go ahead and stay like that for awhile,” he says. But tiger can’t.

“Yellow,” she mumbles, and Bill turns to her immediately. He softens, walking over to help her stand and she keeps her hands on his arms so he stays close.

“Is that really what happened?” she asks lowly, “That’s all?”

“That’s all, kid,” he says.

“I thought that...” she pauses, takes a deep breath, “I thought that you maybe started to want...something else. Someone else.”

“I don’t,” he says softly.

“I thought that maybe we were...that this was done.”

“It’s not.”

“I thought that maybe you didn’t want me anymore,” she says, and it breaks his heart. He ducks his head, bending to catch her gaze.

“I do,” he says, stroking his thumb across her cheek.

“And god she’s such an asshole,” tiger says, and Bill chuckles at that.

“She is,” he agrees, but then he takes her face gently in his hands again and gives her a sweet kiss.

“You, kid,” he says simply.

Tiger sighs, nodding as she pulls him in for another kiss.

#angst #bill skarsgard #bill skarsgard drabble #BFF!Bill

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melodypond-thewomanwhomarriedme · 3 years

Note

Hiiii, I can’t decide if I need this to be mattex or River/Docotr but #11 and #35 🥺

#35: “Maybe I should get you a collar so you don’t forget who you belong to.”/Mattex

They’re playing a game. Matt quite likes this game, though he would never admit it to Alex. She delights in making him furious by flirting with everyone and strutting around with her hips swaying side to side and making him salivate from across the room.

The game started last month. Alex was trying her best to make Matt jealous and it worked - she paid dearly for her cheek and disobedience when he took her back to his flat. Sometimes he can still see the very faint imprint of his hands on her arse, something that never fails to arouse him.

This is the third time she’s doing this, and clearly she’s pulling all the punches. Already he’s seen her touch a man’s arm, whisper in his ear and laugh that little enchanting laugh that puts everyone who hears it under her spell. The twinkle in her eye betrays the excitement she feels at what is sure to happen at the end of the night - and to be honest, he is tempted to withdraw and do nothing just to teach her a lesson.

But he doesn’t have it in him to upset Alex like that. And really, he can’t contemplate tonight ending without fucking Alex really, really hard.

Her colourful dress makes her stand out against the backdrop of women in skimpy clothes. Compared to the rest, a lot of her is covered but Matt can’t seem to draw his attention away from the little things - things like the dip of her collarbone, the shape of her lips, her smooth jawline and the way her dress nips at her waist and flares at her hips. He especially likes that she’s showing her legs today, something she does far too rarely for him.

She steps even closer to the man she’s talking to and leans in close, whispering something in his ear and hitting his chest with laughter at his response. She throws her head back and the lovely shape of her neck is exposed - Matt’s head fits perfectly in that space. Just last night, he had buried his face in her neck as he fucked her through a second orgasm, biting her skin roughly.

The marks that blossomed from that were skilfully hidden with makeup, but it gave Matt utter satisfaction knowing exactly where they were.

The man bares his teeth at Alex; Matt feels the faint urge to growl like a predator being threatened in his own territory. He pushes himself closer to her and his slimy fingers hold her waist - but she doesn’t push him away.

She always pushes them away.

Instead her grin grows wider and her hand falls from his chest, trailing down his stomach and to his belt, flicking the buckle lightly as she takes another sip of her drink. Her eyes are wide and twinkling in excitement, her lips curving into a smug little smile as she bites her lip in a way that she knows drives Matt absolutely wild.

Matt can feel actual anger coursing through him as she watches her. It had always been pretend before; a show of anger to satisfy her the way she wanted. But now, as she looks at that stranger with a look supposed to be reserved only for him, he feels genuine rage and white hot jealousy clouding his head, his fingers clenched tightly around the glass he’s holding for show.

He knows she’s doing it on purpose. He knows she’s provoking him to get the exact reaction that he’s giving but he can’t help it. No one can touch her. No one can even so much as look at her with hunger in their eyes. He is the only one of them all who gets to fuck her night after night and they can all shove it.

And her.

That seductive, bewitching temptress. She knows exactly what she’s doing to him. She wants him to spank her - to fuck her just hard enough to hurt. He will give it to her.

Setting his jaw in a menacing scowl, he approaches both of them. Alex’s eyes light up naturally as she sees him approach as though she hasn’t seen him for weeks. It is something they need to be able to play this game - secrecy.

“Darling! How are you?” she says, nothing but delightful and pleasant. She reaches up to kiss his cheek and his hands stray to her arse, simply resting his hand there. “You look wonderful. Matt, this is Trevor Gaye. He’s the producer for that Netflix show everyone’s been talking about.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trevor says, holding his hand out. Matt shakes a little harder than he normally does, though everything else about him is perfectly natural. “Alex was just telling me about how she was hoping to bump into you after not seeing you for so long.”

“Was she?” Matt asks, turning to look at Alex with a smile, but his eyes were dark and dangerous. “You said you were going to call me more often, Alex. Do I need to start spanking you so you can keep your promises?”

Trevor blinked. Alex stared at Matt for a few long moments before she started laughing, hitting his arm lightly.

“I’m sorry darling,” she says. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t been able to talk to anyone lately, really.”

She turns to Trevor suddenly and offers him a charming smile. “Dear, could you fetch me a refill?”

Trevor, who seems too stunned by Matt’s forwardness, smiles uneasily and accepts Alex’s empty glass, excusing himself from the conversation.

Matt turns to Alex. “I really should spank you,” he says idly, swirling his drink with a finger. “But you would like that far too much, wouldn’t you?”

He slides his finger into his mouth, licking the drink off and releasing it with a small pop. Alex watches him hungrily, her own eyes darkening - the very first sign of weakness she’s shown all evening.

“How should I punish you?” he asks softly, studying her as he thinks about the appropriate punishment to give her. “Maybe I should tie you up, make you helpless. Give you a blindfold, perhaps, so you can’t tell when and where I’m going to touch you.”

Alex swallows but maintains eye contact, and he leans in further, just close enough to affect her but far enough that the onlookers do not suspect them being too cosy.

“Or maybe,” he whispers, his breath warm on her skin, “Maybe I should get you a collar so you don’t forget who you belong to. Make you wear it whenever you go out. Then maybe you’ll stop flirting with Trevor over there and start behaving like a good girl. Hmm? What do you think?”

She takes a few moments to answer, dazed.

“Then you’ll have to tell the whole world we’re together,” she says, smiling as though challenging him. “And you would never do that?”

He raises an eyebrow at her. “I wouldn’t?” he asks, even softer. “You think I wouldn’t like the whole world to know that I fucked you so hard on the sex swing that you came all over the floor, your legs shaking?”

“Matt,” she whispers. “Trevor’s coming.”

“No. You’re coming.” he says, stern and rough. “Give him an excuse. Any excuse. We are leaving now.”

“But -”

“Now, Alex.” he says fiercely, letting his anger and impatience show. “If you’re not in the car in five minutes, I will come up here and pull you with me. Do you want to make a scene?”

“No.” she says compliantly.

“Good girl.” he says, and he walks off.

It is four minutes and forty-seven seconds later that she opens the car door to the passenger seat and slides in, cheeks red and breathless.

“Matt, I -”

But he ignores her, reaching over and pressing the lever under her seat that allows her to slide all the way back.

“Spread your legs.” he instructs.

She stares at him, wide-eyed. “Here?” she asks uncertainly.

He raises an eyebrow in reply and she complies, hesitantly spreading her knees as far as she can go in the tight space.

“Move your dress.” he says, in the same commanding tone. “Pull your knickers down. I want the smell of you all over the car.”

She whimpers and does as she’s directed, taking her knickers off and giving them to him. He has to stop himself from bringing them to his nose and breathing in deeply - he has to control himself to teach her a lesson.

“You’re not allowed to put anything inside you, understand?” he says strictly to her. “Not a finger; not so much as a nail inside your cunt. Rub your clit, do whatever you need. But if I see anything enter you, you won’t be allowed to come. Understand?”

She nods. He scowls at her.

“Answer me.”

“I understand.” she whispers.

“Good. Touch yourself,” he says, changing his tone. She obeys immediately, her fingers flying between her legs. “The faster you come, the closer you are to getting fucked. You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes, please.” she answers breathlessly, her fingers already rubbing at her clit urgently.

“You like making me angry? You like it when I fuck you angry, don’t you?” he asks, his eyes fixed on her cunt and her fingers, flying desperately over her flesh. “You like it when I drive into you so deep, don’t you? You like it when you’re kneeling on the bed and I’m standing over you, my legs next to your hips and I pound into you so hard your bones shake. You like it when I come all over your pretty little face.”

“Matt,” she cries, her voice all needy and high-pitched. “Please, please touch me. Please, Matt.”

“No,” he says coldly. She shuts her eyes in despair as her fingers continue moving between her legs, her entire body moving up and down with the rhythm. “I’m teaching you a lesson and you will learn it.”

“I’m sorry.” she whispers.

“Good.” he says. Then he continues: “I think I’ll book a hotel for us tonight, hm? I feel like fucking you somewhere new. I’ll reserve a suite and I can fuck you against the wall, make sure the people next door can hear us. You like that, right? You like people hearing you come. Such a needy little slut you are, Alex.”

She whimpers again, her fingers moving faster.

“Oh, and I’ll fuck you just the way you like,” he says softly. His eyes are still on her cunt and he’s beginning to itch himself - he wants to touch her, wants to lick and suck on her until she’s dry. “On the balcony, stark naked. One leg up on the railing as I fuck you from behind, pulling your hair so hard. Do you think anyone will see us? Or maybe I’ll give you a little lick, your legs spread around my head. Will that satisfy you?”

She’s getting even more desperate now, crying out as her fingers move forcefully along her cunt, wet and sloppy. Matt can smell the delicious scent of her - it is enough to make him salivate. He knows that he will not be able to leave this car park without tasting her at least once.

“You are going to come, Alex,” he says softly, reaching over and pushing her fingers aside. She stares, confused and wide-eyed at him, but he is unable to resist the smell of her. “Look at me.”

She looks up at him as his fingers find her cunt and enter her. making her shiver slightly. Her insides are pulsating around his fingers, desperately clenching at him. The thought of his cock inside her is enough to make him heady.

“Who do you belong to, Alex?” he asks, resting his fingers just inside her.

“You, Matt,” she answers immediately, never breaking eye contact with him.

“And who do you fuck?”

“You, Matt.”

“And who do you come for?”

“You, Matt.”

“Good girl,” he whispers, leaning over and pressing his lips to the side of her head as his fingers start moving. Her own wet fingers circle his wrist as her hips jerk off the seat, but his movements are unmerciful and unrelenting, with the sole purpose of making her come. “Come for me, my good, good girl.”

She comes instantly at his voice - his deep, seductive voice that is sex personified. His fingers are drenched and he licks them gratefully, breathing in deeply.

“Matt,” she whispers, looking utterly debauched. Her hair is in a disarray and her dress hiked, her lovely cunt still exposed and her knickers tangled around her heels. “Matt, please?”

“Okay,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss her deeply. “Hotel?”

She nods.

#mattex fic #mattexfic #mattex #bruh idk im sorry this sucks #nat's tumblr fics #dnaksnka welp it's one am #littlesparkleshark

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fedeipox · 3 years

Text

The Way of Time (Rdr2 fanfic) - Chapter 5 (1/3)

Here I am! How was Christmas?

Previously on TWoT: A 2020 girl ends up in 1899 with a bunch of outlaws. First she freaks out. Then, she agrees in living with them. After, she begins to know the gang members, the way they think and act and among them a certain Mr. Morgan catches her attention. Now, she wants to go around, learn more about the surroundings and be an active part of the gang.

Chapter 5 (1/3) - Playing and learning

Words: 3k

That morning Emily woke up with an urgent need: she needed to brush her teeth. She hadn’t done it in thee days and started wondering how could those people live without brushing. She had asked Mary-Beth, of course, who confirmed the existence of toothbrushes and paste, but they didn’t use it. Apparently in 1899 it was considered as something only rich people could do, because they had time and money to waste in personal hygiene. So Emily had to settle for an old friend: the chewing gum. They kindly informed her that gum was an old habit already and that the mint flavor variation appeared at least thirty years earlier, a fact that surprised her.

After all the work Miss Grimshaw had given them the day before, there was nothing to do in camp, and when Emily said nothing, she meant nothing. Again, she questioned Mary-Beth, asking her what did they do when they didn’t work. Her answers was: nothing. They read something, wandered around, complained about the boredom, insulted each other. The last one seemed to be an important part of camp-life: instead of talking with each other, act like a group, like a family, at the first chance they had they were at each other’s throat.

For example Emily soon understood Mary-Beth, Tilly and Karen didn’t like Molly, and apparently Miss Grimshaw didn’t like her, either, but Emily couldn’t understand why. They were all women living in a difficult situation, they should have sticked together, have each other’s back. Where was their sisterhood?

When Mary-Beth returned to her book, Emily started walking among the tents, preparing herself to a day full of attempts to understand those people, the only thing she could do to avoid being bored to death. After all, she had no music, no interesting books, no TV and no Internet.

As she reached the center of the camp, she spotted Miss Grimshaw sipping something from a cup right next to the pot in company of the man who Emily learned to be Mr. Strauss, the money lender. She gulped and summoned all her courage before approaching them. That woman had something that attracted her like a moth with a lantern, the same effect Hosea had on her.

“Good Morning, Miss Grimshaw” she said shyly.

“Morning to you” she replied.

Even when she wasn’t giving orders, the inflection of her voice was strong and straightforward.

“Morning” said Strauss and Emily nodded as an answer.

“I-I was wondering, why everybody addresses to you with your last name, Miss Grimshaw?”

The woman seemed taken aback by that strange question and for a moment she struggled with her own thoughts.

“I guess it’s a way to show respect. Even though they don’t give me much respect apart from calling me by my last name. These new generations, they’ll be the ruin of this world.”

Emily smiled at her complaining, thinking about all the times she had heard something like that in 2020. Some things never change.

“That’s a pity, you have really a beautiful name, they should use it more often.”

Miss Grimshaw frowned.

“Are you trying to make fun of me, girl?”

“N-no, Miss Grimshaw, never! I-I… you just remind me a lot of… my mother has a similar personality. She’s not as strict as you are, b-but… she’s the one who governs the house and gives orders and taught me how to take care of myself.”

Emily talked with her head low, thinking how pathetic she was sounding.

“What about your father?” asked Mr. Strauss and Emily noticed his foreign accent.

“Oh no, my father is more like a subject” she laughed.

Then, after an embarrassing silence fell, Emily addressed Mr. Strauss.

“You have a strange accent. Where you come from?”

“Austria.”

“Really? My grandfather’s brother lived for some time in Austria after the war ended and he kept telling us how much Austrians were different from Germans. He said they were more… friendly somehow.”

“Which war?” asked Mr. Strauss.

“The… Second World War” answered Emily, but while she pronounced the words she already new they couldn’t understand.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about things you still haven’t lived.”

“Oh for Lord’s sake girl. When will you give it a rest with this nonsense?” Miss Grimshaw rebuked her.

“It’s not her fault, Susan. You can perfectly tell she really believes in her delusions” answered Mr. Strauss.

Emily lowered her eyes and felt like she had been stabbed in the back. They didn’t believe her, but what could she expect? They seemed two down to earth people, they didn’t have the predisposition to believe her.

“I’m sorry, I-I’ll go find something else to do than bother you” she murmured and without looking at them she quickly walked away.

Her legs leaded her in the back of the kitchen and she realized where she was only when she saw the prisoner tied to the tree. Again, she thought that probably he was tied there for a reason, maybe because he was too dangerous, or that he had done something terrible, and he deserved to be there. So again she walked away without looking at him twice.

As she kept going, thinking about how many people in that camp were just not going to believe her and her story, she passed right in front of Arthur’s tent, but he wasn’t there. She stopped and looked around for a second, being sure he wasn’t in her range of sight before drawing closer.

The first thing that stroke her was the amount of photographs: one of a woman on the table, another woman on the crate at the back of the bed, and then three on the side of the wagon. On the table by the bed there also was Arthur’s hat, which Emily took before sitting on the cot. She looked at it for a while before placing it on her head and smiling feeling how heavy it was compared to what she expected. Then, she turned around to look better at the three photos hanged on the wagon.

There was a… dog? There was a man, who, thanks to the resemblance to Arthur and to the name written on a tablet he was holding, Emily could understand was his father. But was the third photo that shocked Emily most of all: a young Arthur with two young Dutch and Hosea! The latter was the one Emily focused on, with his very pale blond hair, and she couldn’t help but notice he was incredibly handsome! Even more than Arthur who with the years had got definitely better.

So, that was the place Arthur slept in, she thought turning to sit straight again. Maybe he had his diary somewhere. She looked around, but the only thing she found was a little newspaper cutting dated 1887 about a bank robbery, and reading the description of the suspects, Emily recognized Dutch, Hosea and Arthur. She laughed picturing the scene in her mind, and in the end she was surprised to find out the money they had stolen, they gave it away to the poor.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Emily turned to smile at Arthur as he walked closer and stood up showing him the cutting.

“A bank robbery?” she asked.

“You know you’re trespassing a private property, don’t you?”

“I didn’t think you minded too much about private property” she laughed.

Arthur took the hat from her head and put it on his with an annoyed face that made everything more hilarious for Emily.

“So, that’s your father, I got this” she said pointing at the photo while Arthur took the cutting from her hands.

“And I suppose this is your mother” she added taking the photo from the table and turning it to read the name.

“Beatrice, it’s a beautiful name.” Arthur took the photo too and put it back to its place.

“But I don’t understand who’s that woman. Your sister maybe?” she asked pointing at the other woman picture.

Arthur took her by her shoulders and made her turn around.

“This is none of your business” he said pushing her out of his tent.

“I’m just trying to know you better. I love that picture with Dutch and Hosea, by the way. The three of you looked awesome!” she replied turning to look at him.

His pissed off face made Emily laugh, but in the end she returned serious.

“I’m sorry you’ve lost your parents. Your mum looked like a good woman” she said looking at him right in the eye.

“I can’t say the same about your dad, because from my understanding he was a criminal too, but…”

Arthur’s hands on her made her jump and when he spoke a shiver ran down her back.

“Don’t talk about things you don’t know” he growled.

She froze on her place looking at his clear eyes. He had the same look of the day before, when they came out of the saloon, the look that had scared her, that made her understand he wasn’t joking anymore, the look that had the power to put her back into her place.

As he walked away she felt suddenly heavy. She was sorry and ashamed for what she had done. He was right, she didn’t know anything about him, she had no right to say things about him, his family and his past. She wanted to run, reach him and tell him how sorry she was, but she didn’t, scared by the fact he could get even angrier.

...

Emily was a very active kind of person, always working, always doing something with herself, and that situation was boring her, so she had to think about something. Who she wanted to spend her time with? She didn’t get to choose. As she left Mr. Morgan’s private space, Jack came running and asked her to play hopscotch again.

“Why don’t we try something new instead?” she asked kneeling down to look at him right in the eye.

“Do you know other games?”

“Oh I know plenty of games. For example: what do you want to be when you grow up, Jack?”

The little boy frowned: no-one had ever asked him that question and for him it seemed something impossible to answer.

“I don’t know” he said in the end.

“Well, when I was little, I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I wanted to be an explorer. So I took my backpack and went exploring.”

“What did you explore?”

“Everything. I’ve been in the African deserts, the highest and coldest mountains of Asia and the thickest jungles of South America.” “Really?”

“Yes, really. I just had to close my eyes and I could see them.”

“How?”

“Use your imagination. Come, I’ll show you.”

The process was more difficult than Emily expected. Jack was four years old, but she had never seen a more down-to-earth kid in all her life. Imagination was a strange word in his vocabulary.

“When Uncle Hosea reads a story to you, you imagine what happens on your head, right?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s the same thing, you just have to take the images from your head and bring them in the reality. Now, first of all, explorers have hats, big hats, so we have to find two.”

After they found the hats - Emily borrowed a big one from Charles and Jack one from his father - she started with her play. She brought him into the woods, searching among the leaves and dirt for traces of the ‘big mountain gorilla’, then she made him cross the 'Pacific Ocean’ on a canoe, which was a crate, and landed on the exotic ‘New Guinea’.

“Look, Jack!” she exclaimed pointing her finger at Tilly in the distance.

“She’s one of the native girls of the island. Should we approach her and find out if she speaks our language?”

...

The new girl was playing again with Jack and this time her game was even crazier than the jumping on numbers. They kept wandering around camp, or in the woods, or on the edge of the cliff and pointing at things that didn’t exist. At one point they even approached the fire, where some of the gang members were sitting, with a stealth and careful pace like they were hunting a dangerous animal, but instead the girl pointed at Uncle’s face and said: “Look Jack, this is a great shaman of the Australian desert. They say he has magical powers. We should show our respects.”

Javier, Bill and Uncle himself laughed in a snort looking at her slim figure bowing in reverence.

“Oh great shaman, please, enlighten us with your wisdom.”

“What exactly are you doing?” exclaimed Lenny coming closer to the fire.

“Oh no! They sent one of their warriors. Hurry Jack, bring me my sword, we have to defend ourselves!” she yelled to the little boy.

Without hesitation, he run away and Emily looked at Lenny who was about to sit down.

“No, no don’t sit, please. We have to fight” she said.

“I won’t fight with you” he replied.

“Come on, Lenny! I’m doing it for Jack.”

“What? Acting like a fool?” asked Bill.

“Playing with the imagination. He needs this” she answered.

Lenny didn’t want to, it was stupid, it was humiliating, but she was begging him with the eyes.

“Here’s your sword!” yelled little Jack running towards her and giving her two sticks.

“Take your weapon, sir. We’ll see if you are as brave as the stories tell” she said with a big fake voice and handed one stick to Lenny.

He sighed and looked at the people around him as they were all wondering if he would have played that stupid game. He had no choice: he took the stick and put himself in position.

The mayhem she was causing caught the attention of more people until even Dutch came out of his tent to look at the scene.

“The hell are they doing?” he heard Arthur’s voice by his side.

“I have no idea” he laughed.

Lenny dodged and attacked again and finally succeeded in hitting Emily’s leg.

“Oh no!” she exclaimed and threw herself on the ground.

“Jack! Jack come here! I need you to take my place! Here, take the sword. Fight my faithful friend, fight for my honor!”

Everybody laughed again at her words as Jack took her place in the “fight”.

Arthur chuckled too and took a few steps towards that unusual scene. That girl had had the power to make Lenny play. Lenny, who always did everything in his power to make the others believe he was a grown up man. How had she done it?

“Well, she surely is a better actress than you, Arthur” joked Hosea showing up by his side.

“Yeah, maybe you should take her with you to the next robbery.”

Hosea chuckled.

“Maybe I will.”

...

Finally, Lenny let Jack hit him and, just like Emily had done, he threw himself on the ground and played dead. A loud shout of joy raised from the people around them for Jack’s victory and Emily was delighted by the fact that she had been able to involve all of them in the game.

“Okay, I guess it’s done. Go give the hat back to your daddy. We’ll explore more another day” she said taking Charles’ hat off.

Jack hopped away and she walked closer to Lenny as he was standing up.

“Thank you for playing the game. I didn’t know you were such a good actor” she joked.

“Never good as you” he replied.

“And also thanks to the great shaman, for his infinite patience” she addressed Uncle with another bow.

“My pleasure, dear. You’ll be surprised to know I’ve actually been to Australia.”

“Really? When?” she asked sitting on the log near the campfire.

“Australia? You?” asked Bill making Emily understand he didn’t believe him.

“Why is it so difficult to believe?” she asked.

“Ah! I’m more inclined to believe you come from the future than he’s ever been to Australia.”

“And you’re right, I never did.”

Emily frowned.

“So, you lied?” she asked.

“I’ve never been there, but I tried to. I made it as far as Chicago” answered Uncle.

Emily fixed her eyes on him, trying to understand if he was playing dumb, or he really was, before she busted out laughing.

“Chicago ain’t nowhere near Australia” exclaimed Bill, who unlike Emily seemed annoyed by Uncle’s words.

“No… but it’s on the way.”

Emily laughed again, louder and longer.

“What’s so fun?” asked Bill.

“You can’t be serious Uncle” she said among the tears.

“Why not? That’s the way for Australia. Maybe one day we’ll all go there and live the rest of our lives as kangaroo farmers.”

Emily couldn’t believe her ears. If those people were outlaws their only crime was lack of common sense!

“Okay, I think I’ll return the hat to Charles” she said standing up and drying her tears.

She covered the distance to Mr. Smith’s tent still thinking about that crazy conversation she had just had, the road to Australia that passed through Chicago, the kangaroo farmers… That man couldn’t be serious.

“Here, Charles. Thank you for lending me this” she said at the man as she reached his tent.

He was making some arrows and the thing intrigued her so much that she stopped by his side for a while to look at him working. But of course she didn’t limit herself to watch, she had to ask questions. She asked him everything about making arrows, the type of feathers he had to use, the type of wood, and then she passed to bows, how difficult it was to use one, how difficult it was to make one…

...

Charles had never minded to teach people how to do things and that was the only thing that stopped him from standing up and walk away from her. She was a good girl after all, she just had one flaw: the constant need to speak.

“I know that Natives learn how to hunt from their horses when they are very young, is that true?” she asked.

“Yeah. How do you know that?” Charles asked in turn. That was his first question.

“I read it somewhere. Is it difficult? To ride a horse, I mean.”

“You can’t do it?”

She shook her head.

“You want to learn?”

“Oh no, for God’s sake. I hate horses.” “What?”

Charles couldn’t believe what she had just said and stopped what he was doing to stare deeply at her.

“I mean… I don’t hate horses, I just don’t like them. They’re dangerous.”

“Who told you that?”

“My father.”

“Has he ever ridden one?”

She seemed to think about it.

“No, I don’t think so.” “So, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” “But they are dangerous.”

“Only if you can’t control them.”

Charles watched her carefully before he took his decision.

“Come, I’ll show you” he said standing up from his chair.

“Show me what?”

“That there is nothing to be afraid of.” “No, Charles, really, I don’t…” “Come” he said and took one of her hands to help her stand.

Arthur had been looking at them from the distance while they were seated one on the chair and the other on the ground. From that little that he knew about Charles, he could perfectly tell he was extremely annoyed by all those questions the girl was asking him, but he was behaving wonderfully, and he didn’t expect nothing less from Charles.

As he saw them standing up and walking away, his curiosity raised and he moved away from the tree he was laying against to follow them. They reached the external part of camp and he heard Charles saying “wait here” to the girl before he drew closer to the horses.

Arthur took the pack of cigarettes and brought one to his lips, lighting it and taking a puff. Charles came back, leading his horse by the reins. What were they doing? Were they planning to go someplace? Where could Charles possibly take her?

#rdr2 #red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption fanfiction #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x female oc #jack marston #hosea matthews #lenny summers #bill williamson #Charles Smith

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abloomntime · 3 years

Text

A Bloom In Time Ch8 Discovery P2

(Warning: Death Scene ahead. The third floor is the same cut third floor in the video here and all the things described are here as well. Only behind the door is something different for the story. And Snatcher's dialogue came from the video of the cut content as well. )

The guards marched the poor woman now panicking in their grip flailing about, trying to get out of their grip like a fly in a cold spiderweb to no avail. The two giant guards marched noisily towards somewhere unknown as the third floor rooms and hallways passed them as they marched with seemingly no regard for the woman yelling and pulling between them. Eventually marching down one hallways in particular with a double door room at the end of it, heavy and thick with chains and locks fit for a dungeon instead of a bed room. The two guards went right up to it and before Poppy could even yell out peck again- She was tossed in rather hard. She landed with a giant thud sound and yelped out as her body landed with the freezing cold floor. And it only began to get colder and COLDER!! Poppy groaned from the pain but those blue eyes snapped open at the sudden noise of doors slamming behind her. Panic and adrenaline pumping through her veins and she stumbled to her feet as fast as she could. The rattling of chains and clicking of heavy locks made her fear spike worse and she went to it as fast as she could grabbing the door knob and pushing.

"HEY!! WHAT THE PECK!? LET ME OUT!!" The heavy doors creaked from her pushing and pulling and desperately turning the knob. The floor shaking lightly with the heavy footsteps of the guards walking away. The realization of them walking away made her more desperate to get out, and she now went to banging on the door. "H-HEY!! DO YOU LUGNUTS HEAR ME?! I SAID I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING OK?! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID BUT IM SORRY OK!! PLEASE!! LET ME GO!! I SWEAR TO YOU I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THAT CRAZY SHADOW LADY SAID!!"

She got no reply and could hear them getting and farther away, panicking she tore herself away from the door. Heart hammering in her ears and eyes scrambling around the dark room for any signs of escape to no avail. No windows. No other doors. Nothing. The coldness was starting to creep in now and the shadows of the room got closer....and closer...... Her panting became faster and in a moment of desperation, she backed all the way to the other side of the empty room and looked at the door. Bracing herself, she ran as fast as she could across the room and rammed her shoulder as hard as she could into the heavy duty door. A thud rang out but there wasn't even a dent in the thick would. Leaving her only falling to the ground and reaching up to rub her sore shoulder from the ramming. The cold slowly creeped closer and closer and the shadows swallowed her whole until her world fell into a black slumber for a thousand years. ....... ............. ................................

Until her awakening years later.

The silence of the frost was an almost empty numb feeling until that jolt of energy shot through, and their was a gasp of air sucked into those newly awakened lungs that coughed and sucked in breaths. Like she had been under water for such a long time. It was dark. And it was cold. And she was scared. But the energy.....It was so big. And so bright light energy. It seemed to chase the darkness away. The sore, numb, stiff limbs moved in what seemed like forever. It was so hard and she shivered from the cold she still felt. Where was she?.....What happened?.....What was that bright light?

Poppy weakly managed to move her sore, cold body into pushing her front half up and looking around the room....She was...She was still in this prison? What happened? All she remembered was a crazy snow storm, and guards, and the last thing she remembered just being thrown inside here. In the dark her slow blinking eyes could vaguely make out the door. She...She must've knocked herself out from ramming into the door. Gotta admit not her most proudest moment or best idea. How long was she even out?...Didn't matter. All she knew was that she was still stuck in that room and needed to get out before that crazy shadow lady or guards decided to come back. And get away from this frozen wasteland as fast as possible. Willing herself onto her hands and knees, and crawled to the door and began weakly pushing and banging on it. Maybe someone would come and hear her out about her story.

And someone came.

***********************************************************************************************

Out of all the parts of the mansion she'd been in, the third floor was by fair the most creepy and she REALLY doubted anyone other than her and Snatcher had ever gotten this far up in the manor before and escaped Vanessa's wrath. The mafia men. Snatcher's subjects. Those Explorer guys. Rough Patch. That weird....ghost thing?? That one image made her shiver, but at least they were far away from this place now. But still. This place was creepy with a capital C. She was SURE she'd rather fight a hundred Snatcher's with an army of ghost behind him rather than explore one room of this third floor. Her ghostly friend wasn't kidding when he said Vanessa went off her deep end. The entire third floor was just COVERED wall to wall in literal newspapers. Very, VERY old timey newspapers where each one had to be hand written with an ink and pen, and copy machines weren't even a thought. She tried reading one before but found she couldn't make anything out other than maybe one or two old faded words. Some had old pictures but those were too faded to be made out too. But what she could read was Vanessa's crazy black paint scribbles painted throughout the entire place. Most were 'PRINCE', 'PRINCESS', 'QUEEN', 'KINGDOM', and VERY scarily 'HAPPILY EVER AFTER'. Along with multiple drawings of a crown here and there. But those weren't the only writings on the walls. She guessed Vanessa had at least a bit of sanity left before she lost it all because she found some full blown sentences and pictures around the place when she first explored it too. Some very weird things. In one room with a clawed chair she found a blue and green picture of a moon she guessed with an annoyed red face and a yellow crown on it's head. Not too sure what that was all about. Then there was another drawing of the moon phases over a curved line and under it looked like two eyes and a monicule similar to Moonjumper's but she didn't wanna think about that. Then there was the spooky eye and solor system diagram. And then there was the weird mural thing, looked like someone just spray painted a basic green land, blue sky, and bright sun or moon in the same colors used to draw that weird frowning moon picture. Vanessa must've been REALLY off her rocker, but what spooked her the most weren't the pictures or newspapers, but the very strange three fancy cursive writing sentences she found among them all. She still remembered them.

"The Prince loves the moon so much MAYBE HE SHOULD MARRY IT THEN MAYBE HE CAN GIVE ME MORE ATTENTION!!" She remembered Snatcher and Moonjumper saying he loved to watch the moon and stars when he was alive. So she guessed Vanessa was jealous of him loving the moon and stars as a hobby just as much as when she was Jealous over bacon. "My prince Im sorry what happened to your home I just didn't like to see you go It's alright now you can't miss it and neither will I." Hattie felt even MORE sorry for the two ghosts when she read that. They never had a chance. "I know it was weird how I said it! I just didn't want you to get unbound. All I want was for you to never leave this house." YEP!! REALLY WEIRD AND VERY OBSESSIVE!!!

She still crept forward keeping her umbrella handy and looking left and right throughout the dark. Yeah, Vanessa was still unconscious, human, and trapped inside a bathroom with no escape, but that still didn't help Hattie feel better. I mean any second she was expecting to see or her stupid, scary ghost self pop up around a corner or coming out of one of the rooms. THAT LADY WAS NUTS!!! The small creaking sounds of banging continued up ahead and the child pointed the umbrella forward, ready to blast anything at a moment's notice. She wondered for a moment if Snatcher had been right, and there really was no one up there, that it was all just the wind. Though she never heard anything like that before, she also never saw anyone frozen so maybe he was right....But that didn't sound like wind. As she tiptoed by she saw an old camera and remembered Snatcher's interference with her trying to get the time piece from the attic. Who knew he could shapeshift to look just herself. She still remembered it like it was yesterday, a camera flash then came the noodle she knew and loved to mess with. He didn't like her winning too much.

"Hey, hey now! No reason to throw a fist at your old buddy! Ha ha ha ha! What are you doing up here?" Then he appeared in the light from the camera "Don't you know she'll go mental if she catches you?" NNnnnooo. Really? She would've thought Vanessa was just chasing her to come and eat cookies like she said, not definitely turn her into an ice statue. So she asked him what he was doing there interfering with the contract they had. "What me? Im just looking for some dirt on my old friend the Moonjumper. Poor fellow. Doesn't even know he used to live here." She SEVERELY doubted that. When she first met Moonjumper he seemed super aware of the fact Vanessa was his ex lover and Hattie suspected that Snatcher was just mocking him which confirmed her suspicions with the next sentence. "Eeeeevery time I bring him something from this place he almost wets his bed in fear. Ha ha ha ha!" YEP! Moonjumper def knew who Vanessa was. "Subcon Forest isn't big enough for the two of us you know. And now you, a little girl, is trying to enter the fight for the forest as well? My, my. That won't do. You need to go or else she'll come up here and find you, right? I guess it would be a terrible misfortune if the key disappeared. Ha ha ha ha!" Oh yes. The good mindset he had that everyone was trying to take his forest and admitted at first he thought she was trying t invade his forest since he heard a lot about alien invasions. Then she had to go around chasing him while dodging Vanessa when he stole the key to the attic from her. "Ha Ha! It's mine! What are you gonna do?Don't you know you can't hurt a shadow?" .....Yeah. She got it back, but he was a sore loser as always. "You want the key? Take it! It's yours! I don't need it anyway and you won't be needing it either when she catches you! Ha ha ha!!" Jokes on him! She never will and he always lost to her!

But right now she'd give anything to hear that loud mouth yell at her, or the sweet voice of Moonjumper. But instead she heard nothing but the sounds of the smaller banging like the wind hitting the roof over and over again, but it didn't come from above. It came from right in front of her. She crept forward ever so slowly, the lightning lighting up the room every few moments as the child tip toed her way down the hall and towards the noise until it lead her face to face down a long stretch of hallway. It was dark and lead all the way down to that weird heavily locked door she had scene when she first got here. At first she thought it was the attic but the key Snatcher stole from her way back when didn't fit, so she just assumed it was more of Vanessa's crazy stuff. But the noises.....they were coming from the inside of the door. The chains were swaying lightly with each small bang from what she could see from the lightning. The rusty chains and locks shone in the light as well as the giant signs painted on it that read "STAY OUT" and "NEVER OPEN" and "TURN AROUND". Since when did she listen to signs, she slowly inched forward and brandished her umbrella in front of her just in case. But now this begged the questions. Why was the door making the weird noise? Was someone locked inside the room? How did they get in there? Were they a bad guy? The floor bourds creaked with her footsteps as she approached and after a second the noises completely stopped-.......Which confused the child into raising an eyebrow and walking over to the door. Gazing across the many things holding it shut before gaining up the courage to ask a question.

"Hello?"

There was silence for a good long moment. Tho Hattie couldn't see it, the woman on the other side of the door felt like she was about to cry from relief and happily answered back after another few short seconds.

"H-Hello?"

Hattie obviously jumped at the sudden raspy woman's voice coming from the other side of the door, but after a brief moment she realized with relief it wasn't Vanessa's voice. Then who was it? Another prisoner? She stood on her tip toes ad if trying to peer through the key hole under the doorknob. "Who are you?"

Her. THROAT. WAS. DRIER THAN A SANDSTORM!! It felt like she hadn't drank any water in a hundred years, but she was SO happy someone was even talking to her. This might be the hope she was looking for. The other's voice was clearly female and Poppy wondered old she was. She sounded quite young. "M-My name is Poppy. P-Please let me out *cough cough* I swear I d-d-didn't do anything wrong!"

"How did you get in there? Did Vanessa freeze you too?"

Vanessa? Who's Vanessa? The only Vanessa she knew was the Queen, but despite the Queen's strange behaviors and laws, from the few times she'd seen her in the village she seemed like a lovely lady and the children loved her so much. "I-I d-don't know who Vanessa y-you're referring to, but some crazy *cough* shadow lady made two iron giants kidnapped me and locked me in here. I-I think I've been in here for a couple hours, b-but I assure you I NEVER committed treason against the Queen."

So Vanessa locked her up and froze her too? That sounded like something the crazy old coot would do after all. "Don't worry! Im going to get you out like everyone else!"

Poppy felt her face smile for the first time in hours since she got there. "T-Thank you! B-But hurry! Im not sure when the guards or that shadow lady's going to come back!"

Hattie looked up and around at the old locks and chains all keeping it together. Ok. She didn't have the key and didn't know where it was, probably only Vanessa knew and she wasn't about to go asking the crazy lady for a key, and she probably wasn't physically strong enough to pull them from the door even if they were old and rusty. Snatcher was definitely no use, he'd just flop over like a helpless teddy bear.......But there was one way she could think of.

"Can you walk?"

Poppy blinked at the question. "What?"

"Can you walk? You need to back off the door!"

"Why?"

"Because Im going to blast it open."

Blast it?! Did this child have dynamite?! Or a canon?! Or did she know some magic? Either way she was not about to get caught in the crossfires of this, so willing her sore and numb body, she dragged herself away from the door to the opposite wall. Her lower half felt like a bowling ball. it hurt. It was like pins and needles on steroids and her legs were really sore and she barely got out of the way before a loud BOOM! was set off behind her that knocked her down face first onto the floor and on instinct her hands slammed down on her head to protect her from the flying splinters of wood and metal that shot out into the room. The blast seemed to have shaken the entire third floor and their was probably no doubt anyone in the entire manor could've heard the blast. Hattie stared at the remains of the doors that remained on the hinges and hummed. Maybe she should've tried picking the lock first just oh well. She just hoped that blast didn't wake up ms goldie crazy locks downstairs. Still brandishing the umbrella, she crept forward towards the door and peeked inside the room once she got close enough hearing movement inside. Inside was a.....woman? A lady with long braided red hair and a face of matching freckles was sitting on her knees staring back at the little girl. Her hands in a position that made Hattie think she must've been dusting debris from the blast off of her and the two stared at each other for a moment before Hattie finally spoke.

"Who are you?"

Poppy stared at her for a moment before blinking and replying. "I could ask you the same thing. .....But to answer your question. My name is Poppy. Poppy Rose Bloomington. What's yours, little girl?"

She blinked. "Hattie." She finally lowered her umbrella a little bit and watched as Poppy struggled to her feet leaning against the wall. She certainly didn't look very threatening, and she didn't get any dangerous vibes off her. Her vibes were more like DJ Grooves only less fun. So she decided to repeat her question to her once she saw Poppy's wobbling legs. "Can you walk?"

Poppy nodded leaning against the wall, her legs felt heavy and like jello, but she HAD to get outta there. "I have no choice! We have to get the peck outta here before someone comes and does something worse than lock us inside a room." She gave another look around at the mess. "....But it looks like you can take care of yourself fine, Little witch."

Hattie smiled. "Im not a witch. I just used the magic badge thingy on my umbrella." She swayed her umbrella and followed as Poppy made her way towards the door. "But maybe I am. That could be why Snatcher used to call me a little witch. Can you be a space travelling witch?"

Poppy barely paid attention to the little girl but absolutely froze at the sight of the horrifying ruined third floor walls, and the darkness covering them all. ........This wasn- Lightning struck outside the windows and lit up the whole third floor for a minute, revealing the faded papers and words painted all over them. Wha-...What HAPPENED HEAR!? It didn't look like this when she was dragged up here a couple hours ago. There was still snow and the chilly freeze she surely remembered, but the horror tale was new.

"W-What happened here?"

Hattie bounded up next to her confused. "What are you talking about? It's always been this creepy. At least that's what Snatcher told me. He used to steal things and scare Uncle Moon with them." She gave the still frozen older lady a look over.....Did she..look familiar somehow? Nah. But that begs the question. What was she going to do now that she found her? Snatcher already told one of his helpers to take everyone to his tree house, and she didn't know any long ways around. Plus judging by Poppy's current state, she didn't think she'd be able to jump over the bridge. She'd just fall into the ravene. ........Well, it seemed like there was only one way to quickly get her out safely before she put the time piece back together was to take her back to her ship, at least until she cleaned up Snatcher's mess. Then she'll take her to Mafia town or something. Hattie grabbed the woman's hand, who flinched at her touch and started pulling her along down the hallway, but stopped when she felt Poppy stumble and almost fall over. "...Are you ok?"

Poppy Nodded. "Uh..Yeah. B-But maybe don't move so fast ok?"

Hattie nodded and eagerly began pulling her along down the wall and again Poppy began to glance around in horror around her. ....It surely wasn't this dark when she was first taken up here. How could so much change have happened within just a few hours of her knocking herself out ramming into the door? Things only got worse when the child slowly lead her down the stairs towards the second floor. Poppy vaugly remembering it as she was brought up and thrown in there, but she didn't expect there to be so many claw marks lining the walls, it was much better looking than the third floor for sure and at least with this floor there was candles lit so she could see but that still didn't calm her nerves. Who made these marks? The crazy shadow lady or something else? The creaking of their footsteps echoing throughout the halls, she hoped no one heard them-

"KIDDO!! YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLAINATION FOR WHATEVER I HEARD UPSTAIRS, YOUNG LADY!!" "PECK IT, SNATCHER!! SHUT UP WILL YOU!?" "HEY!! IM NOT THE ONE WHO MADE AN EXPLOSION GO OFF!!" "WELL IF VANESSA ISNT AWAKE SHE IS NOW!!"

The loud voices made Poppy jump and release herself from the child's grip as she snapped her head wide eyed towards the direction of the voices she had just heard. One sorta distorted and raspy and the other like a proper city gentlemen yelling. The child however just smiled and began bounding her way over to an open door near the front of the hallway and stuck her head in. When Hattie looked inside she saw the two ghosts stuck together already looking in her direction, Snatcher making them scowl at her. She noticed the two had somehow taken the red blanket off the bed and threw it over their shoulders while she was gone. Messing up the bed but at least having something to keep them warm in the meantime. The book opened to page '23'. Snatcher was always a fast reader.

"Hi! Yeah, it was me."

"What the absolute PECK were you doing?! Trying to set the building to the ground?!," Snatcher demanded of her. Both Moonboy and himself had noticed the loud BAM noise from somewhere above them. It sounded like a cannon was shot through the side of the building above them shaking the whole house and if it weren't for their current state, Snatcher would've immediately ran up there and seen what had happened for himself, but unfortunately he couldn't without falling flat on their face and had to wait for approaching footsteps to know she was alright. But now she might be in trouble by the ghost. "Are you TRYING to wake the crazy pecker up?! I'd rather NOT have any crazy women screaming their head off about 'her prince' until Im back to normal!...What the PECK even happened?!"

"I found a lady!"

He rose a brow. "You found a what?"

Hattie jabbed a thumb behind her at the still frozen and confused Poppy. "I found a lady locked in that room upstairs. The one with all those scary locks, she's wearing a funny apron."

Snatcher was silent for a moment processing what he had just heard. A woman was inside the locked room upstairs? Who? Moonjumper thought of a possible solution really quick. "An apron you say?" Hattie nodded. "Hm. Sounds like one of the old cleaning maids." "Heh. Vanessa would be crazy enough to lock away a cleaning lady in a room with a ton of locks. But what was that noise?"

The child held up her umbrella. "The locks wouldn't unlock. So I blasted it to bits!"

"You blasted down doors to free a cleaning lady?"

''Hey! I said everyone gets to be free! And It's not like Vanessa can sue me. She's more empty headed than those no-headed statues outside."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" That got a round of laughter from Snatcher that made Poppy flinch outside. From her spot she couldn't see anything inside the room. Not that she wanted too, but now they were smiling. "That's the truest thing you've ever said, Kid!"

"Uh huh! Also, Ill be right back! I gotta take her to my ship!"

"What? You're leaving me again?!" "Us you creton. But you're leaving after just coming back?"

"Im just gonna take her to my ship so she's not turned back into another human-ice statue. And I won't really go back myself." She waved her umbrella at them. "Ill just use this to take her back outside, and come right back! Promise."

They stared at her for a moment, before she heard Snatcher grumble and turn back around down to their book. "Make. It. VERY. QUICK!! Ok? We can't just keep delaying this, Kid. I want OUT of this thing as soon as possible!! And that means NOW!!"

"It won't take long! Promise." She turned back away from the door smiling and ran back up to Poppy. The woman blinked and looked down at the little girl that grabbed her hand and started tugging her along again. "Come on! Don't step on any glass on the floor. I still have to fix it!"

Poppy didn't say anything but she allowed herself to still be dragged away by the child. Hattie lead her around the glass pieces and down to the next flight of stairs waiting to take them to the first floor, footsteps echoing around them. Poppy blinked and couldn't help but look over to the open door as they passed, Snatcher had already turned back to the book with a sour expression and didn't see who Hattie was dragging past the door, though Poppy had see someone wrapped in a blanket and a bit of brown hair sticking out of the blanket. Blinking she turned back to the small child still dragging her away and soon they decended down the second flight of stairs.

"Who w-was that exactly?"

"Oh! That's Snatcher. He's my dad. Don't worry about him being scary, he's just a big soon-da-rey." She giggled a little bit confusing the woman a little more. She had no idea what a soon-da-rey was.

The first floor wasn't as better from the first. Still cold. Still spooky looking. Still had random claw marks everywhere and she was still looking around in fright. Was that shadow monster going to pop out any moment? Where were the guards? In fact, where was everyone? She hadn't seen a single servant, guard, or even the Queen since she was broken out. Oh she hoped they were ok, she'd hate to know what would've happened if worse case scenario. And on that note of questions, who was this child? How did she and her father get in without getting hurt? Was she a little witch? She sure seemed like it with the blast she just performed. And where was she taking her? Outside hopefully, she'd rather be outside than inside this creepy prison. She glanced down as they passed by the painting Snatcher smashed and winced, Poppy did NOT want to stick around long enough for whoever did all this to come out. SO she rather take her chances with a little witch than a crazy shadow ghost. Hattie didn't stop even as she lead Poppy past the doors which made her turn in their direction and point.

"Where are we going? The front doors are right over there."

"I know but they're blocked up by this use snow pile and there's this headless statues that are REALLY creepy and they try to grab you. And I don't think Snatcher would like it if I blasted another door. We have to go this way!" She pointed ahead of them to yet ANOTHER flight of stairs that looked like it lead into the basement.

It gave Poppy an off feeling but she still didn't stop the child from pulling her towards it with their footsteps echoing behind them until they decended into the darkness of the stairs. It was overwhelming dark for a moment, before there was a splash and her whole foot suddenly felt wet and cold. One or two candles along the wall lit up the broken down walls and to Poppy's shock, there was water EVERYWHERE on the ground, must've been at least five or six inches deep because as she still allowed her shocked self to be lead through. Her Shoes and ankles getting absolutely cold and soaked, she hoped she wouldn't get sick from the cold. The cold stung herself and she looked around, their watery footsteps echoing around the home and she shivered at a pair of chains lightly clacking against the walls from the breeze coming from yet ANOTHER pair of stairs up ahead and they could see light at the end of the tunnel. As Poppy was lead up the stairs she blinked back away from the sudden cold that blasted her face and crept through her simple dress. As they reached the top of that stairway, blinding white caused her to blink and reach her hands up away from Hattie's grip to rub at her eyes. The storm and cold winds were still blowing, and as Hattie looked around she hummed. No foot prints left by the others, so she had no idea where they went and she'd have to stick to the original 'take lady to my ship' plan, luckily the dome's top let in the moonlight and a surefire way to let them get there. She'd get back by having Snatcher teleport her or using the time piece to teleport her back there, right now she had to hurry and get back to fix said time piece.

"This way quick!" Poppy stumbled as the child regrabbed her hand and pulled her forward almost making her fall flat on her face into the snow. The cold winds made their hair blow around with the snowflakes and the cold felt worse, especially on her wet feet and legs as they trudged through the snow at the insistence of the child until they were a couple yards away from one of the icy dome walls and far from the back of the manor. Hattie seemed pleased as she turned around and smiled at Poppy. Taking the hand she was holding and forcing the umbrella she was holding into it.Poppy blinked confused at the little girl making her hold the umbrella as she lifted it up to inspect it....before looking back to her.

"Sugarcube, I don't think this little thing is gonna be enough shelter from the wind."

"It's not for the snow! It's to take you to my ship! Here" She reached up and grabbed the umbrella, fiddling with something Poppy couldn't see because of the wind whipping her hand and snowflakes around herself before she released the umbrella again. "There! Now hold on tight and point it at the moon."

"Why?"

"Please just do it!"

Poppy sighed and looked up towards the moon through the snow and wind. Well, if this little girl really was a witch and trying to help her, maybe this was some kind of teleporting spell? If so she wasn't complaining about escaping the cold, so holding up a shivering arm, she pointed the umbrella up towards the mo- In a flash of blue-white light, Poppy vanished. In her place, a beam of that light shot up towards the sky and Hattie nodded. The umbrella successfully connected with one of the telescopes and she would be safe abourd her ship while she fixed this mess, which is what she seemed to do best around here anyways. Quickly turning back around, she sprinted back towards the manor. She had fixing to do. Poppy meanwhile was experiencing a whole new term to sea sickness, if she was really being teleported to a ship that is. The light and speed made her slam her eyes shut and her stomach sick. She felt like her whole body was being contricted into a thing twig and her knuckles turned white from gripping the handle so hard. She wished this would STOP- And it did. With a giant thud sound she was sent crashlanding to the carpeted floor of a child's bedroom where Bow was reading, worriedly waiting for her friend to come back but jumped and dropped the book at the sudden sight of a red headed lady suddenly crashlanding in their bedroom. The landy tumbled head over feet a few times before landing face first into the mountain of pillows the umbrella landing beside her feet. A few pillows were scattered with her collison and after a couple moments of silence......The woman groaned and weakly reached over to flip her onto her back. .....OK!! That was the LAST and ONLY time she was going to let herself be teleported by a little witch. Still laying on her back she slowly blinked her eyes open and was met with the face of another child with black curly hair. The two stared at each other for a moment before Bow spoke.

"Are you ok?...Who are you?"

#flowercrown #a bloom in time #snatcher x florist #Florist x snatcher #florist #The Florist #Snatcher #a hat in time snatcher #a hat in time florist

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gallavictorious · 4 years

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Liam’s face when Mickey walks into the room in 10x12 is soo funny idk why he reacted like that. Like did he hear them or are Ian and Mickey always so disgustingly in love when he sees them together 😂😂😂

You know, nonnie, this is a moment I’ve been pondering myself from time to time, because it’s not entirely clear what’s going on here. Just what is Liam’s problem? Well, kids, let’s find out! Well, maybe…

I should preface this by mentioning that I don’t think there’s enough textual evidence to draw any firm conclusions regarding Liam’s motivations. (Oh yeah, you can bet your sweet ass I will be taking this very seriously and give it my full consideration, because I’m a Pompous Nerd. :p) I have tentatively identified four possible scenarios I deem at least reasonable, if not equally plausible. There might well be more; feel free to hit me with those!

My four somewhat plausible scenarios are as follows:

1. Liam just doesn’t like Mickey very much. We don’t really see them interact a whole lot; there’s this exchange, and there’s Liam telling Mickey that Carl’s trying to save the city when Mickey asks what the smell is in 10x10, and there’s kitchen scene when Liam announces his need to find Frank in Glencoe. Of these, the first is ambiguous and the subject of the discussion at hand, and the second is vaguely positive but doesn’t tell us very much apart from Liam having enough respect for Mickey to acknowledge and answer his question to the room. The third one is the most interesting, because Liam appears rather exasperated and somewhat annoyed when informing Mickey that he can’t drop out of school because he’s ten. On the other hand, right after that Mickey does bother to tell Liam “no” when he asks if anyone wants to go with him to look for Frank – which suggests that Mickey feels that they’re close enough that the question is probably directed at him too, rather than only at Lip and Ian. (That last bit isn’t my observation, by the way – read it in a meta somewhere, though I can’t remember where.) On the third hand (I’m channeling Shiva, y’all, just go with it), Mickey feeling reasonably fond of and/or close to Liam does not equal Liam feeling reasonably fond of and/or close to Mickey, so yeah, we’re not getting anything conclusive out of that. On the fourth hand, Liam does go out of his way to get Ian and Mickey a special gift for the wedding (and specifically mentions that he wants that for them, rather than just for Ian) so it seems obvious that he supports them getting married. Could just be him being supportive of Ian getting what Ian wants regardless of Liam’s own feelings of dislike, of course, but all in all I think the case for Liam reacting out of a general scorn is fairly weak. Possible, which is why it’s on this list to begin with, but weak.

2. Liam is clever and perceptive (unlike a certain other and nail-clipping Gallagher sibling who shall remain unnamed), and he knows full well how having Ian and Mickey half-naked in the same room on their wedding day is likely to unfold. He might support their union but he’s in no rush to witness the physical manifestation of it, so he gets the hell out of Dodge. Good call, Liam! This is mostly along the lines of the interpretation you mention in your ask, and as far as I can tell it’s the most popular one in the fandom. It pretty much tracks? Can also easily be combined with Liam overhearing some of what went down in the bathroom while Ian and Mickey were getting showers; Mickey might well have mentioned something else being pretty nice and now when he starts talking about the shoes Liam is reminded of that other stuff he really wishes he hadn’t heard and god, is it going to be like this all the time now? Ugh. No.

3. Liam doesn’t feel entirely comfortable around half-naked men outside of his immediate family. Of course, Mickey is about to be his immediate family, kind of, but he’s still not a brother, and I wouldn’t necessarily be very surprised if Liam turns out to be a little puritanical about that sort of stuff? (I lowkey expect him to go straight edge when he gets a bit older, btw.) There is, however, nothing to really support this notion, apart from the fact that this wouldn’t be a weird thing to feel uncomfortable about and kids get all sorts of idea and can be pretty adamant about them, and I think Liam has a lot of integrity. On the other hand, having grown up in the Gallagher household and the South Side neighborhood he’s probably pretty desensitized to nudity and whatever, so yeah. But maybe this is his way of rebelling against his upbringing and asserting his own boundaries? I don’t know… This is really more of a theoretical possibility than anything else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. Liam, like me (and all right-thinking people really), does not in fact think the shoes are “pretty nice”. More like they are an utter affront to good taste and ought to be burnt along with the Horrible Hawaii Shirt Mick once had the audacity to call “kinda sexy” and then put on. :o Now, Liam can be polite when he wants to and doesn’t want to hurt Mickey’s feelings on his big day, so he mutters a “yeah” but he can’t quite hide his disgust once Mickey turns his back. I applaud your restraint, Liam, because while I loathe the white get-up with a passion, I still support Mickey just going for whatever outfits strikes his fancy. He bloody well deserves to wear whatever makes him feel pretty.

As mentioned, I really don’t think there’s enough to go on here to make a definitive statement either way. The case for scenario 2 is pretty good, and it’s also a funny take, so there’s no wonder it’s the (seemingly) most common interpretation, but it’s not obvious enough to be irrefutable, I think. So which notion (if any of them!) you find the most convincing probably comes down to preference and your general understanding of the characters. Me, I’m stubbornly (and somewhat against my better judgement) sticking with utter disgust of the shoes and the tux because holy fuck, Mickey, why? :p

Thank you for the ask, nonnie! Not sure it actually cleared anything up, but I had fun thinking about it. <3

#asks #liam gallagher #mickey milkovich #meta #my stuff

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adangerousbond · 4 years

Text

The End is the Beginning

Chapter two

I was sad that there wasn't a new episode, so somehow that turned into a 5k chapter for this story, still may only be a two shot, or more, depending on how my time goes, but I have a bit of an outline for a 3rd chapter already, so that is pretty likely. Are we all doing okay? Did we survive the first week? I am so grateful for all the amazing feedback I go on the first chapter, I appreciate it so much and definitely encourages me to keep writing, so thanks! As usual, written out pretty quickly and on no sleep with no proof reading, so you could be in for anything.

Read below at ff.net or at AO3

They were onto the third movie before any further interruptions, bar the occasional question here and there from Kora, who seemed just as awed by the improvements made to movie making as Daniel. May had surprised Daisy by being able to answer more questions than she could, and she quickly decided that May was a fan of Disney movies, and somehow, she had never found out about this particular fact until now.

"Alright, at least go pretend to be getting some rest," Coulson told the group as he entered the darkened room, grinning at the scene ahead of him and not quite sure which part was his favourite.

"But Dad," Daisy jokingly complained, gently waking Daniel up nonetheless, the latter blinking away the confusion for a moment, gaining more confusion at the added guests since he was last awake.

Rising up, she could feel the soreness to her muscles, both from her fight and from sitting still for so long; from doing too much and too little, but at least it was a feeling. She caught Coulson's eye, and knew he was holding back some sort of comment or question, but clearly deciding it wasn't the time or place, so she made no move to draw it out, passing by him instead with a soft smile as Daniel followed close behind silently.

"May, a word," Coulson stated as the others were nearly out, evidently wanting to speak to the other agent alone, something that seemed normal enough to everyone accept Kora, who stilled in the hallway, worried the conversation was regarding her.

"Regardless of what they or you decide, they won't kick you out and they won't hand you over to someone else, they don't give up on people," Daisy paused for a moment to ease her sisters concerns, getting a weak smile in return, "I should know that better than anyone here."

Her sister nodded in response, continuing on her way to wherever May had set her up in or just somewhere to clear her head, Daisy wasn't quite sure on the answer, but it didn't seem pressing to know right now, she knew she would be safe and that was all that she needed to know. A hand came to her back, guiding her forward, as she realised that they were still standing in the empty hallway.

Heading back to her room, she felt his hesitation as they neared,

Quiet took over the room quick enough, Daniel falling back asleep easy enough; knowing she was alive and well next to him and that they were safe in the base, making it infinitely easier. A part of her was jealous that he could sleep, the part of her begging for more sleep that was, but mostly, she was just glad that he was able to finally rest, and that maybe it was her turn to watch out over him.

Sitting hunched over reading her tablet, she couldn't help but keep checking that the man asleep next to her was alive and breathing, that he wasn't just a figment of her imagination. She had debated trying to go back to sleep as the time dragged on, but the constant running around in her mind, told her that she wouldn't stand a chance at sleeping.

The humming in her veins and the crawling feeling on her skin, became all too much, she had wanted to clean up for a while, but she knew a shower would wake her body up fully, and while she wasn't sleeping, she still felt like she was resting. Checking her phone, and realising that it was nearly an acceptable time around the base to be up, she decided that she couldn't wait any longer and headed for the shower.

Slipping back into her bunk, she felt as if she had managed to scrub a layer of skin off, but still hadn't quite managed to scrub off the entire feeling of death. Glancing around, she realised that Daniel must have woken and gotten a similar plan as herself, or he had gone looking for her, either way,

"Morning," he greeted warmly as he re-entered the room, looking cleaned and refreshed, telling her he had had the same idea.

"Hmm," she responded absentmindedly, immediately leaning onto his side as he sat beside her.

She didn't quite understand the part of her seeking the contact, seeking his warmth, she had after all, spent most of life pushed aside, without anyone that she trusted would be around long enough for her to reach out for that comfort. But right now, it was about the only thing that made her feel fully alive, that made her forget that she had had died the day prior.

Facing him, she traced her hand along the side of his face, she felt him still slightly at the touch, she could feel his heart beating, she could feel hers beating, reminding her they were alive, reminding her they had won, and that they were here; together. Bringing her lips to his, she started slow, savouring the moment, the calmness to the room that had started her pace, quickly diminishing as she felt a heat rising deep inside, a heat that was working well to chase away the cold memory of space.

Shifting herself so that she was straddling him, she hummed in approval as his hands made there way under her top and started exploring across her skin. She pushed him back down onto the bed, chasing the feeling of alive that their contact seemed to bring, right now she felt so far from death, so far from the feeling of loneliness and disappear that clouded her few memories of floating through space.

A knock at her door broke them apart instantly, him dropping his hands and freezing silently in his position on the bed, as she sat up straight, leaning on her thighs either side of him, waiting to establish who and why the interruption. The annoyance fading as she smirked at his worry about being caught out, but she could see under the worry that he was annoyed at the interruption just as much as she was.

"Sousa, get decent and come give me a hand," Mack's voice rattled through the door, his sure tone holding a hint of amusement as well.

"He'll just be a minute," Daisy responded, grinning the moment that she stopped talking, trying not to laugh, standing up to let the man in question right himself.

Sitting at the bench next to Alya, Daisy listened as the little girl rambled on to her father about the night before, as he listened as if it was the most interesting story he had ever been told. She grinned at her friend, at how good a father he was, he was the type of father that she would have given anything to have had growing up, not that it surprised her, she always knew her friends would make amazing parents one day.

"You cook now?" she asked as he placed a plate of waffles in front of her that actually looked pretty edible.

"Picked up a few things over the years," Fitz explained, head tilted towards the reason with a large smile.

"It's so crazy that it was barely any time for us but years for you's," she mused back, toying with her food for a moment, debating if she could eat or not, the smell winning out and she took a small bite.

"At least it was more than a few hours for you," Flint spoke up as he entered the kitchen, making his way over to join with a hungry look on his face, "got any spare?"

"It went quick, especially once we had this little monkey," Fitz responded to the younger boy, putting a plate together from him as well, twice the size of the other twos.

"I bet," Daisy agreed, managing a couple more mouthfuls of food that her body seemed to accept better than the first, almost as if it needed to be reminded that it did in fact still need nourishment.

"We have so many stories to tell you all, and so many videos to share," Fitz told her, he knew that the team had missed out on so much of his daughters life so far, and that they would all want to know everything, it was something that Jemma had been saddened by, not getting to share it with the rest of their weird family, almost more than their actual blood family.

"How are you settling in?" Daisy asked her sister, dropping down to sit next to her in Zephyr One's cockpit, it had taken her a while to find her, and she realised now, that the plane probably felt like simultaneously like her best bet to escape, and her link to staying, much like she had felt about the Bus.

"So far so good, May has been very helpful," Kora smiled warmly, relaxing slightly at her sister's caring tone, "surprisingly."

"She's good like that, regardless of what she says," Daisy told her, staring out into the base, almost as if searching for the person in question.

"I hope, I hope you don't mind that I'm still here," Kora fidgeted over her words, worried that she had blown her shot, worried that her last link to anyone might be too damaged.

"I don't, honestly," Daisy tried to make her believe her, knowing how much the feeling of being unwanted could eat you up inside.

"I just want the chance to get to know you, to make up for everything I did," her sister explained, not meeting her eye, and she wanted to tell her that she understood, that she had been in similar situations, seeking forgiveness and seeking connection, even when she didn't realise that it was what she was looking at the time.

"You brought me back to life, that's a good start," she told her, choosing to go a simpler route for now, not entirely sure she was up for going to deep into her past just yet, not when she was only really keeping herself together enough to keep moving forward at the moment, "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too, I want to get to know you, really," Kora smiled shyly, although technically the older sister, everything about her showed that in life and in actual years lived, she was the younger of the two, "I never knew any family outside of our mother."

"I never had any family to know," Daisy commented offhandedly, a sadness clouding her tone, and as hard as it had been, she wasn't sure if it was something she would give up her current family for.

"I-I, I wish that you knew the Jiaying that I did," Kora was silent for a moment, not quite sure how to take remark, choosing to stick with honesty if she wanted to get anywhere.

"I got to a little bit, that's more than I thought I would," Daisy told her kindly, she was even more grateful that Daniel had pushed her to talk to her mother, with how things turned out, "but no, I was meaning that I'm happy to get the chance to get to know my sister too."

"Daisy, a minute?" Jemma interrupted as they approached control.

"Sorry, probably more tests," Daisy smiled at her sister apologetically, catching her friends desire to talk alone.

"Is everything okay?" Kora asked, concerned that she had done something wrong when bringing her back to life.

"Yes, yes, everything's fine," Jemma pushed aside the younger woman's concern with a bright smile, practically dragging the other into a nearby empty room.

"What's up?" Daisy questioned her friend, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion over the actions.

"I just wanted to talk to you, about everything, well, mainly about one little, big thing in particular. It's hard, but ultimately it's the right decision, and I just wanted talk it over with you first, I think you'll agree but," Jemma rambled on, skirting around the topic she had cornered her for, clearly not sure how to start.

"Your leaving, aren't you? You, Fitz and Alya are going to your happy ever after, right?" Daisy spoke quietly, saving her friend from herself, she had been expecting it, and truthfully, she got it, but it still stung deep inside.

"Yeah, yeah, how did you guess? Did Fitz say something already?" Jemma paused, surprised, and worried that she had found out some other way.

"You have your serious, sad face on, it was either that or I was dying again, and I was hoping that wasn't it," Daisy explained, smirking to hide the rising emotion that she was trying her hardest to keep down, as much as it hurt, her friends did deserve this more than anything.

"Oh, right, yes, well, we just want Alya to have as normal a life as she can, we don't want to leave, but-," Jemma stated back on the speech that she had prepared earlier, only to be cut off by her friend pulling her in for a tight hug.

"It's the right thing to do for her," Daisy agreed as she pulled back, wiping a stray tear away, "when?"

"That's the thing," Jemma toyed with her words again, and Daisy knew she wouldn't be ready for whatever the answer, "tomorrow."

"But that's, that's so soon?" Daisy stated, she definitely wasn't ready for that.

"We will still help out on things from afar, but we just, we can't keep doing it anymore, and we don't want her at risk more than she already has been," Jemma brushed aside her own tear, knowing that it was right and that her friend would understand, but still upset about the whole thing.

"Hey, no one has seen you in a while," Daniel broke the silence of her bunk, taking her in as he closed the door behind him.

"I just needed some quiet," Daisy stared straight ahead, paying him no attention as he sat next to her on the bed, taking her hand in silent comfort.

"I know it won't be the same, but they'll still be in your life," he told her gently, guessing the reason for her hiding away correctly.

"Will they though? I mean we'll still talk now and then, probably text and email each other for a while, but that will fade and eventually, we'll just be the people who occasionally catch up and barley know who each other is anymore," she responded sadly, a part of her knowing that they would still be in her life, that he was right, but that part was far from the loudest in her mind right now.

"What you have been through together, all of you, that bonds people in ways that even if you don't talk as much as you do now, you will always be close, no matter the physical distance," he tried a different approach, his hand reaching for hers as he watched her closely.

"Ugh, I hate that I'm even mad about it, I know it's the best thing for Alya, but it's," she blinked away a tear as she looked down, almost ashamedly.

"It's bringing up some things," he finished for her, squeezing her hand softly, Mack had warned him that she had been hurt, but he had guessed that she had probably been hurt more than either had even realised.

"I should be used to it by now, everyone always ends up leaving, walking away, dying," she gave him a sad smile, not wanting to drop all the thoughts running through her head on him, but something about his presence, made it hard to stop talking, "this team, they're the only people that have suck by me, and for so long, I guess I got used to it, which is something I've told myself not to do since I was a kid."

"You still have them," his words sure, he mightn't know a lot about the world he lived in now, but one thing he knew for certain was that this team had her back.

"For how long, they're all slowly going to go off to do their own things, live their own lives," she knew she had them, but for how long, how long until it was back to her by herself, trying to pretend she was okay with being lonely, even if she wasn't sure she could even pretend that these days, "hell, even you and Kora, it's only a matter of time before even you two decide there's bigger and better things, less complicated things, out there."

"Kora wants to be in your life, she clearly wants to be just like her big sister, or little sister? Not sure how that works?" he told her honestly, focusing on the easier part of her sentence, before turning more serious, "and me, Daisy, you have me, I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't say that, you were just offering yourself up to stay in a different timeline like yesterday," she fired up, not accepting his words, not when she was terrified both that they were true, and that she might just want to believe them.

"So that you would live," he gave her hand a light squeeze, glad when she didn't pull away, because he had no other answer to give.

"That's not fair," she growled in response, he had been ready to say goodbye to her, to leave her, and even though deep down, she got it, she was still angry at him for it.

"Neither is you killing yourself to save us all, but we would both do it again and we both know it," he reasoned, a little too well for her liking, "I know better to promise that I won't die, though, technically I am already dead, but you've got me, if that's what you want."

"You can't say that, you can't promise that, not when you barely know me, you don't know the horrible things I've done, a lot of which that hasn't been for the greater good," she responded dryly, she wasn't sure she had forgiven herself for a lot of the things she's done, and she was definitely not sure how someone like him would take them.

"You're right, I don't know all of what you've done, but I know –" he started, his voice even and honest.

"-My type?" she guessed, a conversation from a long-ago time loop popping into her mind.

"I know you, or at least the parts you have been prepared to show me," he told her, pausing before gaining the words to continue, needing to make her listen and understand, to believe him, "I know the you that has had my back this whole time, the part that listened to me complain about Hydra and being pulled out of my timeline, the part that joked around with me, the part that managed to put a shard of glass under your skin to get us out of that barn, the part that was prepared to do a Hail Mary into space to save her friends, and the part that even though you've been hurt countless times before, you're still prepared to let me in, if only a little."

Watching him closely, she knew he was giving her a chance to take his words in, letting her decide on her next move, her next issue to raise. Choosing to decide that tomorrow was another issue, that maybe she was setting herself up for more pain, but that maybe, just maybe, that she was actually in for more pain if she pushed him away completely, she kissed him, her tongue slipping into his mouth and deepening the kiss before he had fully caught her decision, pulling herself into his embrace as much as she could once he did.

Responding with the same favour, trying to convey his words now in touch, trying to convince her that he was here for her, that he wasn't going anywhere and that for him, she was enough. He pushed her backwards onto the pillow, his shirt being dragged back over his shoulders before he had even realised that she had undone his buttons.

"Is this when you get all gentleman-y and stop to make sure this is allowed?" she smirked at him as he pulled back, both taking the chance to catch their breath for a moment.

"I was just going to ask if the door locks," he responded, huskier than usual, glancing towards the door for a moment.

"Oh, everyone around here knocks," she told him, not wanting him to get up and lock the door, pulling him back in for another quick kiss, "and if they don't, it's really their own fault."

"But," he started, resting his forehead on hers for a moment, "you are okay with this?"

"Definitely," she flipped them over, both to prove her point and speed up the slow pace that he seemed to be setting, he was relishing in the fact she was alive, whereas she needed to feel alive.

By the time they had redressed and headed to find the others, they had only just made it in time for the last team dinner, a going away of sorts for the Fitzsimmons family. Joining them all quietly at the table, Daisy made especially sure to avoid the smirk she had caught May sending her as they entered, choosing instead to make small talk with Piper, who was more than used to not being caught up on everything.

Midway through a conversation with Jemma and Alya, she realised that Daniel and Fitz were fast becoming friends, as she paused to smile at their animated conversation, she caught the attention of Jemma, the both grinning at the sight. The happiness quickly clouded in sadness as she remembered that the new friendship would be short lived, in this form anyway.

By the end of the dinner, no one was quite ready to leave, quite ready for it to be over, not only because that meant it was closer to Fitz and Jemma leaving, but also because they all knew it was just the start, that soon enough others would start leaving until they all had. This was the start of the end for the team, and no one was quite ready to admit that.

The next morning, they had all managed to stagger their goodbyes with the three, Daisy having waited purposely near the vehicle bay, to ensure that she would get her goodbye, but also, in an attempt to delay it as much as possible. Watching them approach for the last time in an unknown amount of time, she tried to stay as positive to them as possible, knowing that it was the best think for their child and them.

After saying their goodbyes, Fitz took Alya off to the car, leaving the two best friends a moment to each other, whether Jemma had requested it or not, Daisy was thankful for the chance. Hugging each other tightly, they both let the tears run freely, after everything that they had been through together, after every mission, every death, and every memory since they had gotten on that bus as near kids, now they were parting as sisters and they both knew that they would try like anything to keep in as constant contact as they possibly could.

Entering the kitchen after the goodbyes with Flint in tow and ready for her distraction plan, Daisy was glad to see that the two she had requested to meet her there, were sitting waiting, talking politely with each other. She smiled to herself, glad that they were getting along regardless of what had gone down, both trying to make an effort with another person they saw as important in her life.

"I've set these up super basic for you both, I've put my number in as the emergency contact, and I've put everyone's details in too," Daisy informed them, hand an iPhone to the of them both, as Flint placed a box with various needed cords next to them both.

"So, we can call each other wherever we are?" Kora asked, gathering from her limited knowledge, turning the phone over in her hand a few times, as if trying to work out how they work exactly.

"And take photos," Daniel told her, remembering a moment in an alley that brought a smile to his face, regardless of what had come next.

"Really? With this?" Kora asked, the confusion clear, as she worked out at the very least how to make the screen light up, showing Daniel too.

"Oh man, this is worse than I thought it would be," Flint groaned, he had taken to the technology in this time like a fish to water, probably helped by the fact he had come from the future, not the past, and had thought it might be entertaining when Daisy had asked him to help her, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Yes, you can call, video chat, or text from it," Daisy started out simple, grinning at the blank looks she got in response.

"Text?" Kora asked, trying to slide the screen up to get into it, having between the two found the message on the screen telling them too.

"Like an email but quicker and easier," Flint explained further, realising his mistake when neither seemed to understand any better.

"Email?" Daniel sounded more confused than ever, turning his phone asking for a passcode to Daisy.

"Your passwords are your birthyear," she told them with a grin, she had debated letting them choose their own, but then decided that this option was more amusing, and by the chuckle he gave her in response, he understood her reasoning.

"An instant letter to your phone?" Flint tried once again, sitting down in defeat after it didn't help them much more.

"I'll just show you," Daisy stepped in, pulling out her own phone and sending them both a message separately, and then decided to take a photo and send it to them both, creating a group message she was pretty sure she would end up regretting.

"Wow!" Daniel exclaimed, tapping on the notification, and managing to bring up the message screen.

"That's so cool," Kora agreed, playing around for a moment until she worked out how to respond back, the other's phones buzzing with the new message and Daisy knew that she was definitely going to regret that group message.

"Okay, so do you both think you have enough of an idea to at least call one of us?" Daisy questioned the group after a while, receiving apprehensive nods in response.

"Now we move onto social media," Flint stated, receiving a grin from May as she entered the room and caught the end of the sentence.

"No, no we don't," Daisy told him, that was not something the two in training were ready for, and probably not something the world was ready for yet either.

"What's that?" Kora asked, intrigued, as she swiped across the screens looking for something she had missed.

"Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, twitter, TicToc, the question is which one first?" Flint mused, pretending to think hard on the subject.

"None, none first," Daisy shook her head, smirking at May who joined them at the table without a word.

"I could see Kora getting behind TicToc, and you Daniel, I think you're more of an Instagram, or maybe twitter," Flint decided after a moment, grinning at them trying to find an app on their phones matching anything close to what he had mentioned.

"Is that good or bad?" Daniel asked the group, placing his phone down in front of him.

"What's TicToc?" Kora questioned too.

"That is a lesson for another day," Daisy stated, trying to get them to drop it.

"Where's the fun in that," Flint protested, deciding on a middle ground, "can we at least teach them about YouTube?"

"I don't think it is safe to set them loose on the internet with strangers just yet," Daisy laughed, sharing a grin with May on the thought.

"You just don't want them finding out about online shopping and judging your problem," Flint countered, smirking at her as he spoke.

"Online is safer for us," Daisy glared at the teenager, explaining her reasoning.

"Online shopping sounds pretty self-explanatory, and something I could get behind," Kora grinned, enjoying the ease that the afternoon had held with her sister.

"Free shipping is everything," Daisy agreed for a moment, before continuing, "but there's a lot to learn before we get you to that point."

"Yeah, like clickbait, and viruses, scams, oh, can't forget about trolls," Flint added on, accepting that the phone lesson was over for the day and the internet was another day issue.

"Firewalls?" Daniel questioned the word he had heard Daisy say numerous times now while on her computer.

"They're only an issue if you want to do less than legal things," Flint stated, receiving another glare from the only one at the table that really did anything with them.

"And not something you need to know about for a long time," Daisy pointed out after a moment, reaching down into the bag she had brought and placing a tablet in front of them now instead, "anyway, we have these next."

"Why do we need another phone?" Daniel asked honestly, he had yet to see or hear about something that the phone he had couldn't do.

"It's not a phone," Daisy smiled, enjoying this little lesson in technology more than she thought she would.

"It looks just like a bigger phone," Kora stated, turning it over to investigate as she did with the phone.

"That's basically all it is," May shrugged, not helping the situation at hand.

"Just better because it's bigger?" Kora asked, her head tilted like a dog trying to work something out.

"It's not about the size," Daisy told them, the question reminding her of the time Daniel suggested using a bigger computer to hack, complaining her laptop was tiny.

"It's always about the size," Kora grinned in response, gaining a chuckle from May.

"Is that why, you know what, never mind, I don't want to know the answer," Daisy was thrown for a moment at the inuendo from her sister, choosing, finally, just to get back to the topic, "it's a tablet, it's kind of a cross between a phone and a computer."

"What does it do that a phone doesn't?" Kora smiled at her sisters stammering, feeling like it was an actual normal sister moment.

"Nothing really," May piped up, once again not helping the situation, but evidently holding some annoyance to the amount of technology she was forced to use.

"Anyway, these are linked to the S.H.I.E.L.D network, so you can access files, search things or follow current missions, not that there's much on there at the moment," Daisy explained, focusing the group back to the task, "I've programmed it so that you can't accidently delete or change things at all as well."

"So, you put them on read-only mode?" May nodded in approval, "that's a good idea."

"To search is very similar to the phone, just press the little magnifying glass," Daisy started teaching, half the reason she had wanted them to learn to use it was so that she could leave them to their own devices to learn about S.H.I.E.L.D. since their times, and her, if she was being honest, "yep, like that and then type in something, just type my name for now."

"Why does he have more come up than me?" Kora questioned, trying to work out where she had gone wrong.

"His is set to a higher level than yours," Daisy answered nonchalantly.

"Oh," her sister responded, obviously dismayed at the reason, but accepted it, nonetheless.

"Not because we don't trust you or anything, just you've never actually been in S.H.I.E.L.D. or had any training or anything with us, whereas Daniel was the chief at area 51," Daisy explained further realising how she took it, "I figured that gave him a bit higher clearance."

"Does that mean I have higher clearance than you?" Daniel piped up, grinning at her statement.

"Well, she was the fill in director once," May pointed out, shrugging at the information that was old news to her.

"Really?" Daniel asked, initially surprised at the comment, but as he thought about it, it did make sense.

"Not for very long, and it didn't go the best," Daisy laughed, brushing the information aside quickly.

"So, you outrank us all?" Kora questioned, smiling at her sister.

"Don't forget it," Coulson responded for her as he joined them, clearly having come looking for them, "we need to do a supply run."

"Daniel and I'll go in the morning," Daisy offered, jumping at the idea of getting out of the Lighthouse, and getting the chance to introduce Daniel to her time period.

"Can I come too?" Kora asked reservedly, worried for the rejection she might get, "I wouldn't mind getting out of here for a bit, seeing what the world is like now."

"Of course," Daisy agreed instantly, nodded assuredly to her sister.

"I'm coming too," Flint stated, he was always down for a chance to explore, and he figured with two tagalongs from the past, it could make quite the interesting trip.

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