#I saved it and left the app and when I came back the drafts gone | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

weinnersongcollection · 7 days

Text

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 (Dark Rafe x Sarah fanfic)

Summary: This was a draft I had in my notes app on my iPhone for my first ever attempt at a fanfic from last year. I don't have any recollection of it because I wrote it when I was drunk, and it was supposed to be a dark thriller-like read because I am inspired by the author, Karin Slaughter. A trigger warning: this will not sit well with some readers because it has incestuous elements. Basically, the story takes place over a year after the events of Ward dying, and Rafe's deep obsessive hatred for Sarah gets the best of him, and it gets really disturbing. I think I attempted a chapter in a half or two of this story. I probably don't want it to be a one-shot. If someone is actually content enough to stomach reading this and wants a continuation of it, I will write more chapters. Please know this is a concept and just a work of fiction. If you're not into this trope, feel free to disengage from this read.

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙾𝚗𝚎: 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕.

Rafe Cameron never had the picture-perfect life that people would expect him to have as a kook. His father was a well-endowed businessman, rich, and beloved by the community, and he wanted so eagerly to fill his father’s shoes and to get his father‘s validation, but his father emotionally neglected him and favored his little sister Sarah. Because of that, he grew to resent her. She had everything; he didn’t have friends that loved her and would lay their lives down on the line for her. A father, although the relationship was dysfunctional, loved her the best way he could, although it came with a condition—when he wasn’t wanted or loved at all. A year has passed since his father died. sacrificing himself to save Sarah from being fatally shot in South America by one of Singh’s henchmen, who is a Kingpin that had an obsession with finding the lost city of El Dorado, and it’s gold—the gold that Sarah found and took on as her own—changing the whole trajectory of her life, making her self-sufficient, being able to branch out on her own, and not have to live with Rafe on TannyHill. His father, surprisingly, left the estate to him, and Sarah refused anything that his father, Ward, left to her as a beneficiary. His youngest and other sister, Wheezie, was in the full custody of his stepmother Rose, so it was just him on his own—no more fighting with his father Ward for his approval, no family at all, just himself. He had a girl; he was seeing Sofia, but she decided that she needed a break from him until he sorted his life out considering he had a lot of problems as far as his mental health goes and wasn’t easy to be around because he was struggling and would go into a drugged-induced psychosis and completely relapsed. No one understood the suffering he was going through, and he didn’t know how to fix it, but now he had to start somewhere. I just can’t believe that this is my life, Rafe said to himself. Peering outside.

From the window of his father's old office back at the estate, looking up at the stars, he had this beautiful mansion to himself, but this house didn’t feel like a home; it was empty. Just like what he felt, he was waiting on his supplier Barry to serve him cocaine. He so desperately wanted to get clean. He knew that’s what his father would have wanted, but he felt like there was no escape because he liked feeling sedated. When that high came down, who was he really? He wanted to be numb. He wanted to take the pain away. But deep down, he knew that the drugs wouldn’t fix him, but he was so far gone that he just couldn’t stop. Shit, he's late. Rafe thought to himself, Maybe he got caught up in some traffic. Is what he was hoping for he just wanted that to be the scenario. then Barry Pulled over by Deputy Shoupe and hauled off to jail, Rafe’s phone started to ring violently in his pocket. He grabbed for it, saw a notification of an unknown number, and answered it. Who is this? He says into the phone, hearing an echo. There is no answer, just breathing. It sounded feminine, and they sounded nervous. Well, you were the one that called me, so if you want something, cut the bullshit and just spit it out, he said, agitated. I’m pretty sure I’m the last person you’d ever expect to hear from, and I don’t know why I called because, quite frankly, I never want to see you again, and I don’t, but I needed to stop by the house and go to my old bedroom and get a few things of sentimental value. Sarah exclaimed. He was in utter shock that it was Sarah, of all people. It felt somewhat of a relief to hear her voice again, but he held such disdain for her because he never got over her being the golden child and him being the outcast of the family. Well, this is my house now, and I call the shots, and like I said, Sarah, I’m a proactive type of person, and like I told you once, you were going to regret not being nicer to me. Rafe shot back at her angrily. Just so you know, I'm in figure 8, and I’m not that far off from the mansion. I just needed to get my jewelry box that Dad gave me. I was going to be brief; it'd be like I wasn’t even there. She says, in annoyance, that Rafe could feel her irate energy over the phone. Suddenly, the call ended because she hung up on him. Shit shit shit, what the fuck? He burst out loud, saying I just can’t let her think that she can just barge in here like nothing ever happened, and I don’t need her to stick her nosy ass in my drug deal. His hands Pulling at his hair, it felt like he was going to go into an aneurysm before he knew it. The doorbell rang; he didn’t know if it was Barry or if it was Sarah, but if it was Sarah, he would have hoped that she came alone and not with any of those pogues, especially John B. or Pope, because all hell would break loose. He rushed down the flight of stairs and looked at the front door peephole, and lo and behold, it’s Sarah, his little sister in flesh, with her arms crossed, pacing herself nervously with this decision to come here. Rafe opened the door. I know you’re in there. She says irritated. Rafe has his hands on the door knob shakingly, and how am I supposed to know that you’re not trying to set me up? You’ve always been against me, he yells through the door. I mustered up the courage to face you, despite knowing that you tried to kill me on more than one occasion and that you hate the air that I breathe, just to be cordial to get my things, and you think I'm on some type of scheme with you fully aware I’m here.

“I’m not here to try anything, Rafe, plus I need to get back to close up the surf shop. John B. is expecting me. I drove over alone. You’re in the clear. “She says it calmly. For some reason, her words reassured him, and it just felt trusting this time, so he opens up the door, and she brushes straight past him, jogging up the steps towards her bedroom. He closes the front door behind him, locks it, and puts the hatch on the door, following suit behind her. Sarah really grew into her looks; her hair was longer, passed her back and was nearly waist length; her physical features were more womanly; so much can happen in a year; she wasn’t so little anymore; she was transitioning into a beautiful young lady. This wasn’t a family reunion. I was hoping for Rafe to stared at Sarah, rummaging through her things and throwing a lot of stuff on the bed, sorting through stuff on what she was going to take, and sticking his body at the corner of her bedroom door that she left cracked. Um, do you mind if I'm trying to stay focused? I was looking for something, she declared, cutting her eyes at him, his gaze locking in with hers. Well, I’m coming in. He retorts, walking inside her bedroom, closing the door behind him. Sarah starts putting a lot of her stuff in a tote bag she always kept in her closet and found it. She mutters, picking up her jewelry box. Let me guess you found the gold. Rafe said it sarcastically, hoping to form small talk and break the ice. She had no reaction to him trying to form a conversation with her. What was on her mind was getting back to John B, closing up the surf shop for the night, and discussing renovating the château. Rafe sits on the edge of Sarah’s bed, looking at her. She gathers herself and grabs her things as she aims to head to the bedroom door. Wait, don’t leave. He says it peculiarly, not knowing what came over him, stopping her in her tracks. What is it, Rafe? She asked in confusion. So, that’s it. You think that you can just walk out of this door and act like we don’t have unresolved business? I know this may sound crazy, but I can’t let you leave so you can go have a happily ever after and run off into the sunset with John B. The guy that you chose over your own father and that you chose over me, Rafe, says his blood was boiling, rushing to the door, guarding it, and blocking Sarah from being able to escape. I knew that I was going to regret coming here.

I thought if I told you I was coming, I would be able to avoid such a catastrophe. She shouts, lunging at him. Why does it always have to be you who gets everything? You finally get to have the life you always dreamed of. You finally get to live in normalcy. He snarled, blocking her attempts to claw and hit him, and used his brute force to squeeze her face and force her to meet his eyes. Just admit it, Sarah. Just admit it. You hate me. You want me dead, just like you wanted our dad. he screams It felt like Sarah’s nervous system was going to crash. Her whole body went into fight-or-flight mode in a situation like this. If she didn’t think fast, she knew that she was going to die. Sarah kneed Rafe in his groin, and he fell down, thudding on the floor squirming in agony. I really wish you didn’t do that, he said out loud, fuming just as she was going to make a break for the door and walk out, prying it open. Rafe trips Sarah over, causing her to collide with him. He starts to hover over her, puts his hands around her throat, and starts to strangle her. This is what you get, Sarah. This is what you get. You brought this on yourself, he says in a fit of rage. Rafe, stop. You’re hurting me. Sarah says, gasping for air, tears spilling out of her eyes, her breath shaky, making gurgling sounds. I did everything for our father, and he chose you. It’s always been you. I loved him. I killed for him, and it’s only you that he loved back, never me. He cried out loud, and something within him snapped. It’s like he went completely cold. He was out of it in a sense; he felt like a monster, and he was horrified by getting worked up like this to take it this far. Sarah, with the little fight she had left in her, was not really able to breathe, struggling to get the words out. Rafe, you’re going to kill me. You have to stop choking on her words. He realized the gravity of the situation and let her go, but within seconds everything went black for her, and she slowly closed her eyes and lay unconscious. Now we get to be a family again. Sarah, welcome home; it’s just me and you now, he says quietly.

10 notes · View notes

jonathankatwhatever · 1 year

Text

Had an issue last night with the app appearing to post but actually saving. I don’t trust the drafts will restore, so I posted screenshots from my phone. It did restore, so good.

——-

14 Jan 2023

It seems to be starting with a smile. A specific smile. The one on my right side, where I’ve been having ocular migraines, like of old except without the startlingly awful pain (which lurks in the distance), I was looking at my teeth compared to my hair, compared to the context of how they look on me as opposed to how they look on their own, where the Thing shifts focus to the ideal teeth, as opposed to the ideal fit on me, which segments from superficial to deep. That sentence was a lot, but I think the meaning is clearer for it being so long. I could see the shift from one ideal, that of whiteness and regularness, to a more deeply contextually nuanced ideal. This began when I reminded myself that the light in the bathroom is yellow, and that I have a comparison of my skin tone, which I can see in the mirror under the yellow added. I took out a hand mirror and stood in natural light. I found myself pulling my lips back to see my teeth better in the various contexts that were appearing in my head, including the idea that by turning to be the left-hander, which means turning to the right, which has meant a lot of posture and other changes, that I am becoming myself more, that I am bringing out who I am in every sense, including in this work and in this world.

My face broke out into a huge smile. At that moment I realized that I could not remember smiling like that before. Certainly not for many years. It was a smile from the right eye. All those facial movement conceptions. I found myself pulling connections that led to very dep contractions, very much like the ones I’ve been mastering in other parts of my body. Like how I’ve been gaining control of peeing. It’s not just recovering the ability of youth, but actually knowing how that works as opposed to just being young. It’s like I suddenly have access to more of my face.

I’ve been amazed at how deeply buried the other side has been. You’re the key to me. Encoded in the switch over, so the other Ends are the tips of the Metaphoric Bundles which come from that other side. By switching back, by doing 1-0-1, we complete identity.

There’s that cycle again. We spent the morning running over how thoughts, how visualizations, act as waves, how they have lengths, how they branch, because an End is where there are branchings as threads overlay the 0-1-0 which connects the 1 to 1. I can see that now much better: the End overlays a 0, but that 0 is unlikely over time to be the exact same iteration as the last time. I want to say why that is. It gets to the heart of probability. It is not that over time the thread is bound to wander just because it can. It’s that the existence of other possibility connects to external dimensions which impose contexts in which the choice which is the positive is or appears to be the same as the positive choices you’ve made before. By positive, I do not mean good for you. I mean that they are what you have treated as Pos by selecting those pathways. That, dear reader, is how you get caught in a web before you started reading. You don’t read without opening the book.

In other words, every choice decays because the Between in that choice of pathway connects to external dimensions which reduce to shape what you can do and thus what you do. The mechanism of selection at that stage is where the animal separates from the more aware levels.

Oh, I finally get - FINALLY - the depth of the anxiety and fear you had.

I’m working out the cycle in alternation, but I need a break.

——

I lost all my work after that break. It was good. And important. But gone. I should have hit save before walking away.

Maybe I can get this out cleaner by beginning with near where I was, which is that I came back to the idea that when I reach some place, you are already there. This manifests the process by which an End passes over an fD to another End so the Metaphoric Bundles invert, meaning you see from the other perspective the Metaphoric Bundle which you saw at your original End.

This encodes 1-0-1 where we use the Rolodex concept to fold the fD back on itself, in either direction. That fold is over the 1-0Segment divider, and that means there are 2fD’s on either side of that divider, which means a grid square on either side, which invokes SBE3. I left that trying to connect 3 and 4, but of course both come out of and reduce to a grid square. In fact, the entire panoply of 1 versions appears, especially any conception of ‘prime’ or atom.

The part I can’t recreate was wonderful. I made a fantastic sandwich during which I realized I’d achieved a level of process in which I focused on appearance because I had accepted and was manipulating the pathways, the process, in the appearance, largely without much or any effort, meaning I was highly focused but also separate, meaning I had constructed the 2 Ends of 1-0-1. I could see the focus shift fluidly because I had this separation without conflict, which means the structure was sorted out so it could handle the variety of alternatives encountered along the way with little to no disruption, which means I had developed a sensitivity to differences which could be perceived with less than full attention. This is why looking away helps with balance: creates that 2nd End which can be trained to get along with the balancing End.

I had not realized the degree to which my mental shift ran. Example: I could never find my perfect throwing or batting or golfing stance or swing, but there is one when I turn to the other side. Then my body and eyes align and I find myself getting into the exact positions which fit. I could not have developed the concepts of ideal poses without having gone to the other side and back because the first shift encodes and the second decodes that process.

That would be a remarkable form of emptiness. I remember going through this before, but I could not grasp it. To feel nothing. To feel something. To be tortured with failure and success, always wondering if it was enough, how you had failed, if you’d failed, if you’d been betrayed, if you’d been lied to, and all those very familiar thoughts and processes. More keep appearing before me.

BTW, I made a very cool Storyline connection out of nowhere yesterday. I keep playing with the name Jeanie but I couldn’t figure it out until I realized magic and bottle, magic and lamp, function and form. Tipped me head over heels.

I want to get back to that separation of the fD into a grid square on either side, meaning a Brick, meaning foldover, which is f&b or 9 folds over to 9 in what is now an obvious Extent over grid squares, meaning the other sides are 1. All that just came together. So, a grid square is paired with another, and that pair can be separated, same as we can draw a bT, and take 1 of the sides and push that out until there’s a matchy match, meaning for as long as the gs process allows.

This leads to an image of grid squares radiating but Extents being dimensional, relating over the Laddering of the 1-0Segment, meaning that pushing out or in - another Inmanate and Emanate appearance - counts over that 1-0Segment which thus makes the line of the Extent, while also drawing a grid square layer. It’s the gs(n) layer because the gs(m) forms and that converts this dividing 1-0Segment into the Bip line.

That’s pretty darned cool work.

I am definitely hitting save now.

0 notes

evanescentdawn · 2 years

Text

(July 3rd)

today’s writing:

—wips: ss//older!sk/younger!sauce, yukishima//how bold ⭐️, hananene//kiss kiss kiss, itafushikugi//meg first kiss, jaena//hurt leg

—okay, lmao. today just Wasn’t working out. I was worried abt the time travel fic for SS, since I didn’t think I’d make it, and was like….Ok, I don’t have to do it today, I can do it late. It’s ok because I don’t plan to do it for those two day prompts anyways, and can work on it more tmmr and post it hopefully but ha……today, Today. was gonna work on it afternoon since I got time <3 but lmao, hit a block. internet problems T.T & phone Gone, but I had my song on iPad and could replay it, thankfully, since I was already listening to it before……and had the wip and stuff on doc already up but….Wow, insanely hard to focus! I kept writing abt Every Little Process & thoughts I had which made things insanely slow and by the time my phone came back……………….I just gave up. didn’t want to work on it. motivation hit bottom LMAO, but writing this rn…it Really makes me want to work on it. I fcking love time travel with all my heart. its so <333 and literally, forgetting the smut, this is gonna be SO GOOD. wow. this is hyping me up to work on it fjkfkf. okay, wasnt looking at time while I was doing sss thingies and was like SHIT, I forgot…! I wanted to show snippet for ssmonth today, since I couldn’t finish this and God why did this take so long. I went off writing, realised stuff, continued to edit when I got the section to standard I snippet-show BUT THEN I KEPT NOTICING TYPO’S AND HAD TO DELETE??? but managed to post it in time lmoa

—I thought it might be good to take a break from SS stuff, and remembered the yukishima short thing I wrote for raven’s prompt and was like let’s edit and then post. have edited !!! just neeeds to post but title is being a pain in the backside, lmao. I Cant think of one. like genuinely, even. mind is blank. jfkfkfkfk I SOMEHOW THOUGHT OF TITLE !!! was thinking Shima and went with “double faced” but damn this is making me want to write a whole thing for this now….like the Urge right there hhhhh. really love this lil fic, it’s so good <3 <3 <3

—remembered today is sss today!! gotta do it. heart wants to work on that jaeha fic & def tbhk stuff…I miss it!! tbhk is SO fun to write for. YOOOO I Just remembered that hananene fic that I was so close to finish, gotta check that out first. maybe I got some enlightenment �� I DID !!! I edited and wroteee. damn. I’m So happy. because I fcking love this wip so much hhhhhhhhh ITS SO FREAKING FUN !!!!

—choose to do jjk for the first sss, and WAS gonna do nbmi but then WAIT no, that yumei fic. but then, no. I’m doing Meg first kiss. because damn, it’s actually finished, tbh. I just need to Edit. I worked on it !!!! but lmao, this requires muchhhh energy that I just don’t have rn. but I worked on the first section so that’s v :D :D also like, pretty sure missing edits that i need to scour for….in my tumblr drafts…..ahaha. good luck with that, future me. still feeling insane abt the word count for this, like holy shit, y’know?

—only like few mins left. BECAUSE OF THAT DAMN SSSNIPET so sadly couldn’t that tsukanene idea I wanted, and went for the jaena one, because idk. heart decided on akayona and that one, and it was good because like mins were going and had to quickly write it lmao. good thing I chose that idea, because I had like literally the part I wrote, written in the notes app, just added some lines. also, wow. just realised. I COULD HAVE COPY&PASTED. would have saved time……wow.

#ignore me; im rambling #highlights #july 2022

1 note · View note

lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 3 years

Text

what the fuck I just found this in my drafts I literally wrote this years ago, like a very significant number of years ago this is old shit

and apparently I just saved it and forgot about it??? anyway I polished it up and now it is here, I have no context and I barely even remember writing it, enjoy!

my apologies for the long post I still can't figure out how to do read mores in the app

edit: some lovely people have unformed me how to use readmores, thank you ~

-----

Jack was starting to wonder perhaps if he'd done something wrong.

It wasn't uncommon for him to accidentally say or do something to upset his wife or daughter, although usually when such an event occurred Maddie would glare at him to express her displeasure, and Jazz would always take the opportunity to tell him in exact detail what he'd done wrong and how to make it up to them (something he was honestly very grateful for).

It must have been something pretty bad this time, because both women wouldn't even look him in the eye.

Jack first twigged that something was off that morning during breakfast, when he sat in the empty chair by Jazz's side and gave his usual greeting, "Hey Jazzypants!"

She ignored his presence completely, steely eyes glued to the wall opposite her, they were puffy and red and Jack wondered perhaps if she'd been crying.

It had been a long time since her problems were easily pushed aside by her father's warm hugs and jovial attitude, he had stopped being able to handle a crying Jazz after she'd turned twelve and countered his attempts at humour by insisting that he 'stop trivialising her distress', whatever THAT meant.

Nevertheless, warm hugs and gentle jokes were the only method he knew and so he wrapped a comforting arm around her thin shoulders, noting that she continued to sit still as a rock, not even glancing his way as he tried to coax a smile out of her.

Jazz didn't say a word as she pushed herself away from her unfinished breakfast and left the room.

It was when he walked down to the lab intending to ask Maddie about Jazz that Jack started to suspect he may have been the one responsible, as it became apparent that the two had seemed to coordinate their punishment for whatever transgression he'd made.

"Hey Mads!" his voice boomed over the noise of his wife's current project. He strained to see through the bright light of her blow torch at the large gun-like weapon on the table. Jack whistled in appreciation is he took in the size of what he assumed was some kind of rocket launcher. "So what are we calling this one? Ooh! How about, The Fenton Spectre 'Sploder!"

Maddie's goggles made it difficult to see what expression adorned her face, but her tensed shoulders and the shaky grip on the blow torch told him that she was most certainly upset about something.

"Mads? Are you alright?" his voice quivered slightly as he took a few steps closer, seeing his wife this tense tightened a coil within his chest. Suspecting that he may be responsible added an extra weight to his stomach that he knew wasn't cause by the breakfast he'd skipped.

The light from the blow torch snapped off and Jack had to blink the bright spots it left behind from his vision, trying to peer through the blotches to find any indication that Maddie was going to acknowledge his presence. It seemed as though she'd looked his way for a moment but before his eyes could clear enough to meet hers she'd looked away again.

Jack watched, puzzled as his wife raised a hand to cover her mouth and catch the sob that ripped its way from her throat, she hadn't succeeded as the sound echoed across the lab and tore its way straight through Jack's heart, causing his eyes to sting and his throat to close up.

He reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, intent on giving her some form of comfort. He'd barely brushed it with his finger tips before Maddie stormed right past him up to the stairs, Jack had to quickly stumble backwards to avoid being trampled.

He couldn't imagine what he possibly could have done to elicit such a response from the woman he loved, but he knew for sure that he must have done something terrible for her to not seek him out for comfort like she did any other time she was upset. He just wished he could remember what.

Jack's shoulders slumped under the dim light of the glowing jars of ectoplasm lining the various counter-tops, he dry-swallowed a few times, trying to push down his confusion and distress before following his wife's light footsteps up the stairwell.

He found her in the kitchen, leaning against a counter with her goggles slung around her neck and her wild red hair loose around her head, abundant with the kinks and tangles Jack usually watched her brush out of it every morning.

"Mads?" Jack said, voice rough and quiet, "Look I... if I did something wrong I-" Jack's apology froze in his throat as Jazz poked her head through the kitchen door, eyes once again glancing right over Jack and instead locking onto her mother.

Neither woman shared a word as Jazz crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Maddie, who desperately grabbed at her daughter in return, burying her face in long red hair as violent sobs wracked her whole body.

Jack, at a loss of what else to do, wrapped his own arms around his girls. Nestling his chin on his daughters hair, he expected the annoyed scoff that Jazz usually gave him for his 'chin noogies', but it never came. Neither Fenton woman pushed him away though, so Jack considered it progress.

Finally, after an age of rocking and sobbing, Maddie's muffled words escaped through strands of Jazz's hair.

"Where is he? W-where'd he go, where'd he go?"

A deep chill coursed through Jack's veins, Danny? Had something happened to Danny? Jack pulled away, a million questions thrumming through his mind.

What happened? Was he missing? Was he hurt? Had he run away, been kidnapped, been kill- no. Jack shook his head violently, running a hand through the shorts strands of his thick hair. No he couldn't be. He couldn't be he couldn't be.

Jack's mouth was on the verge of catching up to his brain, multiple questions bubbled at his lips when he heard a voice echo down the stairs.

"Jazz?"

Jack took a steadying breath and grasped at the counter for support, relief flooding his body as his son rounded the corner and came into view. Danny was fine, Danny was safe. He had been fretting over absolutely nothing.

Then Danny's eyes locked into his.

A number of emotions flickered across his son's face, the first being a brief moment of sheer relief and delight, but it didn't last. Soon, too soon, Danny's dark brows pulled together and his lips curled sourly in confusion before a new expression swept it away. It was one Jack had never seen before.

He felt as though the air had been sucked out of the room, an icy chill prickled up his arms as the sudden wave of absolute horror overtook Danny's face. Jack couldn't tell if his son was about to break down crying or scream.

And then it was over. The tension in Jack's limbs released as Danny's face flattened into an unnaturally blank expression, he dropped his gaze and continued his way over to Maddie and Jazz. Once again it was like Jack wasn't even there.

Danny placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Maybe you should do another lap around town, you might find something today." he spoke softly into her frazzled hair.

Jazz looked at Danny strangely, her brother sent her back a glance that must have held some meaning because she then gripped Maddie tightly around the shoulders and led her straight out of the house, and suddenly Jack recalled that he still didn't know who it was that had gone missing.

"So... is anyone gonna tell me what's going on?" the jovial tone Jack meant to use came out flat and strained, Danny didn't look even remotely amused.

"I think you should sit down." Danny said quietly. He was no longer meeting Jack's eyes as he pulled out a chair for himself and one for his father.

Jack took the offered seat and prepared himself for the worst, obviously someone dear to Maddie and the kids had gone missing, Jack ran a list of all the people they knew, preparing himself for the worst, it was obvious Danny did not want to tell him what had happened. Perhaps whoever was missing was someone that Jack in particular had been close to? Was that the reason behind the horrified look on Danny's face? Because he'd realised he was going to have to be the one to tell him?

Something in Jack's gut told him he was on the wrong track, but try as he might he just couldn't imagine what else it could possibly be.

Jack kept his eyes on his son as the boy's thin torso straightened up in his chair and his icy blue stare bored into Jack's. Danny took a deep breath, then took several more, eventually he seemed almost ready to speak, Jack didn't rush him.

"Dad... you're dead."

#Bitter #danny phantom #lula's fanfics #jack fenton #I have zero context for this I barely even remember writing it #like this has to be 5 years old AT LEAST

547 notes · View notes

denkamis · 3 years

Text

bnha characters as cheesy valentine’s day tropes.

masterlist. | valentine’s day event masterlist.

warnings: none! some swearing, but a lot of fluff for the best boys

characters: shouto todoroki, denki kaminari, eijirou kirishima, tamaki amajiki

notes: dedicated to @nekomanagers / @meilbox ,, for being the most supportive human being in my life and undoubtedly the reason i have been posting so much of my work here on this blog. thank you for dealing with all of my shenanigans on and offline, and for picking me up when i felt like i couldn’t. <33 i love you.

shouto todoroki

flowers & chocolate as gifts

he’s one for the classics

he buys you the most gorgeous flowers, ones that are most definitely your favourites mixed in with an arrangement of others that all have particular meanings to them

he also got you expensive truffle chocolates, and also some cheaper ones that you really like to snack on

he’s so thoughtful, it makes your heart melt

literally so sincere as he gives it to you too, has a whole ass speech prepared

shouto came home after work a bit later than you had expected him to. perhaps he got caught up with some hero work, a report that needed to absolutely be filed today or a villain that just wouldn’t let up. either way, when you heard the front door to your shared apartment open, you came running over to greet him. as you turned the corner to see the front door, there stood shouto with the most breathtaking bouquet of flowers you had ever seen in your life. it was a myriad of colours and petals of all kinds standing out against the white of his suit. since when did he have time to change after work to surprise you like this? his usual aloof expression was replaced by a soft smile, one that was reserved for you and only you, “happy valentine’s day, my love.”

he strolled over to you, initiating a kiss that was slow and passionate. it made your heart melt right on the spot, your face erupting in nothing but pure warmth. “shouto, these are beautiful,” you told him as you took a moment to admire the different flowers that went into assembling the collection in his hands. “these ones mean gratitude, and this one here means love. truth is the white coloured one,” he pointed out, guiding you through the meaning of each individual one that made up your special gift.

he snuck a glance at you, your face radiant with how much you were smiling at his thoughtful present. “i also bought you a few of your favourites,” shouto gestured to the vanity you two kept by the door. you turned to see a very expensive box of truffles and a few hershey's kisses paired with more of your favourite corner store chocolates.

“it wasn’t too much, was it?” shouto asked quietly, watching as your jaw dropped at the sight of the truffles. didn’t you hear a rumour once about how those ones literally had gold integrated into their wrappers? “no no, it’s wonderful. this is.. you’re so sweet,” you giggled, tapping his chest as a signal for him to lean down so you could kiss him again. no matter how many times shouto gifted you flowers and chocolate on valentine’s day, you got the same butterflies as you did when he first gave you these heartfelt gifts back in high school.

denki kaminari

fancy dinner date at an expensive restaurant

the entire bakusquad was EGGING HIM ON for something good on valentine’s day okay

he’s been talking big game about some kind of secret plan he had in store for the both of you

he bought you an outfit that not only suited your style, but was elegant and absolutely stunning as it complimented your figure

he pulled out all the stops for you

he wanted to be classy, so he reserved a table for two at one of those rooftop restaurants so you two could dine and enjoy each other’s company

“like grown ups” as denki says

you were sat at a candlelit dinner for two near the edge of one of the most highly rated restaurants in your area. denki had really gone all out, wanting to treat you like the resilient and beautiful partner you were to him with a night that would be unforgettable.

and unforgettable it was.

you two were arguably the loudest ones at the restaurant, laughing and overall just having a good time amongst such high class individuals. denki was making faces at you across the table, making you choke back on the red wine you were having. “and then bakugou slapped that dude! it was crazy, y/n, super fucking wild,” he laughed as you nodded your head in agreement. denki sure knew how to talk, filling in conversations with anecdotes and playful conversation topics sprinkled in with compliments for you. he loved you so damn much, he felt like his electricity quirk was on all the time with you from how much you turned his brain to mush.

he couldn’t get over how gorgeous you looked tonight, with your hair done and your outfit styled to perfection. like, that was all his? and a personality to match? damn! he felt like for once, he was doing something right in his life for you. he wasn’t the dumbass everyone constantly made him out to be. he was trying to be the best for you, and if he could make you happy for the rest of his life, then nothing else mattered to him.

your waiters came back with two platters in hand, with outrageously small portion sizes that could feed maybe a small cat at best. the two of you stared at each other with blank expressions. oh no, this would not be enough to appease your appetites. each of your plates were worth twelve thousand yen, so you really couldn’t get more. on top of that, denki had prepaid everything for tonight anyways. what was worse was that the food tasted like a rat’s ass, yet the two of you dined like kings regardless. well, you pretended to at least. as you were suppressing your disgusted expressions out of kindness to both the waiters and the other guests, denki couldn’t help but stare at you. you were his person, and although the dinner wasn’t exactly all it was cracked up to be, he knew that you dealt with so much more of him than anyone else was willing to. that meant more to him than words could even express.

that, and he immediately bought you apology mcnuggets after you two left. then you two really ate like kings.

eijirou kirishima

long captions to their s/o on instagram

this mfing SAP

he has everything planned, he made like 3 drafts beforehand and even had bakugou proofread it for him

he had all the different pictures he wanted to post too

this is a little unrelated but mans definitely showed up to your house with red roses and a suit

LIKE A GENTLEMAN

your phone buzzed, indicating that you had received a new notification from instagram. after taking your phone off the table and entering in your passcode, you tapped into the instagram app and saw what had caused the tiny ping.

eijikirishima has tagged you in a post!

the first photo was an oldie, but a goodie. it was of you and eijirou at prom together back when you both graduated from ua. he looked absolutely stunning in the darkened suit he had bought, right beside you in a matching colour scheme. though the picture was in fact a meme in itself, as he posed like that one will smith picture gesturing to you with the goofiest smile. you remembered telling him that he was absolutely banned from wearing crocs that night to the dance. it was a good thing you had saved him from that utter atrocity.

the next picture was a photo of you with the puppy you had adopted together. you had named him bean, to which eijirou had expressed was the manliest name he had ever heard for a tiny pomeranian puppy. you were pressing a kiss to bean’s nose, the angle of the photo showing off your loving nature that he had fallen for.

the last was a picture of you sleeping against him during a long train ride for a mission. it wasn’t the most flattering picture eijirou had of you, but it was certainly one of his favourites. you looked so at peace, cuddling against his side with a tiny line of drool running down your chin. he was smiling in the picture, his eyes solely trained on you with the most wholesome look on his face. he was so utterly in love with you, and this picture couldn’t have showcased that look any more clearly.

the caption read as follows:

Hey bros! It’s Valentine’s Day, which means that it is my duty to post about the most amazing person I’ve ever had the pleasure of dating for about five years now! Y/N, we’ve been through so much together over the years, we’ve had ups and downs and everything else in between but I’ve been fortunate enough to remain standing here as the person you can confide in, much like you are that person to me. You’re my rock. I continue to find so much more to love about you every single day. I hope I get to spend the rest of my days with you, my best friend, my partner throughout everything. I love you so so much, pebble. I hope we get to stay just like this forever, and grow as we go along.

needless to say, many happy tears were shed that day.

tamaki amajiki

love letters in their shoe locker

for all the days leading up to valentine’s, tamaki put a different letter in your locker

mirio hyped him up asf to even get him to write what he was feeling towards you

and he was still nervous as hell and had mirio stand guard so that you didn’t accidentally walk in on him shoving weird notes in your locker

but unfortunately for tamaki, mirio isn’t a very good watchman

and so you caught him in the act, right on valentine’s day ironically

it was the end of a long, rather eventful day at school. you had gotten a few confessions from some other students, to which you turned down due to someone else being on your mind. for the past few days, you had begun collecting small letters in your shoe locker. the notes were short, handwritten with small doodles and even a recipe or two for you to try. it seemed like this person was reaching out to you to express their true feelings, their intimate and romantic feelings, towards you. and you couldn’t help but feel the same towards them, whoever they were. this admirer unveiled small details about themselves to you, yet hadn’t revealed enough for you to piece together a name. so here you were, sprinting down the hallway as soon as the bell went to try and catch a glimpse of this mystery individual who had been leaving you such sweet writings for you to cherish.

you rounded the final corner and there you saw him. before that happened however, you first you ran into your classmate and good friend mirio, who let out a tiny “oof” at the sudden contact. you apologized to him in a rush, explaining in a rushed tone that you needed to go meet someone. he nodded and waved to you before realizing that he had one job and tamaki was definitely going to kill him later.

only slightly out of breath, you saw a mess of indigo hair and shaky hands sliding your latest note into your shoe locker. as he turned to leave, his face drained of colour at the sight of you. he slouched further, retreating into himself. he looked around nervously for an excuse as to what the hell he was doing shoving letters into your locker. though, you beat him to speaking first.

“it’s you.”

tamaki’s throat felt scratchy and swollen, his entire form shaking as you slowly, calmly made your way towards him. “i- i can explain, y/n,” tamaki barely murmured, his nerves beginning to get the best of him yet again. “your words, they were so intimate. you were so well spoken on paper, i just had to meet you in person,” you confessed to him with a patient smile on your face. you stood a relatively safe distance away, not wanting to overwhelm him by your presence. you had just caught him in such a compromising act, after all.

“i read all your letters,” you went on, “every night before bed, i read them, tamaki. i even tried out the udon recipe you gave me and it was the best udon i had ever had. everything you said in your letters, the confessions and the other, more personal stuff… is that all true?”

tamaki, though he felt frozen beneath your warm gaze, had the courage to nod his head. “i didn’t know how else to tell you,” he admitted, hands now covering his face in shame. suddenly, gentle fingers grasped at his shaky ones as you uncovered his face to the light that was you. “i like you too,” you said finally. it felt like a chord had snapped inside of tamaki’s mind and all his feelings came crashing down in a deep crescendo of emotions all for you. it was all that he had ever wanted from you: a response.

all works © denkamis 2021.

tags:

@meilbox

want to be on the taglist? see this post!

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #mha scenarios #bnha scenarios #shouto todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki x reader #todoroki x reader #denki kaminari x reader #kaminari x reader #eijirou kirishima x reader #kirishima x reader #tamaki amajiki x reader #amajiki x reader #denkamis.scenarios

142 notes · View notes

be-ready-when-i-say-go · 4 years

Note

Umm maybe one with Cal (obvi lol) where he randomly posts you. Maybe you've been dating for 3 years and they only see blurs of your face or the back of your head when you go see him or go to events with him. And its a long ass caption about how you're that BITCH and he loves you so much. And then you see and are like "bro wtf" and you ask him about and he shrugs it off and says he wanted to world to see his world

So, I’m a whole dumbass and accidentally deleted the first draft of this. But I managed to save it, even though I have the memory of a goldfish. I hope you enjoy.

Take a gander at my masterlist!

Reader Insert. No specific race, gender, or sexuality!

__________________________________

Gratitude

Calum’s body is sprawled across yours. His head is on your chest. His arms are wrapped around you, meeting at your back, hugging you like a child clutches onto their favorite stuffed animal. But it’s you. And you are no stuffed animal. Your fingers lightly drag through the blonde but turning brunette strands. They’ve started to curl in around each other. You wonder if he’s ever going to ask you to cut his hair, if you guys will join the cull of people in desperate times. He has clippers and guards under the sink. It’s not like he hasn’t resorted to the buzz at home before. You’re not going to push it though. There’s enough to worry about as it stands.

There’s promotion before the album’s release and now after too. There are interviews at all times of the day it seems. There was shooting at home for the ‘Wildflower’ music video. If it’s not something he brings up, you’re definitely not going too. There’s plenty already to worry about. Maybe even too much to worry about. But you’re glad that Calum’s found a moment to rest. It’s evaded you though, for the moment and for the last couple of days if you’re honest. Even with a pretty consistent sleep schedule, you still find your mind racing. Like there’s not plenty of time for that during the day.

Reaching up, you grab your phone from the edge of the back of the couch, right on the ledge. You placed it there not worried about it falling, when Calum first collapsed into you. You figure there’s nothing wrong, for the moment, to expose yourself to some blue light and social media. It all feels like a fog though. Twitter is nothing but the same memes, the same ads, the sameness of everyone ghosting into a void where sometimes the void echoes back. And down and down you go, liking some tweets here and there, but to no avail to find any real distractions. Occasionally, you snort at a meme, but it’s just a quick chuckle.

You turn to Instagram. You’re bound to have the same results, something so mind numbing it can’t even numb anymore. And as the app loads, you watch all the people with icons shuffling across the top of the screen. You tap on the first one and let it cycle all the way through, before repeatedly tapping through them. You pause at ones that look interesting, watching them all the way through. One hand drifts back down to Calum’s head, scratching ever so lightly at his scalp. He burrows deeper into you, squeezing you in his arms just a little.

Swiping away from the stories, you scroll the posts and not even three posts down, you notice the photo of yourself. Then you see Calum’s account as the culprit. It’s of your silhouette mostly as you twirl under streetlights. You remember then the photo was snapped. Just eight months into your relationship and you had been given a promotion at work. Calum wanted to celebrate by grabbing a quick treat from your favorite bakery. It was late and you felt like being a little fancy, and stopped by a bar just to grab one drink. One celebratory drink. And as the two of you exited, rain started to fall. Rain in L.A. isn’t too common and you had to bask in the moment, just for a moment, since it was so light. So you started laughing as you spun around the sidewalk. You hadn’t even noticed Calum snapping the photo until you saw it as his homescreen two weeks later.

There are several blue dots at the bottom of the picture. So you swipe left. This photo is of you, too, but your face is mostly hidden by Duke’s body, just a portion of your forehead and eye visible because of the angle. It had to be from a year or so into the relationship given the style and length of your hair. And you nearly laugh at yourself for thinking that a year was so early on, now that you’re three years into this. But god, it really was early on. Now you can’t picture your morning routine without Calum being grumpy and without Duke whining to be let out and Calum pouting that Duke’s steals all your attention. You always rectify the pouts with two kisses to his forehead and never less than those two kisses either.

Taking a quick moment, you look around for the old man and spy him curled up at the end of your feet. And you have to grin. He’s never too far from Calum at all when Calum’s home. You turn your attention back to your phone and swipe again. The next photo is of half your face. A little blurred thanks to Calum’s shaky hands and questionable photography skills. But you can tell, thanks to the grass below and the wristband this was from the Coachella adventures. You swipe again. It’s your full face, hidden by some shadows as you laugh from the top of the ladder. From the ventures of painting the bedroom again, it was nothing drastic but still, took you and Calum two days to finish the painting. As you swipe again, there’s one last photo, of you three days, grinning hard into the camera while leaning against the kitchen counter. You were just waiting for the water to boil and listening to a podcast before starting dinner. You noticed Calum coming into the kitchen and when he mumbled for you to look up at him, you saw the phone and smiled as hard as you could.

As time goes on, things get clearer. Being with you just makes sense. And I know when you see this, you’ll probably be a little mad. Duke, I’ll need to share that bed with you. I can only hope it’s big enough. I’m not sure why it’s hard to say to you right now, face to face. You’re just on the couch and I’m just at the kitchen table. And I know, I’m a pretty private guy. But something about being with you just makes sense, so much damn sense. It’s just been us, when the road got narrow and when it was all too easy to walk, hell, maybe even run along, we still had each other. No relationship sails smoothly and no planes out there that’s ever flown doesn’t hit some turbulence. Every time though, we’ve come out stronger and together still. There’s no important date for this, the 3rd anniversary has come and gone, but there seems like no better time to say thank you. So, thankyou. Thankyou. Thankyou.

You don’t realize there are tears until one slips down your cheek and splashes onto the phone screen. Your inhale is shaky and you’re trying to swallow down the sobs. They still come through, like coughs from your chest and you’re sure you’re trembling. Calum feels you shaking, squeezing again unsure if you’re moving out from underneath him. “Five more minutes,” he mumbles, readjusting the position of his head.

He doesn’t miss the sniffle though and when he sits up, eyes admittedly still puffy with sleep, and sees you with one hand over your mouth and tears streaking your face, he panics. “Baby? What the hell happened?” He’s cupping your face, wiping at the tears and soon, he’s sitting completely up, and against the couch cushions. You pull your leg out from behind his body. Calum waste no time to tuck you up into his arms, chin resting on the top of your head. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here for you.”

“I saw the post,” you manage to get out, now able to control the emotions racking through you.

His grip slackens. You hear the rumble of his soft laugh. “So is the couch cushions my source of warmth tonight?”

You have no problem with Calum posting photos. You just hadn’t expected him to post something like that. Pushing up to your knees, you gently cup his cheek. He reciprocates the tender hold. “No, I was just shocked that’s all. Came out of left field.” His thumb clears away the stray tears and yours just gently brushes along the stumble that’s started to prick through his skin.

“I just love you, that’s all. And we’ve been together for three years and I can see three more together, and three more after that. And three more after that. And three more after that. And three more after. And hell, twenty after that. Just wanted the world to see my world.”

“Calum Thomas, you’re so fucking cheesy, but goddamn do I love you.” He gives a quick smile before you capture his lips, hands cupping both cheeks. And soon you trail them up his nose, kissing between his brows, over each eye and then kissing twice on his forehead.

-H

855 notes · View notes

pretty-pink-seaslug · 3 years

Text

Not me making Little Nightmares 2 theories 🙈

Spoilers for Little Nightmares 1, Little Nightmares 2, and the secret ending!! I can’t put this under a read more so you have to scroll past 😔

• Right so 1st theory: <<Six is possessed>>

My reasoning for this theory, Six gets sucked into the TV we search for her yadda yadda so n so, and then we finally get to her at the end, but obviously there was a huge change, really she looks mutated, this is where my possessed theory comes in! You know how when we find her we never see Skinny Legend again? (I’m calling the hat man Skinny Legend) And you know how in the maw Six looked damn near possessed with the starvation she suffered? I heard several theories that the longer you stay in the maw the more crazy you go, so the insanity of the maw could’ve added to her starvation, made her crazy, and well she feasts on the Lady. After she feasts on the Lady we get that end scene where she’s sucking the souls of the gluttons around her, so that theory from the 1st game ties into my possessed theory because we all know how she gets when she gets hungry— plus we don’t know what happened to her in the shadow realm (that’s what I’m calling the TV realm) so anyways since Skinny Legend never comes back out after we get Six, she could’ve eaten him when she got hungry, and since we saw the Lady kinda possessed her after she got eaten, Skinny Legend probably possessed Six after he got eaten, so I guess I also have the theory of Six takes the soul of whoeveror whatever she eats, BUT if that soul is stronger than hers and she’s unable to kinda like control it, she’ll be taken over by that soul, as we saw at the end of the 1st game.

• 2nd theory: <<Six got mutated>>

You know how near the end we see that weird long armed version of Six? Here’s my theory as to why that’s a mutated version; you know how this game is fucked and weird— again, we don’t know wtf the Shadow Realm is like when you’re not teleporting through like Mono did, plus we already know Six can’t access the Shadow Realm transit system like Mono can, so whatever world she was put in could’ve changed her, a lot, thus we get long arm Six. For now we’re gonna call her M Six, the M standing for Mutated. As we can see, M Six is completely docile until provoked, and everytime we provoke her the more she screams and cries, but we’re not hurting her physically, more like we’re hurting her mentally/emotionally, that music box is the little bit of humanity she has left, and if you were mutated you’d probably try to hang onto whatever humanity you have left, right? So us trying to damage her music box is like us trying to take away the only comfort she has left, thus leading her to get thoroughly upset and attack us. Of course after we destroy it she turns back to normal, but mutation doesn’t go away that easy, you know how cancer is a mutation and when it’s “cured” it’s not really gone, and it’s just in a more docile state because it got radiated away so hard? Well the mutation is like that! So even though she looks normal and acts a lil normal too, that doesn’t mean she’s completely fine on the inside, the mutation could’ve effected her brain like how it did when she was M Six, so she could still be a lil deranged from the Mutation, thus leading her to drop us in the ending, probably out of fear or hatred from us destroying her music box.

• 3rd theory: <<Six got replaced>>

This last theory comes off the secret ending, where we see 2 versions of Six. Remember how when we were after Six trying to get her out the shadow realm we were getting guided by this shadow Six? Well that shadow Six only came through after Six was in the shadow realm for an extended period of time. So my theory is that if you’re dragged to the Shadow Realm for too long, you’ll get split in half, your soul splitting from its body, and a Shadow Realm creature takes your body, leaving you out of it. As we can see from the shadow people Mono finds, they kinda just hang around things that either killed them, places they died, or things they were attached to. Where does shadow Six pop up? Near Mono! Mono saved Six thus Six kinda attached herself to Mono, my theory also says that Six didn’t know that once you’re out it’ll be hard to get your body back, either that or you can’t get it back at all. So she was bringing Mono to where she was, only to find out she can’t get her past self back, so from then on after Un-Mutating that version of Six we get in the pink place, that’s the fake Six, and the real version of Six goes to be a wandering Shadow, like the ones Mono absorbs.

K that’s all my theories, did you like them? 🥺 👉👈 Lol I was getting tired of everyone having the same theory that it’s an endless loop of pain where Mono is Skinny Legend and keeps trying to save past him to no avail, I don’t like sad theories 😔 Anyways, thanks for reading these! I unfortunately can’t put all this under a Read More cut because I work off mobile tumblr and to put it under a Read More cut I’d have to go on the desktop version and for some reason when I save this as a draft on the app it refuses to show up on the site. Have a nice day/night homies 😎✌️

@unluckyblackcat13 😎

#little nightmares mono #little nightmares six #little nightmares 2 #little nightmares #little nightmares spoilers #my theories #Little nightmares theory #lol that’s a lot of small bad dreams

13 notes · View notes

thewolfprince · 4 years

Note

what if,, 👉👈 mc got their s/os cellphones?? 👀 it occurred to me that they only have magickal scryglasses or smth so,, they just,, give them normal cellphones and laugh while teaching them how to use them lmao,, idk i just like the fluffiness of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

YESSSS I love this idea.

Fandom: The Elementalists

Ship: Poly Pend Pals

Male!MC and Male!Atlas

[Tumblr didn’t save my first draft I’m gonna cry]

—————————————————————————

When the idea struck Fyre, his eyes lit up and he nearly jumped out of his seat. When the teacher dismissed his class, Fyre ran out the door into the courtyard. He made his way to his room.

Grabbing a piece of paper, Fyre hesitated. He’d prefer to have someone go with him, though everyone was busy right now. With Zephyr being Thief captain, Griffin helping a town after an earthquake hit, Shreya and Aster at Aster’s shop. Beckett had classes for the rest of the evening…

Fyre would take Atlas, but he didn’t know where Atlas was.

So, Fyre called on his trusty companion. And with a pop, Lukain was staring at him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Fyre scribbled down on his note and left it propped up on his desk. With a smile, he turned towards the purple Arylu. “Ready, buddy?”

Lukain stood up and head-butted Fyre’s stomach. Fyre laughed. “Okay, we can get some food too.”

After informing Dean Swan of where he was going, Fyre stepped through the portal.

Entering his room was a very strange experience. He hadn’t seen it in years, yet it was like he had never left. The room was the exact same, only now there was a large purple Arylu lounging on his bed.

With a fond smile, Fyre headed downstairs and opened the garage. Pulling out his bike, he started the hour long ride to the nearest mall.

With Lukain bounding beside him, Fyre may or may not have cast his super speed spell on himself.

So, he got to the mall in way under an hour, parking his bike in the bike racks and sending Lukain back to the ether.

“I’ll call you if I need help,” Fyre promised, giving Lukain a hug and a treat.

Fyre took a deep breath and mentally reviewed what he had, a handy system he had developed for school. He closed his eyes.

Fyre wore a mix of clothing. Athletic shoes that channeled his speed spell better (a gift from Griffin), jeans that he was pretty sure were once Zeph’s, one of Atlas’s white shirts, his own red sweatshirt (charmed by Beckett and Aster for protection), a binder everyone pitched in and bought, the iconic Pend Pals bracelet on his left wrist, and a necklace with an SM (who knew Shreya was passively possessive?)

He didn’t want to use his Magick or summon Lukain unless it was a real emergency, he decided.

With his wallet in his pocket, Fyre opened his eyes and walked into the mall.

He entered in and sped-walked towards his mission. After two hours of looking, shopping, and wandering, Fyre came back out of the mall with three hotdogs, a pretzel, and three bags.

He summoned Lukain and tossed the hotdogs into the air, the purple Arylu catching each of them in his mouth before nuzzling Fyre in thanks. Fyre sat against the wall near his bike and devoured his pretzel.

Sometimes he preferred food that didn’t scream when you ate it.

/ / /

Getting back to his dorm as quick as he could, Fyre sighed in relief as he entered and there was no one inside.

And then the door was flung open and the lights of his life flooded his room.

Griffin stole the spot on the bed next to Fyre, much to Shreya’s disappointment. So Fyre got a lap full of Shreya.

Zephyr sat down on the chair at Fyre’s desk. Aster planted herself in one corner while Beckett took the wall lined with books.

Atlas stood at the door.

“Hi, everyone?” Fyre tilted his head to the side.

“You weren’t at dinner.” Zeph said and Shreya nodded, wrapping her arms around Fyre.

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realize I had been gone that long.” Fyre apologized, looking everyone in the eyes as he spoke.

No one spoke until Fyre reached behind himself and grabbed six boxes, handing them off to his significant others. Everyone stared at the boxes in curiosity.

“What are these?” Aster asked.

“A Tuneless thing. They’re called phones.” Fyre replied.

After helping them set the phones up, Fyre showed them how they worked. Griffin went right to the playlists Fyre had created for each of them. Shreya surfed the internet shops while Zephyr discovered flag football.

Beckett quickly went down a rabbit hole of information, much to the surprise of no one in that room.

Aster fiddled with her phone, asking questions on what it did and how it worked. Fyre led her to Google once he ran out of answers.

Atlas fiddled with his and Fyre wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, so he let him be.

After ten minutes, six phones chimed.

Atlas: I’ve found a form of communication commonly used by Tuneless people that we can take advantage of for ourselves.

Fyre: Atlas you know how to text??

Fyre looked up at his brother, who held a smug smirk.

Fyre grinned back and shook his head softly.

/ / /

Three weeks later, Aster, Atlas and Beckett formed magickal additions to the phones. Shreya has already developed three apps. Griffin had about twelve playlists created and more on the way. Zephyr studied sports tactics, teaching them to the Thief team.

And Fyre made plans for the summer, ignoring the calls that seemed to increase every single day.

#im going to SCREAM Tumblr didn’t save the first draft so I habe to write this all over again #poly pend pals #atlas ernhardt #zephyr hernandez #aster d'yew #beckett harrington #shreya mistry #griffin langley

10 notes · View notes

sehunniepotwrites · 3 years

Note

1, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, and 25 for the ask game!! 💕

hi there, kelsey!! i hope you’re having a great day/night so far!! thanks for always asking questions- you always make these so fun to do!

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

i currently have a lot of drafts for fics but i guess the ones i’m holding off on is an enemies to lovers!au starring johnny! i came up with the idea a long time ago and i know how i want it to go down but i just can’t seem to write it.

maybe it’s because i’m not used to writing bantering that borders flirtiness or the tension i want between the two characters ;;; i feel like the story can go the suggestive/smutty route bUT UH I’M NOT GOOD AT THAT!

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

i listen to music or search through a long list of prompts/quotes until something hits me!

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

oh, coming up with dialogue! for sure! i’ve always been a dialogue based writer but i think the conversations i write have a different flow compared to my older work

12) your weaknesses as an author

LMAO DESCRIPTIONS! as i said, i use dialogue to move the story forward. descriptions aren’t my thing. my vocab isn’t all that, you know?

13) your strengths as an author

fluff and angst are my strong suits, mostly because that’s literally what i am. half sunshine and rainbows, half really angsty poet. there is no in between.

15) why did you start writing?

because there were things i wanted to read and i never saw enough of. all these ideas swimming in my head and nothing to do with them but write them out!

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

once you get an idea, write. it. down. in your notes app on your phone, on a piece of paper, text it to a friend. do whatever it takes to jot every detail down. you may not use it but it’s better than an idea being lost.

also, read over your work! sometimes, something may sound right in the moment but when you go back, you might not like it the second time around!

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

gore, sexual abuse/harrassment, physical fights/beatings, smut. like i said, i’m not a descriptive writer. so i can barely type out these types of scenes. and as for smut, idk what it is. i just feel like i can’t do. i’ve tried but then i get embarrassed lmao

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

i still know nothing about sports and here i am, wanting to write a whole series on hockey. honestly, i still don’t know much about it but i’m learning?

there’s a reason i always make my characters certain majors in college!aus. i’m familiar with their backgrounds.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

From All My Loving:

“You, you— God, you left me all alone to deal with that heartbreak! You just— you just threw me away like a crumpled piece of paper on the damn floor, you couldn’t even pick me up and— and place me in the trash,” you stuttered through your rant but you didn’t care. You became a spitfire, spewing whatever came to mind.

The hurt that is channeled through this is unmatched. I felt like crying while writing this scene.

From Would You Be So Kind?

There you were, gone into a deep slumber and here he was, a complete goner for you.

Seeing him with her was like taking an arrow to the heart. Not cupid’s arrow or anything of that sort. It felt like an arrow that was aimed to kill. It smashed the window of your lonely soul, the broken glass piercing every fiber of your being. You were crushed, beyond saving for you craved a love you couldn’t have.

get to know your author: ask a question!

#nikki replies #ask game #aaaaaah so many questions!!! these were fun to answer!!!#kelsey🦎

1 note · View note

certifiedmoth · 5 years

Text

Mine (Part 1)

Duncan Shepherd x Michael Langdon x Jim Mason x Reader

Summary: Y/N arrives back in D.C. where she attends an event and comes face-to-face with the ghosts of her past.

Word Count: 4.6K

Warnings: Not really any, a bit of angst and a little of conflict between Duncan and Michael

Notes: Okay I have to be honest, this is actually the first thing I ever wrote when I started this tumblr but the 1st draft was rough (oof) and I just left it to gather webs as I worked on my other fics, so now here it is!! All fixed up and pretty. I’m really excited about this new series and don’t worry, Jimmy will make an appearance soon! (credit to @spellman for the gif)

___

You didn’t know that he would be here tonight but there he was, staring at you through eyes of crystal, a painful reminder of the life you left behind here. Being back in town wasn’t easy and having to get back into the hang of things and attend events such as this one was even less pleasant. So much schmoozing, sketchy politicians and unnerving stares from older men – It all left you feeling irritated and ready to leave just minutes after you had arrived with your date.

After walking in together, the gentleman you came with briefly left your side, kissing your hand and announcing he wouldn’t be gone too long. You were more than happy to not join him while he made his rounds and introduced himself to just about every influential person in D.C. Hanging back and people watching was just fine with you. It was hard to be back here and you were hesitant on jumping back into the shark tank, weary of the bloodthirsty crowd that made up D.C. You tried best to hide your glares as you peered at drunken senators and CEOS, but you were sure if anyone glanced your way, they’d be sure to see just how miserable you were. You almost hadn’t noticed the brunette staring at you from across the room, but, then again, you never could miss those piercing blue eyes. They shone like a lighthouse calling you home in the midst of a storm.

He was surrounded by a group of men and their wives – All dressed to the nines, all ridiculously self-indulgent and pretentious. You could tell that somebody was in the thick of a story from the obnoxious laughs that permeated off of the walls. Heads rolled back in laughter while champagne was drawn to lips, but all of his attention was on you and only you.

The beautiful woman standing next to him was the second thing you noticed. With her arm intertwined with his and her body leaning against his tall frame, she smiled at the businessman-turned-storyteller. A bright smile, a vision of pearly whites. She was the type to draw you in and swallow you up whole before you knew what had even happened. Such an ugly thing, you thought. How horrible and dull she must be to buy into whatever this businessman was gloating about. But when it came down to it, you didn’t know her or what she was like, not really anyways; you were just sickened by the thought of seeing him with anybody other than you.

With your mouth agape and dreary thoughts circling around in your head, you came to the hard realization that these feelings weren’t yours to have. You hadn’t seen him in years and you tried desperately to remind yourself that you had no right to feel any jealousy when it came to Duncan Shepherd. But as hard as you tried, you still felt he belonged to you – That he was your person.

Nerves came over you, causing the negativity around you to deepen and you immediately turned around, not wanting to face what was in front of you. You hadn’t expected to be in his presence tonight and you certainly didn’t expect to have this reaction. Not knowing what to do, you found yourself pacing around the crowded room, walking anywhere that wasn’t in his general direction. A part of you missed him and wanted to run into his arms like how you used to whenever you two were apart from each other. But another part of yourself deemed those thoughts to be crazy and you held yourself back from embarrassing yourself. Too many things now were holding you back from gaining the confidence to walk up to him. So many things going through your head… How you had left things, how many years had actually passed since you last saw him… how you were practically strangers now. This person, who used to be so close to you, now a stranger. It was such an odd thing. Such an odd and completely terrible thing; a pain spread through your chest thinking about it.

You knew you’d have to speak to him eventually, but that was to be put off for as long as possible. You were sure that with your nerves, you wouldn’t be able to string a single sentence together – Not at least, without a drink in you. Some liquid courage was definitely needed for tonight. With your date nowhere to be found and your anxious self needing shelter from Duncan’s searching eyes, your feet carried you towards the bar.

The harsh liquid cascaded down your throat, lessening your anxiety. Before long, you found yourself feeling positively calm and in a happier state as the bartender cleared the two empty drinks next to you that, thankfully, did its job comforting and silencing your thoughts. You had thought you had been truly clever sneaking a hidden spot at the bar, but the man you were hiding from still managed to find you.

When you were younger, Duncan always could find you, no matter where you were or what situation you were in, he always found his way back to you. You weren’t sure how he did it, but it appeared things hadn’t changed even after all these years. His cologne was actually what you noticed first. The familiar scent wrapped around you and comforted you like a hug from an old friend.

He casually sat in the seat next to you, the soft sound of his hand combing through his hair sent a shiver through your body. You didn’t dare look his way; you instead focused on the dark counter of the bar top while memories of the Duncan you had known danced through your head.

Duncan ordered a whiskey for himself and a vodka soda with lime for you. He must have remembered it was your favorite. You relished in the sound of his calm voice after not hearing it for so many years. It was deep and husky. Intimidating and soft, all at the same time, and it warmed you to hear it once again. Tension filled the air as you both sat in silence, waiting for the bartender to give you your drinks.

The familiar, comforting drink was finally placed in front of you and you mumbled a quiet “thank you”. That’s when the boy you grew up with turned all of his attention to you and simply stared. Stared with that same intensity he always managed to save just for you. The way you saw it was that you had two options: Either jump into his arms or run for the hills. But instead, you chose a third option; you took a sip of your drink and thanked the alcohol gods for it being strong. The bartender must have sensed the tension and felt bad for you. Nervously, you turned your attention to the familiar handsome brunette dressed in his all black ensemble and sheepishly muttered out a small, “Hi.”

The laugh that escaped him was not expected. A genuine laugh, one that reminded you of hot summer nights spent with him in your teenage years.

“That’s all you have to say after all this time?” You thought he might be angry with you, but when you looked into his eyes, you saw anything but anger. He was happy to see you, actually happy, and that gave you all the confidence you needed.

You delicately touched his arm, looking into his eyes that searched your face longingly and suddenly, you wanted to know everything about him. Everything that he had been up to since you last spoke, everything about his life now – You wanted to know it all.

“How are you, Duncan? I’ve missed you.” Your voice was small and sincere, your words a direct knife to his heart. He let out a breath that you both didn’t know he was holding, and gazed at you while taking your hand in his.

“I’ve missed you, too,” the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a smile that didn’t carry to his eyes. “I’ve been good... Busy with work, and whatnot. I’m working with the foundation and on my app, so that takes up a lot of my time. I, uh, apparently still have time to attend these events, though,” he chuckled, looking down at his drink, too overwhelmed by the soft and loving brightness in your eyes.

You had always been so gentle with him, so caring – It was one of his favorite things about you. He urged himself to look up at you. He had waited years to finally see you again; he’d hate himself if he blew his one chance to look upon and savor your beauty now. “But, I’m more interested in how you are. What have you been doing all these years?”

He rubbed small circles on your hand with his thumb and looked at you longingly, just as he always had. It was as if nothing had changed, and you were both two happy-go-lucky teenagers in love. “Well, you know, college was fun… and super easy considering how much of a genius I am,” you joked, rolling your eyes and receiving a chuckle from the sparkling man next to you.

“If I remember correctly, it was math that you particularly excelled at, yes?” And there it was. The snarky humor you grew to love so much from him. You missed it more than you cared to admit.

The two of you joked and reminisced on the countless nights you both spent studying for whatever math or history test you were determined you were going to fail, and whatever art project Duncan desperately needed your help on. His unfortunate art skills always put a smile on your face, even now as you brought up the one painting he did of you in high school. He charmingly covered his face with his sleek hand, hiding himself from your laughter, which only grew at the adorable gesture from the usually dominating man.

You decided to spare him any more embarrassment and continued with your conversation, “After college, I spent some time in a little town in southern California, where believe it or not, the people are even more stuck up than they are here.” You shook your head, laughing while he smiled at you. That dazzling smile that never got old.

Pulling yourself out of the daze you were trapped in as you stared at his beauty, you started to feel a little more confident with yourself as your third drink settled in your veins. “I met somebody there, actually… We were together for a pretty long time and things were really good,” you nodded drunkenly. “But then things stopped being good and he eventually broke my heart, so I left,” you frowned, stumbling through your words as memories flooded you. “He was very sweet and I loved him, but… I don’t know…” you trailed off, lost in your own thoughts and pained by the memories.

“You tend to do that.” He stared at the drink in his glass, swirling its contents around in his hand.

Your eyes shot up, “I tend to do what?”

“Leave.”

You stared at him in disbelief, but he wouldn’t meet your eyes; afraid you’d see something, some hint of an emotion you weren’t supposed to see.

You opened your mouth to question him, your nerves kicking in once again now that you were finally going to have the conversation you had been putting off all night. But that’s when his date reappeared, latching onto his free arm and leaving very little room for you to be there.

“There you are! I’ve missed you,” her words slurred as she glanced your way, a look of indifference coming over her at the sight of you next to her date. He breathed in, turning his attention to this strange mess of a person and gave her one of those smiles you had grown so fond of in your early years. You suddenly felt very awkward being there.

Somehow, you felt even worse than before your anxiety-induced meltdown. Seeing Duncan with this person, you were struck back to the reality of your life and reminded that your own date was somewhere roaming around. You looked up at the two people in front you and politely excused yourself before Duncan had a chance to say anything.

You spent what felt like forever looking for the man you came with. He had said he wouldn’t be gone long, and you had held him to that, knowing that he wouldn’t want to be apart from you for too long. But then, you went and hid for a majority of the event, making it especially hard for him to find you. This was only karma, as you circled what seemed to be the eighth time trying to find his familiar handsome face. You made your way through the event, talking to important and boring people, drinking more and more champagne, but felt a surge of disappointment deep within you when you had no luck finding him after an hour or so. Your stomach rumbled, causing you to groan, which is when you decided to momentarily give up on your mission and make your way to your absolute favorite place at these types of events: the area with food. The people watching was great and entertaining, but it was honestly the drinks and food that kept you sane at events such as this one.

You were shoving something mouth-wateringly delicious into your mouth when you glanced around at the partygoers and nearly had to do a double-take. You saw from across the room, Duncan talking to a familiar man with shoulder length blonde hair and you nearly spit out what you were chewing on. The remnants of your meal were swallowed, along with the nerves you were experiencing and you hastily made your way over to the two, feeling the need to intervene.

Their conversation immediately died down once you waltzed over to them in your flowy gown, inserting yourself right into their personal space. You looked between the both of them as they turned to you and noticed the expression on your face that was silently screaming “What the hell is going on here?”. Duncan’s eyes softened and your date’s lips turned up into a charming smirk. The beauty of both of them side by side together was blinding, and caught you a bit off guard, but you quickly decided to focus your attention on Duncan.

“So, you’re who stole my date away from me.”

Duncan’s mouth parted and his brows knit together in confusion as he, a second later with realization setting in, did his best to hide his disapproval with a stealthy cough. You came here with someone and he had been so gullible to think that you had been here alone, as if he had your attention all to himself for the evening. But he didn’t. You did come here with someone else. And apparently, he had just been enjoying his conversation with that person, which only made the pain he was feeling worse.

“Michael, here, was just telling me about his company,” Duncan replied in a calm voice, taking a sip of the whiskey in his hand. He always knew how to play the part of someone who was ‘calm and collected’, even if he felt his heart breaking and the anger in him rising. “But I know how you don’t like talking about business, so I won’t bore you with the specifics of our conversation.” You glared at him playfully, scrunching up your face at his familiar condescending tone while he chuckled, finding your reaction particularly funny and adorable.

Michael looked between the both of you, sensing something and not liking in the least bit how it made him feel. “Oh, I think she’d surprise you. Her interests, it seems, has changed over time. I assure you she quite enjoys it now…” Michael looked at you through sultry eyes as a smirk graced his lips. He was, of course, referring to the other day when you had marched into his office, wearing nothing but his favorite lingerie under your coat, on a mission to surprise him with a lovely bit of roleplaying in his place of work. The memory of you bent over his desk while he acted as your boss, disciplining you and spanking you, caused you to lower your head in embarrassment, trying to hide the warmth that had sneakily crept onto your face.

Duncan noticed the sexual undertone of what was said and how your gaze suddenly averted his eyes. It told him more than he ever wanted to know about yours and Michael’s relationship. He felt a surge of anger flow right through him, causing him to tense his jaw and squeeze his fist shut tight. Needing to retaliate and wanting nothing more than to put the much too confident man next to him in his place, he cockily tilt his head and charmingly spoke, “Knowing her for as long as I’ve known her, trust me… I’m more than aware of what she enjoys.” If Michael was upset by his words, he didn’t show it. Nothing seemed to ever affect this alluring man.

“If that’s what you prefer to believe,” he smiled smugly, his eyes not leaving Duncan for a second, who was growing more and more infuriated by the second. Not to mention, how sick it made him feel to see Michael’s gaze linger over your body in the way that it did.

You honestly didn’t know what to think of the situation unraveling in front of you. On one end, you didn’t know if you should be flattered that these two beautiful men were practically fighting over who was more dominant and worthy of your attention. On the other end, you didn’t know if you should be insulted by the way in which they were talking about you.

The three of you stared at one another in silence, eyes saying more than words ever could. The air became thick with tension until Michael grew bored and finally chimed in. “Well this has been lovely, but I do believe I see that senator I’ve been meaning to talk to. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He placed his lips gently to your hand while staring threateningly into Duncan’s eyes before parting ways and leaving the two of you. You looked at the back of his golden hair as he disappeared into the crowd, silently pleading for him to come back so you wouldn’t be left alone with Duncan. With no distractions and no one to interrupt you two now, you were afraid there was no way to avoid the big and uncomfortable conversation that needed to happen.

“Y/N…”

You looked up into his blue eyes and he stared back at you with so much admiration, so much softness – It made your heart melt to see him like this.

“Can we talk… Please? We didn’t exactly get to talk earlier and I feel like we really need to talk,” his eyes searched yours, hoping and praying you wouldn’t run away again. “I really wasn’t expecting to see you tonight; hell, I didn’t even know you were back in town. Why didn’t you tell me? Nevermind. I’m sure you had your reasons…” He shook his head as a million thoughts crossed his mind. “But I wish you had told me. You know, you can tell me anything...” You were reminded of the transparency you two had in your teenage years and it felt like a dagger to the heart. “You just really caught me off guard and especially with how we left things the last time and now you just show up and you’re so beautiful. God, so fucking beautiful. But now I’m rambling. You know how I ramble when I’m nervous and you also know I’d never admit that to anyone but you and I’m just sorry, I don’t know what to say-“

You covered his mouth with your hand and let out a small, sad laugh, “Duncan, it’s just me.” He immediately calmed down at the sound of your reassuring voice and even more so when you took his hand and guided him to an empty hallway, deep in the building and far from any prying eyes. The noise of the party just a mere whisper to the both of you now.

“Look, we do need to talk about things, but I’m just… not sure how to,” you looked down shyly.

He took both of your hands gently in his and smiled softly at you. That amazing smile that never failed to give you butterflies. The type of smile that normally would have set your heart ablaze, if it weren’t for the way it didn’t reach his eyes. His eyes were truthful and showed how hurt he was; it left you feeling vile for having been the cause of his sadness. “I’ve missed you so much, Y/N…” He paused for a moment, not knowing how to continue.

“After you left, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was so torn up. And I understand why you left, but it still really fucking hurt after finally getting to be with you after all of those years,” his hands held onto yours tighter. “Growing up, all of those other girls were just a distraction to take my mind off of you, you know that… I was positive that you didn’t share my feelings, and didn’t know how to deal with it,” he shook his head, feeling like a stupid teenager again. “But then, that day happened. You remember? Right after graduation when it was just us sitting in that field next to the lake? And you told me how you truly felt and suddenly everything in the world made sense and it was as if you brightened up everything with just those few words.” This time his smile carried all the way to his eyes and you sighed contentedly. “I swear, it was one of the best days of my life. Since we were 10, it’s always only been you. Always. And then I finally had you all to myself, and nothing made me happier. And we had that summer together and it was amazing… but then you left. And that- that fucking broke me,” his eyes left yours and guilt set in once again as you looked up at him.

“Duncan, I can never begin to explain to you how much those months meant to me… But, please know that I was just as torn up about leaving. It shattered my heart having to say goodbye – But I had to leave.”

“There were schools in D.C.…” He pointed out, remembering the day you came to him and explained how you were moving across the country for college, all but breaking his heart into millions of pieces.

“I had to get away, you know that, Dunc.” The corners of his mouth turned up at the familiar nickname and he let out a small sigh.

“I know,” he nodded his head in agreement; still hating that you left, but understanding why.

“It’s hard being in DC, surrounded by all of these power-hungry people; you know it was always hard for me.” He pushed his own sadness away and rubbed small circles against your hands while hearing your soft voice speak to him. “Even though leaving you was hard, I have to admit that it was good to get away from all of this… It could do you some good, too,” you offered.

“D.C. is my life, you know that. But maybe… Maybe part of what you’re saying is right. I’ve been so caught up in work, lately, you know… for the past several years. It probably would do me some good to get away just for a little while,” he briefly let go of you, rubbing the rest of the sadness out of his eyes and shaking his head at how emotional he had gotten.

“You should know by now that I’m always right,” you smugly look up at him, hoping to lighten the mood a bit and get at least a small smile out of him. He couldn’t help but melt at how adorable you were. You always had a way of completely stopping his heart with just one look. Lost in his thoughts of how enticing your lips looked and how badly he wanted to kiss them, he crashed back down to earth when the realization hit him that the man who would take you home tonight would have the luxury of tasting them himself.

“Are you always this much trouble with Michael, too? Or does he get off on your sass, hm?”

“Okay, Mr. Jealous!” you laughed at him, playfully hitting his shoulder.

He smiled dazzlingly and rubbed his stubble with his hand, “How did you manage to find one like him?” He desperately wanted to know more about the two of you, but did his best to conceal the nature of his inquisitiveness.

“He definitely is one of a kind, isn’t he?” you rolled your eyes, not being able to stop the smile that formed on your face at the thought of your blonde-haired lover.

“Yeah, quite the handsome fella…” He sarcastically mocked you.

You playfully hit his arm again, laughing as you reprimanded him. “Don’t be mean, Dunc.” He pretended to be shocked and mumbled under his breath about him “not being mean or jealous”.

“Plus, what about your date tonight, huh? It seems you certainly have moved on,” you raised your eyebrow at him; his smile instantly dropping at your last words.

“She’s just somebody Annette set me up with for tonight,” he sighed, that tender sadness coming back into his voice as he played with your hand gently. It took a moment for the next words to come out of this mouth.

“Have you moved on?”

You looked up at him, feeling such heartbreak and sorrow for this man you had always loved. Just as you opened your mouth to answer, a dark figure emerged from the shadows only to reveal Michael himself gracefully walking toward the both of you. Such a powerful and alluring man, he demanded the attention of anyone present. And he demanded your attention now, as he loomed over you, staring you down with a look of impatience. You weren’t new to or exactly affected by his intimidation tactics (at least, not anymore), but you did find yourself shivering a bit, the hairs on your neck standing up, as his eyes gazed at you with blue flames flickering in his irises. You knew this look he saved, just for you, meant you were in trouble.

“It appears Mr. Shepherd has a way of stealing us both away, Y/N, doesn’t he?” The corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. He turned his focus to the brunette standing opposite you, taking his time to look him up and down with an expression on his face you couldn’t quite read. You had gotten pretty good at reading Michael over time, but there were still times when you were completely in the dark as to what this man held in his head. Michael held his arm out for you to grab onto and informed you that the car was there for the both of you. You glanced at Duncan with a sorry expression and quickly said your goodbyes.

The two of you walked away, leaving Duncan in the middle of an empty hallway. You could’ve sworn you saw tears prick his eyes, but maybe it was just a trick of the light.

As you both got settled into the car, and your thoughts went back and forth between Duncan and Michael, the unnervingly quiet man beside you turned to you slowly with a smile that seemed off as he calmly stroked your thigh.

“Well, haven’t you been a very bad girl tonight…”

Taglist: @mega-combusken, @lathraios, @livocc, @ladynuwanda, @sojournmichael, @katiekitty261, @no-need-for-rules, @rosegoldrichie, @cam-elija, @1-800-bitchcraft, @babypinkstyles94, @lunarfawns, @michaelsapostle, @langdonsdemon, @kleineshaschen, @whydonthumansfly, @junkful, @solitalangdon, @ultralightbeamsnstuff, @leaveittothewolves, @olobersy, @pumpkinspiceharry1, @fckinsupreme, @femaleantichrist, @peachesandfern, @bloodsuckinvampire, @freak-war-hour

#duncan shepherd #michael langdon #duncan shepherd x reader #michael langdon x reader #cody fern #duncan shepherd imagine #michael langdon imagine #duncan shepherd fic #michael langdon fic #house of cards #ahs apocalypse #my writing

202 notes · View notes

batbirdies · 4 years

Text

NaNoWriMo 2019 Batfam fic Part 5

Part 5 of my Jason Todd Batfam fic where Jason eventually agrees to dog sit Titus, there are some deep seated issues, unintended animal therapy, snarky text messages between robins and eventually some reconciliation between father and son. Takes place in a murky in between time sometime after Damian was resurrected.

Hopefully I get the links right in this one unlike my last post, as someone kindly pointed out, because I tried to edit the link and just holy cow. The website won’t save it, and if I try to edit posts on the app? It just deletes all the content completely. Very nice Tumblr....

Same warning as all other installments: this is a very rough draft that is being copied and pasted from my working google doc. Expect mistakes. These are also snippets, and there is skipped content in between.

Part 1,

Part 2,

Part 3,

Part 4

Some days were better than others but the flash of the fighting pits that morning put him enough on edge that in the end, he’d sided with staying in. Even if skipping out so much left him with a lingering sense of guilt, it was better than shooting someone because the pit told him to.

And hey, Bruce was right after all, he’d always wanted a dog so he might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

So he makes himself dinner, something good, from scratch that he can keep on hand for after patrol snacks on other days. He digs through his kitchen and settles on fajitas, easy but delicious and good leftovers. He takes Titus on a third walk that evening just before he eats and then he feeds him just before dishing himself up dinner.

He watches Titus fling one of his toys around a little while he eats and thinks maybe he’ll take him to a dog park the next day instead of just walking around the block. The whole point was that he needed the exercise wasn’t it? He was friendly and it was something for Jason to do in the middle of the day when he’d normally be knee deep in research for a case. So he reads up on local ones and finds one not too far away that’s an off leash park where he can throw the ball for Titus and get him some decent exercise. The demon will probably even be happy about it.

When it’s nearing the time he’d normally be leaving for patrol he peruses his bookshelves, picks out an old favorite, makes himself a mug of tea and lays out on the couch with the new blanket draped over his lower half and reads. Tries not to think about the people on the streets that might need him, that he could be leaving without protection while he’s lounging somewhere comfortable and warm.

It feels lazy, after everything he’s done and been through.

But he’s not Batman. He knows his limits, he knows when he should back off and take a break and so that’s that. He doesn’t think about it.

He tries to absorb himself in the story, and manages a little, until about ten minutes later when there’s a heavy shift in weight on the couch and Jason looks up from his book to find Titus carefully picking his feet around his legs.

“What do you think you’re— Oof-“ His breath wheezed out of him in a rush as Titus’ full weight came down on his gut, all balanced on one small foot. “You’re crushing me, what are you doing?” Another two steps and the dog was suddenly settling down, shoving his hands and book out of the way, Titus whole body resting on top of Jason’s. Nose reaching all the way up to his collar bone, front paws tucked in next to his head, the rest of him a solid, heavy weight down his front with lower legs resting between Jason’s. He gasps out a laugh and wishes his phone was within reach, he’d get another picture to send to Damian.

Titus huffs out a very soft growl and Jason settles a hand on his head, scratching at his itchy ears while he turns his head from side to side and whaps his tail against the soft leather of the couch.

“You do this to the kid too? You’re bigger than he is, you’d break his ribs.” Titus only lets out a pleased little grumble at the ear scratches before Jason finishes with a pat to the side of his neck and attempts to find a comfortable place to settle his book and read with the dog on top of him. It’s an oddly comfortable weight, even if his bony little elbows are jutting into his rib cage and his lungs feel mildly compressed. The little warm puffs of air on the backs of his hands when he finally sets the book in front of Titus’ nose, uncomfortably close to his face, are kind of...nice too.

Jason hadn’t gone to sleep before 2am in he could even remember how long, but it was just nearing midnight when he’s starting to nod off. Titus weight and body heat making him weirdly drowsy. The words on the page blur in front of him multiple times before he finally slips a bookmark in the page he could last actually remember and set it on the coffee table next to him. Then he rested his hands on either side of Titus head and closed his eyes, letting himself just fall asleep. He’d regret it later when he woke up in the middle of the night with his neck killing him or Titus crushing his sternum while getting down off the couch, but for the time being, he felt oddly relaxed.

He was drifting off before he knew it.

The dream that night is not a new one. Not that they ever are, but it does start more abruptly than he’s used to.

He opens his eyes in the dark and he’s blinking and blinking and the air around him is hot and stale and Jason has no idea where he is or how he got there, but it’s cramped and he can’t move his arms above his head and his heart is pounding so loud it’s all he can hear. There’s not enough air, his elbows keep slamming into the sides of the box he’s in and he’s crying, panicking, in seconds. Clawing at the barrier above him until his nails are torn and bleeding. His only rational thought comes when he manages to slip his belt off, when he starts tearing at the exposed wood of the coffin with the buckle, mindless, angry, terrified, it’s all he can do to keep moving so he doesn’t just lay down and die again.

Splintered chips of wood cut up his hands but the sting is nothing compared to the frantic adrenaline pumping through him. All at once the weakened wood gives way and then Jason is sputtering and coughing up soil that’s collapsing in -

Something cold and wet touches his cheek and he’s blinking his eyes open to a dimly lit apartment and Titus’ big head right in his face. He noses at his chin and whines and Jason groans, shoving away Titus’ face and feeling his skin crawl, he tries to push the dog off and Titus goes without complaint, jumping to the floor with only one well placed kick to Jason’s bladder.

He lays there, staring at the ceiling and counting his breaths. Titus licks his hand and Jason jerks upright, startled, and swallows. The dog sits down on the floor but presses himself to the side of the couch, shoves his head in Jason’s lap and he focuses on that, on the soft, velvet like fur under his fingers when he rubs them across the bony head.

“I’m fine.” He whispers to the dog, like Titus is worried about him or something. “Thanks for waking me up.” He can just see the whites of the dog’s eyes flash when he glances up at him, like he’s really listening. “The rest of that dream is….not good.” He draws in a deep breath, feels like his lungs are still compressed and counts himself an idiot for not realizing sleeping with a weight on his chest would drag up those particular memories.

“My fault.” He feels boneless. “Sorry I scared you.” Titus lifts his head and gets a solid lick to Jason’s face before he manages to jerk back, gets a face full of dog breath that has him suppressing a gag. “Christ.” He shoves his snout the other direction, feeling a slightly hysterical laugh bubble up in his chest. “You are really something, you know that?”

Jason sits there for a little while longer, letting his breathing even out and scratching at Titus’ ears and down his neck. His bladder is dying for a relief and he finally levers himself up off the couch and shuffles to the bathroom, listens to Titus’ claws clicking across the linoleum of the kitchen floor when he goes for a drink.

Exhaustion pulls at him, even after the dream, now that his heart rate is back down to normal and instead of pulling out a book or the headphones or watching stupid aimless YouTube video’s on his phone like he might normally, he crawls into his bed and lays on his stomach, face pressed into a pillow. He can feel himself drifting back off and has a minor twinge of fear that the dream will just start back up again - but then he feels the weight on the mattress shift and Titus pads up next to him, settling himself on the lower half of the bad, half curled up, and sets his chin on the back of Jason’s leg. He feels the weird sensation of the dog swallowing and he’s out before he has another moment to worry.

#Jason Todd #Fanfiction #NaNoWriMo #Batfam #I promise this is more than just Jason having repeated PTSD nightmares #trigger warning PTSD #for that matter #nightmares #someday ill post one of these NOT in the middle of the night #it’s currently 1am where i am

8 notes · View notes

zizeschmizes · 5 years

Text

helping hand. | solo

WHO: lauren zizes (& antonio zizes)

WHAT: help comes in the form of a call from home.

WHEN: 10/15; late afternoon

WHERE: outside of A Latte Fun Coffee

Lauren pushed out of the coffee shop, walking a few paces away from where patrons passed through into the busy campus spot and paused to put in her earbuds. Finding a job on campus and around town was proving to be a major pain in the ass. Everything from work study assignments to in town gigs had been snatched up long before she'd started looking.

It was her own damn fault, really. Adjusting to the new reality of sophomore year was taking a lot longer than it did in her previous semesters. Then, she'd been lucky enough to snag a choice spot in the library. Working the front desk usually meant long stretches of time spent watching movies and doing her homework in between stacking books to be reshelved and answering the occasional question from a lost student.

Now she was left scrambling. Her softball scholarship covered her tuition and the basics of housing (on campus) and meal plans, but the rest (like living) was up to her. Refusing to touch her savings meant budgeting herself to only the essentials but even those were starting to feel beyond her bank account. New camera lens, an extra external drive to house her pictures, a new fall coat...the dollar signs were giving her a headache.

Lauren sighed. A Latte Fun was her last resort. She'd tried the barista thing back in New Orleans, slinging coffee the spring and summer before her freshman year and it wasn't terrible, just not ideal. Still, a job was a job, and the coffee shop would prove helpful. Not to mention workable with her schedule. She just didn't know when she'd actually sleep. Of course this was all pending, she wouldn't know about the job until later, but the interview had gone well. Still...she needed a backup, just in case.

There was a sharp pressure building at the back of her neck, a sure sign of stress and Lauren absently rubbed at the spot as she made her way back to campus, where a long night of editing was in her future. She'd picked up a side gig, snapping pictures of Homecoming Weekend for Ginsburg's Alumni Association and needed to get the files for last weekend's big game to the webmaster by morning.

The sound of her phone ringing paused the music that played softly from her earbuds and Lauren was prepared to ignore the FaceTime request until she saw the name. She hit 'Accept' and the familiar sight of her eldest brother's face coming into view made brought forth the first genuine smile she'd had all afternoon.

"Hey, Nono."

"Hey! You busy?"

Lauren shook her head and took a break from her walk to sit on a nearby bench. "Leaving the coffee shop. What's up? Where are you?"

Antonio flipped the camera, giving Lauren a brief glimpse of the gym in the background, decked out in LSU purple and gold before turning it front facing. “Just finished up, bout to meet Gabe for food. Haven’t heard from you in a minute.”

“Yeah, I know” she replied, ignoring the tiny pinprick of guilt that followed. “Still tryin’ to get settled with school and stuff.”

Brown eyes, much like her own, held a sympathetic gaze and Antonio shook his head in the camera’s view. “Figured you were busy that’s why I reached out. It’ll be your turn to hit me up next time. Everything okay?”

“Yup!” Lauren nodded, backing up her strained response with a smile that wasn’t as bright as her first one, looking as tired as she felt, and she was seriously regretting a video call. Because she knew her brother and knew he’d pick up on her weird mood right away.

“Something’s wrong. What happened?”

There it was. The worry that she didn’t want to hear. She was fine to handle the problem (that wasn’t even a problem) on her own. As the first of the bunch, Antonio had the responsibility of wrangling the others and keeping them in line. He was their parents’ pride and joy, the dutiful eldest son who’d followed in his father’s footsteps.

Star footballer, exceptional student, LSU’s twice elected homecoming king leaving college a legend, with a degree in hand and a top pick in the NFL draft. He was the blueprint the others were expected to follow and it drove Lauren crazy that on top of everything, her successful, saintly, stupidly handsome brother was also a total sweetheart.

He was good for a deep talk, looking out for his siblings in a way that Lauren always appreciated...but not now. She didn’t want to hear about how ‘things would work out’. She just wanted to hide under her covers for a little while, just enough time to suck it up and stop feeling sorry for herself.

“It’s nothing. Got a lot of work to do, and I’m still lookin’ for a job. But it’s fine, really.” This smile was better than the last, going for subtle as she continued, easing back into a drawl that matched his own. “Congrats on the game, by the way. Y’all ate Florida up.”

Whether or not Antonio bought it, his face gave nothing away. Instead, his lips twisted into a grin that bordered on cocky and for some reason made Lauren miss home more than anything...if only to throw a pillow at his head and wipe it off his face. “Yeah, we did alright.”

“Y’all are number one in the division, it’s more than ‘alright’. How’s Gabe?”

He shrugged. “Still a jackass. You gotta come home sometime, get your brother together.”

Lauren laughed. “He doesn’t listen to anybody.”

“Yeah? Sound familiar?” He grinned at the ‘shut up!’ that followed and the laughter that came after.

“I know he was on best manners with the parents there, though.”

“Oh you know that. We missed you at Homecoming.”

She shrugged. “It’s Homecoming here, now. Our game was Saturday too. We won, by the way.”

“‘We’?”

“Showing my school spirit. I had to take pictures of the events for the alumni association so I went to the game. And I gotta do a few other appearances. For softball stuff. Whatever.” It wouldn’t do to point out that her parents had yet to attend a homecoming at Ginsburg, despite never missing one, or any home game for her brothers at LSU. That ship had long sailed and Lauren had no intention of bringing up old shit.

For his part, Antonio skirted past the topic, recognizing Lauren’s dismissiveness. Still, he couldn’t help but ask his next question. “You sure you’re okay? You don’t need anything?”

“I’m fine. Just tired. Long weekend. Long week ahead.”

“Okay. Well good luck with the job stuff. When’re you hearin’ back from them?”

“I don’t know. Sometime this week.” The ‘hopefully’ was silent, but her tone said enough and Lauren shook her head at her brother’s look of concern. “I’ll be fine.”

The angle of the phone changed slightly, Antonio’s face tilted upwards and he hummed an absent ‘Mhm’ at his little sister before the connection blurred and went on pause.

“Antonio? What…” It was only a minute or two before he returned, now in the driver’s seat of his truck and grinning at a perplexed Lauren. “Where did you go?”

“Check your phone,” he told her, ignoring the question altogether while setting his phone in the holder on the dash. “Should be getting an alert now.”

Sure enough, the muted tone beeped in her ears and Lauren paused the video feed to check the text notification from her bank’s app, and the alert that $300 had been added to her account. The culmination of the rough day, and her brother’s kindness brought a lump to her throat and she swallowed it down, taking a deep breath before resuming the video.

“You didn’t have to do that, Nono.”

Antonio rolled his eyes as if Lauren’s stubbornness was a mild inconvenience and not the Zizes trademark. “Yeah, I did. You need it, I got it, and I know you ain’t askin’ anybody. Especially not Ma or Dad. I got you.”

“Thank you. I’ll pay you--”

“Nope. That’s yours. It’s fine. Just get somebody hot to play me in the movie you write about us, all I ask.”

That made Lauren laugh out loud, drawing a few looks from people ambling on the sidewalks but she paid them no attention. “Issa deal.”

“Good. I gotta get Gabe but I’ll tell him you said hey, okay? Love you, Lozinha!”

The call disconnected and Lauren paused her music. Antonio’s generosity wouldn’t completely solve her problems, but it made things feel a little less chaotic. She would still pursue a job, whether it was at the coffee shop or somewhere else because she wouldn’t rely on that kind of bailout, no matter how much Antonio insisted it was what he was there for.

With a sigh, Lauren pushed off the bench and slinging her bag over her shoulder, began the trek back to her dorm and the mountain of work that waited.

#para.all #para.solo #para001

3 notes · View notes

acuaticamber06 · 7 years

Text

Undertone, Chapter Three

Good morning, everyone! This is round two for me and this chapter… I saved it as a draft and went back to post in and *POOF* it was gone. I have no idea where it vanished to in the ether, but I hope whoever has it is enjoying all of the EDITING I HAD TO DO! *hits head on desk repeatedly*

Sorry it’s late, but here’s the next chapter! This one was a toughie. I struggled with whether or not I should jump right into the main conflict of the story this early in the telling. Luckily, @reptilerach gives excellent advice and was my sounding board when I needed another opinion.

So the conflict will have to wait for another chapter while Rin and Grillby get to know each other.

Warnings: Fluff Alert! Otherwise, nothing!

Obvious Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale or any of the characters in it. This story is for fun. ^_^

Chapter Three

Grillby didn't have to look down to send the text to Rin. Typing on a touchscreen with near-perfect accuracy was one of the new talents he had acquired over the course of the year. When he stopped at a red light, he glanced down at her reply.

R *Goodnight, Grillby.

A soft smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, but it was erased almost immediately by a frown.

It was one sentence; two words. That's all it was. And yet, getting that simple text from Rin had unconsciously raised his body temperature by several degrees. As a fire elemental, Grillby had to be aware of his temperature and flame height. He didn't want accidentally start any fires or burn someone.

Or scorch my leather seats.

Learning to control their bodies is something all elementals are taught at an early age. It is essential for existing alongside other monsters. Grillby couldn't afford to be losing that control every time he got a text message. He needed to bring his head back to things that mattered.

Like the bar.

~~~

Grillby looked upset when he came back through the kitchen to the main room. Sans spotted his bad mood right away. Not only had he known Grillby a long time and considered him a friend, elementals tended to be easy to read.

When Grillby was sad, the flames on his body were lower and darker. When he was happy, they were taller and brighter. When he was angry or frustrated, they were taller and brighter yet.

Judging by the height of the flames on his head and the frown on his face, Sans guessed that his friend was upset, but what had triggered him was still a mystery.

Grillby tucked his towel into his back pocket and lifted an eyebrow quizzically at Sans.

"It's like I said before: nothing's changed. Although some people may need refills." Sans reported.

Grillby nodded and went to tend to his customers. Sans watched him interacting with the patrons with a critical eye.

Something was wrong. No matter what his mood, once Grillby got into the zone of bartending, everything else seemed to fade away. He always calmed right down. This time, however, his flames stayed tall and the frown remained.

Sans pulled out his phone and opened his messages.

S *Hey, bro? Are you home?

P *INDEED I AM, BROTHER!

S *Paps, your caps lock is on again.

P *WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? ARE MY KNEE CAPS IN MORTAL DANGER?

S *What?

P *ARE THEY GOING TO LOCK UP, NEVER AGAIN TO BEND?

S *No, Paps.

P *AM I DOOMED TO WALK FOREVER AS THOUGH I HAVE BEEN SPEARED BY UNDYNE THROUGH THE BOTTOMS OF MY PERFECTLY SHINED BOOTS?!?

S *Just forget I said anything, bro.

P *VERY WELL. ALTHOUGH IT CONFUSES ME, I WILL FORGET ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION.

S *Thanks.

P *HELLO SANS, THE BROTHER THAT I HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO AT ALL THIS AFTERNOON!

S *...Hi. Have you made dinner yet?

P *YES. I AM JUST FINISHING THE SPAGHETTI.

S *Okay. Will you save mine for me?

P *IT SMELLS DELICIOUS, BUT I SUPPOSE I CAN STORE YOUR DINNER IN OUR REFRIGERATOR. WHY?

S *Something's wrong with Grillby and I want to stay and help him.

P *OH NO! ARE GRILLBY'S KNEES ALSO IN DANGER OF LOCKING UP?

S *No. I don't know how late I'll be, so go to bed when you get tired.

P *HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO SLEEP WHEN OUR DEAR FRIEND IS IN TROUBLE?

S *Paps, he's going to be fine.

P *I WILL COME TO THE BAR RIGHT AWAY TO HELP!

S *NO. I will handle this. Trust me.

P *VERY WELL, BROTHER.

P *...

P *SANS, ARE MY ELBOWS ALSO IN DANGER OF LOCKING?

S *GOODNIGHT, PAPYRUS

P *GOODNIGHT, SANS!

Sans shook his head and shoved his phone back into his pocket with an amused smile.

Grillby was now behind the counter, polishing glasses. Sans watched him pick up and clean them one by one, but he was lacking his usual precision. As if to prove his point, Grillby set down and picked up a glass he'd already polished, only to clean it again.

"So! How did dropping off our newest friend go?" He smirked.

Grillby jumped a little and stared at him, his brows drawn together.

"Oh, come on, Grillbz! You had a pretty girl all to yourself. Do you really expect me to believe that nothing happened?"

Grillby moved the tablet over to Sans and started typing.

*Nothing happened.

"Nothing at all?"

*No. Nothing at all happened.

Sans lifted one boney eyebrow at him.

"I don't believe you."

Grillby's flames started shooting a bit higher, but Sans wasn't too worried.

*I just took her home. I stayed long enough to make sure she made it inside safely and then I left.

"Jeez, Grillbz, we've got to work on your pickup skills." Sans put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Don't worry, I'll be your wingman and we'll figure it out. Did you at least get her phone number?"

All at once, the flames lowered and blue lightly tinged his cheeks. Grillby hesitated, but eventually answered.

*Yes.

"Great! You're not such a lost cause after all." Sans grinned at his friend.

"So tell me, then..." He lowered his voice to where only Grillby could hear it. "If tonight was such a success, then why are you so upset?"

Grillby started typing, but Sans talked over him.

"And don't try to tell me that you aren't, because I can read you like an open book. Besides, I just watched you polish the same glass three times."

Grillby stopped. He stared at the screen, avoiding Sans' eyes.

"You're my friend, Grillby. Talk to me. Let me help if I can. I'll sit here all night if I have to."

The elemental sighed and brought his gaze back over to Sans.

*Alright. Wait until everybody leaves.

~~~

When Grillby had seen everyone else to the door, he locked it and turned off the sign outside. He bolstered himself and went back to sit next to his friend.

"Now, what happened?" Sans asked.

Grillby didn't hold anything back. He talked about how frustrated he was when Rin wouldn't just accept his offer to drive her home. He recalled the feeling that he was losing track of everything else when he looked at her. He told him about the text message and his body's reaction.

*It just doesn't make any sense. It's been less than 24 hours since we first met!

"It makes perfect sense to me." Sans smiled.

Grillby decided that he should be watching his friend a bit more closely for any other symptoms of insanity.

"There's a term the humans use for it...if I could just remember what it was..." The skeleton tapped a phalange against his chin. "It had something to do with dogs. I know that for sure."

Oh look. Another symptom.

Sans held the finger in the air suddenly. "Puppy love! That's what they call it. Puppy love!"

*What?

"Yep! You have a serious case of Puppy Love." Sans nodded confidently.

Grillby typed the phrase into his phone and looked it up.

*"An intense but relatively shallow romantic attachment, typically associated with adolescents"?

"Wait! No, that's not it." Sans frowned. He dug out his own phone and did a web search. "It's...love at first sight!"

Grillby snorted.

*Love at first sight is nonsense.

"No it's not!" He insisted. "Look, it says here that 'the first few minutes of a relationship have shown to be predictive of the relationship's future success.'"

*Wikipedia is not a scholarly source, Sans.

The skeleton rubbed the bridge of his non-existent nose. "We're not getting anywhere with this. Look, all of that aside, what's so wrong with being attracted to someone?"

Grillby stared at the bar top, lost in thought.

"And what's so bad about that someone being Rin?" Sans continued.

I...don't know.

His friend laid a gentle hand on his arm. "It's been a long time since-"

Grillby raised his other hand to stop Sans before he went any further. He was fully aware of how long it had been.

Sans sighed. "All I'm saying is that it's okay to let yourself fall in love again. Rin is a different girl in every way. And I think she'd be a lot of fun to get to know."

Grillby nodded.

*I'll think about it.

Sans hopped down from the bar stool, stretching and cracking several joints. Grillby stood up and started for the door to let him out.

"Don't bother, Grilbz. I'll take the shortcut."

He looked up at Grillby with a pleading look. "Don't shoot it down right away. Think about it."

Grillby nodded again and Sans disappeared in a cerulean blip.

~~~

Grillby locked the money in the safe without counting it.

I'll deal with it tomorrow.

Dimming the lights, he walked back through the kitchen and opened the door to the basement. With one finger, he turned on all six lights between the stairwell and his living room.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he paused and turned them all off again. It wasn't as if he couldn't see. He was a walking nightlight.

Grillby eased into his bedtime routine, trying to consider what Sans had said. He kept structuring sentences in his head, but every time he got one together, it dissipated into the big ball of white noise that seemed to have taken over his brain. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't weigh out pros and cons. He couldn't even argue with himself.

By the time he got to his bed, Grillby knew what the white noise was: it was every memory and thought being swept under the rug of his mind by the simpler but more important yes-or-no question he needed to answer:

Was he open to a new relationship or not?

He fell into bed and unlocked his phone so he could close some apps and plug it in to charge. The first thing he saw on the screen was her message.

This time, Grillby didn't get angry; he didn't automatically shut down. He just waited for a reaction, like waiting for a thunderclap after seeing a bolt of lightning. He could hear her voice in his head and he read it again.

Goodnight, Grillby.

In his mind, her hazel eyes looked up at him through her long eyelashes.

His heart fluttered and he could see the dusting of blue on his cheeks reflecting back to him off his glossy phone case. It was perfectly clear what his body and mind wanted.

What's so wrong with being attracted to someone?

After a moment of staring at the screen, Grillby tapped on Rin's number and created a new contact. The cursor blinked steadily in the "Name" box.

Raven.

Grillby smiled as he typed it, and the static in his mind melted away. Saving the contact, he set aside his phone and put his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

A silly grin grew on his face, and this time he let it stay.

Raven.

~~~

The next week was filled with hunting and interviewing for more jobs. She busied herself with filling out applications, call-backs, and creating multiple outfits out of the only skirt she owned. But during the walks she took to get to and from her interviews, Rin's mind wandered back to Grillby's bar and the peace she felt there.

I wonder what he's doing right now?

Rin paused at a bus stop bench to change out of her nice heels and into her tennis shoes. She put the heels in her backpack. No way was she walking any considerable distance in those.

She looked at her watch. It was almost 2 o'clock.

Ah. He's probably preparing in the kitchen to open.

Rin saw him in her mind: gliding around the room, filling drinks and greeting customers. She knew Sans would be posted in his usual spot later, sipping on ketchup and watching the activity in room.

She pulled out her phone to send him a text, but chickened out. Again.

No. That would sound stupid.

It had been a week. Seven days had passed since she stepped into Grillby's, and she still hadn't worked up the courage to text him.

How long do you wait to text someone? Three days? A week? More? There should be a guide book for this crap.

Rin pulled an uneaten half of a peanut butter sandwich out of her backpack and set off for home, chewing as she walked.

Her last paycheck had come in, and with it the literal end of her funds. Minimum wage didn't get her much, and it was half of the regular paycheck she usually earned because she'd only worked for half of that last week.

This wasn't the first time in her life that she'd had to stretch her money, and she knew what she had to do. The first thing she did after cashing her check was go to the store and buy the biggest tub of bargain-brand peanut butter she could find. The thing was huge. The container was almost a foot tall. Then she went to the bakery department and bought a bunch of clearanced bread items. There were rolls and croissants and entire loaves of bread for half a dollar or less. When she got home, she put all of the bread in the freezer and only took out what she needed for the day. It didn't go moldy that way. If she was careful, she might be able to make her money last this way to the end of the month.

But I'll never eat peanut butter again.

Rin wanted to see if there were any other marked-down goods, so she altered her route to swing by the store. She was glad they built the new store close to her apartment.

What if Grillby has forgotten all about me? Do fire elementals have good memories? He might have said those things just to be nice.

Her new train of thought depressed her, so Rin stopped. She tried to be her own cheerleading squad instead.

He WAS being nice! Genuinely nice! You haven't had a friend since grade school. You've earned the right.

That put a spring in her step...until the little voice in the back of her head spoke up.

You don't deserve it.

Deflated, she pushed the thought away. Whether she wanted a friend or not, the only person she could really trust was herself. She had always been a loner. That wasn't about to change anytime soon.

The store's clearance bin was sadly empty, save for a wilted head of lettuce. Rin took it, knowing that she could perk it up overnight if she soaked it and stuck it in the fridge. She grabbed a fresh head of lettuce too because she had a thing for buying stuff in pairs (and to extend her window of non-peanut butter meals), then she lightly browsed on her way to the checkout and paid for her food.

The rest of her walk home was uneventful. As she trudged up the steps to her apartment, she thought about the peanut butter dinner that awaited her and cringed. A burger from Grillby's sounded like mana from heaven in comparison.

She took out her phone and opened the message again.

He's a potential friend! Friends text each other! It's a totally normal thing to do!

Rin hesitated for a moment, then plowed right past the second-guessing.

R *I have to applaud your culinary technique. Your Burg made quite an impression on me. It's been a week and my mouth still waters when I think about that night!

Rin hit send before she could stop herself and held her breath until it was fully sent. Then and only then did the flood of regret swirl back into her mind. She tried to shrug it off with an "Oh well" attitude.

Can't do anything about it now! It's already gone.

Rin turned on her AC and collapsed on the sofa. It was a ratty old thing, but boy was it comfortable. She found it at a thrift store for 15 bucks, then splurged and rented a pickup truck to get it home. She didn't have a TV, but she sat there to read books and listen to the radio.

She stared at the back of her eyelids, dreading his response. He might thank her, but actually be totally weirded out by her comments.

What if he doesn't respond at all?

Her phone chimed and she jumped.

I guess that option's off the table.

She opened the message, afraid to look.

G *A cook can receive no greater compliment. I'm glad you liked it.

Rin sighed and felt a wave of relief.

He answered!

She heard a bloop! from her phone.

G *Do you want another one? I don't usually deliver, but I'd make an exception for someone who appreciates my work.

Fear flashed over like a fire. Rin quickly typed a response.

R *Oh, no! I couldn't ask you to do that! There have to be a million things you need to do before you open. It would be pretty selfish of me to interrupt all of that.

She exhaled.

Hopefully that was tactful enough to-

Bloop!

G *I did all my prep work last night. It would be no trouble at all...and I'd actually really like the company. If you don't mind, of course.

Rin softened.

He's lonely?

R *Well...when you put it that way... I'd really like the company, too.

Rin face-palmed.

Of all the cheesy things to say-

Bloop!

G *Great! I'll be over as soon as they're done.

R *Okay! See you then!

As an afterthought, she sent him her address. It would help if he knew where to go.

She looked around at her apartment and anxiety bubbled back up her throat.

This place is a wreck! I have to straighten up!

~~~

Once her apartment was sufficiently tidy, Rin went to the kitchen to make a salad. She felt like it was the least she could do, considering that Grillby was making her food and bringing it out to her.

She had begun researching cooking and recipes when she was still little. Actually, she really enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen, but it wasn't often that she got the chance to do it. Most of the time, she was finding ways to make things tasty on the tightest budget possible.

Salad dressing was something she perfected as a teenager, because lettuce was cheap and (with the right ingredients) the dressing could be, too, if you made it yourself. Really, any vinaigrette was just a balancing act between acids and oils: you combined one part acid to every three parts oil. And because there were so many different vinegars and oils to choose from, the combinations were almost endless.

Rin opened her refrigerator to see what she had in the acid department.

Hmm, balsamic or rice vinegar?

Balsamic could really pack a punch, whereas rice vinegar was more subtle. And since this was seasoned rice vinegar, it had a sweet and salty flavor to it.

Rin grabbed the little bottle and closed the fridge. She thought that a cook like Grillby would appreciate the rice vinegar like she did. Setting it on the counter, she went to her spice cabinet and shuffled through what was there. She took out the olive oil and picked up powdered ginger for a little kick.

Rin sang softly to herself as she prepared the dressing and the lettuce. Halfway through a song, she realized something.

This is the first time I've cooked for a friend.

~~~

Grillby was a little nervous. He stood outside Rin's door, hand poised to knock.

Am I intruding here? Did I push this on her when she didn't want guests?

Music interrupted his worrying. He could hear a muffled female voice singing.

Is that Rin?

Grillby was entranced. Her voice was full and powerful one moment, then light and airy the next. She had a beautiful tone.

He listened for a moment more, then knocked rhythmically on the door. He was loathe to do so, but he only had about a half hour until he had to get back to the bar.

The singing stopped abruptly, and Rin opened the door. She grinned when their eyes met.

She has hazel eyes.

"Hi." She said sweetly.

Internally, Grillby melted, then returned the greeting with his eyes and an incline of the head.

Hi.

"Come on in!"

~~~

The apartment was small, but it didn't feel cramped. The kitchen was open into the living room, making it feel bigger than it actually was. Rin didn't have much in the way of decorations around the room, save for a few rocks on the counter that were odd shapes and flecked with color and mica.

Her little dinette set was between the two rooms on a small blue rug. It had been set with plates and flatware, along with two glasses of ice water and a simple salad in a yellow striped bowl.

He set the two packages in his hand on the counter while Rin was still speaking.

"It's not much, but it's home. Make yourself comfortable. I didn't have much to offer, but-" she paused. After clearing her throat, she continued. "I did have lettuce, so I made a salad. I need to get myself to a grocery store soon."

He was pleasantly surprised. Grillby didn't expect her to make anything. He just wanted to spend some time with her.

He dug out his tablet and handed it to her. Honestly, his system was pretty quick and Rin was used to it. Considering how much time he had to stay, he thought it was the best way.

He smiled.

*You didn't have to make anything. I was the one bringing lunch to you.

"I felt like I had to. It’s kind of a special occasion as it's been...a while since I have invited anyone over to my place." Rin rubbed the back of her neck and looked embarrassed.

*I feel honored to have been chosen.

Grillby lifted the paper bag along with his eyebrows.

*Hungry?

Rin chuckled. "Starving!"

He unloaded the contents of the bag onto the counter. Retrieving the plates from the table, he unwrapped toasted buns, toppings, and condiments, building the burgers piece by piece. The last package was wrapped in aluminum foil.

*It may not be as impressive as setting a skillet on fire but...

He concentrated on the package in his hand, raising his temperature rapidly to heat it up. The flames on his arm and fingers leapt visibly higher, while they were usually more subdued. Rin seemed fascinated by the process.

Once they were hot, he unwrapped them and finished constructing the sandwiches. He made a sweeping gesture to the table, inviting her to sit.

"Wow! Dinner and a show! I didn't know I was getting a two-for-one deal." Rin picked up a glass bottle from the counter and went to her seat.

Grillby pulled out her chair for her.

"Thank you." She smiled. He sat across from her.

*So! What is this magnificent salad you've prepared for us?

She snorted and tossed the salad in a dressing. "Hardly magnificent. It's just lettuce. Although, I did make the dressing myself."

*Oh?

"Yes! You'll have to tell me how it tastes."

Grillby's focus went from the salad, to the glass of water, and back again.

Hmm. I'm going to need to spell these... I wonder if she knows?

He looked up at Rin, then began to type.

*What do you know about monsters and magic?

"Not much, actually. I have a lot to learn about monsterkind." She hung her head.

He looked at her fondly. He didn't mean to make her feel bad.

*It's not your fault if you don't know. It's just that nobody's told you yet.

He smiled, which prompted her to smile in return.

That's better. She's cute when she smiles.

*Magic can do a lot of things in the hands of the right monster, but it's crucial for fire elementals like me.

"Why's that?" Rin asked. She had this way of tilting her head to the right whenever she had a question that was adorable. Grillby made himself to continue.

*While things like our own bodily fluids don't hurt us, other liquids do. Pouring a glass of water on a fire elemental would be like dumping a cup of acid on your neighbor. It burns. It can do serious damage to our bodies, and if we aren't prepared, it could even kill us.

Rin's face went white. "Oh. Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I'll get rid of-"

She went reaching for his water and he put a hand out to stop her.

*No, it's okay! Let me finish.

She settled back in her chair uneasily. "A-alright..."

He nodded reassuringly and continued.

*So the first magic we learn as children is how to make foods and liquids safe for us to eat. I'm going to do that now. Watch.

Grillby put his hands on either side of his place setting, containing his glass and the salad bowl between them. He pushed a little harder than usual on the magic so that she'd be able to see it.His hands began to glow purple, and as he pushed, the purple light flowed over the food and drink, drenching them in light.

"Wow..." Rin breathed. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen..."

After a minute more, he eased off and let the magic dissipate. It soon vanished.

*A lot of that was overkill. I've been casting food spells since I was a kid, so I can do it now without glowing, which makes it convenient to eat around strangers. I just wanted you to see it.

She looked at him, awed. "Amazing! So, is it safe now?"

He grinned. Dramatically, he lifted a finger and stuck it in in his glass of water. His flames were muted, but sparked back to life as soon as he withdrew his finger.

Rin applauded and he gave a tiny bow.

"Here, let me serve you some now perfectly safe salad." She smiled.

After doling out a portion to his bowl, Grillby stabbed a few leaves and took a bite. A rush of familiar and unfamiliar flavors flooded his mouth. He would know olive oil a mile away, and he'd tried Chinese food so the ginger wasn't new, but the strange sweet and salty flavor behind it was totally foreign to him.

His face must have said as much, because Rin began to giggle.

*You made this? It's delicious! What did you put in it?

"Have you ever tried sushi?"

No. No he hadn't. Eating raw fish wasn't something that really appealed to him. After all, he was a being composed of fire. Cooked food had always kind of been his thing.

*No. Not yet.

"It's good stuff. I'll have to show you where I get sushi. But, anyway, I used olive oil, seasoned rice vinegar, and ginger. The vinegar is what they put on sushi rice."

Grillby could see how the light flavors would pair well with fish. He made a mental note to cook with it sometime.

*It's delicious. I'd love to have your recipe, if you're willing to part with it.

~~~

Rin could feel a little proud blush creeping up her face. Grillby liked her dressing so much that he wanted the recipe!

"Sure! It's not complicated, though. I just enjoy mixing and creating new flavors, and that's easy to do with salad dressings."

She tucked into the burger with zeal. Even though he'd brought it all this way, it tasted just as delicious as it did back at the bar. That, or the fact that it wasn't peanut butter was clouding her judgment.

They chatted the through the meal, learning each other's likes and dislikes, and laughing at their kitchen mishaps, but soon Grillby was checking the time on his phone.

*I hate to eat and run, but I need to get back to the bar before opening time.

Rin was disappointed, but she got up to show him to the door.

"Thank you, Grillby. You didn't have to bring food all the way out here, but I'm glad you did."

Rin put out her hand to shake his, unsure of what she should do at this point.

Do I offer a hug? A handshake? Is it rude to do nothing? What do I-

All in the time that it took to breathe, Grillby took her hand in his and turned it so her palm was parallel with the floor. Rin felt a tingling sensation crawl over it, and she watched a purple light run across her skin. As soon as the light was gone, he bent and raised the back of her hand to his lips, all while keeping eye contact with her.

His lips were soft and warm. (Everything about him was, for obvious reasons.) Then Rin could feel the light moisture of his mouth on the back of her hand:

It sizzled.

Heat raced up her neck as she blushed furiously, and Rin felt her phone buzz in her pocket. After staring at him with her mouth open for a second, she pulled it out and read the message.

G *The pleasure is all mine. We should do it again sometime. How about Sunday? I'll pick you up.

Rin looked back up and found him gazing down at her, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. They held the same warmth and kindness she always found, but there was an intensity in his gaze that she hadn't noticed before. He tilted his head and lifted his eyebrows as if asking her a question:

What do you say?

"Uhh- ah-" Rin sputtered intelligently. She tried again. "Like a date?" her voice squeaked.

Grillby's eyes danced with laughter. He nodded.

"I, um-"

Can people and monsters be together?

Rin's mind burned with questions. She hadn't really thought about Grillby that way. But one look in his eyes told her that she wanted to find out. She needed to find out.

"Yes. I would love that."

She watched Grillby light up at her response, both literally and figuratively. His face broke into a broad grin, and his flames grew taller and brighter.

G *Great! I'll pick you up at five.

"Great! I'll be ready."

As he moved toward the door, Rin opened her hand to release his, even though she didn't want to let go. Grillby shifted his grasp so that he ran his fingers along her palm all the way to her fingertips.

A delicious chill snaked up her back.

He stepped out the door and turned to face her again. He inclined his head, like he always did, but it felt different this time. Flirty, even.

She grinned like an idiot and did the same, mirroring his move back to him.

"Bye." She said softly.

Grillby gave a little wave before striding down the hallway toward the stairs. Rin shut the door and put her back against it, sinking to the floor.

How long she sat there in stunned silence, Rin wasn't sure. Suddenly, the realization of what just happened hit her.

She jumped up, running to the window that faced the front of the building where the parking lot was. Not seeing his convertible anywhere, she stepped back and squealed, doing a happy little dance.

"I've got a DATE!"

~~~

The silly smile on Grillby's face felt plastered on. He whistled brightly as he opened the bar for the evening.

He had been so nervous in that moment before, as he looked at her outstretched hand. Grillby texted Sans as soon as she'd accepted his lunch offer, asking him what he should or shouldn't do.

S *Make sure the food it good, be yourself, and if you really feel like you've hit it off, don't miss an opportunity to sweep her off her feet and offer to take her on a date! Good luck!

He had nearly panicked, afraid that he wouldn't get a chance to ask her on a date, until she offered her hand. His mind had flashed back to one of Sans' coaching sessions.

"Plant a light kiss on the back of her hand. Let your lips linger there for a second. Oh, make sure your they aren't chapped or dry. Give 'em a little lick before if you have to. And don't break eye contact. It drives ladies wild."

So he seized the moment and did just that, pouring as much sincerity into it as he could. Then Rin turned a shade of red he didn't know humans could achieve without a sunburn and she'd had trouble answering him at first.

Words couldn't describe the feeling that washed over him when she said yes. His heart leapt up into his throat and his stomach did a backflip. Grillby was absolutely giddy on the drive back, and the feeling persisted as he welcomed guests into the bar.

Sans appeared, and it didn't take him two seconds to figure it out. His smile grew wider.

"You asked her out, didn't you?"

Grillby nodded, unable to stop smiling himself.Sans pounded on the bar top a couple of times and whooped.

"Atta boy, Grilbz! I knew you could do it!"

Grillby slid a bottle of ketchup over to him and Sans caught it with his boney hand.

"So! Do you know where you're going to take her? It's gotta be perfect."

Grillby's smile became secretive.

Oh, yes I do. And it will be.

~~~

"No... that's no good... ugh WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?!?"

Rin fell back on her bed in a huff. Her body made a soft whump as she hit the clothes she'd thrown out of the closet.

She'd hadn't gotten any closer to getting a job in the past two days, so shopping was absolutely out of the question.

The date is tomorrow! I'm running out of time!

She stared up at the sunset past her drapes.

Rin sat up with a start.

Wait a minute...

She'd made the curtains herself. On a thrift store run, Rin found almost an entire bolt of fabric hiding in a corner. It was a deep aubergine color, somewhere between purple and red, and even though is was opaque, it shimmered with an opalescence in the light. After she made the curtains, she tied them back with a spool of thin silver rope she'd found the same day, and put the supplies she didn't use in the back of her closet.

Scrambling off the bed, Rin dug out the fabric and the rope.

"Perfect."

~~~

If Grillby was nervous before he made his move the last time he saw Rin, then his nerves had doubled since then. He'd texted Rin that he was on his way to pick her up, and she'd asked him to let her know when he arrived.

R *Okay! Wait outside. I'll meet you by your car.

So Grillby was waiting, trying to control his anxiety levels, when the door to the complex opened.

Rin stepped out of the building looking like a Grecian goddess. Grillby had done a lot of research when he was planning the interior of his bar, and Grecian architecture was something that he looked into. Her purple dress was draped over her body like the garments worn so long ago, held up by silver rope straps and a matching belt. She'd braided her hair horizontally on both sides of her head, transforming them into a bun at the base of her neck, but she'd let a few stray tendrils frame her face.

Grillby hopped out of the car to open the door for her. He didn't know what kind of facial expression he had, but Rin giggled.

"It's good to see you, too."

Once they were in the car, he could grab his phone and actually talk to her.

G *You look stunning.

"Oh, thank you! You clean up pretty well yourself!"

He hadn't really deviated all that far from his normal outfit. He still had the same black slacks, but this time he also had a black suit jacket and tie to go with it. Rather than white, his shirt was a very light orange; it was the barest hint of color. Grillby hadn’t been too sure about it, but Sans said it looked good, so he'd bought it. If Sans hadn't dragged him out shopping, he probably would have worn his usual vest and bow tie.

G *Thanks.

Grillby pulled out onto the road and typed as he drove.

G *How do you feel about scallops?

"I love them!" Rin's face lit up. "I love all kinds of seafood."

Internally, he breathed a sigh of relief.

G *Great!

"So, what do you have planned?"

He gave her a secretive smile.

G *You'll see.

~~~

Rin had a tiny flash of disappointment as they pulled up to the back of the bar. It was quickly overwhelmed by curiosity.

If we're here, that means he's going to cook our meal!

Grillby opened the back door and Rin stepped into what she assumed was the kitchen, but it didn't look like any kitchen she'd ever seen before.There were things that she recognized. Long stainless steel counters lined the walls on her right, punctuated by a tall matching refrigerator. To her left were the flat grill, gas stove top, and separate ovens. But everything had been strung up with white Christmas lights. They hung above the counters, attached to the upper cabinetry. The stainless steel reflected their light, and all of the other lights were off, save for the spotlights over the grill and stove.

"Grillby, this is beautiful." Rin said, breathless.

A red rug guided her feet to a table in the center of the kitchen, covered in a white tablecloth and set for dinner. Grillby led her in and lit the two white candles on the table with his finger. His tablet was already set up on her side, and he typed into the app on his phone.

*I hope you're hungry. I have quite a meal planned.

He slipped off his jacket and put on a clean, black apron.

Rin flashed what she hoped was an alluring smile. "You had me at 'scallops'."

~~~

The meal was exquisite. Grillby served seared scallops and a basil pesto sauce over fettuccine with oven-roasted vegetables.

Once he could sit and talk with her, Rin became very aware of the difference in the tone of the conversation from their last meal. That, or now that she was seeing him in a romantic light, she was finally picking up on all the signals he was sending her. He mimicked the way she moved her body. To be fair, she was doing it, too.

He also seemed amused by her funny stories: like the time when she served her parents cereal in buttermilk. The tale sent his body shaking with silent laughter. And she couldn't help but giggle at his discovery of cooking: when he was holding a piece of fruit as a child, he got overly excited about eating it and his flames accidentally cooked it. No matter what they talked about, it always seemed to circle back around to their shared love of cooking.

During a lull in the conversation, Rin reached over and sipped her drink.

*So, how's the job hunt coming?

She winced.

*That bad?

"I've applied to what feels like a million places. All of the positions are low-end retail gigs. I haven't gotten any call-backs yet, but that doesn't mean I won't get one."

She sighed heavily. "Getting a job isn't the real problem. Everything I've applied for only pays minimum wage, which means I'll have to get more than one job just to stay afloat. That's going to get messy to coordinate since I walk."

Grillby thought for a moment.

*What about businesses over here? Would you mind working in a monster-run establishment?

"Oh, no! Of course not! I think it'd be a lot of fun, actually." Her face fell again. "But the distance from my apartment is just too far to make it feasible. If only I could find a cheap place to rent over here AND a job..."

*You know, I could ask around. Maybe there's something right in your price range and we just don't know it yet.

Rin smiled, but didn't get her hopes up. "I'd really appreciate it. My lease is month-to-month now, so I can end it any time...or my landlord could raise my rent and kick me out. It's a nasty little high-wire act I'm balancing, but I'm making it work for the moment."

Grillby seemed worried.

*I really wish there was something more I could do to help.

"Are you kidding?" Rin laughed in disbelief. "Look around you! This has been the most amazing night of my life. Don't even get me started on the meal."

His eyes grew mischievous.

*So the food was good?

"Good doesn't even begin to describe it." Rin beamed.

*Even better than my burger?

"No way!" Rin shut him down. "I'm not about to start playing favorites. Everything you make is delicious."

*Well, I hope you saved room for the best part. Close your eyes.

Grillby touched her hand lightly to tell her to open them.

"Cheesecake?!?" Rin gasped. "How did you know my favorite dessert?"

His eyes twinkled as he set one down in front of her.

*And to top it off, a fresh blackberry sauce.

He spooned the warm sauce over top. Rin took a bite and sighed.

"Is this heaven? I think I've died and gone to heaven."

Grillby typed something as she took another bite.

*Does that make you an angel?

She melted. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. The cheesiest, too, but she loved it all the same.

She looked at her plate, feeling her face beginning to change a shade darker.

"If I'm an angel, what does that make you?"

He thought about it for a second.

*Probably the light at the end of the tunnel.

Rin tried. She tried so hard to hold it in. But the two of them burst out laughing at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Grillby." She laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "That's probably the funniest thing I've ever heard."

He tried to look indignant, but it was obvious that he was pretending.

"Well, you're the most handsome light at the end of any tunnel I've ever seen."

His face broke out in a grin.

*Alright. I forgive you.

~~~

Grillby insisted he walk her all the way up to her apartment. And seeing as her nosy next door neighbor was sitting in the hallway while the maintenance man cleaned up a minor flood in her kitchen, Rin agreed with him when he suggested that they step inside her place for a minute to chat.

She closed the door and turned to face him. He stared down at her with gentle look.

"Tonight was...incredible." Rin could feel her cheeks beginning to glow, and she wished for the hundredth time that she didn't blush so readily. "You worked so hard to make this evening a success. I'm still a little stunned that you did it...for me, of all people."

She rubbed her arm, a little frown on her face. Rin wasn't special. She hadn't gone to college, she hadn't accomplished anything of importance in her life. She didn't know what she'd do with her time if she ever got out of survival mode. She truly couldn't understand what made this wonderful, handsome monster treat her like she was something to be valued. Other people holding her in high regard was completely new to Rin, and she had no idea what to do with the feeling.

"I don't deserve it."

~~~

Grillby started to type a lengthy response as to why she was wrong, but he stopped.

Rin was standing in front of him, telling him that she didn't deserve anything. That she didn't deserve affection, or friendship...nothing. And it was plain by the look on her face that she believed it. The beautiful, wonderful young woman he'd become so fond of didn't think she was special.

He set aside his phone. Words were meaningless now. Nothing he said in this moment would really reach her.

Grillby lifted his hand and reached out to her. Halfway to his destination, she noticed what he was doing and watched him as he moved. He continued until he was right next to her face.

He was asking for permission. He stopped just short of touching her, so that she could tell him if she wanted him to stop.

His gaze flipped between his hand and her eyes.

May I?

A look of understanding crossed her expression and she gave the slightest of nods.

Grillby closed the space, brushing aside a wavy lock of hair and cupping her cheek in his hand. He brushed his thumb across it comfortingly. As he did, he cast a spell to protect her.

Then he leaned down and placed his lips on hers.

~~~

Rin's skin thrummed with the heat of his touch. When she felt the familiar tingle glide across her face, she knew what was coming and held her breath.

Grillby was so gentle. His lips barely grazed hers, as if asking for permission. This time, Rin skipped the nodding and leaned into the kiss, opening her mouth and letting him take control.

Fireworks exploded behind her eyes. His tongue was soft, and he caressed her as he explored her mouth. Her body coursed with energy, as if he was breathing new life into her, and she drifted on the feeling. It enveloped her, taking over all of her senses.

When he slowly broke away, he dragged his lips against hers until she was free. Rin swayed, feeling weak in the knees. He steadied her, one hand on her back and the other on her hip.

She couldn't think straight. No one had ever touched her like this. The only tenderness she'd ever known had been from her mother, and that was long ago.

Her eyes fluttered up to him, and he turned his phone around at the same time that he sent the message.

G *Yes, you do.

***

Grillby always knows just what to say. <3

That’s it for this chapter! I’m going to attempt to get the next one out sometime this week (heck, I’ve got half of the thing already written thanks to my indecision), but I also want to sit down and do some planning for the rest of this story. While I started Undertone with a hazy, half-formed story idea, I want to have a clearer vision of where exactly I’d like them to end up. At this point, I’ve got three or four possibilities rolling around in my head, and I’d like to see if I can work all of them in, or if I need to save some for another story. We’ll see!

Stay tuned, and feel free to leave some commentary!

Chapter Two

Chapter Four

#UndertoneFic #grillby #undertale #fluff #fanfic

12 notes · View notes

chronically-angelic-transripts · 6 years

Text

Template of Oct 5-7: More Side Effects and Frustration

So I'm just trying to sleep.

It is...

Why did I put so many things in front of my alarm clock?

It is 12:47 and I'm having a little hard time breathing.

I haven't had to use my rescue inhaler in months and I had I had just taken, about 30 minutes ago,

my maintenance inhaler, my steroid inhaler, my breathing treatment. (All names for the same thing)

And then I had to take my rescue inhaler.

I just took a second antihistamine which I wasn't planning on doing until I talk to

my allergist about all of this but I don't want to wake up like in the middle

of the night in anaphylactic shock if this is continuing to get worse.

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen but just like the idea of it is really scary

It's getting really hard to breathe.

I took my melatonin.

So I'm really hoping that kicks in soon so I can just go to sleep.

But yeah.

So this is gonna be fun.

Alright.

It is now the morning.

I ended up sleeping in the recliner last night just to

kind of help with the breathing issue.

But then when my siblings came through to go to school I went ahead and switched

over to my bed 'cause it's really hard to sleep sitting up for me.

Well it'd not that hard but like is really difficult to get back to sleep in the first place

when you're woken up and it's like not being my own bed didn't help.

I'm just eating my breakfast.

Waiting for my computer the finish loading up so I can do work.

That's where I'm at.

I just went back and tried to do the captions for my day in the life video I realized its

editing it was kind of horrible.

I don't know how like just because there were so

many files like it was really confusing.

Once I finished editing it like I just didn't go back.

What I had started doing with the vlog that I'm uploading today

is that I exported it and then I re-edited it just to cut out like what I

needed to cut out and for some reason there was like a giant black screen in

the middle of my two scenes 'cause I just used the... no I'm not gonna ramble on about it.

Anyway I'm gonna go ahead and I'll fix that and reupload it.

I can upload it with the captions this time.

I didn't know I missed all that stuff like some of the clips weren't even

muted I don't know maybe one of the edits...

I don't know. I don't know but it was bad

and I'm gonna fix it.

So yes.

I guess I was just in a rush.

So apparently there was,

in the middle of this day in the life video, blank screen and then a clip that

wasn't even supposed to be there I don't know how that happened.

I fixed it the video was 9 minutes long it's now only 5 minutes long.

Let's try this again shall we.

Welcome back to the darkness.

I have such a bad headache.

I really didn't want to lay down because it's only 1 o'clock my semi was getting

home around 3:30.

So I still have time to work but my head is so bad.

I can work through it almost any symptoms but a headache when a

headache gets really bad I can't do it.

I'm gonna have to take some Aleeve.

I don't like taking stuff for my pain because I feel like it could hurt my

kidneys in the future I already have enough problems but when I get to a

point where I can't work through something, I have to take something.

I'm just goig to lay down and wait for the meds to kick in a little bit more.

There's no telling if this headache is related at all to the

allergy stuff but I'm sure it's not helping. My body seems to be under

a lot of stress.

That's where I'm at.

Talk to you later.

It is now 3 p.m.

My headache still has not gone away.

It has gotten a little better so that's good.

I'm just really annoyed like

I can't...

if the allergy pill is...

If the allergy shots continue to cause this

I don't know that I'm gonna be able to continue treatment and I don't know

that if it is causing symptoms like this that it's actually even doing anything

because I would figure it it's Friday I got the shot on Monday.

I figure if it's supposed to be training my immune system to fight at all my mean system was

basically not done that yet so I don't know, again, I don't know if we're gonna

have to dilute or stop altogether or whatever. I called my allergist today.

They didn't pick up so I left a message. I'm thinking about calling them again like

right now but I think they might not be open on Fridays. I can't remember.

Yeah.

Alright.

Talk to you later.

Everybody I actually did get

the week's vlog up which I was worried about but pretty much had all

the work done on the editing.

So I just had to upload it so when I did

that when I was already up for going to the restroom and yes so that's up.

I really wanted to get the captions done today but I have a headache and my

siblings just got home and kicked me off the computer.

So yeah talk to you later.

Dinner time!

I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and I barely had

anything for breakfast.

So it's Friday. Pizza day. We have pizza pretty much

every Friday.

My mom's homemade pizza.

These are bread sticks. That's the pizza.

And in our family we like really thick crust.

This one turned out a little thin this time round but it's still good.

So question for you:

Do you like thin or thick crust pizza?

Comment.

Hello.

I am now lying down while I eat

because I'm getting really nauseous.

I'm actually getting like to the point where

it feels like I'm actually gonna throw up and if you get a lot of nausea,

you know there's a difference between just feeling nausous

and feeling like you're going to throw up.

Anyway, a lot of times whenever I feel like this,

it's because there's a lot of air in my stomach and for some reason I

just can't burp. So I'm lying down on my left side because that helps facilitate

burping and it does... I am feeling a little better but...

I haven't actually thrown up in months,

like maybe even a year.

But I still get nauseous all the time

so I still have to keep up a bucket just in case because I'd rather have one

and not need it you know what I mean.

So yeah. I might not even use this clip

but there we go.

I'm mad.

So I write captions for another vlogger here on YouTube. I had captioned five

minutes into the video but YouTube told me it saved the draft.

It did not and now I have to do all of that work all over again and I'm mad about it.

I can't do much about it.

But ranting helps a little bit and

then I can just buckle down and do it.

10 minutes down, 40 minutes to go which I

kind of split these minutes up so by the time she gets her next video up,

this should be done.

So I am editing my last vlog,

and I'm realizing something about myself.

I talk with timing like comedians do right before they get their punchline

but I don't have any punchlines so it's just weird long awkward pauses

for no reason and it's annoying me because I can hear myself doing it now

but maybe it has something to do with just like processing like letting the

other person process what I just said.

Maybe it's just lag time before my next sentence

which is interesting to think about

See I think it might just be the lag time thing but it's also like

dramatic timing I guess but there's no drama like it's just me talking to a

camera with dramatic timing for no reason.

I don't understand what's happening!

Although I do have an oatmeal cream pie.

Okay so I was planning to go to bed like right after I finished working on my

friends captions but then I got distracted by editing the stuff that I

had just found about the captions and then I decided to go ahead and start

working on the captions for my last vlog.

So it's now one in the morning but my last vlogs captions are half of the way done

So I feel accomplished.

Alright, so yeah that's where I'm at right now.

See you tomorrow slash today?

I don't know anymore.

See you in the morning.

There we go there we go I found

Afternoon lovely people.

So I had been working on the sock I was working on

and I wasn't really following a pattern because I couldn't because

this certain yarn is... I'm using a gauge that I'm not supposed to technically be

using at all with it but whatever.

I went ahead and found a pattern I had to

unravel all that work I did already and the pattern I have know is like a

very simple pattern but I'm having to multiply the number of stitches by like

1.3 to make it big enough for me personally because it's supposed to be

like a women's medium.

I am not a medium.

So yeah I'm just re-working on that now but this seems to be going a lot

faster and I'm not gonna be able to tell whether it's too big or small

until I work on it for a while and then try to slide it on but what I did it

before it seemed like it was the right size and then as I kept going it got larger.

So like I won't know until I get like way down which is really annoying but I

I found this new great app so I don't have to take notes on my freaking arm anymore.

So this is...

by the way totally unsponsored because I get like 10 views on every video who the heck would sponsor me

It's "My Row Counter"

and it's so cool.

So that's what I'm doing right now is I'm working on this

and I'm watching youtube.

I just had a My Chronic Connection meeting and

I should probably do a video all about that too but yeah I'll talk about that more later.

So because I had to unravel the thing my yarn ended up being tangled.

I had to take the whole thing out of a ball and and now looks like this

I will update later because I am going to get all of it untangled. It's going to be fine.

Right now it looks like this. So yeah.

Through the magic of video

this becomes

this *gasp*.

Good morning!

It is a little past 11:00 a.m.

I didn't end up going to sleep until like 3:30.

because my stomach was being really weird.

I actually threw up. Which was fun.

But now it's morning.

My sister brought me my donuts

because we have donuts pretty much every Saturday but

we didn't have them yesterday so we're having them today.

I'm making sure to tell you that we have them all the time because they normally don't mess with my stomach.

My stomach issues really are like whatever.

Like it doesn't matter what I eat at this point and so I may as well eat things that taste good.

Finished the cuff on my socks!

Now I'm gonna go take a shower.

It [the shower] is complete.

And now I'm gonna go watch some TV with my parents.

So yes.

So.

I love pink lemonade.

It's a problem

because I have acid reflux.

I had a jumbo mug and a half pink lemonade.

And now my stomach wants to kill me.

It comes in waves.

But uh...

Send good vibes.

So it is now actually technically Monday

cause it is one a.m.

But I never filmed an outro so.

I actually took a nap and woke up at midnight.

I went to bed at nine

and I woke up at midnight

because that's just how my life works these days.

But it's okay because I got to work a little bit.

And tomorrow's going to be really busy.

I have to go get my allergy shot and then I have a therapy appointment.

And my siblings aren't even going to school tomorrow because they have the day off.

For student teacher conferences or something?

*parent teacher confrences

I'm wearing my retainer for once.

So I sound a little weird.

So I won't be able to get as much work done as I normally get done on Mondays.

I'm hoping I'll still be able to get everything done but

it's just going to be a little bit of a time crunch.

*click*

Ow!

I just popped my ankle.

Could you hear that?

Anyway.

What am I trying to say right now?

So.

Yeah you'll see my day tomorrow on Friday actually.

I'm probably going to get the editing for this video done.

And see if I get it up tomorrow night and I'm probably gonna have to save the captions again.

And just do them like a little bit at a time.

Seems to be the way I've been doing it like...

Captions won't come out with the video but they'll be out before the next video.

It's kind of dissapointing but...

I'd rather publish something then I have that step separate but I can still work on it.

But I don't just want to like... give up on that.

Alright so you can hit any buttons,

type anything, click on any links in the description.

And yeah. That's all.

0 notes

sanguinesprout · 7 years

Text

Therapy/Counselling diary #8 (my memory is baaad plus some general frustrations and encouragements)

This past week was kinda hmm... nyeeeeh. I wouldn't say I did anything particularly exciting or new or memorable and I was kinda sickly but it wasn't bad bad and that's all that matters ^^ My memory is bad bad baaaaad in other words, same as usual lol

I’ve decided I’m gonna try to write this weeks (or well, last weeks) stuff using the tumblr app this time, I haven't really used it much, but it's been pretty neat so far aka I cba to clear my desk and use the pc. My typo rate is srsly v. high tho and I wanna shorten the words cuz phone typing and effort but I think I actually type about the same speed with my phone as I do on the PC hah... If only I could read back the text and edit stuff easier as I go along though... oh welp. (Whoa phew, I thought I accidentally posted it by accident lulz the app gives a 'it posted' notification when I save it as a draft what even lol)

This weeks counselling app was... pretty alright, though I'm feeling the pressure and the nerves more now because as predicted I am expected to try even more harder with the communication and skill learning stuff for next time and I really arghhh xwx I only just got over the last wall and the next one seems way more difficult to scale... but I think I can do it... I just need to push away the unhelpful thoughts and persist..! >^<

So that sheet about emotions and thoughts I had to do... I only managed to write two small things but it's something at least, we didn't actually look over it this session because we were still looking at the unhelpful behaviour sheet from last last time which was a slight relief but I still have the sheet now and need to fill it by next week xwx

The behaviour we went over was to do with comparing yourself to others and I really can't remember a lot of the things that was said gdi... maybe I'll just bullet point some of the important stuff and the rest will come back to me easier... and so I don't forget even more lol I'm just feeling extra lazy and unmovtivated hahaha.. ugh @v@"

🍰 Every person has their own views on things/their own way of doing or reacting to things and there is no right or wrong way in essence. Like baking a cake, one person may use so and so ingredients and the other such and such or even something that seems pretty unconventional but they both still result in cakes. Another person may prefer the taste of cake 1 over 2 and another person cake 2 over 1. No one is wrong in their choices, it’s just personal preference.

🥞 All professions work together in harmony and are necessary to make up and keep up a society. There is no need to be ashamed of or think lowly of your profession because it is just as important (eg. trash collector people, some people might think lowly of them but without them there would be a mess of vermin and disease etc etc as juxtaposed with another profession like a doctor which is usually thought highly of).

🍕 The only way to break the cycle is by doing. Doing will provide you with the experience and evidence needed to override your negative presumptions and this in turn will allow you to get past the things holding you back and grow. Your beliefs should run on facts and not irrational thoughts which probably hold no truth at all.

🍔 Like reading a book, you only know as much as you've read (your current and past experiences and beliefs), but there is still so much left to learn and absorb if you push forward and continue. The parts you haven't read yet (future experiences and knowledge etc) may be the positive and powerful parts needed to neutralise and flip back the negative beginning chapters.

🍝 You live in a place where freedom and choice is encouraged and accepted (unlike some other places in the world where people live under strict control), so why would you willingly choose to cage yourself in with all these rules and restrictions..? (T^T Idk why... but I don’t want to no more that’s for sure!)

🍦 Everything you do should be for your own approval and not anyone else’s. It’s your life and your choices, not theirs. Your own opinions matter most and your own wellbeing should be your priority. Do it all for yourself.

🍩 I would really like a doughnut right now, damn. I can’t have any of these foods rn cause of my diet lolol... they’re unhealthy anyways ^^”

These are some really awfully phrased retellings of the stuff the counsellor told me, but that’s basically all I can remember right now but they give very interesting and useful views on things. Normally I would rephrase them even more or not include the examples but w/e I need to stop being so afraid, just get it all down nice and straightforward and truthful! Yeah, I could've just used the actual bullet point formatting but food emoji is much more exciting of course :D I literally can’t think anymore about last week, I’m just so overwhelmed with this week, my head hurts with the mental effort x^x I decided to go back to using the pc, the app is good for brief things only I guess.

In terms of doing something brave or well out of my comfort zone, I walked down a few streets on my own and went to collect some post. It’s something I’ve done before (though not completely on my own) but I still had a hella awkward time at the desk cause the queue was kind of jumbled and idk if the person before me was actually someone that came after, I thought maybe they were an employee and went behind them instead or maybe they skipped in front idk ugh... I really suck at looking and remembering people’s faces sometimes.

If I wanted to go somewhere else on my own my parents would probably not let me go and my dad would lecture me all the safety things even more than usual (seriously, I get the don’t talk to strangers type of line every single time..!). I’m not a child, I shouldn’t have to ask for permission and this time I didn’t ask, I just said where I was going and why and left but if I tried that to go anywhere else then they’d get ruffled. But the main thing is the communication again I guess, as long as they are informed, it’ll lessen the stress and make them more open to me taking my own initiative.

Like I understand they want me to be safe, it’s what parents do and I obviously don’t want to run into any trouble too, but sometimes being too overprotective and overly cautious means I’m just stuck and can’t grow at all. It just goes to make me even more scared of the world, when I should be out there doing things like everyone else, it sucks.

I know in parents eyes, their daughters and sons will always be their kids, their babies, but at some point they will see them as adults too and well, that just isn’t happening for me. I haven’t proven myself worthy of the adult title and I also feel I don’t deserve it yet, it seems a long way off still but it feels so ridiculous, but what is age but just a number anyways, everyone goes at different paces. I shouldn’t dwell on this too much and just try my best to prove to myself, yes myself first and foremost, that I can be an adult, I can be responsible and independent at least a little more. I need a better action plan really... besides the vague, get a job, learn to drive, cook etc. idk what else @^@” I’m getting a little ahead of myself with even this though, gotta not forget, take things slow and gradually, baby steps!! ^^

In my other endeavours with art and posting things online, it’s just come to a stand still or gone backwards actually, I’ve just gotten so scared again, I can’t put a pen to paper or even leave a comment on other people’s stuff anymore and it feels really awful, like why can’t I just do it and forget about feeling foolish or judged or inadequate, I keep overthinking again gdi..!! >^< I keep wanting to plan things and have things all perfect and ready instead of just getting things done as I go like other people... damn, I keep saying like other people, constantly comparing myself to them, that’s another reason I’ve gotten scared to try again with anything.

Gosh, these unhelpful habits are for reals and are the worst, at least I’m more aware of them though, maybe I can fight them back a bit better now that I know how draining and evil they are... Okay! I challenge you unhelpful habits!! Imma throw you in the trash and get my ass moving! You’ve got nothing on me! I can do it!! Ugh... ;^; No no, no sad! Fight fight fight! Go go go! ò^ó

My sis got me a lot of gifts relating to art, she encourages me through this and her kind words and wants me to do well, I want me to do well too and to show my gratitude with action, so imma do well and make a lot of nice arts to be proud of! They don’t have to be perfect! I saw a quote that was something like ‘even the pages on your bad days are better than the ones on the days you did nothing’ (I just totally butchered that lol) or something like that and it was like, damn, that’s true. A little practice even if it’s not serious is better than nothing at all! Okay okay I’m pumped!

The stuff I had to do this week is to help out at the front of the shop, gain some experience and converse with customers..! I already attempted it once for a short time and welp, it was scary but I guess not that bad (also I kinda botched up a phone order maybe) but I keep reading into things too deeply and negatively and it scared me off and now as usual the week is ending and my opportunities to try are limited, need to get my ass in gear, c’mon I can do it! Don’t be afraid, you’re doing well, keep going! ^^”... go go go! ^u^

Maybe I can kill 2 birds with one stone, sit and observe but also draw, space is limited though so idk if it’ll work out but there’s no harm giving it a try I guess. Must not forget to fill in that emotions/thoughts sheet ugh, I should have done it as I actually do stuff but I do things in bad and unconventional ways. Need to break a lot of habits. I downloaded this app that is supposed to help you build new healthy habits, so far all it’s wanted me to do is to drink water when I wake up so I feel more energised lol but I did it and it does help, I wonder if I can build a lot of other good habits too, it certainly makes things feel more fun in a way.

Everyday in my mind I want to look over the days happenings in a more positive light and congratulate myself for all the small things I did that I maybe I wouldn’t have some weeks ago, so I can see how much I actually improved and have put effort in. Even though on the surface it just all seems meh, I want to let myself see how things have actually become a little easier and how the negative thoughts relating to them has begun to affect me less and take up less space in my conscious. Be proud of yourself and all your endeavours, silly!

Hmm, this post is probably shorter than my usual one but oh well, I don’t want to spend too much time rambling or ruminating or being a paralysed perfectionist, I’ve got other bigger fish to fry! And draw and eat omnomnom! Yolo! x3

Okay okay, now I’m going to go do some artsy fartsy stuff or at least have myself set up for it and my conversing/experience gaining challenge hoo! Believe in yourself, you can do it! Let’s go go! :D

Have a lovely evening and keep trying, keep flying! ^^

#therapy #avpd #anxiety #social anxiety #depression #thoughts #feelings #family #self-motivation #trying a little is better than not trying at all #it's okay for things to not be perfect #believe in yourself #do it all for yourself #challenge the negative #keep going #baby steps #you can do it!#let's art and kick ass!

0 notes