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minustwofingers · 1 year

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exoplanet p.1

masterlist

ellie williams x fem! reader (ur kind of a girly girl in this one sorry)

summary: you’re one of the luckiest people in the world as one of the few families that managed to gain entrance to the most exclusive safezone on earth. after living 19 years of your life in a soft and forgiving world, a lab accident sends you across the country to jackson, wyoming, entirely unprepared and unaware of what awaits you in the real world. its a good thing u run into a hot lesbian wink wink nudge nudge

a/n: now listen now hear me out i know this plot sounds kooky asf and im sorry i literally thought this shit up in a covid fever dream. but anyway i basically blacked out at the keyboard and have about 6k words to show for this weekend and no completed hw. i can’t believe im writing. this im so sorry

warnings: ellie is mean asf at first, reader is clueless and cannot do a pushup, you’re also a little bit of a snob and have a fixation on etiquette. i promise it gets better just bear w me lMAO. she/her pronouns for the reader, v vanilla violence and explicit language. kinda enemies to lovers vibe

im so sorry u guys idk what got into me this is the goofiest au i’ve ever written ok but i just want ellie to get to learn abt the stars and shit after all she’s been thru she deserves it ok enjoy part 2 coming whenever i finish it.

wc: 6k

It wasn’t that you didn’t know that something bad had happened to the rest of the world. You did. Of course you did. You’d have to be a special kind of stupid to not realize that there was maybe something else going on when no one was allowed outside of the walls and anyone who returned told hushed stories of decimated buildings and piles of corpses.

It was just difficult to grasp the idea of the world you knew no longer existing outside the bounds of the city. To anyone before the pandemic, you’re sure that you lead what seemed like a normal life for any privileged kid.

You had two parents, both of whom loved you very much. You went to an elementary school, then a middle school, and then eventually high school and university. You went shopping with your friends. You watched movies and ate shitty junk food and had first kisses and went on ice cream dates. You studied what captivated your interest the most—space—and threw your soul into learning about the physics of the universe.

You laid on your dorm bed, playing with the edges of your pink comforter as you gossiped with your roommate, Irena, about the professor that she thought was hot and the boy who tried to harass you for your number after you’d finished up getting lunch.

You lived a normal life, which is pretty ironic, because the only reason you got to say that was because you were born to not-normal people who had been at the right place at the right time when the world fell apart.

You see, when everyone got sick, some areas got hit harder than others. And your parents, who were vacationing in some swanky exclusive Canadian resort that only the elite knew about, happened to hit the jackpot.

Not only was their vacation spot the one area in North America with a significant metropolitan population that managed to get enough time to adequately prepare, they happened to be traveling with some big-wig execs that knew a guy who knew a guy who was in the process of evacuating and putting the final touches on a safe zone, Terranova, intended for only the highest rungs of North American society.

So, there you were. Some 25 years or so after the world as your ancestors knew it fell to shit—and you were sipping cappuccinos and getting facials without a care in the world. All because of a lucky vacation.

And, for the record, it’s not that you were ungrateful. You knew that you were lucky to be living in the last place on earth with a semblance of normalcy. What you didn’t know, however, was just how lucky you were, and you didn’t find this out until you made that one stupid mistake in Gunther’s lab.

“Morning, Y/N!” called out Professor Gunther, a short, squatty man with a receding hairline so impressive that his forehead now ended halfway up his scalp.

“Morning, Professor,” you said, setting your bag down on the desk, winding your long scarf from around your neck and running a hand through your hair to get the tangles out. The wind outside had been especially fierce for February, which was not ideal given that you'd forgotten your hat at home.

“Guess what I’ve got?” Gunther was smiling, his teeth perfect white squares.

You gasped. “No. It’s already here?”

He said nothing; instead, he pushed forward a slightly battered box with dents and various smudges and marks that were telltale indicators for outside shipments.

“No way,” you said, pulling it into your hands. For a moment you debated using your nails to open the seam, but you’d just gotten them done, so you reached for a pair of scissors on the table.

“This is even more than we need,” you told Gunther, reaching in to pull out a spool of wire that shimmered under the lab lights. “Can I just hook it up now? Or is there something else I should do?”

There was, in fact, something that you should’ve done before going with your pliers and wire. Something about your model wasn’t quite right, but you’d figure that out a little too late.

You see, you and old Professor Gunther were attempting to build a prototype that would enable travel at the speed of light. It did sound insane—and you should’ve known that it was a pipe dream—but you were a space nerd with nearly limitless funding and support from one of the most famous surviving professors in the world. It had been Gunther’s pet project, one that you joined as a research assistant in your first year at the university. Once you’d caught wind of it, you couldn’t stay away, and you two quickly began to form a connection only understood by lonely and isolated academics.

“Go for it,” said Gunther, waving his hand dismissively.

Excitedly, you approached the table, your hands almost shaking as you held the wire. It was a fairly new invention, first used in the creation of Terranova and its walls to effectively make it invisible to the outside world. It boasted a variety of properties that made it academically fascinating and functionally useful. Gunther had had a suspicion that it would be useful in stabilizing the process of disseminating atoms to make light speed travel possible, so you’d placed the order for a couple of spools.

“And I think that’s it,” you said, using your pliers to shape the blunt edge that you had just clipped and plugging it into the circuit board. A purple sheen seemed to vibrate around the bundle of wires and boxes.

Gunther leaned over your shoulder, peering at everything through the spectacles perched on his pudgy nose. “Well done, dear. Say, before we turn this thing on and start running some preliminary tests, would you mind grabbing us some tea from the caf? My treat.”

“Of course,” you said, standing up and brushing your hands off. “Lapsang?”

He nodded. “And anything you’d like.”

You pulled my scarf back on, pulling it snugly around your neck and snatching your bag from the table. The walk to the cafeteria was short, but it was cold enough to require suiting up again. You ordered, paid with Gunther’s card, and sat quietly as you watched the snow fall outside.

It was a beautiful morning. The wind had died down, leaving the snow to fall from the gray skies in fat, puffy flakes. The city outside was quiet, with only the gentle hum of the occasional car to break the silence.

“Y/N! A Lapsang Souchong and a Jasmine Green?”

You leapt up and grabbed the two disposable cups, smiling widely at the barista. “Hey, would you mind throwing a bag of coffee in too?”

“Anything specific?” he asked.

“I don’t know anything about coffee,” you admitted. “Anything that isn’t decaf. It’s for my roommate.”

He nodded and rang you up for the coffee, and you were back on your way.

“My dear!” boomed Gunther when you came back, throwing the lab door open and nearly floating off the ground in excitement.

“Lapsang with a spot of honey, as always,” you said, passing the cup into his hands. The bite from the heat slowly faded from your palm—the barista had forgotten to put a sleeve on his cup.

“Lovely,” he said, setting it down next to you. “I’m just going to go ahead and flip the switch…keep your wits about you! Haha.”

“Ha,” you said, though suddenly you were getting more nervous. The longer you looked at the wires, the less sense they made. And was that two uncovered wires touching? ”Hey, wait, actually—”

Click.

A hum filled the room as the power flicked on. The bright white overhead lights flickered once, twice, and then went out. Something that smelled suspiciously like smoke filled the room.

“Fuck!” Gunther fumbled for the switch. You, similarly, lunged forward to see if you could manually disconnect the wires from the input. “It’s short circ—”

As soon as you made contact with the input wire, you heard the sound of a cup tipping over seconds before the splashing of hot tea.

Then everything went black.

When you awoke, it was because you were shaking so hard that your teeth were clicking painfully together.

Slowly, you pulled open my eyelids to see a brilliantly blue sky without a cloud in sight, wide and unimpeded by any skyscrapers. This was definitely not Gunther’s lab.

You groaned as feeling began to return to your body, along with a thudding headache and soreness in every joint. Gently, you pressed your weight into your fingers and slowly sat yourself up, making observations as you went.

You were not dead. Your heart was still beating and your nerves still functioned as usual. You had no idea how long you'd been lying on the ground, but it had to have been at least an hour given that the sun was almost in the middle of the sky.

Another observation: you were nowhere near Terranova.

Instead, you were in the clearing of a forest, surrounded by trees with unfamiliar trunk patterns and leaves. A thick bed of white snow coated everything in sight except for you.

You were well and truly fucked. There was nowhere even remotely nearby the city that you knew was in a fully forested area.

Though at least now you held the title of the first person alive to travel at light speed. It was a small comfort, but it was something to cling to.

A shriek sounded behind you, and you spun around, still seated on the ground. The forest line was clear, but you could hear rustling. For a moment you considered that it could be an animal, but it didn’t sound like any woodland creature. It sounded unmistakably human.

“Hello?” you called out.

The shriek came again, accompanied by more crunching—both much closer this time.

“Are you alright?” you asked, hoping your voice would carry to whoever it was. “Are you hurt?”

A mangled man suddenly came into sight as he fell into the clearing from a lopsided sprint, barreling right towards you. One of his knees was bent outwards as he went, so badly it looked broken, but it wasn’t enough to slow him down as he ran towards you.

You screamed, a real and proper one that pierced the frigid air. There was no time for to run as the man closed the gap and rammed into you, his filthy hands gripping your arms through your heavy jacket as his snapping teeth and rancid breath lunged for your neck.

Bang!

A single shot rang out. The man fell limp, slumping on top of you as you frantically snapped into motion and scrambled out from under him.

“Who the fuck are you?”

You whipped back around to see a girl standing at the other side of the clearing, a revolver in her hand and an incredibly cross expression etched into her features. She must’ve been around your age, and she had short auburn hair that barely brushed her shoulders and was being tossed about by the wind. There was a spattering of freckles across her face, muted against the backdrop of her cheeks reddened from exertion.

“Hi,” you said, your voice small and pathetic. You couldn’t stop shaking. “I’m Y/N.”

The girl just stared at you for a few more beats before turning back. “Jesse! Dina! Some help?”

You pulled your knees into your chest as you waited for whatever was to come. Now that the man was off of you, you could see that there was blood trickling from his gaping maw. Something that looked almost like shards had sprouted, like little spring buds, in little areas around his face. Even his normal, unshard-ed skin was a pallor that looked like death. Something wasn’t right here.

“Okay,” said the girl, gruffer this time. “Listen, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are just waltzing in like this, but this isn’t open to the public, alright? You’re trespassing.”

“Sorry,” you said, shrinking further into yourself as you thumbed the edges of your scarf. “I didn’t know.”

“Get the hell out of here,” she said, grabbing your backpack from the ground near her feet and throwing it at you.

Two other people emerged from the trees, another girl and one guy. They all seemed roughly the same age—early 20s, maybe—and were all carrying various weapons ranging from guns to knives.

To say you were on edge would be the understatement of the century.

They spoke in hushed tones as they approached the first girl.

“I don’t understand,” the other girl said, long black locks escaping from her ponytail. “We literally just patrolled this area. There’s no way to get here without either going through the town or going over the pass, and no one’s done that.”

“And you’re sure you didn’t see her then?” The boy looked curiously at you.

“Fucking obviously,” snapped the first girl. “I think we would’ve noticed.” Then, directed at you: “Hey. How’d you even wind up here?”

“Uh….” Your mouth became dry. “Where am I again?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me you don’t even know?”

“Ellie,” warned the other girl. “Maybe she’s been out here for a while. Hypothermia can make you think crazy things.”

“She doesn’t look like she’s been out here for long,” pointed out the first girl, presumably Ellie.

“You’re right outside Jackson,” said the other girl helpfully.

“How close am I to Terranova?”

“The fuck is Terra-whatta?” Ellie frowned at you.

“Where I live,” you said. “I—I’m a student there. I was working on a project and something went wrong and then all of a sudden I woke up here and—what is that thing?” You gestured frantically at the limp body of the man beside you, the shock slowly subsiding as reality set in. “He almost killed me!”

Ellie gaped at you along with her two friends. “What do you mean, what is that thing? Have you never seen a runner before?”

“A runner?” You stared back. “These things are normal enough for you to have a name for them?”

“Oh my god,” said Ellie, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Have you, like, never been outside before?”

“No,” you said, honestly. “I’ve never left the city walls.”

“We have got to take her back with us,” said the other girl.

“Dina.” Ellie scowled. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Dina’s right,” said the guy, finally chiming in. “We can’t just leave her out here. She doesn’t even know what a runner is. She’s gonna be killed like that.”

Ellie considered, gnawing her lip. “Fine. Consider this your lucky day, Y/N. Get up.”

The first thing you did upon reaching your feet was faint once again.

“I told you, Joel, we just found her like this! Lying on the ground, with nothing but her bag.”

A man said something that you couldn’t quite catch.

“Yes. I went through it. No weapons, just…weird things. Like this.”

Your eyes snapped open to see Dina rooting around in your backpack, pulling out your laptop. You were laid horizontally on a table in some warmly lit home.

“Hey!” you said. She turned around, along with a tall, buff man at her side. “Be careful with that. That has all my homework on it.”

“See?” Dina whispered. “Do you think she hit her head or something, Joel?”

Joel frowned, picking up your laptop despite your protests. “I haven’t seen one of these in…I can’t even remember how long. And I’ve never seen one this slim before. Where’d you say you got this, er…”

“Y/N,” Dina supplied.

“From my university,” you said. There was a fire that crackled somewhere behind you, and it sounded comforting. “They provide all students with laptops. That’s how we do most of our schoolwork.”

“Let me guess,” said Joel. “You from the North? A place called Terra Something?”

“That’s a real thing?” Ellie came from around the corner, standing with her arms crossed. She’d changed out of her heavy winter coat and was instead wearing a dark gray hoodie with the strings tied into a bow.

“Never been there myself,” he said. “But when I was doing supply runs back in Boston we always heard whispers of a safezone in Canada. For rich assholes who had some even richer survivalist friends. The Fireflies attempted to break in for years, but they could never find it.”

“So, like a QZ?” asked Ellie, looking genuinely curious.

“What’s a QZ?” you asked. No one acknowledged it.

“Not quite,” said Joel. “No FEDRA. With no military presence, I’m sure it was a hell of a lot cushier living there. Wasn’t it, Y/N?”

“I don’t have anything to compare it to,” you said. “But, yeah. I guess it was nice. It was just normal, I guess. Nothing extraordinary.”

“You’re wearing a cashmere scarf,” Joel pointed out. “That’s not what I’d call normal in the apocalypse.”

You blushed, pulling at the fringes of said black scarf. The fabric was thin and soft, impossibly warm against your bare neck. “It didn’t—it doesn’t feel like the apocalypse in Terranova.”

“And how’d you make it all the way out here?”

“I’m a research assistant for a professor attempting to invent travel at the speed of light,” you said. “We just hooked it up to a different wire today. It short-circuited and when my professor and I rushed to shut it off, he spilled his tea on me and the prototype. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

Joel blinked. “What now?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” you said, defensively pulling your knees to your chest. “But I’m telling the truth, honestly. Plus, look at me.” You let go of your scarf and held out your hands, letting the glow of the fire catch the immaculate pearl polish on your fingers. “Do I look like someone who’s traveled from Canada to wherever I am now?”

“She’s got a point,” said Dina, nodding thoughtfully. “It really must be nice where you come from to have hands like that. It doesn’t look like you’ve done a day of work in your life. Reckon you could take us back with you?”

Joel sent her a stern look. “What did you parents do to gain access to a place like that? You the daughter of the president or something?”

“No. They just got lucky,” you explained. “They were summering in Canada and happened to befriend the founders of Terranova right before outbreak day.”

“‘Summering’,” repeated Joel. “It’s been a while since I heard someone use a season as a verb. Somehow it’s not been long enough.”

You cringed.

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s a little disappointing to hear that folks like your parents are still living in the lap of luxury, even after the world ended,” said Joel. “A part of me hoped that karma would get ‘em.”

“I didn’t realize how bad it was out here,” you said defensively. “They didn’t even tell me about…what was that that tried to kill me out there? Walkers?”

“Runners,” Ellie supplied. She watched you quietly from her position leaning up against the couch.

“You ran into one?” asked Joel, another wrinkle appearing in his forehead. “Ellie, have you checked her for bites?”

Ellie’s freckled face paled as she swore. “Fuck. No, I forgot. I should’ve done it in the clearing.”

“Well, better now than never. Listen, I gotta meet up with Tommy. You check ‘er. You got a gun ready, just in case?”

“Excuse me?” you scoffed, looking thoroughly scandalized. “What do you mean, just in case?”

“I’ll be outside,” said Dina, following Joel as he left the door.

“How come it’s my job?” Ellie called after them. “No one asked me how I felt about this!”

The door banged shut in reply. She turned back to face you, her lips set into a firm line. “Fine. Take your coat off. Let’s make this quick.”

“I didn’t feel anything bite me,” you said, grabbing your knees tighter to your chest. Ellie was intimidating and scary, and you rather liked how you currently wore an extra layer of protection.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say.” She walked over to you, grabbing your scarf and unwinding it from your neck. “Shit. Is this what Joel called cashmere?”

“Yeah,” you said, watching as she stared at the fabric pooled in her hands. “It’s nothing special, really. Everyone wears them in Terranova.”

Ellie stared at you. “Can you stop saying Terranova? I swear it’s every third word that comes out of your mouth. I honestly couldn’t give a shit about whatever fantasyland you grew up in while the rest of us dealt with the real world.”

You opened your mouth, then thought better of it and closed it. It was discombobulating to hear a stranger swear so often at you.

Ellie knocked your hands from your knees and stared down at you. “Are you actually gonna make me take off everything myself? Do they have hired help to unzip your coats in Terra Novella?”

“Terranova.”

Ellie let out a sharp sigh, then lunged for the zipper near your throat.

“Okay, okay, fine,” you said, yanking yourself away and pulling your zipper down to reveal your standard lab outfit—a satiny button up shirt tucked into slacks. You pulled the rest of your puffer off, letting it drop in a pile next to you.

“So,” you said as Ellie grabbed your arm, gently rolling up the fabric of your blouse and turning your forearm back and forth, “Is this, like, a normal thing? To have deranged people in the woods attack you like that?”

“They’re not people,” she said quietly. Satisfied with your left arm, she moved to the next and let your unbuttoned sleeve fall. “Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Ellie’s fingers encircled your right wrist as she fiddled with your sleeve. They were warm as they brushed across your skin, just barely touching you. “You really don’t know? I thought you at least knew about outbreak day.”

“Of course I know about outbreak day,” you said defensively. ��I’m not stupid.”

Ellie arched a brow.

“They told us that it was a virus,” you added. “That it was lethal and incredibly infectious. Is that not what happened?”

“It’s not a virus, it’s a fungus,” corrected Ellie, letting go of your sleeve and stepping back as you redid the buttons at your wrist. “And it doesn’t just kill. It turns you into—into something like what you saw today. You lose your mind. The only thing that matters to you is biting everyone and spreading the infection.”

“Oh.”

“I saw you get tackled. Did your legs get scratched up at all?”

“No,” you responded, feeling thankful that you wouldn’t need to take your pants off. In that moment, literally nothing seemed more embarrassing. Your hands had begun to shake again.

“Didn’t think so.”

“If it had bitten me, would that mean that I…I would get sick too?”

“Nice going, Sherlock,” said Ellie, returning to her spot against the couch. “Really stellar reasoning skills there.”

You pulled your knees back into your chest, the gravity of the situation sinking in. All this time you’d thought it was just a virus—a measly virus that killed. That it could be anything else had never occurred to you.

“Keep shaking and I’m going to start to think that you were bitten.” She smiled thinly at you from across the room.

“I’m sorry,” you said, your teeth bouncing against each other once before you clenched your jaw. “Please cut me some slack. This is just a lot to take in. If you’ll recall, I’ve just been the first person in history to undergo atomic dissolution and reassembly. It’s a wonder I’m still alive.”

“Welcome to the club,” said Ellie, her eyes narrowed. “It’s a wonder any of us are alive.”

Your lips pressed tightly together as you sat, trying your best not to lose it at her. You’d always been brought up to be kind, to be forgiving and sweet and polite. After all, there was never any reason not to be. Terranova’s culture put a heavy emphasis on keeping the peace no matter what. Your parents rarely ever raised their voices. Your professors kindly and respectfully asked their pupils to settle down if they were too noisy, but since you were all brought up with impeccable manners, such instances were few and far between. It just wasn’t a thing to chew strangers out. Such behavior was only reserved for extraordinary situations of the like you’d never experienced. Speaking of manners…

“Thank you,” you said, finally. Yeah, you could be the bigger person.

Ellie’s gaze snapped up to you, her brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“For saving me,” you clarified, avoiding her eyes. They were uncomfortably piercing. “Sorry. I should’ve thanked you earlier. That was rude of me. And I’m also sorry for just barging in here. I promise it wasn’t on purpose. Trust me, I would do anything to be back home right now.”

“I bet you would.” Her eyes dropped briefly to your hands, unblemished and smooth as they clutched your knees. Not even a cuticle was out of place, a result of your weekly manicures and daily lotion habit.

“Sorry,” you said again, feeling heat rise in your cheeks once again. “I probably sound so insufferable and spoiled to you.”

“Just—” She paused, frowning. “Just stop apologizing. It’s fine. It’s not your fault, or whatever.” The words seemed to pain her.

“What’s a QZ?” you asked. Now that you’d had a moment to draw in a few deep breaths, your hands were steady once again.

“Quarantine Zone,” said Ellie. “Established by what was left of the government for those of us normal people. There are a couple scattered around the country in the big cities.”

“Did you live in one? What’re they like?”

She was about to answer when the door banged open.

“Ellie!” Dina’s voice was breathless. “Joel wants me and you to go out and finish the patrol route together. She alright?”

“I’m fine,” you said quickly, hanging your legs off the table and reaching for your puffer.

“God, I fucking love that shirt,” said Dina. “Can I touch it? It looks so soft.”

You had a feeling that you would get on well with her. “Sure.”

“It’s not that soft,” said Ellie from the couch.

“Shut up, Ellie!” Dina walked over to you, grabbing the dangling fabric from your loose sleeves and letting it thread through her fingers. “Sorry about her, Y/N. She’s just like that sometimes.”

“Dina!”

Dina ignored Ellie’s protests, giving you a look full of mirth as she stepped back. “For the record, it was that soft.”

“You couldn’t wear it anywhere,” argued Ellie. “It looks ridiculous. Infected would just snag right onto the sleeves. That’s only if you didn’t get tangled up in a tree from all that loose fabric first.”

“There’s not an abundance of trees or sick fungus people in my research lab,” you said awkwardly. “So that’s not really something that crossed my mind when I got ready this morning.”

“Ha!” Dina’s eyes scrunched. “Ellie, be nice. Maybe she’ll claim us both as her long-lost sisters and get us into wherever she came from, but she’s not gonna if you keep acting like this.”

“It’s okay,” you said, shrugging. “I get it. I can’t even begin to imagine how much different your lives are out here. And, I mean, I probably could if you wanted. I’m pretty sure that all you need is a connection and a negative test for whatever the fungus is called.”

“See?” Dina gestured towards you. “Listen to her. She’s so wholesome.”

“I’d be wholesome too if I led the kind of life where I didn’t know about the infected and got to wear dumb shirts like that all day.”

Dina huffed. “Listen, Y/N, Ellie and I are gonna finish up with patrolling. I’m assuming you want to stay in Jackson until you figure everything out?”

You nodded. “If that’s alright. I don’t mean to impose.”

“We’ll talk to Maria and Tommy once we get back and see about getting you set up somewhere temporarily,” said Dina. “For now, you can just stay at Ellie’s until we finish up. Sound good?”

“Dina!” protested Ellie. “You’re just gonna leave her here unattended without even asking me?”

“What’s she gonna do? Ransack the town? With what weapon, Ellie? Her bare hands? She looks like she’d be blown over if I breathed too hard in her direction.”

You flushed. Sure, you’d never really seen much of a point of bulking up and working out when you were nothing but a student who spent all of her time goofing off with wires and telescopes, but it was humbling to have it pointed out so blatantly.

“She wouldn’t make it a day outside,” continued Dina. “I don’t think she’s stupid enough to try anything. Isn’t that right, Y/N?”

You blinked. “I mean, yeah. I’ve never spent a day without electricity and hot running water, so I’m not really clambering to leave and live in the woods.”

Ellie sighed sharply. “Fine. Cool. Whatever. Just stay where you are, okay? And don’t even think about touching anything.”

By the time that she returned with Joel, you were sitting at the table, 2 chapters deep into the one textbook you’d brought along with you for one of your courses.

“Glad to see the house still standing,” Joel quipped as he worked his heavy coat off his shoulders and pulled his boots off. Ellie trailed behind him, hanging up her coat and pulling off a pair of black gloves. “Ellie was concerned you’d raze the whole town.”

“I’m honored that she thinks me so capable,” you said in response, wincing as you had to dogear your textbook, your bookmarks and sticky notes tucked safely in your dorm desk far away.

Ellie sent you an irritated look before her gaze dropped to the textbook in your lap. It lingered for a moment, just long enough for you to know that she was reading the title Exoplanetary Systems.

“Tommy and Maria have decided to let you stay until you get back on your feet,” said Joel, oblivious to the hostility coming from Ellie. “There’s a cottage down the street that’ll be ready for you to move into soon. For now, you can stay with us. There’s an extra room across the hall from Ellie’s.”

“That’s too kind of you,” you said, your voice smooth and gracious after years of having your manners picked apart by your parents.

Joel looked mildly uncomfortable. “Uh, yeah. Don’t mention it. You know how to ride a horse?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“Good,” said Joel. “Can you shoot, too?”

You stared. “Uh, shoot what?”

“A gun,” said Ellie slowly. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her mouth contorted into a scowl. She did not seem overjoyed at the prospect of a new housemate.

“No,” you said. Your ears felt like they were on fire. “There’s, uh, a strict ban on guns in Terr–where I grew up. There was no reason to shoot anything.”

Joel whistled. “Well, imagine that. So maybe we won’t put you on patrol just yet. We’ll find something else for you to do. Got any other skills?”

Before you answered, Joel picked up your bag and peered inside of it. “Say, is this a bag of coffee?”

He pulled out the bag of coffee grinds that you’d picked up at the cafe.

“Yeah!” you said. “Before the, uh, accident, my professor sent me to get him tea from the cafeteria. I ended up picking those up since my roommate and I were out. You drink coffee?”

“Not much anymore,” said Joel, picking up the bag and weighing it back and forth. “It’s hard to come by out here. You have to pay an arm and a leg to get just a bit. I haven’t seen a bag like this since before the outbreak.”

“It’s yours,” you said quickly. “I don’t even really like coffee. I just drank it because my roommate would make me a cup.”

Joel shook his head and placed it back in your bag. “No, I couldn’t do that. I’d probably have to trade my whole arsenal plus a horse to get something this big.”

“Please, I insist,” you said. “It’s the least I can do. It’s just going to sit in my bag anyway. You’d appreciate it more.”

“Well…” Joel gave you a considering look. “I s’pose this could cover your work for a few weeks until either we find another job for you or Ellie teaches you to shoot.”

“Joel!” Ellie interjected. “I have my own shit to do.”

“That’s really generous of you,” you said, smiling at Joel. “But you could honestly just take the bag—no need to offer any reimbursement.”

Joel grunted and picked the bag up again, slinging it onto the counter behind him. “Maria’s never gonna believe me until she sees this. Full bag of monsoon malabar…didn’t even think they had that shit anymore…” He continued to mumble to himself as he shuffled around, opening and closing cabinets behind you.

When you looked back up, Ellie was staring again at your book, a line in her brow.

“You can borrow it, if you’d like.” You pushed the book towards her as a poor attempt to call a truce between you two. “It’s not like I actually need to do the reading anymore. I’m already missing lecture.”

You winced at the thought of getting behind in your classes. In the very likely case you weren’t getting back in the next few days, you’d probably need to take a gap semester and return in the fall, delaying your graduation date another 4 months. Your parents were going to kill you. This was going to create an unfillable hole in your resume. “Shooting a gun” and “riding horses” were not acceptable activities to explain away why you took a whole season off.

“No thanks,” said Ellie, pushing it back to you. “Keep it. I don’t want it.”

“It’s about solar systems outside of our locale,” you continued. “There’s a bunch of them. It’s actually really interesting.”

“It doesn’t really sound like it,” she said, but there was no venom behind her voice—just something that sounded like exhaustion.

“Maybe not.” You sighed, deflated. So much for a white flag. “I guess it must seem pretty ridiculous to you.”

Ellie stood there, her arms still crossed and her frown deep. “Joel,” she said, speaking over your shoulder, “I’m going out. I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” said Joel. You could hear him bustling around in what you assumed was a kitchen, filling a kettle with water and lighting the gas top stove.

When you turned back around, Ellie was already out the door, coat slung over her arm as she shut it.

Before the door closed entirely, her eyes snapped up to meet yours like she knew you’d been watching her.

She was gone before you had the chance to lift your hand to wave goodbye.

again apologies for this if you’ve made it this far. please confiscate my laptop. part 2 coming soon (?) if u want also im not an astrophysics student im a thickheaded cs student who barely survived ap physics so im sorry if i’m doing a disservice to the academic field of astronomy idk shit about it

#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie williams x oc #ellie williams self insert #ellie williams x y/n

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lex9923 · 1 month

Text

Tw// SA

This will be my one and only official statement on this situation, because frankly I’m done with all of this mental hopscotch happening.

I am a sexual assault victim. I was the same age as Caiti is now when it happened, and I was cornered with his hands down my pants touching my vagina and up my shirt touching my boobs, while I tried to get away and make it stop. I still to this day don’t know who my attacker was, but it will follow me for the rest of my life. It’s been five years since then, and my story has not changed once. Not ever. I hadn’t told people for a couple years cause I thought since I didn’t know who my attacker was, I wouldn’t be believed. As well as the fact that I came forward about a sexual harassment I faced at a job and was met with “well, boys will be boys”. Through it all, I am here, and I survived.

Watching the reaction to this situation from both of the main parties involved, those who weren’t there, those who were, and the fans had sent me spiraling. I’ve spent the past two weeks reliving that trauma from five years ago cause I thought I misinterpreted my assault as something else. I had not, and never have. It’s been incredibly invalidating watching the alleged “victim” change the story multiple times, make fake texts, omit important information, all while not even listening to the person she accused of a criminally offensive act.

Caiti is absolutely allowed to feel uncomfortable and regret what happened after the fact, but it is not, and will not ever be assault-unless George actually did touch her boobs, and then that will be a different discussion, but with her credibility disappearing, I’ll only believe it if he admits it himself. I’m trying to extend grace to her being young, sexually inexperienced, and caught up in online culture, but it’s hard the longer this gets dragged out. There are things you do when approaching a situation like this:

1. You absolutely need to provide evidence and proof of your claims. You can’t prove something that never happened, but you can prove something that did. It’s why it’s innocent until proven guilty. Expecting people to blindly believe you is delusional at worst and ignorant at best.

2. You must absolutely have your story 100% correct and factual to how you perceived what happened, before bringing forth any accusations. Using purposefully charged language and then changing the story to match the one you accused is not it. Nor is changing your story yet again when people are catching on to the inconsistencies.

3. Allow the accused person to defend themself. You can’t expect people to listen to all of your claims-most of them blindly doing so-and then get upset when people wait for both sides to say their piece, especially when you present no evidence at your initial statement. Again, you have to prove guilt. If you can’t prove it, the accused are allowed to defend themself.

4. You are in no way obligated to accept apologies, but acknowledging one was made-multiple times in fact- is the bare minimum. Trying to change your story one last time to make it seem even worse than what you both agreed upon, and then hiding behind “I’m not going to address this anymore” is manipulative at worst and cowardly at best.

I hope Caiti gets therapy, cause it’s clear she’s been severely affected by something, though I’m not sure she even knows what it is. I also hope she learns from this, and next time utilizes the “direct message” function every single app has. This could have been a dm, and the way it spiraled has been a shitshow and her intentions are coming off less and less pure the more this gets dragged out. I’m so sorry she was uncomfortable, and regretful, but until she shows any proof whatsoever of any assault happening, it will never be. I hope she heals, and I hope she gets better friends cause they have all failed her.

For George, I’m sorry this got blown so out of proportion and no one even privately talked to him about any uncomfortability being felt. I’m sorry his friends are performative. I’m hopeful that he was made aware of things he wasn’t before, and will do better next time. He is not irredeemable, and I believe growth is possible (the difference in his two responses proves as such). I hope this isn’t the last we see of him or his content, and I hope he can heal from this as well.

To my fellow SA survivors, I’m so incredibly sorry that our trauma has been thrown around like this. Our hurt and pain do not deserve to be mocked in this way, and I wish it would’ve never even happened. You’re stronger than what happened, regardless of how shitty this situation has been for us. And as a 24 year old, I like to consider myself a big sister of sorts, so I love all of you. We got through it then, we’ll do it again.

Speaking woman to woman, I’m sorry this has been so messed up. This will make it harder for us to come forward in the future and that is indescribably frustrating. However, that does not take away from the pain and hurt we went through, and I hope if you do have the strength to come forward, you are believed.

I’m done with this whole situation. It should not have come to this point, and if you stayed this far, I greatly appreciate you reading this. One last time. Caiti, I’m sorry you were so uncomfortable. Get therapy, better friends, and take a break from the internet. George, I hope you learn from this situation, and I’m sorry you were made out to be a criminally offensive person before giving your side or anyone ever speaking to you.

I hope you both heal.

I hope sexual assault victims having to relive trauma, and are affected by this continue to heal.

I love you all.

Lex

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uhohwhathaveidone · 1 year

Note

Hello, I was wondering if I could request a fluffy Ominis x fem (Hufflepuff) MC? (Maybe post game, but like everyone lives happily au?)

Like where Ominis has a “Secret admirer” who leaves him adorable braille notes shortly after their sixth year starts.. saying stuff like “your bright lovely soul makes the stars envious of your splendor” “your heart is so beautiful, it must’ve been made by angels” and “your kind and gentle heart is lovable beyond words”

He’s so confused, and utterly flustered that someone out there is doing all this for him.. it’s obvious this’s no meer crush. It takes dedication to learn a whole new language, especially one as difficult as braille. What baffles him though is HOW his admirer is leaving these notes for him??? Even in his commen room? (The answer is Seb.. the cheeky little co-conspirator. Mc passes him a few now and then to specifically put them where Ominis can’t help but find them.)

He can also tell that his secret admirer is getting better and better at making the notes, he can tell by the texture alone the quality is always increasing.. eventually he starts looking forward to finding the hidden treasures made specifically for him~ eventually he bumps into MC (perhaps in his distracted mind trying to figure out who his admirer really is, he just trips over and lands on top of MC) the two are are both so flustered that MC gets up in a hurry but before she could escape, Ominis picks up a piece of paper that she dropped in order to hand it back to her.. and he freezes.

Because #1 it’s a Note. #2 this means his admirer is MC, the girl he’s been utterly infatuated with since he first met her. #3 the texture tells him this must’ve been one of the first ones she made. And finally #4 the words on the note. “I believe I’ve fallen deeply and irrevocably in-love with you, Ominis.” He’s grinning like an lovesick idiot~

My brain hurts trying to come up with romantic notes.

Secret Admirer (O.G)

My hair curled up and now it's the opposite of what it was when it got cut, which I knew was going to happen. Still cute though. Obviously, this is a Hufflepuff/Fem/Reader. Ominis is such a sweet boy like I love him. Sebastian is the best wingman, of course. He just has a problem with having a poker face, or lack thereof. I hope you enjoy <3

Ominis sighed as he walked into the common room, making his way to where his dorm was. Sebastian walked beside him, rambling on about how classes seemed to have gotten harder since they started their sixth year. “It’s going to get harder, Sebastian. That’s how it works.” Ominis said, opening the door and walking in. Sebastian groaned as he plopped himself onto the bed, kicking off his shoes. “I know it’s going to get harder, but I can’t be the only one having a hard time already.” Ominis shook his head, placing his bag down next to his bed as he sat on its edge. “I bet y/n has been having a hard time, and she’s brilliant! You can’t tell me that you’re the only one doing well.” Sighing, Ominis reached for his bag and took out a book. “I doubt she’s having any problems. She’s a fast learner.” Sebastian chuckled, speaking quietly. “She sure is.” “What?” “Nothing.”

A week had passed since the three of you had started your sixth year, and after Sebastian had complained enough to the two of you, a study group was created. “Sebastian, do you even remember what you learned last year?” You asked, staring at the parchment he had handed you. He shrugged as he frowned. “Sure, I do! I remember Accio, that’s important, right?” Ominis shook his head as he sighed, flipping through the pages of the charms book. You handed the page back to him, pulling out a piece of parchment from your bag and glaring at it instead. Ominis sat across from you, trailing his fingers down the page. You exchanged glances with Sebastian, who raised his eyebrow and smirked at you. You shook your head as you glared at him, reluctantly handing the page to him. Sebastian grinned at you as he stuffed it into his pocket, returning to his book as he read out a sentence.

Ominis exchanged goodbyes with you as you parted ways by the Hufflepuff common room, walking with Sebastian back to their own dorm. Sebastian continued up to where the two of them slept, leaving Ominis to take a seat on the couch as he pondered about what he had done that day. Sebastian returned shortly after, a sly smirk on his face that he didn’t even try to hide, taking a seat next to Ominis. “Did you know about the spell we learned about today?” He asked, referring to what they had been studying in the library. Ominis nodded as he stretched his arms. “Of course. It’s a simple fire spell; my mother uses it every now and then to light one of her candles.” Sebastian groaned in response. “Well, that certainly isn’t fair.”

The two boys talked for another hour before they decided to retreat for the night. Ominis quickly changed into his night clothes and prepared for bed, while Sebastian sat on his bed, grinning as he waited for Ominis to get into bed. “You sure do take a long time to get ready for bed, you know.” He said, growing impatient. Ominis shook his head as he set his wand on the table, “You seem awfully worried about my routine tonight, I have half the mind to think you were planning something.” Sebastian shrugged as he laid back on his bed. “I’m not planning anything, but it’s late, and you haven’t put all your papers away yet.” Ominis furrowed his brows as he turned to Sebastian, confused. “What do you mean?” Sebastian sighed, slipping under the covers, still smiling. “You have paper on your bed. I assume you meant to put it away?” Ominis huffed in response, grazing his hand over the sheets in search of the paper Sebastian had claimed was on his bed. Sure enough, Ominis’ fingers grazed parchment and he picked it up. He ran his fingers over its surface, reading it to see what class it was for.

The raised bumps were crude, in a way, rather different from Ominis’ normal reading material. He furrowed his brows and frowned as he tried to make sense of it; it was clear that someone unfamiliar with Braille had tried their hand at it, and he felt his cheeks heat up as he began to understand what was being said. “I have been captivated by the stars on your face, each one a testament to your unique beauty. They lead me towards the depths of your soul, and I am constantly in awe of the universe that you contain within you.” Some of the words were misspelled, but they were easy to decode. The note continued. “Let me be your stargazer; let me bask in the light of your beauty, even if it’s only from afar. For as long as you have those stars on your face, I will continue to be your devoted admirer.” Ominis stood there, stunned, as he read through the note again. Sebastian’s shoulders shook in silent laughter as he watched Ominis’ face turn red, smiling as he continued to stand there as he read it.

“What’s the matter? An old worksheet from last year?” Sebastian asked, breaking Ominis from his trance. He stuttered as he turned to Sebastian, eyes wide. “Oh, uh, yes. I believe it is.” Sebastian smiled as he watched Ominis fold the note and place it under his wand. Ominis quickly slipped into bed, telling Sebastian good night as he turned away. He could hear soft snores escape Sebastian as he quickly fell asleep, while he was kept up by his fast-paced heart and thoughts. As he tried to calm his mind, his thoughts went back to the note; the braille wasn’t the best, but it was still impressive if someone didn’t understand the language, and Ominis smiled to himself as he thought about someone potentially learning braille just for him.

He found himself frowning, however, as he thought more about it. How did it find its way to his bed? It was possible that the note was from someone in Slytherin, but the note had found its home on his bed, and Ominis didn’t think anyone would walk into his dorm to place a note like that. He sighed to himself as he shook the thought from his mind, opting to go over the words that had been on the note instead, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

Sebastian had left early the next morning, telling Ominis that he would meet him in class as he took his bag and walked out of the common room. He quickly made his way down the halls and waited near the Hufflepuff common room, spooking you as you turned the corner. “Sebastian! It’s too early for your theatrics.” You said, hand to your chest as you tried to calm your heart. He laughed as he took your arm, leading you down the hall to where your class would be in under an hour. “I took the note you gave me and put it on his bed last night.” Sebastian started, smiling as you blushed slightly. “Did he see it?” He nodded, telling you in detail how Ominis stood, frozen like a statue, for what felt like ages, and how he ran his fingers over the page multiple times, reading it over and over. “Did he say anything about it?” You asked, Sebastian shaking his head. “He seemed rather happy, though. I don’t think he would talk about it so soon after receiving it.” You nodded, biting the inside of your cheek. “What was in that note, anyway?” Sebastian asked, quirking his eyebrow as he smirked at you. You quickly shook your head as you swatted at him. “Just some practice braille, nothing more.” “Sure, it was.” “Shut up.”

Ominis kept the note he had received in the pocket of his robe, neatly folded to avoid any damage to the braille. He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, not even you or Sebastian, who smiled as you watched Ominis graze over the pages of his book. Sebastian nudged you while walking down the hall, smirking at you as you tried to work on your next note as you walked. While you were a fast learner, braille was a whole other language, and you desperately wanted it to be perfect for Ominis, who walked next to you, oblivious. You frowned, glancing over at him, huffing in frustration. “Is there something wrong, y/n?” Ominis asked, causing you to jump slightly. Sebastian chuckled, watching you shake your head as you stuffed the parchment into your bag. “No! Nothing is wrong. I was just…thinking about when we can go to Hogsmeade. It’s been so long!” You fibbed, forcing a smile as you looked at your feet. Ominis nodded in agreement, smiling. “It has been a while, perhaps next week we can take a trip.” You nodded as you swatted at Sebastian again, who had begun to mimic your embarrassment. “Sounds like the perfect plan.” You said through gritted teeth.

A few days later, Ominis arrived at the common room later than normal. The study session had taken longer than expected, even after Sebastian had excused himself, leaving the two of you to go over the potions you had learned that day. You discussed, in depth, how each potion was supposed to look, something that you didn’t really need to know, but still went over. Sebastian quickly left the session after you handed him another note, explaining that he needed to speak with a professor before they closed their doors. Sebastian did not, however, speak to a professor. He had quickly hurried to the common room and looked around, searching for a spot to put the note where Ominis would find it, opting for the seat that he normally sat at. No one really sat in that seat except Ominis, who found it rather comfortable so close to the fire. Once the note was placed, Sebastian sat down in his normal spot, occupying himself with a book until Ominis showed up.

Ominis sighed as he walked in, taking his normal route to his seat by the fire. Sebastian coughed, causing him to jump. “Sebastian? I thought you went to speak to a professor?” He asked, looking in his direction. Sebastian shrugged, “I didn’t get there in time, so I decided to wait for you here.” Ominis nodded as he put his bag down, sifting through it for a book. “Did you walk Y/n back to her dorm?” Ominis nodded, a slight pink tint reaching his cheeks. “I did, in fact. Why wouldn’t I?” “I was just making sure.” Sebastian watched as Ominis took a seat, almost knocking the note over that had been placed on the arm of the chair. It rustled slightly as Ominis’ sleeve brushed it, catching his attention. He picked it up, a slight smile on his face as he felt the bumps through the folded paper.

He unfolded it, running his fingers down the pages as he felt the braille, which had gotten remarkably better in what felt like a week since the last note. “Though you cannot see with your physical eyes, I am in awe of the way you see the world. Your inner vision is a light that shines brighter than any star in the sky, guiding you towards the most beautiful aspects of life.” Stars. Each note had mentioned stars in them, and flustered Ominis as the notes continued to compare him to one. Whoever had written these notes saw Ominis the same way they saw the stars in the night sky; beautiful, something that Ominis never thought about himself. He felt his cheeks grow hotter as he continued. “Let me be your eyes; let me guide you towards the beauty that you so rightfully deserve. For as long as I am by your side, I will be your faithful companion on this journey through life.”

Sebastian had to cover his mouth as he watched Ominis as he sat there, eyes wide and face burning. He watched Ominis’ mouth open and close like a fish as he read through it again, quickly reaching into his pocket. Sebastian’s smile grew as he recognized the paper that Ominis took out of his pocket, watching as he went through both notes now. What had you written this time to make him so flustered? Sebastian shook his head, enjoying the moment as Ominis was left speechless. When you had asked Sebastian if he could give Ominis your little notes, discreetly of course, he never imagined he’d get such a kick out of watching Ominis freak out. “Are you ok? You look like you’ve been hit with a freezing spell.” Sebastian asked, trying to keep his voice calm as his shoulders continued to shake. Ominis didn’t respond, only nodding as he continued to read the notes.

The following weeks went by quickly as Ominis spent each day searching around him for the small notes. He had even asked the two of you to keep an eye out for notes in braille, excited that he had something that only he could truly see. You both agreed, of course, and Sebastian smiled at you when you realized that you had to hand the notes to him in person, your face draining of colour as you thought about it. After Charms, you quickly handed Ominis the fifth note, claiming that he left it at his desk. He accepted it quickly and thanked you, an excited smile on his lips as his cheeks grew pink. You watched him unfold the page and trace his finger over it, finally able to see what Sebastian had talked about.

You didn’t write anything special in the note this time around, opting to speak in a more friendly manner. “It warms my heart that you continue to read my notes. I hope that my braille isn’t as choppy as it was originally, I had been practicing all break to make sure you were able to read it. I am grateful for the time we have spent together, and I look forward to continuing to explore the universe that you contain within you. With you by my side, I know that anything is possible.” Ominis felt giddy as he folded it back up and placed it in his pocket with the rest of them, thanking you once again as you walked together down the hall.

“You don’t normally leave your notes laying around, Ominis. But so far, you’ve had five come into your possession?” You asked, trying to make conversation as well as trying to get a better picture as to how Ominis felt about the notes. He shook his head as he continued to walk, smiling. “It’s rather amazing, actually! I’m the only one who understands braille, yet there is someone writing me notes, for my eyes only.” You nodded, a small smile gracing your lips. “So, you’re not leaving notes lying around?” He shook his head. “Someone is writing to me. At first, I thought it was just a one-time thing, someone just letting me know that there was someone out there with a crush.” You furrowed your brows, “But?” Ominis turned to you, his face turning red as he continued to talk. “They’re love letters, y/n! And from what I’ve read, especially from the one you found, I know them. It’s rather exciting, really.” You chuckled as you turned down the hall to the Hufflepuff common room. Stopping at the entrance, you gave Ominis a final smile. “I’m glad you’re finding a universe in those notes, Star Boy.” With that, you walked into the common room, leaving Ominis on the other side of the wall.

Ominis laid in bed that night as his thoughts raced. He read through the notes again and again, his mind drifting around as he thought back to earlier. You called him Star Boy, and mentioned a universe, just like the notes beside him said. He racked his brain as he searched for a moment where he might have mentioned the contents of the notes, unable to find any as he stared at the ceiling, sighing quietly. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, letting his mind roam without restraints. A few moments later, Ominis found himself staring at the ceiling again, wide-eyed as his mind began piecing things together. Were you the one writing the notes? You had been close friends for some time now, and Ominis would be lying if he said he didn’t have feelings for you, even when he read the first note, his heart skipped a beat at the thought that perhaps you wrote it. Even as he thought about the possibility that you had basically hand-delivered the last note to him, his heart skipped. Ominis could hardly sleep that night.

You sat beside Sebastian in Potions, yawning lightly as you rested your head in your palm. Ominis sat on the other side of Sebastian, going over the peptalk he had given himself that morning before heading over to class. You greeted him as he walked into the room, and he stuttered a hello back before quickly taking out his book and hiding his face in it. You and Sebastian exchanged confused glances before the professor began class, leading to where you were now, slowly falling asleep as Sharp’s voice dragged on. You tapped your fingers on the table, earning a few glances from Ominis as he continued to think about what to say to you once the class was over, unsure if he should just ask you flat-out if you were the one writing the notes or not.

When Sharp dismissed the class, you stayed in your seat, unaware that the class had finished. Sebastian grabbed Ominis’ sleeve as he tried to walk away, chuckling as he whispered that you were asleep. Ominis furrowed his brows as he stood there, listening to Sebastian as he told him to wait. He hovered over you as you dozed, unaware about the assault that he was about to unleash on you to wake you up. Sebastian quickly jabbed his fingers into your sides, causing you to yelp and nearly fall out of your seat as you tried to get away. “Sebastian! What in Merlin’s beard?” You shouted, swatting at him. Ominis chuckled, smiling as he listened to you scold Sebastian. “Well then don’t fall asleep, you’ll be late for your next class.” Your eyes widened as you looked around the room, seeing that only the three of you were left. You quickly grabbed your bag as you shoved your book inside, rushing to the door.

Ominis grabbed your arm as you passed him, hoping to talk to you before you ran off. He took you by surprise, however, and you tripped over the legs of the chair beside you. Ominis quickly grabbed for you as you fell, cursing lightly under his breath as he went down with you. Sebastian smiled as he quickly snuck off, not bothering to help you from the ground. “Are you ok? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Ominis asked, as he hovered over you. You looked around, finding the contents of your bag sprawled everywhere. “Yes, I’m ok, thank you.” You breathed, eyes wide as you stared up at Ominis, feeling your cheeks heat up. “I didn’t mean to take you down with me, I’m sorry, Ominis.” You continued, unable to get up as you laid on your back. Ominis shook his head as he slowly lifted himself off you, taking your hand and helping you gather your things.

“I was hoping I could have a word with you, actually.” Ominis said, handing you a book. You thanked him, putting it back into your bag as you stood. “Perhaps later? Sebastian was right, if I don’t hurry, I’ll be late.” You gave Ominis an apologetic look as he nodded, telling him goodbye as you quickly made your way out of the room. Ominis sighed as he reached down to gather his wand and book, his hand making contact with a piece of old parchment. He furrowed his brows as he picked it up, unfolding it and inspecting it. His eyes widened as he felt the paper, crude braille on its surface. It was rough, far more than the note he had gotten weeks ago. He furrowed his brows as he tried to decipher it. “I believe I’ve fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with you, my dear Ominis.”

Ominis felt his heart skip a beat once again as he held the note, one that no doubt had fallen from your bag when the two of you had tumbled to the ground. He smiled to himself as he held the note, his theory proven correct; you had been the writer. He put the note into his pocket as he walked out of the classroom, grinning. You spent the whole break learning braille for him. You shared the same feelings that he had for you, too, and you called him beautiful, claiming that you wanted to be by his side. He met with Sebastian, who smirked at Ominis when he saw the grin on his face. “Someone’s happy.” Ominis nodded, his smile growing bigger as he glanced toward Sebastian. “Y/n really is a fast leaner.”

#ominis gaunt imagine #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis x reader #ominis gaunt #hufflepuff reader #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy imagine #ominis gaunt fluff #fluff #sebastian sallow

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b00tyliciousbabe · 8 months

Text

my baby daddies - ep. 1

my comeback era xx

arón piper x male reader

summary: inside edition the slutty thoughts i have for mr piper xx

notes: hi ppl, hope y’all missed me. i’m back, after like a year of hibernation, with another imagine! hope you guys are all doing well <3 i will be releasing 2 other series (‘the DILFs’ and a surprise one 🤭) so stay tuned! plus y’all better thank me, I lost this draft not once, but TWICEEEE! happy with this iteration though.

apologies in advance y’all this is gonna be chaotic…and my spanish is very rusty.

you met arón on the set of ‘elite’ because you were in between working with the hair and makeup team whilst designing the costumes. You had familiarised yourself with the entire crew and made loads of friends but from day 1 it was clear that your connection with him was unparalleled. the pinnacle of romantic chemistry. it’s giving one of those moments in the films when the two lovers have their meet cute, staring into each others eyes and the rest of the world is just in their peripheral because at that moment only two people exist - you and him. From then on, the whole crew shipped you guys together, with your work besties ester (who plays carla) and mina (who plays nadia) urging you to make out with him. He too was not exempt from this teasing, and a lot of his fellow male cast mates lowkey pressured him to ask you out. Whilst the premiere was coming up, you began sorting out the final designs for the next season, he ran into the studio wearing nothing but calvin briefs.

“Y/N, you’ve gotta help me.” He said desperately. You were taken aback. You’d never seen someone look so hot while they were needy.

“hey arón, what seems to be the problem?” He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “can’t you see I’m practically naked?” You bit your lips taking in all of him “failing to see the issue here” which garnered a chuckle from him. “please y/n i’m so lost right now, i have no clue what to do” arón began panting which made you panic a lil bit. Placing your hands on his chest, you calmed his beating heartbeat “it’s okay, you know i’ve got you” Pulling one of your personal designs from the rack, you dressed him like he was your ken doll.

“i can do my own buttons you know,” he smiled watching you concentrate and manipulate the fabric to accentuate his features “i know but you wouldn’t be able to execute the vision i had for you in my mind” his eyes softened “you base your designs off me?” you looked up and met his gaze. “i’m not tryna give you a big head or anything, because it’s already quite elliptical, but kinda i guess.” he giggled as you watched his smile make his face look even cuter. “awww you got a lil crush on me,” aròn chuckled as you playfully beat his chest. “i mean, you’re handsome af I’ll give you that,” you felt his chest heaving with passion “why do you ask?” aròn held both your hands stopping you from working. “y/n,” you look up, all doe-eyed, surprised at the lack of distance between your lips. he breathed closer, opening the gates to your mouth as he graced you with a peck that lasted what felt like ages. the rest was history; that night he debuted the two of you as a couple to which was met with so much love.

you are at your gushiest whenever aròn smiles. it just makes you feel so happy seeing him so cute and all. stroking his cheek in the morning staring at him grinning in his sleep - probably dreaming of you.

the art of communication has always been strong in your relationship. your spanish-german bf was trilingual and meeting you pushed him to learn more on the side. your spanish was decent, certainly nothing to be proud but it improved drastically working on the show and being with aron. you were also highly proficient in two other languages and so he was adding to your roster. your relationship with him was a testament to the betterment of both people in a couple, you both pushed each other to try new things.

aron’s love language is definitely physical touch closely followed by gift giving, and so it made sense that he would buy you jewellery (even giving you his own) so he could both adore and adorn you. your favourite present he’s ever given you was the ‘A’ necklace he flaunts in a lot of his insta posts. he just loves seeing it around your neck - he’s yours. he even has an ‘A’ tattoo that now always reminds him of you.

even in the bedroom the necklace pays a huge role:

“my pretty little muñequita, fuck you feel so good.” he praised, railing you painstakingly slowly in missionary. you watched his eyes mirroring your overstimulated expression, as it darkened with his desire for more. you moved to his necklace which swung gracefully with every deep thrust. “ughhh” aròn’s moans got even loader you picked the pendant up and put it in between his teeth to muffle him. the sweat began to drip off his face as he began to imprint his teeth into the crystals, groaning in pleasure. “Nghhhh nghhh nghhh” it was getting too much for him as he dropped it, all red, hot, and bothered, directly into your mouth. You bit it seductively making your bf smile. other times when he’s hitting it from the back in prone bone, your hot bodies are cooled by the ice around his neck providing an amazing sensation when he spurts his warm cum inside you.

aròn is pretty decently hung, a bit on the skinnier side, nothing monstery, but deffo larger than average and it bends to the left. his favourite position is probably missionary; he wants to see the pleasure he’s giving you. the moans, your eyes, your lips, he wants to soak it all up and treasure every single expression you make whilst he’s inside you. you really like cowgirl as you’ve noticed it gets the most laughs and smiles from him, your biggest weakness. aròn loves it as well. the sight of you holding his pecs, bouncing up and down his pole as he grabs your ass sends him into overdrive. “shit mi amor, ughh, fuck, you sure know how to ride my dick.”

his kryptonite is oral. he’s such a whore for that mouth of yours. you guys waited for quite a while to have any nsfw activity because you wanted to establish a deep romantic connection first. so about 6 months into your relationship, you gave him head for the first time and OH MY GOSHHHH. you were coming back from date night, aròn wore an unbuttoned white dress shirt with chains and rings, all styled by you. it was raining and y’all decided to walk around the city and so tour chivalrous boyfriend offered his blazer to stop you from getting cold. you had never been more attracted to him. the way his wet hair laid messy on his head, abs protruded through his drenched shirt, it turned you on. so when you got into his apartment, you grabbed his hand and took him into the bedroom.

“despacio baby” he chuckled. you pushed him onto the bed, straddling and welcoming him with a kiss. you felt him grow beneath your ass, a sign for you to get on your knees. “y/n, wait what are you doing” aròn says as you began to unbuckle his pants. you didn’t hear, your brain too loud with horny thoughts to answer him. “cariño…” he held your hands at his belt. “are you sure you want to do this.” he asked worriedly, knowing how important sex was to you. “i’ve never been more sure of anything in my life” you mirrored his smirk, as he moved his hands, unbuttoning his shirt whilst you pulled his pants to his trousers. His tan cock stood strong, pink tip peaking through his freckled foreskin. he had a light brown bush leading up to his happy trail, urging you to lick down from his abs to his balls. “I’m so hard right now,” you started bobbing up and down and noticed how much of a panter he was. when he was close you started to deepthroat, to which he responded with a loud moan, yanking his dick out of your mouth and giving you the nastiest facial ever.

fucking loved it, as if he couldn’t love you more already…you were such a cockdrunk slut for him.

music plays a huge part of your relationship. when you guys are in the sheets, the symphony that comes from your bedroom is actually next level. oftentimes, aròn catches you humming and singing in the shower, to your embarrassment. “why are you hiding your face, your voice is incredible.” he praises. for his upcoming album, whilst in the studio, you came to check up on your bf bringing your freshly homemade brownies that you knew he loved. you knew aròn had been having a bit of a hard time completing one of the final tracks. as his team listened back to the record your bf was getting frustrated “ughhh it’s shit!” as he growled chucking song sheets across the room. “y/n you’ve got to speak to him, no one else is getting through to him and we are on a tight deadline” the executives who were present at the times warned. “he’ll be ready, i can assure you” you urged everyone else to leave the room. “aròn.” he didn’t answer. your tone softened, “papí…” you moved to him, noticing how tense he was getting. he looked up at you with teary eyes, hurting at how anxious he was getting. you knew what to do. “come on.” he followed u back into the recording booth. the track was playing, and all you did was talk, he spoke about his issues with fame, love, and life, and it was the perfect outro/interlude. you also added background vocals and harmonies into his tracks and the media went wild for it!

#gay #bottom male reader #aron piper #smut

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muffinpink02 · 1 month

Text

Bronze Is Better Then Gold Part 3

part 2 here

Warning - gun violence, some sexual harassment language

“Where would you like to go?” Lucy looked over at Ona.

“It’s your birthday, we can go wherever you like.”

Lucy sat back in her seat thinking. “There’s a restaurant not far from here that I’ve wanted to go, it’s Spanish Tapas.”

“Perfect, I love it already.” Ona smiled.

“Okay, but only if you’re sure. I don’t mind if you don’t want to.”

Ona rolled her eyes. “What? Come on. Don’t be stupid. Of course I want to go. It’s your birthday, we have to celebrate.” Ona said it like it was the most obvious thing to do.

Lucy nodded her head and smiled. She put her keys in the ignition and drove them to the restaurant.

The girls were seated in a booth, Spanish music played throughout. Ona started to dance as she looked around the restaurant “I like it here.” She smiled as she wiggled in her seat.

Lucy couldn’t help but smile, she loved how free Ona was, she seemed to always be happy, never taking herself too seriously.

They ordered their food, sharing a jug of sangria. Lucy only having two glasses as she was driving.

“Your mum is sweet.” Ona smiled at Lucy.

The older brunette nodded, smiling. “Yeah she is. Sorry I know she can be a lot. She doesn’t know when to be quiet sometimes.”

It was clearly obvious what Lucy’s mum had said, Ona heard her. Lucy heard her. And it sounded like Lucy had been talking about the Spaniard quite a bit to her mum. The younger girl wanted to tease Lucy, or maybe even question her on it, but she had seen in the car just how embarrassed she had gotten. Even now she was trying to avoid her eyes, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

But, did Ona feel completely giddy at the thought of Lucy talking about her to her mum? Yes!

In all honesty Ona wouldn’t even know how to go about that kind of conversation. Their flirting was something the younger girl wondered about constantly. She wondered if it was just Lucy’s personality, maybe she was just a flirt? Maybe it wasn’t anything serious and Ona was just fantasising it all?

But Ona had seen the way Lucy looked at her, how she acted around her. She had heard the small teasing from the girls in the office. But if Lucy wasn’t going to say anything neither was Ona. Yeah, she was brave enough to take down criminals and drug lords, but to ask Lucy if she had any feelings towards her? No. That’s something she couldn’t do and clearly neither could Lucy.

She also didn’t want to ruin the friendship, she really got on with Lucy, she didn’t want it ever be weird between them just because she opened her mouth about how she felt. She had noticed Lucy wasn’t great with her feelings, she was a lot more reserved than Ona. Lucy was also kind of her superior, well kind of. They had the same title but Lucy had a lot more experience and years under her belt.

Ona scooped up some food bringing it to her lips. “Mums are just that way.” Ona chuckled lightly.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yeah.”

“So when did you learn Spanish?” Ona asked, deciding on changing the subject.

“I lived in Barcelona for a year when I was 22, so I taught myself Spanish.”

Ona raised her eyebrows and smiled. “That’s impressive, most brits don’t want to learn the language.”

“Well, I’m half Portuguese. So I picked it up a bit easier.”

“Ahh, I see. What did you think of Barcelona?”

Lucy sat back. “Beautiful. Such an amazing city. I loved the people, they’re so calm. Going to the beach everyday didn’t hurt.”

Ona smiled. “What made you move there?”

“I went travelling, Barcelona was fifth on my list but I ended up staying for a girl.” She took a sip of her drink.

“Ohh she’s a romantic.” Ona wiggled her eyebrows.

Lucy chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that, but I try.” She shrugged her shoulders, playfully smiling at Ona.

“Do you have any siblings?” Ona asked.

“Yeah, I have an older brother and a younger sister. My brothers got a little girl, Rudy. She’s crazy.” Lucy smiled to herself.

“Oh you’re the middle child? That explains a lot.” The younger girl laughed at her own joke.

Lucy laughed. “It’s not our fault we get left behind and have to fend for ourselves.” Lucy chuckled. “Do you have any siblings?” Lucy asked.

“I have an older brother. He speaks to me sometimes but not so much, I think my mum and dad don’t like him talking to me.”

“I’m sorry, Ona.”

“I’m used to it now. I have some good friends, some from Barcelona that live in London. So it’s not so bad. I also have new friends.” She lifted her glass towards Lucy, taking a sip.

Both girls couldn’t help but feel like they was on a date of such. Yes, it was for Lucy’s birthday, it was spontaneous (only because of her mum) but it was just them, them and that invisible rope pulling them closer. It felt like another boundary of their relationship had been pushed, from the car trips, the late night texting, the constant flirting. Another layer had been added to the mix, and neither girl knew what to do with it.

The evening was relaxed and chilled, both girls finding out more about the other. Ona even said the food reminded her of a restaurant back home. They spent hours just talking, their food was long gone, other tables had long left. It was only until the staff started to make a point of clearing the tables around them that they decided to leave.

“Looks like they want us gone.” Lucy laughed.

Ona huffed, not wanting to leave. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Let me just get the bill.” Lucy looked for a waiter.

“I’ve paid. It’s your birthday. You don’t pay.”

“What? Ona no. God you’re sneaky. When did you do that?”

“When I went to the bathroom.” Ona started to get up, clearly not caring about the older brunettes protests.

“Thank you. You really shouldn’t have.” Lucy smiled shyly.

“It’s no problem.” Ona smiled back.

Lucy couldn’t help but feel a sense of pure happiness but also a weird feeling of sadness. She was starting to get big feelings for the small girl next to her. In the space of a month Ona had made her remember what it was like to be happy, she was like a breath of fresh air, something Lucy needed. Their constant flirting was hard to read but it was so natural, she was just worried, worried it might not be as mutual as she wanted.

She pulled up outside Ona’s building, in her usual spot.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, Ona had played them back in her head countless times. ‘Do you want to come up?’ It was six easy words, but she couldn’t form them. You didn’t have to be a genius to realise Lucy and Ona liked each other but for some reason they were the thickos that didn’t see it. If you were in there company for more then five minutes it was obvious.

Both of the girls wanted the same thing, but know one had the guts to take it that step further. Ona wanted to be brave but she was unsure. As much as she thought Lucy liked her, she still had some doubt.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” She winced at her own words.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, haven’t done anything for my birthday in a while. Should be fun.” Lucy smiled at the younger girl.

“So am I. Will be nice to go out and have a night out, I’m glad I get to celebrate your birthday with you. This was nice.”

Lucy smiled softly at the brunette. Her beautiful brown eyes looking back at her. It was like she could feel Ona wanted to say something.

“Yeah, it was. Thank you again.”

Once again both the girls wanted to just lean in and kiss the other, wanting so badly to feel her lips.

Ona slid out the passenger side. Lucy didn’t leave until she saw the front door close behind her. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

————-

Lucy took one last look at herself in the mirror before she headed out. She had decided to go for a simple look but still enough to look like she actually tried to make an effort.

She had on brown cargo trousers and a cropped white vest, showing off her abs of course. She wore a pair of brown and white trainers, finishing her hair off in a neat bun.

👮🚓👮 group chat

Demi - be there in 5

Jill - me and Mary are at the table

Lauren H - on way will see you in a bit

Lucy was running a little late, but only by ten minutes or so, it was her birthday she could be late if she wanted.

Her Uber pulled up outside, she took one last look at herself and made her to her ride.

From the group chat it seemed everyone was there.

She thanked the driver and made her way inside, she could hear the girls before she could see them. She went upstairs to a sea of faces, everyone had turned up, but there was one face that stuck out the most.

Ona. And she looked good.

She had her hair down, falling over her shoulders. Lucy had never seen it down before, she had worn it in a bun since the day she started. Her hair had caramel waves blended with her her dark hair, it made her face even brighter.

The Spaniard wore loose jeans, with and oversized pink shirt, wearing a black lace vest underneath, slightly revealing her chest. Lucy couldn’t keep her eyes off the girl. She tried to make a bee line for Ona, but before she could she felt an arm around her shoulder.

“There she is!” Millie’s voice boomed in Lucy’s ear. She put a shot glass under Lucy’s nose, the smell of liquorish hitting her nostrils.

“Come on, drink it. Don’t make me force you.”

Lucy laughed, she took the glass and swallowed the bitter substance, Wincing slightly from the burn trickling down her throat. Millie whooped, patting her on the back.

“Thats it. They’ll be more of that later.” The blonde walked off, pushing another shot glass under Lauren J’s nose.

The brunette laughed at her friend’s antics, shaking her head. She turned to look back at her destination, finding a pair of eyes on her. Ona was smiling brightly at her, she felt her eyes moving up and down her body, stopping on her stomach, clearly enjoying the view.

She walked to the table where Ona, Jordan and Demi sat. Demi caught where Ona’s eyes had landed.

“About time. We thought you’d never make it!” Demi said.

“You can’t be on time to your own party Demi, come on.” Lucy smirked.

“Come on then, what you drinking?” Jordan stood up grabbing Lucy behind her neck.

“Rum and coke please.”

“Have they been nice to you Ona? You can tell me, I’ll have them filing reports all week.”

“Oi, we’re always nice!” Demi shouted before she was being dragged by Jordan to help with drinks.

“You look nice.” Ona smiled shyly at Lucy.

Lucy felt her cheeks blush. “Thank you, so do you.”

—————

Once everyone had gotten a few drinks down them, they headed over to the karaoke bar. Of course Millie and Rachel went first, singing their hearts out to Tina Turner - Proud Mary.

Everyone whooped and clapped as they walked off the stage.

“Right come on birthday girl, it’s your turn.” Millie handed the mic over to Lucy.

“What? No, I’m even not even close to drunk enough.”

“Don’t be daft. Here take it.” Millie pushed the mic into Lucy’s hand.

Demi and Jordan laughed at Lucy’s face, clearly not happy.

“Come on sour puss.” Jordan laughed.

“Ona will do it with you! You can do a duet. Come on!” Demi joined in then.

Lucy looked over at Ona, who was currently having her ear chewed off by Mary.

“Ona! Come. Lucy’s needs you.” Jordan shouted.

Lucy wanted to slap Jordan for phrasing her words like that but she couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face when Ona nearly got whiplash with how quick she turned her head.

“Me? For what?” She smiled.

“I don’t think I can say that out loud.” Jordan whispered so only Lucy could hear. She got a slap to the head, and a Lucy death glare.

The shorter brunette walked over, her abs on full show now. Lucy couldn’t stop her eyes from gazing over her skin. The Spaniard caught her eyes, smirking knowingly.

“What is it you need?” Her accent was stronger now that she had a few drinks, a cheeky smile plastered her face.

“Lucy wants you to duet with her.” Jordan smiled from ear to ear.

“Fancy it?” Lucy raised her eyes brows.

“Sí. What are we singing?”

——-

“We can ride it together, ah-ah making love with each other, ah-ah.” Lucy and Ona sang the words together. 🎵

Neither girl could hold a note to save their life’s but they didn’t care, they couldn’t hold back the smiles as they sang. Ona could just about keep up, making up the words as she went, Lucy’s northern accent was thick, making the whole situation 10 times funnier. The group was cheering them on, whooping and clapping, Jordan of course was filming the whole thing.

The song ended, Ona grabbed Lucy’s hand in hers and bowed, both taking glances at the other, laughing at themselves. The group cheered and whistled.

More drinks were consumed, Lucy could feel it but she wasn’t completely drunk, just happy and a little more talkative. She was in the middle of Jill and Demi, arguing about something unimportant, her attention left the conversation a while ago. She had been watching the Spaniard, she was laughing at something Lauren H said. She couldn’t help but smile at hearing her laugh, her laugh was beautiful, it was so high compared to her normal lower voice. A voice Lucy couldn’t help but find herself thinking about constantly.

Ona seemed to be the life of the party, but Lucy wasn’t shocked at that. Ona was a people person, the girls gravitated towards her, she was warm and charismatic, fun and free. Things Lucy loved-liked….liked about her.

“What do you think, Lucy?”

Lucy was pulled from her thoughts. “What?”

Jill and Demi looked at where Lucy was looking, then back at each other.

“You’ve got it bad.” Jill laughed.

“At least you don’t have to watch them throughout the day. The flirting is relentless. It’s crazy how two people can be so obvious that they want each other and not do anything about it.” Demi scoffed.

Lucy scrunched up her face. “Shut up. We don’t flirt. She doesn’t even like me like that.”

Demi rolled her eyes. “Give over. You know she does.”

Yeah, sometimes Lucy maybe wondered if Ona liked her, but that then she would tell herself it was nothing serious. Yeah they did flirt, Ona definitely liked to flirt, and Lucy really enjoyed it, but maybe that’s all it was? Just a bit of office flirting. Lucy didn’t want to assume, and be completely embarrassed when Ona didn’t know what she was talking about, if for some crazy reason Lucy would ask.

They were also partners, she didn’t want to make it awkward. Ona was really good at her job, she had picked everything up quickly and even spotted things Lucy had missed on the case they were working on.

So no, Lucy would play dumb to it. Yeah Demi, Jordan and Jill knew she liked Ona but there was nothing else to it. She just fancied her. No one knew her real feelings towards Ona and that’s exactly how she wanted it to stay.

“Whatever, anyways our tables booked for 10. We better get going.” Lucy quickly changed the subject, downing the rest of her drink.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing.” Demi nudged Lucy’s arm. Downing her own drink. She then loudly cleared her throat.

“Right guys! Drink your drinks, we’re heading to the Pink Lady. We’re leaving in 5 minutes!”

———————-

Lucy sat at the table drink in hand, she was speaking to Chloe about women’s football. Most of the girls were up dancing or at the bar ordering more drinks. To Lucy’s surprise she was actually having a good time, not that she didn’t think she would, but she wasn’t one to celebrate her birthday, she didn’t like anyone to fuss over her. But tonight had been nice, everyone came out to celebrate and it seemed like everyone was having a good time of their own.

She glanced over at the dance floor, she could see a couple of the girls dancing but her eyes were scanning for a certain someone.

Until she saw her with Jill, carrying over a tray of shots, Jordan following with two bottles of what looked like champagne.

“Who’s ready for Tequila!” Ona shouted.

Lucy and Chloe cheered.

“Come on then! Don’t even try to say no Lucy. You’re having a shot.” Jill stated.

“I wasn’t going to argue!” Lucy chuckled, picking up herself a shot.

“Good.” Jill and the rest of the girls licked the back of their hands, shaking a small bit of salt on their skin.

Before Lucy could say anything else Ona’s hands was on her neck, moving any strands of hair from her skin. She tried not to think to much of it, maybe she was more touchy when she had a drink in her, she knew the Spanish were touchy people. Until Ona’s face was suddenly close to Lucy’s.

“llest?” She husked out.

That’s when Lucy felt her tongue on her neck, slowly gliding up her skin.

Her eyes closed at the sensation of Ona’s tongue on her neck. Before her brain could make her mouth talk she felt the small grains of salt stick to her neck and suddenly Ona’s mouth was back on her skin. She glided her tongue quickly, pressing a small kiss at the end and then her lips were gone. She watched as Ona drank her shot, her face scrunched from the burning liquid, then the lime was in between her lips.

Lucy’s brain wasn’t waking up, she knew what just happened but she couldn’t believe that it did. Ona caught her eyes, smiling playfully at her.

“Fuck! That was hot Ona! I didn’t know we were doing it the sexy way.” Chloe laughed out loud.

“Is this not the right way? Don’t you do it this way? Me and my friends do it this way.” Panic set in on the Spaniards face.

“No, I mean you can, but by Lucy’s face I don’t think she knew.” Chloe really laughed then. She nudged Lucy’s shoulder.

“I don’t think she has any complaints.” Jill then laughed.

Lucy chuckled softly, she breathed out loud, looking over at Ona, who genuinely looked worried.

“Scott’s right, I have no complaints.” Lucy finally got her mouth working.

Ona felt her cheeks burn, she did it this way with her friends all the time. Of course she didn’t glide her tongue as purposeful as she did with her friends, and yeah she never left a soft kiss at the end but still, that’s just what they did. She didn’t have time to be embarrassed though as Jordan spoke up.

“It’s only right if Lucy does it back to Ona, bad luck and all that.” She chimed in.

Lucy felt herself freeze up again. Ona wasn’t going to say ye-

“That’s fine with me.” Ona smiled confidently at Lucy, clearly her nerves had left her.

Lucy didn’t have time to think, Ona sat closer to her revealing her neck. It was probably the drink that pushed her but also the fact that there was no way she was going to turn this down.

She pushed the younger brunettes hair back from her neck, letting her fingers just barely touch her skin. She could see Ona breathing a little harder, she opened her mouth and glided her tongue slowly up Ona’s neck. Onas eyes closed from the sensation of Lucy’s tongue on her, slightly making her head swoon. Lucy dropped a small amount of salt on the wet patch she left, but instead of licking she sucked gently on Ona’s neck, she heard Ona gasp from the touch. She even heard a wolf whistle behind her, more than likely Jordan.

Lucy let her tongue roam over her skin, loving the small whimper only she could hear, fall from Ona’s mouth. She pulled back and just like Ona she left a quick kiss on her skin.

Ona’s brain was in over drive, her mind felt cloudy, all she could think about was Lucy’s mouth. She had to restrain herself from grabbing Lucy’s face and showing her exactly what she wanted to do to her.

“That was hot!” Chloe shouted. “We have to get another round. If that’s how your friends party. I want party with them, Ona.” Everyone laughed and agreed.

Lucy sat back, proud of herself, she could see Ona was lost for words, she could see the lust in her eyes. She smiled smugly to herself. Maybe, just this once, she had to thank Jordan for opening her mouth.

“Let’s dance!” Demi shouted grabbing both Lucy’s and Ona’s hands. Ona looked over at Lucy a bashful smile appeared on the shorter girls face as they were dragged to the dance floor. The group danced together, they laughed as Jill did the robot, even Lauren H pulled out the worm. Though Lucy’s and Ona’s eye kept meeting, even when they wasn’t right next to each other they could feel each other. As the music kept going the girls kept dancing, the two brunettes finally finding themselves face to face.

The club had gotten busier now, there was less space to dance with more bodies on the dance floor. So when Lucy and Ona were only a couple of centimetres from each other there was no surprise. Lucy couldn’t keep her eyes off the shorter girl, her hips moved so easily with the music. She watched her tight stomach roll to the beat, her long hair flowing down her back. She had to make sure she wasn’t drooling. Ona smiled knowingly up at the girl, she could see the way Lucy was looking at her, she clearly couldn’t hide it now with the drink in her system.

Ona being the braver one of the two moved a little closer to her, she felt cheeky enough to throw her hand over Lucy’s shoulder. Lucy felt her stomach flutter, the alcohol in her system giving her the Dutch courage to pull Ona in by her waist. Her hand landing on her exposed soft skin that was on show, her fingers tickling against her back. She heard Ona make the smallest of gasps, as she was pulled, the older girl had to hold back her own groan.

Ona crept her hand up the back of Lucy’s neck, making sure her fingers were light but enough to give the girl visible chills. Lucy bit her lip from the touch, she had to bite her lip to keep her moan in. She quickly looked down at the floor, trying to ignore the way her body was reacting, but Ona had already noticed, her beautiful brown eyes twinkled with mischief.

Ona pulled Lucy down gently so she could talk to her, closer than she needed to, not that Lucy was complaining. “Why so shy?” She asked.

Lucy shock her head and chuckled. “I’m not shy. Was I shy earlier?”

Ona let out a deep chuckle. “No. You wasn’t. I liked how you moved your tongue. Maybe we should do another round. But I don’t really need the tequila to do that.” Her lips grazed Lucy’s ear. The older girl closed her eyes and exhaled, trying to calm down the heat that ran through her body.

Ona lent in again. “Would you like that?” Her lips caught the side of Lucy’s mouth, dangerously close to her lips. Ona knew she was being extra flirty, she took the opportunity of the alcohol and the already heated moment they shared earlier to push Lucy. She wanted to see how brave Lucy could be. She wanted to see if all of the flirting was nothing, if maybe she put herself out there just a little more Lucy would reciprocate.

Lucy stared at the Spaniard, the strength it took her to not grab Ona by the hand, drag her the nearest bathroom stall and fuck her till she screamed her name over, and over again was unreal. Those brown eyes were full of lust, it reminded her of when she straddled her in training practice. Another time she wanted to tear the Spaniards clothes off. Her hand was still on her hip, she didn’t realise she was squeezing it until she felt Ona put her hand on hers, stepping impossibly closer. Her face was so close to hers she could feel her breath on her chin.

It wasn’t until the music changed from sexy and slow to fast pop, that Lucy took a step back, putting some space between them. She didn’t miss the way Ona’s face visibly dropped from her movement, her hands dropping from her side. She regretted it instantly when she saw the hurt in her eyes. The thing is she didn’t know what she was doing, her body moved without thinking, she wanted nothing more then to kiss Ona, she wanted to have their bodies pressed against each other. But she was also scared, nervous even. She just needed a to think, she needed air, she needed Ona, but she didn’t know how.

“Erm, I-I’m just going to get a drink, do you want one?” Lucy stumbled.

“No, I’m good thanks.” Ona’s smile never reached her eyes.

Lucy nodded, her lips sucked between her teeth, she grabbed Jordan on the way to the bar, needing her friend.

Jordan grabbed the back of her friend’s neck. Smiling playfully. “Saw someone getting cosy.”

“I fucked it, I got scared. I-I don’t know what do to Jords. I really like her. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea. I don’t want to get close to her then lose her. I couldn’t even look out for Soph-“

Joran stopped her before she could say anymore. “Don’t do that. You got to stop blaming yourself Luce. Please. We were all there. What happened to Sophie wasn’t your fault.”

Lucy looked at Jordan her hazel eyes bore into hers. She squeezed the back of her neck again.

“I haven’t seen you as happy as you are in a long time Lucy, and I think that’s because Ona has brought back that spark in you. Dont loose something because of ‘what if’. Because you’ll be asking that question for the rest of your life.”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah. I know you’re right, I just see Sophie in her Jords, she was free like her.” She smiled sadly.

“I know. I see it too. She was a good one. And so is Ona. I know Sophie would have already forced you into making a move with Ona.” Both girls laughed, Jordan stroked a tear from her eye.

“Yeah, she would have.” Lucy sniffled. “Thank you Jords. I’ll talk to her.”

“Good, now let’s get some drinks.”

“Hey, Jords!” Leah from HR was suddenly next to the girls, her arms open towards Jordan. “You made it!” Jordan happily hugged the blonde back.

“Yeah, sorry we’re a bit late.” Leah said.

A familiar Scottish accent was thrown in the mix. “Hey girls, hope you don’t mind. Leah dragged me along.” Jen waved at Lucy and Jordan. “Happy birthday, Lucy!”

“Ahh thanks, the more the merrier.” Lucy smiled.

“We have a table up over there, what do you want to drink?” Jordan asked.

Leah and Jen looked over at the table, spotting some of the girls from work, Jen spotted one individual in particular. “Ona’s here? Mate she is unreal!.”

Lucy felt her body stiffen up. Her smile dropping. Leah laughed. “Glad I ‘dragged’ you here now?”

Jen hadn’t taken her eyes off the petite brunette, she smiled. “So, so glad. Right, I’m going to put in some work.” She winked at the group. “Leah, can you get me a beer please.”

“Yeah no worries, have fu- oh she’s gone.” Leah laughed. “I bet money she’ll be going home with her tonight. I’ve seen that girl charm the pants off of nun before.”

Lucy watched as the Scottish girl walked towards the table, she made a bee line straight for the Spaniard. She felt her stomach tighten up, an uncomfortable heat swept over her body, as jealousy pricked at her brain. She watched Jen talk to the younger girl, sitting down next to her, she couldn’t help but think Ona looked a bit too happy to see her.

Jordan eyed up her friend, watching as Jen spoke to Ona. She nudged Lucy as Leah paid for her drinks. “Oi, don’t be stupid. She likes you Luce.”

Lucy didn’t look at her friend, she bit the inside of her cheek. She didn’t want to watch the interaction but she couldn’t take her eyes off them. She had no actual right to be annoyed, her and Ona wasn’t together, they wasn’t seeing each other, but… it hurt.

“I’m fine. She’s not my girlfriend.” Lucy shrugged as she drank her beer. Clearly not fine.

As the night went on the group got drunker, everyone was having a good time, except Lucy. She wanted so badly to not let it affect her, but she couldn’t help it. Especially as Jen hadn’t left Ona’s side, she had chewed the girls ear off for half an hour now. Lucy watched as Ona laughed at something Jen said, she could see Jen was getting physically closer to the younger girl, making Lucy’s blood boil.

Jordan tried to distract her, tried to make her laugh, but it was no use, Lucy had gone down a rabbit hole. A hole of anger, sadness and jealousy, and she couldn’t stop herself. She liked Ona, a lot of course she didn’t want to see her being flirted with, and Leah’s words didn’t help.

Ona had lost the mood to dance after Lucy had left her on the dance floor, so she decided to take herself away, feeling a little stupid. She sat at the table scrolling through hers and Lucy’s texts for the 100th time, she wanted to see if she was reading the whole situation wrong. But she saw what she had always seen, flirty texts, ‘good morning’ texts. They even sent each other pictures of their dinners each evening. She was surprised to see Jen when she approached her at the table.

“Hey Ona. Nice to see you here. You’re looking nice.” Jen smiled at the younger girl, her eyes roaming over her body.

Ona liked Jen, as a friend. Dont get her wrong, she was definitely her type but she but she wasn’t the brunette she was after.

“Hey Jen, it’s nice to see you. Ahh thank you, I try when I have to. You look nice also.”

“We both know you don’t have to ‘try’ to look good Ona.” Jen smiled playfully. She sat down next to her. “Why you not dancing?”

Ona ignored the compliment with a polite smile. She knew Jen liked her, she made it very obvious, she flirted with her any chance she could, again, not that Ona hated it, she just had her eyes for another.

“Ohh I just got a little tired.” Ona said.

“I can keep ya company then.” Jen smiled from ear to ear.

The Scott shamelessly flirted with the Spaniard, Ona even found her self blushing at certain points, she had to admit Jen was charismatic, and very attractive. She nearly made her stop thinking about the weird and embarrassing interaction she had with Lucy. Nearly.

Ona was confused, Lucy gave her all the signs of liking someone, they flirted constantly, they did things some couples don’t even do. They had a close relationship, and it was more close than just friends. Was she going about this the wrong way? Maybe Lucy was scared? Or was Ona just delusional? It even made her wonder if Jen liked her or she was just being delusional on that too.

Even though Jen was flirting till the cows came home, she had really good chat. She actually had a lot in common with the girl and the conversation was nice, though she couldn’t stop thinking about Lucy. She hadn’t actually seen her for a while, she thought she must be on the dance floor with the girls, where she wanted to be. Maybe she needed to be straight up with Lucy, just ask her, ask her what’s this is, tell her she likes her. Tell her she’s the first and last thing she thinks about everyday, when she wakes up and goes to sleep. Tell her how much she wants to be with her, emotionally and physically.

Fuck it.

Thankfully some of the girls came over, making Jen say hello to them. Giving Ona a chance to leave without being too rude. Ona stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom, then to dance. I’ll see you around.” She smiled at Jen.

“Yeah, no worries, I’ll see you in a bit.” Jen smiled at Ona but not without glazing her eyes at her tight stomach. Even Ona had to admit her cheeks flushed pink at the look. Though her skin still burned from Lucy’s mouth on her neck, she could still feel her talented tongue on her skin, making Ona’s knees buckle.

She smiled and made her way to the toilets hoping to find Lucy. She wasn’t sure if it was the drink in her system or Jen flirting with her, that kicked the fire inside her, but she was glad it was burning.

She swung the the toilets doors open, but they were empty, she even called out for Lucy, but no one called back. She didn’t see her in the crowd or on the dance floor. She made her way to the bar, but still no sign, she worried that she might have left. She decided to go to the spot where she saw most of the girls dancing. She spotted Demi, who also spotted her, she pulled her in to the group.

“Ona!” Demi shouted excitedly.

“Demi! Have you seen Lucy? She shouted.

Demi nodded. “She’s looking for you, but she said she’d come back, wait here for her!”

Ona felt her stomach dip, Lucy was looking for her? She wondered why. Maybe to apologise and tell her she likes her? Or maybe to tell her she had made things weird and that she’s going to get a new partner at work. She hoped it was the first one.

“Okay.” She nodded and smiled at Demi. Demi grabbed her hands and twirled the petite girl into the middle of the group. The girls cheered and whooped once they saw Ona. She laughed and danced with her friends, trying to forget the weird feeling in her stomach.

Like Ona, Lucy had been looking for the shorter brunette. One minute she was watching her with Jen, the next she was gone. Something has stirred inside her, seeing her with Jen gave her a kick up the arse. She wanted to talk to Ona, she needed to tell her how she felt, tell her why she was so hesitant, explain why she pulls away. Frustratingly she had been 10 steps behind Ona when she was looking for her.

After no luck finding the girl, she made her way to the bar to grab a drink. When she got her drink she looked over the short balcony, down on the dance floor. She looked over the sea of people dancing and having fun. And that’s when finally spotted the Spaniard in the middle of their group, she couldn’t stop the smile that took over her face as she watched the younger girl dance. She began to make her to way to her. Ready to talk.

Ona was lost in the music, she swayed her hips, her eyes closed, letting her body do what it did best. She was already drunk at this point, like everyone else around her. She was a natural when it came to moving her body, her hips looked as if they had no bones, she was able to move them like a snake, moving her waist to her own accord.

Thats when she felt the strong familiar body behind her, she could feel the soft touch of breast so she knew it was a woman. She could smell that familiar perfume that Lucy always wore. She felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter, maybe Lucy was feeling braver. She smiled as she backed her hips into the woman, feeling her strong firm body against her own. Strong hands roamed up her body, short nails gently scratched at Ona’s exposed skin. Making the shorter girl gasp at the touch.

Ona was still wrapped up in her drunk ignorant bliss she didn’t want to say anything, she didn’t want to frighten Lucy again, incase she pulled away, incase it got too real. She laced her fingers into the hands on her body bringing them to her hips, letting the girl guide her backwards into her core. Her eyes were still closed, as she felt lips come close to her ear.

“Aye, I knew you was playing hard to get.”

Ona froze, her eyes opening wide. She turned to see Jen looking down at her, a very pleased smirk on her face.

Lucy had to push past the crowd to get to the group of girls, she felt excited to get to Ona, finally feeling brave enough to tell her how she felt. Tell Ona what the she means to her. Even if they hadn’t known each other very long, she was feeling things for her. She had since the day she set eyes on her beautiful face.

But that all came crashing down when she saw Ona dancing with Jen.

She watched as Jen ran her hands all over the petite brunettes body. The feeling that took over Lucy’s body was cold, it felt like her blood had just turned to ice. It made Lucy feel physically sick, the anger that followed was overwhelming. Lucy had gone through many hard times in her life, felt many different emotions of hurt and pain, but this one felt personal, this one hurt in the bottom of her gut, as if Ona put a knife through her heart.

She couldn’t stand there and watch anymore, she disappeared into the crowd.

Ona moved away instantly putting as much space between herself and Jen as she could. “Jen? W-what? I thought y-you was Lu-,”

“What’s wrong hen? Don’t act shy now.” Jen didn’t mean to read the situation wrong, but she pulled Ona against her front, bringing her closer to her face.

“No. I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know…I thought you was someone else.” She forced a laugh, not wanting to make the situation too serious.

Jen looked a little stung but she didn’t take it to heart. “No worries. I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t. Sorry. I just didn’t think.”

Jen nodded, she smiled sheepishly at the younger girl. Leaving her with the rest of her friends.

Ona pushed her hair back out of her face, she let out a puff of air. She looked around the room, hoping to see Lucy. But little did she know Lucy had seen her.

The older brunette was in an Uber home, she didn’t say a word to anyone, she was lost in anger, anger for Jen, anger for Ona, well, it was more hurt. Not that she had the right to feel anything against the girl. She wasn’t her girlfriend, she wasn’t seeing her, she had never made it apparent to Ona that she wanted nothing more than the flirting. Ona had literally tried to give her an olive brunch but she didn’t take it. She was simply too late, and that was her own fault.

👮 🚓 👮 Group chat

Lucy - hey girls, sorry had to leave was feeling really sick, home now, thanks for a good night

The brunette didn’t look at her phone again after that. She took a long hot shower, letting herself get lost in her own misery. She was shocked to feel hot tears roll down her face, but she would blame it on the alcohol. She took herself to bed, wishing she’d never gone out tonight.

——————-

When Ona read Lucy’s message she was confused, Lucy didn’t seem sick when she was with her. She was fine until… until Ona put a move on her. Was it her fault? She couldn’t help but think she left because of her, maybe she made her uncomfortable? She texted the brunette straight away but got no reply.

01.02am Ona - hey, are you okay? Call me xx

The next day she still had no reply, but she tried again.

9.18am Ona - good morning, I hope you’re feeling better. If you need me to get you anything I can xx

But as Lucy was radio silent Ona became worried thinking the worst.

12.46pm - Ona 1 Missed call

13.08pm Lucy - sorry, not been on my phone, feeling better, thanks, will see you Tuesday x

Ona stared at her phone, that dreaded sinking feeling washed over her, she felt her eyes prickle with the heat of her emotions racing through her. The thoughts had swirled around in her head all weekend, she had a weird nervous feeling. She had ruined it.

Tuesday morning rolled around, and Ona nearly called in sick, she didn’t want to face Lucy. She debated to text the older brunette to not worry about picking her up, that she was running late, but she didn’t want to make it weirder than it was. So she waited like she normally did for Lucy, sitting on the wall outside her flat, she worried Lucy might not have come, until she spotted her car pulling up. She had brought them both a coffee, like she did every start and end of the week.

Ona exhaled a deep breath as she got in Lucy’s car. “Good morning. Here’s your coffee.”

“Thank you.” Lucy smiled, though it wasn’t her normal smile, Ona could see that straight away. Come to think of it, her eyes looked red and sore. Had she been crying? Or maybe it was where she was unwell.

“Are you okay Lucy? You see-“ Lucy cut her off.

“I’m fine. Just tired. Did you have a good time the other night?” Lucy kept her face forward.

Ona felt the coldness from her straight away, it made her body ridged. She looked at the older girl, she could feel something was off but she didn’t want to push Lucy, she clearly didn’t want to talk. “Yeah, it was good. But you were missed.”

A soft, but sad smile appeared on Lucy’s lips. “Yeah, wasn’t great timing.”

Ona nodded, they sat mostly in silence as Lucy drove them to work. Ona encouraged the odd conversation but the older brunette didn’t give her much. By lunch even Jordan and Demi noticed the difference in the brunette. They gave the younger brunette questioning looks, but she shrugged, not knowing what to do.

By 4pm Jordan had enough, she watched Lucy go to the kitchen and followed her in. “Oi, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Lucy was putting the kettle on. “Nothing. Why?”

Jordan rolled her eyes. “Come off it. There’s clearly something wrong. Is it with you and Ona?”

Lucy’s shoulders dropped. “I saw her dancing with Jen the other night.”

Jordan looked at her friend. “That’s why you left? You wasn’t sick?”

Lucy shook her head. “No. I just lost it Jordan. Jen was all over her, and I know I don’t have any reason to be annoyed. B-but I just…ergh I don’t know.”

Jordan gently grabbed Lucy by the back of her neck. “I’m sorry Luce. But I don’t think it would have been anything serious though. She clearly likes you. She might have just been a bit drunk. You know, the Spanish are very free spirited. It might not mean anything to her.”

The kettle came to a boil. Lucy let out a long sigh, she pinched her nose in frustration.

“Yeah, I’m overreacting, I know, but it did hurt to see it. I don’t know how to be with her. I’m trying to be normal but I can’t.”

Jordan nodded, listening to her.

“I guess I’m just hurt. It’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have let her get so close to me.”

Jordan rolled her eyes. “No. Don’t be stupid. I told you don’t do this. Talk to the girl Lucy. You can’t just go cold turkey on her for no reason. It’s not fair.”

Lucy stared at the mug, she knew Jordan was right, but she also wanted to protect herself. I mean it’s natural. If you like someone and they don’t like you, you have to pull away. Right?

Lucy knew she would have to put a stop to the flirting, the constant texts every evening, the lunch outings. Stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss Ona’s soft looking lips. Stop wondering what it would be like to hold her in the morning while they made each other come again and again, Ona screaming her name.

Yeah, she had to stop. She had to for her own sake. She didn’t want to fall any harder for someone that she had no chance with, Ona clearly didn’t feel the same. Like Jordan said, the Spanish are open people, she probably doesn’t see anything other than just being friends with Lucy. And the realisation hurt.

“Yeah.” The brunette huffed out, she grabbed a second mug and started to make herself and Ona a tea. A ‘sorry’ tea if you will.

“God, you are hard headed. Talk to the girl. Also make me a cup.” Jordan said it as she patted Lucy on the back. The brunette shook her head at her best friend, the smallest of smiles touching her lips.

——————-

After her chat with Jordan, Lucy tried to be normal with Ona, but it was a lot harder than she thought it would be. She was fighting between so many feelings towards the girl. She still liked her, but when she felt those emotions she tried to squash any kind of feelings down, no matter how hard it was. She could tell the younger girl was trying her best to not let it affect her and tried to not make it awkward, but Lucy was as stubborn as they came. She wanted to be with her but sometimes she couldn’t even look at her. It was hard to process her feelings, she didn’t know how to handle herself.

The next month was awful for Ona, Lucy had been completely off with her, she hardly spoke to her, and when she did it was mostly about the case or something to do with work. Ona tried to text Lucy like they normally would but the older brunette hardly replied, and if she did it was a day late or a reply that you couldn’t really respond to. So the texts stopped. Things just wasn’t the same for Lucy and Ona, they slipped into an awkward situation. The older brunette constantly turned down Ona’s lunch invites, she spent most of her lunches at the gym or alone. It got to the point where Ona stopped going to and from work with Lucy, riding the bus instead. That hurt Lucy but she knew it was for the best.

Ona had asked if she was okay, she asked if she had did something to upset her, but Lucy would repeat herself and say nothing was wrong. It was more than frustrating for Ona, Lucy clearly had a problem with her and she didn’t know why.

The second week after the ‘dancing incident’ Ona had been tossing and turning in her sleep, she needed to know if she had made Lucy feel uncomfortable that night. It was when Lucy dropped her off one evening that she plucked the courage to say something.

“Lucy, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Ona said it with tears threatening to spill over. Lucy looked over at the younger girl confused.

“I really am sorry if I said the wrong thing or touched you in a way you didn’t like. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable, it’s the absolute last thing I would want. So I am really sorry. I know you’ve been off with me and if this is the reason I sincerely apologies. I will no longer be like this with you, the flirty things I do, I will stop. I’m really sorry.”

Lucy was lost, she didn’t know what the Spaniard was talking about, what did she do to make her uncomfortable? Her heart broke seeing Ona like this, she felt bad, she knew she was being off with the girl, but it was what she needed to do.

“I’m a little lost.” Lucy confessed.

Ona looked at her hard, like she normally did, she searched the girls face. Her voice was shakey. “When we were dancing. I said some inappropriate things to you. I regret it, I shouldn’t have. And I’m sorry.”

It hit Lucy then, Ona thought she was upset because of that, because of how she reacted after their dancing.

“Oh, no that’s not- You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all. I just have a lot on, this case is not going the way I thought it would.”

Liar.

Ona slowly nodded. She had done what she could, if Lucy was going to carry on this way, that was on her, even if it did break the you girls heart. She had clearly pushed Lucy too far.

“Okay, good night Lucy.”

Half an hour later Lucy received a text from Ona that she didn’t need to pick her up in the morning.

And that’s how they carried on for a month, basically strangers. ————-

“Do you think he’s been tipped off?” Ona sat next to Lucy in the under cover police car as they sat at the traffic lights. After another long day of not finding the criminal.

They had been informed Slims had been spotted, and for a week they had been patrolling the area. Since the raid he had been laying low, they had tried to get information from his brother Bugz, but he hadn’t spoken in his interrogation interview, choosing to repeatedly say ‘not guilty’. He wasn’t giving any information and no names, he was keeping quiet for his brother, ready to take all the heat for him. Though it didn’t matter, they had enough evidence for that both of them, they just needed to arrest him.

They had called it a day, having been out for 10 hours, it had been frustrating to say the least. They needed to get their hands on him, he was the boss and brains behind the operation, if they got him then they got everyone.

And just like that, their luck turned around.

“Lucy. There he is.” Ona had spotted him standing outside a building. The older brunette spotted him straight away, but he also spotted them, and he didn’t wait around, he began to sprint.

“Shit. We’re going to loose him.”

“No we’re not.” Ona didn’t think twice, she jumped out of the car, her eyes dead set on the man.

“Ona, no!” Lucy shouted. Dread instantly filled her, Ona was already gone. She lifted her walkie talkie. “We have eyes on Slims, we need officers, no noise, no lights. We’ve spotted him on the high street going up Stock Street.”

Alex came in immediately. “Got that loud and clear, we’re 10 minutes away.”

Lucy messily parked the car and grabbed her hand gun. She had already lost sight of Ona and Slims, panic set in. This wasn’t the way they had planned this.

Ona was hot on Slims heels, she may not have been the strongest or tallest person on the squad, but my god she was fast. She chased him down the high street, she could feel her heart racing, she knew she couldn’t let him get away. He ran across the busy high street, not caring about moving cars or people. Cars honked and tyres screeched as he ran infront of them. Ona was a lot more agile, racing around the obstacles without blinking.

Lucy heard the commotion on the street, following the noise as fast she could, she could hear Alex talking over the radio to the other police officers.

Ona chased Slims to a bridge, deep water rushing underneath them. He turned around, they was only 2 meters apart but Ona could see the evil in his eyes, he looked furious. But he also noticed Ona was alone, and no gun in sight.

“If I’d know it was just you I would have taken us somewhere a little more private.” He winked at her, smirking as he moved closer to her. He lunged quickly at Ona, but she was quicker, she grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm. He yelped out in pain and pushed them backwards to the short bridge wall. Ona was leaning dangerously close over the bridge. She used all her strength to push them forward, having to let go of his wrist.

“Oh she’s strong, I like it when she puts up a fight. Always makes it more fun when she’s crying on her back.”

“Just like your brother cried when I put him in his back?” Ona spat back.

He snarled at her. “You fucking bitch.” He pounced at her again, but his face met Ona’s elbow, breaking his nose instantly. He screamed in pain. “You little cunt!”

“Ona!” Lucy shouted at the end of the bridge but she wish she hadn’t. Ona looked over distracted, when she felt a painful grip in her hair, yanking her harshly to her knees.

Lucy pulled her gun out in a speed she didn’t think was possible, she had her finger on the trigger ready to put a bullet in between his eyes.

“Let her go.” Lucy said with gritted teeth. “You’ve got nowhere else to go, don’t make it worse.”

Slim looked around, yanking Ona by her hair, he pulled her back up to her feet, making her yelp in pain. “Hmm crying for it already?” He whispered in her ear.

Ona tried to move, but he only gripped her tighter making her wince. She gritted her teeth, trying not to make any noise, knowing it only gave him some sick satisfaction.

Lucy took slow steps forward, wanting to get a better aim on him. “Just let her go.”

“Come any closer and she’s coming over with me.” He shifted himself and Ona closer to the edge of the bridge, making sure to put Ona in front of him as he eyed the gun pointing at him.

Lucy could feel the colour leave her face, she didn’t have a clear enough shot without a chance of hitting Ona. She looked at the younger girl, her face was in pain, her big brown eyes looking at Lucy, that’s when she saw her mouthing something, but she couldn’t make it out.

Ona rocked her head backwards, cracking Slims nose once more. He pulled her hair even harder, but had moved slightly away from her, giving Lucy just a little more space. She had her aim, her finger pulled the trigger.

Ona flinched, she heard the gun, the sound of the shot striking her ear drums, she looked at Lucy, her face was unreadable. She saw blood on the floor. Her knees felt weak. The grip in her hair had gone. Thats when she heard the cry from Slims, he backed away from her, holding his shoulder where Lucy had buried her bullet.

Police cars drove in at the end of the bridge, Alex and the team jumping out. Slims looked between them and the water beneath, and without thinking he jumped into the rushing water, disappearing into the deep black depths.

Ona looked over the bridge, trying to look for the criminal, closing her eyes in frustration when she couldn’t find him. “No! Merda!”

Lucy ran over to Ona, grabbing her by the arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She felt relief wash over her.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. But he’s gone. I messed up.” Ona looked at the floor, not able to look at Lucy.

“Do you think I care about that? I’m just glad you’re okay Ona, you scared me. I didn’t kno-“ Lucy was cut off by Alex.

“Bronze we have officers following the river.”

“Good, get the K9 team out aswell.”

“Already on their way.” Alex confirmed.

“Good, thank you Greenwood. Keep me updated.”

Alex nodded, she gave Ona a gentle squeeze on her arm. “Glad you’re okay.” Before she ran back to the team shouting orders.

Ona looked back at Lucy. “I’m sorry I ran off. I know I shouldn’t have. It was stupid off me, I just didn’t want to loose him.”

“Don’t worry Ona, let’s get you home. I’m sure your head should get looked at, you really did a number on his face.” Lucy looked at her proudly, it was the first time she had really smiled at the girl since their friendship became strained.

Ona gave her a small smile. She felt her heart racing but she blamed it on the situation. Not the way Lucy was looking at her.

#woso soccer #women’s football #woso #woso community #lucy bronze #woso fanfics #woso couples #woso imagine #alternate universe

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multidimensionalguidance · 2 months

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SR Chart in-depth Analysis Part 2 🔒

Here’s the continuation and final part of my SR chart analysis and predictions, which has been very fun because its the few moments where I can see myself from a different perspective, and just focus on the information I can decode without any room for judgment.

Taurus 8th house: my sense of security will depend a lot on how much I can rely on indulging in delicacies within my own hidden safe space. Finances are merged or shared within close relationships. Partners resources become my own. Inflexible or hard-headed when it comes to the type of comfort or luxury I expect to enjoy. A big focus in other people’s resources becoming my own somehow. The ruler of this house sits in the 12H, which means that the money I receive or try to keep hidden will be used towards spirituality, foreign settlement, expenditure, bed pleasures, self care, health, work clothes, skincare, and extravagant procedures to enhance my natural beauty, which could be to an almost detrimental or excessive level since Venus is debilitated.

Gemini 9th house: communications in general will be towards philosophy, higher knowledge, luck, feeling blessed, traveling, foreigners, teachers, spiritual guides, etc. It is also likely I will be speaking a foreign language quite often. Lots of short distance traveling to foreigners places. These conversations and type of mindset will influence my finances, bet it due to new perspectives or simply luck allowing me monetize those newly acquired learnings and skills. That would particularly be due to 9H ruler sitting in the 2nd house. I’ve read before that Mercury in the 2nd denotes above average intelligence, so perhaps that will also influence on how I’ll be able to increase my resources.

Cancer 10th house: this year people will perceive me as very nurturing, mother-like, soft, intuitive, and like wife material (particularly bc that asteroid Bried is conj the MC). It is likely that I will be receiving lots of attention because that’s what luminaries do, they put a spotlight, which is career/public image for me. My work environment could be spent in a space that IS or feels like home. There could be discomfort from having matters that are private exposed to the public, so I might have to deal with some of that as well. The ruler of this house sits in the 5H, so I might be doing creative work online, related to children, with romantic partner, in a fun way.

Leo 11th house: my social circle will be full of creatives (artists, leaders, performers, teachers, government workers etc), royal-like people or individuals with a certain amount of influence. My goals, social media image, and gains/income will be focused towards notoriety, fame, child-like joy, romance, appearance, etc. On top of that, the ruler of the house sits in the 2H, so those gains/goals/social media image will also influenced my resources and finances.

Virgo 12th house: with Venus sitting there and it being the debilitation, I’m led to thinking that the possible negative significations of this placement will be experienced in isolation, during my daily night routine or in foreign places. The difficulty with Venus in Virgo is how overly critical and judgy it is towards itself and others. There is a difficulty with fully enjoying the experience of love and beauty because you’re too busy thinking of how things can be better or improved. Now, on the other hand, no one does acts of service and has a deeper awareness of health and beauty than this sign. They give and give happily to those they commit to or love in general. I will probably be enjoying a bit of those sides during this year.

Thank you for reading this far! I’m excited to check this during December and doing a sort of checklist of what I predicted accurately + everything else that will definitely happen without my awareness.

#astrology #astro observations #astro community #astro notes #astrology lessons #astro placements #astrology facts #astrology for beginners #astrology observations #astroblr #solar return chart #solar return #sidereal astrology #astrologer #astrology blog #astrology predictions

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meetmyothersouls · 11 months

Text

First Time for Everything

Chapter 2

Warnings: nightmares, vomiting, lots of talk of murder and vague mentions to cannibalism, strong language and imagery, I also changed this from second person to first person y/n (chapter one is in second person),

Snap-snap-snap

The sound grabs my attention, but I can’t focus on anything. It’s too dark. My eyes must’ve missed their chance to gradually adjust to complete darkness, allowing small shapes and figures to come into view. I can’t see shit. It’s a darkness I remember well but wish I didn’t. One that’s hungry and mean. It smells familiar. Like the scent of an unfortunate childhood.

Where am I?

Snap-snap-snap

It echos, bouncing off of walls that might as well be nonexistent. I squint my eyes, as if that will somehow make up for the lack of light in…wherever I am. Where’s the sound coming from? I turn my body. More darkness but this time there’s a door, only put into view by the light that’s shining from behind the frame, allowing the tiniest bit of soft yellow light to illuminate the darkness.

Snap-snap-snap

It’s louder now. More rapid and urgent. The light behind the door is interrupted by shadows. Four of them in what I realize are feet. Who do they belong to?

“She’s just a child,” a woman says. Her voice is soft and familiar.

“A child that needs to learn, Vanessa,” another familiar voice says. It’s one I should know. One I do know but I’ve locked in the farthest recesses of my mind. And Vanessa. I definitely knew a Vanessa.”

“Randall,” Vanessa warns. “Don’t hurt her.” She sounds nervous now and I find myself scooting on my ass desperate to get as far away from the door as possible.

Snap-snap-snap

This time the sounds are accompanied with something new. Shaking. I’m shaking. I can feel it.

“I’m not going to hurt her, dumb ass,” Randall says, his tone highly annoyed, like he’s talking to someone small and stupid and pathetic. “I’m going to teach her. A few minutes with me is all she’ll need.”

The door opens and I see Vanessa’s shadow on the wall as she leaves. Then Randall comes into view only I can’t see him. He’s just a massive shadow. A void in front of the yellow light of the hallway. He stands there menacingly, and I realize I’m still scooting away. I scoot, and scoot, and scoot but my back never presses against a corner or a wall or…anything. I'm trying so hard to get away, but I can’t. It’s like I’m moving backward on a treadmill with no end in sight. Then, the shadow lunges for me, his hands like claws fully extended and ready to-

“Y/N!”

Snap-snap-snap

I gasp and my eyes shoot open. I’m taking in gulps of air like I hadn’t even been breathing. I clutch my chest and sit up straight. It’s still dark but I can tell I’m in a car. Which is odd considering I’ve not been in a car in years.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” the man sitting in the drivers seat says. I know it’s Lee but my mind is fleeting so rapidly I can’t even look at him. I need to get out.

I jump, my heart pounding so quickly I feel like I’m about to vomit. I reach for the door handle of the moving car and pull.

“Whoa whoa whoa! Y/n, stop! Relax!” Lee's pulling me by my elbow which only makes me panic more.

“Let me out. Let me out. I gotta get out. Can’t breathe,” I say, gulping down air like it’s water.

“Okay, shit, I’ll pull over!”

He pulls over and I spill out of the car the before it’s fully stopped. I empty my stomach onto the ground as Lee puts the car into park. The car we stole. From the man he killed. And ate. Things start falling back into place and the events from earlier flood my brain. Lee slams his door, and I can hear his footsteps crunching against the gravel as he walks over to me. There’s still blood on his shirt. Immediately I gag, but nothing happens other than both sides of my ribcage painfully pressing together.

“Fuck,” Lee breathes out as if he’s exhausted. I look up at him and he’s running a hand through his hair. There’s blood caked under his fingernails. I gag again. “You good?”

“Your shirt,” I say though a shaky breath.

“What about it?”

“Can you get rid of it?”

“That’s the weirdest way I’ve been asked to get naked, but okay.”

“I don’t want to see you naked! Your shirt has blood on it from the man you killed!”

“ShhhHHH!!!” Lee shushes me. He’s starting to bring his filthy palm up to my face and I shake my head, baking away from him. “You can’t just scream that shit out loud, y/n, fuck.” Still, he takes off his shirt and laces it through a belt loop at his side. It won’ fix the disgusting state of his fingernails, but it will at least keep my gagging at bay. “And just so we’re clear, I killed him to save you. You’re welcome.”

Lee plops down onto the curb next to me. “You done puking? I wanna make sure I’m out of the splash zone.”

“I think I’m done,” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I sit next to him and realize we’re on a highway. A dead one. It’s dark but not too dark, I can see my surroundings, which is nothing but highway for miles in between dense forest on both sides. Cicadas and crickets chirp in unison filling the night with their song. That’s enough to tell me we’re still in North Carolina.

“What was all that?” Lee asks.

“All what?”

“Well you whimpering in your sleep for starters.”

“I wasn’t whimpering!” I answer too quickly and way too defensively.

“Okay whatever the fuck it was, what was it?”

“I had a nightmare I think.”

Lee fishes a single cigarette from his pocket and lights it. “Damn,” he says after taking a long drag from it. He blows the smoke in the opposite direction of me. “Wanna talk about it?”

I open my mouth, then close it. I get nauseous even thinking of the pitch black room, the hauntingly familiar smell and voices. And the shadows. “Where are we?”

“About an hour away from Asheville,” Lee says, not seeming to mind my sudden change of subject. “Smoke?” He asks, holding his cigarette out to me between his thumb and index finger.

“Your hands are filthy.”

Lee takes his cigarette back and laughs. “You always this uptight?”

“Only after I see a man eat another human.”

“Ah you’re still stuck on that?”

“Of course I’m stuck on that! It’s not exactly normal, you know.”

“And yet you still got into a car with me. A stolen one at that.” Lee arches an eyebrow at me and smirks.

“Well, you saved me so.”

“So what?”

“I don’t know,” I say and stand back up. He’s getting on my nerves and I don’t know why.

“You and I,” Lee says straining his words as he stands up with me, “we’re not that different.”

“Oh yes we are.”

“Not really. Watch. You’ll see.”

“What do you mean ‘you’ll see’?”

Lee walks back to the car. He opens the door and stands on the the inside, resting his elbow on the hood of the car. “You hungry?”

I haven’t moved from my spot on the side of the road. I must have quite the expression on my face because he smirks at me again. And even though he’s filthy and a murderer I’m doing everything I can not to admit that he’s extremely attractive. I can’t get close to anyone. Definitely not someone like him. “What do you mean ‘you’ll see’?” I demand, I cross my arms and stand my ground.

Lee rolls his eyes, “I just mean you’ll see. Now come on, I want waffles and maybe a steak.”

Food sounds revolting to me right now. I don’t move.

“Jesus, y/n, what? You have somewhere else to go?”

I hate how he uses my name like he knows me so well. I hate that him saying my name at all does something to me it shouldn’t. He’s a murderer.

“Look,” Lee says pointing ahead of us into nothingness. “You can head that way into bum fuck nowhere or you can go back that way and go visit our little friend-well what’s left of him-back in that dumpster in Charlotte. And lemme tell ya, where there’s one of that guy, there’s hundreds. Walking around lurking in the shadows and you don’t even know they’re there or what they are until it’s too late. Or you can come with me. What’s it gonna be, y/n.”

He’s looking at me expectantly, knowing he’s already won. I sigh and make my way back to the car. I step over the mess I made and plop into the dirty passenger seat. We drive in silence for at least thirty minutes before Lee speaks up again. “Look, y/n, I’m not forcing you to come with me. If you’ve got somewhere to be or someplace you want me to drop you off just tell me, I’ll take you there.”

I look over at him, but he’s focused on the road, his dirty hands gripping the steering wheel. “Where are you going anyway?” I ask.

Lee shrugs, “I was gonna stop in Asheville first.”

“Why?”

Now he looks over at me. “I love it there.” He smiles and it’s a genuine one and I have to look away because it damn near melts my heart. “But if you want me to take you some place else first, I will.”

I sigh, looking at the blurry trees zipping by. I hope in my next life I’m a tree. “I don’t have anyone. Or anywhere to go.”

“No family?”

“No. Well none that give a shit about me.”

“No friends?”

“No.”

We’re both silent again, but it’s not the bad kind. It’s the kind that I’m comfortable with. And I can tell that he is too. Silence is golden.

“I knew it,” Lee finally says.

“Knew what?” I ask, taking my gaze away from the blur of trees to look at him again.

Lee turns and smiles at me, but this time I don’t look away. “That you’re a loner like me.”

We stare at each other for what feels like too long. Then, Lee shakes his head breaking out stare as he eases on the breaks and pulls into a Waffle House parking lot.

“Hope you like Waffle House,” Lee says as he clicks off his seatbelt. He walks around the car and opens my door for me, the action itself jarring. No one’s ever opened a door for me. I shove that thought to the back of my head, in a sad attempt to not let it do anything to me. He’d do that for anyone.

We scooted into a booth, Lee sitting across from me. “My sister and I used to come here all the time.”

I only nod as I look at the menu, choosing not to ask any follow up questions to his statement so that I don’t have to talk about my family in return.

“You got any siblings?”

I fight back a sigh. “Nope. Only child.”

“Really? Your childhood must’ve been lonely. My sister and I-”

The waitress, an old woman with frizzy blonde hair, shocking red lipstick and a name tag that read Deborah in handwritten cursive comes up to our table. She smacks her gum loud and I can see the lime green wad as she flicks it around with her tongue. As much as I am grateful she interrupted Lee’s family talk, I have to look away to keep myself from gagging. “What are you getting?”

“I’ll have the four waffles and a T-bone, medium rare, and a coffee. Black,” Lee says, practically salivating. Then looks over to me.

“Oh. Uh. I’ll just have a coffee I think.”

Deborah blows a massive bubble with her gum and looks at me like there’s got to be more to my order.

“I’ll give her one of my waffles,” Lee winks and hands Deborah our menus.

Deborah rolls her eyes and pockets her pen and note pad. Seconds later she brings back two steaming mugs of coffee. Lee drinks is straight apparently while I dump five sugars into mine and four of the tiny cups of creamer. In what seems like not long enough to cook an entire steak and four waffles, Deborah’s back in five minutes with Lee’s food and an extra plate for me. “Enjoy,” she says in a tone that sounds more like she hopes we choke on it. My stomach turns at the sight of the plate. Lee’s steak is sitting in a pool of brownish-red liquid. The bottom waffle in the stack of four is soggy with the blood and liquid that seeped out of the steak as it cooked. I look into my coffee to escape the sight.

“So-”

“Please tell me you’re going to wash your hands.”

Lee smirks. “Right. Of course. Be right back. That top waffle is for you if you want it.”

I wait until he’s in the bathroom to get up and grab a few of the pamphlets and maps in the stands at the front of the restaurant. For some reason knowing exactly where I am and where we could be going is grounding for me. I feel calmer, more in control. There are broachers for nearby landmarks and attractions. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Dollywood, a zoo that’s a about an hour from this restaurant, a Georgia aquarium and various museums, several maps of the Smokey Mountains, and like Lee mentioned, Asheville, North Carolina. I grab them all. When I get back to the table, Lee is already seated and digging into his steak. He's already slid the top waffle onto my plate.

“Doing some research?” Lee asks with a mouthful of steak.

“Just like to know what’s around,” I admit.

He stops chewing and smiles, the meat a ball inside of his cheek. “Don’t trust me?”

I slide into my seat and poke at my waffle. “I’m not sure it’s safe to trust anyone.”

“But me specifically. Right now, you don’t trust me.”

I shrug. “Should I?”

“Are you afraid I’m gonna eat ya?”

I look around before ducking my head “I don’t think we should talk about this in public."

"It's 2:30 in the morning, y/n, no one's here but us and Deborah. Think about it, if I wanted to do something to you, anything, I could have by now. But you're sitting here in this fine establishment with me and you're not the one in a plastic bag in some random dumpster."

"You want me to trust you?"

Lee flashes me that stupid fucking smirk I'm starting to like a lot as he shoves a piece of steak in his mouth. "I'd like it if you did, yeah."

I poke at my waffle before grabbing the pitcher like container of butter pecan syrup and pour it on my plate. I look up and Lee isn't eating anymore. He's still got his knife and his fork in each hand but he's looking at me. Waiting. "Then explain it to me."

"Which part?"

"All of it."

Lee pushes his half-eaten plate to the side. He grabs all the condiments from our table as well as the salt and pepper shakers and pushes them into the center.

"I am so glad you asked. Allow me to demonstrate."

Tags: @dayafied @soulofendlessbook @fashphotolife @scentedkittenperfection @weasleytwinscumslut @timotheel0ver @mxciscastleintheair @marvelmaniac2000 @lovelyrocker @divine-1 @love-poems-only @starberry-cake @inlovewithphantasy @alexagirlie @misswestfall @softhecreator @livresjaunes @timmymyluv @inannamoon @harrys-thick-thighs @s-we-e-t-t-ea @timolaurence @its-schmackin-dude @justagirlwhoneedshelp @kteezy997 @sufferingstarlight @xoxoloverb @tropicalrozmajzl @iloveneilperry @syirnge @patronsaintofthetwinks @roseboysareprettier @onlyenoughiamweird

#timothee chalamet #timothée chalamet #writing #timothee chalamet x reader #timothee chalamet x you #timothee blurb #timothee chalamet imagine #timmy chalamet #dark!timothee #bones and all #Lee fic #Lee x reader #bones and all fic

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itbmojojoejo · 1 year

Text

A Good Man | Introduction. Part 1

Pairing: Finan x Ealdorman's Daughter!Reader

Summary: An Ealdorman who struggles to control his youngest strong-willed daughter y/n is taken on as a lady-in-waiting to Lady Aethelflaed in the hopes she will learn what it means to be a dutiful noblewoman leading her to meet the charming Finan. (Set post S3 onwards.)

Warnings: SLOWBURN. Reader is said to have long hair, colour and texture not specified (it's the 9th century, it was the custom.) No other warnings at this time. If I've missed any please let me know!

Wordcount:2.4k

Part 2 | Other Works

Authors Notes: Fictional Ealdorman and Brother named after some random 9th century names i came across when doing the old research thing. Some creative liberties have been taken. Planning this to be a series, length hasn't been determined yet.

As there was little going on at the beginning of summer in Coccham Finan had decided to join Uhtred and Osferth on a short trip to Saltwic he claimed was to spend time with his daughter Stiorra who had been placed there, but was more than likely to also see Lady Aethelflaed. He was starting to regret this decision as he sat bored in the elegantly decorated estate listening to an Ealdorman pleading with the Lady to help him convince his daughter she cannot keep refusing a betrothal.

He came to her as she was a mother in a higher position of power and as he had recently lost his wife he was concerned with his daughters future and didn’t want to force her hand too harshly.

“I cannot think of any other solution than to send her to a nunnery an-”

“Is this something your daughter has expressed an interest in?”

“No not quite, when I told her she is to be betrothed she threatened to disgrace the family by uh, well, she said she would take herself to a, uh, whorehouse and let...I fear the rest of the language she used must of been picked up from her brother, my Lady.”

Leaning into Osferth with his brows raised in confusion Finan whispered,

“Is this a young girl or a woman he’s talkin’ about?”

“I doubt a young girl would be speaking of whorehouses Finan.”

“And where is Lady y/n now Lord Aelfric?” Aethelflaed asked

“She is in the chapel”

“Bring her to me, I wish to speak to her directly and hear her own reasoning.”

“Yes my Lady, I will go fetch her.”

Finan crossed his arms over his chest and fiddled with the cross hanging from his neck staring out of a nearby window watching the leaves blow in the light summer breeze waiting to see the identity of an apparently unruly noble girl.

“What will you do?” Uhtred quietly asked Aethelflaed

“I’ve watched her grow these past few years when she’s been brought to Aeglesburgh, she is very much her mothers daughter, intelligent and strong-willed, not easily shaken by men of power and isn’t fond of my husband either.”

“You already have a plan for her?” Uhtred followed up, she only responded with a knowing smile.

Finan instinctively directed his attention to the large wooden doors as they opened revealing a young woman walking beside, not behind the Lord Aelfric. Your head was held high in confidence with the front parts of your long hair pulled back in intricate braids keeping it away from your face as you approached Aethelflaed, barely acknowledging the presence of the three other men in the room.

You were beautiful in a modest long lilac tunic worn over a white full sleeved dress and he instantly understood the fear on your fathers face when he spoke of you threatening a life in a brothel, you’d certainly be popular.

“I’ve been informed you have refused to be betrothed Lady y/n, why?”

“My lady, it is an unsuitable match. The man is the same age if not older than my father and if the rumours of him mistreating his previous two wives are anything to go by I do not wish to be forced into an unhappy marriage that I am unlikely to survive.” Your voice was kind but strong as you continued.

“I know my father deems me disobedient and foolish but he has no reason to seek me a marriage based solely on his own ambitions as an Ealdorman, my brother is a commander in the Mercian Fyrd and has already produced multiple heirs for succession, and as for my sisters they were both pushed into political marriages that have not been kind to them, I do not want to share their fate.”

“And what is that you do wish?”

“To be wed to a good man. Preferably one more age appropriate.”

“Your want for love is childlike y/n.” The lord chided

“I have never spoken of love or implied that I would not honour my duty of being a faithful wife I know that is not a luxury I can have, I simply ask to be treated with respect and kindness especially if I am to be used as a pawn in the ambitions of men and their politics.” Your tone was harsher with your father, this was clearly an argument you’d had with him many times over.

Finan found himself nodding lightly internally agreeing with your reasons and commended your bravery for speaking out, he didn’t always understand why no care or thought was given to who these men would marry their daughters off too past the weight of their purses and amount of land owned.

“Your father is suggesting the life of a nun, but I can give you a place here by my side as a lady-in-waiting. It would mean you travelling with me to Aeglesburgh and to the court of Wessex and other such places, this means you would have a chance to meet noblemen in a monitored environment and help me to make a suitable betrothal when the time arises.” Aethelflaed offered

“You?” Lord Aelfric’s tone garnered a stern face from Uhtred

“Yes Lord Aelfric, as a lady-in-waiting y/n would be under my care as a member of my house, she will receive her own retainer too so would no longer need your financial support either.”

The lord shifted his weight onto his other foot glancing between his daughter and Aethelflaed weighing up the options, if she were to go to a nunnery it could spark rumours of disgrace and negatively impact his families reputation but her being present in court would do the opposite. He sighed with a shake of his head.

“Well I suppose she would be in the right place to learn a thing or two about obedience and duty. I will allow it, if that is what you choose y/n?”

This was the only moment of doubt Finan witnessed in you, dropping your head ever so slightly as your thumb rubbed against your forefinger.

“Think she’ll go for it?” Finan whispered to Osferth

“Be foolish not to, unless she wants to be a nun?” The monk responded

Clearing your throat and readjusting your posture you spoke again

“Thank you, Lady Aethelflaed. I would very much like to join you here.”

“Then the matter is settled, you can see your father out and I’ll have Sable arrange a room for you.”

Turning to escort your father off the estate your gaze fell on Finan for a short moment, he offered you a small smile still fiddling with the cross at his neck as he had watched the conversation unfold and you returned it quickly directing your eyes to the floor.

You’d heard of the fearless, talented warriors known as Uhtred’s pretty boys before and thought that maybe the women were just exaggerating, but now having seen the soft dark brown eyes paired with strong arms of one of them for yourself even if only briefly you had decided it certainly was not an exaggeration.

After Sable had shown you around your new home you were instructed to join the Lady and her guests for dinner where you would learn more about your new role as a lady-in-waiting. You’d been seated to the right hand side of Aethelflaed who was at the top of the table, Uhtred sat to her left with Osferth and your attention turned to Finan barrelling through the door. He was still in his sleeveless leather tunic exposing his arms in the summer heat.

“Ah go on you little tike! Sit down.” He playfully ruffled the hair of Stiorra who entered with him and sat himself besides you with a nod and a smile. Stifling the sudden nerves in your stomach you rubbed your thumbs against each other in your lap and turned to the Lady wanting to know what your new position would entail.

“Forgive me Lady, but I’m unclear of what will be expected of me now?”

“Think of the title as a formality, you won’t be given the duties of a maid. You’re more of a companion with the odd task here and there, consider it a reprieve.”

“A young lady given a bit of freedom? Sounds like trouble.” Finan jested leaning closer as he filled you a cup of ale and put it into your hand catching the scent of lavender.

Pressing your lips together fighting off a smile you hoped the low light in the room would hide the light heat you felt hit your cheeks at the small physical contact, being around men wasn’t new to you but them being so openly close was different.

As the evening went on you soon realised how relaxed things could be here in Saltwic compared to the court at Aeglesburgh and felt more comfortable to laugh and steal glances at the irishman to your side as he spoke to you and his friends with no reprimand from your father or brother about how a lady should behave in the company of men.

“I gotta know, did you really threaten to send yourself to a brothel?” Finan asked, angling towards you and leaning an elbow on the table, resting his head against his knuckles.

“I did.” You nodded with a light laugh

“But why?” You sucked in a breath at his simple question and regarded him for a moment, the burning candles bathed his features in a soft glow that made it seem as if his skin was radiating an inviting warmth that made you feel safe to be honest with him

“I refuse to lose my life at the hands of a husband. You see, I’d known my first betrothed since we were children and he was honourable, good natured, the marriage would of been a decent one. The second however is a cruel man, there are rumours he is the cause of his first wife dying, and an even worse rumour that his second wife condemned her own soul to hell just to be free of him. I needed to say something to get my father to hear me.”

“Mm, why didn’t you marry the first?” Finan had already guessed the answer from you using the past tense but wanted to be sure he wasn’t misunderstanding

“He died at the battle of Bedanford.” You matched his position, elbow on the table leaning your cheek against your palm. You wondered which battles had given him the scars on his arms and forehead and how this warrior could still look so gentle.

“I’m sorry” His voice was soft, and the look in his eyes showed it to be a sincere apology.

“It’s quite alright, I cannot say that I loved him as a wife would or should but he was a friend.”

“We were there at Bedanford, it was brutal but not one man backed down. He would of fought bravely.” He reassured you

“Thank you Finan.” You sat there holding a prolonged gaze with the man beside you and all the noise in the room seemed to fade away, a tension began to creep on you before snapping away and all the noise flooded back in hearing Stiorra laughing on the other side of the table at something Osferth had said to her.

You finished a second cup of ale before saying goodnight and heading to your room. As you stood in the small space illuminated by a single candle you undressed and got into your sleepwear lost in thought, you had always been aware there was a cold and distant atmosphere between the Lady Aethelflaed and her husband. Tonight you had witnessed how comfortably close she was with Uhtred but didn’t think any less of her if she was indeed sharing her bed with another man, you were secretly relieved at their bond if meant you could enjoy the company of Finan once more.

He was charming and seemed to be genuine, he spoke fondly of his time spent with his friends on their many adventures but hadn’t once mentioned a wife or lover and you couldn’t help the giddy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Finan was sharing quarters with Osferth and he found himself thinking of the way you had smiled at him with a light pink tint decorating your cheeks and the scent of lavender that emitted from you every time you had moved, he wondered if it was from your hair or skin.

“You need to be careful Finan, she’s the daughter of an Ealdorman. She isn’t for the likes of us.” Osferth spoke out quietly into the dark room, almost as if he could hear his thoughts.

“What are you talkin’ about?” He kept his tone confused, feigning ignorance.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Osferth was right, you weren’t for the likes of him. He wasn’t a nobleman, he didn’t have a title or lands or even wealth. He thought perhaps he was just being pulled in by the attention of a beautiful woman and it would fade away just as quickly as it had appeared.

When morning came around and he found you already sat having breakfast he opted to sit on the opposite side of the table thinking some distance would help ease the way his heart skipped a little when you had greeted him. He was wrong, he had to fight the urge to keep looking at you and could feel the gaze of Osferth beside him just watching.

You were relaxed taking your time with breakfast observing the way Finan sat staring at his plate occasionally flicking his eyes to you then to the monk at his side. Osferth shifted in his seat looking between you, Finan and his own plate causing you to suppress a giggle at the awkwardness, the silence in the room was getting too much.

“How did you both sleep?” You asked just to hear something

“Good yeah, thank you“ “Very well, thank you Lady“ they both spoke at once which was probably your fault for not directing the question at just one of them.

“How’s your new quarters?” Finan asked keeping his eyes downcast avoiding you and Osferth.

“Quite pleasant thank you. I have a window overlooking the herb garden, it’s much nicer than my previous view.”

No one responded and the room fell back into an uncomfortable silence, you rubbed your thumb against your finger willing someone to say anything when Aethelflaed entered the room.

“Good morning.” She chimed taking a seat and assessing the mood of the small group and dismissed it speaking again “Y/n, we’re leaving for Coccham today and will stay a night or two before heading onto Winchester.”

“Two ladies gracing Coccham with their presence at the same time? Lucky us.” Finan smiled looking between all of you. You barely caught the look that Osferth shot Finan trying to tame your own smile.

Part 2

End Notes: 'The word "tike" is an informal term that is used to refer to a small child or a young person, particularly in British English. It is not usually considered an insult or derogatory term, and can be used affectionately to refer to a child, much like the term "kid" in American English.' - FYI if its not a term you've heard or used before.

#finan x reader #finan fanfic #finan tlk #the last kingdom fanfic #tlk fanfic

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calaisreno · 5 months

Text

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @7-percent, @totallysilvergirl and @gaylilsherlock. Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

147. I’ve been here nearly 6 years, some years more prolific than others.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

Right now, just shy of 2M: 1,937,496, to be exact

3. What fandoms do you write for?

BBC Sherlock and ACD Sherlock

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Synchronicity Date Night A Chronic Condition The Wedding Gift Blank Slate Wooing Sherlock Holmes has recently moved up and is close enough to nudge its way to number 5.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always, even if it’s just to say thank you. I appreciate comments, often feel humbled by the compliments people give. It just feels right to respond. (Maybe if I were getting hundreds of comments a day, I would have to rethink that.)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Either Below Zero or The New Gardener. Both have MCD, but sort of a soft landing. Also Learning the Heart and The Real You, but those also have endings that mitigate the angst, a bit.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write a lot of happy endings; it’s my preferred resolution. My choice: The Short Tragic Death of John Watson. John does NOT die, but there’s a very cheesy happy ending that made many readers scream.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. A couple rude comments, but no intentional hatred.

9. Do you write smut?

Not much. I don’t write PWP, but include a sex scene where the plot seems to need it. I'm not opposed; it's just not my usual.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I’ve written two GO/Sherlock stories: Limbo and Hell and Back. I’ve written stories that borrow from other fandoms, but are not exactly crossovers. The closest to a crossover would be Serendipity, which borrows plot from the movie. I’ve borrowed from movie and book universes to make an original story (Eye of the Storm, A Chamber to be Haunted, Do No Harm), and I’ve borrowed premises (The Real You)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

About 60 of my fics have been translated, most of them into Russian, a couple into Chinese, on into Spanish.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Sherlock Holmes/John Watson

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Secret of Agra: a post-Reichenbach fic that I started in 2020. It has been through several transformations. I rarely give up permanently on a story, though. A few have grown into something new that I ended up posting. I expect I'll finish this when inspiration strikes me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

The things readers most often compliment me on:

Character voice and emotions.

World building.

Versatility: historical fiction, case fics, science fiction, fantasy, rom-coms, etc.

Making readers cry.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes. In Greek tragedy you simply have a character enter and describe the murder that’s just occurred offstage. In fanfiction, that’s a nope. And you have to think out every move, make the scene visual. I admire writers who make this seem effortless. (That's you, @discordantwords !!!) Description: finding non-cliche ways to describe things/people without making it weird and overly fussy. Being too minimal: I am not a wordy writer; minimalism was how I was taught, but sometimes I need to be wordier.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I’ve done bits of this, but only in languages I’ve studied. I have a degree in Latin, and have used that in couple stories: A Demon's Tale, Accidental Magic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The first and only fandom I’ve posted in is Sherlock Holmes (ACD and BBC). I don’t have any plans to move. I used to write original fiction, but have found fanfiction so much more rewarding.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This is hard to answer. Last Envoy is the story I’m most proud of. I write the stories I want to read, and I do re-read a number of them, some more than others. My favorite fic written in 2023 is The Traveller.

Has everybody been tagged? How about @mydogwatson @lisbeth-kk @discordantwords @copperplatebeech @keirgreeneyes @meetinginsamarra @bertytravelsfar @jrow @thegildedbee @helloliriels @gregorovitchworld ???

#20 questions #2023 #fanfiction #writing #my fics

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cocogum · 7 days

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how long have you been watching wakfu

Hey moth ✨✨

I’ve actually been watching Wakfu since 2012.

The first time I heard about it was when I used to have Netflix and even then, that was back when the streaming platform didn’t have Season 2 yet lol

What drew me into watching it was mainly cuz of the cover. This one specifically 👇

It used to only show Yugo opening a portal and because of the style, it made me wonder what the story could be about (at the time I used to think Yugo looked pretty cute so that was also another reason lol).

I remember how my first instinct was switch the language to English when I first watched it. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. The reason why I switched it for english tho was because netflix was primarily English so I thought that the French language of Wakfu wasn’t the main one (and I thought it sucked without even taking a second to listen to it 💀 ) Thankfully, as soon as I heard Alibert and Ruel talking, I IMMEDIATELY went back to the settings cuz I knew I fucked up. I ain’t listening to this trash again lol

So I switched it to French and i realized it was a thousand times BETTER than the English version. That’s when I realized Wakfu was french.

I loved the places and the people. It was something I’ve never seen before. The French dubbing was so smooth and funny I loved it so much. The “fillers”, which let’s be honest weren’t actual fillers, were also so fun to see with the whole gang.

Even at the time, I used to believe there would eventually be something between Amalia and Yugo lol cuz ain’t no way you guys constantly hug like this for the dumbest reasons.

When Season 1 ended, I really hoped they weren’t gonna do us like that because I really wanted a season season. At the time I didn’t think ankama already did Season 2 (since 2011 💀) cuz I thought Netflix was always on time so it took me some time to wait for it but a year passed by and it finally got here!! I was so happy that day you had no idea. I had to wait for a whole year before it dropped so my ass was pretty much traumatized after seeing Dally die for the first time I legit thought that he was gonna come back cuz of Nox’s machine but nope 💀 I remember being so sad when I first saw that ending. I really didn’t want it to end, I got too attached to these guys (Amalia was still my favorite back then cuz she was too relatable)

So i watched Season 2 in 2013 AND I LOVED IT. Again, they couldn’t disappoint me. It just got better from that day on.

That’s when I slowly started to dig deeper into Wakfu because there were so many references to things that Yugo and the others were saying that I didn’t even understand. I then learned that Wakfu was based on an MMORPG with the same name,Wakfu, and that there was a prequel to it, Dofus. I also saw how they even had a side story called “Mini Wakfu” which were just shorts from Season 1. I watched that mini series on youtube back then.

Because of Season 2, I was now sure that there will be more to it because so much has been said and yet so little has been explored. So I waited, bought myself some time by watching other shows.

That’s when the ovas happened.

And oh my god I was not ready for it.

The ovas released in 2016 on Netflix but had already been a thing since 2014. Blame Netflix.

And again, there were so much more references that made me feel so confused like who Otomaï was, Ogrest (who was only a giant mention in Season 1 to me), Maskemane, Echo, Sipho, Harebourg, etc.

I was confused but so intrigued because it made me learn that the Krosmoz was A LOT BIGGER than what I thought it would be. And that’s what I like. I love how a story has multiple timelines, has complex strange plot holes in certain places that makes you want to become a theorizer, has so many diverse characters and relationships. Things like those are why I fell in love with the legend of Zelda and fnaf franchises.

That’s how I learned about the mangas, comics, different games (Dofus, Wakfu, Krosmaga, Dofus touch, minor Dofus games on the App Store, etc.) as well as cancelled games (Islands of Wakfu, Wakfu: Les Gardiens, etc). I even started learning more about the Dofus era by going through Dofus shows like “Dofus : Kerub’s Bazaar”.

Right after the ovas, I watched Goultard’s special episode, Ogrest’s special episode, and Nox’s special episode. Then, I saw the Dofus movie featuring Joris and his mom before watching the show. After, I read the wakfu manga that was supposed to situate itself between Season 2 and the ovas. At the time, there were only four volumes so I binge read them all on a google drive that someone was kind enough to share publicly (that google drive doesn’t exist anymore). All of this happened in 2016 btw.

After that, I waited for more news of Wakfu but my dumbass got sidetracked because of binge watching other shows while waiting. I was joining multiplie fandoms while unconsciously waiting for more of Ankama. And that’s how I missed Season 3 that came out in 2017 💀💀 I’m so dumb my god all I had to do was wait another year but noooo youtube had to show me the new season trailer in 2018 instead!

I went back to Netflix, freaking the hell out, binge watched the whole season, got emotional, loved Oropo for kissing Amalia cuz I knew there’d be drama, absolutely adored the whole percedal family being a family, trying not to laugh at Adamaï’s look for the first time, expecting Ruel to get hard over money, and LOVED the drama between Yugo and Amalia. I WAS A FAN OF THEIR SHIP SINCE SEASON 1 FOR CRYING OUT LOUD which is why I was so happy that we finally got to see so much more of their problems being addressed.

After that, I knew I needed more so I went back to reading comics. I bought the actual volumes 1 to 4 of the wakfu manga (because I wanted to have a physical copy of them even though I already read the story) and then waited for the fifth one. As soon as volume 5 released in 2019 (July 4), I TOOK IT FROM AMAZON’S HANDS CUZ VOLUME 4 WAS KILLING ME WITH IT’S ENDING- (I’ve been waiting since 2016, I wasn’t gonna wait any longer).

In 2020, I joined the best wakfu amino on the amino app, and then mainly went looking for Ankama related things like their anime Radiant (I started reading the manga first and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT FOR ITS ORIGINALITY. But I still can’t believe that it got released back in 2013 tho…) and then watched the anime that came out for it (the opening song was good but I hate how the anime changed some things to the story. The manga is better but the anime gets its fair share of popularity so I guess that’s good).

In 2021-2022 I think that’s where I heard about the kickstarter for Wakfu Season 4 and I was mind blown when I saw the trailer for it.

In 2023, I bought Ogrest’s volumes 1 to 4 because I’ve been waiting to read and know more about Ogrest and what was the deal with the Sadida dolls since I heard about those from some people. My god the manga was so good!! I’m still waiting for that volume 5 but I’m extremely certain that it will come very soon now since Mig, the illustrator for the Ogrest manga, has been giving small sneak peeks here and there lately. It was also in the same year that I learned about the One More Gate game and watched Oropo’s special episode.

Then came 2024. And that’s where I went ape shit. Now you know everything ✨

The latest thing I bought from Ankama shop in 2024 now was the standard version of the Amalia figurine, the vinyl disc pack containing Krosmoz osts, and the Wakfu S3 artbook (tho the artbook was actually not something that you can find in the Ankama shop. I had to dig deep on Amazon and find a seller willing to give it away).

So yeah my history with Wakfu is a pretty messy one and has always been all over the place mainly because I was so slow back then to realize when the releases were happening and how the lore was actually constructed lol

Like it took me so much time to understand that Wakfu was only one piece of a bigger puzzle set and being unaware of so many things back then is still something I tend to regret. I understand that it was because I was still a snotty kid back then who didn’t know much about the internet but I can’t help myself to think how easy it was to keep up the pace 💀

At least I won’t have to think I’m late anymore because I’ve got a better idea of how it all works now.

Wakfu has been playing a huge part in my life because it’s always been at the back of my mind no matter what fandom I was in at the time. Sure, it was at the back burner but I never had the intention of forgetting about it. It holds way too many memories of the simpler times and has a lot of great ideas I think I’ve never seen other shows have.

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writingquestionsanswered · 8 months

Note

Hello! How are you? I have to thank you for how helpful you have been! Because of you my writing journey had been much more smoother, and your tips and advice has improved my writing greatly! And I have to ask, how do you write fighting scenes? I've been struggling with this for a while now as I feel I write a scene that's too descriptive. How can I shorten it to keep my Reader's attention whilst writing a fighting scene that makes sense? Thank you very much for your time, hands a lovely day!

Writing Fight Scenes

I'm so happy to hear the blog has helped with your writing!

When I have to write a fight scene, I do five things:

1 - I find clips on YouTube of the type of fighting/fight scene I need to write about and study the way it looks/learn about the moves.

2 - I research the type of fight moves I want to portray (whether that's just general fisticuffs, a martial art, self-defense moves, etc.) and learn what the moves are called, the positions, what the body does and how it reacts, etc.

3 - I "block" the scene like I would for a stage play, writing out a summary of how the fight will look, sometimes marking actual body positions on a page as though I was looking top down at the scene and seeing where they go. This is important for when there's interaction with the scenery, like being pushed up against a wall, climbing up onto things, or attempting to hide.

4 - I go to Google Image Search and look for pictures of people fighting... which can be risky (because you might see some real gore) but it can help refine the images in my minds eye as far as body positions/body language, facial expressions, injuries, movement, etc. Alternatively, you could watch fight scene clips from movies on YouTube by searching "movie fight scene" or "TV show fight scene" or something similar.

5 - Sometimes I kind of act it out, going through one character's motions first, then doing the scene over again with the other character's motions. Or, if you have someone who can stand in for the other character, that could work, too. Obviously you don't really want to hit anyone or do anything that could lead to you inadvertently hurting yourself, but just a light run through of the moves as you see them in your mind's eye can help refine the scene's finer points.

Obviously all of that won't necessarily make it onto the page, but having a good understanding of what the moves are and look like, the proper terminology (when needed), and what the fight will actually look like really helps me.

Also, I strongly recommend following the blog @howtofightwrite as they're trained fighters who have a lot of helpful knowledge and resources about writing fight scenes.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Learn more about WQA

See my ask policies

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

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elliewritessncries · 4 months

Text

Invisible string | pre-outbreak!Joel Miller x (mostly)gn!reader

After many months of constant fighting Joel’s wife, Evelyn, has had enough, she runs away and leaves him and baby Sarah alone when they most need her. Sarah is barely 4 months old and even though Joel is an excellent father, he still needs help with his daughter while he works. Luckily his neighbor is more than happy to help out the now single father.

Part 2

Pre-outbreak, perhaps even no outbreak at all. Joel just turned/is about to turn 20. Young reader too. Kind of slow burn. No use of y/n. Clichés all over.

Warnings: swearing, parental abandonment. Brief mention of miscarriage. English is not my first language.

Note: I’ve been meaning to write more but I’m honestly too busy or afraid of criticism so I end up posting a chapter or two on ao3 and never coming back. But I’m on vacation and I miss tumblr so here I am.

Dividers by: firefly graphics

Sometimes, life takes turns leading you to places you never thought you'd find yourself in, but it doesn't have to be bad. That you had learned.

The first turn life took (and you were actually aware of it) was mid-college, and that one, well… It was actually a bad thing.

Two years earlier, you decided to travel across the country to study. It wasn't the most convenient thing geographically. It was a 24-hour drive without stops, but you made 32 in your parents' old van the first time they took you to see the campus, then it took you 4 days to get there with your best friend at the start of the first semester. It was a long way, which meant no Christmas vacation at home, no traveling for spring break, and an expensive plane ticket every summer that you had to pay yourself because, oh, surprise! It wasn't also the most convenient thing because money was tight at home, and Penn State wasn't cheap. Still, you wanted to go there, so your parents made an incredible effort to get you where you wanted. And a year and a half later, it wasn't viable anymore, so you dropped out and returned home to work.

The second life's turn happened when you were 20, and it came to you completely by surprise, without any involvement on your part, but still, you had to deal with the consequences.

You had been out of college for about seven months. It was mid-January, and you were walking home from work, watching the Christmas lights attached to rooftops fight the wind that threatened to rip them off and have them flying around. It was windier than usual, a chill wind that cut to the bone, perhaps foreshadowing the day's events.

When you reached home, you expected to be greeted by the warmth of home but, instead, you found it colder than the outside as your mom shouted like crazy in Spanish (a common thing in your household) at your dad, who just sat at the dining table with his head hung low (also a common thing). What wasn't expected was you and your siblings taking your mom's side as you found out the reason behind the yelling: your 52-year-old dad, the "most devoted father and husband of the community," was behind your family’s financial struggle, him and his mistress. That day, your mom sloppily packed your dad's things and threw him on the street. He didn't deserve more than that.

Life kept on going after that, kind of.

Many turns came after that day, more than you could ever count, and life was getting dizzier by the minute until a chilly day in late October that reminded you of the fateful day your dad ran out. Once again, you found yourself walking home from work, like in January, almost 8 months ago. You stopped half a block away from your house, fighting in vain with your beaten-down walkman, trying to play your tape until you heard muffled screams in a nearby house, something reminiscent of that day, too.

You didn't want to pry, but curiosity got the best of you, so you stayed there pretending to fix your things.

You knew the house belonged to the Keereys, but they hadn't lived there for a while. At the moment, a young couple rented it. You knew them too, not only because they were your neighbors but because both went to school with you, all the way from kindergarten to High School.

Evelyn and Joel Miller were high school sweethearts, together since their Freshman year, maybe before. They were a grade below you, but even going to the same school, you had never cared too much about their life and relationship, too busy with your own teenage drama and organizing prom and whatnot. Still, throughout the years, your mom and Diana Miller, Joel's mom, remained good friends, keeping you in all the gossip.

Evelyn's parents never liked Joel that much, and Joel never liked her parents, either. When she got pregnant at 17, they hated each other even more. Joel dropped out of High School and started to work to support a family that didn't come. The baby was never born, but they stayed together, even got married after turning 18, and when he thought of getting a GED to continue his education, they got pregnant again. Their baby was born mid-summer, and you and your family were invited to the baby shower but sent a present instead, too occupied with your family drama to go.

After the baby shower, Diana Miller didn't need to call your mom to update her on all of her son's problems because the young couple moved out of the Millers' house into their own (rented) home four houses down the block from yours, to receive their baby in peace. But peace was the last thing they had, with their baby crying more times than not, Evelyn wanting to opt-out, Joel trying to keep things together for the sake of their daughter, and you and your neighbors were the first ones to know about all their discussions.

Now, even with your headphones on, you could make up some of the phrases that Evelyn screamed, things about her wanting more, him not being enough, wishing for a better life, and wanting to leave once and for all. And before you could decide whether it was better to keep listening to bring fresh gossip home or leave the couple alone to their issues, the decision was made for you by an angry Evelyn getting out of the house in a hurry.

"-and I'm tired of you, and your house, and your stupid daughter that never shuts up!"

"Don't talk about her like that, Evelyn! Like it or not, she's your daughter. You can run away from her!"

"I'm not running away from her. I'm running away from you and this miserable life, you big, fucking, worthless idiot!"

"Evelyn, don't go! Evelyn! If you go now, don't even think about coming back! I mean it!"

"Oh honey, count on it!"

And she meant it too because while they were screaming at each other, she threw into their shared pick-up truck a bunch of clothes, a suitcase, and many plastic bags with, one could only assume, the rest of her things.

All the screaming had attracted the attention of passersby and neighbors alike. Yet, if they weren't paying attention before, the loud tire squeal of the truck as Evelyn backed out of the driveway did the trick, making everyone who was paying attention turn to the couple's house, scared by the sudden noise.

The truck drove loudly into the distance, leaving behind a deafening silence. Not even the birds dared to make any noise for a moment, afraid to upset the young man even more, but life had to keep going, even if it seemed to have stopped for him. People kept on walking, neighbors pretended to have been doing anything else rather than listening to the conversation and went on with their day, but you kept looking at the door, where an angry Joel Miller stood, not knowing what to do with life now, only distracted by the cries of his daughter, so he turned around and shut his door angrily leaving you standing in the middle of the street thinking how his life had taken a turn now too and wishing him the best of luck.

#joel miller x reader #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #no outbreak!joel miller #pre outbreak!joel #sarah miller #gn!reader #90s-ish vibes #super inaccurate descriptions of texas

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dancingtotuyo · 9 months

Text

If my Hands Could Fix It (Joel Miller)

Part 4 of Build You the World Joel X Reader Rating: PG-13 (Language and some sexual references) Warnings: fluffy, angst, talk of pregnancy related things, trying to conceive, struggling to conceive. Tags: pre outbreak/no outbreak, fluff, craftsman!Joel, we're in the 90s folks... but wait... also the year 2000! Words: 4260

Series Master List | Author Master list

You and Joel got married in April in the backyard. Joel built a pergola that you covered in wildflowers and baby’s breath. It was a small ceremony, only about 35 people, but you preferred it that way.

You went to Mexico for your honeymoon. A week on a beach full of sand, sun, and sex. A lot of sex with no children to interrupt you or for you to accidentally wake up. Panic hit on day 3 when you realized you hadn’t taken your birth control pills and only ensued when you realized the pills were still sitting on the bathroom counter at home. You rifled through your bags for a fourth time just to be certain.

“Darlin, what's wrong?”

You looked up. Joel already had his swim trunks on and a towel over his shoulder. His farmer’s tan was fading from just a couple days on the beach. “I think I left something at home.”

“Can’t be that important-”

“My birth control.”

“Oh.”

You looked at him. He seemed to recall the events of the past few days but said nothing else.

“Just “oh”? That’s all you have to say?” You stared at him.

He smiled at you, taking your hand. He pressed them to his mouth. Your shoulders dropped. “I can go buy condoms.” His thumbs worked slow circles into your palms. “Or… we could just see what happens.”

“What about our plan?” The five-year one. Baby-making wasn’t a part of that for another year.

He laughed. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re really bad at planning shit, baby.”

You couldn’t help it as your lips ticked upward. It was true. You and Joel didn’t plan things. They just happened. The five-year plan the two of you started was your biggest attempt thus far and here you were, less than 2 months later talking about deviating, or maybe you’d already ruined it.

You let the thoughts of another kid wash over your mind. Pregnancy hadn’t been this wonderful, carefree experience for you, but it hadn’t been all that bad either. You decided not to dwell on the 36 hour labor experience. Sweet baby snuggles, late night feedings, smiles, first steps, temper tantrums, and I love yous all drifted through your mind. You weren’t sure if you were ready for it all right now, but you could be if you had to. Lord knows you weren’t ready the first time.

Releasing a deep breath, you nodded. “Okay, let’s just see what happens.”

Joel grinned. He kissed you, hands wandering over the skin your bathing suit didn’t cover. “Now let’s get you onto the beach.”

You didn’t get pregnant on your honeymoon. The relief you thought you’d feel upon seeing the negative test was replaced with disappointment. You tossed the test into the trash can.

Walking out of the bathroom, your eyes landed on Joel, reading in bed. You cocked your head to the side. He wasn’t a reader like you, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to read about woodworking techniques or the history of construction. Boring topics to you, but he could and had gone on for hours about both. You enjoyed watching the way his eyes lit up when he started on the topic, but the book he currently held was one of yours.

“Watcha got there?” You smiled but you felt its lack. It pulled at your face awkwardly.

Joel’s eyes darted up over the book, an eyebrow raised. “This is pure filth, darling.”

You laughed, straddling his abdomen. “Where do you think I learned all my tricks?” You took the book from him, checking the cover. “This is nothing, baby.”

“And here I took you for an academic, readin all the time. Is our whole relationship a lie?” He grinned, hands settling on your bare thighs.

“Yes, I’ve just been scamming you so I have a place to store my many filthy books.” You winked.

He chuckled, pulling your palm to his lips. He always did that to soothe you. Were you that readable?

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Guess the answer was yes. “Nothing, it’s nothing.” You shook your head.

His brow furrowed. “Baby…”

You shrugged, splaying your palms on his chest. His fingers trailed over your knee and up your thigh. You showed tremendous interest in the logo on his shirt, biting your lip. You felt the pressure behind your eyes. “It’s just…” You sighed. “The pregnancy test was negative and it’s stupid.” Moisture pressed to surface level. You wiped it away. “I mean, I thought I would be relieved, and now I’m crying.” You wiped more tears away with a small laugh.

Joel continued to rub your thighs. His brown eyes met yours. “I think I’m a little disappointed too.”

You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled in your chest. The skin around Joel’s eyes crinkled, his dimple popping out. You leaned down, touching your forehead to his. “So that means…”

“Fuck the five-year plan.” Joel grinned.

You repeated it back and pressed your lips to his.

You threw out your birth control the next morning.

You’d heard about women tracking their cycles and taking ovulation tests and postponing sex until ovulation, but all of that sounded a bit overwhelming. You’d conceived Asher while taking birth control religiously. You thought it would just happen.

But three months and 4 negative pregnancy tests later, you found yourself staring at the ovulation kits. Did you go with the cheapest option? How many did you buy? Before going on birth control, you’d been very aware of when you were ovulating and since coming off it, you were fairly certain of when you were as your sex drive kicked up roughly every four weeks.

“Go with the brand in the blue box.”

You turned around. Marcia Crawly, a mom from Sarah’s soccer team, smiled at you. You were pretty sure she was on the PTO as well.

“Oh, thanks,” You forced a smile.

You grabbed the recommended box, cheeks heating up. This shouldn’t be embarrassing. You were a grown married woman with children.

“No problem. You and Joel are trying?”

Oh lord, not grocery store small talk in the family planning aisle. “Uh… yeah.” You tossed the box into your cart. Marcia didn’t seem like the kind to spread the word, but you didn’t know her that well.

“If you want any tips, just reach out. I know all the things to do.” She smiled.

You thought of Marcia's 4 children all born within 24-28 months of one another. She’d mentioned that fact several times in passing as if it was some kind of accomplishment. It never occurred to you until now that perhaps she’d meticulously planned it that way.

“Um… yeah, sure. I will.” You wouldn’t.

“See you at the soccer game this weekend.” She waved. “And good luck.” Marcia winked at you before continuing on her own.

Joel was working in the garage when you got home. Sarah had asked for a bookshelf “all for herself” for her birthday. In the summer boom of work, Joel hadn’t been able to start on it until tonight. Sarah’s birthday was a week ago. You knew he felt bad, but there were other gifts to unwrap, and Sarah got to stay up late that night helping Joel design it. You were pretty sure it was twice the undertaking Joel originally planned.

With the groceries put away, you went to investigate the lamplight from Sarah’s room. You noticed it when you got home. Her door was cracked. You tapped on it before entering. Sarah peeked up over the cover of her book. You smiled. “It’s past your bedtime, Sarah Joy.”

“Dad said I could read.”

You glanced down at your watch, soft laughter contained. “It’s 10:30.” You laid down next to her pulling her into your side. “Watcha reading?”

Sarah cuddled into you. “Box car children- Haunted Cabin Mystery.”

“Is it any good?”

Sarah nodded. “Not as good as the original series.”

“Well, nothing can beat the original series.

You took an extra minute to hold her. She was getting so big. You didn’t know how long she would continue to let you hold her like this.

Sarah nodded, pressing her back into you as she continued to read. “15 more minutes. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Goodnight, kiddo. I love you.” You kissed her cheek and tickled her sides.

Sarah’s laughing squeal filled the room. “Mama!”

You laughed. “Sarah!”

“Okay, okay!” She struggled to catch her breath and you relented. Sarah kissed your cheek. “Goodnight. I love you.”

You crawled out of the bed laughter still in your movements. “15 minutes.” You reminded

“I know.”

You took a mental picture of Sarah, freshly 10 years old snuggled in bed with a book, and filed it away.

You peeked into Asher’s room. He slept curled up over a pillow, just like Joel did when he fell asleep before you made it to bed. You tiptoed in, pushing back his sweat-damp curls. He ran hot when he slept. Something he also got from his daddy. Pressing your lips to his forehead, you pulled the covers down to keep him cool.

Opening the fridge, you grabbed a drink before joining Joel in the garage. He shot a smile your way as he marked measurements onto the boards, but said nothing. You returned his smile. You forwent the stool, opting to sit directly on the workbench. The condensation from the bottle was slick in your hands from the late July heat.

You swung your feet back and forth noticing the absence of the radio tonight. The cicadas and crickets chirped in harmony. The quick buzz of the table saw joined them as Joel made a single precise cut. He looked hot with the pencil behind his ear.

“You’re gonna get sawdust all over your shorts.”

He walked over leaning against the workbench. He smelled like pine and dirt. Your favorite. You couldn’t help it as you leaned toward him.

“Guess you’ll have to clean me off then.” You winked sipping on your drink.

Joel eyed the bottle in your hand. You’d pretty much stopped drinking since the two of you decided to have another baby.

“Somethin happen at the grocery store?” Joel reached behind you, grabbing his drink. He rested his other hand on your thigh.

“I ran into Marcia Crawly as I was getting ovulation tests. She offered to give me all the tips and tricks if I needed them.”

Joel paused, bottle mid-air. His face read somewhere between amusement and concern as he swallowed his beer. “The whole PTO gonna know now?”

“Doesn’t seem the type, but I guess we’ll find out.” You shrugged.

“So what’s buggin you?” His hand crawling up your thigh.

You rested your forehead against his running a hand through his curls. He leaned into your touch further. “I’m neglecting my wifely duties. Your hair is getting long.”

His eyebrows raised expectantly. You couldn’t deflect with him.

“I just don’t like other people up in our business,” you said. He tilted his head, kissing the palm on his cheek. “Especially people we’re not really friends with.”

“Me either.” Joel moved between your legs. Easing his hands on either side of your thighs.

You rested your chin on top of his head as the two of you enjoyed the summer night noises. It wasn’t silent by any means, but it felt peaceful.

“Sarah is still up reading. I told her 15 minutes.”

Joel smiled. “Think she’ll remember?”

“Fuck no,” You said. Joel laughed. “But if Sarah staying up late to read is our biggest issue, I’m not worried.”

“Until she starts stealing filthy books from your shelf.”

You laughed, head tossing back. Joel kissed your neck. “Get back to work. I came out here to watch my hot carpenter husband do carpenter things.”

Joel smiled, giving you a solid kiss before moving back to his project. You picked up his journal. You’d given him a new one, much like the original, for his birthday after he filled all the pages in the first one.

“This is quite the bookshelf.”

“She wants fairies on it. Not sure how I’m going to do that yet, but I’ll figure it out.”

“They don’t cover that in your books?”

“They cover it in yours?” Joel grinned.

You flipped him off.

You laid out across your bed still in your work clothes. Your abdomen cramped as you waited for the ibuprofen to kick in. Tears streamed into your ears, and for once it wasn’t your period that brought on the tears.

Work was shit. The company you worked for switched hands last year. Ever since, you hadn’t enjoyed work. The co-workers you were close to slowly quit one by one and your boss was an overbearing, asshole.

You heard the click of the bedroom door. The bed dipped beside you. His warm, calloused hand covered yours. His lips touched your forehead. You hummed softly.

“Rough day?”

“Carl’s an ass.”

His finger traced over your face and then he noticed the tears running between your eyes and ears. “Shit, baby.”

“Sorry.” You wiped at your tears, finally opening your eyes.

“Don’t apologize…”

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep working there.”

“Then don’t.”

“What?”

“You’re already keepin the books. Tommy and I were talking about hiring a couple more people. Business is good. We’re filling up through the winter. That’s never happened before.”

It was all a part of the five-year plan. Miller Construction, LLC was growing. What used to be just Joel and Tommy had grown to a crew of 5. You’d been doing the books for a couple of years now. The longer-term plan was for you to quit your job and run the admin side of things full-time. You would be able to stay home with the kids so daycare wouldn’t be needed. There were plans for office space, two crews, all a part of the 5-year plan. You quitting your job was still 2 ½ years away.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“You’re thinking about that damn timeline.”

“So? We made that plan for a reason.”

“And we said fuck it, did we not?”

“Joel this isn’t deciding to have a baby a year earlier.”

“Darlin, you’re miserable.”

“Even if it all worked out, what about health insurance? We’re trying to have a baby. I don’t think we want to get the uninsured medical bill for childbirth.” Health insurance was the main reason you stayed at this job. Your 30 hours a week, enough to qualify for benefits, turned into 40 more often than not.

“You don’t have to work to get insurance.”

“Joel.”

“Miller Construction can offer you great benefits.” He kissed your neck.

“Oh? Like what?” You smiled. He was distracting you and you let him.

“Flexible schedule, bring your kids to work.” His lips trailed lower. “Private meetings with the boss.” His breath was hot in your ear.

You hummed soaking in the feeling of the idea until reality crashed back down. “I can’t quit my job so we can have a midday rendezvous.”

“I want you to quit so you’ll be okay.” He took your hands in his, kissing them. “We need you to be okay, baby.”

You stared up at him, relishing the warmth of his hands. “You’re sure?”

“I’ll call Carl up myself right now. Tell him you’re done. You can sleep in tomorrow.”

You thought about it, making the decision quicker than you wanted to admit. “Fuck the five-year plan I guess.” You laughed, feeling like a weight was lifted off your chest.

Joel chuckled, pressing his lips to yours.

On the first day of November, you woke up feeling nauseous. Your heart lept at the thought that this was it. You managed to wait until the kids were asleep that night, your anticipation growing with the mild heartburn you felt throughout the day.

No second line. In fact, the test strip was so fucking white you couldn’t imagine a faint line. You threw it in the trash can, fighting the urge to scream.

You turned on the shower and let the hot water wash it away.

Joel had just turned out his lamp as you crawled into bed without a word. The sheets felt cool against your skin. He kissed your head before turning on his back.

You faced Joel, laying on your side. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What’s wrong?” You laid a hand on his chest. The only time Joel slept on his back was when he fell asleep on the couch, you insisted on cuddling a certain way, or he was stressed.

He covered your hand with his. “Nothing babe, just work stuff.”

“Something that’s gonna affect the books?”

He looked at you with the one eye that faced you. “What happened to no work talk in the bedroom?”

“Well, you’re clearly stressed in our bedroom.”

Joel rolled over kissing you softly. “Better now.”

“You cheeseball.”

Joel chuckled. He kissed your forehead. “Now it’s your turn.”

You furrowed your brow.

“I can hear your thoughts, Darlin.”

“You cannot.”

He touched his head to yours, the moonlight reflecting in his big brown eyes. “They’re racing faster than NASCAR.”

You sighed. “I thought I was pregnant. I’m not. Must’ve eaten too much damn Halloween candy last night.”

Joel managed a soft smile. His hand threaded through your hair. “I’d tell you not to overthink it, but we both know that’s not possible.”

“Do you think there’s something wrong?” You bit your lip.

“It hasn’t been that long, baby.” You leaned into his touch.

“I thought it would just happen, you know.” You wanted to swear as the tears started.

Joel pulled you into his arms. “I think I did too. I mean… I’m kinda 2 for 2 in that department.”

You managed a laugh and he kissed your head.

“I love you,” He said.

“I love you too.”

The holidays came and went in a blur. Thanksgiving with Tommy and your mom. Your mother had warmed up to Joel over the years. So much so, she’d let him handle the turkey. He’d been so excited. Christmas morning was just the four of you. A new bike for Sarah and a train set for Asher. New Year's Eve at some big fancy house hosted by Joel’s biggest client just the two of you. In the rush of the holidays, the two of you realized it was your first date night in two months. Joel had fucked you in one of the many bathrooms, the idea of baby making the farthest thing from either of your minds for the first time in a long time.

It was the third week of January before you realized your period was late. You reeled your mind for the last time you’d had it. Did you miss December too? Your heart picked up. You had.

You glanced in the living room. Sarah was reading and Asher playing with his trains on the floor. You took the steps two at a time quickly locking the door. This had to be it. There was no way it wasn’t.

You watched the test process, confused when the second line never appeared. The test must have been bad. You grabbed two more from your drawer. The second came up negative as did the third. You just stared at them lined up on the bathroom counter. The acceptance hit you like a semi-truck, the wind knocked from your lungs.

You swiped the tests into the trash can. Angry hot tears streamed from your eyes. Your bedroom door slammed behind you and you fell into the comforter as you let the sobs wrack your body.

You didn’t know how long you’d been in bed when the door creaked open. You glanced up, eyes heavy expecting to see Sarah or Asher. Joel’s frame filled the door making you realize how long you’d actually been in bed. “Sarah said she heard the door slam a couple hours ago.”

“Shit.” You groaned. There was an ache at the base of your skull. You buried your head into the comforter.

Joel sat on the bed, his hand on your back. “Everything okay?”

“Peachy.”

“Darlin…”

You sighed, rubbing your head as you rolled to your back. You knew if you opened your eyes, the headache would get worse. “What else, Joel? I thought for sure I was pregnant. New flash, I’m not.”

Silence ensued. You were too preoccupied trying to rub your headache away. The bed beside you lifted. Joel huffed shuffling out of the room. You sat up. Your brain felt like it was going to implode. Your sinuses were stuffy from crying. You couldn’t think straight.

Joel barged back in, garbage bag in hand. He yanked open the top dresser drawer where you kept the pregnancy and ovulation tests. “What are you doing?”

“Throwing this shit out. We’re done.”

“Done? What are you talking about?” You were worried you might be getting a migraine as you rubbed your temples.

“This whole cycle tracking and taking tests every month. We need a break.” He shoved the tests into the garbage bag.

“Joel.”

“It’s tearing you apart!” He turned around. Your vision tunneled to his eyes. Tears pooled in them. “It’s tearing me apart.”

He dropped the garbage bag and climbed into the bed. His hands felt cool against your hot skin. “We need a break… please.” His voice broke.

“Okay.” You whispered.

You climbed into his lap. He kissed your head and you nuzzled into his neck. A few of his tears dropped onto your cheek as yours slid down his neck. He held you like that until you fell asleep.

You didn’t tell Joel you bought the pregnancy test. A part of you felt bad not telling him, but if it was negative, he’d see it in your face. He’d know what was going on without a word.

You’d only taken one other pregnancy test since you and Joel hit pause on trying last year, and that was at your annual physical. You’d expected the negative result and when the doctor told you, you felt okay.

You two still talked about having another child. Both of you wanted it, but the active trying was paused. You agreed your family felt incomplete. You discussed going to see a doctor just to make sure everything was okay, but that still felt overwhelming.

For the most part, you’d been able to unweave the constant baby think from your brain. Life felt like it was flying by at breakneck speed. You celebrated Asher’s 5th birthday in March. Sarah’s spring soccer season was well underway. There was talk that they could make it to states this year, and Sarah had been named captain. Asher started t-ball. Between the two kids’ sports, most of your weekends were full. Business was booming for Miller Construction. So much so that you were in the market for an assistant, and You and Joel celebrated your 2nd wedding anniversary earlier this month.

Your period was almost 2 weeks late. You tried not to overthink it. It wouldn’t be the first time, but the nausea had hit three days in a row now. The first day you could write it off. The kids had caught a stomach bug last week. The second day you tried to let it go, and then this morning you actually threw up, twice, and then recovered. It brought you back to when you were pregnant with Asher.

You paced the bathroom wringing your hands as you watched the second hand on your watch tick in two slow circles. You refused to look before it was time. Your mind raced. You flipped between sure and doubt.

Two minutes. You steadied your breath as you prepared to look. No matter what it said, you would be okay… you hoped.

The test lay on the bathroom counter. Two lines, clear as day, stared back at you. There was no doubting it. Shock settled in your bones. “Joel…” He was downstairs with the kids. “Joel!” Your voice steadily rose.

About the third time, his heavy footsteps rang through the house as he took the steps two at a time. He burst into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” Panic raged wild in his eyes. His chest heaved

You looked up at him, tears brewing in your eyes, hand over your mouth.

“Darlin, what is it?” He walked over to you. You pointed to the counter.

He looked over, brow furrowing. Then he saw it. The test sitting there. He didn’t even have to look at the results to know what it said. His head whipped around. “You’re?”

You nodded still suspended in disbelief. He laughed, picking you up and spinning you around in the already tight space. Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, laughter mingling with his.

Emma Grace entered the world on December 13th at 12:03 am with much more urgency than her older brother. Joel narrowly avoided catching her as the doctor arrived no more than 30 seconds before she was born.

Joel settled next to you, his arm around your shoulders. Emma stared up at the two of you. He brushed his finger against her cheek. She felt so small in your arms, and compared to her older brother, she was, weighing in at 2 pounds lighter.

“She was born after midnight?”

Joel nodded and the tears welled in your eyes. “She has my dad’s birthday.”

Joel kissed your head and then hers. You leaned into him. Staring down at your baby girl, you felt it in your souls. Your family was complete.

#joel miller #pedro pascal #the last of us #tlou #joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x you #build you the world

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ultra-violet-heart · 5 months

Text

THE 2018 DENGEKI BUNKO INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

Disclaimer: This translation is made by me for fandom purposes only. This interview, conducted in 2017, gives major insights on how the sci-fi mecha series 86--EIGHTY-SIX was conceived and written before it eventually won the Dengeki Novel Prize back in 2016.

Please ask my permission and credit me+this post if you will be re-translating this to other languages. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST ON YOUTUBE AND TIKTOK AND PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THE IMAGES ON THIS INTERVIEW. Please take the fan translations here with a grain of salt.

Credits to @Yashamise from Twitter for copies of this Dengeki Bunko Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine.

Erratum: This interview was conducted and printed in 2017, but this Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi magazine is dated 2018 as an advance issue of sorts. This interview has been summarized here. My apologies for the title.

I’m posting my Ko-Fi here as currently, I’ve been having financial trouble regarding my medicine, so if anyone can donate, I would be much grateful for the help, thank you very much.

AN INTERVIEW WITH 86--EIGHTY-SIX AUTHOR ASATO ASATO

“I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them,” this author says. This tale is filled with the grief from war, the ugliness of racial discrimination, as well as the romance of mechas and of garter belts! In this interview, she reveals to us everything about its roots and its appeal!

Text and Composition: My Street

Illustrator: Shirabii

Translator’s Note: For purposes of this interview translation, the interviewer will be labelled as “MS” for My Street, since they layouted and probably conducted this transcribed interview. Also, for words that have brackets or parenthesis:

{} = implied by context

() = given emphasis/given parenthesis in the interview itself

[] = included in the footnotes/translator’s notes

A robot lover as far as she could remember

MS: Thank you very much for your time today for this interview. It was surprising to learn that the author {for 86--EIGHTY-SIX}, Ms. Asato, is a woman.

ASATO: I get that a lot (haha). My family says the contents of my work is just “the usual {for Asato}” though. I think my Afterwords have the impression they’re written by a woman, and I never hid that in particular (haha).

MS: This year {2018}, 86--EIGHTY-SIX placed first in the New Works category and second in the bunkobon {paperback} category overall. How do you feel about this now?

ASATO: I’m very happy. I knew of KonoRano’s existence [1], so I was hoping {86--EIGHTY-SIX} might be listed there somewhere, but it was a surprise that it placed higher than expected. As I said in this interview’s foreword: “I wrote what I liked, in the way I liked them.” I’m thankful that many readers found it interesting.

MS: For readers who haven’t heard of 86--EIGHTY-SIX, can you give us a summary of this work?

ASATO: It’s a lively, filled-with-clanks story of the protagonist Shin, his merry band of thieves, and their remotely-working-class-president Lena. [2] (LOL)

MS: 86--EIGHTY-SIX is your debut work. Can you tell us about the time you started writing this work?

ASATO: I’ve been writing ever since I can remember, and I started with writing manga {scripts}. I switched to writing novels around before I started junior high school and have been writing them ever since.

MS: You’ve been interested in robots and military-related things ever since elementary school, is that right?

ASATO: Yes, that’s correct. My mother liked {Space Battleship} Yamato [3] and Gundam, and as I have a younger brother, I got into watching and reading anime and manga targeted at boys. I was rarely exposed to anime and manga targeted at girls. We had the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy [4] at home (which I’ve seen many times), and I also watched The Brave Police J-Decker [5] and The Brave Express Might Gaine [6], as well as other shows in The Brave [7] series. The only anime I had watched that is {targeted at girls} is Magic Knight Rayearth [8], which is another story with robots fighting in it (haha).

MS: I reckon such an environment led you to writing 86--EIGHTY-SIX. Can you tell us about your writing process?

ASATO: I originally submitted {works} to the Kadokawa Beans [9] Bunko Newcomer Awards. I avoided the Dengeki Novel Prize as it was rather {too hard to enter} due to the large number of entries [10] there. The novel entry I made on the 21st year of the Dengeki Novel Prize (2014), however, was totally not aimed at women at all, so I didn’t have any other choice but to submit that to said contest, as it has the closest deadline. It was a sci-fi fantasy work, with a theme of redemption, set on a time before and after {a} revolution. At that time, I thought, maybe I can go past beyond the 3rd round of screenings and unexpectedly, maybe placed on a good spot? However, the evaluation I got from the judges were “This is a 100% a work targeted at girls” and “Next time, we hope you will submit a work that should be Dengeki Bunko-like”. As Dengeki Bunko [11] is an all-kinds-of-genre publication, I didn’t know what ‘Dengeki Bunko-like’ even meant. I thought about it a lot but couldn’t figure it out, so I just kept on writing and finished my next entry, which is 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

MS: How did you come up with the idea and structure of 86, a war drama where unmanned drones and “unmanned manned drones” battle each other?

ASATO: I once read a newspaper article whose main message was “It won’t be good if a country sends its citizens to war, but it shouldn’t be a problem if they made an army of foreigners fight in their stead.” In that case, I felt very afraid that other people will be forced to fight instead of us, with the idea of “those aren’t people, but drones” justifying this and everyone just allowing it {to happen}.

MS: As written in Volume 1’s Afterword, looking back at history, it. is true that racism and racial exclusion existed to no small extent. So, why did you decide to incorporate “racism” into your work?

ASATO: Ever since I started writing novels, I have repeatedly written about boundary lines between “human beings and those who are human but not treated as human beings”, with 86--EIGHTY-SIX being in a similar vein. One of the bases for this is probably the class discrimination found in Final Fantasy Tactics [12], for example. A character there, Argath, who is an aristocrat, tells a commoner character: “But the gods have no eyes for chattel! [12]” This line has stayed with me ever since. After that, I continued to write with the motifs of “human beings and livestock in human form” and “human and those considered not humans”. I think BLACK/MATRIX+ [13] influenced me as well. This game deals with ethnic discrimination, set in a world where black-winged people are ruled over by white-winged people. In there, those who were discriminated against were treated harshly. They were treated like livestock, with the game having this line of, “Why is a mere slave like you wearing clothes?”

MS: Do you often play games?

ASATO: When my gaming consoles weren’t connected yet to the Internet, I used to play a lot of RPGs. I’m not good at action games. I did play a lot of Final Fantasy, like Final Fantasy VI, Tactics, VIII, IX, and X [14].

MS: Are there other works which influenced you? I wonder if there’s something similar like the war situation in Knights of Sidonia [15], which was mentioned in Volume 1’s afterword.

ASATO: I often watch a lot of robot shows, Knights of Sidonia included. In addition to the Gundam series mentioned earlier, I also watched Full Metal Panic [16] and Gunparade March: A New Song for the March [17]. It’s not a robot series, but I also have read Battle Faery Yukikaze [18] over and over. I like {literary} structures where the protagonist side is overwhelmingly inferior while the antagonist side is the superior one. I want to see the flow of emotions from the characters more than the fight scenes themselves. I think emotions such as fear, resignation and desperation show more in situations where {characters} are hopelessly in a big disadvantage. Winning a battle by domination can be exhilarating, yes, but those other emotions don’t show as much during that. That’s why I prefer for the protagonists to win through unrefined and tenacious means, rather than them winning by outsmarting {enemies}.

The work’s influences from horror films and in-depth military research

MS: The Legion are getting more ominous, and the deteriorating situation for Shin and his group is putting them on a very big disadvantage, if I’m not mistaken.

ASATO: 86--EIGHTY-SIX has been influenced more by horror movies than robot anime, with it being based on movies such as The Mist [19] and Screamers [20]. Mist is a horror story where the protagonists get trapped in a supermarket due to a mysterious fog and monsters, and the people gradually lose their ability to make rational judgments as they are unable to defend themselves or escape, without any rescue in sight. This horror movie has a great ending, so I’m inviting you all to watch it without further spoilers. 86--EIGHTY-SIX was initially set as a novel about a fog of nanomachines covering the walls outside of the Republic, and the “Legion” being an aggregation of said nanomachines. However, that kind of thing couldn’t exactly be defeated by conventional weapons, so it was rejected at the setting phase. These elements from this setting, however, were retained in the form of Volume 1’s final boss character and the appearance of those electromagnetic jammers clouding the sun.

MS: It’s rather surprising this came from a horror setting.

ASATO: The other {inspiration mentioned earlier}, Screamers, is a sci-fi horror film where autonomous war weapons evolved on their own and went out of control. In 86--EIGHTY-SIX, the Self-Propelled Mines, which look like wounded soldiers, are based on Screamers. The work is rather interesting as one has no ideas who their enemies are and everything else looks suspicious.

MS: So you have a situation like this, and you applied what kind of emotions you want to be shown in that situation, correct?

ASATO: Yes. Looking back, I think I was strongly influenced by the novel Chaos Legion [21] {in this regard}. Shin’s Personal Mark, which has a shovel on it, was influenced by his special ability as well as his role being the “Undertaker” responsible for collecting the fragments of his comrade-in-arms’ {Feldreẞ} units.

MS: The more I hear about it, it seems this work is really packed full of things {you} like.

ASATO: While I was writing this, I played the Black Hawk Down [22] movie repeatedly instead of just background music. It’s also a favorite {movie} of mine.

MS: I would like to ask you about military-related matters. What kind of material did you use for your research?

ASATO: I borrowed all relevant materials I use from the library, so I don’t have any specific references… About racial discrimination, I read materials about Nazi Germany [23], the internment camps in US as well as the 442nd Infantry Regiment [24] and Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary [25]. As for the weapons, the Juggernaut and the Legion are based and patterned from tanks, so I’ve read materials dating back from World War II [26] as well as the Gulf War [26], where 120mm tanks were the main weapons used. The Juggernaut’s 57mm cannon wasn’t used very often, so I had a difficult time finding research material for it. The unit itself is based on the M551 Sheridan [27]. This airborne assault tank has aluminum alloy armor, but the Juggernaut reflects the pitiful aspect of said flimsy armor which explodes upon impact by any stray attack.

MS: Why did you make the Juggernaut and the Legion multi-legged tanks?

ASATO: Because it’s romantic! I love multi-legged tanks! My first exposure with them is the X-ATM092 [28], a spider-shaped mobile unit from FFVIII. The loud, resounding footsteps it produced as it chased you away was very scary, and it left this impression of being a symbol of a very powerful weapon. I also like Ghost in the Shell’s Tachikoma [29] and the Tobigumo from the Swallowtail novel series [30]. In reality, multi-legged tank units aren’t really fast enough, and there is too much ground pressure for those to actually carry a 120mm cannon… but I make up for it with my imagination (LOL)

A character that embodies the idea of “to be human” walks alone

MS: Concerning those people called “Eighty-Six”, what do you think it means “to be human”, which you tried to depict in Volume 1?

ASATO: What I tried to depict in this work is “to respect other human beings, and to live without regrets.” However, I don’t think everything I wrote in this main part is actually correct. I think this is the answer the “Eighty-Six” came up with due to the environment they lived in. In Volume 2, the stage now shifts to the Federacy, so the theme there is now what will happen if said environment has changed.

MS: In Volume 2, I see this as a story where the “Eighty-Six”, who managed to get safety for the time being, nevertheless still returned to the battlefield. I think this sentiment was portrayed very well.

ASATO: Volume 3 will focus on what happens inside {Shin’s head} after he made that choice, so please look forward to that. After all, they don’t feel safe even after coming to the Federal Republic of Giad. And the war against the Legion isn’t over yet. Since the Eighty-Six think they will not survive if they don’t fight, I think they will continue to fight until the Legion disappeared. Then… what will they do after the Legion are eventually gone? …They will certainly have to think about that in the future as well.

MS: Do you have a favorite among all the characters?

ASATO: It’s Raiden. Of course, I love the two protagonists, Shin and Lena, but Shin isn’t really a very cooperative character with me, so I have a certain attachment to Raiden, who provides much support. Instead of simply just crafting the plot, I write in a way that captures how each character would act in line with {the type of} world I've created. That’s why I do not know what the characters think, what goals they have, or what pasts they bear unless they “talk” to me. Shin is not the type {of character} to talk about anything in particular, and he doesn’t even say anything much except for his name. It wasn’t until I finished writing that climax of a battle in Volume 1 that I realized what he was fighting for. After I wrote it, I was like, “Huh?! So, this is it?!” and was surprised as the author (LOL).

MS: So, you didn’t think about Shin’s background at first?

ASATO: Yes, that’s right. During that climax, I finally understood {everything} concerning Shin, so I went back on that part and wrote the details that I then added.

MS: So even at the plotting stage, you haven’t put together the {setting and background} for each of the characters?

ASATO: To begin with, when I wrote Volume 1, I haven’t even made a plot. I didn’t even have a story structure in particular, and just wrote while letting the characters act. The first time I finished this volume, the last two pages were still missing, but Shin brought them to me, saying, “Sure enough, write up to this far.”

MS: What happened after Volume 2?

ASATO: I have submitted the plot… but stressed on the important scene that “I won’t know everything until I write it” then submitted it. As a result of this, only the boss character from Volume 3 remained in that plot I submitted. {I caused} my editors a lot of trouble.

MS: How did Frederica (the character) come to be?

ASATO: Frederica is a character with a part further on in the series, so I intended to debut her in Volume 2. As I was writing her, however, it seemed she and Shin have similarities on what they carry on their backs. Since then, she acts as a mirror to Shin. As Shin is a character who is not very good at grasping his own emotions, {I had Frederica} serve as the one who verbalizes those emotions. I wondered then, what does it mean to have a 10-year-old verbalize {another person’s feelings}? (LOL) I simply wanted to show a little girl. In Volume 2, the heroine, Lena, is absent, but I can’t have another girl the same age as her as this volume’s heroine… and so, under this pretext, I brought out {Frederica as} the little girl heroine.

MS: For some reason, I thought there’s other many works featuring little girls in the battlefield.

ASATO: If this were about a real battlefield, it would have been filled with old men. I like older men soldier characters, so that would have been fun to see, but I don’t think readers would find that interesting. Cute little girls adding a touch of color {to a work} is important (LOL).

MS: Did you decide on the setting from the start?

ASATO: The setting was generally decided from the beginning. The scenes were written out as needed. For example, regarding the battlefield, the Legion are ground-based weapons, and it would be troubling if they’re easily eradicated by aircraft weapons. That’s why {I had} the Eintagsfliege, a Legion unit which has jamming, and restricted the use of aircraft and communication devices. This, however, would have prevented Shin and Lena from communicating with each other, so I then devised the special communication device called the Para-RAID.

MS: How deeply did you think about this world’s setting on itself?

ASATO: The necessary scenes have been chosen in detail, otherwise, the rest of the details aren’t fixed. For example, it’s not in the main story, but the Republic’s population has already been decided upon. It’s the reverse with the countries on the edge of the continent that aren’t scheduled to appear, as they might have a Chinese-like culture… that’s all I thought of it right now. There’s also this “sensory tuning”, which hasn’t been written in the setting yet, but is scheduled to be involved in the future part of the plot. However, as I said just a short while ago, the story {as a whole} is influenced greatly by how the characters act, so it depends on them to make the best use of the setting. From this point on, who will survive and who will die… is something that I still don’t know.

MS: Is it still unknown how the war against the Legion will move forward?

ASATO: The basic points {for that} have been decided, with the foreshadowing being built onto step by step. However, it is up to those two, Shin and Lena, if they will follow suit. (LOL)

MS: What about the Legion, then?

ASATO: About the Legion, the setting about them has been solidly established, including the future boss characters. However, I can’t say anything about them yet. Details about them have been foreshadowed little by little. I write hoping the readers will be surprised by this later.

The love for garter belts explodes! A talk about eroticism

MS: Changing the subject, what it is about your particular fixation towards garter belts [31] and pilot suits [32], both of which you spoke so passionately about in your Afterwords?

ASATO: About the pilot suits, on the outline for volume 2, I wrote "I don’t want men’s pilot suits paired with ground-based armaments!!!" using half of the A4 outline paper and submitted that (LOL). I’ve wondered whether pilot suits are really necessary, apart from space or aircraft or even ground battles. I’ve my doubts about it, and with said doubts I don’t want {characters} just wearing pilot suits, even in a robot thing. I do agree with the editor-in-charge about “Female pilot suits are justice!” so Lena wearing a pilot suit is scheduled to appear in the future [32]. After all, the garter belt shows a good place between sexy and cute. I think the eroticism {from the garter belt} dwells in its self-contradictory element: it’s just one additional item {in a set of clothes}, and somehow manages to show more skin―I think that’s the charm of the garter belt. In particular, if the color {of the garter belt} contrasts strongly with the skin color {of the wearer}, the impression of bare skin is more emphasized in spite of the wearer. Because of this, I think it’s wonderful that Shirabii colored the belt part {of Lena’s garter belts} black.

MS: It’s amazing the garter belt drawn by Shirabii has the functions of both a belt and a ring, isn’t it?

ASATO: Furthermore, Lena’s military uniform, a garment that is very much seen in public, has garter belts, which are usually private items, and I think that adds further to her ambivalent charm even more. As a matter of fact, at first, I argued that it would be better if {her} thighs were not visible all the time but could be glimpsed at occasionally, but after a 2 AM discussion with the editors-in-charge while looking at the rough draft of the cover art, they convinced me that “That ‘occasionally’ should be now!”, and we settled on its current form. The ideal situation {we have} was when {Lena} lifts her legs up and a glimpse of the black lace garter can be seen through the slit of {her} dress. However, as Lena is a prim and proper lady, the only situation I can think of where she lifts her legs while wearing a dress is when she is about to wear heels… I’ll have to ask Shin to do his best on this one.

MS: Rather a difficult situation, isn’t it?

ASATO: It’s Shin, after all. Also, a military uniform with pretty boy shorts + sock garters is also cute, and as Theo hasn’t appeared with his military uniform yet, I’m thinking to add that to his outfit now… (LOL). However, middle-aged soldier uncles shouldn’t show their bare legs with shirt garters! (Editor’s note: Please Google “shirt garters” for more info)

MS: Are there any {role/inspiring} models for your characters?

ASATO: Basically, none. However, as mentioned earlier, Shin is partly inspired by Sieg Wahrheit [33] from Chaos Legion, while Lena is partly inspired by General Garrison [34] from Black Hawk Down. In the film, {Garrison} is placed on a situation where he could do nothing but only communicate with his subordinates in adverse circumstances, and this inspired Lena’s position {in the series}. In Black Hawk Down, many characters died before we even understood them, and I think that influenced 86--EIGHTY-SIX as well.

MS: That’s right. They die when the chapters change. When you are writing, you’re writing without knowing who is going to die, isn’t it?

ASATO: There are some characters whose manner of death came to mind as I was writing them. I think they’re good kids, but I have no choice but to let them face their fates (oops).

MS: If the names of the Eighty-Six characters were names of Japanese people, would they still make good names?

ASATO: Yes. All their names can be written in kanji. For example, Shin’s surname, “Nouzen” is from the kanji of the Chinese trumpet creeper (凌霄花) {pronounced as “nouzenkazura”} [35]. I actually like the arrangement of the kanji {from that plant} within the kanji for “surpassing the sky” (霄を凌ぐ) {pronounced as “sora wo shinogu”}. If you use the same kanji and put the honorific (君) {pronounced as “kun”} on it, you can form the characters for the Eurasian goshawk (凌霄君) {pronounced as “ryoshoukun”} [36]. This is also a reference to Shin’s image, as he does resemble a hawk.

What’s next for this series? There’s so much more to write about!

MS: What will happen in Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX? [37]

ASATO: It will be properly connected to Volume 1’s Epilogues, so please don’t worry about that. The battle scenes, which were limited in Volume 2, will be much increased here. It might be even tragic.

EDITOR KIYOSE: This paperback series will, of course, continue to be serialized, and the series will also be expanded into various adaptations such as comics [38] and other various media. This work will have a lot of side stories, so we hope you will all appreciate this series as a whole.

MS: Can you please tell us about the future developments of 86--EIGHTY-SIX?

ASATO: The stage has shifted to the Federacy from Volume 2, and as the war situation gets more violent, the environment surrounding the Eighty-Six and the others is about to deteriorate further. There will be new enemies for mankind to face, and their own numerous personal conflicts standing on their way one by one. However, they have survived far difficult circumstances up until now, and since Lena will join them in earnest by Volume 4, I think they will still survive, stubbornly, shamelessly, and boisterously. However, I really wouldn’t know what would happen unless I write them. (LOL)

MS: How many volumes does this series will have?

ASATO: Currently, I'm thinking of around 13 volumes. The war against the Legion has a general flow and an ending in sight already, so I'd like to get to that point first. In addition to that, I’d like to like to write a side story about Raiden and Shin when they just first met, if I have the opportunity [39]. There’s so much more I want to write about. From Volume 4 onward, countries other than the Federacy will be related, and there’s plans to stretch out the stage even more. The Queen's Knights [40], led by Lena, will also make their appearance. I think there might be some slight surprises about Shiden, who first appeared in Volume 2.

MS: Lastly, any message for the readers who have supported you and the series?

ASATO: I was never active on the web at all, and I was totally an unknown newcomer writer. I believe the reason why I and the 86--EIGHTY-SIX series have come this far is due to the readers who picked up the books and supported us. So, everyone, I will do my best to write bringing Shin and Lena and the Eighty-Six’s battle to conclusion, so from this point on, I look forward to your continued support!

{End of Interview}

Translator’s Notes (Most of the blurbs here are taken from respective relevant Wikipedia articles, and the notes also include the Magazine Notes from the actual interview):

[1] Kono Light Novel Ga Sugoi: Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! (このライトノベルがすごい!, lit. This Light Novel is Amazing!) is an annual light novel guidebook published by Takarajimasha. The guidebook publishes a list of the top ten most popular light novels according to readers polled on the Internet and votes from critics, influencers, and other people related to the light novel industry. 86--EIGHTY-SIX ranked 2nd and 5th in the bunkobon category here in 2018 and 2019.

[2] Lena is the class president of Class 2-E in the 86--EIGHTY-SIX Operation High School spin-off side stories and the manga. This is probably among the first references to said spin-off.

[3] Space Battleship Yamato: one of Japan’s most influential sci-fi/mecha series, a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions.

[4] Mobile Suit Gundam: The first series in this very popular Japanese military science fiction media franchise, it was re-released into a film trilogy in 1981.

[5] The Brave Police J-Decker: The fifth installment in the Barve series.

[6] The Brave Express Might Gaine: The fourth installment in the Brave series.

[7] The Brave mecha and sci-fi series: a Japanese toy and anime franchise Brave series made by Takara and Sunrise, and currently owned by Bandai Namco.

[8] Magic Knight Rayearth: a mecha, fantasy and isekai shoujo manga series made by the all-female manga artist group CLAMP.

[9] Kadokawa BEANS Bunko Award: The contest launched by Kadokawa’s female-focused light novel imprint, Kadokawa Beans Bunko.

[10] Dengeki Novel Prize: a literary award handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works for their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint, spearheaded by parent company Kadokawa. It is among Japan’s largest light novel contests, with more than 4500 entries submitted annually. 86--EIGHTY-SIX won 1st place in the Rookie Awards category in 2016, launching it to the spotlight.

[11] Dengeki Bunko: a publishing imprint affiliated with Kadokawa’s ASCII Media Works. Many anime adaptations from light novels were published by Dengeki Bunko, including 86--EIGHTY-SIX.

[12] [Magazine Note 1] Final Fantasy Tactics: A tactical simulation RPG released in 1997. The socially conscious storyline, which tackled friction between nations and the gap between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Please take note I used the Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions translation here as contextually I believe this translation has more in line with EIGHTY-SIX than the translation of the actual game Asato played, which is the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, Argath vs Algus :3

[13] [Magazine Note 2] BLACK/MATRIX+: A tactical simulation RPG for Sega Saturn, with the PlayStation port released in 1998. It has a unique setting where virtue and vice are said to be reversed.

[14] Final Fantasy: a fantasy anthology media franchise, first and mainly developed as RPGs, owned, published, and distributed by Square Enix. Currently this franchise has 16 main series game releases. One of these games, Final Fantasy VIII, has its main soundtrack (“Eyes on Me” by Faye Wong) featured on the Afterword of 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 7: Mist.

[15] Knights of Sidonia: A sci-fi/mecha seinen manga, made by Tsutomu Nihei and ran from 2009-2015 in Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon magazine. Its anime adaptation, which ran for two seasons, was produced by Polygon Pictures and aired from 2014 to 2015.

[16] Full Metal Panic!: a series of mecha light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji, published by Kadokawa’s Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and ran from 1998-2011. Its anime adaptations were produced by Gonzo, Kyoto Animation and Xebec respectively, from 2003 to 2018.

[17] Gunparade March: A New Song for the March: The anime adaptation for the Playstation video game Gunparade March, produced by J.C. Staff and aired in 2003.

[18] Battle Faery Yukikaze: a Japanese military science fiction novel series written by Chouhei Kambayashi. Its five-episode OVA adaptation ran from 2002-2005.

[19] [Magazine Note 3] Mist: A 2007 film based on the award-winning science fiction horror novella by Stephen King.

[20] [Magazine Note 4] Screamers: A 1995 futuristic science fiction horror film, based on Phillip K. Dick’s novelette “Second Variety”.

[21] [Magazine Note 5] Chaos Legion: A mixed-media action RPG released in 2003, getting a novelization by Tow Ubukata.

[22] [Magazine Note 6] Black Hawk Down: A 2001 war movie. Based on a non-fiction work about an actual urban war between international forces and guerillas that occurred in Somalia. The film depicts how a UH-60 Black Hawk gets taken down and this being dragged into a war situation.

[23] This is a very extensive subject, so please feel free to check out Nazi Germany on Wikipedia to get at least an overview.

[24] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out 442nd Infantry Regiment on Wikipedia to get an overview.

[25] [Magazine Note 7] Scroll of Agony: The Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A diary kept by a Jewish teacher, {Chaim A. Kaplan}. It described the persecution and pillaging by the Nazis, as well as the three harsh years of {Kaplan’s} life.

Printed in Japan as (ワルシャワ・ゲットー日記―ユダヤ人教師の記録 or “Warsaw Ghetto Diary: A Jewish Teacher’s Record”), with Kaplan implied to have died in 1942 when he was sent to the Treblinka death camp along with other Warsaw Jews.

[26] Another extensive subject, so feel free to check out World War II on Wikipedia to get an overview. Feel free to also check out Gulf War on Wikipedia to get an overview on this topic.

[27] [Magazine Note 8] M551 Sheridan: an American tank developed to be amphibious, airborne tank. Its body was made of aluminum alloy to help reduce weight, but this made it vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and land mines, and it could explode when the shells it’s equipped with are triggered.

[28] X-ATM092: A spider-like robot boss enemy found in Final Fantasy VIII.

[29] Tachikoma: a blue-colored AI walker/roller tank that looks like a spider in the Ghost in the Shell cyberpunk media franchise.

[30] Swallowtail series: The sci-fi novel series written by Chitose Touma and published by Dengeki Bunko in 2008. The series is about artificial fairies, androids created in the form of humans, to be companions to still-living humans after parts of Tokyo’s population were wiped out in a pandemic, and one of these fairies, Ageha, is investigating a serial killer causing destruction. The work also has this multi-legged armored tank called “Tobigumo”. So far as I know this mecha doesn’t have official art, however, a fanart can be found in Pixiv here.

[31] [Magazine Note 9] Garter: They’re suspenders of sorts. “Garter belt” is the term for {a fabric strap which} which is clipped on over-the-knee socks or stockings. Having no shorts above garters is righteous! between the rich and the poor, became very much a hot topic during its time.

Asato’s interest in garter belts is not only shown in the novels, but also in the anime, which is noted to have a lot of thigh shots of Lena wearing said garter belts.

[32] [Magazine Note 10] Pilot suit: In this case, this is the type of suit that sticks really close to the body. As it shows the body lines quite clearly, it’s considered quite fetishistic.

In the current time, 86--EIGHTY-SIX Volume 5: Death, Be Not Proud, has already been published, and Lena did wear the Cicada, which is Asato’s homage to pilot suits.

[33] Sieg Wahrheit: the protagonist of Chaos Legion.

[34] William F. Garrison: a retired major general of the United States Army who commanded United States forces during Operation Gothic Serpent including the Battle of Mogadishu, which served as an inspiration for the novel Black Hawk Down.

[35] The Chinese trumpet creeper, a native flowering vine species found in East Asia, usually in China, can mean “fame”, “honor”, “glory”, “abundant love” and “life filled with flowers” in the flower language.

[36] Eurasian goshawk: a medium-large bird-of-prey found in Europe and Asia and is among the species considered as “true” hawks. The kanji used in the article actually just refers to how Shinei Nouzen looks like a hawk, but upon further examination of said kanji in this reference, it pertained to that goshawk as well.

[37] Volume 3 of 86--EIGHTY-SIX was just about to be released in Japan around the moment this article was published, serving as a promotion of sorts.

[38] Several manga adaptations of 86--EIGHTY-SIX have been published as of current time. For more information, please check out this 86 Reddit Manga FAQ for further details.

[39] Besides Volume 1, Eighty-Six’s Interlude: Headless Knight II, Asato has managed to write this in the side stories Volume 10, Fragmental Neoteny Chapter 8: The Banks of Lethe and Alter.1: Claymore Squadron.

[40] The Queen’s Knights, formally known as the Brísingamen Squadron, was the squadron Lena became the Handler with after the Spearhead Squadron was sent on the Special Reconnaissance Mission. It was led by Shiden Iida and was pivotal in the Republic of San Magnolia’s defense during the 1st Legion Large Scale Offensive.

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