#knuckles nadine

[boltun-tkn]

fanart of the bnb girls! on deviantart you can give it some love

(x)(x)

#black and bruised #knuckles nadine #maiagaru #jumping janet #odiva #ally gator #holly vixen #tagging for po peeps #punch out

[derelictheretic]

I'm feeling very John and Dean are the one good thing they both never get to have because their love has always been wrong and too much and they break each other when they get their hands on each other because maybe this one time it'll be different and they'll be good and soft but they leave the same bruises and scars they always have and even when they have the best intentions their desire to be craved in the way they crave leaves everyhing a bloody unrecognisable mess tonight

#i'm feeling. so normal right now #absolutely not imagining them having breakdowns in 2 different directions bc finally ! someone who is obsessed with them back but uh oh ! #they're made up of trauma and bad decisions and wrong paths and no kisses to bruised knuckles or scarred flesh is gonna fix them ! #aka they make each other so much worse and they can't stay away from each other and OH MY GOD. im so normal about it #don't mind me. coping an all that #ship: The Angel's Baptist #Far Cry Tag #nadine is typing... #more like losing my mind

[derelictdumbass]

what do u need hands for deputy? to hold other men?

#nadine's wips #I want to put bandages on the jacob one but those knuckles came out so sexy I don't want to cover them helpalsjsjsnd #also I have never done like !! the fucking shadow of Deans hand u can see on John's !! i'm v proud of me #Don't ask me if I spent today painting hands bc I did. I did do that idec #Idec I have 2 things due tomorrow and idec I needed a smidge of relaxation okay okay #i'm gonna try and finish one of the things tonight at least but first i'm finishing my fucking hands

[wroteclassicaly]

A/N: There’s no point to this. I’m just feeling angsty and it came to mind…

Your fingers are cold, skin beginning to prickle with the burn of frost. You watch the digits grip the metal gate until your knuckles crack under pressure. You can’t see any of their stables, not with your blurred sclera. Your throat is confined to suffocation, body suffering trembles that aren’t a result of this brutal Midwestern winter. There’s a guilt burrowed deep within your chest cavity, twisting, knocking at your bones with an iron fist that demolishes your bones — dusts them to ash.

Would explain why you’re about to collapse.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…” You’re using your spare hand to angrily wipe at your wind-kissed cheek, nose slick with snot.

But it’s not alright. You’re not alright.

Any normal human being could appreciate the happiness, the change in him that comes from finding what most of the world searches for. But you, the person who actually cared for him, watched out for, held all his secrets despite dangers to your own life — you’re the single soul that can’t find any joy in what he’d laid on you merely moments ago… You never anticipated seeing the day where your best-friend would give up his disconnected ways and find someone to share things with that isn’t you, that’s more than a quick fuck and forget. Sure he had girls, he had them a lot — various ones, never you. And that was okay, as long as it wasn’t serious.

Until he told you in his bedroom when you were dressing the healing dissolvables below his lower lids.

“Thinkin’ I might’ve found somethin’ good for my future with this one. Who would’ve thought, right? Especially after all this?” He didn’t mean for his fingers to graze your wrist when he motioned to his healing, slightly marred skin. It wasn’t unusual, but it stung this time, literally winding you.

In record time, you applied the cooling antiseptic and went to retrieve your purse. He’d frowned at this, looking at you with a tilted head full of messy, freshly grown out tresses. “I thought we were watching that stupid ass lifetime movie you wanted? Ya know… now that I can actually see it.” He’d winked your way, something your knees would’ve started shaking upon receiving. You were completely dead weighted in your legs and feather light in your guts.

In hindsight, it was a pathetic answer, but it left your lips before you could prevent it. “No thanks.”

You didn’t let him respond, just pulled on your coat, said you had to go, and made it halfway down the drive of Nadine’s new property, before you booked it to the stables and fell against the gate. And the fucking guilt is devouring you piece by piece.

How do you make peace with a future with someone that will never be what your soul has been primed for it to be? He’ll be in your life, sure, but you’ll have to be a dutiful friend and stuff everything down, knowing that you can’t involve yourself with another person, because they won’t be him. Your brain is a goddamned hamster wheel and you can’t get off, dizzy and nauseous. Your coat weighs too much, your clothing itches. Everything that you found right in this world is now wrong. A piling of packed snow crunches beneath leather combats.

Gator go away, go away, Gator.

You don’t look in his direction, his cedarwood cologne brimming your nostrils, the sound of his lips as they wrap around that dumb ass vape, causing a stirring hiss from the hit, and then he’s pocketing it, approaching you like every doe he used to (regretfully) hunt during season. On relaxed elbows, he plants his arms beside yours, his leather jacket flexing over defined muscles. You still pretend to be lost to the view, but by now, he knows you’re bullshitting him. A deep sigh escapes his mouth and he’s nudging you.

“You looked at me when my eyeballs looked like melted butter, so you’re not gonna give me common courtesy now? What’s wrong with you?” He tries to make light, but you know he’s worried about your rejection — his one solid person, his safe space. Or you were before her.

“I said I had to go.” You’re shocked that it comes out without the wavering that threatens to cave in on your throat muscles.

Gator is displeased by this answer. “Talk to me, please. You always talk to me. We tell each other everything, don’t we? I trust you, you trust me. Sort of our dynamic, ya know?”

“Not about this.” A quick glance to the left and you’re pretending to wipe your nose, but Gator knows better. You’ve been crying.

He tries to approach you carefully, in a way that regards your feelings before his own. You beat him to the invisible punch line, the smell of your shampoo and body wash invading his upped senses as you raise to press a chaste kiss with chapped lips to his pink dusted cheek. You don’t say anything more, simply leaving him behind like so many before…

He’ll be okay though. She’ll be around for their date tonight.

And you? You’ll be in the dark of your room, nursing a glass bottle that’s half full of amber liquid, staring at the bus ticket in your palm…

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…

// Eat me paragraph //

#kristenwrites #my work #my writing #fargo #fargo fx #fargo season 5 #fargo s5 #fargo fic #fargo fanfic #fargo fanfiction #gator tillman #gator tillman angst #gator tillman blurb #gator tillman drabble #gator tillman fic #gator tillman fanfiction #gator tillman fanfic #gator tillman x y/n #gator tillman x reader #gator tillman x you #gator tillman x female reader #gator tillman x fem!reader

[sipsandfables]

Unfiltered Thoughts While Reading: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

⚠️⚠️⚠️ BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Chapter 1

If I were Violet, I’d be like “Forget these biscuits and EXPLAIN YOURSELF SIR” 😂

If Brennan survived, then why did Tairn’s old rider die? 

“Stop bringing logic into an emotional argument.” Hahaha love Violet

I will say though that if she’s going to be mad at Xaden, she can be mad at Brennan for the same thing

Chapter 2

is this foreshadowing? Will Violet or someone else learn the art of ward building to save them all?

“Weapons are the only things that can win this war” for someone so intelligent, I’ve never heard Brennan say anything more foolish than that 

Andarna is a teen 😂

will she go through an emo phase? Hahaha

At least it sounds like her mom wasn’t in on this murder plot 

“Fucking Dain.”

Lol agreed

Chapter 4

I love how Dain acts like nothing happened. Like, wtf? Why are you surprised Violet hates you?!

Unless he didn’t know about the plan somehow and we all just assumed he did.

Also, maybe another mind reader read his mind and he didn’t actually tattle? But even if that’s the case, he still read Violet’s memories without her permission this whole school year

Chapter 5

“I’m pleasantly fuddled but not entirely sloshed.”

Lol I’m using that the next time I get drunk

Chapter 6

Violet has more self-control than me. She should have let Xaden stay the night lol

Chapter 7

I knew it! So, less dragons are bonding because of the war and the venin. I wonder if they are bonding with the rebels or just staying out of it completely 

Chapter 8

so Aaric is the kings son?! Bold move 

And now Liam’s little sister?! This series is going to kill me 😭😭😭

oh shes angry lol 

“What in the angry-Mairi was that about?”

Lol I love Rhiannon

“I've danced with Malek more than my fair share over this last year and told him to fuck right off every single time. ”

LOL

Fuck this dragon and fuck Varrish. What. The. Hell.

I’d be so pissed if someone ran after that because that stupid dragon is killing people in the way anyways. Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, they’re flaming everyone up in here.

“If Solas comes near you again, he knows I will devour his human whole and let him rot within me while his heart still beats, and then I'll take the eye I so graciously left him." "That's...graphic."

Tairn has the best threats lol he and Violet were made for each other

Chapter 9

I knew Imogen would grow on me!

Omg I bet the person they’re interrogating is Xaden. He never made it out to his post and it’s why he hasn’t come to see Violet. I just don’t know how they can keep the dragons from each other 

“"I can take her," Sloane fires back, white-knuckling her knife, "From what your letter said last year, her joints pop right out. How hard can it be?" "Seriously?" I shoot a reproachful look at Imogen. "I can explain." Imogen puts her hand over her heart, "You see, I didn't like you last year, remember? You're kind of an acquired taste."”

hahahaha I love the banter in this series

OMG!!! Nadine!!! I am NOT okay with how fast characters be dying in this damn series!! 😭😭😭

Chapter 10

I knew this dude was sent by Aetos. So freaking sloppy! And the more this book goes on, the more I think Dain didn’t know about the War Games thing. He’s an annoying prick but I don’t see him being malicious enough to let Violet walk to her death. Plus, I actually don’t recall him shitting on people with a relic. He just seems to hate Xaden lol 

Welp, there goes my theory about Xaden being tortured lol

I find it hilarious that Xaden is so obsessed with Violet’s hair lol

Chapter 11

“Coconspirators with a vested interest in keeping each other alive.”

Lol love Imogen. She’s giving me Ron Swanson vibes here with his “work proximity associates” speech 😂😂😂

Banning people from knowledge in order to keep their corrupt secrets from the public is not sustainable. Sure, it drastically slows the distribution of information but the truth always comes out - it’s just a matter of when!

I wonder if the Scribes are translating everything from the old language in order to hide more lies

 Varrish grinning at Violet saying “dragons don’t take orders from humans” does not bode well. Has he found a way to control dragons? Or at least influence them with blackmail or something else?

Varrish is such a dick. Like, get a life dude. 

Chapter 12

That comment about a blade of grass sticking to Violet was so random. 

Chapter 13

This Varrish guy is the worst. He’s like Miss Umbridge from the Harry Potter series

“You wish you were my type. I’m phenomenal in bed.”

Hahahaha I love Imogen. SHE BETTER NOT DIE

Oh no, I bet it’s that freaking survival class test! They’re getting kidnapped!

Chapter 14

Tairn is so sassy and I love it

Obviously, the water is drugged! Have they never read a fantasy novel?! 

I adore Ridoc 😍

HE BETTER NOT DIE

You would think there would be more crossover activities and exercises between riders and infantry if they have to work together so much and infantry are expected to work alongside dragons

Chapter 15

Rhiannon is responding to Violet keeping secrets way better than Violet is to Xaden lol She’s like “hey, you’re hiding something and that’s fine but don’t lie about lying” with Violet. And Xaden is like “Honestly, I have secrets I can’t tell but here are all of the intimate details of my life.” Come on Violet! Quit trippin' and get back with Xaden lol

I don’t like the rift going on between Rhiannon and Violet this book. They need each other and it’s annoying lol

Alright 2 things that annoy me about this book so far:

1. The lack of Xaden and Violet scenes  2. Violet being mad at Xaden for keeping secrets from her in order to protect others

 Chapter 16

Yesssss, Imogen is spitting facts!!! Hopefully this will convince Violet to let him back in

“I’m still speaking.”

Okay Imogen 👀 She could get it 😏

Oh man, I really hope nothing happens to Rhi’s family and she blames Violet for keeping her in the dark

Of course she misses the interrogation technique class!!! Bad move man

Chapter 18

Theory time: Omg is death what’s powering the wards??? Is that why so many more people are dying at an alarming rate? They need more students to die to power up the wards? And maybe daggers work because they are an instrument for causing death?

“I want you.” All day. Every day.

LOLLL

Omg I love how ride or die Rhiannon is about Violet lol 

Who’s soul is Nolon mending?!

Chapter 19

Theory time: Solas’ orange is off and Dain’s dragon's breath stinks because they’re giving the dragons some concoction. Maybe it’s to control them? 

“Humans have the memories of gnats. Dragons hold grudges.”

Pearls of wisdom from Tairn lol

Damn it Tairn lol while I love that he put Varrish and Solas in their place, things just got a whole lot worse for Violet 😬

Chapter 20

“Ugh. Let’s go throw knives at shit.”

😂

Has Mira met Imogen? They’d be two peas in a pod lol

I’m also shook that they kill civilians. Wowwwww

Chapter 21

Man, this is starting to feel like Final Destination since all the Resson survivors are dying one by one

“History and current events are tied because one influences the other.”

Interesting foreshadowing 

I like Devera and I feel like she’s trying to do the right thing while the rest of leadership goes to shit. Like Professor McGonagall does when Dumbledore is no longer headmaster 

“That’s what we’re not going to do.”

You tell em, Devera!

I bet Varrish will be in charge of the torture lessons given his background and he’s going to try to kill Violet 

I was JUST wondering where Dain has been. Haven’t heard his holier than thou whining in a while lol

omg I called it in the last book! Her mom gave Xaden those scars! I also still think I’m right about Dain being guilty of being a prick but not of sending his best friend to get murdered 

Rhiannon is so smart! She reminds me of Bree from Legendborn 😍

I knew I liked Aaroc/Cam for a reason! Hope he doesn’t die….

Chapter 22

It’s strange that Violet is so bad at remembering names when she studied to be a Scribe her whole life lol

Chapter 23

For some reason, book 2 reads a little more like a YA novel than the first book

HAVE THEY LEARNED NOTHING?! Don’t  eat or drink anything!!!

Okay, you didn’t drink but did you eat the jam?!

Ridoc and his snake confession had me cackling

lol I totally thought Ridoc broke first but he was lying haha

I knew fucking Varrish would somehow weasel himself into this training

They’re using Dain? Well hell.

Also, isn’t his signet supposed to be a secret???

Chapter 24

Wait, they’re practicing on civilians?!?! At what point do people wake up and think “hmmm, we’re the bad guys”?

"We should consider quitting the quadrant." Ridoc jokes as we walk over the door and out of the chamber, "We'd be kickass thieves." "With dragons," Sawyer agrees. "Unstoppable," Ridoc says with a grin.

This is giving Six of Crows and I. Am. Here. For. It.

Unlocking doors? hmmmm interesting 

Chapter 25

I know exactly who did this! A scribe! It was the person walking in the hood earlier that Violet noticed. I wonder if it’s her friend or someone else

Those statements have to be true - Markham is acting too squirrelly about them

FUCKING JACK IS BACK?!

Idk how I feel about this book now lol like really? 

Hundreds of cadets die every year and they spent valuable resources and time to mend him?! What happened to “we let the weak die”?! This is utter bull

Also, Nolon mentioned how hard mending a soul is….it doesn’t sound like Jack has a soul 

Chapter 26

I love the nonchalant way Sawyer and Ridoc are ready to murder Jack lol

Chapter 27

Territorial Xaden is the best lollll he’s like who the hell's jacket is that and why isn’t it mine?! 😂

Well, that escalated quickly 👀🔥

Chapter 28

Oh that has to be his ex. The one that Bodhi mentioned

I knew it!

Chapter 29

“Pull yourself together”

Tairn with the tough love 😂😂😂

“I will already know, as I am continuously with you,” he grumbles. “Forced to bear witness to the awkwardness that is twenty one year old humans.”

💀💀💀

I forgot who Professor Kaori is but I love them!!

Chapter 30

FINALLY Violet realizes how hypocritical she was being about Xaden when she tells her friends part of the truth

I bet Andarna is sleeping longer than expected because she’s going to be powerful as hell lol

Holy shit. Too many people die too often in this series. I don’t even remember who Eya is!

Ridoc better not die

Chapter 31

Freaking JACK saved her?!?! What is this rouse?!

I 👏🏾 don’t 👏🏾 trust 👏🏾 him 👏🏾 

Let’s go Aaric! Sidebar, I need a novella about him. He sounds hot

Chapter 32

I thought Aaric ‘s brother died in Threshing! Well I guess Xaden could have killed him then lol

There’s no way Nasya sleeps through his post every time. I bet he’s spying on them

Oh Imogen has it taken care of lol good. Also, that’s a badass signet!

Chapter 34

“The birth of iron rain” !?

That sounds ominous

OMG LADY STOP DRINKING THINGS FROM OTHER PEOPLE

Fucking hell. I honestly can’t even feel anger for Nolon’s betrayal because I’m too annoyed with Violet rn lol

Chapter 36

So Dain is finally choosing the right side!

I’m so glad Varrish is dead! He’s the worst lol. Violet will definitely have to watch her back from Solas

Yay! Devera came through!

The secret is out! Finally!

Chapter 37

🌶️🌶️🌶️

Chapter 38

Andarna is back!!! Yayyy!

I bet this “blood magic” means sacrifice! they have to kill people to build a new ward

I knew Mira would punch Brennan after seeing him for the first time haha

Chapter 39

The 6 strongest riders: Caden, Felix, suri, bodhi, violet, Brennan - I’m surprised Mira isn’t one

Chapter 40

I do think Violet is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to understanding her power which is surprising since she’s so smart

I’m excited about this sibling trip lol

Chapter 41

“Fuck it. We don’t need a luminary.”

Mira is a whole vibe lol

Cat is the worst and Violet is annoying me by listening to her lol Xaden is obsessed with you girl - ignore this jelly belly lady

Well that explains why Violet was trippin' hahaha wasn’t her fault

Chapter 43

yeah I agree - allowing people to die on the parapet is unnecessary lol

Holy shit ! This entire hike is stressful as fuck!

RIDOC!!!

Chapter 45

“The problem with mankind is we too often find our souls to be a fair price for power.”

Chapter 47

I hope Violet kicks Cat’s ass and makes it embarrassing for her lol

Chapter 48

Well that was hawt lol

Xaden talking shit about Dain will never get old lol

The way Xaden feels about Violet reminds me of Rowan to Aelin because his love isn’t conditional and based on if she’s “good” - “If you’re a monster, I’m a monster” (Queen of Shadows)

Xaden is very swoon-worthy lol

Chapter 49

I feel like it’s always Sawyer pitching the idea to just kill an annoying enemy (Cat, Jack, Varrish) and I’m here for it 😂

HE BETTER NOT DIE

oh no….am I starting to find Dain not so bad? Lollll

Chapter 52

Theory time: I really think these nightmares are real - somehow the Sage is communicating with Violet through her dreams Theory Time: I bet she gets captured or agrees to go to the head Sage by the end of this book to set up the next book

Oh god, I really hope an attack doesn’t occur while they’re on this training mission and then Violet feels responsible for not putting up the wards sooner 😬

Chapter 53

Violet must be thinking of Xaden and how he might go mad since his dragon was previously bonded with someone in his direct line

Fucking Solas. I almost forgot about this enemy!

Chapter 54

Honestly I’m surprised she doesn’t have more enemies since if you kill her, you essentially kill 4 beings in one swoop

Andarna is a badass

Chapter 55

No lie, this fight between Xaden and Violet is a little silly and getting exhausting

Ah, I came to the wrong conclusion about Xaden and his bond with Sgaeyl 

Chapter 56

Omg is Xadens second signet mind reading? That would explain a lot. It would also explain why he’s scared to share since they execute people with that signet

Called it!!! I’m glad her response was not immediately “I don’t love you anymore”

Now I need to reread these books to see when he reads her mind. Oh man, I hate to say it but it kind of sounds like what Dain did to her last year

hmmmm, that was too easy lol

Ugh, we’ve been here before - Violet discovers a big secret about Xaden right before some war conflict and they’re fighting in the midst of chaos. Not sure I’m a fan that it’s a repeat of the last book lol

Chapter 57

well I’m glad Cat has stopped being a twat and decided that focusing on saving the continent is the way to go over petty squabbles over an ex lol She reminds me of Lysandra but in a good way lol 

I think the trouble with the writing of their relationship is that Xaden is so amazing and their relationship is so magnetic that their conflicts feel forced. The obstacles they face within their relationship are hard to develop when Xaden is always saying the right things after they fight lol Not that I’d want it any other way - but I think that’s why I’m struggling with not rolling my eyes when they get into arguments. Violet deserves to be angry about the betrayal but then it just feels like her decision on what she’ll do next about them takes FOREVER and it feels like it’s dragged out across a whole ass book.

Omg did Brennan come?! Is he announcing his “undeadness”?!

Violet immediately wants Xaden to use his secret signet on the others? I don’t disapprove at all but that better mean she will forgive him swiftly lol

It isn’t in Violet to NOT help innocent civilians if she can.

“I love you enough to bear the weight of your disappointment.”

Total mom sacrifice right there!

I need a novella of their mom and dad and how they got together lol

Chapter 58

If I were with the Rebellion, I’d agree to help Navarre on the condition that they make it public knowledge that Venin are real and they’ve been lying to citizens for centuries in order to keep a specific amount of citizens safe - that way, they’re not leaving innocents to die AND if they all survive the battle at Solstice, the rebels will walk away with an additional win (the entire continent knowing the truth)

am I the only one who visualize white walkers from GOT when I read about the venin in this book? Lol

Alright let’s go!!! Way to not turn into the enemies! 

Chapter 59

What is with Andarna’s scale colors?! Their changing colors have been mentioned all book - I wonder what’s the significance? Is she a rainbow dragon?! That would be dope lol

Jack's dragon's eyes are weird? Another reference to dragons seeming off! I bet they’re controlling it! But who would want the wards to fail? Who is Jack in league with if Varish is dead? IS Varish even dead?! Did freaking Nolon bring him back to life like he did with Jack?!

What the heck?! Did Jack become venin?! Why did he slaughter his own dragon?!?

Chapter 60

I knew he became venin! But didn’t realize it was for SO LONG!

Well, everything is going to hell in a hand basket 

“Fucking Jack.”

Ain’t that the truth lol

There’s no way this battle is in this book, there’s not enough pages left!!!!

Chapter 61

Can Andarna turn invisible??!

I’m so stressed lol

Chapter 62

Omg is Andarna a chameleon?!

Chapter 63

Theory time: Andarna is head of the seventh den of dragons! This is why she’s so unique. She’s not actually black like Tairn . I bet she’s one of one making her the head of her den. It would make sense since she’s an orphan 

Add-on to the theory: I think both journals are right but describe it differently. Warrick says six AND the one that combines all which must be what Andarna is since she’s always changing colors. Lyra’s journal says seven because it combines the six and the one

Good thing Andarna can make fire now!

Chapter 64

Not a Liam letter 😭😭😭

This heartfelt moment between Andarna and Violet is everything. 

The way that Andarna looks up to Tairn gives me all the feels

What about Sloane?! Can she somehow reverse her power and GIVE instead of siphon?

Ah yep, apparently she can.

Her mom is going to sacrifice herself! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Chapter 65

I’m honestly surprised Xaden killed the main sage. I figured he’d be a bigger part of the storyline 

Don’t tell me Xaden is also now Venin?! 😭

NOOOOO 😭😭😭

Sgaeyl is pissedddd

Chapter 66

OMG WERE THOSE XADENS DREAMS THE WHOLE TIME?! 

I can’t recall if Violet only had the nightmares when she slept near Xaden 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I am unwell.

#iron flame #fourth wing #fourth wing review #xaden #xaden riorson #violet sorrengail #book review #iron flame review #rebecca yarros

[foxes-that-run]

Only Angel

Only Angel has similarities to Meet me in the Hallway, they 2 of the 10 Haylor songs with Hallways. To me, it is related to So it Goes... which refers to when Taylor performed in the 2014 Victoria's Secret show. Harry performed Only Angel at the 2017 VS show. I have always heard this song to be an assurance to Taylor that she is his 'only angel', like in As it was, she cannot be replaced with girls that 'look just like her' in MMIH Possibly because he was seen with Nadine Leopold soon after the 2014 VS show. It also references Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey which Harry included on his mix tape.

At 2 minutes into this Nashville performance Harry sings "Told her Little Brother" (2.09), further confirmation it is Haylor, with Austin Swift being younger than Taylor unlike Kendall's brother.

Only Angel was last played live in November 2021. It wasn’t at Coachella or after Harry’s House.

Original Lyrics

On 7 December 2023 the demo was leaked with different lyrics. Studio version is like a simplified, shortened and cleaned up radio edit. In the original, the muse has more agency (they knock), Harry has considered proposing 1000 times but it hasn't worked out and it's more explicit. The song also ends, then comes back like their relationship.

Close your eyes, shut your mouth and see That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth And hoping you don't shout about it Now I know a bunch of people who would waste your time But I wouldn't let it happen to a friend of mine We can write ourselves a story without doing lines 'Cause believe me, we can live without it, She's an angel[...] Broke a finger knocking on my bedroom door I got splinters in my knuckles crawling on the floor Could never take you home because your skirt's too short And my mother would be mad about it I must admit I married you a thousand times Had to change my tune when I found out what it’d be like But I meet you in the hallway almost anytime And we won't have to talk about it, yeah, She's an angel[...] She wants to be an angel just you wait and see. But it turns out she’s a devil in between the sheets and believe me I am all about it. Huh. Painted on you on your back, I knew we’d get along. But I caught you staring in the mirror way too long. I could love her if I didn’t think I’d do it wrong. I’m gonna have to take you home, She's an angel[...]

Lyrics

I saw this angel I really saw an angel Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth And there's nothing I can do about it

The first verse, Harry is so drawn to his muse he can’t help winding up with her. They liken their connection to an addiction in MMIH, Clean and Grapejuice.

The “only one in love with me” is Harry calling himself a narcissist and I think refers to Fool’s Gold where he said “Yeah I know your love's not real / That's not the way it feels /That's not the way you feel”

But, like in Fools Gold and Stockholm Syndrome he can’t help himself, he desperately wants to be with this muse

Broke a finger knocking on your bedroom door I got splinters in my knuckles crawling across the floor Couldn't you take home to mother in a skirt that short But I think that's what I like about it

This verse starts with 2 references that are in other quite sad songs, but set to a dance beat. Something Harry later did so well in As it was:

Taylor also referred to Harry knocking on her door in Suburban Legends but very sadly “You don't knock anymore and my whole life's ruined”

Harry also referred again to being on the floor in Fine Line “And I don't wanna sleep in the dirt”

The short skirt is a reference to Style “And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt”

She's an angel Only angel She's an angel My only angel

This line to me is a response to Is it over now? “Your new girl is my clone”. To me, Harry was saying he only has one angel, as in Victoria’s Secret model, Taylor having performed in 2 VS shows in 2013 and 2014.

After 1989 was released and they broke up they both spent a lot of time with a lot of models. Read into that what you will, to me the role the VS after party plays in So it goes and IDWLF, and the clone line has me noodling on if they were both seeking each other rather than the models.

I must admit I thought I'd like to make you mine As I went about my business through the warning signs End up meeting in the hallway every single time And there's nothing we can do about it

I love ‘went about my business and want to make you mine’ to me it encapsulates what I imagine wasted Harry’s chill attitude at that time.

Ending up in hallways links this to MMIH and the 10 other mentions of hallways in their respective songs.

Told it to her brother and she told it to me That she's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets And there's nothing she can do about it Hey, hey

This line about her brother is thought to narrow the muse to KJ and TS, in the above live performance in Nashville Harry said little brother which would be Austin Swift. Harry also got on with Austin.

To me, she’s an Angel/devil is here is similar to Style, where Taylor had “good girl faith and a tight little skirt” both play on the idea of someone seeming good but being wild. Kiwi is also similar “hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect”

She's an angel Only angel x3 Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight x3 My only angel She's an angel x3 My-my-my only angel

The refrain is repeating that she’s the only angel for him, and he wants to go to heaven.

Harry included Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey on his Another Man Mix Tape from an article while he was making this album. The outtro "She's an angel", which is also how Tupelo Honey ends. As Harry said to Rolling Stone:

“I don’t know much about Van Morrison’s life, but I know how he felt about this girl, because he put it in a song. So I like working the same way.”

#haylor #only angel #Youtube #harry styles #harry styles debut #hs1

[capturethechaos]

Masterlist

Previous chapter

Sam Kiszka x Reader

Words - 5k

Warnings - Swearing, drinking, I think that's it, let me know if I missed anything!

♫ Skeptical Playlist ♫

a/n - Took me long enough, phew, felt good to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoy ♡

Your hands were occupied, scooping cookie dough out of a mixing bowl and placing it on a baking sheet when you heard your phone buzz on the counter. You leaned towards the device, and used a clean knuckle to wake your phone before waiting for it to recognize your face so that you could read the text. 

After finishing up with the cookie dough, sliding the pan into the oven, and cleaning your hands, you finally picked up your phone to respond.

With the cookies in the oven, and a new plan for how you’d be spending your evening, you began to clean your kitchen. Your phone buzzed once again, this time in the pocket of your sweatpants, and you quickly dried your hands with a dish towel before pulling it out to check.

Heat rose to your cheeks as you read the text, and your fingers danced millimeters from the screen. You so desperately wanted to be blunt. To tell him that no, you did not, in fact, get any sleep because you were up all night tossing and turning, wondering why he hadn’t replied… but just the thought of why you cared so much about if he replied was connecting too many dots in your brain, so you resorted to a response that you defaulted to in times where you just didn’t know what to say.

As soon as your phone delivered the message, you watched it turn from ‘delivered’ to ‘read’, and you couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped you when he sent his response.

Before you could respond, the timer for your cookies went off, and you quickly spun to retrieve them from the oven.

The afternoon passed by relatively quickly, and before you knew it you were carrying a container of cookies to your car to make your way to Nadine’s house. The drive wasn’t long, and you managed to find parking close. You recognized the majority of the cars in their driveway, but there was one that confused you, causing a small furrow in your brow as you walked up the front steps of the house. 

The moment you opened the door, you were greeted by Nadine and Robyn, both of whom were quick to walk over. “Whose car is that in the driveway? I don’t remember hearing about anyone getting a new car.”

Robyn looked at Nadine with a smirk before turning back to you. “It’s Sam’s car.”

The two of them watched as your expression dropped, then lifted, finally settling into a small, mischievous smirk. “Sam, like Sam, Sam?” 

“Yes, Y/n. Sam, Sam.”

You quickly kicked your shoes off before shuffling further into the house and calling out. “I don’t know where you are, Sam, but I sure hope you’re ready to get your ass handed to you.”

A brief turn to look at your friends revealed baffled looks on each of their faces, but your attention was quickly stolen by the sound of heavy footsteps. A panting Sam slid from around the corner, immediately locking his gaze on yours and breaking into a wide grin. 

“Did you…” He held his finger up for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Did you bring the cookies?”

You held up the container of chocolate chip cookies, and his smile seemed to grow even more. 

“Why are you heaving so bad, dude?” Nadine's voice caught the attention of both you and Sam, and you quickly looked back at her before turning back to Sam, also curious as to why he was breathing so heavily. 

“I may have leapt over the couch…”

“You know that there's gaps on either side of the couch that are more than big enough for you to have run through, right?”

Sam nodded at Robyn’s question, but his attention turned back to you, and he took a few steps forward before dropping to his knees at your feet. “I concede the fight to you, can I please have a cookie?”

The sight before you left you struggling to swallow a lump in your throat before nodding and opening the container. Sam stood as Nadine and Robyn walked past the two of you. He gladly plucked a cookie from the container before looking up at you. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

You watched as he took a step back and turned, holding his hand out towards the rest of the house. “Shall we?”

He took your nod as all the answer he needed, waving you onward and following alongside you as you made your way into the living room. When you walked into the room you found a small collection of friends sitting atop the collection of seating, each turning to look at who was joining them. Danny offered a small wave from the corner of the sectional as he lounged across the cushions with Nadine tucked into his side. You raised an eyebrow at her, and received a small smile and shrug of her shoulders in response. 

Everyone had gotten comfortable in the time before you had made your way into the room, leaving two remaining seats on the couch for you and Sam. You took the final seat on the center cushions of the couch and rested your hand in the last spot to pat on it and look at Sam. He grinned and made his way over, waiting for you to move your hand before falling back into the seat. 

Everyone weighed in on what the first movie of the night should be, and ended up landing on Scream. It had become a bit of a ritual to watch it every year around Halloween, so you had become pretty much immune to any and all of the jumpscares in it, which meant that your thoughts wandering to other things wouldn’t put you behind in information or plot. With that, your attention turned to the feeling of a body readjusting beside you and resting closer to you than they were previously. You turned slightly to peek at Sam, and got less than a second of time to look at him before his gaze flickered from the tv and landed instead on you. 

He seemed to click into realization when his gaze connected with your own, and he readjusted once again, putting space between the two of you. “Sorry.” His voice was soft, mumbled loud enough for only you to hear.

You gave him a small smile before turning your attention back to the movie. You got through a few more minutes of watching Sidney Prescott taunt the killer over the phone before you felt Sam shiver next to you. 

You leaned a bit closer to him and nudged him gently to get his attention. “You cold?”

He nodded, and you smiled. In retrospect, leaning across Sam’s lap to look over the side of the couch probably wasn’t your most intelligent moment, but the smell of his cologne invaded your senses as you reached into the basket to grab a blanket, and you could feel the blush creeping onto your cheeks. As quickly as you leaned across him, you retreated back into your seat. You refused to look at him as you laid the blanket across both of your laps, but you caught the way Sam seemed to lean further into the cushions, stretching his arm across the back of the couch before reaching to readjust the fabric that suddenly covered his legs. 

You sat like that for the remainder of the movie, warming Sam with the body heat being trapped beneath the blanket. As the credits rolled and everyone began to debate on what to watch next, you stood to go to the bathroom. 

It was a short trip, just enough to pee and stare into the mirror for a moment, wondering what the hell was going on. When you returned, the next movie was already cued up and ready to go, but the black screen didn’t tell you what you were about to watch. Sam noticed your reappearance, and straightened up. He reached for the edge of the blanket and lifted it for you, and you fought the smile that was trying desperately to spread on your lips from his gesture as you walked toward the couch. 

The lights had been shut off long before, but the room had only become darker since the sun had set. Sam waited until the movie had been unpaused before leaning closer to you and whispering. “They chose Hereditary, by the way.”

This time around, it was you who leaned toward Sam as the movie played on, the eerie nature and creepy music successfully leading you into a state of unease. Though he flinched slightly when he felt your shoulder brush his, he quickly welcomed the touch. His arm lifted once again, resting against the back of the couch to allow more space for you to sink into him. 

You lifted your legs up onto the couch and crossed them, leaning one of them on Sam’s thigh as you continued to watch the movie. It felt as though your skin was tingling beneath the fabric of your sweatpants at the contact, and the loss of concentration caused you to jump when one of the characters suddenly slammed his head against a desk. Sam’s hand slid from the cushion behind you onto your shoulder, and his warm breath caused goosebumps to spread across your skin as he leaned in to speak softly into your ear. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” Your voice was hushed, and you turned slightly away from the tv. “Just zoned out and got startled.”

The rest of the movie carried on, and the two of you sat comfortably leaning into each other as you watched. By the time the movie came to an end it was late, and everyone only stuck around for a short time before getting up and ready to leave. 

You and Sam stood in a comfortable quiet as you gathered all of your belongings. The two of you turned to each other, each of you looking like you were about to say something, and you watched as Sam leaned forward, his arms twitching for a moment like he was going to reach for a hug before relaxing back against his sides. Your body moved before you could stop yourself, and your arms wrapped around him in a warm hug. 

His body tensed up for a moment before he relaxed in your arms and wrapped his own around you and leaned his head against yours. You stood together in silence for what felt like forever before Sam spoke. “Those cookies were delicious, by the way.”

You’re sure he felt the way your heart was racing as he held you, and a soft giggle escaped from within you. “Probably tasted better knowing you didn’t have to fight someone for them.”

His head lifted from yours, and his grip loosened only as much as he needed to lean back a bit. “I don’t know, I think celebrating a wondrous victory with one of those delectable chocolate chip cookies may have made this the best night of my life.”

His statement was spoken so matter-of-factly, and earned a playful roll of your eyes. “You’re a dork.” 

There was no venom in your tone, and you’re sure that as your arms fell from around him, he caught the deep crimson blush that had covered your face. A chuckle vibrated from Sam’s chest as he reached for his coat, and you moved to put on your shoes. Preoccupied by your laces, you just barely caught sight in your peripheral of Sam reaching for the doorknob before turning to look at you. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

You raised your head to look up from your shoes, locked eyes with him, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you soon, Sam.”

He smiled and offered a nod in return before turning and walking out of the house. You were left in the hallway alone for only a moment before Nadine rounded the corner and stared at you, wide-eyed and waiting as you sat staring at the floor in front of you. “You good, Y/n?”

Your head tilted up to look at her, and a smirk quickly formed on her face as you sat in front of her. “I think I uh- I think I might like Sam.”

She giggled and stepped closer to you. “Took you long enough to realize that… Do you want to stay here tonight? It’s late, and it seems like you might wanna discuss this further… I know I do.”

Jackie was a step ahead of you as you walked into the pub, Robyn, Eleanor and Nadine had arrived not long before you, and were already waiting in a booth when you entered. A glance across the room revealed Sam, Danny, and the twins standing at the bar, and you felt your knees wobble a little. It had been a few days, and all of your closest friends had spent their time going on and on about how long they had been waiting for you to admit that you had feelings for Sam. Apparently you were the last to know… or at least the last to acknowledge the fact. 

A switch had been flipped in your brain, and since then you hadn’t been able to deny the way he made you feel. Just the memory of his arms around you caused goosebumps to bloom across your skin, your stomach had been flipping since you left the house, but seeing him.

Actually seeing him.

You could hear your heartbeat thumping in your ears, and realized that you couldn’t remember the last time your heart raced that way. You’d be lying if you said that didn’t scare the shit out of you, especially with the picture of how you took your last breakup was still plastered in the back of your brain.

“Well hello ladies, how nice of you to join us.”

Your nerves calmed after a couple drinks, and as the group spread out within the pub you sat comfortably with Eleanor and Robyn in the booth, watching Sam and Danny face off in a game of pool. 

“You know, you can talk to him.”

A heavy sigh released from you as you turned to Eleanor. “I know I can but that doesn’t make it easier.”

Robyn chuckled, and slid out of the booth before holding her hand out for you to take. “You talked to him just fine before your revelation about your feelings about him, come on.”

She reached forward, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the booth with the assistance of Eleanor, who was sitting on the opposite side of you, pushing you out. The three of you walked over to the pool table, finding spots to stand as Sam lined up his next shot. 

Danny noticed your sudden appearance, and broke into a big grin. “Welcome to the show, I’m kicking Sam’s ass.”

Sam’s head tilted up as Danny finished his sentence, and what you assumed would be a snarky comeback from Sam died on his tongue as he took his eyes locked with yours and he took his shot. Danny was the first to laugh at the awful outcome of Sam’s shot, and Sam’s eyes quickly flickered away from yours as he watched the cue ball bounced off of the wall opposite to him, and rolled into the pocket in front of Danny. 

“Y/n challenges the winner to the next game.” Eleanor's voice caught everyone's attention, and you turned to her wide eyed. She smirked and opened her mouth to speak again. “She sucks though, so go easy on her.”

Your wide eyes narrowed into a cool glare in her direction, and she just smiled. Danny was winning. You could play against Danny, you were sure you wouldn’t win, but at least you could talk to him for more than thirty seconds without feeling your stomach flip.

But Sam managed to sink one of his balls.

And then another.

And another, until all he had left was the eight ball, and he called the pocket in front of you. This time, when Sam’s eyes lifted to meet yours as he took his shot, it landed exactly where he wanted it to go.

“You might wanna finish this.” Robyn's voice cut through the static in your brain as she placed your forgotten drink into your hand. 

You finished what remained in your glass as Eleanor collected your cue stick, Danny re-racked the balls, and Sam made his way to you from the other side of the table with a coin between his pointer and middle finger. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails.”

He flipped the coin and caught it in his palm before opening it for the two of you to see it. “Head’s, guess that means it's my choice.”

He was kind enough to be the one to start the game, but that didn’t help when it quickly became your turn. “El wasn’t kidding, by the way.” You turned to look at Sam as you lifted your cue to position your shot. “I am very bad at pool.”

Sam chuckled and handed his cue to Danny before making his way over to you once again. “Let me help.”

He stepped behind you and lifted his hands, leaving a small distance between you. “Is this alright?”

You nodded, and felt the air get sucked from your lungs when he shuffled closer to you, pressing his hip against your ass as his arms began to readjust your own. “Alright, we’re gonna set you up to hit that ball there.”

He pointed to the blue striped ball across the table from you, and you turned to look at him as best as you could in your position. “Aren’t we supposed to be playing against each other?”

You could feel the chuckle that rumbled through him as his arms loosened slightly, and he turned to look at you. “Well, if you don’t want the help I can go back to my spot. I just figured that I might as well give you a fair chance.”

You shook your head, and quietly admitted to wanting the help, earning a small smile from Sam. 

“Good choice. Now-” One of his hands lifted, gently taking your chin between his forefinger and thumb before turning your head to look back at the table. “Eyes on the ball.”

And you won… though you were sure it wasn’t because of any new found skill. 

“You let me win Sam, no need to deny it.”

He turned to you and shrugged, but you could see the smirk that he was fighting back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Y/n… guess I’m just a better teacher than you thought.”

You rolled your eyes, but the smile on your face betrayed you as you turned to walk over to the bar. One of the reasons you loved this pub so much was how few people there were. Sure, there were nights where it would get busy, but that didn’t happen often, so most of the staff had come to recognize, and build a rapport with you and your friends. 

“Let me guess, another rum and coke?”

Warren, one of your favorite bartenders, had a knowing smile on his face as you came to a stop at the counter, and you simply nodded your head. Your focus narrowed in on the song playing over the speakers, and you blankly watched as Warren made your drink. 

The feeling of a hand on the small of your back was nearly lost to you, but you shook yourself from your daze as warm breath tickled your ear, and the scent of a familiar cologne filled your nose. “Whatcha drinking, champ?”

You turned to look at him the best you could, and found him already looking back at you. “Rum and coke.”

You couldn’t decide if Warren’s timing was good or bad as he placed your drink on the bar. Sam smiled, and looked away from you. Warren caught his gaze and stopped himself mid turning away. “What can I get for you?”

“Could I get whatever she got?” The eyes of both men flickered briefly to you before locking back on one another. “And-”

Sam quickly looked down at his fingers, tapping his thumb against each one, seemingly counting on them, before looking back up at Warren. “Thirteen shots of tequila.”

Warren nodded and turned to pour the drinks, turning back only for a moment to speak. “Do you wanna pay for those now, or should I just add those to your tab?”

“Just on my tab would be great.” Sam’s attention turned to you as you lifted your drink to your lips. “Oh, and if you could put whatever she’s had to drink, and whatever else she orders on my tab as well. Thanks man.”

Once Warren had walked away from the two of you, Sam turned to face you properly with a dopey grin on his face. “So, anything new or exciting happen in the three days since I saw you last?”

You shook your head, and took a quick sip of your drink before replying. “Not particularly, I’ve just been working. What about you, anything new or exciting happen to you?”

“Can’t say there has been anything overly exciting, and nothing new.” His eyes darted away from you for a moment, looking over to the large group of your mutual friends as they gathered at and around the booth, before looking back to you. “Is this your first time meeting Jake and Josh’s partners?”

“It is!”

Your enthusiasm made his smile grow, and he quickly matched it.“And? What are your thoughts so far?”

“I really like them, they seem super sweet.”

His lips parted as if to say something else, but the placement of a glass, and a small tray of shot glasses interrupted him before he could continue. The two of you turned to Warren, and he offered a smile and nod before turning back to take an order. Sam quietly thanked you when you insisted on holding his drink so that he could properly carry the tray of shot glasses on the journey back to your friends. 

A small round of cheers erupted from the group as the two of you arrived with the shots, and everyone took a glass. The tequila burnt a bit as it went down, and you giggled at the number of your friends that shared the same scrunched up look on their face as you as you lifted the lime to your lips. 

Another round of drinks, and one more shot, passed by before you let Robyn, Nadine and Eleanor know that you were going to step outside for a breather. You made your way out of the bar and found your way to the outdoor seating area. You sat in the first seat available, and listened to the sound of your surroundings. The music inside the pub was muffled behind the large windows of the building, but as the door cracked open, the music got louder, attracting your attention. Sam was looking down at his phone as he walked through the door, and the hand not holding his device slid into the cross body bag he had slung across his chest. 

You watched as he pulled a box, and what looked like a lighter out of the bag, and tucked his phone into it before opening the box to pluck a cigarette out of it. The sound of you clearing your throat caught his attention as he placed the cigarette between his lips, and he held eye contact as he lifted the lighter and flipped the top open. He took a pull from it before taking it between his fingers and letting it drop to his side. “I know, I know, it’s bad for me.”

You quirked an eyebrow and leaned back in your chair as an amused grin grew on your lips. “Just assumed I was gonna scold you for that, huh?”

He chuckled, and lifted the cigarette back to his lips. “You had the look.” 

He took another drag, and continued to speak through the exhale. “I could practically feel the disapproval radiating off of you.”

“Well, if you know it’s bad for you, why are you still smoking?”

“I’m on the verge of quitting.”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you eyed the cigarette, and the box with even more of them, in his hand, and he caught the look as soon as it crossed your features. “I’ve been working on this box for a couple weeks… though lately I’ve been feeling like I don’t want to finish it.”

A smile quickly found its place on your lips as you looked at him. “That’s great, Sam, really. Quitting is tough, I’m proud of you.”

It goes quiet for a couple minutes, and as you sat and picked at the chipping paint on the table, you noticed Sam take one last puff of his cigarette before he abandoned it all together. He walked over to the table you were sitting at and placed the butt in the ashtray before fishing a pack of gum out of his bag.

“So.” He offered you a piece as he sat in the chair across from you, and you graciously declined. He gave you a quick nod before he pulled the pack back toward himself and popped out a piece of gum. “You got out here before me, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” You accompanied your answer with a small nod, and Sam simply narrowed his eyes at you. “I promise. I just needed a little breather, think it might be time for me to go home.”

“What time is it?” His hand quickly dove into the small bag on his chest, and he pulled out his phone. “Shit, I should probably head out as well, I have to work early tomorrow.”

“Wanna split an uber?”

You shocked yourself with the question, after feeling so nervous when you first saw him that night. He seemed to share in the surprise as he looked up from his phone with wide eyes. He seemed to shake it off fairly quick, and the startled look was quickly replaced with the wide grin that you could now admit to yourself, you fucking adored. “Sure! We should probably head inside to say goodbye and grab our stuff then.”

The two of you stood to make your way inside, Sam opened the door for you, and you turned to look at him as you walked through. “I’m paying for the uber this time.”

As quickly as you turned away, his hand wrapped around your forearm, turning you back around to see what you could only assume was a disapproving look from him. “No way.”

Your eyes rolled, and you took a step closer to him. “Yes way. You’ve spent so much on alcohol tonight, it’s the least I could do.”

You looked at him expectantly, awaiting his answer as he stared back at you, and you broke into a grin as his head rolled back, then rolled forward to look at you once again and mumbling. “I guess.”

“Good.” You felt his hand drop from your arm, and quickly reached out to take it in your own. “Now, let's get our stuff and book this uber, I’m ready to go home.”

Each of your friends gave you looks as you told them that you were once again splitting an uber with Sam, but all of them gave you a hug and said good night. 

The car ride was quiet, both you and Sam feeling your inebriation fade as exhaustion creeped in. Your apartment building was a familiar sight as the car pulled into the parking lot, but as he came to a stop part of you wanted to stay in the car. Sam got out of his side of the car and held his hand out for you, waiting patiently as you slid across the backseat. You thanked the driver and took Sam’s hand to stabilize yourself as you cautiously exited the vehicle. 

Each of you stood there for a moment, assessing the situation before each of you leaned in for a hug. 

“Goodnight, Y/n.” His voice was slightly muffled as he nuzzled his face against you. 

Your arms tightened just the slightest bit, and your stomach erupted with butterflies as you felt his heartbeat quicken. “Goodnight, Sam.”

The two of you slowly pulled away from each other, but only far enough to find one another's gaze. You couldn’t help the way your eyes drifted down to his lips, and you could have sworn that you caught Sam doing the very same thing. Your suspicion was confirmed as you parted your lips to speak, and his gaze dropped to your lips. 

“Sam.” Your voice is soft, quiet, as if withholding it from the outside world. 

He hummed in acknowledgement as his eyes reconnected with yours, and he watched as you softly nodded before letting one of his hands fall from your shoulder, lifting instead to cradle your cheek in his palm. His lips met yours, and you felt a tingle run down your spine. It was heated, passionate in a way you weren’t expecting as the two of you melted into one other. You couldn’t tell which of you was grinning like a bigger idiot as you pulled away from each other, each of you gasping for breath.

As quickly as the moment happened, it was over, and Sam breathlessly mumbled one last goodbye before sliding back into the uber. The car drove off, leaving you at the entrance of your apartment building stunned, and with a minty taste in your mouth.

The first thing you did when you entered your apartment was go to the bathroom. The gum that had found its way into your mouth was thrown into the trash bin, and you spent a while decompressing from the evening as you got ready for bed.

As you crawled into bed that night, you couldn’t stop yourself from brushing your fingers over your lips, and you shamelessly hoped that you wouldn’t wake up and find out that it was all a dream.

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[angelbroad]

Symbiosis And Its Downs

Nadine woke up to poking on her cheek, slowly stirring awake to the sight of Stephanie.

"What the fuck, dude?", the girl above whispered.

Nadine groaned as she moved to sit up, her hair wild and the suit still on, minus the helmet.

"Christ...what time is it?"

Nine in the morning

"Nine in the-"

"I know, it's okay. Loxz-Ha told me."

"Right...that thing on your back.", Stephanie responded, taking note of how the mandibles swayed from side to side, even if it was in a subtle way. "Nad, look, it's not like I don't trust you when it comes to this whole...thing. But again, we don't even know what it is you're wearing, or if it's wearing you."

Nadine decided she would not tell Stephanie about last night's escapades, she didn't want her friend to worry.

"Like...for god's sake how long have you been in that armor?"

"Oh...uh, I did take a break but...almost a day?"

Stephanie swore in arabic before turning back to her.

"Okay, look. Anth and Pearl have other things to do this mornin', so it leaves the two of us, and we're gonna find a way to figure out what this thing is. Whether it wants to or not."

"...Loxz-Ha?"

No response. It seemed that Stephanie was right about the scarab not wanting to give an answer, because the armor retreated back in the scarab.

"The one time I want you to talk with me..."

Stephanie shook her head, "Alright alright. Since it won't talk,", she cracked her knuckles, "I'm gonna make it talk."

The scarab quickly manifested on Nadine's back and all of its legs begun to drag her away, Stephanie chasing after them.

"Loxz-Ha!"

Threatening intentions from Stephanie Diya

"Stop this, right now!"

Loxz-Ha did as asked, allowing Nadine to stand on her own two feet again. She held a hand up to signal for Stephanie to stop running, which she did. Nadine looked at her back.

"Loxz-Ha. We clearly need to have a talk."

Very well. But not here

Nadine sighed and looked back at Stephanie. She walked over to her.

"They agreed to talk about some stuff, but they'd rather do it somewhere else."

Stephanie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "First Anth, now me. I think your scarab fuckin' hates us."

Nadine sighed, and took her shoulders in her hands as the armor gradually materialised.

"Look, I'll try and ask all the important questions. If I'm not back by six, I flew to the moon."

"What-?"

But Nadine was already flying away, finally landing on a tall building where she paced around.

"Okay, so, basics first."

Which would be?

"Okay, first, the body control thing."

I have access to your entire nervous system

"Because you're inside me."

Correct

"Right-so, about that."

What of it?

"We need to establish this thing known to us as 'boundaries' in this relationship. Do you know what boundaries are?"

Boundaries: Boundaries show where one thing ends and another begins. Boundaries in a relationship are kind of like this; they help each person figure out where one person ends and the other begins. In short, boundaries help you define what you are comfortable with and how you would like to be treated by others.

"...Yea, that. Alright, boundaries. You can't just take control over my body whenever you feel like it."

But you were in-

"I know, I know. I was in danger, and thanks for looking out for me. But still, I'd rather not wake up in places I don't remember going and with people I don't know. It can be terrifying."

And what do you propose?

"You will only take control of my body either when it is absolutely necessary, or when I give you explicit permission to do so. Okay?"

Hm...very well. This seems reasonable

"Good. Now, you never told me why you were here. Is there even a reason?"

...I lost someone close to me. I have been trying to track them down for a long time

"O-Oh...I'm sorry."

Do not be. That is an issue for me to fix, now that I have a suitable host again

"I promise to help you, but only if you can follow the last rule I have for this relationship for now."

Which is?

"No killing. No lethal weapons."

...Boring

"Loxz!"

Fine! Fine! I wil entertain your pacifistic beliefs

"Thank you. And in turn, I'll help you find your friend."

I know you will

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

Stephanie held onto her bass as they waited for Nadine to come to their practice, the others sitting on the stage as they waited too. She abruptly stood up.

"She went to the moon.", she said.

"Who?", Pearl asked, just as the window of the abandoned gymnasium shattered and Nadine landed on the ground, more gracefully this time, but still a bit rough.

"I didn't go to the moon!", she announced as the armor retreated.

"Ah, you're back!", Pearl said, "How's the girlfriend?"

Anthony smacked her head for that.

"Dude! What the hell??", the girl asked, to which Anthony rolled his eyes.

Nadine was used to this behaviour from the two. Always bickering over the littlest things. She walked to the stage, shrugging the comment off.

"Yep, I'm back. And Loxz-Ha says they're fine."

"Did it say any ways to remove it?", Anthony asked.

"No, I didn't ask."

"Oh for fuck's sake, what did you ask?"

Nadine thought that behaviour was a bit odd for Anthony. She would expect this type of outburst from Stephanie, but Anthony? Maybe she did do something wrong this time. She could hear a chuckle in her head.

My~ Someone is jealous

"Loxz-Ha, that's just not true."

Anthony groaned, dragging a hand over his face, "What now?"

"They said you were jealous or something."

Anthony froze, looking away. Nadine blinked in confusion before Pearl continued the conversation.

"What did you ask it, dude?"

"Hm? Oh, right, I asked why it was here."

"And it told you?"

Nadine nodded, "They're here in hopes of finding one of their friends. Apparently they got lost a couple of years back."

"You think that blue guy from the video might be that friend?"

"Very likely. He crossed all the boxes, but I'll have to find him somehow."

Both her and Pearl placed a hand on their respective chins to figure something out. Pearl's eyes then lit up as she raised an arm in the air and pointed upwards.

"You could become a superhero!"

All three blinked at her, letting out near simultaneous 'what's.

"Think about it.", Pearl explained, "That guy was clearly a superhero. So, if you become one too, you are bound to get noticed. Like a school girl waiting for her crush to notice her."

"My what-"

"What I'm trying to say is, you can both use this cool armor thing for good and use it to find the blue guy."

"Huh...this...could work, actually.", Nadine admitted.

"Okay okay, time out.", Stephanie finally said, making a time out motion with her hands, "You sure you're ready to fight with that thing? It dragged you out of my garage this morning."

"It did what-?"

"Anthony.", Nadine said slowly as she took hold of his arms, "Calm down. You too, Steph. Trust me, we sorted those things out. And, well, the scarab is designed to protect me so, I'll be fine...probably."

"Probably isn't good enough.", Anthony responded as he held her back, "You could get seriously hurt. You don't know what this thing can do."

Loxz-Ha was offended. How dare this meat think them incapable of defending their host properly? Not only that, but his touch filled Loxz-Ha with some form of jealousy. It was possessiveness. This was their host. Thankfully, Nadine Estrada took his hands off.

"Come on, Anth. You got to give me some trust."

"Nad, this isn't like trusting you won't go off-beat in the drumset. You're putting your life on the line and for what? So you can get the attention of some blue guy?"

Nadine shook her head, "Anth, this isn't about just the blue guy.", she said, hands on her chest, "This is about what I can do with these powers that have been given to me. I always talk about wanting to help people in more ways than just giving spare change or taking out my neighbours' trash. Now, I can finally do something that helps the city. Can't you see that this is my chance? I'm ready-more than ready for this."

"But-"

"You can trust this face, can't you?"

Anthony hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting about before finally turning his head away.

"...Fine."

Nadine gave him a small smile. She was glad he cared for her so much.

"Soooo.", Pearl started, "What's your superhero name gonna be?"

"Oh, hmm.", now that would be a little tricky. Should she use Loxz-Ha's name as her superhero name? No, it didn't really sound like one and she would just be stealing her partner's name. Maybe an insect? A color, like the Green Lantern?

"I think...I am..."

-----------

"-in latest news, this new superhero dubbed by the criminals as the 'Green Scarab', has made their debute in Gotham City just tonight. Exclusive footage reveals this new arrival's shocking abilities as they cut vehicles in half, and made use of sonic weapons. Police reports indicate that the new armored vigilante was in quite the rush."

The feed cut to a police officer being interviewed, "It dropped the stolen goods and the guns of those bastards right behind the police barricade, then they just up and flew away! It was weird as shit!"

"Did the vigilante show any ill intent towards you?"

"Nah man. They just dropped in, did our job for us-along with wrecking a couple of cars-and left."

The feed then cut back to the reporter.

"There is still no confirmation from heroes in the Justice League as to whether or not this is a legitimate new member, or just a mere avenger taking it out on the streets. Until we get more updates on this thrilling situation, we move on to Donald for the weather."

Jaime did not even get to put food in his mouth, his spoon hovering over the plate as he stared at the tv with his mouth wide open.

"Bro, the milk is dripping all over your pants.", Milagro, who had just come in, commented.

"Oh, mierda.", Jaime muttered as he placed the bowl on the table in front of him, "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?", he whisper-shouted.

Milagro shrugged before she walked into the kitchen behind him, "I was hungry. Don't tell on me!"

"No lo haré. Calmarse.", he said as he turned back to the tv, even if his mind was not on the news. He let the tv and Milagro's faint noises around him be backround noises as he reached to Khaji-Da.

"You know them?", he whispered to the scarab.The armor looked way too similar to his for it to be a coincidence.

I believe I do., Khaji-Da confirmed, But I can only assume who this scarab is. Unless I manage to get their serial number

"Like how yours is Khaji-Da?"

Yes. Unless we figure this factor out, we can not know what their intentions are

"They said Gotham, right? So that's where we need to go."

"You talking to Khaji again?", Milagro asked as she was ready to leave, cacahuates japones in hand. Jaime nodded. "Tell them buenas noches from me, m'kay?", she said before skipping away.

Alright, they were going to Gotham.

#green scarab comic #cover art #art #design #oc art #digital art #artists on tumblr #dc rp #dc universe #dc #blue beetle #jaime reyes #khaji da #milagro reyes #loxz ha #nadine estrada #ao3 writer #dc fanfic #dc fanart #dc ocs

[vividwritinglove]

next door VIII - a Pierre Gasly series

on race weekends I am getting more inspiration to write - unfortunately Pierre didn’t had the best weekend, again.. 💔

pairing: Pierre Gasly x fem!reader

warnings: smut (male receiving), little angsts, mentioning of death and loss, language

word count: 2.2k

————————————————————————

After dinner, you two snuggled up on Pierre's sofa with your wine glasses. Your legs again across his lap, his arm around your shoulder. Like usual you chatted animatedly. You two never seem to run out of topics to talk about.

Pierre couldn't take his eyes off you. He smiles dreamily at you, as you talk in more detail about your dream vacation, that you will soon treat yourself with if the orders and deals keep coming in like that. Your enthusiasm was truly contagious and soon Pierre is telling you about his favorite vacation spots and a passionate discussion about previous vacations ensues. You both agree in the end, that Tulum is probably the best vacation spot ever.

You both toast to that with your wine glasses. It was amazing to Pierre how uncomplicated and natural it was between you. He had never felt this way about a woman before so quick. He wanted to give himself to you completely, not only the beautiful but also the dark sides.

Pierre sat up straight and cleared his throat. His expression changed to a more serious face. You immediately noticed the change in his mood, "What's wrong?" you ask a little worried, stroking his cheek.

He reaches for your hand and brings it to his mouth. Tenderly he kisses the back of your hand and knuckles. Once again he takes a deep breath and then looks at you piercingly.

"Pierre, you're scaring me..."

"Ma belle, I want to talk to you about something. I just hope I don't offend you or hurt you..."

You couldn't follow him anymore and you felt a little uncomfortable. What did he want to discuss with you that could have offended or even hurt you? Your body tensed.

"When I was waiting for Pyry in your apartment this morning, I looked around a bit and saw the photos."

You felt a kind of relief at the same time, but also an uneasiness.

"There's this picture of this young woman.."

"Her name was Nadine." you interrupted him. Tears welled up in your eyes, quickly you wipe them out of the corner of your eyes with your fingers. Pierre immediately regretted bringing up the subject, "I'm sorry...I...I wish I hadn't said anything.".

"It's okay. I just remembered that I haven't talked about her in a long time and I feel really guilty about it."

Pierre nods in understanding and brushes a streak of hair behind your ear. He actually had that feeling inside him quite often, too. He thought about Anthoine almost every day, but he never talked about him. To be honest, he didn't know with whom he should do that. He didn't wanted to be a burden to anyone or give the impression of still being too deep in the past.

"Do you want to talk about her now?" Pierre asks cautiously. You take a deep breath and then nod timidly.

You start with how you and her met, what she meant to you, how she captivated many people with her fascinating and loving nature, how intense your friendship was especially in the last year and in the days before the fatal car accident, as if you were supposed to fully savor and enjoy the last moments together.

"The day of the accident felt like an eternity - as if it would never pass by, so unreal and wrong. The days after that, all the way to the funeral, went by in a flash."

Pierre felt every single word you said. He completely pulled himself together for you.

"It took me years to understand that she wasn't coming back and how to deal with it from now on. Since then, a lot has changed with me or with my other girlfriends, especially in terms of mindset."

You felt amazingly well after that talk. Every now and then, tears ran down your cheeks and it had a bit of a feeling as of ripping off a band-aid. But you weren't angry with Pierre, on the contrary, you liked how attentive and careful he was regarding this subject.

Pierre, on the other hand, still seemed a little tense and was kneading his fingers.

„Pierre?" you asked concerned.

"I know all too well how you feel..." misty-eyed he looked at you and then he told you his story.

It was a lot. Far too much for such a young human to bear in one lifetime. You listened carefully as he told you about his friend Anthoine. You laughed with him, about the beautiful and funny experiences he had with Anthoine - you cried with Pierre when he told you about that weekend in Spa.

It turned out that the days of your friends' deaths were only one week apart.

Pierre had already experienced a lot of suffering in his young life, besides the death of Anthoine, the reset of RedBull on the same weekend, the death of his other friend Val, up to the car accident in which his mother got seriously injured. And nonetheless, he kept going. He was not just physically, but also mentally a very strong person. That was truly admirable to you.

You took Pierre into very tight embrace. Even though there were definitely more beautiful things that you two had in common, you were grateful to him that he had told you about his fears and losses in a relatively early state of your relationship. You got a whole new image of him again and saw how vulnerable he actually is underneath a hard shell and the supposed fuckboy image.

Pierre enjoyed your touch so much. His hands gently stroked up and down your back. He was also feeling much better by now, kind of relieved.

"Thank you for being so open with me." you thank him, after you had sat back down in your former position.

"I have to thank you." replied Pierre, leaning in to kiss you. You reach out to him and take his face in your hands. What was still a very tentative kiss at the beginning, quickly developed into an extremely passionate one.

To feel Pierre even more intensely, you sit down on his lap, straddling him. With a mischievous smile, Pierre grins into the next kiss. His hands already linger on your butt. Each of his touches made you become bolder and slowly you start to move your hips. Every second you feel the bulge in Pierre's pants grow and pressing against your clothed core. You start to grind him harder, making the friction even more intense. Pierre can't help but moan ever so slightly. God, how you loved to hear this man moan because of your actions.

Your hands had by now settled on his shoulders and wandered over his torso until they arrived at the hem of his shirt. You run both hands under the fabric and make him take it off.

Only too gladly he complied with your wordless request and slipped the shirt over his head. The sight of his naked upper body now made you groan. Immediately you had to touch his chest muscles, which were tense due to his arousal. Greedily you pressed your lips on his again.

Pierre now briskly pulled your blouse out of your pants and tore open the button bar. Shocked and excited at the same time, you opened your mouth and moaned loudly. Pierre takes this chance to enter your mouth with his tongue. Normally you would let him have the upper hand, but you felt like challenging him today.

Pierre liked the game. Your dominant side came out more and more and this was refreshing for him as well. However, he did not want to give in without a fight and played along. Without further ado, you shake your ripped silk blouse off your arms and put both hands around his neck.

Pierre's hands, on the other hand, caress your naked sides and tamper with the clasp of your bra. Before he could open it, you reach into his hair and pulled his head back.

Wide-eyed and out of breath, he looked at you expectantly.

"I owe you one..." you whisper in his ear after leaning in to him. You place your lips immediately on his earlobe, tugging on it lightly with your teeth and then kiss along his neck to his collarbone. You felt the metal of his necklace that had taken his body temperature. Your tongue ran along the thin chain to the cross pendant. Without hesitation you took it into your mouth.

Pierre seemed to almost explode in his jeans. That you had to look at him so naughtily with his cross necklace in your mouth, which you presented to him teasingly between your teeth and on top of that, you were wearing this seductive bra, which simply put your breasts perfectly on display. It was just too much for him.

"Fuck, Y/N!" he moaned, and by now the fabric of his jeans was constricting him painfully. His look of pain and pleasure was pure satisfaction for you. It was time to redeem him.

You let the cross pendant slip out of your mouth and gave Pierre a tender kiss on his swollen lips. Skillfully your hands loosened his belt and with a few more moves the button and zipper were also opened.

Pierre became more impatient, his hands nervously stroking up and down your thighs.

You stood up and knelt down in front of him. Your hands moved over his knees up over his taut thighs to the waistband of his jeans.

Pierre's legs began to tremble under your touch. He could hardly wait for a release and begged you, "Ma belle, please.... I...".

No more words needed, you grabbed the waistband of his jeans and boxers. Pierre lifts his butt so that you could pull both down in one go. A liberating moan leaves Pierre's lips and he let his head fall into his neck. However, he could not take a breath. Immediately he felt your hands around his hard cock. He needed to look at you - your eyes met immediately. His breathing was fast and fierce and only got faster as you put your soft and perfect lips around his cock and started blowing him without foreplay.

Your head booped rhythmically up and down and you took his cock so deep into your mouth without even gagging. Pierre was on cloud nine - he wanted to close his eyes and enjoy the blowjob to the fullest, but on the other hand he also wanted to watch you doing it, because it was just so damn sexy how you kept looking up at him through your eyelashes.

He would never get that image out of his head. With pleasure he bit his lower lip, as you now also massaged his balls with one hand.

„Merde!“ he hissed through his teeth. He couldn’t deny that you were pretty skilled, you exactly knew what you were doing.

Seeing Pierre in this state of arousal, was everything you needed right now. To you he had the perfect penis. The right size and girth, veiny - just perfect for sucking.

You felt how his dick twitched in your mouth, an indication that he wouldn’t take much longer.

Pierre was in full ecstasy and really trying to drag out the moment to the extreme. His hands were buried in his sofa cushions, his upper body was rising and falling more and more violently and his moans were getting louder. Again and again your tongue circled his now very sensitive tip and drove Pierre into madness, "Y/N, I can't hold it anymore".

This was your sign to take him full in your mouth again and only a few seconds later you feel him shooting his seed into your mouth and running down your throat. You literally suck him dry and a little exhausted you sit back on your knees. In front of you is a divine picture: Pierre completely out of breath and panting, his head resting on the back of the sofa, his eyes closed, his previously tense muscles visibly relaxing and his legs still spread.

"You seem to like what you see..." smirks Pierre, opening one eye just briefly to look at you.

You nod and smile, "A picture for the gods!".

After a few minutes you pull yourself together and pick up your blouse from the floor, "You owe me a new one by the way! That was totally unnecessary...".

You throw the blouse to Pierre, who catches it expertly and can only grin again, "Well, I liked it.".

You shake your head and take Pierre's shirt and put it on. After that, you grab the wine glasses and start cleaning up.

"What are you doing?" asks Pierre as he puts his boxers and pants back on.

"What does it look like?" you ask the counter question and set the glasses down on the kitchen sideboard.

"You're my guest. You don't need to clean up..."

"Many hands make light work." you say dryly and open the dishwasher, "I'm going to head over soon, I have to get up early again tomorrow."

"You're not staying overnight?"

Pierre sounded surprised, he had fully expected you to sleep over tonight.

"I don't know, Pierre. You and I really need to catch up on some more sleep..."

"I'll behave. I promise!"

With puppy eyes, he looked at you pleadingly and pulled a pout. How could you say no to that?

part IX

#pierre gasly #pg10 #pierre gasly x reader #pierre gasly smut #f1 things #f1 #f1 smut

[fairchilds-glasses]

Hii Sophie, it's Austin, I'm back and I was randomly rewatching the Chucky series and saw the signs of autism with Jake, Devon and Caroline:

For starters; hyperfixatation. We already know that these three seemed to almost be obsessed with their passions/hyperfixatations on a tremendous amount. Like the amount of dolls Jake had stored, Devon creating a whole fucking podcast and having posters, Caroline's fit over not having Chucky, etc.

Second; monotone or too expressive expressions. Jake seems really expressive, while Devon and Caroline seem to have this straight face usually all the time. And the eyes - like they're analyzing every single detail about what's in front of them or their enviorment.

Special interest; like I said, Devon is obsessed with true crime and still is, Jake is obsessed with dolls, art, sculptures, Caroline is obsessed with Chucky and dolls and murder. Like Devon was literally reading true crime at 7 am.

Difficulty making friends; Devon doesn't really seem to have this problem A LOT but it's really shown in S2 how he has a slight difficulty with making friends that probably only adapted with his mom. Jake is repeatedly remarked and shown to have difficulty making friends, and so does Caroline, said by Lexy that she "rarely even speaks" meaning Caroline is probably selectively mute as well.

Black and white thinking; this seems to only really be shown with Devon. In S2, he seems to have a black-and-white certain way of seeing and overlooking things, which is one of his greatest traits and his greatest problem. With Chucky, he barely bothered to hear anyone out since his black-and-white thinking.

Stimming: I have my reasons to suspect why Devon barely does this, but Caroline is seem to be swaying or tapping her fingers, Jake bounces his leg alot, messes with his rings, cracks his knuckles even when he's not anxious. And Devon sometimes does it too, but he's probably used to masking a lot, especially near Lexy.

Pattern recognition; This is like the hugest thing with Devon and how he was even able to brainwash Chucky. Because he saw the patterns in his behavior and the way Chucky operated, and was able to exactly determine what would break him and how to break him. Which is also why I think Devon may have undiagnosed apophenia, since he seems to find patterns or meanings when others don't.

Sensory issues: This is shown with Caroline and her disgust with being touched, and I think Lexy made some kind of remark that she had a meltdown because she wore the wrong sweater. And both Devon and Jake collectively try to avoid certain patterns and textures with their clothing, you can literally see how Devon rarely wears anything tight, showing skin, like Jake's now wardrobe a little bit. He specifically sticks to sweaters, shirts, all that.

Little or too much eye contact: Was I the only one who watched Caroline and thought that this little terror was almost staring into everyone's soul? Devon kinda does it too, like keeps main eye contact too the point it would kinda be unnerving if you were talking to him long enough while Jake seems to make little eye contact and only really does it with those he feels comfortable with.

In conclusion, all of these fuckers are autistic.

Oh thank god you noticed, I thought I was the only one!!!

It’s a lot more obvious and in your face with Caroline considering the meltdown in ep 3 and of course her aversion to touch but I’m really glad you noticed the more subtle things with Jake and Devon as well. Also obviously in season two Nadine is very blatantly autistic and I love it so much and obviously as I’ve stated multiple times Miss Fairchild also shows autism/ADHD tendencies as well. So yes I’m conclusion they’re all autistic 😌

I didn’t know if I was just projecting but knowing that you see it to has just validated it for me.

#chucky #sophie rambles #they’re all autistic #just yes #as an autistic person this makes me so happy

[howaboutcastiel]

Does It Show Again?

Summary: Steven is injured and Marc underestimates his strength. Layla doesn’t have cell service. Gus and Fish get a sister. 4.1k words

Content: angst. Lots of other stuff? This chapter is plot heavy but also feelings heavy. Hurt/comfort? Canon-typical injuries, Layla talks some more about the trafficking ring, with some details that might be upsetting. Marc talks about Randall. FWMS Masterlist. 

They named the dog Nadine. 

As it turned out, Layla was still in love with the staffy she had come across after her impromptu date night with Steven. She had loved the sweet puppy so much that she was convinced she had to have her. After several hours of talking it over with Steven and Marc, she had made a trip to the store to buy everything from food to a kennel to squeaky toys, and then another trip back to the shelter. They charged her next to nothing to adopt the stafford terrier. She had been waiting for months for an owner and no one had chosen her. Well, Layla was happy to give her a home. 

Except, she still had work to do for Taweret. So Layla’s dog quickly became Layla’s and Marc’s and Steven’s dog, and the boys agreed to stay at Layla’s with the pup when she traveled for work. That’s what Marc was meant to be doing now, as Layla was halfway across Europe in a place so removed from cell reception that she hadn’t gotten a word out to him in days. He was meant to come home from dinner with Mrs. Bamford and greet Nadine with a walk and a night-time play session. 

Her little tail wagged frantically as Steven stumbled through the door, covered in blood. 

Making it home was a blur. After Mrs. Bamford had convinced him to evade the police, he had run mindlessly in the direction of central London. He couldn’t exactly catch the bus in the state he was in. Eventually, he managed to hail a cab to Layla’s flat. The driver didn’t ask any questions about his appearance. Just as long as he got paid, Steven supposed. So he handed the man some cash and mumbled out the address of Layla’s apartment complex. It wasn’t until he was settled in the back seat that the adrenaline began to wear off of him. By then, the pain in his body radiated from more than his fists. 

That’s when he discovered that the switchblade hadn’t missed his skin afterall. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it was broad and solid. Steven had pressed against his chest to keep the blood from spilling out onto the leather seats.

Nadine wasn’t very pleased with the way he ignored her. Steven made a B-line for the guest bath, tugging his shirt up over his head. He felt ready to faint at any moment, but he tried his best to focus on his breathing as he rinsed the blood from his hands. Steven was grateful that his hand wasn’t broken, but his knuckles were certainly raw. 

‘I’m sorry.’  Marc’s voice rang desperately. His shame was palpable. ‘I don’t know what came over me.’

“‘S alright,” Steven slurred. He pulled a towel from the cabinet and pressed it firmly to the wound between the ribs on his right side. 

‘Let me deal with that,’ Marc offered. ‘I’m the one who got us into the fight. You shouldn’t be the one in pain.’

Steven shook his head. He leaned back against the wall for support, breathing shallowly. “I don’t mind it so much.”

‘C’mon, man. We got stabbed. I know it hurts like hell.’

“It’s a graze at best.” Even though he felt Marc trying to push his way to the front, Steven stayed put. He had never been in physical pain like this before, Marc had made sure of that. He had always assumed he was too weak for it, and Marc had always assumed Steven couldn’t handle pain like that. 

But Steven felt just fine. 

There was something harrowing about the wide gash in his side. Something calming about the rings of broken skin around his bruised knuckles. Steven might have even leaned into the feeling, except for the black spots that formed in the corner of his eyes when he did. Not to mention how much Marc Spector found his serenity to be disturbing, given the circumstances. Still, Steven was handling the pain just fine, and he had no trouble at all keeping Marc from the front as he continued cleaning his wounds. He had just finished bandaging his non-dominant hand when Nadine ceased her whining at his heels. 

“What is it, sweet girl?” Steven could feel the weakness in his breath as he cooed to the puppy. She only turned her head and left the bathroom, moving to sit patiently at the front door. “I’m sorry. I have to finish this before we go on our walk.”

But Nadine perked her ears and wagged her tail at the door. Steven shook his head, remembering that saying the word walk would only make her more excited. He turned his attention back to his hands, which were swimming in his vision by now. The wound in his side was still bleeding steadily and he was covered in a layer of thin, cold sweat. He kept working as tunnel vision started to creep in. He struggled to unfurl the wrappings that he was trying to put on his other hand. Again, he propped his weight against the wall, swearing. This time, he leaned into the pain, even though it was weakening him. 

There was a scratching metal noise outside, like the rattling of keys against a lock, and Nadine had started whining again. Steven closed his eyes. He needed to focus and get through this, quickly. The door opening registered somewhere in the back of his mind, but the front of it was focused on his hands and his side. He moved his bandaged hand up against his ribs. 

“Hello, gorgeous!” A voice rang from the door, high-pitched and tired and singsong-y. Steven smiled, still not having opened his eyes. Some clattering let him know that Nadine had jumped up into Layla’s arms to greet her. “Are you here by yourself?”

And then a beat of silence. The entryway light wasn’t on, but the one in the bathroom was. The door was still open and Steven was just out of view of the front door. 

“Marc?”

When Layla spotted him, he could hear the way she frantically ran to his side. Her voice was dripping with worry and her hands cupped his face. Steven struggled to open his eyes. 

“Marc!”

He scoffed lightly. “Not Marc.”

“Steven?” Layla’s eyes flashed across his body, surveying his wounds. “What—Why are you…? What happened to you?”

Layla guided him to sit on the couch. Steven didn’t protest as she did it, not that he had the energy if he wanted to. His breathing had gone from steady to shallow to labored. He hardly had the strength to hold the towel to the wound on his side anymore. 

“Just a home invasion,” he quipped. Layla didn’t find it funny. “At Mrs. Bamfords. Don’t worry, she’s safe. Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Let me help you with that.” She gestured to his ribs. The towel covered the wound and the blood streaming from it. 

He shook his head. “I can do it myself. You should go walk Nadine. She’s been cooped up all day.”

“She can wait a little longer,” Layla insisted. “You can barely open your eyes, Steven. Let me patch you up.”

He sighed, leaning back against the cushions. Steven hoped he wasn’t bleeding on the couch. 

“Alright.”

Layla didn’t say much as she bandaged his hand, except to point out that his left one was certainly sprained. She made sure he still had relatively free use of his fingers. It was only when she pulled Steven’s hand away from his ribs—laying her eyes on the blood-soaked towel and the wound in his side that was still streaming red—that she found her words again. She tried to keep her voice calm, but she wasn’t used to seeing him bleed. Not without the suit there to heal him. 

“This is going to need stitches.” She tilted his head in her hand, making sure he was listening. “You might want to let Marc take over for this. They aren’t very fun.”

Steven smiled at her, like he found her suggestion amusing. “I can handle it.”

Layla wouldn’t admit what that look and those words made her feel. She just nodded at him. 

“Go ahead and lay down for me, then. I’ll be right back.”

When Layla returned with her needle, thread, and bandages, Steven was sprawled across the couch. His work pants and boots were still on, but his chest was exposed. He kept his eyes open and on her, an adoring expression on his face as she entered the room. The puppy was at his side, her head resting on the couch just beside his face. Layla settled on the floor opposite his chest.

“I can turn on the TV, if you’d like,” she offered to him. “It’ll go easier if you have something to distract you.”

“No, that’s alright,” he replied. He stared at her for a moment. “Tell me about your trip, love.”

She scoffed. “I’m not sure that’s the kind of distraction you want.”

“I’d still like to hear about it,” he shrugged. “You know we get worried when you’re away. Especially when you can’t get to a phone.”

“Yes, I know.” Layla wiped as much blood from the wound as she could. Steven barely flinched. “Every time I get service again, I read the novel Marc sends me while I’m away.”

Steven tilted his head. “You did ask him to open up more. It would help him a lot if it worked both ways.”

“It does work both ways,” she interjected.

He grinned. “Then tell me about your trip.”

Layla folded. Steven was convincing, and he knew he had caught her. That was one thing Marc was never good at—convincing. He usually got his way by throwing punches, which he would never throw at Layla, of course. Steven used his words, and Layla found his method surprisingly effective. But she also found it irritating. She had gotten used to winning arguments with her husband. So, Layla made sure to wait until the first stitch was done before she started her story. 

Not that it made a difference to Steven, of course. 

“I spent the last few days in New Delhi,” she began. “Taweret started by sending me to Munich, but there’s a problem with the higher-ups in the—”she couldn’t bring herself to say the name that they called themselves. 

“In the ring.”

Steven nodded at her, so invested in Layla’s feelings that he appeared to not even notice the needle weaving in and out of his chest. Layla, on the other hand, seemed doubly affected by the combination of the blood and her own recollection of her trip. Steven knew how serious this job was, which was why he pushed her so hard to talk about it. He was afraid of how Layla would be affected if she bottled it up. 

She continued. “So I had to follow the team to India. Anyway, there’s a rival operation there that they wanted to merge with. Or, if they couldn’t merge, they wanted to destroy it. Obviously I wasn’t complaining about that idea. Taweret helped me keep tabs on both rings while my team captured one of the big guys in their rival gang.”

Layla’s hands had stopped moving. Steven looked up at her, seeing the hesitation on her face. 

“You’re not hurting me,” he offered. “You can keep going.”

But he knew that the hesitation was not for the stitches. Layla was struggling with her story. She didn’t say anything else as she wove the next stitch in his side, focusing on keeping her hands from shaking. 

Steven changed his tone to be more gentle, more deliberate. “It’s okay if you’re not ready yet. If something really bad happened, I mean. You don’t have to tell me.”

But Layla shook her head. There was fear in her eyes. “It isn’t that something bad happened.”

“No?” He didn’t understand what was upsetting her. 

She bit her lip. Layla couldn’t look him in the eye. 

“It’s that I did something bad.”

Steven was quick with his response. It was second nature to him, this sort of thing. “We knew this was going to be hard, right? I mean, going undercover was bound to have some tough moments. Some tough decisions. I’m sure that you only did what you had to, love.”

Layla’s face and neck flushed with something akin to shame. Steven reached out weakly to cup her face, but she turned her head away from his touch. She went back to stitching him up, nearly finished now. 

As she continued—hesitantly—her eyes never left his chest. “They wanted information out of him, but he wouldn’t talk. He didn’t think that merging the rings would be a good idea and he was loyal to his own people. He told us to just kill him and be done with it, that he would never betray his operation, and that we would never work together. I thought we were going to shoot him and dump his body somewhere the rivals could see. I could have almost come to terms with that. 

But my boss wasn’t satisfied. 

He wanted to know everything that man knew, and he wanted it as quickly as possible. All the guys on my team, though, they’re hasty. They’re impulsive. Not to mention, they’re not too bright. They wouldn’t have the patience or the wit to get information out of him.”

Steven understood what she was leading up to. 

“But you would.”

She nodded. 

Steven thought that there was nothing else to be said, so he didn’t say anything. Layla wasn’t eager to speak up, either. She finished the last stitch on his side, wiping the wound clean one final time before covering it with some antibiotic cream and a layer of bandages. When she picked up the soiled rags and medical supplies and headed toward the laundry, Steven pulled himself up against the cushions in a somewhat-sitting position. Layla came back with a glass of water in her hand, instructing him to sip on it. He grabbed at her, a silent plea for her to sit at his side, and she reluctantly did. 

They sat in silence. Eventually, Nadine moved up onto Layla’s lap and Steven moved to lay his head on her shoulder. He was almost asleep by the time Layla’s voice rang out, small and meek as ever. 

“I was really good at it, Steven.”

He blinked at her a couple of times, his brain foggy from the blood loss and adrenaline crash. “Good at what?”

Her voice broke around the words. “At making him talk.”

Steven had nothing reassuring to say to that. What could he possibly say? He only weakly stroked her hand as she cried into his hair. Whatever was running through her head, it wasn’t a feeling that he could imagine. He didn’t know how to help. 

They were both so tired. Steven and Layla sat still, holding each other weakly until her breathing evened out again. They could have fallen asleep there, enveloped in one another’s pain, if it weren’t for the stafford terrier that hadn’t gotten her walk for the day. 

Nadine hopped down from Layla’s lap, whining and scratching at the front door, and Steven didn’t even have a chance to stand up before Layla was by her side with a leash in hand. 

“We’ll be right back, habibi.”

Steven simply nodded and watched as they walked out the door. 

Marc wasted no time speaking up once they were alone. Steven already had a fair idea of what he was going to say. “I knew something like this was going to happen. That fucking hippo is no better than Khonshu after all.”

“It was Layla’s choice, Marc. Taweret didn’t force her.” Steven took another sip from the glass of water, struggling to swallow it. 

Marc wasn’t convinced. “Khonshu never forced me, either.”

“He was manipulating you. It’s different.” 

But Marc was angry. “No, Steven. This is different. Khonshu only used me for what I already was. A killer. A soldier. Layla isn’t like that. She would never torture someone. Not even some sex-trafficking bastard who deserves it. Layla isn’t like me. She’s too good. Taweret is doing something to her, I’m sure of it.”

Steven shook his head. 

“Maybe you just don’t know your wife as well as you thought.”

~~~

Layla was home all week. Marc and Steven had taken the weekend off from Mrs. Bamford’s, and she had happily informed them that the intruder had been arrested without much questioning. After Layla had managed to stitch Steven back together, he had allowed Marc to take the reins and spend some quality time with his wife. Marc needed it, and she needed it, and Steven was happy to spend some time on the inside, or just silently watch from the sidelines as they rebuilt their marriage piece by piece. 

It had been a long time since Marc had had to heal from a fight without the suit. He had forgotten how sore his hands could get. How hard it could be to move around with a row of stitches in his side. Marc tried to hide his discomfort as much as he could—it was his own fault after all, wasn’t it? Did he really even have a right to complain? 

He continued to talk with Layla about the details of her trip. She was getting close to the head of the ring, they both could feel it. But Layla was understandably reluctant to talk to Marc about it. She felt far too guilty about her new and improved role in the whole ordeal. Layla couldn’t bring herself to tell him all the gory responsibilities she had come to adopt. She couldn’t talk to him about the way she had that poor man begging for her to stop. How she had him spilling his guts about everything he knew of the ring he served. 

She especially couldn’t tell him the worst part of it all. How that small part of her, deep down inside, had enjoyed making him suffer. How she was proud of herself for being so good at it. 

And how he hadn’t been the only one. 

Layla wasn’t a fool—she knew everything that those people had done. She knew they deserved everything that they got, and she knew she grew closer to the head of the snake with each monster she cut through. Layla knew that her heinous actions only strengthened the trust that the ring had in her, only gave her more power within the group and more opportunity to peek between the cracks in the operation. None of that justified it, though. She also knew that. Nothing changed the fact that she was hurting people, and that she enjoyed it. 

She was beginning to understand why being an avatar had broken Marc so completely. 

Marc finally found himself able to talk to her. Really, truly talk to her. He’d already shared so much since they first arrived home from Cairo. Now, though, he was almost completely unrestrained. Tiny piece by piece, he had warmed up to her enough to share the parts of his life that he’d hidden from her. The ones he’d hidden from everyone. Marc was finally finding a way to share himself with Layla. 

Some things were harder to share than others. 

“I can’t remember him that well,” Marc explained. “We were so young, you know? I only got bits and pieces anyway, but it was such a long time ago. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like he was ever real.”

Marc was sitting on the floor, the dog in his lap, while Layla sat behind him on the couch and brushed his hair for him. He still couldn’t lift his right arm because of the stitches, and his left hand was sprained too much for fine movement. It was easier to talk to her like this, he supposed. He didn’t have to look her in the eye. 

“I only really remember that day. Everything before it is a blur, but I remember everything about that day. Steven had to explain it to me. I used to just think that it was Randall’s tragedy. That I was just a bystander. A witness who should have saved him. I was the one who did that to him—”

Layla couldn’t help but interject. “You weren’t. It wasn’t your fault—”

“It was an accident, I know.” Marc scoffed. “But I felt responsible. Most of the time, I still feel that way. It’s hard for me to really believe anything else, it’s just been my fault for such a long time. But Steven explained it to me. He—he gave me permission, I guess, to not just be a witness. I was there, too. I was just a kid, too.”

Marc cleared his throat, blinking away tears. 

“And I almost drowned, too.”

“Is that why you can’t go under anymore?” Layla was almost whispering when she asked. 

He shook his head and bore a lopsided smile she couldn’t see. “I don’t know. I guess I did fine with all of the training as a Marine. I don’t really remember. And I can swim just fine, the water doesn’t bother me. It’s hard to explain.”

His smile dropped. 

“But when I look up, and all I see is water? Or when there’s no one around and I have to go under? It’s like…

It’s like I’m right back in that cave.

I was taller than him. Just a few inches, and I was thinner. I guess I could squeeze through the rocks? I could keep my head above the water just a little longer? I don’t know. I just know when they pulled us out, I still felt like I couldn’t breathe. I looked over and my mom was doing chest compressions on RoRo. I just remember thinking, “I must already be dead. That’s why no one’s doing CPR on me. I’m already gone. That’s why I can’t breathe.” I was just lying there, alone.”

Marc stopped when he felt a tear run along his upper lip. He hadn’t realized that he was crying, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. He had never told anyone about those moments afterward. He hadn’t even told Steven. 

“There was water in my lungs, is what my dad told me. I spent a couple days in the hospital. Almost missed his burial. My dad barely left my side the whole time I was there. He was worried, you know? I guess my mom was worried, too. But when I came home… that was the end of it. It was Randall’s shiva, and I was still alive, and it was my fault.”

Layla was crying, too. “And no one was there for you? To make sure you were okay?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t think they were supposed to be.”

She was almost done with his hair. Layla had managed to convince Marc to add curl cream to his routine, now that she had to do it for him. She was almost positive that he would abandon it as soon as he regained his full range of movement. But, it was fun while it lasted, and his curls were bouncier and wilder than ever. Layla ran her hands through the mop of hair one last time when her fingers suddenly dug into his scalp. 

“Ow!” Marc yelped. He turned his head to see her staring off into space. “Layla?”

She nodded her head like she was listening to someone. Her eyes focused on thin air. On something Marc couldn’t see. 

Someone Marc couldn’t see. 

“You’re sure?” Layla said, eyeing the space beside the TV where Marc assumed Taweret was standing. “That’s halfway across the world from our last lead. Why would they be there?”

“What’s she saying?” Marc asked. Layla shook her head, still listening. 

“What if that’s really it?” She hummed nervously. “What do we do when we get there?” 

Layla nodded and turned her attention toward Marc. Her voice was low. 

“Taweret says there’s a lead in Jacksonville. That this could be the head of the whole trafficking ring.”

His eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to Jacksonville,” she said decidedly. “And I’m going to finish this. I’m going to kill them all.”

Marc didn’t know if it was really Layla talking, or if Taweret had twisted her sense of justice into something else. Either way, Marc knew exactly what he was, and he knew exactly what Layla wasn’t. 

And just like Layla, he understood deep down that he needed this. That he was meant for this. 

“I’m going with you.”

~~~

@n1ght5h4d3-24 @magicwithaknife @rmoonstoner @nervouslaught3r @unavoidabledirewolf @kbakery @mccn-bcys @gingermous @avatarofseshat @damreonsgirl @dragons-are-my-favorite @k8esilver @competentpotato @theconsultingdoctor10 @rayrlupin @moony-artemis @nerdory10 @valkyrieace

@ahookedheroespureheart @mt2sssss @loki-hargreeves @starfirette @celeste4121-blog @avengersinitiative2012 @sifinskies @unspokenmoon @maplemind @mainstreambitchlife @hot-mess-express1 @toracainz @zarahbronstein @daughterofthequeen @am-3-thyst @romanarose @wand-erer5 @jake-g-lockley @alexismm @moonmoonboys @bitchyglitterfox

#moon knight #steven grant #marc spector #layla el faouly #fire within my soul #moon boys #marclayla #Masterlist

[boltun-tkn]

more fanart of the gals

from Zuruppi

there is also a whole folder from the commissioner

bonus

#black and bruised #jumping janet #ally gator #odiva #holly vixen #maiagaru #knuckles nadine #punch out #i hope the po peeps like these posts lmao

[impuretale]

Alright - Headcanon Asks yeah?

All of them! Every last one for a character in the Stand. Which character for each headcanon up to you.

Okay [cracks knuckles] I can try that! I may wind up going back to a few more than others but it just tells you which ones I do the most thinking on. Also by and large this is specific to the 2020 miniseries but will figure in wider canon sometimes.

SO

Headcanon meme ask list is here.

☾ - Larry Underwood's dreams and visions, even those alluding to Mother Abagail, are as disturbing as they are at the start of the series because he's still taking coke. Hence why his vision of her calling him to come and see her is intermixed with that of his dying mother.

★ - Joe/Leo Rockway still has dreams about both Larry and Mommy Nadine as he grows up.

☆ - Kojak the dog fathers puppies and lives a good, long dog life.

☠ - Lloyd Henreid's gold tooth that appears after arriving in Vegas, is not purely cosmetic. One of the first people who wound up on the telephone poles didn't understand the pecking order yet and thought he was an easy target to take a swing at, and while Lloyd scrapped back, Flagg finished the matter by establishing that he picks his soldiers and they are off limits.

✿ - Flagg is very accustomed to his partners passing out before the end and tends to hit such a devastatingly huge dip in adrenaline afterward that he could probably benefit from aftercare, which never happens because his partners are out. When your mind is open to the eldritch horrors and arriving leaves everything exposed and unguarded, you don't experience post-nut clarity so much as post-nut disparity. This is not a big enough deterrent to warn him off from the practice itself, but then it is very canon that he finds this kind of exposure necessary, even if unpleasant. Wizards, amirite?

■ - Glen Bateman tends to live in clutter. Where he puts something down is just where it lives which means his home dwelling can contain a lot of organized piles of stuff -- it looks like a mess and on occasion he will be very "shit I need to clean I'm out of surfaces" but he knows where everything is.

♡ - Lloyd Henreid is in love with Randall Flagg and doesn't really expect anything from it -- he isn't afraid of him as Julie thinks he is. What he's afraid of is the notion that Flagg only tolerates him. This leads to him trying too hard to be accommodating, on occasion.

♥ - Fran ignores or rebuffs Harold's romantic advances because even if her feelings go beyond "kid I used to babysit that I thought was annoying when I was a teenager" it is not romantic in origin -- she also projected a lot of her little brother onto him, who died when he was little. So him making it after Trips was bittersweetly important because he has always been the younger sibling that made it. Even if it is something she distanced herself from because childhood trauma is hard to deal with as a kid and a teenager, and her friendship with his sister made it a quietly kept secret. She recognizes that's unfair and not something he asked for, but she didn't ask to be the object of his unrequited affections either.

☮ - On the way to Boulder, Glen went fishing a few times with Stu, which seemed to relax him. They would usually catch things and Glen would joke, if they did not, that his loud speechifying scared the fish away.

♦ - Stu cannot play any instruments and his singing is for the shower and the radio only.

☯ - Harold loves PayDays (canon) but absolutely hates fruity candies. After trick or treating he and his sister would barter for their favorites and his willingness to let go of higher-value candy like chewing gum for chocolate meant it was a largely pleasant experience where neither sibling had much reason to steal from each other's stashes.

▼ - Fran hates swimming and can only do it because her parents made her take lessons when she was a kid.

∇ - Assuming my New Game+ theory re: the 2020 miniseries and Flagg holds water, Mother Abagail is also just as aware that events have transpired before and is less ruffled by Flagg because she's literally had these conversations with him multiple times.

♒ - Flagg has a sweet tooth (book/TDT canon) -- with a fully stocked kitchen and permission to fuck around and find out, Lloyd discovered this when he made deep fried oreos and then almost didn't get to have any.

☼ - Lloyd Henreid's XIX tattoo is an easter egg but he got it because it was his first tattoo, on his 19th birthday, and he couldn't think of anything else cool to get.

ൠ - Randall Flagg has no pop culture memories from after 1994. His car has a tape deck because it doesn't occur to him that cars wouldn't have one. He keys into new music pretty quick but all his favorites and the ones that get stuck in his head are from well before that and come from a variety of places.

#headcanon asks #the stand 2020 #headcanon rambles

[pandorafallz]

Vampire AU | Like it or not....

It took every fibre of his being to not outright turn and roll away continually like his life depended on it. Heart hammering in his chest and his head felt light and the grip on his wheels turned his knuckles white before his brain caught up to what he was seeing.

“Oh ¡Mierda! Breath ya bastard, breath!” The woman’s angry voice fizzled away swiftly quickly to concern very quickly. The woman’s hands dropped from her waist to hands out and palms towards him as if he was a scared horse.

Jake sucked in a heavy breath. “You…scared the absolute shit out of me, Reza!” He found his voice, “Happy now!”

“Sorry, I scared you into automatic responses,” not that Reza sounded overly sorry, just a little. “but you kinda deserved it for blowing me off on Earth before I left.”

Jake took another shuddering breath, trying to calm his heart now. “You fucked off first.” He unclamped his hands from his chair bars, gently pushing away from the wall. “I thought you were dead.” He gave her a look, nodding down the hall for some sake of privacy than the hallway which still had a few people talking down.

Of all the people to expect on Pandora, his former squad sergeant, who he thought was dead, was not it. Nadine Reza. She looked…just as he expected. Her light brown skin looked a little more sun-tanned though not otherwise noticeable aside from the markings of the area of skin her mask or clothes covered.  Her black hair which was once long was cropped short to her neck, and sat with a slight wave. Her prosthetic leg was old. Her silvery and black arm, however, that was new.

There was a story there.

“Not for the lack of trying,” Nadine spoke, though her tone wavered a little despite the phrase they moved though she looked to regret her words the moment she spoke them, pursing her lips as they walked.

Jake winced. “Let go to my bunk. We can talk there.”

“Twenty seconds and you’re already inviting me to your private space, that’ll spread gossip.”

Jake snorted dryly. At least one of them was trying to lighten the mood. Reza knew most of the way to the main area of the bunks before he found his bunk number and opened it up.

It was small as expected: big enough for a slim framed bed, a locker, a small desk and a mini fridge. He hadn’t expected the last one so he was a little happy about that.

“Ooh, you got any goodies in there?” Reza went straight for it. “Aw.” She shut the empty thing with a pout.

Jake rolled his eyes, moving his bag off his back and dumped his bag onto his bed. Though he was surprised to see…his desk chair wasn’t included. He could just wheel straight up. Jake blinked at it for a moment though collected himself together and shut the door for more space.

“I’m surprised you’re even here, Jake.” Reza sat down on the desk, “of all the places to be, Pandora?”

Jake hesitated. Reminding himself that… it had been three years since he had properly seen Reza. “Tommy… Tommy was the one supposed to be here, Nadine.” His voice shook a little, not meeting her eye as he said that. Not wanting to see the look of realisation cross her face or how she frowned lightly.

“I’m sorry to hear about that, Jake.” Her voice was soft, pushing off the desk to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Truly.”

Jake’s eyes prickled a little but he graciously nodded. “He’s here. I...I brought him.” Nodding to his bag. “He made it here after all and…I didn’t want to leave him behind.”

Her brown eyes lingered on the bag for a moment then nodded. “You want to bury him here?”

“Somewhere special. Fitting. He loved his plants and this planet so...”

Reza nodded in quiet understanding. “I know a good few places. I’m a pilot now so I’m sure you can sneak the ashes out on an outing at some point.” She offered.

Jake raised his head, patting her hand thankfully. “Not yet but…thank you.”

“Still, I’m…glad to see you. Even if I’m still pissed off at you, Corporal.” Her warmth shifted a bit, turning away to a new topic which…he was kinda grateful for. He didn’t want to break down again in regard to him.

“I’m sorry,” Jake apologised, “I know you were…dealing with a lot of shit but… I couldn’t handle it all. Seeing everyone struggle…”

Nadia raised her eyebrow. “We all had shit, Jake. You got paralyzed, my leg got crushed… Jason lost an eye. It was all too shit…we lost so many of our guys. The ones left only had each other… and you had Tommy.” Her voice wavered. “You leaving, I got. I understand that. To get away and to find some new purpose; by all means, if it makes you happy. But…cutting off all contact? The ghosting, the ‘pretending-I’m-not-home trick’….”

Jake didn’t meet her eye.

“That is what I’m pissed at. I was alone…” Reza rose to her feet, the whirl of her prosthetic not quiet. “I needed my family. I…got seen by the RDA and offered a job if I could get my head into gear. I did. I’m here. Figured I’d find something to live for or to die for.”

Guilt settled into his gut at her words but he deserved that. “I’m sorry.”

Reza’s shoulders dropped as her rage seeped out of her frame before she reached forwards and pulled his top half into her middle in a hearty hug. He relaxed somewhat, his arm setting around her, patting her spine softly.

“I’m still so fucking angry.” She whispered, “Three years, I haven’t found squat to live for and it ain’t the RDA. I hoped for something but… nada.” Her breath shook, stepping away though her hand curled into his short hair. “Lo... lo siento, Jake.”

Jake raised his head to look at her and offered a sad look. “We are both here for the same reasons, both…fucked up but…we’re here now, aren’t we?” He rested his head back against her arm. “We can make it count. It’s…so freaking nice to see a familiar face in this place.”

She sighed deeply. “I suppose so.” Reza dropped down onto his bed again, releasing him. “Sorry, I hunted you down specifically… The moment I heard ‘Sully’ and ‘wheelchair’, I knew it was you and…figured you’d be somewhere about with the new guys.”

Jake chuckled softly, running his hand through his hair though his smile vanished as his earlier worry and paranoia returned at the reminder of their meet-up. His stomach clenched as he looked around. He had been so sidetracked, he forgot the shit that had occurred at the link room.

Fuck.

How the fuck did he forget that so freaking quickly?

“What?” Reza noted how his expression changed, “You okay?”

Jake nodded though unhappily. “You…remember Venezuela and we came…the second unit’s bodies…”

Reza’s brow pulled in carefully though her eyes sharpened considerably. “Why are you pulling that thread, Sully?” Her tone cooled considerably, her face paled a little at the vivid reminder. Her look was solid that he’d have to have a good fucking reason to bring that massacre up in this sort of situation.

Jake met her gaze with a serious edge. “My brother died of those exact wounds. You know what caused it.” How could they not? They were both there that night. Some things just…couldn’t be refuted.

Reza’s head cocked. “Are you sure?”

“Got a first-hand peek. Cornier claimed it was a knife wound.” He reached for his bag, feeling her eyes on him as he pulled out his tablet from under Tommy and opened up his notes.

[They exist here. In Hell’s gate] He typed, handing it over to her.

Reza eyed the screen warily.

[Impossible. The RDA would have found out about them. They’ll be found out]

Jake scoffed a little. [There’s a cold one in the Avatar Program, a female technician. I’d say they’ve found a way]

Reza let out a shallow breath, though she didn’t look convinced. [I need more proof. I haven’t noticed anything]

Jake hummed, though the fact she didn’t shoot it down and call him nuts was a relief. [Tomorrow I’m linking up with Tommy’s Avatar. See me after and maybe you can get the proof then?]

The sergeant looked at him for a long moment then sighed. “I’ll see. I’ve drills to work through tomorrow. If you’re right, I want a whisky.”

“Sure.” He agreed. “Now, I’ve got some reading to do and…a whole lot of plans to make.”

Reza nodded, “Keep me posted, Corporal.”

He gave her a salute as she left before setting aside his tablet and lifting himself up onto the bed. His hand only pulled a few of his things out though most predominantly, his brother’s ashes. Jake stared down at the top, running a finger over the top before he pulled out the manuals with his other hand.

So what, if he wasn’t a scientist, he still needed to know how stuff worked…more so when he was gonna be taking it off-road.

-

The chatter of Hells Gate had become somewhat of a constant chaotic background noise. Everyone’s steps were different. They could tell a person’s steps by their weight behind it, how their shoes scraped the floor and their accompanying breath. Locating a person was easy, like focusing on one voice in the noise and things sharpened up to that voice.

Hearing Parker in the command centre was no surprise and Grace’s go-to anyway though the repeating taps and a golf ball hitting a ceramic mug were annoying well before she entered the space.

“Parker.” Her voice carried first, “At first I used to think it was benign neglect but now I see you’re intentionally screwing me.” 

“Grace, you know I love our little talks.” His voice dripped with sarcasm as he lined up his next shot and took it.

Was it petty to kick it? yep. Grace did it anyway for some satisfaction at the very least, the ball carrying onwards through the centre. “Oops.” Not sounded very sorry either as she folded her arms behind her back with a pointed look.

Selfridge gave her a look, passing annoyance but again unbothered like most things this world had to show him unless it was profit margins.

“I need a researcher. Not a jarhead dropout.”

“Actually, I thought we got lucky with him.” Parker shrugged, handing the club to one of his many assistances.

“Lucky? How is this in any way lucky?”

“Well, lucky your guy had a twin brother and lucky that guy wasn’t some oral hygienist or something,” Selfridge shrugged, as he made to start fiddling with one of the holographic tables,“A marine we can use. I’ll be assigning him to your team as a security escort.”

“The last thing I need is a trigger-happy moron out there,” Grace said warningly, god forbid Sully mucks it up for them.

They had only begun to restart actually venturing further out into Omatikaya territory. On the account of staying close and to known locations now. The withdrawal of Blue Lagoon from the Tipani’s territory following Harper’s death in a RDA clash with the clan had hit their workflow hard and that was merely a few months before she had gotten her head of department position and lost the school. She had been too busy balancing a lot of shit on her plate and that wasn’t including the dead stuff.

It took one fool to ruin things for good. No one was understanding that.

“Look, you’re supposed to be winning the minds and the heart of the native, isn’t that the point of your little puppet show? You look like them and you talk like them then they’ll start trusting us more. But what,  we build them a school, teach them English. But for what? How many years? Our relations with the ingenious have only gotten worse!”

“That tends to happen when you kill a bunch of their kids.” Grace retorted but she carried on as he opened his mouth to continue. “Don’t gloat to me about the small print of why it’s all here but it takes one person to fuck up any remaining chances we have with the Na’vi.  I can’t take those risks from someone who is untrained and unqualified to be here.”

Selfridge rolled his eyes. “Then teach him, Grace.  You’ve taught kids before. It’s not that hard. Get him some books, and a…fucking presentation if it keeps you happy but I’m not removing him from your team. He’s yours, like it or not”

The urge the kill something, anything was never more prominent than in that second of his smug face. She could feel the sharpening of her nails before she forced herself from the situation and strolled from the command centre before she could genuinely consider acting on those impulses.

-

The two forms turned solid before they reached the floor and walked slowly towards the group.

The set-up had been fairly simple since they had found this corner of Hell’s Gate. A void space between the walls and a small vent was the only way in and out. As a human, Solis had to have help in and out, the rest of them found it easy to enter.

The room was about the size of a link shack, the vent was off to the far left on the ceiling but the main room had been decorated with light graffiti on the walls. Beanbags were set up and mostly taken. There was both a hand-made microwave and fridge that the engineers had put together and a sink to wash up.

From the looks of it, Grace noticed they were the last to arrive and the others were busy heating up the bags of their meal, it seemed.

“Ah, take a seat,” Kathrine Hale greeted warmly though didn’t take her eyes off the revolving bag inside.  “So, how was your day?”

“It was fine.” Grace sighed in annoyance, sinking into a beanbag with a groan. “One new trained guy, one unqualified guy stuck with me. Short of death, nothing I can do about that.”

“Sucks to be you.” Kamath drawled from her datapad, not really looking up nor overly interested in being here.

“Anything else?” Grace prodded this time.

“Jocelyn got sucked through an air purifier when she was practising her mist form.” Molly spilt with a grin

Grace had to press her lips together to stop herself from smiling as she accepted the steaming bag from Hale as the microcode pinged, though the others were less restrained in their snickers as they waited for the microwave to finish heating the next baggy.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. “Says the woman who hit and pinged off a lamp post in her bat form. You squeaked like a fucking dog toy being stepped on!”

“I didn’t see it.”

“Sure, you can see in the dark miles away in clear clarity but a brightly lit lamp post five feet away…just a little too much for you?”

Grace bit gently into the bag, watching as Molly’s shoe flew through the air and Jocelyn causally lent off to the side, the footwear missing her and pinged off the wall and struck Jocelyn in the back.

“Touché” Jocelyn threw the shoe back with a scathing look then a wink.

It was odd that in the last two years since being stuck like this, Grace found it off they had a...strange group.

From the first nine of them, their numbers had grown by three more. Angela Henrick, one of Walker’s creations following an animal attack when Henrick got far too confident for her own good. Grace had turned the last two, Paz Socorro and Kathrine Hale more or less at the same time. A flight to resupply Site 26 for future use, and for Hale to run site plans for a new pop-hab that could be a bigger space for a research lab had turned sour. A sting bat had flown into the engines and crashed.

Grace had been fine; her bones healed up fine but the two had not given the impact injuries and one mild impalement through the leg. Unlike the others, Grace sat upon the moral victory and had asked the two once she had coaxed them awake. She’d let them die human then turn them against their will.

Neither had wanted to die and...so they were her responsibility now. Grace was okay with that. Hale turned out to be a telepath and Paz a Morphling, which suited the pilot well; enjoyed flying far too much to be retrained to a Samson. Paz thought it seemed she hadn’t joined them and probably for the best given the little three-month-old baby she was tending to.

Another thing no one had realised was a possibility was a pregnancy. Mansk was gay, so the risks of him getting a woman pregnant were cuddled right up to zero and Choi had only seen to Molly for sexual needs and no current risk of a pregnancy between a male and female vampire but Grace estimated there was a twenty per cent chance of the possibilities. A child from male human and vampire relation, like Paz had been was at a ten per cent chance, but that had been upped to fifteen per cent by the nature of Paz being a morph by the science group’s mathematic models once the pregnancy had been noticed.

So far, the child seemed human enough to not be detected as anything other yet. Solis had been covering their asses a lot to hide anything unusual as well.

Still, Paz still be able to hear them from her bunk.

A once-a-week meeting was standard now though it kept them as a small community.

“So,” Mansk drew the attention to him. “We’ve got new people in Hellsgate, seems a good time as any to remind you to be careful. Fresh blood is good but these people are still filled with cryo-drugs and it’ll take a few days for their bodies to process it out entirely. As standard procedure, a good portion of them have signed up for regular blood draws for those in medical. This broadens our blood banks a little more but don’t depend on it.”

“They’ll have slightly outdated information in regards to Hell's Gate but they’ll be sharper and on guard. We have a few new security guys so for the next week, we’ll have to stay out of the surveillance systems.” Walker carried on, “North Ease Corridor feeds are active for those seven days so don’t feed or lure anyone there until we’ve got the new guys accustomed to the system and to lower their guard to reinstall our control.”

“I’ll need new security passcodes.” Shen spoke, not looking up from her data pad, playing a game it seemed, “I’m no telepath but if Kamath or Hale gets me the information from their heads, then I don’t have to rely on old hacks to get where I need to go.”

“I can do that.” Hale nodded, handing off another bag to Walker “But I’ve got more miners to get trained. We’ll be losing five back to Earth in the next rotation and they’ll be busy.”

“This brings me to another department, Augustine, you and the new guys will be busy. Avatar drivers will take time to adjust before you’re put out to the world as a unit.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Grace groaned.

“Still sour?” Henrick gave her a sly look, “Not getting your way, doc”

“How about you stay out of this, princess?” Grace suggested rudely and gave her a dirty look. “Your folks are trained, this guy is not and he got a free ride with zero effort on the account of his brother’s death.” That was perhaps why she was most sour about it as well.

So many people spent years busting their asses to get here. To prove that they are capable of learning, to respect the science and to help make an impact in the scientific community. Losing one glimmering potential was unexpected but it wasn’t uncommon for that to happen given how messy Earth was at this point. Yet this guy takes his brother’s place, bypassing the years of effort and learning and thinks he’s cut out to be on this world. If he wasn’t forced to be at her side and if half her frustrations at Selfridge were redirected towards the new guy for not being someone else’s problem for the Avatar Program, maybe she’d be less tense.

“If Sully mucks this up for me, then getting any form of contact or negotiations will be gone for good.” Grace continued, “I can’t afford the risk.”

“I get it, but give the kid a chance to prove his worth at the least.” Paz called softly, “He might be a fast learner.”

Grace wrinkled her nose, tossed her empty bag into the bin and sunk further into her bean bag. “I know, I’m stuck with him for the next six years…he’s got to learn something after all.”

The meeting continued on before they broke apart at dawn to go back to their bunks and refresh. New clothes, shower and met up with their human colleagues for ‘breakfast’.

-

Jake had his reservations raised as he ate breakfast with the scientists on the first morning. The conversations between the people were fast and fluid but what stood out to Jake was that his…suspicions regarding Augustine were valid.

She didn’t eat.

Didn’t bat at eye at him or looked his way if she could help it, her food was uneaten but she certainly played with it with her knife and fork that otherwise was unnoticed by the others around her., or always found a reason to set her cutlery down. With how they talked, Jake wasn’t surprised it was unnoticed. To anyone without context, maybe she simply wasn’t hungry. Maybe she didn’t like the food. Maybe she had already eaten.

He was glad to depart for the biolab but he was very aware of her as she occupied herself. He tried not to focus on her but instead watched as his avatar was laid out on the gurney with trepidation.

Today he’d connect with Tommy’s avatar

Today he’d walk.

Today was his first step into freedom.

He had read through the link manual and while it made his head hurt, he had a fair idea of what to expect. Apparently, Avatar drivers typically had ‘link-time’, a simulation of the link experience for the driver’s brains to adapt and for their bodies to have an ease of transition back and forth between bodies. He had no such experience but he liked to imagine it was like a pilot going through their course simulations to test their skills and to expand.

He had no such time and if the notion pissed off a few people, he’d take that with some enjoyment.

He wasn’t a scientist.

“Let’s go, guys. We’re burning daylight.” Augustine’s voice called through sharply.

Norm jumped into action first, clapping Jake on the back as he went as encouragement with a soft ‘let’s go.’

Jake didn’t pay the action any more attention as he pushed onwards into the link room.

“How much link time have you logged?” Augustine asked Norm.

“Er…. About five hundred and twenty hours.”

“That’s good.” Augustine approved. “You’re there,” gesturing the scientist to an open link bed with a technician beside it. “You’re here,” this time addressing Jake to the other bed beside it, but instead she went to the monitor herself. “How much have you logged?”

“Zip, but I read the manual.” He shrugged, though he took in the link bed’s detail with some application.

“Tell me you’re joking.” Her tone was scathingly annoyed.

The urge to roll his eyes was ever-pressing. “Right, like I had the time in the single week before shipping out between funeral prep, packing and making sure I was going to be ready.”

Augustine said nothing so he gave the padding a prod, his finger sinking down into it; definitely designed well. Someone knew what they were doing.

“That’s cool.” With practised ease, he used his arms to push himself up and rolled his ass into place. He caught the movement as Augustine reached to help but pride struck him first, his hand shooting wards to push her hand away before she could touch him and his stomach clenching as his hand met her skin

Cold skin.

“No. I got this.” Swallowing down his fear as his suspicions were confirmed. She was a vampire.

Fuck.

Not just that Technician. It opened up the notion of many more if the head of the freaking program was dead. Maybe that was the ploy? Take over at the head of departments and run it from the top. The whole RDA could easily be compromised…

He pulled his legs up into place, taking a calming breath and yet, Augustine didn’t notice. If she did, probably didn’t care.

“So you just figured you’d come out here to the most hostile environment known to man with no training of any kind and…see how it went?” Augustine asked, not looking away from the monitor. “What was going through your head?”

“Now you’re talking to me?” Jake questioned, “You blew me off yesterday over something we have no control over and called me ‘scraps’ so why should I tell you what the hell I was thinking?” He gave her a look.

“Link three is ready,” Max called from the central station.

Again, Augustine didn’t look at all phased. “Arms and hands in, and lie back.” She instructed calmly, her hand coming to his shoulder, the cold seeping through his thin t-shirt but he complied; lying back into the gel bedding that really was comfortable.

Her hand pulled the frame down but as his head rose to see it, her cold grip pushed his head back, “Head down.”

He rolled his head to glower at her a little.

“Just relax and let your mind go blank. Shouldn’t be hard for you.”

Jake scoffed, “Kiss the darkest part of my lily white ass…” His voice was muffled by the link lid as she lowered it down on him like she was closing a damn casket on him. Real fucking funny.

-

The experience was… immensely overwhelming. Jake hadn’t been able to resist moving, getting up…to fucking escaping the small room just to run. Like had been promised. Feelings he hadn’t expected, like the motions from the tail or he had forgotten seemed to resurface. A twitch of his feet, the flexing muscles of his legs, while new and burned with a new effort, it was all worth the trouble of escaping and almost walking into two avatars playing baseball.

The feeling of…feeling couldn’t even be dampened by the appearance of Augustine in her avatar who talked the doctors down that had finally caught up and led them to continue their tests out in the open. Augustine even threw a purple fruit at him to make a point to the doctors as well.

A delicious freaking fruit as well.

For the whole day, after getting changed and fed, they went through tests, going through the courses set out, watching how Augustine and another few avatars did it; how to put trust into their body’s instincts and with him, the reflex test his legs; they work with passing colours but he was slightly slower than Norm which was apparently expected. He was assured practice would put him to par but it annoyed him nonetheless; acting as if his human difficulties has any part in his avatar legs.

Unlinking, at the end of the day, was another experience. Waking up to feel the sensation of his legs vanishing took a second to get used to before he clambered out of the link bed, his body feeling stiff and hungry.

“Jake!”

Max behind him jumped at the sudden announcement and cracked his knees against a surface as Jake’s head spun to see Reza striding towards him and cladded out in pilot’s overalls.

“Reza.” He greeted tiredly.

“You free now?” Reza stopped by, her eyes running over the faces of the link room. “Or more avatar paperwork to do?”

“You got food?” He questioned back, “I’m starved.”

“We can swing by the mess.” She agreed though patted his shoulder and turned but fate clearly was having a sense of humour as Reza immediately walked straight into the passing figure of Dr Augustine and bounced off like she had walked into a pillar but the dead woman was quick to grab Reza before she could fully misbalance on the fall-back. Augustine was unbothered by that and quickly let go and left without a backwards glance.

Hard to imagine she was the same person who helped him and Norm out in their avatars. Did a beating heart make all that difference?

“Fuckin…” Reza hissed sharply, her face draining of colour as she stared towards the direction of where she had gone off to. “Oh.”

“Let’s go to the Mess.” Jake encouraged. This was not the place for a freakout.

Reza hummed, nodding swiftly and headed out.

The mess was busy, though he took a quiet table with Reza as she pulled out a data pad from her overalls.

[Fuck.] She typed, happily nursing the from the big bottle of whisky he had bought her.

Jake just hummed in agreement.

[I’ve been here three years!] Reza looked a little frazzled. [I’ve been with the science teams!]

Jake patted her arm, refilling her glass.

[We don’t have to be here.] Jake suggested. [We can leave]

It wasn’t like he hadn’t come up with a plan by now and it wasn’t just about vampires. Now he had his avatar, he had his elements of freedom and… if he had Reza with him, he could pull it off easily and quickly. He hadn’t realised she had become a pilot since being here despite having a marine’s licence and training. She had now access to a Samson and all he needed was a link-shack that was stationed over Pandora—that had been a godsend to find out. A shack could be moved with a Samson.

If he could somehow find his way—his avatar at least—away from the other avatars and find one of the link shacks then let them think he was lost for good then all he needed was his human body to make the trip.

[Leave?] Reza gave him a look. [Go where?]

“[Outside. Find a nice quiet spot and live freely.] He could see this was a tough sell, [I have my avatar so I can keep us safe and fed.]

[I don’t know, Jake.]

[Would you rather take your chances with the monsters in Hell's Gate?] Not that Jake fully believed the monsters were strictly vampires too. [I’d rather have your help in this, Nadine. I’ll leave on my own if I have to but I want you to join me.]

Reza eyed the tablet for a long moment. “Let me think on it, Jake.”

“I’ve got time before things happen,” Jake assured, reaching forwards and touched her flesh arm. “I wouldn’t suggest this if I didn’t have a plan.”

#avatar #avatar au #avatar james cameron #avatar the way of water #grace augustine #jake sully #norm spellman #avatar rda #max patel #vampire grace #vampire au #vampire #miles quaritch #parker selfridge

[the-knight-of-the-stars]

Fictober 2022. Day One: Domestic Life - Evie & Uma

The Princess and the Pirate

The mornings on the ship were always filled with strange sadness. Uma still hadn't gotten used to it, to that little residual pain in her chest, running down to her stomach like cold water. She was invaded by the terrible feeling that everything beautiful she had could vanish in a second, that it was nothing more than a volatile dream.

Uma had gotten into the habit of getting out of bed, putting on her silk and sequined robe, and leaving the room, trying not to wake the sleeping figure on the other side of the bed. She always woke up just before dawn, when the fog was just beginning to clear and the cold sea air awakened her senses. The deck was damp from the night breeze, and the horizon was blurry enough that Uma could imagine there was nothing but white ahead.

Feeling so small in the vastness of the open sea was still a new feeling for her. She felt it all around her, its power embracing her like the loving father she'd never known. It reminded Uma that the sadness she felt was nothing more than a phantom feeling.

That morning, Uma sat on the deck, watching the sun rise slowly through the purple clouds in the sky, reflecting off the water, making it sparkle like glass. Someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"Morning, love" she whispered in her ear, with a small giggle, always a little shy to call her that.

Uma smiled " Hey, Darling"

Evie sat down beside her, pulling the blanket she was wearing over her shoulders for them to share, and clinging to her arm, resting her chin on Uma's shoulder. She was pale and haggard, like every morning, her nose slightly red from rubbing it when she woke up. The smell of incense and leather from the cabin still permeated her.

Evie's black hair was just beginning to get used to its own rebelliousness. The sea seemed to unravel a hidden heritage, fluffing it up into light waves and soft cottony textures that Evie hadn't had since she was a baby. It freed it, let it tangle and untangle in the wind and salt water, only to fluff up again in the scorching heat of the sun.

As it was now, bristling from the pillow, callow locks blowing in the morning wind, Uma marveled at how ordinary she looked. There was nothing Uma treasured more than those moments, that intimacy, that raw beauty. Only I can see you like this.

She loved finding Evie looking at her with the same adoration, her eyes sparkling, biting her lip to keep from laughing with utter happiness. As Evie caressed her soft sandy skin with the tips of her fingers, played with the braids that fell on the sides of her face, and kissed her bruised knuckles, holding hands as if she never wanted to let go.

Below decks, they heard the footsteps of the waking crew, and amidst the soft murmur of the water lapping and crashing against the stern, rose a sweet old song. A little girl with a dark face and tight curls, dressed in her linen dress, came out of the cabins as she did every morning to meet the sun, playing a hunting song on her wooden flute. One of Gaston's lost daughters. One of the many forgotten children they had taken out of The Isle.

Evie smiled at her from afar, proud, and the girl responded with a small giggle. In the distance, Gil's voice was heard calling her name, and the girl slipped below deck. Nadine, that's her name. Uma remembered. It pleased her to realize that she was beginning to remember all of their names. People, changes, love. Yeah, she could get used to that.

The sun was full on their faces, wiping away the cold. Uma leaned over to Evie and fell into her lap, hugging her legs and letting Evie massage her head. The familiar sound of Harry beginning to give orders with his crackling laugh told them that soon it would be time for breakfast.

Soon they would return to the cabin to dress. Evie would choose what to wear from among the dresses that Uma brought her from the port, and she would let her button them together with a kiss on the neck. Uma would put on her pirate outfit and let Evie do the eyeliner with her pearlescent paint. The scars of the past would be seen and they would hug each other so as not to cry.

How they had reached that state of love was still a mystery. Evie was still surprised by it. It still amazed her to feel Uma's heart beating beside her on the bed, listening to her breathing at night. She adored how much like the sea she was, so energetic, so beautiful, so powerful. She loved her sensitivity, the care with which she arranged the children's clothes, how she invited her to dance in the midnight candle light, and how she sang blowing bubbles while she soaked in the rusty iron bathtub of the cabin.

She loved discovering with her that princesses could also wield swords and pierce their noses. The freedom still felt as extraordinary as the first day. Evie brushed aside a turquoise braid and brushed her lips across Uma's cheek. She couldn't wait for twilight to come. It was the time when she was engrossed in her daily creations, and Uma would enter her potions lab with a coffee in hand, to sit next to her for a moment, and listen to her talk about chemical processes and fabric composition.

Plop, plop, plop. The sea swirled around the ship. Hugging as they were, facing the horizon, the morning heat covered them. The sun rose and the water turned to gold. Nadine's laugh echoed below deck. They didn't want to let go just yet.

They had breakfast among noisy pirates and children who stole bread from the baskets. Thanks to Uma's power, the nets were filled with fish and the coffers with pearls. Stormy days were hard, and the ocean rarely treated them kindly, but the birds that flocked to perch on the mast announced them when new land was near. Life carried on.

#disney descendants #descendants #descendants disney #uma daughter of ursula #evie daughter of the evil queen #evie grimhilde #descendants evie #evie x uma #uma x evie #fictober #fictober 2022 #descendants fictober

[nepofm]

any fc recs for an it girl type? svdw vibes from the og gg??

*cracks  knuckles*  ohhh  i  have  been  waiting  for  this  one  !!  here  are  a  couple  fc  recs  that  give  me  svdw  vibes  :  ZION  MORENO  ,  park  chaeyoung  ,  cierra  ramirez  ,  courtney  eaton  ,  mookda  narinrak  ,  coco  jones  ,  greta  onieogou  ,  kennedy  walsh  ,  ryan  destiny  ,  charithra  chandran  ,  moon  gayoung  ,  baifern  pimchanok  ,  nadine  lustre  ,  maddison  jaizani  ,  kim  jisoo  ,  laura  harrier  &  maris  racal

#appless rp #oc rp #rich kids rp #subplots rp #mumu rp #city rp #oc rpg #answered.