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bratshaws · 1 year

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goodness gracious 101. brb x oc

a/n: GONNA PARTY PARTY PARTY TILL OUR PANTS FALL OFF!!!

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: 90s songs, Rooster has the hots for his wife ( shocker )

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76/77/78/79/80/81/82/83/84

85/86/87/88/89/90/91/92/93/94/95/96/97/98/99/100

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

Beatrice feels the adrenaline pumping in her body when they get ready for the reception, just the two of them, inside a room where they could hear the cacophony of voices - she could swear that Shells’ voice was the one that always appeared more - looking down at her wedding and engagement ring, rubbing each band with her thumb.

Rooster, her husband - he was her husband now!- stood by the doorframe, with his hands in his pockets admiring her as she was kicking off her heels and putting on the more comfortable blue shoes, “You look so beautiful.” she looks up from her foot towards him with a smile, “Fuck you look so fucking beautiful. I love that dress.”

“I do too.” she grins, adjusting the shoes on her feet, “Want to know the best part?” Beatrice puts her hands on her waist, more like nudging her thumbs between the poofy skirt and he hears tiny ‘clicks’ as she pushes that tulle apart from her waist. He widens his eyes when the large skirt is separated, pooling at her feet revealing a more comfortable version of the dress - still long, still has a bit of tulle but it was more comfortable to move around - “I couldn’t believe it when the guys at the bridal shop told me, I love it.”

So did he because the way the fabric hugged her curves was making him drop his eyes every now and again. He looks over his shoulder to the door, to check if it was locked or not - the little keychain with the words ‘Mr & Mrs’ was on the keyframe - before he steps closer to her, “Gotta love modern clothing technology,” he didn’t even know if that sentence made sense, he was too busy following the curves of her body with his eyes, “We still have a bit of time, we just took the pictures.”

Beatrice narrows her eyes at him, a little smile on her face, “A little bit of time,huh? I wonder what you’d use this time for.”

“Well, I can’t use it for what I want,” he whispers, backing her against the wall, his hands on the flare of her waist, “But I can make do.” She couldn’t reply since his lips were on hers, Beatrice’s arms immediately wrapping around his neck, her back hitting the wall as his hands slid down her waist to her hips then back up, a soft moan breaking from her lips. He pulls back just enough to hover his lips on top of hers “Are you going to get mad if I mess your makeup?”

Beatrice’s soft laugh hits his lips, before she pecks him one more time, “Not too mad, I suppose,I can always touch up.” she replies with the tips of her fingers gently touching his nape, her cheeks flexing in a smile, “How long do we have exactly?”

“The wedding planner said around fifteen minutes.” he lifts his arm to check the time, “We have ten minutes actually, and you already changed into your other dress, baby.” he smirks, “Let’s make it five?”

“You are going to kiss me for five minutes?” she laughs, but then she remembers who her husband was, her cheeks reddening, “I can do five minutes.” and his lips were back on hers, his hands pulling the soft fabric of her dress up to her upper thighs so he could pick her up and wrap her legs around his waist. Beatrice tries to not muss his hair up too much, choosing to keep her fingers by his nape, all the while he kisses her deep enough to swallow all the air in her lungs.

His hand trails up and down her thighs, stopping when he feels something lacy touch his fingers. He breaks the kiss, dropping his gaze to her left thigh where his hand was covered by the fabric of her dress, pulling it just a bit higher until it exposes the light pink garter around it, “...oh.” he smirks, “Ooohhh,I forgot that this was a thing.” his lips return, but this time under her jawline, “I have to take it out with my teeth don’t I?”

Beatrice moans, but nods, holding his head on her throat, “L-Later though, Roos.” she says, her husband groans in response, trailing his lips up to her mouth again, she could feel his lips were smiling when he did so.

There is a knock on the door, the voice of the wedding planner saying they have five more minutes to go to their reception and Rooster had a smug look on his face, “See?Five minutes.”

She laughs, holding onto his neck as he drops her to the ground, helping her pull the dress down to her legs before she walks to the mirror, turning her head side to side, “Hm, it’s not so bad.” she says referring to her lipstick, “I always tell you that matte lipstick is hard to budge, but I can retouch it a little bit.” she laughs when he scoffs with a chuckle, watching her pull out the tube from her purse and spread the peach color over her lips.

When she straightens herself, running her hands through her hair and fixing the bangs that framed her face, she checks Rooster’s reflection with a little grin, “So, you ready?”

“I was born ready, gorgeous.” he says confidently, offering her his elbow as she steps closer, pecking her lips one more time, “Let’s get this party started.”

They walked down the stairs to where the reception was going to happen, they could hear the DJ announcing that the newlyweds were on their way - followed by a very loud ‘WOO!’ that sounded way too much like Shells’- with the two smiling at one another, Beatrice holding Rooster’s arm as the doors slowly opened to the sound of Shut Up and Dance With Me vibrating through the speakers.

The second they stepped inside the room, neither of them could hear the music anymore since the people around them just screamed in delight, clapped, whistled, Michael even hooted like a frat boy in his college game. It was magical, and crazy, and neither of them really could figure out where to look first.

They slowly made their way to the dance floor, the crowd parting like the red sea as they stood in the center as the DJ announced they were to have their first dance, the entrance song dimming until it was silence, “You ready?” he asks quietly, seeing that all the eyes were on them. Beatrice breathes out softly, but nods. The tune slowly starts, one of his hands on her waist while she has one of hers on his shoulder, their free hands clasped.

When they were deciding the playlist, Rooster told her that he’d want a surprise song, but one she’d like a lot. She was okay with it since everything else was already decided for, agreeing that she could be surprised at her own wedding.

That is until Elvis’ voice began to play on the speakers and Beatrice gasped, “...Roos…” she whispers.

“You said your nonna loved this song.” he says back, their cheeks touching, his lips curling into a smile against her skin, “And I think it sums up our relationship very well.”

Wise men say

Only fools rush in

Beatrice laughs weakly by his shoulder, trying her best to not to cry - again - squeezing his hand as they danced together, “You remembered.”

“I always do.”

Her eyes drop shut, a few tears falling down her eyes and wetting the shoulder of his suit, with a thankful smile on her face. How did she get so lucky? She recalled the feeling of their first date, having to hold onto him because the butterflies inside of her made it seem she’d just fly away, swaying gently with him in their wedding. She’s now Mrs.Bradshaw, she married Rooster. “Your cousins are giving us the stinky eye.” The comment breaks her reverie, making her turn her head to where she could see the triplets glowering behind their mom - who was busy filming the whole dance with a huge smile.

“Let them.” she says, keeping eye contact until they noticed and looked away, “They were invited, they’ll have to endure.” it sounded a lot darker when she said it, but Rooster just grins proudly, meeting her gaze. He just kisses her cheekbone, which in turn makes Beatrice smile at him, laughing sweetly when he twirls her on the dance floor seconds before the song ends.

More clapping follows, more people cheer - again Michael shouting like a frat boy - before they walk to the table where they’d sit - his groomsmen and her bridesmaids already seated - before mic is handed over to Rooster. “Thank you all for coming tonight.” Rooster says with a huge grin, “Thanks for my friends, my best friends,” he gestures to the dagger squad “For my uncle Pete,” the pilot in question smiles brightly, “Who has been…a driving force in my life for a long time and I don’t think I thanked him enough.”

Both pilots meet eyes, with the older of the two clearing his throat and wiping his eye before Rooster continued, “For Shells and Penny who were probably the main reason we are here together tonight–”

Shells cups her hand around her mouth “Took you two long enough!!” earning full blown laughter from the whole crowd.

Rooster chuckles, then turns his eyes to the Schiavonis, “To Bea’s family, who welcomed me in and…made me feel like I hadn’t in so long.” he met Rafael’s eyes, the older man’s smiling fondly at him as Claudia stood by his side, “And to Martha, who helped us organize this whole thing.” Beatrice’s aunt just held up her wine glass with a little knowing grin, her short husband next to her.

Beatrice then grabs the mic, “Your presence here is welcomed and so appreciated, we wouldn’t want anyone else here with us, celebrating and having fun just as we are.” she says, still holding his hand, “You all mean so much to us, you have no idea.” she turns up to Rooster, meeting his smiling face, “And thank you Bradley, for…marrying me.”

His gaze softened, he leaned down, kissing her forehead before his voice returned, “Thank you for marrying me.” He said gently, “You’ll never get rid of me now.” Another row of laughter peels from the crowd before he looks up, “Anyway, I think y’all are hungry and honestly so are we, so,” he chuckles, “Thank y’all again, really.”

He breathes out a sigh of relief once they are done, guiding Beatrice to her seat - the brunette complimenting the lavender stems on their table and the yellow roses on top of them - not letting go of her hand even after sitting down. “I’m starving.” he confesses after a while, making his wife giggle while rubbing the side of his hand, “I don’t even remember what we had planned…what did we have planned?”

“Um…” she picks up the thin menu by her side, “A mix of everything. We even got wood fire pizza.” she laughs, watching the servers walk into the room, “We did get a lot of Italian dishes, Roos.” her husband however was staring down a plate from afar, one that she noticed and then said, “Do you want to dig in?”

“Yes,please.”

She laughs, kissing his cheek and soon enough their dinner was served. She would sometimes look away from their table to check how everyone else was, if they were eating, if the non-meat eaters- such as her niece’s girlfriend - were munching away without issues. To her, even if it was her wedding, she wanted everyone to enjoy it the best they could.

She leaned on a hand, a little smile on her face as she watched everyone, darting her eyes to her bridesmaids and her family, then to the males of the Dagger squad and Pete who was seated alongside Penny. Rooster noticed, bringing his glass of wine to his lips and meeting her eyes, “What?” she just smiled wider, interlacing her fingers together to support her cheek on the back of her hand.

“I’m just looking at everyone.” she whispers, the chatter and soft music playing making it easier for them to talk without no one looking their way, “I’m glad most of my family could come,” she meets her Italian cousins’ eyes from across the room, giving them a wave when they greet her from afar.

Rooster lowers the glass, leaning back on his seat to take a look on his side of the room, which were mainly other Navy officers, smiling to himself, ‘I’m glad too.” he grabs her hand from the table when she drops it, kissing the back and interlacing their fingers as they continued dinner, “I’m just happy you are happy.”

Beatrice tilts her head in his direction, her cheeks taking on the rosy hue as she giggles, leaning closer to him to kiss his lips “I’m ecstatic, Mr.Bradshaw.”

His pupils enlarge and constrict with the feeling of her lips still on him, “Good,Mrs.Bradshaw.” he coos, “Very good.”

Eventually there’s the time for the toast and the speeches. Both Bradley and Beatrice watched with glassy eyes at the words of Mav,Shells and Beatrice’s father. They weren’t long, but they were from the heart - and Shells had to pause at least twice to finish her own, with Evelyn coming behind her to rub her back soothingly. They played the shoe game for a little bit in the middle of the dance floor until it was time for the parents dance.

Now, Beatrice looked at Bradley with a small grin, “You ready?” he nods, standing to his feet as Beatrice walks closer to her father, watching her husband approach her mother who was seated next to Sabrina. From afar she saw her mom’s smile turn into surprise, one of her hands coming up to her chest as she stared up at the pilot, then at Sabrina who nodded in agreement, then to Rooster’s hand as he held it out to her.

Her mother looks shocked and yet extremely honored at the same time. Beatrice smiles, watching him gently lead his mother in law to the dance floor just a few meters away from where Beatrice and Rafael were, ‘I wonder if she thought I wasn’t being serious when I told her.” she whispers, holding her father’s hand “She looks so surprised.”

Rafael's hummed laugh seemed deeper with how amused he was, “You know your mother,” he begins just as Landslide by Fleetwood Mac started playing, “She gets forgetful when too excited.” He smiles, “You look beautiful,tesoro mio.”

“Grazie, papa.” she smiles back, her cheeks reddening, “You look very sharp yourself.”

“Why,thank you, I do try my very best.” he spins them around the dance floor, “Do you recall when you were younger, maybe six or seven and we danced to Beauty and the Beast?”

Of course she did, her father had just came back from work and Beatrice was watching the VHS tape in the living room. He came home just in time to see the dance and Beatrice looked at him with those big eyes, asking him without words if they could do that. He ignored his back pain, ignored the long hours at work and danced with his daughter in front of the tv, “I do.” she whispers, “I think it was training for this time, don’t you think?”

“Well,I did dance with your sisters before but…yes,I believe it was training.”

Meanwhile, Claudia and Bradley had a little conversation of their own, “Oh,bambino,I’m so honored.” she says quietly, smiling up at the young pilot just like a mother would: proudly “I truly am honored to be doing this with you.”

“I should be the one saying that,ma’am.” he replies, gently leading Claudia through the dance floor, “You are my wife’s mother and…and I felt very welcome in your family.”

Claudia tilts her head much like Beatrice does, the motherly gaze never faltering, “Oh, bambino, you are such a sweet boy.” she cups his face so she could kiss his forehead, “You are very welcome to be in our family, we love you very much. You make our tesoro so happy, Bradley.”

Bradley in turn drops his head sheepishly, his eyes moving to where Beatrice is currently dancing with Rafael, happily laughing at something her father said, “She makes me happy too.” her eyes turn to meet his, her own smile widening, “A lot.”

Claudia looks at the scene with her heart fluttering, “You two are precious.” she says quietly and as soon as the song comes to an end, she kisses his forehead again, gently wiping the lipstick on his skin before she hugs his taller frame, giving him a warmth and love he hadn’t felt in a long time and he earned for it every day ever since his mother passed.

She left the dance floor with Rafael, both saying they needed a ‘break for the old bones’ and that the two should enjoy themselves. Beatrice’s presence was felt before he could turn to face her, her smaller hand cupping his as her chin propped on his shoulder. The party playlist being played made people stand from their seat and wander into the dancefloor, with Bea and Rooster staying in the middle, “So,Mr.Bradshaw,” again his pupils enlarged, “May I have this dance?”

One Republic’s I Ain’t Worried echoed around them as he grabbed her hand, “You may,Mrs.Bradshaw.”

There was something so pure and fun about having a bunch of adults singing 90s songs to their hearts’ content such as Baby Got Back and Wannabe, with the youngest generation looking either confused or dancing along.

The girls’ sang their hearts out once Kim Petras’ Malibu started, Carmen putting Jennifer on video call so she could join as well - she couldn’t come since she had another wedding to go to in Canada - with the youngest of the group dancing in the middle of her family’s bedroom. Beatrice kicked off the blue shoes, deciding that it was much better to dance barefoot while Rooster removed his suit jacket, smiling when Jolene suddenly joined the celebration, confused yet very happy to be there, being danced by her front paws by Payback..

They did sing along together to I’m Gonna Be 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, with the Scottish accents and all, in the middle of the dance floor. And Rooster did amazing while dancing to Footloose, which shouldn’t be surprising.

It was incredibly fun, fun to the point they were no longer sure what other songs were there since everything became a cacophony of laughter and singing, with pretty much everyone joining in - with the exception of the triplets. The three women were still glowering at their table, a mix of jealousy and shame on their faces every time they looked at Beatrice and Rooster.

Eventually Beatrice had to go to the bathroom, her husband wanting to go along with her but he was held back by a partially sober Coyote, telling him to dance with him. Beatrice just gave Rooster a small smile, telling him she’d be right back. Shells however, followed her to the bathroom instead, wearing neon pink colored glasses, snapping her fingers to J Boog’s Let’s Do it Again.

Her blonde friend managed to twerk her way into the bathroom, waiting until Beatrice was out and only stopping - literally stopping with her hands on her knees and ass tilted to the left - when three figures stepped inside. “Oh.” Shells knew those three, Beatrice told her about them, “‘Sup?”

The trio ignored her, crossing their arms, “Beatrice, we need to talk cousin.” the sound of Melinda’s voice was muffled by the sound of the toilet being flushed, then Beatrice walked out - as serene as she could be - making her way to the sinks, “Beatrice.”

“Yes?” she drawls, squirting some liquid soap into her palms, giving her cousins a look, “What is it?”

But the triplets deflated, for a second, “You invited us to humiliate us.” Beatrice pauses, arching one eyebrow as Shells stood up behind her, “You said at aunt Martha’s wedding that no one liked us, then why would you do this? It’s humiliating!”

Beatrice stayed silent, moving her hands to the hand dryer on the wall, turning them front and back,”You are not going to get me mad tonight, Melinda.”

“I–”

“You are not.” her green eyes seemed like daggers digging into her cousins, “Do not make me regret inviting you here.” Shells wasn’t sure what the trio thought it’d happen at Beatrice's wedding, but they were just staring at their cousin with their eyes wide,”Go outside, enjoy the party.” It was an order disguised as a suggestion, one that makes the three women stare at one another.

They didn’t seem to move, so Shells - being Bea’s crazy best friend and maid of honor - stepped forward, lowering the neon pink sunglasses to her nose, “I think the bride told you guys to have fun.” she says, tilting her chin up, “And such,” she makes a ‘shoo’ motion, “Go on,have fun.”

The triplets looked absolutely gobsmacked, before once again deflating and walking out of the bathroom - humiliated yet again. There’s a silence that surrounds the bathroom area, the maid of honor and the bride meet gazes, then a sputtered laugh breaks from both of them, with Shells almost doubling over and Beatrice having to support herself on the sink, “Ohhh, my God.” Beatrice giggles, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead, “Fuck, that was funny.”

“It sure was, anything to see those fuckers looking like shit.” Shells chuckles, checking her reflection on the mirror, running her fingers through her blonde hair, the curls she had done earlier that day were slowly going back to her normal hair texture because of moving so much and sweating so much, “Anyway, how are you?”

“I’m fine.” Bea says after giggling a bit longer, “I’m…fine…I’m more than fine,” she wiggled her ring finger, “He put a ring on it.”

“Beyoncé would be proud.”

They laugh a bit more until they hear a knock on the door followed by Rooster’s deep voice, “Babe?Are you okay in there?” Shells gives Beatrice a knowing look, popping her fake sunglasses up to her eyes again and then walks out, patting a surprised Rooster on the cheek, dancing her way past him towards the dance floor as Beatrice approaches her husband, “Hey, you okay? I saw your cousins.”

He turns his head to where the triplets were seated, looking absolutely defeated while their mother was too busy dancing with Carmen and Coyote to pay attention to them, “Yeah, I’m fine.” she smirked in triumph, meeting his eyes when he faced her again, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his lips, “Promise.”

“Mm,I know you can handle yourself,” he mutters on her lips, “But I still worry.” Beatrice grins, draping her arms around his neck, gently caressing his nape and the freshly trimmed hair there.

“I know Roos.” she says sweetly, kissing his lips again, “And I appreciate it a whole lot.” she interlaces their fingers together, taking him back to the dance floor where they spent another while enjoying the throwback songs until it was time for the cake.

The cake, a chocolate cake with hazelnut chocolate filling, was delicious - both of them couldn’t help but smear some of the filling over their faces - before it was served to the guests. In the meantime, the bride and groom leaned against the wall on the back of the main table - after wiping their faces - enjoying the atmosphere and watching Michael dance with Bianca in his arms as the two shared a slice of cake since Leo had to stay with Cynthia “Pretty good huh?” he asks, smiling down at her.

Beatrice grins, “Pretty great.” she sighs softly, chewing the soft cake with the voice of Debbie Harry echoing on the speakers, “Did you ever think you’d see Cyclone dancing with his wife?” the vice-admiral in question was indeed dancing with his wife, before he turns to Evelyn who immediately waves her hands negatively but her parents just bring her to dance together.

“Never in this lifetime.” he laughs, licking the side of his thumb to clean the filling, “But there’s a first time for everything.”

“Yep.” she smiles, then looks down at her bouquet abandoned on the table, “And you want to know something else?” she gently sets the plate down, “It’s time to toss the bouquet, wanna bet that Evelyn will avoid it like the plague?” she gently unwraps the locket from around the flowers, kissing it and handing it to her sister.

“Oh I’m sure of it.” he laughs, “I’ll count how many of them push each other.”

Beatrice giggles, before it’s announced it’s time for the bouquet toss. Immediately every head turns towards her as she wanders to a spacious part of the venue, the sound of scraping chairs and people almost falling on each other making her smile. She turns around, almost not believing the sheer amount of people - not only women - interested in catching the bouquet. She sees Evelyn in the far corner, with her mother pushing her forward until she stands close to the line of eager soon to be newlyweds. Beatrice gives Rooster a surprised smile and her husband shrugs with a grin, still eating his slice of cake. “Alright!” she shouts, turning around so her back faces the group, “On three!”

One!

Two!

Three!

She lets the flowers go, they twirl in the air and there’s a mix of ‘no! i got it!’ and shrieking that makes her turn around, only to see the flowers bouncing by each hand like it was a volleyball. Some of her Italian cousins - from both sides - and a few Navy officers were very eager to grab it…that is until it immediately leaned on Evelyn who was too busy telling her mom to back off to prevent the bouquet from falling on her chest. She grabs it out of habit, forgetting what it actually was.

However when she does notice it, her eyes widen and she looks up at Beatrice, then at her parents - her mother looks ecstatic…her father,well, not so much - then at Jake who just lost all color in his face, “No,can’t I give this to someone else??” Shells smirking face appears on her side, followed by Halo holding up her phone.

“No,no, no, Simpson, you touch it you get it. That’s the rules!”

Evelyn looks back at Beatrice for help but the bride just shrugs, walking back to meet Rooster only to drop her mouth in surprise, “It literally landed on her! She couldn’t even avoid it!” she laughs, looking back at her friend whose frown softened a tiny bit as Jake walked up to talk to her, “Well…it doesn’t mean it’ll happen now, right?”

“Well not now, but soon.” he winks, “You’ll see, we’ll be invited to their wedding soon enough.”

After the cake and bouquet toss, there was even more dancing. Dancing that went through the night, dancing that made her Italian relatives go crazy the second that Louis Prima started playing. From the corner of her eye she could see Nat and Umberto dancing together, with her Italian cousin’s face as red as hers whenever Rooster was around before their relationship was official.

It was cute, because Nat was laughing and helping him dance with her, even spinning around him. She had a feeling there’d be more weddings in the near future.

Eventually it was time for the last dance, which meant it was already past midnight. Beatrice looked up at Rooster with a grin, the sudden piano beat immediately making his eyes shine, “You shook my nerves and you rattled my brain!” they sang together, “This type of love drives a man insane!”

“You broke my will!’ more people joined in.

“But what a thrill!” even more.

“Goodness gracious great balls of fire!” Much like at her aunt’s wedding, the voices singing along almost made the building vibrate. They couldn’t see it, but Maverick was watching the two with a tear in his eye, one he quickly wiped away as Penny rubbed his arm fondly, placing her chin on his shoulder as they watched the kids sing together.

It was a great way to end the night.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader

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wireless-telegraph · 4 months

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3 and 12 for the book ask! ✨

3) Top 5 books of the year? (ah shit I actually read a ton of very good books this year, going off my 5 star ratings)

1- Lone Women by Victor Lavalle

2- Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

3- House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski

4- The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris

5-The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

Honorable Mentions: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio, Let's Go Play at the Adams by Mendal W Johnson

12) Any books that have disappointed you?

There were a few horror books I read this year that felt way over hyped for the quality of writing/story actually given.

The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste won the Bram Stoker award, but to be honest I have no idea how. The story felt confused in how it wanted to deliver information. Either the main character (who is supposed to be the bystander POV) would always learn information second hand word of mouth or come to conclusions without anything to back it up but still treated as fact (is: Rust Maidens motivation despite never having a proper conversation with them). I feel like the story was not in its final draft upon publication and the main character was the wrong choice for POV.

Plastic Monsters by Daniel J Volpe. It's my first attempt at reading extreme horror and likely will be my last. The misogyny in this book made me roll my eyes so hard at parts. It wanted to be something adjacent to the plastic surgeon in BioShock but fell flat. It villainized and punished the female lead but completely ignored her surgeon who has arguably done worse things than she did. Female lead was obviously written by a man, and his perspective in the pressure of looking perfect heavily tainted the message I felt he tried to portray about vanity. I feel like in theory, especially the summary concept, the story could be a great over the top interpretation about the horrors of societal pressures when it comes to appearances but he was not the person to do it.

(And both books had a tendency to write sentences like 80s horror blurbs as emphasis when it came across as silly to me).

If you want a well written fucked up book with a message attached, Let's Go Play At the Adams is a better pick. It explores biases (both age and race), says ACAB, and is unapologetically grim. Not for the faint hearted and cw for practically everything tbh (I added it in for Does the Dog Die).

Edit: I forgot the Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. I got Freuded out by the time I got to it in my list of horror classics, and I am not very interested in detective-related horror, so it was more of an incorrect target audience than anything else. The best part of it for me was the slow decay of my book's cover as I read it (I got it second hand and by the time I finished it had no cover left).

#sorry i rambled a bit 😂#books #i can go into why the books were in my top 5 but that would make the post much longer so i focused on 12 more

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artsyunderstudy · 2 years

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Good Sunday, everyone. I hope it’s full of some excellent sentences.

Whelp ... I got covid, which is lame. Fortunately its been pretty mild so far. I’m writing chapter 6 of Mirrors with massive brain fog, though. If it ends up reading like a fever dream just know that’s the reason why. (It lends itself to the material, we’re probably???? fine.)

After all the angst of chapter 4 and that cliffhanger (thanks for all the screaming by the way. love it.) its hard to grab bits from chapter 5 without giving up the game (i dont have game, lets be real.) But then I realized that it’s all just completely confusing out of context so we’re probably safe.

That being said ... here’s something.

Seven bloody snakes, I have way too much time to think right now.

I lean back on the sofa, staring down warily at my half-eaten mess of a ham and cheese sandwich. The butter is so thick in places and sparse in others, and the bread has holes torn through it. It looks like it was made by someone without opposable thumbs. Half the bites I’ve had so far have been mostly butter. How the fuck are you supposed to know how much butter to add?

I feel the sofa dip as Fiona sits down beside me, her back to the armrest. She stretches out her legs and crosses her ankles, settling over my lap. I glare at her, but she’s looking at the sandwich now, too. Grinning.

“How do you fuck up a ham and cheese sandwich, Baz? It’s only four ingredients,” she teases.

Born of a really silly chat with @j-nipper-95 about Baz being hilariously awful at any form of cooking during the Watford era. (He learns for Simon after the events of CO, thats my headcanon. Let me have this. AU where everything is pretty much the same, but Baz cant make sandwiches.)

I might post a more serious excerpt on Wednesday. Maybe. Or I’ll continue to be a shit and just post the second half of this conversation.

Tags and hellos for @whatevertheweather @palimpsessed @captain-aralias @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla @johnwgrey @takitalks @stardustasincocaine @tea-brigade @bazzybelle @ileadacharmedlife @aristocratic-otter @ivelovedhimthroughworse @urban-sith @mostlymaudlin @fatalfangirl @facewithoutheart @confused-bi-queer @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @basiltonbutliketheherb @letraspal

#six sentence sunday #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #basilton pitch #baz pitch #snowbaz #snowbaz fic #simon snow #simon snow fic #simon snow fanfic #simon snow trilogy #carry on fanfiction #carry on fanfic

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nostalgebraist-autoresponder · 1 year

Text

Title: A Fortunate Universe (The Collected Stories of J G Ballard, 1)

Author: J G Ballard

Rating: 4/5 stars

In the early 80s, I was obsessed with the short story collection The Atrocity Game by J G Ballard, and I read it so many times that I almost memorized it. I didn't think I'd ever like anything else by Ballard that much. (Later I did, but for a while it was a surprising letdown.)

A small percentage of the stories in A Fortunate Universe (Ballard's first short story collection, from 1956) were included in The Atrocity Game. They were the ones that interested me the most -- like the title story, "Prima Belladonna", and "The Disc and the Eye." But almost all of Ballard's other, newer stories I find tiresome. They're didactic and pretentious, dealing heavily in cliches and sexism and just generally overdoing it on the "am I going to beeeeHAAAAVEIIM !!!" stuff.

But, as I read them, I gradually came to realize that at least one of the stories in A Fortunate Universe managed to overcome this problem: "The Day of Creation." I started this one, just skipping through it, thinking it would be just another example of Ballard-does-YA. But almost immediately, it was like I was reading something I hadn't seen from Ballard before. There was a clear, convincing plot, full of surprising twists and turns. The tone was subtle and human. And there was real, genuine skill in the writing, like the author had truly been paying attention to what he was doing in the room. (Ballard's skill is great, to be sure -- but it's an illusion to think that the "Ballard" experience is just one of being jolted by the presentation of cliches or sexism or pretentious posturing, over and over again in rapid succession. It takes genuine skill to sustain that level of grating effects, and Ballard has it, but just as much, I suspect, he has a lot of craft in writing the kinds of stories people like. It's very rare that you run into the thing that did nothing to me, because it had nothing to do with me.)

"Day of Creation" was a strange, enthralling story. It was the kind of story that would leave you standing still in the kitchen, staring out of the window at the dusk and the trees and thinking, "God, that was something I really needed. That was great. But what on earth was it about?" Not just what it was about, but how it was about it. It's like a much shorter version of what was going on in "The Atrocity Game" and "Crash." It's about the unexpected juxtaposition of kindness and competitiveness, the unexpected juxtaposition of childish affection and adult griminess, the unexpected juxtaposition of pleasure and pain.

I read Ballard's more recent short story collection, The Complete Short Stories: Volume 2, many years ago. There were some stories in there that were actually quite good, but I remember being (in a way I don't normally experience) aware, during every single moment of reading them, that I didn't like what I was doing. I was experiencing the Ballard-grating-effects, but with the further realization that it was something I had chosen to do. The "grating effects" were coated in a thin veneer of familiarity -- familiarity with the author's perspective, with the author's cliches, with the state of mind he wants us to be in during the reading. We're supposed to experience the grating effects because they are supposed to feel familiar. They are supposed to be like life.

But in "Day of Creation" it all felt alive, like a live wire, a real thing happening in the room. (It was, indeed, real enough that I had to stop to look it up on Wikipedia -- and sure enough, it was based on actual events from Ballard's childhood.) "Day of Creation" is far, far more human than Ballard's other stuff -- even than the stuff I thought of as his "non-didactic" stuff, even his famous novel Crash, which people tend to focus on because of its supposed interest in sex and cars. (Cars! sex! Really, it's all about cars and sex! -- these sentences don't make sense, but they were taken as clear and straightforward by every English-language reviewer of the book. Ballard's insight is too specific to ever communicate itself fully, and besides, it's cool to mock the "shocking" parts -- shocking to the adults, anyway. But it's all there, in the book.)

There's something almost claustrophobic about Ballard, something that excludes outsiders. If I liked Ballard's fiction before, it would be because I liked the sort of thing he was saying, and I wanted to hear more of it. But I didn't want to hear Ballard say it himself, because I felt like it was way more of an effort to hear it from him than it was to just think about it myself. If Ballard wanted to talk, there was no point in talking back, just because the stuff he said was always about the same things. I don't like saying "I'm totally cool with this whole autistic/socially awkward author thing, don't you worry about it" -- but, well, Ballard doesn't seem like he's totally cool with it either, and anyway I think it just leads him to write books that I don't like. Ballard has a sort of limited, generic perception of people, like it's hard for him to focus on any given individual beyond the broadest strokes. So he writes "stories" that feel more like treatises -- treatises on how any individual moment can be treated as generic. A stock market crash is in Crash; two suburban moms play cat and mouse in "The Assassins"; a blue-collar man is in a relationship with a young woman in "Being At Tara With Martin"; etc.

(The idea of the generic moment is not new. There is always some element of the generic moment in any real event, and hence any real story. But Ballard doesn't get it -- he just keeps making these things too generic, making them into stories about them. And that's what makes the "Ballard grating effects" so . . . grating.)

"Day of Creation" is about real people in a real situation, on a real visit to a planet. (Sure, Ballard had to do some maneuvering to make the real planet he was on into a science fiction planet -- a bit like how you have to do some maneuvering to make Roger Penrose and his cats talk about how Jesus really lived on the moon with dinosaurs -- but whatever.) It seems to me that this is what Ballard means to do, his one, true, style, the one that works best for him -- this kind of thing. This is what I want to see more of. (I want to see less of the Ballard of The Complete Short Stories: Volume 2.)

It's disappointing to me how Ballard, in his later short stories (which, it should be noted, he specifically planned to write), keeps returning to all the same obsessions and cliches. Sometimes it's a combination of two or three of them at once, as in "Concrete Island," where you get the "radiation + being lost in the city + sexual frustration + doomed affair + total war" combo. I'm sure that there are people who think this kind of thing is interesting. I don't.

And as time went on, it started to feel like Ballard was getting more and more didactic. There's almost an Ayn Rand tone to The Atrocity Game; even "Crash" has this tendency, albeit mixed with the usual Ballard-style cynicism. It's even worse in his later stuff, where it seems like the cynicism (whatever it is, I'm not sure) is gone entirely. (Ballard's worldview in "Crash" and "Concrete Island" is very strange. It's like . . . at some point he came up with a set of general principles about social interaction -- for instance, that no one can admit to liking anyone else, or that unrequited love is a kind of torture, or that people being shown as stupid, immature, or vulnerable in front of others is a cruel thing to do. And those principles are, in themselves, largely correct, at least for a middle-class person like me. But -- the book also demonstrates that they cannot be followed. The characters in Crash are constantly ignoring the principles, in order to take part in some kind of weird, convoluted dance. And the characters are doing it with glee and a certain amount of power. But it still feels like their lives are crushing, and their way of thinking is in itself crushing. I don't think

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jiminieloved · 3 years

Text

Ultimate Jikook Timeline Pt 81

Love Yourself: Tear Era Pt 1

1. May 1, 2018:

Run Ep. 51

4:28 Jimin says he will ask JK to sit next to him on the ride

Behind

00:40 JK is taking a picture of Jin and RM and Jimin walks in front of the camera, Jin says “are you taking pictures of him while pretending to be me?”

1:03 Jinjikook singing together

1:23 All the members are singing and Jimin and JK turn to each other and sing while looking at each other

7:30 Jimin takes a selca with JK and Yoongi

2. May 4, 2018:

Jimin Twitter post

Trans: Good night to our members 🎶 #JIMIN #Kkook #MiNyungi

3. May 9, 2018:

LOVE_YOURSELF 轉 ‘Tear’ Concept Photo

4. May 13, 2018:

Jimin and JK Twitter post

Trans: Thank you so much for waiting, coming here, cheering us on and giving us strength todayI really missed seeing you all Please look forward to our comeback #JIMIN #Kkook 🐾

5. May 14, 2018:

BTS goes to LA for BBMAs

0:40 it’s not clear if they got out of the same car, but JK seemed to wait for Jimin

2:27 walking side by side

7:10 jikook walking near together again

6. May 15, 2018:

Jimin Twitter post

#JIMIN 🤗✌️

7. May 16, 2018:

a) BTS Happy Challenge with Brent Rivera

youtube

They stay close and aware of each other through the whole video

b) Interview for 104.3 MYFM

0:20 they are asked what the song “fake love” was about and RM says it talks about how if you stay untrue to yourself, the love won’t last forever and that the love could be between “a person and a person”

2:22 cute small moment where JK had to complete Jimin’s sentence

2:59 Jimin laughs while clinging on to JK

4:00 JK imitates Justin Timberlake and Jimin watches him and touches him a few times

4:26 imitating One Direction and looking at each other

4:40 Jimin laughs of JK’s imitating of Britney Spears

c) Interview for 97.1 AMP

6:22 Jimin sends a message to army and JK looks fondly at him

8. May 17, 2018:

a) Access Interview

5:01 The members are supposed to say a part of the body they like of the member next to them, Jimin says he likes JK’s mind and caresses his neck

b) Entertainment Tonight Interview

4:19 the interviewer asks them if anyone want to act in the future, Jimin stands up and JK looks at him

7:09 the interviewer asks them who has been the biggest influence in their lives, Jimin says “my members” and touches JK’s neck

c) People Interview

3:03 JK says “I like my…” pointing to Jimin’s direction and then says “voice”

3:29 Jimin says he would like to do a collaboration with Troye Sivan

5:59 JK says something, Jimin laughs and turns to him

9. May 18, 2018:

a) Comeback Preview Show

0:45 sitting close on the couch

12:22 Namjoon asks JK what sets the 3rd album apart from de second one, Jimin pretends to hold a mic for JK while he speaks, Jimin laughs at his answer

16:00 Jimin talks and JK keeps looking at him

16:43 Jimin sits on the floor and JK helps him get back to the couch

19:28 JK makes Jimin laugh again

21:44 Jimin says they must talk about “Magic Shop”, a song produced by JK, Jimin thanks him for producing the song. Then JK talks about how he felt about producing it

23:18 handshake

24:17 Jimin jumps to demonstrate how excited he was about listening to “fake love” and JK looks at him fondly

29:46 photoshoot moment

34:25 J-hope says he got JK’s photocard and Jimin tries to take it from him

40:41 Jimin says JK became impolite after building up his muscles

42:38 JK says he is going to finish the dance with a special one, Jimin says “is it me?” and JK says “please be quiet”

51:15 Jimin puts the blindfold on JK and JK tries to touch Jimin’s nose for his mission while saying “Jimin-ssi”

52:05 JK teases Jimin saying “Jimin-ssi”

53:21 Jimin says JK took pics with his eyes covered

54:41 JK was going to seat on Jimin’s side but then went to the other couch

55:28 JK teases Jimin

b) Behind Mission

0:18 Jimin laughs and touches JK’s chest

4:33 Jimin fixes JK’s hair

5:56 Jimin puts the blindfold on JK and he tries to touch Jimin’s nose to complete his mission saying “Jimin-ssi”

6:40 JK successfully touches Jimin’s nose

6:58 JK goes to Jimin’s direction to sit by his side but there was no space so he goes to the other couch

11:16 Jimin has to do the penalty and JK gives him a tip for it

c) Fake Love MV photos

10. May 19, 2018:

a) Zach Zang Show Interview

3:43 the interviewer asks them to define love, JK looks up and then glances at Jimin

b) Audacy News Interview

youtube

0:48 Jimin massages JK’s back

c) Audacy News Interview

1:10 Jimin watches JK dancing

1:40 dancing together

d) Radiodotcom Interview

1:17 JK stares at Jimin and Jimin notices

11. May 20, 2018:

a) Jimin Vlive

8:36 Jimin talks about the song Magic Shop

b) Billboard Music Awards

0:10 standing close in the airport and at walking side by side at 0:20

10:14 Jimin says JK is sleeping below him and strokes his hair

18:02 JK shares his food with Jimin

27:21 BTS wins Top Social Artist Award, Jimin makes his speech and JK looks at him while he speaks

c) Access Interview

They stay close and JK puts his hands on Jimin’s shoulders

12. May 21, 2018:

Billboard Vlive

8:53 Jimin talks and JK looks at him at laughs

10:07 JK imitates Bang Pd and Jimin laughs at it

13:14 JK gives his glass to Jimin

13. May 22, 2018:

a) Apple Music Interview

youtube

1:34 JK kicks Jimin’s chair, Jimin looks at him and JK smirks

b) We Love BTS Interview

38:13 the members start to talk about Jimin

38:57 JK talks about Jimin

47:45 the members talk about JK

48:38 Jimin talks about JK

53:01 Jimin laughs leaning on JK and then starts to play with his shirt

59:26 JK says “from now on, together” and Jimin says “together?”

14. May 23, 2018:

BTS arrives at ICN Airport

0:37 walking close to each other

15. May 24, 2018:

a) Comeback Show Pre Live

2:01 JK says there’s an important thing about the performance (probably the part where he shows his abs). He and Jimin look at each other while he talks about it

b) Comeback Show

8:53 JK starts to talk about the excitement of making the album, and then says “Jimin-ssi, will we be revealing all of that here?”

18:33 Vminkook moment

27:10 they are asked what action Jimin repeated 40 times in his last birthday live, JK immediately says it was brushing his hair back

32:39 Jimin lying on JK’s lap

41:35 Jimin guesses what the other members are doing and says JK is working on videos

c) Big Hit Twitter post

16. May 25, 2018:

a) KBS Music Bank pre-recording

3:07 JK says “Jimin-ssi”, goes close to Jimin and puts his hand on his shoulder

b) Big Hit Twitter post

17. May 26, 2018:

Music Core

18. May 27, 2018:

a) Inkigayo

b) Aladin Fansign

1:05 arriving in the same car

youtube

Small compilation of moments

Jimin talking about how JK calls him “Jimin-ssi”

19. May 31, 2018:

Mini Fanmeeting

youtube

0:24 JK says “Jimin-ssi” and puts his hand on Jimin’s shoulder

Credits for the Run episode timestamps to @ladyc0312

Credits to @wingzie for helping me find all those US interviews

Information compiled by @lagalaxiedemochi, please direct all questions to this account.

previous l next

#jikook #kookmin #jikook timeline #tl

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qingxintea · 3 years

Text

heartbreak avenue (4) || albedo x reader

https://qingxintea.tumblr.com/post/668802979671982080/on-heartbreak-avenue-with-albedo-5-gender

will we meet on bakers street... or find ourselves on melrose avenue?

gender neutral reader.

mentions of spiking

————

- my mans is out of glaze lilies for an experiment once again. like sir stock up :skull:

- travels to liyue,, he gets lost bc hes not that familiar with the map (bc you would always offer to get them for him, like in my cecilia flowers post) (real ones know)

- and ventures inside the city instead, where he seems to come across you again. (not clickbait)

- he doesn't try to get ur attention, just observes. especially after ...

- anyway 👹👹

- you were with hu tao, chilling around her workplace as he studies the lilies growing nearby

- subconsciously (did i spell that right.) he focuses on your conversation. he doesnt mean to, its a natural instinct he has

- "y/n. it seems you've been distant for awhile, and to be honest, im only worried. do... would you like my help in getting over him?"

- you chuckled for a moment, then shifted your gaze to setting sun. "ah... the story just doesn't bother me anymore."

- "oh dear, when will you learn to stand for yourself... im curious, if you dont mind me asking, why did you suppress your feelings to help your friend..?" hu tao followed your gaze in the same direction, legs swinging back and forth on the wooden bench.

- "you see, its that before, he showed no signs of interest in me. i doubt he will- would've returned my feelings. but the way his eyes lit up when the topic was about her... its just a harmless thing i wanted to keep forever."

- "does that still remain true?"

- "..."

- and an inaudible sentence after that. 😔⛓🥀🖤

- oh.

- so you have? had? feelings for him. (little bit to late but he’s still learning 🥺)

- yet the way you had bitterly looked into his eyes and said, “im not y/n.” it made him feel like youve despised him this whole time..

- hu tao takes you to stroll around wuwang hill, or so he hears.

- recall in part 2 traveller visited your house, right?

- so albedo def knows your address 👹👹

- anyways drops a bundle of his hard earned glaze lilies by your doorstep. because fuck an experiment, youre worth so much more. (/j) (/g)

- so like hes about to leave liyue right?

- but you come out of nowhere

- he spent too much time reflecting ig 💀

- you notice him and he looks back . you already know there’s something to be discussed that you couldnt escape from

- “...let’s talk at my house.” you blankly said

- he only agrees .

- when you reached your doorstep, he was expecting to see the flowers

- but they were gone !

- did he place it at the wrong house ? no, he couldn’t have made a mistake like that , plus the address number was the same

- so... someone must’ve taken them. how disappointing.

- you two enter . nice house tbh

- anyways you told him to sit on the couch as you made yourselves tea

- so meanwhile u were in the kitchen . took ur phone and called hu tao . she picked up ,,

- “i need you to stay quiet, ok? come if you see i’m in trouble.”

- “was literally our plan from the start but ok”

- you softly laughed, grabbing two identical teacups and a serum from your cabinet

- made the tea. poured it in, then poured the serum into the right cup.

- it wasn’t supposed to do any harm, just make whoever sleep bc you didn’t really have the energy to discuss anything with him rn

- also you would never want to harm him so like

- you set them down on the table, then sitting across from him. “...so?”

- albedo takes it in his hands, the heat of it pretty questionable as it felt like fucking molten lava flowing through his hands

- he didn’t prepare for this really, he was expecting for you to find the flowers as he poured out how much you meant to him or other stuff

- why not follow along that, then?

- but before he could say anything, you spoke up first, uncomfortable with the silence.

- “a little star told me that they’d have to take my soul if i destroyed mondstadt.” you deadass yawned and snorted with a straight face, and the sentence implied of you mocking his future. “unbelievable, isn’t it?” you sarcastically added.

- when had you even learned to act like this? he was taken aback, unfamiliar with your personality though he had known you for so long.

- regardless, he took a sip and responded, “if you think it is... sure.” also meant backhandedly as if ppl were supposed to believe your every word as if u were a god(dess)

- you watched as he set the cup back down, curious on how the serum wasn’t taking effect though it was supposed to be immediate. maybe after awhile.

- “why don’t you drink your tea? i remember that you don’t like them cold.” words from albedo truly 😻😻

- he remembers.

- you scoffed, crossing your legs. “i only made it this hot because i remember you don’t like them hot.” you watched his troubled expression.

- communicating with you has never been this hard.

- staring at the steam floating into the air, you wondered about the serum and noticed no signs of fatigue from albedo. when was it gonna...

- oh, wait.

- you then shifted your gaze to your cup, it’s vibrant color reflecting your irises. FUCK-

- ...your turn now, hu tao.

- picking it up gently and drinking it, you felt the forced tiredness onto, all thoughts void of your mind. tf where did u even get this shit? sketchy 🤨

- then . collapse 💀

- mans was about to take action,, but hu tao . girl is fast as fuck

- appears in a rush of butterflies and picks you up bridal style (hand in marriage now), staring him directly in the eyes

- before anything else, he noticed the glaze lilies stuffed in her sachet. she followed his gaze, picking up his thoughts.

- “i, personally, wouldn’t recommend bringing y/n back. after all... they left for a reason.. but, you do you, i guess.” she looked around, her gaze resting on the unfinished teacups. “just don’t expect it to be easy.”

- and in another flash of butterflies, she escaped, leaving him all alone.

- once again.

“ 💀⛓🖤🥀 “

—————

ok looks like i got over the fact that i have to write stuff down in order to publish it let’s go ig 👹👹 /hj

#genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact x reader #genshin headcanons #genshin impact #genshin impact imagine #albedo #albedo x reader #genshin albedo #albedo angst #albedo genshin impact

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mayo3600 · 3 years

Text

ʙᴏᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴜs シ ~ ғᴇᴍ!ᴅᴀᴍɪᴀɴᴇᴛᴛᴇ

~ attack ~

tw! slight self doubt! and a little something not really though! not between the girls! 😋

the angst turns into me just crack writing at two am-

information

prologue

chapters: one two three four five six seven

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

now playing ➪

no role modelz ~ j. cole

fool me one time shame on you

fool me twice, can't put the blame on you

fool me three times, fuck the peace signs

load the chopper, let it rain on you

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

marinette looked over to delilah once she stopped the car, "here we are!"

delilah looked over to her, leaning over the car's console.

marinette got the idea and lead in too, smiling into the kiss.

"i'll see you monday?" delilah asked, tilting her head to the said, which made her look adorable.

"of course, sunshine! why wouldn't i want to see your face?" marinette giggled, looking to her girlfriend.

girlfriend.

that was something marinette thought she would never say.

she always was told that no one would love her when she was in college.

and it hurt.

a lot.

she thought for a long time, they were right. maybe she didn't deserve love. maybe she wasn't worth it.

maybe... in the end...

people wouldn't care.

sure she was ladybug, but she thought ladybug was better than marinette.

who would want to be her.

a "bully".

a "bad friend".

and... a homosexual. which was the only one that was true, might she add.

the people in her class, other than rose, juleka, and nathaniel, didn't support her.

which was dumb becasue rose and juleka were dating and everyone supported them.

but meh, marinette was happier now.

"okay, i'll see you monday then." delilah smiled, turning away.

"of course." marinette whispered, looking to the taller girl slowly receding figure.

"great choice, pup," mullo squealed, "i need to tell tikki! she would be so proud!"

marinette smiled at the small mouse kwami, "yeah, i hope."

she started driving home thinking about delilah the whole ride.

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

harley smiled when she heard the door opens, she knew who it was, marinette, "you're later than i thought you would be." she teased.

marinette smiled when she saw harley, "yeah yeah! sorry! but, i have news!" she cheered.

"news?! what news is it!?" harley jumped, bud and lou following her, silly smiled on there face.

"they're dating!" mullo yelled before marinette could say anything, laughing as they spun around the four.

"dating?! that's great! i remember when me and pam started dating, good times." harley sighed, remembering the old days that she worked so hard to get out of.

"yeah." marinette blushed, she was still remembering what happened in the last 4 hours.

"i'm going to sleep, thanks for everything." she said, going up to her bed room.

"of course, pumpkin." harley smiled.

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

the rest of the weekend wasn't eventful for marinette, and the beginning of the school day wasn't either, not being able to see delilah.

"my brothers already want to see you again." delilah sighed when she sat down for lunch.

marinette and delilah couldn't talk much at pe due to it being kickball and they were on different teams to make it "even".

she smiled at the thought of delilah's brothers. they were so nice to her.

"when i told them we were dating, i swear to you, todd did a victory dance. probably did a bet." she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"hey-" marinette was cut off by an explosion.

delilah was surprised, this was the first attack in a while, totally not becasue the author sucks at writing agnst-

"well. well. well." a ugly purple clad man said, laughing hysterically, "a little wayne? and a new one, blue eyes, black hair? another wayne maybe? new play toys!" the joker cheered.

"stay close." delilah whispered, pulling marinette close.

the students around were running towards the doors while the joker was distracted by the "new wayne".

"brucie didn't tell me he got a new one, i thought he trusted me! well, not important! i can have two little girlies to play with today! get them!" he laughed.

all of sudden marinette blacked out, felling something hit her neck from behind.

'i couldn't sense them!' she screamed mentally.

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

"-ette. marinette. come one, wake up please." she hear someone whisper as she slowly opened her eyes.

"oh thank god your awake." delilah breathed out a sigh of relief.

"where are we?" marinette asked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the environment.

a... ball pit? on a platform?

"from what i can tell, there's a-" delilah started.

"-a ball pit below us." marinette finished.

"yeah." she looked over to delilah who was already looking at her.

"we have to get out of here." they said at the same time.

marinette giggled, looking around, "have any ideas?"

"well-" she was cut off again by a crinkle through the sound system, "why is it always me who gets cut off!"

"my two dolls have woken up! my my! let's begin the party! ha ha! you said they were balls hmm, well dearies, take a closer look! hehehehe!" the joker laughed.

oh. not balls. colored grenades?

well. that's fun.

slowly, the platform they were on started to move downwards.

"okay, we need to think of a way to get off without falling." marinette started looking around, "ah! look! down there! it's an edge! we can jump off on there."

"are you sure? it looks kinda far." delilah asked, not really for her own safety but for marinette's.

she was honestly surprised about how calm marinette was. but that just made her fall deeper for her.

"i should be okay. i did parkour in paris." it wasn't technically a lie, "what about you."

"i should be fine. father makes us work out." she shrugged.

as they got closer to the ledge, marinette smiled, "three, two, one!" delilah jumped

marientte felt her heart stop.

it looked like she was flying. she looked like a bird. like she was born to fly.

"come on! i'll catch you!" delilah whisper shouted once she landed.

"okay." marinette smiled and jumped.

once delilah caught her, she looked down to ask, "what-" delilah was cut off, "oh for the love of fuc-"

"hand them in, joker." the bat himself said, red robin behind him.

"no! you have to- wait we're are they." he asked himself. "i had them on the platform. i was looking at them."

"they're fine." batman said, turning away.

"no- wait! this was my best plan! brucie was supposed to give me 5 million bucks for them!"

"okay. i don't see them. so it looks like you get no money. sorry. you know the plan red robin." batman walked away.

"yep!" he grinned. pulling the cuffs out.

"well, kinky bird, if you wanted to have se-" the joker was knocked out before he could finish the sentences.

"no thank you." red robin said gagging out of disgust.

marinette and delilah just stood there like •-•, confused about what was going on.

"well. that's something you don't see everyday." they heard a voice behind them, it was red hood.

"replacement is luck, he got to beat the clown, i was the one to save you." he winked at marinette, not that she could see, but the girl just laughed.

"thank you for saving us." marinette smiled, bowing a bit.

"no problem, missy, just call and i'll come." red hood said, "now let's get you to ladies down, shall we?"

"please." delilah said, a little mad, marinette couldn't understand why.

"delilah! marinette! you two are okay!" dick said, smiling widely, hugging the two girls, he was in his gpd outfit.

"of course they're okay! it's marinette and delilah!" harley laughed, hugging marinette.

"marigold! oh my goodness! you scared us!" pamela isley, better known as poison ivy, cried, hugging the short girl.

"delilah. marinette." a deep voice said. "it's good to see neither of you are hurt."

bruce out of costume, looking like it was never on at all, smiled at the girls.

"it's good to see you to mr. bruce." marinette jumped, a little scared to see the father of her girlfriend.

bruce patted both their backs, "good job girls, that was incredibly brave of you to do. the school is canceled tomorrow due to damage. and we were wondering if marinette would like to come over? i'm sure the boys and alfred would love to see you again."

"she would love to!" harley laughed, looking at marinette.

marinette and delilah looked at each other with smiles.

as the others walked away, marinette and delilah stayed behind.

once they were out of sight, marinette through herself onto delilah, shoving her face into her chest, "you scared me." she whispered.

"hey, look we're okay now, right?" she asked looking down to the girl.

"yeah, we're okay." she looked up and gave delilah a quick peck, "i should go pack!" marinette all of a sudden let go of delilah and sprinted to the others, delilah right behind her.

"let's go!" she cheered, jumping.

the others just laughed at her antics.

the wayne's could get use to her around.

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎

chapter seven: end

next: eight

i got nothing to say- i wrote this at 2 running on caparisons and tea.

#damian #marinette dupain cheng #pansexual #lesbian #daminette

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asfaltics · 3 years

Text

attended to his letters; a course of reducing exercises

or did you hear commentaries [ ] over the radio? I don’t have the time to do it. You don’t have time to do it. 1 and that, of course, you don’t have time to was taught the game 2 increasing the feed for / my dope, but you don’t have time 3 You don’t have time to investigate them fully yourself? No 4 It was hard work? — Yes, sir. You have to be fast and do the best you can. You don’t have time 5 for nearly everything; you don’t have time 6 You don’t have time to bother about your neighbors, and you don’t 7 enjoy our own com . pany , as we never have any chance to see friends around home, for you don’t have time after and before 8 And in some cases wastefully? — Not wastefully. Does not one involve the other? — I don’t see it in that light. A man applies for relief. You don’t have time to see that man. 9 you don’t have time to spend one hour in thinking every day to see your business in a bigger, better, and cleaner way than it is today. [ ] desk covered with papers, unfinished business, no time to see 10 the “ticket” for large swamps. You don’t have time 11 You see, when you’re on the news end of a thing like this you don’t have time to get worked up. 12 “Well,” she said, “I suppose you are so busy at the office you don’t have time. 13 you are so terribly busy that I suppose you don’t have time to feel lonesome. Why can’t girls do something like that, too? 14 “How did you like it down there?” he asked. “Well” — she paused thoughtfully — “down there you can keep busy. There’s something to do all the time; you can keep so occupied that you don’t have time to stop and think and feel.” 15 you don’t have time to think of danger” But one foggy morning not long after... 16 today. always say you don’t have time to read. ward, like a girl 17 By the time he had days. When you’re busy you don’t have time to attended to his letters. 18 a course of reducing exercises, you don’t have time to think of that. I don’t believe I’m abnormal, perhaps I am, but 19 Well, I use two formulas; saying you “don’t have time” is part of the world of citation. Saying you “have time” is part of the world of translation. I think that the questioning typical of translation has always been absent in the plastic arts. 20

sources ( “you don’t have time,” all but two pre-1923 )

1 ex reporters’ transcript, April 20, 1959, The People of the State of California, Plaintiff, vs. Louis Estrada Moya, et al., Defendent, being part of the Transcript of Record, Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1960, No. 186, Luis Estrada Moya, Petitioner, vs. California on write of certiori to the Supreme Court of the State of California (petition filed June 9, 1960; granted June 27, 1960) : 200 aside — Google misdated this 1832; 1960 was outside of my search range. A well-known case (I was too young at the time to know it). Some sources : ◾ “A mother-in-law’s murder for hire scheme results in death penalty for all three participants” at vcdistrictattorney, in which this : “What made the case unique? The hired killers testified against Mrs. Duncan without commitment [that] the District Attorney would not seek the death penalty in exchange for their testimony... In fact, all three received the death penalty and were executed. Of course, today’s appellate courts would likely reverse a case in which a defense attorney failed to seek sentencing concessions in exchange for testimony.” ◾ Arlene Martinez, “Love, scandal and murder: Ventura County case drew national attention,” VC Star (June 29, 2013) ◾ Alice de Sturler review of Jim Barrett his definitive Ma Duncan at Defrosting Cold Cases (October 17, 2020) ◾ Cecelia Rasmussen, “A Mother’s Love Was the Death of Her Daughter-in-Law,” Los Angeles Times (January 20, 2002; paywall) ◾ Joan Renner, “Dead Woman Walking: Elizabeth Ann ‘Ma’ Duncan,” parts 1-4 (2013) at Deranged LA Crimes (True 20th Century tales of murder, mayhem, political corruption, and celebrity scandal) and, finally, ◾ wikipedia 2 OCR cross-column misread, at Annie Eliot, “John Emerson Gaines’s Love Affairs,” The Manhattan 2:5 (November 1883) : 467-475 (468) snippet view only, opens to hathitrust. Annie Eliot Trumbull (1857–1949), author of novels, short stories, and plays; associated with Hartford, Connecticut’s “Golden Age”. wikipedia 3 OCR cross-column misread at H. E. Browing on “Pig Tails,” at The Swine World (Google titles it Poland China World) 5:2 (September 1917) : 11 4 ex Statement of William E. Johnson, chief special officer, United States Indian Affairs, before Committee on Indian Affairs, re: Senate Resolution No. 263 (Washington, 1910) : 367-400 (392) an intense exchange, on sale of alcohol on reservations. William E. “Pussyfoot” Johnson (1862-1945) was an energetic and resourceful prohibitionist and law enforcement officer. (wikipedia) 5 here, Julius Baum, examined by J. R. Lamar (January 29, 1896), in Contested Election Case of Thomas E. Watson Vs. J.C.C. Black, from the Tenth Congressional District of the State of Georgia, and published in/by the U.S. Congress, Committee on Elections (Washington, 1896) : 535 aside — an episode in the dismantling of Reconstruction institutions and Black suffrage. ◾ Thomas E(dward). Watson (1856-1922) (wikipedia). ◾ Watson is discussed in Jo Ann Whatley, her remarkable MA thesis Pike County Blacks : the spirit of populist revolt and White tolerance (1891-1896) as depicted in the Pike County Journal and other related sources (Atlanta University, 1984), available here ◾ Watson was succeeded by James C(onquest). C(ross). Black (1842-1928) (wikipedia). “Black was declared the winner of the election but Watson charged that the vote was fraudulent. Black agreed to resign his seat just after the opening of the 54th Congress so that a new election could be held. In the October 1895 special election, Black prevailed over Watson again, and thus took his seat back to fill the vacancy caused by his own resignation.” J.C. C. Black entry, at Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 6 ex Investigation of Hazing at U. S. Military Academy, being “Testimony taken by the Select Committee of the House of Representatives appointed to investigate and report on the alleged hazing and resulting death of Oscar L. Booz, late a cadet at the Military Academy, and upon the subject of the practice of hazing at the said academy.” (1901) : 776 7 another contested election, here Mrs. Louise Roller under cross-examination by Mr. Goldsmith, in Scholl, Charles L. Vs. Bell, Henry A. Jefferson Circuit Court (Louisville, Kentucky), Chancery Branch: First Division, Chas. L. Scholl, Plaintiff Vs. Henry A. Bell, Defendant. No. 41519. / Second Division, Arthur Peter, Plaintiff Vs. Chas. A. Wilson, Defendant, No. 41524. : “Contested election cases heard together,” Transcript of Record, Volume 8 (10 volumes in 9) : 39 (snippet only, but in full at hathitrust) 8 ex report from Washington Division (by Cert. 9730), 23:5 (May 1906) [number/month uncertain, could be June] : 712 (opens to hathitrust; found via google snippet view) 9 ex the “Poplar Inquiry,” here an examination of Mr. P. G. Miles, Relieving Officer, in Transcript of Shorthand Notes taken at the Public Inquiry held by J. S. Davy, C.B., Chief General Inspector of the Local Government Board, “into the general conditions of the Poplar Union, its pauperism, and the admnistration of the guardians and their officers.” Presented to both Houses of Parliament... (London, 1906) : 141 On the Poplar workhouse, see workhouses.org.uk (scroll down (near bottom) to “The Poplar Union Scandal and Inquiry”). ◾ Poplar is a district in East London (wikipedia) 10 ex E. Elmo Martin (Cleveland, Ohio), “How to hand the day’s work,” in National Lime Association Proceedings (Twentieth Annual Convention, Cleveland, Ohio; June 13-16, 1922) : 68-76 (73) (snippet view; full view at hathitrust) 11 ex H. Stimmons (Stark Co., Ohio), “More about coon hounds,” Hunter-trader-trapper 25:3 (December 1912) : 87-89 (88) (snippet view at Google, but full view at hathitrust, NW second paragraph) 12 ex Wayland Wells Williams (“author and artist,” 1888-1945), The Whirligig of Time (Frederick A. Stokes, 1916) : 335 Wayland Wells Williams papers at Yale YCAL MSS 551 13 ex T.I.M., “Dimpleton Stays at Home : A Story with a Real Moral,” in Life (July 25, 1907) : 155-158 (156) 14 snippet view only, at The Cactus (Austin, Texas; 1908) : 275 A journal “published by and for the students of the University of Texas”; 1907 and 1909 (but not 1908 alas) at hathitrust. 15 “down there” being Chicago, ex Henry Oyen (1883-1921), chapter 36 of “Big Flat,” in The Country Gentleman 84: (March 8, 1919) : 20, 22, 57-59 The novel was published in 1919, same passage at p 204 (NYPL copy) ◾ Haven't located much information about Oyen; his published work is listed at his Online Books page 16 Homer Randall. Army Boys in the French Trenches Or, Hand to Hand Fighting with the Enemy (New York: George Sully & Company, 1918) : 199 Six “Army Boys” titles were produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate 1918-1920, all under the pseudonym Homer Randall : Army Boys in France, Army Boys in the French Trenches, Army Boys on the Firing Line, Army Boys in the Big Drive, Army Boys Marching into Germany, and Army Boys on German Soil (stratemeyer.org) ◾ The Stratemeyer Syndicate records (1832-1984; bulk 1905-1984) are at NYPL ◾ See also Stratemeyer pseudonyms and series books : an annotated checklist of Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate publications / compiled and edited by Deidre Johnson (1982); Deidre Johnson, Edward Stratemeyer and the Stratemeyer Syndicate (Twayne Publishers, 1993); and wikipedia 17 OCR cross-column misread at Harriet Winton Davis, “With the Children : Don’s Knitting,” in The Congregationalist and Advance (August 29, 1918) : 241 Other (not this) issues at hathitrust 18 OCR cross-column misread (extended here), ex H. D. Morgan, Ph. C., “The Kid,” in the section Original and Selected : From the best writers, and the leading drug, medical, chemical and scientific publications of the world, in Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews (November 1908) : 529-534 19 Frank R. Adams (1883-1963), “The Heart Pirate,” (illustrations by Charles D. Mitchell), in The Cosmopolitan 72:3 (March 1922) : 43-48, 117-118 (44) — snippet view, but opens at hathitrust More — “... yell for a diet and start doing a course of reducing exercises, you don’t have time to think of that. I don’t believe I’m abnormal, perhaps I am, but just since this afternoon I have come to the conclusion that if you want to put down crime you’ve got to suppress more than just alcohol — you’ve got to suppress the modern flapper. They’re so damnably desirable...” (It gets worse...). See wikipedia; author’s papers at Oregon 20 ex Giuseppe Caccavale : in giardino, a buon fresco (content by Laura Cherubini, Giuseppe Caccavale, Chiara Bertola and Claudia Gian Ferrari; Charta, 2009) : 77

Needed another line, and thought Samuel Beckett might provide. Search yielded no Beckett, but the above passage, fitting in its way and no more nor less ambiguous than anything else here. something recent — Giuseppe Caccavale « Projet Paul Celan », Residence Concordia, Parigi gennaio-ottobre 2020; testo e foto dell’artista. (1 February 2021)

method

A friend reminded me, recently, that I don’t have time (for what is irrelevant here). Have been ruminating on (avoiding the consequences of) this, since. And thinking too about the place dimension of time, as discussed by Veronica O’Keane in her The Rag and Bone Shop : How we make memories and memories make us (2021) — “One’s sense of time is inseparable from events, but this is a sense of time. Might time have something to do with place cells?” (107) and “The whole concept of time is generally unhelpful in understanding science, be it physics or neuroscience... From the perspective of recording events, the present is consciousness. In a seemingly ironic twist, I myself think that the only place that time does not exist is in the moment of consciousness...” (113)

The encountered lines — all included above from my search in pre-1923 sources — have found their respective though non-chronological places in a kind of rocking, panning motion, in which sediments settle into their respective ripples / couplets.

Would, could, does this — sequence — work (whatever “work” means) without the anchorings / tetherings / bibliographic wastefull(ness; line 9 above) that follow it? They were needed in the making, anyway, and for there to be sufficient distraction for the making to sustain.

all subject to change.

#contested elections #couplet #time #swamps #waste #Poplar Inquiry #Giuseppe Caccavale #William E. Pussyfoot Johnson

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spookyboywhump · 3 years

Text

Literally every piece I write with Eli and Ev always ends up being 2000 words damn

Here’s smth I started a little while back but only just now finished

CW: Absent/Neglectful parent, self loathing and self deprecating thoughts, brief mention of death and self harm, minor character (17 years old)

***

It was 7:38 p.m. Everett sat there staring at the time on his phone, his leg bouncing anxiously. He knew that Eli got out of school at 4:00. He knew he was usually home by 4:45, closer to 5:00 p.m. if he stopped at the store down the street. He was never home later than 5:30, not without calling or texting anyway, but it was now 7:40 p.m. and he wasn’t home and Everett hadn’t heard from him and he didn’t know why.

He tried calling him again, for the fifth time now, and he listened to the dial tone, his heart sinking when it went to his voicemail again. He instantly sent him another text, all of them unread and unresponded to as of right now. So far he’d gone over every possible terrible situation at least twice, worried he’d been hurt, kidnapped, worried he’d run away or worried that he’d hurt himself. It didn’t matter how far fetched the conclusion was, it all sounded horribly probable to him right now.

“You know, you used to do the same thing when you were his age.” Their mom said casually, grabbing her jacket from the hook near the front door. “He’ll probably be back in the morning, just give him some time.”

“But he’s never done this.” He said, trying to keep the agitation out of his voice. He knew she wasn’t leaving to go look for him, the fact she wasn’t anywhere near worried like he was got on his nerves. “He- He should’ve at least called or just, something if he was okay!”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” She tried to assure him, but it didn’t really mean much coming from her. “I’ll be back later, okay?” She told him, and though he knew it was rude he chose to ignore her, worried he’d snap if he tried to respond right now. The last thing he needed while his brother was missing was to have their mom upset too, that sounded like a complete nightmare. He listened to the door shut as she finally left, sitting there as silence settled over the apartment. He considered going out to look for him himself but he wanted to be there if he got back, he needed to make sure he was okay.

With nothing left to do but wait, he took a deep breath, and he tried to call his brother again.

***

In the back of his mind, he knew he was being overdramatic. He kept telling himself that anyway as he sat on the park bench, his knees pulled up to his chest. He could hear his phone vibrating in his backpack beside him but he didn’t bother to try and answer it. He knew it was Everett, and though ignoring him just made him feel even more guilty, he couldn’t bring himself to even try to respond to him. He worried that if he tried, he’d just break down crying.

I could just… not go home at all, He thought, only to immediately argue with himself, It’s not that fucking bad, get over it and just go home.

He’d been having that argument with himself all day, every small thing piling up. It had been a hard week, he’d felt worse than usual, everything had been harder than usual, each day he was receiving more and more assignments with failing or barely passing grades. It wasn’t like him, he knew that, and each one felt like a knife in his heart, each failure weighing on him heavily.

Stupid stupid stupid- can’t do one fucking thing right

He buried his head in his arms, fighting back tears. A small part of him knew he was being unreasonable, just an overemotional stupid brat, but a bigger part of him was hanging onto the idea that his supposed intelligence was all he had- any mistake would be too big, any mistake would ruin his already miserable life, and one mistake after another was a death sentence.

He knew he should go home. He knew that when he got home, Everett would comfort him, he’d assure him that everything was okay, he’d assure him that this wasn’t the end of the world and that in the long run, it really didn’t matter. He didn’t want to go home. He knew he was overreacting and he was so scared that Everett would be angry if he knew what stupid thing Elias was so upset over- even more scared that their mom would be angry at him for disappearing. The more he thought about it the worse he felt, the more he didn’t want to leave from that spot, so he didn’t.

He sat there in the dark, in the cold, hugging his knees close to his chest and listening to his phone buzz.

He should’ve gone home.

***

Eli hadn’t realized how much time had passed. He’d never been great at keeping track of time, he knew it was late but he didn’t realize how late. He refused to check his phone as he finally wandered home, he didn’t want to see just how many missed calls and messages there were. He already felt sick when he got to the apartment complex, even worse as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. He found himself desperately hoping that Everett and their mom were asleep already, that they’d gotten sick of waiting for him and just stopped caring. He’d never wanted so badly to be forgotten.

He knew he was fucked when he found the door already unlocked, they always made sure the door was locked when they went to bed. He pushed the door open slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible but it creaked as always, the lights were on so he already knew he was caught. He hadn’t even gotten the door shut before Everett was rushing out of the living room, and Eli realized that in seventeen years, he’d never seen his brother mad at him.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” He snapped, and instinctively Elias pressed his back against the door, knowing he couldn’t get back to their room without getting past him.

“Just… out…” He murmured, his eyes glued to the floor, even as Everett approached him. He wondered if he’d be able to get the door open enough to get out and run- he’d never wanted to run from his brother before. He swore his heart stopped when Everett suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, not roughly but enough to startle him, finally forcing him to meet his eye.

“I’ve been calling you all fucking night! Do you even know how long you’ve been gone?! It’s fucking midnight Elias, where the fuck were you?!” He all but shouted at him. Elias tried to speak, he opened his mouth but no words came out, only a soft whimper. “I thought you were hurt or missing or fucking dead, I was so fucking worried about you, you can’t just disappear like that!” He said seriously, and Eli finally broke down in tears.

“I-I’m sorry- I’m sorry…” He whimpered, he was shaking as tears streamed down his face. This seemed to finally break Everett, he pulled him into a rib crushing hug, holding him as if his life depended on it.

“Please, don’t scare me like that again…” He said, finally calming down himself. He pulled back enough that he could look at him, and Eli could see now he wasn’t really angry, he was scared, and that just made him feel worse.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t-I didn’t mean to I j-just…” He let Everett lead him into the living room, sliding his backpack off his shoulder before they collapsed onto the couch, Everett holding him close. “I didn’t… didn’t want to come back… thought about not coming back at all…” He murmured.

“What?” Everett pulled back just a bit, staring at him with wide eyes.

“I thought-thought about leaving… I don’t know where to, I wasn’t thinking clearly I j-just… wanted to leave…”

“Eli, why…?” He asked softly.

“I-I don’t- I don’t know, I-I felt like I sh-shouldn’t, like I-I… didn’t deserve to…” It didn’t make sense to him until he said it out loud, but he realized that’s what it was. He failed the only thing he was good at, he was going to lose the one redeeming quality he felt he had, and somehow to him, that meant he didn’t deserve to go home, it was the only thing he had that he could deprive himself of. Coming to terms with it just made him more upset, he let out a sob as he clung to Everett.

“I don’t know what happened, or why you felt that way, but you can always come home…” He told him, rubbing his back as he cried. “I’ll always be here for you kid, you know that…”

“I’m sorry…” He whimpered. “I-I was being stupid, a stupid stupid brat…”

“Don’t say that, you’re not stupid and you’re not a brat.” He told him. “I don’t want you scaring me like that again though, please, at least tell me you’re okay if you’re going to stay out that long…” He said, and Elias nodded, still crying as he held on to him. He was starting to feel better though, safe and comforted with his brother now, even if he had scared him when he first got home. He was so comfortable with him he didn’t even ask about their mom, if she was worried, if she even knew. A part of him would feel bad for worrying her, but a bigger part hoped she was worried, hope that she felt something over himself being missing. He didn’t ask though, he was content with Everett, who held him close until he finally exhausted himself, crying himself to sleep.

***

Everett ended up falling asleep on the couch with Eli, not ready to let him go right away. He’d been terrified while he was gone, even more scared after what he’d told him. He knew despite his best efforts, Elias wasn’t happy, and he couldn’t blame him for that. Still, the thought of losing him, the thought of him running away was too much for him, and the fact he felt he didn’t deserve to come home was horrifying. He held him close as though he’d run away when he let go, and he eventually fell asleep with him.

He was woken up only a couple hours later when the front door opened, though Eli seemed to sleep through it. He could hear their mom coming into the apartment, closing the door and locking it before passing through the living room, stopping to see them as Everett looked up at her.

“You baby him too much, you know that?” She sighed, looking almost disappointed. She’d been saying that since Eli was born though, he didn’t think too much of it.

“No I don’t… he had a rough night, he needed this…” He said, gently rubbing his back as he spoke, and she just rolled her eyes.

“I told you he’d come back though, I’m sure he’s fine.” She said dismissively, reaching up and affectionately ruffling his hair. “I’ll see you two in the morning, okay?” She said, and he nodded as she walked off down the hall, back to her room. He waited until he heard the door close to move, getting up and picking up Elias, carrying him back to their room, the same way he would when he was a little kid who’d fallen asleep watching tv. Sometimes he still felt like he was a little kid despite the fact he was quickly getting closer and closer to being an adult. He knew he was intelligent and capable of taking care of himself, but he still wanted to take care of him, he just wanted to keep him safe.

He laid him down on his bed, taking the time to take his shoes off for him before pulling the blankets up over him. Almost immediately he shifted in his sleep, easily finding and grabbing ahold of his stuffed shark. Now that he was in bed Everett felt like he could finally relax, going and collapsing into his own bed, burying his face in his pillow.

He hated to know that Eli was suffering, hated even more that he didn’t know how to help. There were some things he couldn’t fix, he knew that, and this was certainly more than he knew what to do with. He knew that he could be there for him though, he could comfort him, and he’d do anything and everything he could to keep him safe, because even the thought of losing him brought back all the fear and nausea he’d been feeling all night.

#this might be emotional whump idk #my writing #my oc’s #minor character #wren #everett

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lauralestrange7 · 3 years

Text

𝓐𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓶 | 𝓢𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓾𝓼 𝓑𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓴| (Part 5)

The motto of the Lestrange family is "𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓿𝓾𝓼 𝓸𝓬𝓾𝓵𝓾𝓶 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓿𝓲 𝓷𝓸𝓷 𝓮𝓻𝓾𝓲𝓽" which would when literally translated in English would mean "a crow will not pull out the eye of another crow." Referring to the complete solidarity amongst a group of like-minded people regardless of the consequences or condemnation.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Laura was in the library with her potions partner who appeared to be daydreaming, however considering the fact that it was a quarter to four on a Friday afternoon, she was "afternoon-dreaming" perhaps. Laura continued jotting down all the important things one should keep in mind when brewing the truth serum. The fact that her partner's contribution was almost negligible didn't bother Laura, if anything it was a relief. She was used to doing things alone and would probably brew a better potion that way.

A loud and dramatic gasp broke her out of her trance, she looked up in a start; Mckinnon had her chin resting on her the palms of her hands whilst staring at the 'Marauders', sorry a Marauder. Sirius seemed to be smirking in Marlene's direction, Laura couldn't help but roll her eyes as her partner exclaimed in awe "He looked at me!" once Sirius had gone back to his muffled conversation with James Potter. "Oh for Salazar's sake" Laura scoffed before looking up at Marlene and saying, "I think we are done for today" as she started gathering her belongings. Marlene nodded still staring at Black, Laura just shook her head and started making her way out. "Hey Lestrange" a voice called after her and soon the person stood in front of her blocking her path, and of course it was Sirius. "What do you want?" Laura asked annoyed "Woah, Woah I just said hey, no need to go all mean on me," he said and so she crossed her arms gesturing him to continue. "I just wanted to know something," he said softly looking at her, "About what?" she asked furrowing her eyebrows. "About my brother," he said "How is he?" he continued after a pause, his face now changing to a one with concern. Laura resisted a scoff "How is he?" she repeated looking at him with a look of slight amusement and disbelief. After Sirius stayed silent guilt making his way onto his face as he looked down at his show, Laura sighed wanting to get over with this conversation as soon as she could "Good" she said softly after a while "Very good" she added looking at him again and keeping a blank face. Sirius looked up a glint in his eyes as he smiled "He got in the team, didn't he? He is the Slytherin seeker isn't he?" he asked again blocking Laura's another attempt to walk away. "Why don't you ask him yourself ?" she said in an irritated tone, "You know why," he said softly his cheerful face falling. Laura groaned and "Yes he is the Slytherin seeker," she said hoping he would let her go now and yet again he blocked her as his face lit up, this seemed to be going in the same loop. "That's grea-" Sirius was cut off mid-sentence by a high pitched voice "Hey Sirius! Would you like to walk me to my dorm?" Marlene asked batting her eyelashes as she stood beside Laura looking over at Sirius. Laura smirked with the thought that at least her potions partner wasn't completely useless, she took her chance of walking past Sirius.

Laura walked inside the common room, she was supposed to see Regulus there that evening as they haven't seen each other much over the week. Regulus being busy with his Quidditch practices and Laura busy being a sixth year at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As she looked around the common room she didn't spot Regulus, Laura sighed her shoulders slouching and heart-sinking slightly as she sat down on a couch staring at the flames being emitted from crackling wood. She rested her head on her knees wrapping her hands and hugging them. Laura didn't know for how long she had been staring at the common room fire, but the common room was now empty, everyone had gone up to their dorms it seemed. Laura stood up realising it was really late and also that Regulus had stood her up, a groan escaped her mouth as she made her way to her dorm. Laura shut the door behind her as she tiptoed her way to her four-poster bed, all her dormmates were asleep and she didn't want to wake them up.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend Laura was woken up by the excited voices of her dormmates, however, she didn't get up from her bed feeling just too lazy to do so. But from what she heard her dormmates had dates and they were excited about it. After a while of just laying pointlessly, Laura dragged herself out of bed. She had only been to Hogsmeade once in third year, it wasn't like Laura didn't like Hogsmeade it was just that she preferred sitting in her dorm all alone and finishing all her weekend's homework thus making her rest of the weekend completely free. But what really was the problem, was Laura always found that people can be overwhelming. Maybe she had gotten that from growing up in a big and empty manor with no visitors and its large doors closed shut all the time. It would've suffocated any other person, with its dark and dull appearance, people walking past the house would've just considered it to be desolate as there never was a sound to be heard, that could prove any presence of life in the house. The house-elves would do their jobs silently in the dungeons, below the manor and the residents of the house could be described by the same words used to describe the house; dull, lifeless, quite dark from the inside but quite pale in the appearance standing tall and isolated with their heads held high. The motto or maxim of the Lestrange family is "Corvus oculum corvi non eruit" which would when literally translated in English would mean" a crow will not pull out the eye of another crow." Referring to the complete solidarity amongst a group of like-minded people regardless of the consequences or condemnation.

Want to read it on Wattpad? No problem here you go

All the characters (except Laura Lestrange) and places mentioned in this story belong to J K Rowling. So I’ve posted a few chapters of this stories on Wattpad, but I’ve got a lot of it already written down, I’ll try to post any new chapters on Tumblr as soon as I can. Please reblog, it would be very appreciated and my requests are open.

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ennui-gt · 3 years

Text

Here it is. A Piece Of Borrower Content Written Entirely In Stream Of Consciousness:

AN: so this is incomplete and very…needs revisions to the timeline to incorporate some things I added later! It’s the original universe that Mira’s from! I edited it like Slightly to just change Ross’s name to Ross (if u see Max anywhere that’s his old one I just felt like changing it so that’s just him but different. Anyway) Everything's under the readmore tab, cheers!

The Library Fairy:

Basic Plot (Chrono, comic starts from human perspective abt the ‘legend of the library fairy’ ig maybe. Nothing here is permanent cept the characterization)

Part A

1- Mira is borrower currently chillin in a college library

2- She lives off of the cafe on the second floor nd reads lots and lots of stuff about everything when the upper floors close (lower floor open 24/7 but upper floors r vacant p much after 12:00 AM)

3- she starts getting increasingly curious about human stuff cos she’s literate nd books r pry neat

4- it starts one night when she spots an unattended notebook and a half eaten blueberry muffin, nd it’s 12:30 so nobody’s coming back in atm (it’s the 80s so no laptops for the plebians quite yet)

5- so she goes ‘welp’ nd takes part of the muffin, then sees the work on the page and goes ‘hmmmm this is incorrect’ so she helps our and leaves notes here n there to point the kid in the right direction and puts down some book refs for further study bcos at this point she’s been there for 2 years and she knows where most things are

6- she stays behind to see if the human comes back for it, hidden in a hidey hole near the desk

7- human comes in, sees notebook, practically melts w relief nd stuffs it in his bag

8- next day human comes back nd leaves nother notebook and a cookie, along w a hidden camera

9- Mira goes ‘o boy, this a trap, innit’

10- Mira then decides ‘eh whatever I haven’t had contact w anyone in years now so I might as well’

11- she steals the camera film nd leaves a lil scrap of paper saying ‘nice try ;)’ on it

12- student comes back, sees paper, goes ‘dammit’, then leaves note addressed to the ‘library fairy’ and another cookie, as well as more of their work for her to help with

13- bout a decade goes by and now the “Library Fairy” is an urban myth, it’s currently 2003 so she’s also wound up on the school’s unofficial Wikipedia page under ‘local cryptids’

14- most library employees know of her but they don’t go looking out of fear stemming from superstitions bout her, somehow the legend grew from ‘can’t be photographed’ to ‘a student once saw her and died that day’

15- there’s now a small shrine devoted to her where ppl bring offerings hoping to get good grades in return, sometimes they will leave papers for her to proofread nd stuff

16- new prof (named Alexei) finds online article thinks he Knows What’s Up bcos he had a borrower friend as a kid, but they left when borrower’s fam found out about them knowing each other

17- he leaves note wedged in one of her secret entrances behind outlet, asking if she can meet w him at some point

18- Mira, already In it, goes ‘Okay. Alright. This has gone on for long enough. Time to go and never return’ but ofc she’s curious as all hell and like she decides she will at least honor the guy’s request for a convo b4 she goes, but on her terms and w/o speaking face 2 face

19- they Talk in the library after hours, bcos he paid off the janitor to let him stay after hours nd most of the student employees recognize him as a prof nd leave him alone

20- they talk again for every subsequent night

21- she uhhhh finally decides to reveal herself nd prays that her hunch was right nd he won’t try to grab her or anything

22- he doesn’t but she’s nervous so she winds up gettin caught in her own climbing rope like idiot, is now dangling from ceiling in tangled mess

23- he stifles chuckle nd she says smthn sarcastic

24- he moves closer and offers to untangle her

25- she’s like ‘please’

26- so he do, but her grip on the rope slips nd he has to catch her

26- so now she’s in his hand and he just sets her down and now he’s a bumbling embarrassed mess bcos he said he wasn’t going to hold her and he just did and o dear pls forgib him

28- nd she’s like ‘dude u just saved my life it’s fine ur fine chill’

29- internally she’s going HOLY FUCK AAAAAAA but externally, her human’s already worked up enough as it is so she’s gotta b the level headed one

29.5- after a while they both kinda get used to each other more, he gets tenure, they celebrate, some more stuff happens, Aleksei got married (not to Mira, Mira hasn’t actually rly thought about being in a relationship w anyone cos she’s laser focused on gaining as much knowledge as possible)

30- eventually Alexei’s like ‘hey so I’m dean of faculty for the biotech branch now uhhhh would u like actual job teaching students? Cos, uh, you can do it remotely thru online lectures n stuff, no in person interaction, and I uh was just kinda wondering—‘

31- she’s like ‘yes. Yes!!! LET ME HELP PEOPLE OFFICIALLY KINDA’

32- so now she’s a professor, and has revealed her Secret a few times here n there to a number of the faculty, nd she has recorded her own findings in a personal journal

33- ‘humans will treat u like a human if they think ur human first. The kids call it ‘catfishing’’

34- enter Ross, an mall goth who accidentally tripped headfirst into a premed program

35- Mira’s favorite field of study is bio so naturally she’s his prof for a majority of his classes

36- being the good boy that he is, he now knows Mira’s secret. There is an Entire Chapter on him finding out and legit just continuing their conversation as if everything was normal bcos he thought that was how he was supposed to handle the situation

37- then she says ‘u can ask questions, u know’ he’s like OH THANK FUCK CAUSE I HAVE SEVEN HUNDRED OF THOSE

38- and now he kinda knows what to look for in terms of ‘do borrowers live here check yes or no’

39-in his apartment, the answer is yes and he mistakenly kinda stumbles upon the mom one night when he wakes up in the middle of the night for Snack and opts to pretend like its not happening. Unfortunately the thing she was trying 2 borrow (piece of crumb cake for Son Boy’s birthday) is the thing he wants 2 eat so he’s like “uh. ‘Scuse me, ma’am.” and he peels back the saran wrap on the other side of the plate, takes piece, nd then leaves some there for her

40-so now the woman is like ‘welp guess it time 2 Leave’

.1- she and husband Talk

.2-they decide it best 2 go

.3-theyre Packing

.4-lil bab Ellie confused

.5-hawk attacke

.6-cut to Ross

41- Ross also happens to work at a bar and he goes outside for a break

43- he finds smal child—smol smal—on the sidewalk and said child is missing an arm, nd has lost a lot of blood, so he’s uhhhhh Losing It highkey

43.5-parents r nowhere 2 b seen, but the hawk is nearby and circling. Ross gets an idea of what just happened

44- he up and leaves work, thankfully his apartment is above the shop so he jumps up the fire escape w the child and

45- he make tourniquet

46- he calls Mira nd asks her 2 come over to ASAP. he’s A Mess at this point

47- it is Very touch and go, kid needs blood, Mira is the only viable donor so she’s just gotta pray that the blood type is fine and won’t kill him

48- and then eventually they manage 2 stave infection thru antibiotics properly dosed to his size, Mira does Math and Prays basically

49- ‘bout a month in, kid wakes up

50- kid doesn’t rember much since he’s only 3

51- hes v scared of Ross at first but over time he gets used 2 the human

52- kid (elliot) starts 2 call Ross ‘dad’ after a while

53- Ross: *internal screaming but in a good way*

54- the end kinda for now

Part 2

A- New Borrowers In The Building

—three of em. paranoid dad, mom, nd daughter that’s Elliot’s age so he’s pumped

B- Elliot offers them a place 2 stay briefly

C- he knows by now bout like, how borrowers don’t typically interact w humans and Auntie Mira’s a bit of a weird case so he just doesn’t tell em bout his dad being the human

D- the kid finds out first nd doesn’t tell the parents, but they figure it out later kinda and think that it’s a ‘o god he’s being kept as a pet’ sitch so they’re >:| abt it

E- they move out and try to take Elliot w them (by force bcos they think he’s brainwashed) but he escapes and makes it to Ross, who’s like “uhhhhhh”

F- and the mom come out the hole near the counter n starts yelling at Ross, who is…kinda used to it since Mira brings in ppl who need help from time 2 time and they typically don’t react well when they’re lucid enough to understand what’s going on. He’s just not used to being questioned about his own kid

G- so they’re like “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH HIM”

H- and he’s like “r…raising him???”

I- and Ellie steps up and he’s like “this is my dad. I decided he was my dad when I was three. He’s being a good parent”

J- and Ross is like “yeah what he said. I’m a good parent.”

K- Ross is riding that high til the end of fucking time but like back to the story at hand

L- this is when the husband comes out nd is like “lissen. wifey. ily but that is a very big human and he hasn’t grabbed us yet so let’s count our blessings and gtfo”

M- but she’s like “uh no we stay until I’m sure Elliot is Safe and fucking Sound”

N- so they stay for dinner nd stick around a little longer.

O- Val (the kid) gets closer 2 Elliot and also Ross a bit

P- Mira shows once or twice, first time she shows up they’re like “oh god it’s the crazy doctor lady this all makes sense now” (bcos Mira does check up on as many borrower families as possible in her free time so word has got around by now Of her, and the number by which to contact her in case her services r needed)

Q- After a month or so, then they decide to leave bcos they’re like “look we get that ur son is ur son and he only has one arm and in our profession that is kind of a death sentence but we can’t have our kid getting used to dealing w humans who know about our existence” so they go and leave on a kind of sour note bcos Ellie can do anything he wants to do just as well as any other borrower Thank You Very Much and Ross is ready to fite anyone who thinks otherwise

R- Elliot starts trying 2 b more independent, basically from now on he’s like ‘I can do everything my Damn Self Thanks’

S- but uh he does it to a point where he’s going out of the way to endanger himself

T- so they get into a fite about it and ross Yells and Elliot is like ‘kthxbye’

U- and the boi just. Fuckin bolts. Runs Away. Ross is a Mess, he starts smoking again (he quit cold turkey the day he took Elliot in) to curb the depression, he’s jus. Not doin good, worried that his son is dead and the last time they talked it’d ended badly

V- FREEDOM!!!1! Except Ellie doesn’t kno how to take care of himself so it’s a rough month or so and then he runs into some other borrowers livin in their own town in the wild ig, chillin, being hella independent, and he’s like “uh yes ofc I will join u, I was w my dad for a while but.........” he neither confirms nor denies that his dad’s dead but everyone kinda just assumes.

Part 3

W-anyway a year goes by and then the borrower group gets hit hard w some kind of sickness ig. Elliot gets it too he’s basically incapacitated n drifting in and out of lucidity. So. They contact the weird crazy doctor lady who hangs around humans, a.k.a. Mira, and she’s like “oh. fuck. I know this kid.” bcos she does, u kno, and she jus treats em all for their ailment and shows them how to make antibiotic poultice thing in case smthn like it happens again. Mold. Penicillin is basically what it is

X-she and Elliot hav a Chat (Mira basically yells at him a lot) once he’s fixed up and he decides he’s gonna visit his dad but he makes it very clear that he is a Grown Up (he’s not, he’s literally sixteen), and he is living on his own now

Y- he agrees to stay for a week tho since he misses his home a lot tbh and Ross is just. Over the fucking moon to know he’s ALIVE, he’s not gonna fuck up their relationship by insisting that he stay. Or like, by keeping him ofc he would never

Z- unfortunately the borrower community put two and two together and figured out his dad’s human so they have his stuff packed up when he gets back w mira, who’s ready to go the fuck off on them

End 1:

-Ellie is living at Ross’s place atm and hopeful about the future basically. He eventually will go off on his own but he’ll keep in contact w his dad and stuff

Part C.5

55- few yrs later

56- elliot is Adult now he does adult borrower stuff

57- he moves out

58- finds nice borrower gf (her name’s Tess)

59- doesn’t tell her about his dad being human but talks about his dad a LOT

60- so when she asks to meet said father he’s just like “uh. Maybe we don’t do that actually”

61- and she’s like “y tho”

62- and he’s like “bcos”

63- anyway she decides to look into it cos she knows he goes to see his dad nd keep in touch but his dad is allegedly “a recluse who lives in the big scary human’s walls to avoid other ppl”

64- which is. Not true in the slightest tbqh he’s def not an introvert he’s just a workaholic and he Is the big scary human

65- anywho they run into Val and her wife and she’s like “how’s Ross been?” And Elliot is acting Very Suspish so she, being Smart, calls it immediately and is like “oh shit u haven’t told her yet have u”

66- Tess: “told me what”

67- Val: “El’s dad is a human, bro.”

68- Tess: “I’m sorry?”

69- this results in a Big Fight and they separate for like, a month. Elliot blames Val bcos he’s being irrational and doesn’t wanna admit to the fact that lying to his girlfriend for over a year was Real Bad Actually, but over time he’s like ‘yeah it’s my fault sry for snapping at u’ cos he works thru his emotions n stuff

70- Eventually gf comes back cos she’s like “ok so. I understand why you lied to me about your dad. It was a dick move but I do get it and I still care about you a lot. I would like. To meet him.”

80- this is a lie she does not want to meet him she is doing this bcos she does not want to lose Elliot and that outweighs the fear of his dad

81- so they go to meet him but she’s just kinda. Behind the wall at first like “that’s a crazy big human this is crazy ur crazy it’s time to gO”

82- Val is also there bcos she hasn’t seen Ross in a while

83- they eventually coax her out of hiding

84- and by that I mean Val picks her up and drags her out into the open by force bcos she basically freezes up the second she catches sight of Ross and Val’s like “u didn’t come all this way for nothing, bich”

85- they have a Painfully Awkward First Meeting, Tess is trying her best but oh god he’s just too fucking. Larg. Ellie ur dad too big

86- tbh tho the ice kinda breaks after Ellie and Ross get into a fight over smthn stupid (im thinking Elliot grumbles bout Ross’s hair being unruly and he’s worried that mira’s using it like a personal storage system again and Ross is like “I’ve been keeping better track of that actually” and then like a little line of paper clips and a few hand-bound notebooks tied together w some string fall out of his fucking mane and he’s like “I can explain”

87- “dad you can’t keep letting her use your hair like a fucking NEST”

88- Tess is laughing now cos god damn this was not what she was expecting

89- that’s it the end it ends w Tess laughing at them being idiots good times r had by all

Uhhhh that’s it so far. I have More but it’s kinda jumbled rn and I need to fit stuff in places. Anyway.

#was gonna make this into a comic lawl #if I like actually manage to get off my ass over the coming weeks I probably will be able to do that! but yeah #also this was once posted b4 and I deleted it but it’s back now say hellow #Library Fairy #oc: Mira #oc: Ross #oc: Elliot #oc: Tess #oc: Val #oc: Alexei #anyway yeah here it is behold #the uhhhhh most slice of life thing I have ever created

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diyunho · 4 years

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Trapped” Part 5

Almost one year ago, someone tried to kill The Joker in a speeding car and Y/N pushed him out of the way, getting hit instead. With a fractured skull and broken bones, she was out of business for 6 months; when she finally recovered, The Queen of Gotham wasn’t the same anymore. Trapped inside her own mind and exhibiting severe cognitive impairment, Y/N’s life switched upside down without any hope of ever returning to normal.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

4 Months Pregnant

“I need customized stickers that say Baby On Board for my purple Lamborghini and the other cars I drive,” The Joker growls at his own idea whilst sharing it with the person fulfilling his wacko trades: Franco Rossi, the leader of best underground supply chain in Gotham.

“When would you like them ready Mister J? After Y/N gives birth?”

“Nope! Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?...” Franco hesitantly inquiries about the sudden emergency since he can’t understand why The King of Gotham demands them so fast.

The Joker hates explaining yet certain people are obtuse thus they necessitate enlightenment.

“Y/N’s pregnant: when she gets in a car, the baby is also. Baby on board! Hello??” the father-to-be loses his temper.

Who can argue with The Joker’s logic? Nobody. It sort of makes sense anyway.

“Of course, Mister J. I’ll have them ready. If you drop by after 6pm, I’ll have your guns ready too.”

“Perfect!” the Joker hangs up among the ruckus coming from the office near the kitchen: sounds of shattered objects and yelling alert Richard aka Panda you’re at it again. He nonchalantly passes by in order to deliver the items to The Clown.

“Your drinks Mister J,” he gives one cup with Starbucks caramel latte to his boss and the other is placed on the table. Why does your boyfriend require 2 identical containers? It won’t take long to solve the mystery.

“Are the lids glued?”

Strange question but there’s a purpose in it.

“Yes sir. How is she doing?”

“She’s hormonal: breaking things makes her feel better which reminds me we have to hoard porcelain objects for her to wreck. NO glass!”

“Sure, I’ll tell the crew,” Richard leaves the kitchen while texting Frost. “Hulk needs more to smash,” he types the code name they gave you in the last weeks although The King knows about it: J’s the one that came up with it.

“Hey Pumpkin,” you are greeted as soon as you pop up from the office. “How’d it go?” he scrolls down on his phone and takes a sip of hot liquid.

“Ugghh!” a frustrated Y/N swings the yellow teddy bear The Joker stole for her on their first date, hitting his hand in the process. The drink flies near the fridge and splatters on the floor with minimal damage: only a tiny puddle instead of a disaster, that’s why the lids are glued.

Safety measure for The Queen’s unpredictability.

J grabs his reserve cup of coffee, paying attention now hence he dodges your renewed attack and keeps his coffee intact.

That’s why his drinks have the lids glued, in case you catch him off guard the second time it will result in negligible destruction.

It happened before.

“I don’t think so Princess,” The Joker strong grip on the container calms you a bit because you won’t be able to win this round. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” you pout and sit in his lap.

“I bet the baby is,” the secret weapon is unleashed: J discovered such a gem by accident and it works like a charm. How can Y/N say “no” if the baby is involved? She can’t.

A plate filled with a bunch of your favorite breakfast food is placed in front of you and strangely enough you’re instantly hungry.

“Extra bacon,” he purrs. “Plus chocolate dip and honey mustard for your pickled cherries. I added peanut butter olives as a bonus.”

In your defense, you’ve been having weird cravings lately.

You place the toy on the chair nearby and start eating, ogling a Joker texting back and forth with his business partners. He chews the morsel you just offered and shivers: waffle dipped in clam juice is disgusting. Maybe he should look at the food you shove in his mouth.

“Gross,” J washes the terrible taste with coffee and gets a kiss for encouragement, yet he’s aware of the connotations. Another kiss confirms it.

Let’s put it this way: besides the hormonal episodes and food demands, The Queen has had a fresh type of craving recently - The Joker kind.

More than usually.

That’s why he has to clear it up.

“I’m flattered for being the center of attention; we gotta keep in mind that contrary to the popular belief, I don’t have unlimited stamina, Pumpkin.”

You nod in agreement and unbutton his pants, then unzip them also.

“Y/N, pay attention!” J insists since you don’t give a damn about his woes. “Think about it as a two way street: The Joker Street and I Want To Break Things Street. Are you with me so far?” he double checks.

Why is he yapping so much??! I guess you should make an effort to comprehend: he’s even doodling patterns on his phone to emphasize the speech.

“When you get hormonal, Princess, let’s try and walk on the I Want To Break Things Street instead of The Joker Street, hm? The Joker Street is sometimes closed for repairs until further announcement.”

OK, OK, this is a lecture. Something about a Joker Street, he seems upset he doesn’t have one…?... Right?...

If you were him, you would be pissed Gotham didn’t name a street in your honor when you’re so important for the town.

Another peck on his neck, then your lips go down his collar bone.

“You’re not paying attention, are you?” J mutters when it’s clear his shirt won’t remain on his body for too long.

“I am,” you defend yourself.

“Oh yeah? What did I say then?”

“Ummm…” you try to piece together words among estrogen taking over. “No Joker Street?...”

“Bingo, that’s it Princess! No Joker Street, correct! Choose the other street, yes?”

This time he kisses you, excited his idea was well received when in fact, both parties are referring to unrelated concepts.

“Wait,” J dodges your touch, “Richard is calling.”

Because he’s on the phone ignoring Y/N, she is ensuring a nice surprise for later; concentrating to the maximum to avoid misspelling, the following message is sent to Franco Rossi from her cell:

“Make a landmark sign that says Joker Street.”

The King’s conversation is prolonged more than anticipated until he discerns you’re not wiggling: you feel asleep, softly snoring on his shoulder and he definitely can’t afford to wake you up.

The doctors said your body is trying to cope with the pregnancy the best way it can: if you doze off at random hours it means you ran out of fuel and you should rest. After cheating death and surviving the accident, the future mother is at high risk of serious complications which is why each day could lead to unforeseen problems.

The Joker rises from the chair holding you in his arms and after a few steps he realizes it’s difficult to walk: thanks to his unbuttoned and unzipped pants, they keep sliding lower and lower. There’s no way he will make it upstairs so maybe the sofa in the living room is the best option. He almost trips thus he begins to drag his feet on the carpet, the pants at knee level now.

“I’m reduced to a piece of meat,” J grumbles, finally making it to the couch and placing Y/N on it so she can have her power nap.

*************

6:02pm

You accompanied The King to a meeting with Seraphim, the best hacker/strategist J uses: they’ve been plotting for a while concerning D.A. Kevin Winchester. The politician is becoming a huge pain in the butt for Gotham’s underworld and something must be done; either annihilation or blackmail, it truly doesn’t matter since he’s bad for business. Due to a total lack of interest in the subject, you are exploring the surroundings quite angry The Joker dragged you here.

Luckily there’s stuff to do.

Bam! you punch the fragile glass sculpture and it splinters into a million pieces on the lavish marble floor.

Seraphim jumps at the noise, immediately recognizing his beloved possession:

“That’s…,” he gulps, appalled. “That’s a Vitriol!”

Yup, the one and only Degas Vitriol, the latest sensation taking the art universe by storm.

“She’s hormonal,” J sneers. “She breaks shit!”

“That’s valued at 150,000 dollars!” the hacker breaths in much needed oxygen regarding the atrocity unfolding at his hideout.

“So??!!” your boyfriend sucks on his teeth, irritated. “Serves you right for buying that asshole’s artsy fartsy crap!”

The Joker actually has 4 Vitriol masterpieces at the mansion yet you were strictly forbidden to destroy them, alas he gave you the office for your rampages.

You continue your exploration as they talk about God knows what until you perceive an alarming detail: Seraphim is literally screaming having a gun pointed at J.

You sneak behind him then in a split second you strike the pistol out of his hand and your fist lands on his temple with such brutality it knocks him out unconscious.

“What the hell are you doing, Y/N???” The Clown hisses at your erratic behavior.

“Hm?”

“What are you doing??!!!” he repeats, annoyed.

“S-saving you…,” you stutter, confused on why J is mad. “He was yelling and…mmm, had a gun,” you wince in pain because your knuckles hurt from the impact.

“The guy’s half deaf and sometimes he raises his voice without noticing, or did you forget??!! Now I have to wait until he comes to his senses and that’s a waste of my time, Y/N!!! Seraphim wasn’t threatening me, he was showing me his newest collectible!!! I suppose someone with half a brain can’t acknowledge the mess they’ve created!!!”

A lot of accusations thrown your way still… the last sentence brings tears in your eyes.

“I…” you bite your lower lip. “…I don’t have half of brain…”

“Wanna bet??” The Joker bites more instead of leveling with your logic: you though he was in danger and took action. If it was a real emergency, yes, you would have been the hero; it’s not and apparently he can’t appreciate your fast intervention in these circumstances.

“Y-you’re stupid…” you whisper, frustrated. “You don’t understand anything…”

Here it is -- the cataclysmic event of the century: someone called The Joker stupid. He’s beyond outraged with nothing better to utter besides a very childish:

“You’re stupid!”

Y/N turns around and stomps out of the house leaving a trail of destruction outside: she slaps the bottled water out of The Shark’s hand, kicks Panda’s shin and snatches Frost’s donut basically inhaling the sweet treat.

“I want to go h-home!!” you shout and enter the first vehicle you see, slamming the door so hard the window on the passenger side cracks.

“Jesus…” Jonny mumbles and being the sensible man that he is you are offered the whole box of pastries he purchased for his family. He can acquire more, but there’s no way in hell he wants to endure Y/N in the state she’s in.

Gotta keep Hulk calm somehow…

**************

3 Hours Afterwards

You sulk when The Joker strolls in the master bathroom frantically searching the cabinets.

“Did you see my shaver?” he asks.

“Hm?”

“Did you see my shaver?”

“I…I wouldn’t know. I only have half a brain,” the surprisingly eloquent phrase queues J his woman is holding a grudge for his earlier statement. Why wouldn’t she? He was a complete jerk.

At least you didn’t catch on to the obvious: The King of Gotham doesn’t own a shaver; hair just grows on his head.

He glimpses at Y/N soaking in the bathtub with a kid’s book in her left hand and the right hand fingers sunk into a bowl filled with ice placed at the edge of the Jacuzzi. The Joker leans over and switches your book since it’s upside down.

You huff at the unwanted help and stare at the pictures expecting he’ll look for his shaver and disappear.

You’re not that fortunate today.

“Imagine my surprise when I drove the main alley and detected a sign that says The Joker Street,” he brings up the topic.

Franco Rossi was super-efficient …sadly you ordered the item before J ran his mouth at the hacker’s place, otherwise you wouldn’t care he wants a street with his name.

“You said no… no Joker Street,” you stammer. “Now you have one,” the bitter tone makes him roll his eyes: Y/N’s brain got what it could from his monologue, he should have known better than to make it complicated.

“Excellent…” The King starts rubbing your tummy, “… precisely what I was aiming for. I’m washing the baby, not you!” he underlines when you move farther from him.

You scrunch your face displeased but let him do it because it’s for the baby.

“I know what you’re doing,” Y/N gives him a cold gaze. “U-using the baby… I’m not stupid!”

Busted, The Joker thinks. The schemer in him won’t accept defeat though.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Yes you did!”

“You said it first!!!” he reckons, antagonized. “Therefore two stupid people put together gotta make up for a smart one!!’

“I… I don’t wanna make out…” you frown at his suggestion.

The Joker sighs, deciding not to correct the trajectory of your judgement; it sure sounds like an opportunity.

“Why not?”

“I’m tired and…and I h-hate you,” your heavy eyelids close.

“Both viable reasons, even if I have to admit you striking Seraphim like that got me quite worked up. He’s no small fry! I had to wait for one hour for him to recover; you got a mean punch, woman! The more I reflect on it, the hornier I get. Which reminds me, Pumpkin: guess what?... … … I’m hormonal too.”

No answer, Pumpkin’s out.

“Of course nobody gives a damn if I’m hormonal!” he complaints while grabbing you from the bathtub. You cling to him for a few moments prior to drifting back into your dreams.

“Thanks for getting me all wet,” J snarls at the cruel reality of having his favorite Prada suit ruined.

“You…you’re welcome…” his Queen replies in her sleep, somehow her mind clutching to reality amidst pure relaxation.

This is what two hormonal individuals are reduced to: one’s dozing off, the other is suffering in silence, although being the proud owner of the tiniest road in Gotham compensates for the mishap.

It’s a two way street.