Somewhere between the real world and the one in my

@micaelihall is a wondrous person and has written adorable fic based on side characters from Character Bleed! Specifically, Jason’s ex Chris (well, “ex” - the first guy he ever got together with, who is very very nice and clearly deserved a happy ending!) and his Mark!

It is a lovely lovely little fic, full of sensory detail - a carnival! popcorn and neon lights and a ferris wheel! - and also full of emotion! There’s humor and love confessions and references to Jason and two absolutely delicious kisses, and it’s called “Cotton Candy Clouds,” and you should go and read it right now!

Seriously, I am so honored and excited and all the feelings! Thank you again, Awesome Friend! <333

— “Happy.” Raphael (1520)

— “I’m still learning.” Michelangelo (1564)

— “A great leap in the dark.” Thomas Hobbes (1679)

— “It has all been most interesting.” Mary Wortley Montagu (1762)

— “Now is not the time for making new enemies.” Voltaire, when asked by a priest to renounce Satan before his death (1778)

— “Go live in the country. Stay in mourning for two years, then remarry, but choose somebody decent.“ Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet, to his wife (1837)

— "Take courage, Charlotte; take courage.” Anne Brontë, to her sister Charlotte Brontë (1849)

— "I must go in, for the fog is rising.“ Emily Dickinson (1886)

— "Now comes the mystery.“ Henry Ward Beecher (1887)

— "Pull up the shades; I don’t want to go home in the dark.“ O. Henry (1910)

— "Swing low, sweet chariot.“ Harriet Tubman (1913)

— "It’s very beautiful over there.“ Thomas Edison (1931)

— "I don’t think two people could have been happier than we have been.“ Virginia Woolf to her husband (1941)

— "Are you happy? I’m happy.“ Ethel Barrymore (1959)

— "I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don’t worry too much." Rob Hall, to his wife (1996)

— "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.” Leonard Nimoy (2015)

She says that people who from a young age were made to feel like they kept doing things wrong - people who’s parents had impossibly high standards for them, people who were bullied, people who have special needs, people who didn’t develop crushes on the “right” people, people who didn’t act like the “right” gender - basically ended up being made to feel guilty so much that guilt became their default response to everything. Guilt became the emotional response to anything which the person didn’t already have a set emotion for.

To which I nodded solemnly, both out of agreement, surprise and also a healthy amount of awkward fear. He nodded and went, “You get it.”

I thought that would be the end of it.

Except ten minutes later he came back and told me he found out (she’s bi) and that both of us have a shot. I said “You more than me.” because he’s attractive and popular. 

My math teacher was trying to fix the rolling whiteboard and he just offhand said “This would be easier with a wrench”

Who initiates the New Years Eve kiss?

Liam!!!!

–

He’d spent the better part of fifteen minutes scanning the crowd while Niall chatted his ear off.

He’d lost Zayn somewhere between the bar that Harry had set up in his dining room, and the living room - and it was only a few minutes until midnight. Not that there was anything wrong with giving Niall a proper hug and wishing him a happy new year - but he’d missed out on the whole ‘new years eve kiss’ last year. He wanted that moment.

That perfect, earth shattering, sparks flying moment.

“…an’ then, we’re gonna tie Harry to a chair and just knock ‘em off the balcony,” Niall cut through his thoughts, poking him in the shoulder. “Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds brill, Ni,” Liam replied absently, straining his neck a little to try and catch a glimpse of that inky black hair through the crowd. “M’sure Hazza will love it.”

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Niall groaned, tipping the rest of his drink into his waiting mouth. “I’d probably have a better chance with a plant…”

“I’m sorry Nialler - s’just: can’t see Zayn, yeah? First New Years together in like…two years? And he’s gone and vanished.”

“Zayn? Vanished? That’s so unlike him,” Niall deadpanned.

Liam punched him in the shoulder, making Niall laugh out loud. The blonde poked him in the ribs. “Go on then, go find your man and get your snog…”

Liam felt his chest warm, and he gave Niall a tight hug and a wet kiss to his cheek, determined to find his boyfriend before the first stroke of midnight.

“20 seconds, folks!!!” Someone hollered from the crowd.

Liam bypassed the living room and went through the kitchen, eyes scouring the space, his brow set in a furrow. There was no way Zayn just left - though the man was good at the Irish goodbyes…

“He’s out on the patio, Li,” Harry called over the noise, pointing towards his backyard. 

Liam gave Harry a thumbs up and jogged out towards the patio and swung the door open.

Zayn stood, admiring the night sky.

Liam admired him for a moment: the inky locks, a little longer now than they’d been in quite some time, pulled into a little ponytail at the back of his head. He was in a thick wool sweater, his breath ghosting out in the cold night air.

The countdown had begun inside, and Liam padded over to his boyfriend as quietly as he could, before gently curling his fingers around Zayn’s wrist to spin him around to face him.

The human woman really is just a pretty regular person, but she has a good chunk of hyper empathy and does that thing where you talk to computers when they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to.

a JINX is a benign dark magic, used to inconvenience or discomfort the victim

a HEX is used to wish bad lack or ill intentions on the victim

a CURSE is designed to cause direct harm to the victim