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ribcages-and-bookpages · 1 year

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Ezekiel’s purpose (a 7DS oc & one shot)

(Featuring Meliodas and Diane)

(Art is not mine but the image is roughly how Zeke looks; comment the artist if you know them for credit)

Life for Ezekiel has never been perfect, although he'd never want it to be perfect, but some days were much harder than others. Every morning Zeke wakes at seven to be at work by eight but first comes his routine of waking his sister for school and helping her either find breakfast, make her breakfast, or give her cash to buy something on her way there. Once it's time to go, he drives to work and spends eight hours of his life working a manager's position in retail in an "uppity" store, as Zeke calls it. Although that is not perfect either, it gets the bills paid, and that's what matters most to Zeke. That, and his sister Layla; he would literally let himself be torn to pieces by wolves if it meant good things for Layla. She's all he has right now in this harsh and cold world, ever since the death of their father, and the incarceration of their mother.

You see, Georgia, their mother, is an abusive person. At first, it was harsh words and disciplining the children a little too harshly, but it quickly turned to physical injuries. Their father, Cody, stuck around anyways to be there for the kids and protect them from Georgia; until he couldn't anymore. When the kids were twelve and eight he made a plan to leave while Georgia was at work and the kids were at school; quickly pack his bags, grab his essentials, and leave the city, going anywhere that wasn't home. Unfortunately for Cody, his wife found out about his plans by going through his phone in the middle of the night and decided to get her revenge for him planning to leave her. She cut some of the lines inside the car and removed his brakes, and that was enough. He left as planned; until his car wouldn't stop and he ended up in the center of traffic; he was killed on impact with another car, which also died. Although it was a terrible accident, that's what it was originally thought to be, as there was no reason to assume otherwise when Georgia told them they had a fight before he left, so he was angrily driving.

Life continued for the family, the kids weren't originally told of his death until they were older, but Zeke knew way before that after eavesdropping on one of his mom's phone calls. They were forbidden from seeing any of their father's family with threats of being kicked out onto the streets if they did, and eventually, that side of the family stopped trying to get in touch. Things were quiet as Zeke did his best to stay on his mom's good side, but often faced physical and mental abuse from her due to being transgender. She wouldn't allow him to be Zeke, he was Emma to her, forever and always and any 'signs' of Zeke were punished. This didn't include any time Georgia would become mad at Layla and Zeke would step in and take the abuse instead. Then one day, a few months after Zeke's 18th birthday and high school graduation, it was like the clouds parted and the skies cleared as police showed up at their home and arrested their mom. Until he found out what for, which was the death of their father and another woman in that accident, and Zeke was heartbroken. He held it together for Layla and showed a brave face in front of her, but any time he was alone he would let the facade drop and would let everything out.

Life became even harder, shortly after Georgia's arrest as Layla was 14 and Zeke was an 18-year-old with a part-time job and no money saved and CPS wanted to put Layla up for adoption. Of course, Zeke fought it every step of the way, and the night he found out they wanted to take Layla, he got on his laptop and began to find a full-time job and applied at various places as well as look for apartments closer to where Layla was going to high school. Within three months, the two siblings were completely settled into their apartment and had CPS off their case, and so life continued again. But now, Zeke found himself lacking in having a goal in life; he'd spent his days dreaming of the life he had now with his sister, but it always included reconnecting with their father, Cody. Now that wasn't an option, so what now? He still hasn't found that 'purpose', and he's twenty-two.

Zeke set down the laundry basket in his hands onto the couch and leaned to the left to see the stove in the kitchen, which read 7:45 A.M. He sighed softly and began to make his way to his bedroom, muttering, 'Another day, another dollar.' as he got to his bedroom. Although it was almost time to leave for work, Zeke still had plenty to do and could easily spend all day cleaning the apartment. He was wearing his normal work clothes of light brown cargo pants and a black t-shirt, which was paired with black and dark blue sneakers as he made his way through the apartment. But as he entered his bedroom, he heard Meliodas' voice on the TV and turned to look and see what scene it was, and it was the award ceremony for the Sins after season one, 'I must have left it on from when I was watching earlier this morning. I should switch it off before I forget.' He thought as he made his way to the TV. But as he reached out to press the power button he was shocked and all the lights in the apartment went out, as well as the TV screen changing to a swirling blue and purple vortex.

Zeke quickly jumped back and waved his hand in the air as he felt residual static in his fingers, "What the fuck was that about?" He huffed at the TV. But once he looked up and realized the show was no longer playing and it was instead swirling colors, he felt his heart jump into his throat and stumbled back a bit more, 'Woah!" He said as he tripped on a pair of pajama pants and fell to the ground. After he landed he grunted in pain and sat up before rubbing his arm, which took a lot of the impact. Once Zeke was sure he didn't badly injure himself in the fall, he stood and got a bit closer to the TV, then threw a shirt at the swirling vortex; and to Zeke's horror, the shirt phased through and disappeared. Stumbling back in surprise, Zeke then fell again as the back of his legs hit the foot of his bed and he landed on the bed, "Oh shit-!" He said as he landed. He then began to stare at the vortex, unsure what to do about it or with it and he had no idea how it even happened.

After a moment of staring at it, he slowly stood up and made his way over to the swirling vortex before poking it. He could feel his finger push through a force and begin to get sucked in so he quickly pulled his hand back and jumped back in surprise at the sensation. He stared at the vortex once more and ran a hand through his hair, "What do I do? Do I call a scientist? How would I even do that? I can't just ignore it either, what if it grows and eats the apartment building? Maybe I'm dreaming?" He rambled to himself as he looked at the vortex before pinching his arm, and then shrugged, "I'm not dreaming but this definitely can't be real." Zeke sighed softly. He ran his hand through his hair again before sitting on the ground in front of the foot of his bed as he stared at the vortex, weighing all of his options as he thought about all the different possibilities or what the vortex could do, 'What if it instantly kills me? Or takes me to hell? Or..what if this is my chance? I've been asking for years for something to change and for something to make me happy..what if this is it? What if it's just some sick twisted joke God is playing on me?' He thought as he continued to watch the vortex swirl. As he continued to weigh his options, he sighed and looked at the picture frame beside his bed; which held the image of himself and a younger girl with brown hair and blue eyes similar to his own, then sighed, "But..what if it takes me somewhere I can be happy?" He mumbled to himself before turning back to the vortex.

Finally, he stood up and made his way over to the vortex, but he found himself turning to look at the picture once more, "I'm sorry Layla. I love you and I hope I see you again." He said softly as his voice began to crack and tears threatened to fall. After a moment, he shook his head and wiped his eyes, "I can't do it. I can't leave her." He whispered as he sniffled and ran a hand through his hair again. Suddenly, the vortex grew and consumed the TV and began to suck things in, like a few items of clothing off the floor that had been near the tv and Zeke could feel it pulling him in. Zeke's eyes widened as he started to step back but the suction became so strong that before his leg hit the ground it was pulled up and into the air, as Zeke started to get dragged into the vortex, "Hey what the fuck!" He shouted as he slipped and landed on the floor and the vortex continued to pull him closer. With a pounding heart, he attempted to crawl over to his bed frame to hold onto it, only to flinch as more items from the room were pulled into the vortex, including the picture beside his bed. He held onto the foot of the bed as his legs were lifted in the air and he could feel the suction of the vortex threatening to consume him, but his hands slipped for a split second and that was enough. Zeke went flying towards the vortex, and then into it, but once his feet were through he fell unconscious and it closed as soon as he was fully through, leaving a destroyed bedroom.

When Zeke began to wake, he could hear birds chirping and the rustling of leaves in the wind and quickly opened his eyes; He was laying on the ground of a forest with some items from his bedroom scattered about, and without a second thought he quickly crawled over to the broken picture frame before carefully taking the picture out. He paused though as he looked at his sister's image before folding it to fit in his wallet and putting it there, then began to look around, "Okay, I'm in a forest. Great. Because I totally have the supplies and skills for this." he muttered bitterly. As he sat back down he felt his anxiety begin to creep up and quickly pushed it back down as he looked around the area to see if any of the items from his room would come in handy, but he noticed most of it was dirty clothes or otherwise wise useless items. He then began to pat the pockets of his cargo pants and paused as he felt something in the lower right pocket before opening the pocket and taking out a pocket knife, which he kept on him at all times, and sighed in relief as he slipped it into his upper right pocket so he had easier access to it. Zeke sighed to himself as he ran a hand through his hair and began to mumble, "Okay, well at least I have a weapon. But considering I don't know where I am, I'm not sure how effective it will be." He sighed once more before standing up. He then began to explore the debris field created by the vortex sucking his items in and found nothing else that was useful, except a half-empty mini water bottle, which he put in his left lower pocket.

Once he decided there was nothing good left, he left the area entirely in an attempt to find some people or at least somewhere to take shelter for the time being. Zeke walked for some time before finding two large trees that had begun to grow together and decided that would be his camp since he was tired of walking and was only finding more forest as he traveled. As he shakily sat down in front of the trees and nestled his back into the bend of the trees, he then laid his head on the trunk of the tree a heavy sigh left him and he retrieved the small water bottle from his pocket and raised it to eye level, noticing only a sip was left he muttered, "Damn it, I should have saved more." before opening the bottle and drinking the single sip. As it touched his tongue he could feel how dehydrated he was and instantly his body craved more water and his mouth immediately felt just as dry as before. A heavy sigh left Zeke as he rested his head back onto the tree trunks and stared up at the leaves above as they rustled in the wind. Suddenly he noticed he could hear talking nearby and felt his heart jump into his throat, 'They might be able to help! I'm saved! God, I hope they have water.' He thought as he scrambled to his feet and began to look around to see if he could spot who the voices belonged to. But as his gaze focused on a blond-haired male, he realized the true meaning of the vortex; It was Meliodas, The Dragon Sin of Wrath, from The Seven Deadly Sins, which could only mean he was teleported into his comfort anime of the last few months. Zeke could feel a rush of emotions hit him and he raised a hand to his mouth as he gagged softly in response to the bout of intense nausea he received from the anxiety he could feel so deep it was in his bones; which all caused him to stumble forward before falling to his knees.

For a few seconds, Zeke heard nothing, only his own pounding heartbeat in his own ears and his loud thoughts, 'How did this happen? Am I dreaming? I can't be, this feels too real. This..this is real. I..' He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his forehead to his hands, which were on the ground as he kneeled on the ground and panted softly, 'This is real. I'm in an anime. And not just that, but probably one of the most dangerous ones! I'm going to die. This is my death sentence. Layla would love-' He snapped his eyes open and tears threatened to overflow from his eyelids as his breathing became shakier. He closed his eyes once more, 'Layla, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You have to figure out everything on your own now. Oh god, Jake. I'm sorry guys...' he was trying desperately to hold it together and not begin to 'ugly cry' as he called it. But as a lower-toned voice rang through the air, it broke him from his state and he looked up to meet kind, green eyes,

"Hey, are you alright?" Asked Meliodas as he crouched in front of Zeke, who quickly wiped his eyes and laughed nervously in an attempt to keep the tears back. Meliodas looked at Zeke with a concerned gaze, which made Zeke falter and drop his gaze to the ground,

"Honestly? No, But I'll get through it. I always do." He glanced up to Meliodas and flashed a nervous half-smile before dropping his gaze again, as well as the smile entirely. Meliodas nodded softly and stood up, then offered Zeke a hand in getting up, and Zeke stared at his hand for a moment before looking to his face, which held a small friendly smile. Unfortunately for Zeke, Meliodas is his favorite, so his face quickly began to turn pink and he felt his heart jump into his throat again and he had the urge to vomit again, but this time it was excitement. Zeke quickly brushed it off and took hold of Meliodas's hand, who then helped him get to his feet before letting go of his hand and shoving his hands in his pockets, while Zeke moved to run a hand through his hair to calm his nerves a bit. With a kind smile, Meliodas stepped back to give Zeke space before speaking to him,

"Are you lost? You don't have any supplies on you, and there isn't anything for miles in either direction, but if you need help we'd be happy to help. Me and the other Sins, that is." He explained with that same smile on his face as he watched Zeke's movements and expression. A quick nod of confirmation left Zeke before he ruffled his own hair a bit and sighed,

"It's a long story, but yeah, you could say that. Homeless too, now that I think about it, so that's also super inconvenient." He said before looking back to Meliodas, who nodded softly and lost the smile so he didn't seem insensitive to the situation and waited for Zeke to finish,

"I see. Well, if you come with us we can bring you to Liones and I'm sure Elizabeth will have an idea of what to do with you. Sound good?" he then asked with a small head tilt. Meanwhile, Zeke wanted to explode on the spot when Meliodas tilted his head since Zeke found it cute when he did so, but he held it together and instead nodded thoughtfully to Meliodas's words, although Zeke had barely registered what had been said.

Suddenly, another one of the Sins appeared from the forest; Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy, who then bounced over with a smile on her face. Zeke gave a nervous smile and waved to Diane before glancing away, 'Better not let her catch onto my crush on Meliodas, I love her, but since I don't know what part of the series this is...Better to be safe than dead.' He thought to himself before looking back to her. Diane smiled and slightly raised her hand to wave back before turning to Meliodas,

"Captain, who's this? Does he know anything about the lights The King saw?" She asked as she glanced back to Zeke before settling her gaze back onto Meliodas, while Zeke felt his heart stop and his body became cold. That's when he knew he had a choice. 'Shit! I'm either gonna have to Lie my ass off and have them drop my ass somewhere so no one catches it, or I can tell the truth about how I ended up here..except if I tell the whole truth, I might fuck up their mind and cause panic...So maybe half-truth? Half truth it is.' Zeke thought to himself as the sins began to discuss Zeke's presence. With a small smile, Meliodas began to explain,

"We just met, actually. He says he's lost." He told Diane as he glanced at Zeke, who seemed lost in thought as he stared at the ground, then Meliodas turned back to Diane and continued, "He may know something about it, but he seems exhausted, I think he's been walking around for a while. Maybe we should let him rest and then question him later?" He says in a hinting tone at Diane, who nodded a bit in agreement. Meanwhile, Zeke zoned back into the conversation and heard the last of what Meliodas was saying about letting him rest, and he felt hope restored as he realized he didn't have to make a quick decision about something so important and he smiled softly in relief.

Noticing his relief, Meliodas turned to him with a small smile,

"I'll try to keep the questions to a minimum but I can't promise there won't be any. Now, do you need to be carried to the tavern or do you think you can make it? it's not too far, maybe a 30-minute walk or so." He says, which Zeke immediately scoffed when Meliodas was done and muttered, 'Short walk my ass, that's a fuckin hike.', but unknown to Zeke, the corners of Meliodas's lips flickered upwards a bit as he tried to hide the amusement he felt at hearing Zeke's words. After a moment of hesitating Zeke spoke,

"I'm sorry, but I think I need to be carried. I've been out here for a couple hours now and my legs feel like jelly.. actually, my brain kinda does too." He laughed nervously, then coughed a few times before clearing his throat. But as he raised his gaze to look at Meliodas, he noticed the blond was smiling again and Zeke had to quickly force his eyes to the ground so he didn't start blushing,

"It's alright, no big deal. Diane, do you mind looking for the others? It's going to be dark soon so we should get back to the Kingdom soon so we can report back to King Bartra." Asked Meliodas as he shifted to take his hands out of his pockets before continuing, "I'm going to take our new friend here back to the tavern and get him some water." He finished with a small smile as he glanced at Zeke. In the meantime, Zeke felt his heart do several skips and begin to pound when Meliodas smiled at him and was doing his best not to squeak or squeal just from being around Meliodas.

Luckily for Zeke, the attention was drawn off him as Diane began to respond,

"Okay, Captain! See you soon!" She said as she saluted before giggling and turning to walk off. Zeke watched her leave for a moment until he shifted and realized how heavy and sore his body felt. He winced softly as he felt pain shoot up his left leg and his leg threatening to buckle; all of the adrenaline that had raced through his body during his realization had fizzled out and left him feeling absolutely devastated physically. Luck once again was on Zeke's side as Meliodas noticed his trouble and made his way over before turning and showing his back to Zeke,

"Here, hop on. It'll be easiest to carry you this way." He told him, but Zeke could feel his heart jump into his throat and almost squeaked in response, but caught himself and nodded instead. With a nervous smile, Zeke climbed onto Meliodas's back as instructed and held his breath to make sure he didn't start panicking when Meliodas then held onto Zeke's legs and stood up. Zeke glanced to Meliodas, 'Oh fuck. Okay, don't panic. Dont panic. Sure a totally hot guy is carrying me on his back but don't panic. IM PANICKING!! Okay, fuck, Gotta calm down.' He thought and let out a small exhale, 'Okay, Just focus. He's just a nice guy helping me. Not my favorite character. This is insane! Oh shit He's talking to me-', he was pulled out of his thoughts as Meliodas said something, but Zeke didn't catch it

"What was that?" He asked softly as he looked to Meliodas, who had a small smile and repeated himself,

"What's your name? I'm Meliodas, the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins and the dragon Sin of Wrath, and the girl that just left was Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy." He said as he glanced back at Zeke. Zeke chuckled nervously,

"I forgot to tell you, didn't I? Mine isn't special anything, but my name is Ezekiel, except everyone calls me Zeke." He said with a hum before glancing to Meliodas again, who nodded in response. After a pause, Meliodas spoke again,

"It's nice to meet you, Zeke. Where are you from?" He asked softly as he glanced back at Zeke, although he had trouble seeing him from the angle he had. Unknown to Meliodas, his words caused Zeke some panic as he tried to figure out how he would explain this until finally, Zeke settled on an answer,

"Well, truthfully, I'm not from here. It's..hard to explain. And honestly, even if I told you I'm not sure you'd believe me. I barely believe it." He told Meliodas in a soft voice as he chose his words carefully, 'Yeah because it's crazy to think I was going to work and now I'm in my comfort anime. And more than that, I'm on the back of my favorite! Okay, don't think about it too hard or this is going to get awkward fast...' He thought to himself before shaking his head a bit and focusing on Meliodas. But to his surprise, Meliodas seemed to understand as he nodded and glanced at Zeke,

"Fair enough. You can tell me more about it once you're up to it, no rush. But if I could suggest, I'm sure Merlin would love to be a part of that conversation, she may be able to help you out." He said and flashed Zeke a smile of reassurance.

Meanwhile, Zeke was screaming internally at Meliodas's kind words and trying desperately not to cry or start hysterically laughing out of nervousness and Meliodas smiling at him like that did not help. He felt ready to burst from emotions and took a moment to collect his thoughts and feelings, 'Aw man he's so fuckin' nice! I can't do this, my poor gay heart. His smile! Ugh, I want to go slam my face into a tree. Okay, pull it together. Pull. It. together!' He finally felt grounded back to reality and no longer riddled with anxiety and began to respond,

"I appreciate that, and Yeah it's okay if Merlin is there, some help would be great. And...You know...You're probably one of the kindest people I've ever met, so thank you." He nervously added the last part. Meliodas never dropped his smile and simply shrugged at Zeke's words, seeming to be used to being told this, then glanced at him again,

"It's not a big deal, you just seemed like you needed some help...and maybe a friend too." He held his gaze on Zeke for a moment as his smile and expression softened before he turned to face the direction they were headed. Once again though, Zeke could feel his heart skip several beats and then felt like he was going to throw up his heart when Meliodas smiled at him, but he held it together still and returned the smile. After a moment of calming his racing heart and trying to suppress a blush from creeping onto his face, he finally replied,

"You have no idea how right you are, actually-" He chuckled nervously as he glanced away. Zeke then glanced back to Meliodas before shifting a bit and huffing softly, "And don't say it's not a big deal. Where I'm from, most people would walk past me and pretend they didn't even see me. Where I'm from.. there's so little kindness in it. If we just had a few of you, that would start to overpower the bad." He chuckled weakly as his gaze dropped to the ground and he slouched a bit more, 'Way to ruin the mood, idiot. Now it's stressy depressy time. Ugh..' He sighed softly. (One) But Meliodas didn't skip a beat in replying,

"Or maybe just more of you." He said, but it took a moment for it to register to Zeke as Meliodas spoke with a more serious, but still lighthearted tone as he gave Zeke a small smile.

Once it fully processed, Zeke could feel his face turn a little pink so he quickly turned his head to the left and let his bangs fall onto his face a bit to try and hide it, as well as the smile that plastered itself across his face. He couldn't drop the smile for a bit as he thought to himself, 'Man..He's so nice. If only he knew! Actually, never mind, I don't want him to ever know. That'll save me the embarrassment! Oh shit, is that the tavern?' He looked over as he spotted a building in the distance and shifted a bit to try and get a better look. The tavern was coming into view as the trees became less and less dense until they were in a clearing,

"This is my tavern, The Boar Hat." Meliodas proudly announced to Zeke, who smiled in response as they got closer until they were headed up the porch steps and he began to understand how the small-looking building really wasn't small at all, which made Zeke mumble a quiet, 'Epic.' as they got to the door. This earned a small chuckle from Meliodas as he then shifted Zeke in his grasp, "Can you get off here, Zeke? There are chairs close to the door so you don't have to worry about going far." He said as he crouched down to let Zeke off. Without hesitation Zeke got off Meliodas's back but felt his legs nearly buckle as soon as his full weight was on them, so he quickly leaned onto one of the posts on the porch and took the pressure off his left leg, which he noticed was really hurting; specifically his ankle.

After Meliodas fully stood up and turned to Zeke, he noticed the other male leaning on the post for support and quickly moved to assist the male by putting Zeke's arm over his shoulders, "Here, let me help you." He said as Zeke hissed in pain when his left foot touched the ground. The two then made their way into the tavern as Meliodas supported most of Zeke's weight, and Zeke did his best to focus on walking and not who his arm was around. Quickly the duo made their way over to the closest chair, which was at one of the tavern tables, and Zeke plopped down onto the chair as he panted softly and then he sat for a minute to try and catch his breath. Meliodas glanced at Zeke's ankle before looking back to his face, "Are you alright, Zeke?" He tilted his head as he asked this and Zeke sighed in response at first,

"Well honestly? No. I think I sprained my ankle. Or I broke it again. Either way." He shrugged with another sigh. He kept his gaze on the ground as Meliodas watched him for a moment before nodding a bit and stepping a half step closer before stopping again,

"You mind if I take a look?" He asked as he glanced down at Zeke's ankle, while Zeke simply nodded and gave a hum in response. Although Zeke hadn't looked at his ankle yet, he knew it was going to be bad from how much pain he was in, and just as he thought, when Meliodas lifted Zeke's pant leg there was a purple and blue bruise peaking out above his boot, but as Meliodas took off Zeke's boot they noticed the bruise was much larger than it originally looked and went down into his sock as well and Zeke held his breath while Meliodas did all this. He was desperately trying not to cry out in pain and holding his breath was one of the only sure ways he wouldn't, and as Meliodas set his foot onto the ground carefully Zeke let out a shaky and slow exhale while gripping the sides of the chair. Meliodas frowned a bit and stood back up as he crossed his arms, " Yeah, it's either a really bad sprain or it's broken. I don't have what we need to stabilize it, but it won't be a far journey to get to the kingdom, and we can go once the rest of the sins get back. Once we get back we'll make sure you get checked out, so just hold tight till then, okay?" He asked with a smile, which melted Zeke's heart instantly and he found himself nodding without realizing it.

Once the pain settled to an appropriate level, Zeke released the chair from his grasp and slowly relaxed his very tense body, then gave Meliodas a small nod in response before sighing softly and raising his gaze to look at Meliodas,

"Thanks, for everything. I really appreciate it." He says with a weak smile as he ran a hand through his hair. Meliodas simply smiled and nodded as he grabbed another chair from the same table Zeke was at and brought it closer to the front of Zeke,

"Don't worry about it, just focus on taking care of your ankle. Speaking of, we should get it elevated. Here." Said Meliodas as he slid the chair in front of Zeke before looking around for something soft, then looked to Zeke and continued to speak, "Hold on, I'll grab a pillow." He says as he stared to walk away. He stopped abruptly thought when Zeke said 'Wait' and he turned back to Zeke,

"I don't mean to be a burden, but is there any chance there's somewhere I can rest? I've had..one hell of a day, to say the least. Including being lost in the forest for a few hours, so all I want is a bed." Zeke sighed and glanced away nervously after he was done speaking; he could feel his anxiety spike as he was talking and was trying to keep it under control. But to his surprise, Meliodas smiled,

"You're not a burden, and there are bedrooms upstairs. You can use mine until we get back to Liones." He hummed a bit and shifted the chair to move it out of Zeke's way, then looked up to Zeke, "Want some help or do you think you can do it?" He asked with a small head tilt. Zeke had to take a moment to think about his answer as he looked to the stairs, and then his ankle, 'Well, I could probably just use the railing and the wall and hop up the stairs, but I don't know how far the room is from the stairs. Fuck it, let's go.' He thought as he looked to Meliodas once again,

"I think I can do it, can just show me where it's at?" Replied Zeke in a nervous tone as he shifted to get ready to get up. With a nod from Meliodas, Zeke stood carefully on one leg then took a deep breath and started to hop and limp over to the stairs while Meliodas walked ahead of Zeke and hit the stairs first. But he still seemed concerned and turned to look at Zeke,

"You sure you don't want help?" He asked in a genuine tone, but Zeke shook his head in response. He continued to make his way to the stairs and once he was there he put one hand on the railing and the other hand on the wall and then exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. Meliodas had moved up the stairs a bit but was still close enough to help Zeke if he needed it, but Zeke was determined to do it on his own and took another breath before beginning to hop up the stairs with one leg. Although it wasn't easy, he was making quick progress up the stairs as Meliodas went up the stairs as well from in front of him until Meliodas was in the hallway and Zeke hit the top of the stairs. Heavy breathing could be heard from Zeke as he shifted to lean on the wall and put his injured foot gently on the ground but still didn't put pressure on it, then coughed softly,

"I think I'll take that help now if you're still offering." He panted heavily throughout his sentence and he could feel his hip and leg aching from being used so much. To Zeke's happiness, Meliodas made his way over and put Zeke's arm over his shoulders, and waited for Zeke to put his weight on him before the two started making their way to the bedroom directly across from the stairs.

Once they made their way to the door Meliodas carefully opened it while continuing to help Zeke and then he helped him over to the bed, where Zeke plopped down and exhaled heavily as he did so. Meliodas stepped back and looked at Zeke,

"Alright, you settle and I'll go get you some water. The rest of the sins should be back shortly, but I'll tell them not to come and bother you." He had started to head for the door when he mentioned the sins, then paused and looked back to Zeke with a small smile, "You seem like you've had a hard enough day. I can't promise it'll be quiet though." He chuckled softly before making his exit, not even stopping for Zeke to thank him; which was on purpose. Zeke smiled to himself as Meliodas disappeared from sight and then began to take his other boot off and unload his pockets; first onto the nightstand was his pocket knife but right after he set it down he paused, 'You know..it may be wise to keep this here, just in case.' he thought as he stared at it before he put it under the pillow by him, then continued to empty his pockets. Next was the empty water bottle, which he had shoved into his pocket to keep from littering, then it was his phone, and the screen had cracked at some point so it was now even more useless than it would have been had it not broken, after that he pulled out his key ring of keys and stared at them for a long moment, 'I guess I should just hold onto these for now? I don't know. Maybe Merlin can find me a way home later... And depending on who all ends up coming back to the tavern will tell me what point in the series this is, at least a little bit anyways.' He thought as he then placed the item onto the nightstand. Lastly was his wallet, which caused another pause as he was placing it on the nightstand as he remembered the picture he had put in there earlier. He brought the wallet back to his lap and stared at it again before opening it and beginning to unfold the picture, while the wallet was now forgotten about on the bed beside him. He couldn't help but begin to tear up as he thought about the fact he had left Layla behind, 'This sucks. She's probably worried sick about me and I can't even tell her I'm okay.' He sniffled softly as he closed his eyes and attempted to fight back the tears. But Zeke wasn't crying for much longer as he heard clamoring downstairs and realized the other sins were back, 'Hey, wait. I'm in an anime. This is like, every fan's dream. I should live it up a little while I can.' He thought as he began to stand up. It wasn't until he put his weight onto his left foot and felt pain shoot up his leg that he remembered he was injured and quickly bit his lip to avoid crying out in pain and sat down on the bed as soon as he felt the pain, 'Well that was stupid.' He huffed softly at his own behavior before shaking his head. He looked down at his throbbing ankle, then to the bed, and sighed softly, "Well, might as well get comfortable. Maybe I'll sleep for once, wouldn't that be nice?" He muttered to himself as he put his right leg onto the bed and scooted more onto it. He then used his hands and picked up his left leg and carefully set it on the bed, but not before grabbing a pillow from the other side of the bed and putting it under his ankle, 'I guess it's a good thing I remember what to do.' He thought as he settled his lower half on the bed, then began to adjust the pillow behind him. Once he was settled, he nearly jumped out of his skin as the door suddenly opened more and someone was standing there, which lead to him letting out a small "Bwuah!" noise and flinching back. Once his eyes focused and he realized who it was, he gave a nervous smile; it was Diane, and she had a glass of water with her which Zeke assumed she offered to do for Meliodas so he could tell the rest of the sins their little plan, and explain about their new friend.

Meanwhile, Diane quickly apologized for startling him and brought the water over to Zeke with a smile on her face,

"So your name is Zeke?" She asked in a friendly tone with a bounce as she stopped beside the bed and offered Zeke the water, who gratefully accepted the water and began to chug it. Once he no longer felt like his mouth was the Sahara desert he stopped drinking and gasped for air before taking a few deep breaths. Finally, he began to answer with a smile on his face,

"Sorry, I'm super dehydrated and that water was a liquid miracle." He chuckled softly as he set the basically empty glass onto the nightstand, beside his wallet, then looked back to Diane and gave a small smile again, "But yeah, that's my name. Your name is Diane, right? The serpent sin, like your tattoo, right?" He asked as he pointed to the red tattoo on her thigh. Diane lit up and smiled as she quickly nodded,

"The captain told you my name? I'm surprised you remembered all that! But yes, exactly like that!" She cheerfully responded as she clasped her hands together and rocked back and forth a bit on her heels, which earned a small chuckle from Zeke as he shifted to sit up a bit and he leaned back in bed. With a small smile, Zeke ran a hand through his hair and began to speak,

"Yeah, I'm not the best with names, but it's hard not to when it's a cute girl." He said and then paused as his face went a little pink and chuckled nervously, "Sorry, I wasn't trying to flirt, I'm just exhausted. That's the first decent amount of water I've had since this morning." He said softly as he began to play with one of the zippers on his cargo pants. But as he looked up at Diane and saw that she had begun to blush he chuckled nervously and looked away again, which she noticed so she quickly waved her hands in the air,

"No, it's okay! I don't mind..." She said softly as she moved her hair in front of her face a bit, "People don't often say that about me is all...Usually, I'm...big and scary." She mumbled now as she began to look sad and she kept her hair in front of her face as she did. Zeke wasn't having any of that though and huffed softly,

"Big and scary? I don't think so. What you are, is a pretty girl who gets treated badly by some people. Those people aren't worth anything if they think that. You're kind and sweet and-" He realized he was ranting about her as a character and looked to Diane, who looked teary-eyed, 'She's not Diane the serpent sin of envy...She's Diane. She's a person, and she gets treated so badly by others...I know how that is.' he thought as he then adjusted what he was saying in his head and continued, "Just from the little big I've seen from you, you're kind and a very pretty girl, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Okay?" He said as he gave her a bit of a grin (two), although his heart was pounding as he desperately hoped he didn't rant too much and make her wonder about him.

Although Zeke was sure for a few moments there he had 'Royally fucked up', in his own words, Diane had a big smile on her face behind her hair even though she was crying a bit; no one had ever said things like that to her before, especially someone she just met. She sniffled as she lowered her hair a bit,

"Okay." She spoke in a firm voice as she raised her hands and wiped her eyes, then nodded and smiled more before moving to sit on the edge of the bed at the foot of the bed, but stopped and looked at him, "Is it okay if I sit with you for a bit? Ban found a crate of alcohol while we were in the forest so now he's being annoying." She whined a bit before huffing, clearly already having had enough of Ban's drunken behavior. This caused a small chuckle to leave Zeke and he shook his head,

"Nah, it's okay. Maybe sit on the other side though? I kinda broke my ankle." He chuckled nervously and glanced away as she gasped softly and looked at his ankle on the pillow,

"Oh no! How did that happen?" She asked softly as she walked to the other side of the bed and sat down, then took her boots off before she turned towards him so she could see him when he answered. Zeke paused for a long moment though as he tried to figure it out, then shrugged a bit,

"Honestly, not a clue. Could have been a lot of things. I've tripped over tree roots probably about eight thousand times today so it could have been that. Or the hole I fell into. Or the creek. Yeah, today sucked." He sighed heavily before leaning his head back on the headboard of the bed with a quiet 'thunk' noise as it came in contact with the wood. He couldn't see it, but Diane was frowning at his words, at least until she spotted the picture in his lap and blinked,

"Who's that?" She asked softly as she pointed to Layla in the picture, which caused Zeke to sit up confused until he spotted the creased photo in his lap and he smiled sadly,

"My sister, Layla. I wish she was here...I miss her." He said softly.

It was quiet in the room for a few moments as both parties considered what to say next, but Zeke was the first to speak, "You know...I haven't told anyone how I got here yet." He said in a soft voice, almost like he wasn't sure if he wanted her to know; and he wasn't. Diane turned to look at him again and tilted her head,

"How you got here..?" She muttered and her eyebrows knit together in confusion at his words, unsure what he could mean by that. Zeke sighed and glanced to the door, which Diane took as a sign to close it and basically ran shuffled across the room in her socks before rushing back in a shuffle again and quickly sitting down. She was very curious. Zeke couldn't help but chuckle softly at her behavior and simply waited for her to sit back down before he began to speak in a soft tone, "So, I'm not from this world. And no, I don't mean I'm dead. Or..well, I don't think so anyways. I feel pretty alive." He swirled his wrists in circles and then shrugged and dropped his wrists as Diane giggled softly again, but waited for him to finish talking before she put her two cents in. So, Zeke continued, "Alright so, I'm from a different universe, pretty much. In my universe, we don't have purple eyes or blue hair unless it's fake. It just doesn't exist naturally. The world is filled with dangers around every corner whether it be a human causing a war, or a human destroying all life with their factories... there are humans everywhere, but that's all we have, humans. At least, that can speak. It's a world filled with hate and very little kindness and every aspect of ourselves is judged by everyone else." He sighed softly and shook his head, "Anyways, we don't have magic. Not real magic, anyways. But somehow... I'm in this world now. Now that I think about it, it makes more sense that the vortex was a portal and not just a swirly vortex of death, but even then, nothing like that happens in our world." He shifted to lay back a bit more and glanced at Diane quickly. Diane was staring intently at Zeke and listening to every word he said, completely wrapped up in what he was telling her; and he felt his heart skip a beat before he continued, "I don't know how or why that portal was there, but I'm here now. And I don't know if I can ever go back." He turned his gaze to the bed as his voice got quieter, "And since I'm not from here, I have no one. No friends. No family. No home. Nothing. I have to start my life from scratch again, and I don't know if I can do it all alone this time." He muttered as tears began to sting his eyes so he quickly closed them. After a moment of silence between the two, Zeke opened his mouth to apologize but Diane beat him to it,

"I'll be your friend. And I'll help you restart in any way I can. I'm sure the captain would help too if we told him, and if he does then the rest of the sins will probably help too! So you're not alone, see? You've got me now!" She smiled at Zeke with an excited expression on her face and Zeke couldn't help but smile back. 'She..she's going to be my friend? I'm really not alone then...Maybe..maybe this won't be so bad.' He thought to himself before nodding to Diane as the smile stayed on his face,

"I'd really like that. Even if the others don't..Id be happy for it to just be you." He said in a soft tone as he glanced away and nervously smiled, all while a light pink hue dusted his cheeks. But as he glanced up and saw Diane's expression, he felt like exploding; she was blushing as well and had tears in her eyes as she smiled and Zeke quickly looked back down. He could feel his blush darkening and chuckled nervously, "Sorry, that was probably weird." He said as he rubbed his arm a bit in nervousness, and Diane quickly shook her head,

"No, it's okay it wasn't weird! I just don't know what to say! No one's ever been so kind to me." She rambled out before looking down to her lap as her cheeks burned a bit more before mumbling, "It's nice..". Zeke felt his own cheeks heat up some more but ignored it and focused on trying to talk to her,

"Oh, okay. " He said quietly, then nervously glanced back up to her and smiled softly, "Well, in that case, I'm glad I said something." He spoke softly before shifting and carefully folding up the picture and putting it back into his wallet. He then looked back to Diane, who was shyly watching him, then quickly dropped her gaze when he looked back at her and her blush increased as well. This earned a small chuckle from Zeke as he leaned his back against the headboard of the bed again and looked at her with a gentle smile on his face, "I was going to take a nap, but I actually think I'd rather talk to you; But if you gotta go it's alright." He quickly added the last part and his smile became more nervous as his anxiety began to rise. 'I'm gonna scare her away...Damnit!' he thought to himself for a moment before being broken out of it by Diane speaking so he focused on her once more,

"It's okay, I'd like to stay and talk too." She giggled happily and smiled at him with pink cheeks. Quickly though, Zeke's face was the same color as Diane's and he nodded softly. The two spent the next hour talking about everything and anything, such as; the water fights he used to start with Layla as a kid and how now they like to go swimming together at the pool, or how Diane went on missions with the other Sins and what those missions were like. As the conversation flowed the two made themselves comfortable on the bed and Zeke ended up falling asleep mid-conversation as Diane was explaining something, so Diane took her leave. It certainly wasn't the perfect day and it definitely wasn't easy, but maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be so bad here for Zeke.

#oc fanfiction #7ds #7ds meliodas #7ds diane #7ds oc #short story

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lascluv · 2 years

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People coding on mac computers

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Durability: battery life is important to me as well as general longevity of the hardware i.e.

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I am looking to buy a laptop for software development in the 0 to $2000 (USD) range.ġ. and Wisconsin.Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?ģ48 points by kellogs_aran 4 days ago | hide | past | favorite | 783 comments Today’s announcement builds on a 2020 initiative through which Apple donated 2,500 devices to Boys & Girls Clubs of America locations in Alabama Arizona California Connecticut Georgia Idaho Illinois Louisiana Massachusetts, Michigan Minnesota New Jersey New York Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas Washington, D.C. The club is now expanding this work further, bringing new devices and coding programming to its 11 locations across Greater Detroit. Students worked in small groups to create app prototypes designed to solve a challenge within the community - including fashion sustainability, using hip-hop to build a sense of community, and improving city mobility.

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The program brought together young adults ages 18 to 24 to learn the foundations of human interface design and the Swift coding language, using Apple’s Everyone Can Code curriculum. In Detroit, Apple helped support Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan’s summer Code to Career coding course and app challenge. “The young people we work with are the future of Atlantic City, and we’re proud to partner with Apple to help them gain new skills to grow as learners and prepare for jobs in the 21st-century economy.” “Working with Apple this past year has been transformative for our students, who have had the opportunity to explore entirely new ways of thinking, creating, and pursuing their passions,” said Stephanie Koch, Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City’s CEO.

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To prepare its students for future academic and professional pursuits, the Club is also launching a new STEAM preapprenticeship program that will teach students the foundations of working on iPad and Mac, eventually giving them the tools to seek a formal App Development with Swift certification. The labs are equipped with iPad and Mac computers, and curricula incorporate Everyone Can Code, Everyone Can Create, and Develop in Swift. In New Jersey, Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City opened a Design Lab and a STEAM Lab last year to support creativity, coding, and career development programming - and the Club is opening a second STEAM Lab in January to create additional opportunities for young learners. Programming has already launched in Atlantic City, New Jersey Chicago Detroit Nashville, Tennessee and Newark, New Jersey, where engagement will continue to expand. Miami-Dade County, Florida Wake County, North Carolina and Silicon Valley, with the goal of expanding coding opportunities to clubs nationwide. The program will initially launch in 10 new regions, including Atlanta Austin, Texas metro D.C. “We are thrilled to partner with Apple to enhance Club programming with innovative and educational coding activities that will build kids’ and teens’ engagement and opportunity in technology.”

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“Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to helping youth reach their full potential, which includes equipping young people with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will serve them for years to come,” said Jim Clark, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s president and CEO. “Together with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we’ve already introduced thousands of students to innovative technology experiences, and we are thrilled to expand our partnership to bring coding with Swift to even more communities across the country.” “At Apple, we believe education is a force for equity, and that all learners should have the opportunity to explore and develop coding skills for their future,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.

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Using iPad and Apple’s free Everyone Can Code curriculum - and with ongoing professional support from Apple educators - kids and teens at local Boys & Girls Clubs will integrate coding into their programming, giving students the opportunity to create and collaborate on the basics of app design and development, with an emphasis on critical thinking and creative problem-solving. This new collaboration will bring coding with Swift to tens of thousands of students across the country, building on Apple’s existing partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America through the company’s Community Education Initiative in support of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. In celebration of Computer Science Education Week, Apple and Boys & Girls Clubs of America today launched a new program that will bring coding to Boys & Girls Clubs in more than a dozen US cities. Apple teams up with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring new coding opportunities to young learners across the country

#People coding on mac computers

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fddarchive · 2 years

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The Lost Digidestined: Stories from the Southern Sector - Episode 1: The Southern Sector (1/17) [incomplete]

The Lost Digidestined: Stories from the Southern Sector

Episode 1: The Southern Sector

From the Stories from the Southern Sector section of The Lost Digidestined page of Blonde Ambition

Next Chapter >>

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

The Lost DigiDestined

Episode 1: The Southern Sector

It was early August. A depressing time of year for any youngster.

"Augh, I can't believe I have to go back again!"

Including the youngsters in college.

Michiru Tomosono, called Sforzie by those who knew her, was getting ready to go back to college for her second year. As she went through her boxes, Sforzie was less than thrilled about having to move back into her dorm.

"What is all this stuff?" Sforzie sighed as she went through a box of school supplies. "I don't remember buying all this. Must be Mom's doing." Tossing a massive bundle of pencils aside, she noticed something at the bottom of the box. "What's this?"

It looked like one of those fancy graphic calculators the people in her Calculus class had liked to show off last semester. And hooked to its side was something that looked vaguely like a cel-phone. But they were both different somehow.

"Maybe this was Halie's," Sforzie said, referring to her roommate. "Must've gotten stuck in my box."

As she sat on her bed, considering the small computer, there was a chime from her laptop.

"Email?" Sforzie looked at the screen. "Wait a minute, I'm not on the internet."

A small screen had appeared on her laptop. There were several buttons, and a small viewscreen. One button glowed green; the other red. Between the buttons was a line of text.

Open Digiport?

"Open Digiport?" Sforzie said curiously. Her laptop beeped, and the text changed.

Unable to Open Digiport. D-3 Digivice and DigiTerminal not properly activated.

"These things, maybe?" she looked down at the objects. Sforzie pulled the smaller object free from the mini-computer. The smaller object was silver and blue. Sforzie ran her fingers over the array of black buttons, and the screen at the center came to life. Sforzie flipped the top of the computer up, and that screen also came to life.

Digital World contacted. Gate ready. You have 1 new message. Read?

Sforzie selected Yes and a fairly normal looking email appeared on the small screen. The contents were cryptic to her.

Sforzie, I've been waiting for you! If you're reading this, please come and find me.

"Who sent this email?" Sforzie said curiously. She looked back at her laptop. The text had changed again.

Signal detected. Digiport open.

Sforzie held the D-3 in one hand, and the other object in her other hand.

"This must be the Digivice then," she said, looking at the silver and blue object. A cursor flashed on its screen, and a word appeared. Open. "But what am I supposed to do? Where's a help menu when I need one?"

The Digivice's message persisted, as did the message on her laptop.

"Digiport open," Sforzie read the screen again. In her hands, the Digivice flashed brightly, and shot a beam of blue light at her laptop.

It didn't occur to Sforzie to scream as she was sucked into her laptop through the strange gateway.

The world swirled in a dozen shades of orange and pink, and she was clueless as to what was happening. One moment she was sitting in front of her laptop, the next she had landed on her backside in the middle of a strange place.

It was quiet, and cooler than home. Sforzie knew it sounded terribly cliche, but she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I don't think I'm in Georgia anymore," she said. That much was clear. The trees were different, the whole landscape felt different. Looking around, Sforzie noticed what looked like a television set embedded into a nearby tree. Looking into it, she was surprised to see her room.

"This must be where I came through," Sforzie said. "I'll have to remember that."

Uncertain as to what else she should to, Sforzie started to walk. She didn't have to go very far before noticing a group of strange creatures watching her from the trees. They looked like large red and purple rabbits, but were still even more unusual than any bunny Sforzie had ever seen.

"Go away!" A voice cried from somewhere unseen. Sforzie looked around.

"Hello?" she called uncertainly. Several of the creatures moved out of the shade of the trees. They were cute, Sforzie thought, even though they all were snarling softly.

"We said go away!" one of the creatures squeaked. Sforzie blinked in surprise.

"You talked?" she said.

"Of course we did!" another one of the creatures shouted. It shot a small bolt of electricity at Sforzie's feet. She yelped and stepped back quickly.

"You're one of Melanomon's henchmon! You've come to take us away like you did to the others!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sforzie said, shaking her head.

"That isn't a Digimon," another one of the creatures said in a soft voice. "It's a human."

"A human?" another one balked. "That's impossible. How did it get here?" The creatures stared at Sforzie.

"It has a Digivice!" They looked at each other in excitement. "It's one of them!"

"One of what?" Sforzie said uncertainly.

"A DigiDestined!" a new voice squeaked. A strange blue head appeared between two of the rabbits. It was followed by a tail. It looked like a large blue tadpole, with a spike on its head and tail. The creature bounced toward Sforzie, who looked at it in surprise.

"Oh, Sforzie, I've been waiting for you for so long!" the creature squeaked as it landed at her feet. "What took you so long? I thought you were never going to come! You must have finally gotten my email!" The creature nuzzled Sforzie's feet, barely able to contain its happiness.

"Your email?" Sforzie bent down and picked up the creature. "Is that how you know my name? Were you the one who sent me the message on my Digiterminal?"

"Yup!" it nodded. "But I sent that email ten years ago! I was afraid you'd never get it."

"Well, I'm sorry," Sforzie smiled. "You obviously know my name. What's yours?"

"I'm Mizumon!" it squeaked. "I'm a girl, by the way."

Sforzie laughed. "That's good to know. Pleased to meet you, Mizumon."

Mizumon pointed down with her tail. "These are the Elecmon. They're my friends. I've been living with them for a long time, while I waited for you."

"Mizumon, are you sure you can trust this human?" one of the Elecmon called.

"She has the Digivice, doesn't she?" Mizumon said. "That's all I need to see. In my heart, I know I've found the right person!"

"The right person? For what?" Sforzie blinked.

"To be my best friend for life!" Mizumon laughed. Sforzie blinked again, but then smiled and nodded in agreement.

The Elecmon said goodbye to Mizumon and disappeared into the forest. Sforzie walked, and Mizumon bounced cheerily alongside her, until they found a place to sit down.

"So, why have you been waiting for me?" Sforzie asked. Mizumon wiggled her tail.

"You mean you don't know? You are one of the DigiDestined, aren't you?" Mizumon peered up at Sforzie with curious red-orange eyes.

"Well, I'm not sure really," Sforzie admitted. "I think I ended up here by accident. I found the D-3 and DigiTerminal together in a box. But I don't remember ever getting them."

"They were placed there for you," Mizumon said. She looked thoughtful. "Something must have happened that you were never called to the Digital World."

"The Digital World? Why would I be called there? And what is a DigiDestined anyways?"

Mizumon sighed, but explained patiently. It struck Sforzie as odd that this little creature knew so much.

"The Digital World is...like another dimension, but not quite. It's adjacdent to your world, the Real World. The DigiDestined are humans from the Real World that come to the Digital World in order to help protect it from evil. The DigiDestined have partners, Digimon. Digital Monsters. You're one of the DigiDestined, Sforzie. When evil came to this part of the Digital World, the DigiDestined should have been brought here. But for some reason they never were. I've been waiting for you to come, because there is evil here."

"Where is here?"

"This is called the Southern Sector," Mizumon said. "It's a fairly remote part of the Digital World, but we still count! The evil here is as powerful as in the Main Sector. Because the DigiDestined were never called, the evil force has had time to build." Mizumon smiled. "But now that you're here, you can defeat Melanomon and help free my Elecmon friends!"

"Melanomon?"

"He's the most evil Digimon in the Southern Sector," Mizumon said. "He's taken over the sector, and is turning Digimon into his slaves. He uses an evil Black paint to poison the spirits of Digimon and put them under his control. The Elecmon were afraid that you were one of his henchmon. A few days ago, some of Melanomon's henchmon came and took away lots of the Elecmon. We've been on guard since then."

"Is it okay for you to leave them?" Sforzie wondered.

"If we were attacked, I couldn't be of any help in this form," Mizumon said. "They can defend themselves a little. And I'm safer with you!"

"True."

They were still discussing things, when something came out of the nearby bushes. Mizumon hopped up onto Sforzie's knee as a strange green slug approached them. It was about twice a big as Mizumon.

"That's a Numemon!" Mizumon hissed. "See that black paint on its forehead? It's one of Melanomon's flunkies!"

"What are we going to do?" Sforzie whispered.

"I don't know," Mizumon frowned. "I don't think I can fight off something that big!"

....

Will Mizumon be able to fight off the Numemon? Find out in Episode 2!

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

Next Chapter >>

#The Lost Digidestined Stories from the Southern Sector #The Lost Digidestined #Stories from the Southern Sector #Sforzie and Driamon #Mizumon #fanfic #fanfics #incomplete #incomplete fanfic #blonde ambition

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itgurusatlanta · 3 years

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themicrosoftpartner · 4 years

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fuckyeahgoodomens · 3 years

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Was doing Staged a big decision, because it’s so personal and set in your homes? Georgia Tennant: We’d always been a very private couple. Staged was everything we’d never normally say yes to. Suddenly, our entire house is on TV and so is a version of the relationship we’d always kept private. But that’s the way to do it, I guess. Go to the other extreme. Just rip off the Band-Aid.

Anna Lundberg: Michael decided pretty quickly that we weren’t going to move around the house at all. All you see is the fireplace in our kitchen.

GT: We have five children, so it was just about which room was available.

AL: But it’s not the real us. It’s not a documentary.

GT: Although some people think it is.

Which fictional parts of the show do people mistake for reality? GT: People think I’m really a novelist because “Georgia” writes a novel in Staged. They’ve asked where they can buy my book. I should probably just write one now because I’ve done the marketing already.

AL: People worry about our elderly neighbour, who gets hospitalised in the show. She doesn’t actually exist in real life but people have approached Michael in Tesco’s, asking if she’s OK.

Michael and David squabble about who’s billed first in Staged. Does that reflect real life? AL: With Good Omens, Michael’s name was first for the US market and David’s was first for the British market. So those scenes riffed on that.

Should we call you Georgia and Anna, or Anna and Georgia? GT: Either. We’re super-laidback about these things.

AL: Unlike certain people.

How well did you know each other before Staged? GT: We barely knew each other. We’ve now forged a friendship by working on the show together.

AL: We’d met once, for about 20 minutes. We were both pregnant at the time – we had babies a month apart – so that was pretty much all we talked about.

Did you tidy up before filming? AL: We just had to keep one corner relatively tidy.

GT: I’m quite a tidy person, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying Instagram people with perfect lives. So strangely, I had to add a bit of mess… dot a few toys around in the background. I didn’t want to be one of those insufferable people – even though, inherently, I am one of those people.

Was there much photobombing by children or pets? AL: In the first series, Lyra was still at an age where we could put her in a baby bouncer. Now that’s not working at all. She’s just everywhere. Me and Michael don’t have many scenes together in series two, because one of us is usually Lyra-wrangling.

GT: Our children aren’t remotely interested. They’re so unimpressed by us. There’s one scene where Doris, our five-year-old, comes in to fetch her iPad. She doesn’t even bother to glance at what we’re doing.

How was lockdown for you both? AL: I feel bad saying it, but it was actually good for us. We were lucky enough to be in a big house with a garden. For the first time since we met, we were in one place. We could just focus on Lyra . To see her grow over six months was incredible. She helped us keep a steady routine, too.

GT: Ours was similar. We never spend huge chunks of time together, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least until David’s career goes to shit and he’s just sat at home. The flipside was the bleakness. Being in London, there were harrowing days when everything was silent but you’d just hear sirens going past, as a reminder that something awful was going on. So I veered between “This is wonderful” and “This is the worst thing that ever happened.”

And then there was home schooling… GT: Which was genuinely the worst thing that ever happened.

You’ve spent a lot of time on video calls, clearly. What are your top Zooming tips? GT: Raise your camera to eye level by balancing your laptop on a stack of books. And invest in a ring light.

AL: That’s why you look so much better. We just have our sad kitchen light overhead, which makes us look like one massive shiny forehead.

GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael.

There’s a running gag in series one about the copious empties in Michael’s recycling. Did you lean into lockdown boozing in real life? AL: Not really. We eased off when I was pregnant and after Lyra was born. We’d just have a glass of wine with dinner.

GT: Yes, definitely. I often reach for a glass of red in the show, which was basically just an excuse to continue drinking while we were filming: “I think my character would have wine and cake in this scene.” The time we started drinking would creep slightly earlier. “We’ve finished home schooling, it’s only 4pm, but hey…” We’ve scaled it back to just weekends now.

How did you go about creating your characters with the writer Simon Evans? AL: He based the dynamic between David and Michael on a podcast they did together. Our characters evolved as we went along.

GT: I was really kind and understanding in the first draft. I was like “I don’t want to play this, it’s no fun.” From the first few tweaks I made, Simon caught onto the vibe, took that and ran with it.

Did you struggle to keep a straight face at times? AL: Yes, especially the scenes with all four of us, when David and Michael start improvising.

GT: I was just drunk, so I have no recollection.

AL: Scenes with all four of us were normally filmed in the evening, because that’s when we could be child-free. Usually there was alcohol involved, which is a lot more fun.

GT: There’s a long scene in series two where we’re having a drink. During each take, we had to finish the glass. By the end, we were all properly gone. I was rewatching it yesterday and I was so pissed.

What else can you tell us about series two? GT: Everyone’s in limbo. Just as we think things are getting back to normal, we have to take three steps back again. Everyone’s dealing with that differently, shall we say.

AL: In series one, we were all in the same situation. By series two, we’re at different stages and in different emotional places.

GT: Hollywood comes calling, but things are never as simple as they seem.

There were some surprise big-name cameos in series one, with Samuel L Jackson and Dame Judi Dench suddenly Zooming in. Who can we expect this time around? AL: We can’t name names, but they’re very exciting.

GT: Because series one did so well, and there’s such goodwill towards the show, we’ve managed to get some extraordinary people involved. This show came from playing around just to pass the time in lockdown. It felt like a GCSE end-of-term project. So suddenly, when someone says: “Samuel L Jackson’s in”, it’s like: “What the fuck’s just happened?”

AL: It took things to the next level, which was a bit scary.

GT: It suddenly felt like: “Some people might actually watch this.”

How are David and Michael’s hair and beard situations this time? AL: We were in a toyshop the other day and Lyra walked up to these Harry Potter figurines, pointed at Hagrid and said: “Daddy!” So that explains where we’re at. After eight months of lockdown, it was quite full-on.

GT: David had a bob at one point. Turns out he’s got annoyingly excellent hair. Quite jealous. He’s also grown a slightly unpleasant moustache.

Is David still wearing his stinky hoodie? GT: I bought him that as a gift. It’s actually Paul Smith loungewear. In lockdown, he was living in it. It’s pretty classy, but he does manage to make it look quite shit.

---

Omg the mug’s origins :D

‘GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael. ‘

#staged #georgia tennant #anna lundberg #david tennant #michael sheen #staged season 2 #staged interview #david's michael mug

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callmeelle22 · 3 years

Text

Blue Dream VII

Pairing: Iris West x Barry Alen

Rating: E

Chapter Word Count: 9, 034

Summary: A series of sporadic dates between Iris and Barry turn into something more, a story in its own making.

Chapter I: Primetime

Chapter II: It's Cool

Chapter III: Anything

Chapter IV: Comfortable

Chapter V: The Way

Chapter VI: Say Yes

Chapter VII: Brave; They fuck with the rain like a soundtrack behind them, like a song that swells and stretches, telling their story, but you're so brave; stone cold crazy for loving me; yeah, I'm amazed; i hope you make it out alive, a song that rises and rises, that sounds too good to be real, that might destroy you, but only in the best way. (Read below or on AO3 linked on the chapter title.)

Chapter VIII: Blue Dream

Brave

Broken hearts are made for two

One for me and one for you

Tell me have you heard the news

We are now in love

Fall break from school is scheduled during the last three days of the last week of October. Before she can take some time off, Iris has midterm articles to write and grade. Barry is busy testing DNA samples or whatever it is CSIs do so they don’t see each other for several days after he leaves her house the morning after Wally’s party.

On the Wednesday of Fall Break, the first day off, Iris lets herself sleep in until almost 10, and then she packs up her bag, stuffing a notebook, a couple of pens, and her laptop in, before dressing comfortably in a pair of dark leggings, and a white oversized CCU hoodie she stole from her brother. Throwing on a pair of white low-top Chuck Taylors, Iris heads out to Jitters. It’s a rainy day, and other than workers who’ve no choice, not many people are out. A storm is brewing for later in the night, the sky dark and cloudy, but for the moment, it’s just a steady rain that has Iris walking carefully to her car and driving a lot slower, thanking her lucky stars that she finds a parking spot right in front of the coffee shop.

Back in high school, especially once her dad had gotten her a used car during the beginning of senior year, Iris and Linda would come to Jitters to do homework or stare at the college boys who would come in. The coffee shop has expanded since then, buying the small antique store that had been next door and adding more seating and a bar that specializes in alcoholic coffee brews. It’s still one of Iris’s favorite places to work because now the manager is a young Black woman with wild curly hair always dyed in one bright color or another and a soft spot for mid to late 90s R & B female singers. The shop is comfortable, with couches and overstuffed chairs in mismatched browns and beiges and blues set up near the walls and windows and several tables, two- and four-tops, taking up the space in the middle. Two of the walls are exposed brick and the others are painted stark white and feature framed prints in wild colors. It’s changed since she was a child, but Iris likes to think that she’s changed with it, that as this integral part of Central City has grown and added light and color and comfort, so too has Iris.

Today, her plan is to outline at least two entire stories from interviews she’s completed over the last couple of weeks before she even thinks about leaving the coffee shop. She settles into one of her favorite spots, a soft navy armchair behind a small circular table. She sets up her laptop, her notebook with her notes, her pens, and once a waiter drops off her brown sugar latte and a chocolate muffin, she lets the sound of the rain, and the Erykah Badu playing on the speakers, get her into her work.

“Hey, beautiful.”

Iris looks up just as Barry stops beside her. She’s been at Jitters for just over three hours now, and her shoulders are cramped and she’s coffee high and hungry. The rain is still pounding down, so hard that it looks like it’s raining sideways, and Iris curses her inability to get any work done in her own home. Besides all that, she’s reeling. She’s just outlined a story of a man explaining the story of the woman he’d loved his entire life: from growing up together in a small city in North Carolina, to becoming best friends and de facto siblings when his parents died and her dad agreed to foster him; from not dating but seeming like it in high school, to falling for other people in college; from having other spouses and children to one night of passion before they found their way back to each other when she decided to leave her husband after his wife died. It was a ride from start to finish, such a roller coaster of feelings—of love and pain and joy and heartbreak—that make Iris feel a bit heavy with them, a little loopy with them.

Barry stands to the side of her, towering above her, in as simple an outfit as what she’s wearing, a pair of black joggers and a white sweatshirt. She’s startled that he's there because she figures that he should be at work, but her heart does tick up at the sight of him. That is, until she lets her eyes rake over his lean frame. He looks a little...down, like a physical manifestation of the story she’s just outlined. His hair is messier than usual and his eyes aren’t carrying their usual sparkle, in addition to the darkening bags that frame them. He’s also a little stubbly, his jaw covered in a fine layer of coarse hair, his pallor a bit ashen.

(Iris will also admit that she thinks he looks sort of, well, good, like this; but that’s neither here nor there and she feels terrible—and maybe a bit perverted—that she’s lusting after him when he’s obviously going through something.)

“Hey,” she responds softly, and she stands up to assess him further. He seems so much taller than her like this, when they’re both in sneakers. She hasn’t seen him since the morning after Wally’s party a week ago when he dropped her back off at her car after spending the night at her place. They’ve talked a bunch and FaceTimed once, but she’s missed him. She reaches up into his hair, rubbing at his scalp a little until his eyes close and he lets out a soft little moan. She keeps at it and then touches gingerly at his face, at some of the moles dotting his cheeks, at the stubble he’s grown. He reaches up to stop her, eyes still closed, and it startles her a little bit. She goes to pull her hand back, but then he holds on to her wrist to bring her hand down and presses a kiss to her knuckles.

She’s never seen him like this. He’s always so open and, maybe not happy, but never so melancholy. There is always a pep to his step, as her grandma used to say, a smile on his face that always said that he feels some sort of contentment in his life. And obviously, people are allowed to have days like this. But it does something to Iris, to see him this way. She wants to lash out at whoever has made him look like this, like he’s drowning in emotions that he can’t easily pull himself out of.

“Bear, you okay?”

He nods, a little woefully, and he catches her eyes again. She bites at her lip as she stares back at him and, on impulse, she leans up to kiss him. It’s just a little more than a peck, something to tell him that she’s there with him; but he takes it a step further, kissing her harder, biting at her lip enough that there’s more pain than she’s expecting. She moans at him and he pulls back, breathing labored.

“I’m sorry,” he speaks. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine,” she says. “You didn’t hurt me. Well, a little, but I didn’t hate it.”

That gets a more real smile out of him, and he thumbs at her bottom lip. “Hmm, I guess my good girl is a little bad.”

Iris rolls her eyes and gives him a look, sobering for a minute. “Bear, what’s up? You okay?”

He doesn’t answer her question. Instead, he nods at her table and asks, “you get a lot of work done?”

She eyes him, wanting to ask again. But she knows how she is when she doesn’t want to talk about something and so she lets it go. For the moment.

“Yeah. Or, at least, I’ve done most of what I set out to do.”

He nods, casts his eyes out of the glass, looking at the rain for a moment, watching it fall in heavy sheets. Normally, Iris likes the rain. It’s soothing and she enjoys how it makes the world take a moment to slow down. When she was a little girl, her grandma (her dad’s mother who grew up somewhere at the bottom of Georgia) used to say that when it was raining, and particularly when it was storming, that the Lord was doing His work and that it was the time to be still. They’d have to sit quietly, usually with the TV and the lights off, and just be. And while life doesn’t allow her to drop everything because it’s started raining, there is always a hushed feeling that comes over her when it rains, something tranquil, but also a little turbulent, a little uncontrollable, quite like the very rain she’s reveling in.

“Wanna come over?” he wonders, voice unsure.

She nods readily. “Okay, yeah. Sure.”

He goes to return her mug and plate while she packs her bag back up. He meets her at the door, opening up a large umbrella and throwing an arm over her shoulder to lead her out into the rain. She walks with him past her own car as he takes her a short black away to where his Jeep is parked. He helps her into the Jeep first, watches as she tucks her bag under the seat, and then closes the door before walking around to the other side.

They ride to his house in silence. He lives far on the south side of town, a good twenty or so minutes from downtown if they hit the highway. Instead, he takes the streets, adding another ten minutes to their drive. Iris doesn’t mind; as she said, she likes the rain, and in this big Jeep, tires sluicing easily through the flooding roads in a way her car definitely can’t, she’s enjoying the ride. He had silently connected her phone to his car’s Bluetooth, so she took it to mean that the music choices were hers. She contemplates finding something that he might like, but she figures he likely wouldn’t even be paying much attention. So she decides on one of her slower playlists, ones with songs that dip and fade, that take listeners on a journey of highs and lows, and she lets it play. The lyrics tell too much, so i guess that i should mention; that i am in no condition; to put you in this position; i might fuck this up, although with the heavy weight on Barry’s shoulders right now, she can’t tell if she’s talking to him or vice versa.

He takes them past one of the major shopping districts in the city, past the Apple store and the Michael Kors shop and the one restaurant her dad took her to when she graduated college where pasta dishes run nearer to forty dollars. These shops, and the nicer mall and a couple business buildings that rise as tall as those downtown, lead into longer stretches of road where trees interspersed with beige or cream apartments begin to take up where businesses once stood. He turns into the familiar subdivision that she remembers; it’s a little older than some, which makes sense if his parents were able to buy and pay it off before they were gone. That also means that none of the houses are the same cookie-cutter versions that tend to make up most subdivisions these days, where houses are identical save for the color and the trim and what children’s toys litter the front yard.

He presses a button on his visor and the garage opens as he maneuvers the car so that he can back up into the driveway. He stays in the driveway, though, the music cutting out—but whatever the case, you're my favorite mistake; more than happy to make you—when he turns the ignition off. She waits for him to come around with his umbrella and he half picks her up to pull her out, holding on to her as he walks her through the garage.

She’s as quiet as he is, taking in her surroundings, trying to get a better sense of who he is by what he’s got going on in his house. There isn’t much in the garage; there are a bunch of boxes neatly stacked on one wall, a couple bicycles in another corner. There is a wall full of tools and a couple tables that have science looking tools on them, like a microscope and several bunsen burners and petri dishes, though nothing looks as if they’re currently being used.

He leads her through a door that opens up into the kitchen as he presses another button to close the garage. His house is as cute on the outside as it is on the inside, although she wonders how he might feel if she were to call it cute. The kitchen is large, done in white, gray, and green, with steel appliances, gray marble countertops, and the look of a place that doesn’t get a lot of use. They both stop to toe their shoes off right outside of the kitchen where a couple other pairs of Barry’s shoes lie. His living room is pretty big: a wide space that features a real stone fireplace as the focal point and a large screen television situated above it; a huge sectional in a slate gray with a few throw pillows; and a big square wooden coffee table. It’s masculine and clean without being gaudy or too bro and Iris wonders if he did this himself because even if she never knew her, she doubts a woman who loved flowers as much as his mother would decorate her living room this way.

The dark curtains on the windows are open wide and Iris can see the backyard but the rain coming down in sheets keep her from being able to make out much besides the patio with what looks like a grill and wicker furniture. Iris remembers being told that his dad had been a doctor and his mom some sort of university researcher and the house matches that.

Barry lets her hand go to tug his sweatshirt off, revealing a plain white t-shirt that rises up over his taut belly. She doesn’t avert her eyes, giving herself permission to track how the sweatpants hang off his slim hips and how he isn’t so much sculpted as he’s hard and tight, with just the beginnings of abs. He catches her staring and he smirks at her before dropping down in the corner of the couch, one leg spread out along the seats of the chair.

“Come here,” he tells her, and she moves toward him, sitting so that her back is pressed against that hard chest and his arms are wrapped around her. She grabs a hold of his forearm with both her hands and settles her head in the crook of his elbow. She’s surrounded by his scent, lemongrass and clean cotton, and for a while, the only sounds are his breathing and the pounding of the rain. He touches her, the hand she’s not holding on to stroking up and down her thigh. Her leggings are pretty thin and she feels his touch fully; if she concentrates enough, she can feel those beloved calluses on his hands. He rubs his hand towards the juncture of her thighs and then over her hip and then back again, and like always, his touch ignites something in her, even as she’s wondering how she might be able to help him out of whatever funk he’s found himself in.

“You ready to tell me what’s up?” she wonders a while later.

“Hmm,” he hums, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Not yet. Tell me about your day.”

She shifts so that she can look back at him, noting the way his eyes have darkened a touch, become grayer like the sky outside, and it’s different from the bright blue-green she remembers from the day of the festival or the wicked blue-gray they always are right before he pushes hard into her.

He blinks down at her and licks his lips slowly. It’s not an explicitly sexual act, even if her body thinks it looks that way, and Iris finds herself lost in it, in whatever he’s emanating. It’s erotic in that it’s intimate, a whirlwind of whatever hurt made him seek her out at Jitters, of whatever still lies unexplored between them, of the attraction that doesn’t ever seem to dissipate.

When she pulls herself out, she tells him, “I was working on a story today. One that made me feel a little bit like how you might be right now.”

“Yeah?”

Wanting to look at him more comfortably, she uses his pause so that she can turn around fully and seat herself on his lap, straddling him. His hands automatically go to her hips, one sliding inside the waist of her leggings so that he can touch her skin.

“Tell me about this story,” he requests. She knows that he’s asking so that he can think about something other than what’s on his mind, so she does, giving a little more than she would originally, working out how she might want to tell the story in her blog.

“It was a couple,” she starts, “that grew up together, in the country. They bonded by playing together in the lake, climbing trees, and playing pranks on each other. And then they start to grow up. Their swimming becomes fraught with tension, the bathing suits showing the same skin, but more, ya know, both of them recognizing the differences, cataloging them, thinking about them, remembering them. They don’t act on it, because they’re friends, and he doesn’t actually understand what it means, that he’s 13 and he keeps dreaming about her at night, waking up with a wet bed and a pounding heart. And then his parents die and her dad, who’s a do-gooder in the community and had been his parents’ best friend, takes him in. Now they’re siblings, but of course not. Regardless, it makes it all harder and odder because she sleeps right down the hall from him, their shared bathroom always smells like her, and he understands now, that he likes her smile and the way she speaks and the curves she seems to develop out of nowhere.”

Barry squeezes at her and she pauses as he asks, “And what about her? How does she feel about him?”

“Well he doesn’t know it, but she’s there too. At first she thinks that she’s just conflating it, confusing their friendship. Because she doesn’t laugh with anyone else like she does with him and she never has as much fun with anyone else as she does him and she never feels as comfortable with anyone else as she does him. He’s her best friend. But she sees him, one night, in his room where the door hasn’t fully closed and he’s, well, he’s masturbating, touching himself, eyes closed and moaning, and for the first time outside of the books she’s read, she feels something. And she knows it’s not just because she’s seen him naked because she’s kissed boys before, she’s felt them hard under her before, but something about this feels different for her.

“But she doesn’t act on it. And he doesn’t either, because remember, he only thinks this is one-sided. They graduate. They go to the same college. But their majors are different and their friends are different. She joins a sorority; he gets into a couple of clubs. Their paths separate, even if they still laugh and talk and be when they’re home for the holidays. Then she gets a boyfriend.”

“She never had a boyfriend before this?” Barry questions.

Iris shrugs. “Sure. But it was high school and the beginning of college. They were mostly hookups that didn’t last. This guy is serious. He’s a couple years older, got his own place, and eventually she moves in with him. Heartbroken, he gets a girlfriend too, one of her friends. That doesn’t last long because she figures out that he’s a little bit in love with the main girl, and then he moves on, to someone sweet, someone who’s been not so subtly hinting that she wants to go out with him.”

Barry seems to be engrossed now. She can’t say that the dark look he was sporting is completely gone, but she can see that he’s not as deep in it, interested in the story she’s weaving.

“They go on to marry these people, even if their hearts are not fully in it. His wife has a kid first, her baby comes next. And meanwhile, they’re still friends. Her dad is still his guardian, so to speak; they are together for whatever holidays they don’t spend with their spouses’ families. They still laugh and talk and be. They still look a little too long and want a little too much.

It comes to a head one Christmas. The gods or fate or just some movement on their parts mean that they both go home to her dad’s house with their spouses and children coming in the next day. But her dad is called in to work so they order take out and watch movies in front of a fire. And they laugh and they talk...and they hug and they kiss and they…

“Be?” Barry tries, a tiny little smile on his face.

She matches it. “Yeah. And it’s beautiful, transcendent. But they’re married. To other people. With kids. So they vow to forget it, to never bring it up again. A couple of years pass. They don’t laugh as much, don’t talk as much. She’s having troubles in her marriage. He is too. He actually consults a divorce attorney because he thinks that it’s unfair to both him and his wife, to live like this. And then the wife dies in a car accident.”

“Oh damn,” he mutters.

“Right,” she agrees. “He’s wracked with grief and more than a little guilt, because he loved her but was never in love with her and she had no idea he was going to leave her.”

“What about her? The one he loves?”

“She’s there for him. She consoles him, cares for him, takes his kid when it gets too hard. Her husband doesn’t like it though. Thinks she’s doing too much, thinks that there’s another reason she’s over at his so much. Later, he learns that this wasn’t a new accusation, that even before she and her husband got married, the husband would question their closeness, would wonder what, if anything, had ever happened between them.

“Eventually she gets tired of it. Her kid is older, in their teens now, and she leaves her husband, packing her things and her kid’s too and moving back in with her dad for a while.”

“And what happens between them?” Barry wants to know.

“He and his son come over more. They hang out more, the four of them, going to dinner and to the movies and to the arcade together. And when their kids are gone, at sleepovers or game nights with their friends, they laugh again, talk again. Fall in love again.”

The ending is implied. Iris closes her eyes when she’s done, letting Barry continue to rub at her back, his fingers so so warm on her skin.

“It's a happy ending,” he says, eventually. “But getting there was a little...depressing.”

Iris chuckles softly, lightheaded again at having gone through that again. It likely didn’t make Barry feel any better, but she’ll take the win that it took his mind away from his own problems, if only for a little while.

“Yeah, it is,” she agrees. “But it reminds me that just because it’s not easy and just because it takes some time, it doesn’t mean that things aren’t worth it.”

He nods, slowly, thinking.

“What about things that are...easy? That come like breathing? That start as a simple dance and just, just keep going?”

She stares down at him and she knows that this is rhetorical. She can see the question in the depths of his eyes, feel it in his hands still kneading her flesh. It would be easy to retreat, to tell him that nothing is ever easy, even if the reality is that it is because they are, because they fall into each other so effortlessly, that she’s terrified. There are always hiccups, obstacles, and the fact that she can’t find any keeps her on edge, waiting, anticipating trouble she knows must be coming. She doesn’t want to believe it, wants to stand firm in them—stand firm in the lyrics she keeps hearing, if you decide to stay, know that there is no escape; there's no one here to save you—and she holds onto that as he asks,

“Don’t you think it’s worth it, Iris? Even if it’s this easy?”

She can’t speak, but his eyes are imploring her to answer. Pleading with her for a response. And however terrified Iris is, or however much Iris tells stories, she is not a liar. So she nods and whispers to him, “yes.”

Without waiting for her to say anything more, he kisses her. He squeezes at her waist and leans up to capture her mouth. She meets him with his same fervor and it’s different, this kiss. She knows the passion of his mouth when he’s high, the boldness when he’s teasing her. But this is new, this is fervor, warmth and agony and doubt and pleasure, all wrapped up together.

(Something also tells Iris that there is another word for this, that this is the part of the story where feelings would be laid on the table, where hearts would be splayed open and she’d say it, or he would, and the other would respond in kind, with declarations of adoration, of infatuation, yearning, of any other word that means what she can’t say yet.

But she feels it, what she’s wanting to say, what she thinks he is saying, in this kiss. It is slow and nasty, all tongue and mouth. Her eyes flutter closed at the feeling, at how he licks into her mouth and then sucks on her bottom lip, at how he licks against her tongue and then holds her face to bring her closer to him. She feels it, she feels it, she feels him…)

He stands, holding on to her, and she wraps her legs around his waist, tightening her arms around his neck as he carries her through the house. The kisses don’t stop, though they become shorter, more mouth now, and he takes her down a long hallway past several doors until he turns into one at the end of the hall. She makes a quick note of the light gray and burnt orange decor, the side tables holding books and knickknacks, the one window that spans nearly the entire wall, but she focuses most heavily on the king-sized bed on which he throws on her, the soft comforter half hanging off the bed.

Her clothes come off first, Barry pulling her sweatshirt over her head and yanking her pants over her hips. He comes out of his own clothes as she discards her underwear, and then he’s between her thighs again. But she wants something else first so she taps his shoulder to flip them and then she’s hovering above him.

She gives him a kiss, slow and sweet, and then she makes her way down his chest, kissing as she goes. She loves the feel of his skin against her lips, likes how his skin tastes as she presses tongue kisses on him. His belly clenches and unclenches under her ministrations, and by the time she’s looking back up at him from her position near his crotch, she can see the way his chest rises and falls with his heavy breathing.

She reaches for him, wrapping her fingers around his dick. It’s long like the rest of him, and thicker than she would have expected just looking at him. It’s a pretty dick, the base the same color as him, the head slightly pinker. It’s a little veiny, but the skin is smooth, and already he’s starting to leak. She lifts her eyes to find him watching her, his own gaze hooded. In her peripheral, she sees his hands grip the bed sheets and she revels in how she hasn’t even done anything and his control is starting to slip.

“Tell me what you want, Bear.”

She says the words softly, but Barry doesn’t miss the cheek that lies under it, if the slight smirk he gives her is any indication.

“Your mouth,” he says. “I’ve been dreaming about that pretty mouth wrapped around my dick.”

She shudders at the tone of his voice, at the vision of her on her knees for him. She likes it.

“I bet you have too,” he guesses.

Without a response, she licks him, holding him at the base and running her tongue up one side of him. She does it again, and then one more time, acquainting herself with the taste of him and the satiny feel of him on her tongue, and then she adjusts and covers the whole of him.

“Fuck,” he breathes out.

She hums around him and she sucks him down, taking him until he hits her throat. Then she pulls back until just the tip remains. She licks around his head and sucks him there, letting the spit pool in her mouth, letting it mix with his own wet. She opens her mouth and lets it slide out, dripping down onto him, and her own body starts to drip at his wrecked whisper, “god, baby, look at you.”

She adds her hands, palming his testicles in one and rubbing her spit down the length of him with the other. She finds a rhythm, sucking him down, inch by inch, hollowing her cheeks as she goes, and then stroking his back up. Barry keeps his hand clenched in the sheets, but he cants himself into her mouth, rocking his hips lightly. She’s getting into it, loving the way he responds to her.

“Come here,” he says, suddenly, reaching for her, and she pulls back with a soft pop.

“Barry?” she furrows her eyebrows in question.

He gives her a gentle smile and grabs at her arm; Iris moves at his request, crawling up his body.

“But you didn’t finish,” she says, pouting a little.

“I know. I want to come when I’m inside you.”

She’s mollified by that, and he settles her on his lap.

“You were so good though, baby,” he says, kissing her. “My good, good girl.”

He reaches down to touch her, slipping his fingers easily into her sex. He groans into her mouth at the feel and he pulls back to ask,

“Is this all for me? Did you get wet sucking me off, good girl?”

She nods, rocking her hips against his hand, against his sex still hard beneath her. “Can, can you…?”

He tilts his head at her, fingers still caressing inside of her. “Can I?”

She huffs out a small laugh because he’s always fucking with her. “You said you wanted to come inside of me,” she reminds him.

“I did, didn’t?” He takes his time removing his fingers, eyes on her as he does. Even with the window curtains wide open, the dark sky has the room dark

(and she doesn’t dismiss the fact that the window faces the side of someone else’s house, where they could be seen if the neighbors were so inclined to watch)

and his eyes look a little like molten lead in the faint rainy light like this. He goes to reach over to his bedside table but Iris stops him.

“I want to feel you,” she says.

He licks his lips and she doesn’t mistake the twitch of his dick she feels under her. “You sure?”

“Yes. I’m on birth control. And I trust you.”

He nods once and again, and then he takes her by her hips and slides her down his cock.

After, Iris decides that this time is the single most erotic experience of her life.

They fuck with the rain like a soundtrack behind them, like a song that swells and stretches, telling their story, but you're so brave; stone cold crazy for loving me; yeah, I'm amazed; i hope you make it out alive, a song that rises and rises, that sounds too good to be real, that might destroy you, but only in the best way.

She rides him, and he’s so full in her like this, so deep in her like this. His back is against his fabric headboard and she’s so close to him, her knees jutting into the headboard, her thighs holding around his hips, her breasts rubbing against his chest, nipples pebbling with each brush on those hard planes.

She holds on to him with her hands holding the back of his neck, softly scratching at the nape. But he’s touching her, always touching her, his hands caressing her spine, and then holding her waist, and then squeezing her hips. He guides her: keeps his favorite pace, smooth and languid; bring her up to the tip and fucks her back down; shows her how he wants her to roll her body when he’s full in her, so her clit is brushing the soft hairs on his pelvis, the sensation incredible.

He uses his mouth too: to kiss her throat, deep tongue kisses that’ll leave marks she knows she’ll have to cover up; to whisper against her mouth, “see how easy this is; see how good, baby; fuck, see how good this is; yes, yes, yes, my good girl.”

And Iris feels so caught up in it. She can’t stop looking at him, loving when the lightning slashes across the room and illuminates those eyes, the constellation of moles on his skin, his wet, pink mouth. Her body hums with pleasure, soaking her thighs and his, tightening around his dick as if it never, never wants to let him go. She voices her satisfaction, in soft sighs and heavy pleas, and his name on her tongue like a chant, or better, a song, “Bear, Bear, Barrryyy.” They’re so close, her skin sticking to his wherever they’re touching, chest to chest and ass to thigh. She feels full and whole and filled...with him and with desire and with, and with love, the thought of it making her shudder and close her eyes.

“No,” Barry whispers. “Don’t. Just let it, just let it...stay here with me. Can you do that for me? Be brave for me?”

She nods, head heavy as her body starts to reach its climax, as her body loosens at the same time that it tightens and she has to fight to hold on to him. “Yes,” she moans again, holding his gaze again.

He touches at her face, holding her cheek and staring back. “Good girl.”

She doesn’t know whose climax triggers the other. She just knows that at the same time that her body explodes, fluttering wildly around him, he comes too, so hard that she feels him throbbing against her walls, that she feels him filling her up with his cum.

He doesn’t let go of her right away. He just holds her, hands at her hip and her face, and then he kisses her, cementing what they’ve just done, cementing what Iris feels for him.

“It’s the anniversary of my mom’s death,” he says, out of the blue. “And when I went to visit my dad earlier, I found out that he’s sick, something with his heart, and I’m-I’m reeling.”

It’s been a long while since they separated and Iris climbed off of him to pad into his bathroom and warm a hand towel under warm water to clean them both. They’ve been lying in his bed, only half under the covers as they let their bodies cool. It’s quiet now, so quiet that Iris has thought he’d fallen asleep; she’d almost fallen asleep. But when he speaks, she blinks wide and then turns her head to face him.

“14 years today,” he adds. He’s looking up at the ceiling as he talks, but Iris feels the hand that’s settled at her waist tighten, the move bringing her closer to him. She understands that he just needs the contact, so she turns so that she’s all the way curled on him, one of her legs thrown across him, her arm tossed over him too, hand settled on his heart. It’s beating slow, steady, and so she strokes his bare chest, right it.

“How’d you find out?”

“I was still at school,” he tells her. “It was a Friday and some of my friends had convinced me to go to a football game, so we were there pretty late. Games could run until 11. I was 17 so I had my own car. It was an old car; we’d bought it from a guy she worked with. By this time, my dad had been gone for a couple years, and my mom was always working late at the lab, so when I got home around 10:30 that night and the lights were out, I wasn’t surprised.”

He shifts a little and continues. “I took a shower, put some leftover pizza in the microwave, and just as I was sitting down to eat, the doorbell rang. It was the police looking for her next of kin to tell them what had happened.” He sighs heavily. “I got lucky. The courts let one of my friend’s parents take me in until I graduated a few months later. I was able to get a work study job in college to pay my bills since the mortgage was already paid off.”

He says it all like he was lucky, but there is nothing lucky about losing both of your parents in that matter, even if one of them was still physically alive. Iris knows from experience that he doesn’t want pity, doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for his story. But she can’t help the way she wants to comfort him, and so she lets herself do that, tightening herself around him, snuggling even more into his chest.

“How are you feeling about your dad?” she asks, mumbling against his skin.

“Devastated. He looked like, like, I don’t know, like he’s giving up. I don’t get to go see him too often, every couple of months, really. And he looked so different from when I saw him last: smaller, frailer. I think there might be something he’s not telling me. Like he’s been sick longer than he says he has.”

“Is he supposed to get out soon?”

“Another couple years. But I don’t know if he wants to hold on that long.”

She feels them first, the tears. She tries to hold him even tighter, tries to crawl into his skin almost, trying to stem his pain. He doesn’t cry for long, just a few sobs, and then he’s inhaling deeply and wiping at his eyes. But it must be enough because he sounds a little hollow when he says,

“And truthfully, I’m not so much sad as I am mad, that he seems to be giving up. On getting out. On me.”

She hums, not dismissively, but because she understands. “Wanna know a secret?”

“Yeah.”

“Sometimes, I hate my mom.”

He sort of jerks up at that. Not fully, he looks down at her, eyes widened in shock. However inappropriate it might be, she finds herself laughing a little at his expression. Then she explains.

“I know that addiction is not a moral failing. I know that she struggled right up til the end. I know both of those things as completely as I know anything else. But sometimes I wonder why my dad wasn’t enough, why me and Wally weren't enough. I wonder what she was trying to find in those pills that she couldn’t find in us, and I get so pissed that she let it take her away from us.”

She’s startled when he moves. He pulls himself from under her, letting her fall onto her back, and then he’s hovering above her, holding himself up on his elbows. He falls into the spread of her thighs, his sex nuzzling comfortably against her still warm center.

“I’ve seen some of the worst effects of addiction,” he says, “when their bodies end up on a slab of metal and it’s my job to dissect the things around them, to even sometimes help detectives dissect their lives to figure out what happened. And something I’ve learned is that it’s always, always about them. Never about the people they love.”

He searches her face, brushing a piece of hair back from her forehead. “And whatever your mom was or wasn’t thinking, you are enough. You are more than enough, Iris.” He leans down and gives her a kiss, deep and dirty, and she moans in frustration as he pulls back from her. He gives her a grin, one more reminiscent of the Barry she’s used to.

“Repeat after me,” he commands. “I, Iris West…”

“Really, Barry?”

“Yes, come on. I, Iris West…

She sighs, but says it. “I, Iris West…”

“Am more than enough.”

She licks her lips then, blinks, works to not let the tears that have suddenly gathered in the corner of her eyes escape.

“Am more than enough,” she whispers, finally.

Barry’s smile turns fond. “Good girl.”

She shakes her head because she doesn’t know what else to do besides kiss him. Which she does, deeply, reaching down to grip him in her palm. She pauses, just for a moment, to tell him “you know that you are enough too, right?” and she kisses the look of awe off of his face. It’s a long while before she stops kissing him, and then it’s only to moan into his mouth, to let him whisper his dirty somethings into her ear.

“What are your plans for tonight?”

They’ve just shared a shower. Barry is throwing on another pair of sweats and a hoodie and Iris puts her own leggings back on, sans underwear, and thumbs through Barry’s closet for another sweatshirt to put on.

(There’s no reason that she can’t put hers back on, but she’s feeling particularly sentimental and she wants to take something of Barry’s with her, something that smells like him, that feels like him.)

“None, really.” She pulls out a red sweater that reads Central City University Track & Field and throws it on over her bra. “Why? You kicking me out.”

Barry rolls his eyes. “Of course not.” He glances down at the watch on his wrist. “Wanna get dinner? And then go with me to my tattoo appointment? It’s at 8 tonight.”

She smiles at that. “Sure.”

They take the highway back downtown. The rain is still beating steadily and there is still the occasional rumble of thunder, the sporadic flash of lightning. He parks a bit further in the arts district, in front of a restaurant specializing in wood-fire pizzas and craft beers. This time, she knows to wait for him to come around and open the door for her so that she can walk under his umbrella. Once he locks his jeep, he grabs her hand, and they walk the couple doors down and into the restaurant.

The place is brightly lit, in direct contrast to the dark sky and even the faint light that had been on at Barry’s place. The weather assures that it isn’t densely packed, just a couple booths of families and what looks like a couple, so they’re seated quickly and easily. They eat fast since they’ve only got an hour before his appointment. In the meantime, they both keep the conversation light. It’s been a day, for the both of them really, and Iris doesn’t think that she can cry twice in a day.

After he pays, she goes to the bathroom and he tells her he’ll wait at the door for her. She goes in and it’s as brightly lit as the rest of the place and she quickly does her business and washes her hands before heading back out to where he knows Barry is waiting in the little space between the outer door and the door to the restaurant.

She walks through the place and out of the restaurant door, likely too quickly and without really looking. She takes several steps, straightening out Barry’s sweatshirt again, and then she’s bumping into what feels like a solid wall, almost falling backward. A quick hand reaches out to catch her, the hand large, easily wrapping around her forearm.

“Shit,” she says, shaking her head to clear it as she looks up. “I’m sorr..Scott?”

He doesn’t move back right away and so she has to look up, up at the man holding on to her. Scott Evans is the literal definition of tall, dark, and handsome. He’d been her editor when she’d work at CCPN right out of college, and she’d had the biggest crush on him. Tall with dark caramel skin and a neatly trimmed beard, he’d been the one to help guide her in the ways of mass story-telling. They’d gone on one date and Iris is not actually sure why they’d never gone on another.

“Iris West.” He says her name slowly, his grin widening at the same pace. He gives her a once-over, slow and heated. “How’ve you been?”

“R-really good,” she says, stumbling a little at that grin. Even if she doesn’t actually regret never seeing him again, Iris can admit that a man this good looking makes her a little tongue-tied.

“Yeah? I’ve been catching your blog when I can. It’s some good shit, West. I can see why you left our little paper.”

“Please,” Iris rolls her eyes with a little laugh. “There’s nothing little about Picture News.”

He shrugs, humble all the way. “Still, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Scott. I appreciate that.”

“It’s the truth.” He looks down at her, swiping at his lips with his tongue, and she suddenly realizes that they’re still too close. She steps back fully from him, glancing over Scott’s shoulders to see Barry watching them, his expression unreadable.

“Um,” she speaks, catching his attention. “I gotta go Scott.”

“Oh yeah; of course. We should get together soon. Maybe do dinner.” Scott looks back out of the window where rain steadily pours. “It’s still raining out. Can I walk you to your car?”

Her eyes don’t leave Barry’s and he tilts his head, waiting for her answer. “Scott, I’m not alone.”

He turns as if he’s just realizing that Barry is standing there. Barry is still quiet and only lifts his eyes to look at Scott when he mutters, “oh, hey man.”

Barry nods. “What’s up?” Then he looks at Iris. “You ready?”

“Yeah, I am.” Her voice is soft, cautious, and she throws one more glance at Scott. “It was good to see you.”

He graces her with that smile again. “Yeah. I’ll see you around.”

Barry takes her hand and they walk back to the truck. They’re on the road again, driving to a neighborhood near her own. For a second, she thinks he’s going to take her home, but he passes the road to her apartment and goes on to a neighborhood featuring several bars and little shops that cater to the college crowd. He pulls into the parking lot of a place called Black Gold, the lights inside near as bright as those in the pizza place.

Again, she waits until he comes around and turns as if to get out. He stops her though, holding the umbrella high, standing in front of her open legs. He does his thing, his stare like he's trying, and succeeding, to get inside her mind.

“That your ex-boyfriend?” he wonders.

She shakes her head. “Ex-boss.”

His expression doesn’t change. “All your bosses look at you like that?”

She swallows at the sudden feel of his hand on her thigh. The rain is pounding and drops fall on them, but she’s not noticing it. Instead, she’s caught in the storm that’s returned to his eyes, in the feel of his hands inching steadily toward her center.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” she says, instead of responding to him.

One corner of his mouth lifts, and the confident, bordering on cocky, Barry is looking at her now, even if that sparkle hasn’t returned quite yet.

“Nah,” he says. “Not jealous. You’re here right now. And you were with me earlier, moaning for me, coming for me.”

He slides his hand between her thighs and because she is, almost literally, always thirsty for him, wet for him, her legs spread easily. He fingers at the crotch of her leggings, and she knows that he can feel her warmth through the thin material. He thumbs at her until she gasps against him, finding her clit in a way that reminds him that he knows her body better than she knows it herself.

“He ever touch you like this?” Barry asks, voice a whisper above the rain. “Make you whimper even without getting your clothes off?”

She is whimpering, as he keeps his thumb on her clit, rubbing on her in slow circles. That’s all he’s doing: touching her with one hand, looking at her with those eyes that tell as much as they conceal, with his voice a deep rumble that rivals the thunder. He might be turned on, but he’s proving a point, naming himself as someone who, well, who owns her, even if she recognizes that no man should claim any power over her.

Heat spreads through her, a low, simmering sort of heat, but it’s enough that her folds grow slicker, start opening like the flowers of a petal waiting to be plucked. He keeps rubbing at her, staying on her clit, staring in her face, so much that she can’t hold his gaze. Because it feels better than it should, and her wet is soaking through these too thin leggings, and her breaths are coming in longer, coming in heavier.

“Tell me he hasn’t, Iris,” he says, commands, and Iris throws her head back, legs widening at their own volition, hips canting against his hand. “Tell me.”

“No,” she moans, eyes fluttering closed. “He never even touched me at all.”

“Tell me it’s just me,” he adds and she’s too far gone to note the pleading in his voice. “Tell me no one has ever touched you like this.”

“No,” she shakes her head. “Just you, Barry, shit, just you.”

“Good,” he groans. “Good, good girl.”

Even if touch is the word he’s using, Iris understands that it’s more. She understands that they’re both wrapped up in uncertainty, never too sure of where they lie in others’ affections, never too sure of where they lie in life at all. She understands that he’s asking her if she feels it too, if she’s there with him, if this too easy, this too natural, feeling is a first for her too.

He’s asking if she’s brave enough to tell him the truth, if she undertands is meaning-understands that I'm no walk in the park; all these scars on my heart; it’s so dark here-even as she’s wondering the same, as she’s feeling the same, wondering if the churning feelings of abandonment make her unworthy somehow. Wondering if he’ll come to see that unworthiness.

Barry leans forward, just a touch away from her mouth, eyes blazing.

“There’s only you too, Iris,” he says, unprompted. “I swear I’ve just been waiting for you.”

He closes the distance to kiss her and that’s enough to take her over. It’s not a powerful orgasm, not like usual, but it does make her shut her eyes tight, make her limbs seize up as she rocks her hips through it. She breathes out, and she can’t stop the little laugh that comes out.

“You really are a dick,” she muses, opening her eyes slowly.

“A polite one, though,” he says, as he stands straighter and holds his hand out to help her down from the car. He holds the umbrella high over her. “See how I’m making sure you don’t get wet.”

“You didn't think of that earlier.”

His grin is devastating but it doesn’t hide the plethora of emotions in his eyes: the simmering lust, the faint traces of insecurity, the grief that’s been hovering all day...the love she doesn’t think he wants to hide anymore.

She hikes up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek, and then she walks beside him into the parlor, words flashing in her head like a sign, but if you’re a warrior, there’s nothing to fear; nothing to fear.

And later that night, as she cuddles up next to Barry is his large comfortable bed, she listens to his soft breathing, the sound a melody to the rain still pattering against his windows. She listens and she stares at him, taking in his features, softer than they were before, the stress of today easing away with every second he’s lost to sleep. A flash of lightning lights the room, and it catches her eyes again, the new tattoo, the purple ink bright on his skin, covering the space from a lily on his shoulder to just over his heart. It goes dark again, his room blanketed once more, but in her mind’s eyes, she can still see the vibrant ink on his skin, the pretty drooping petals of an iris.

Cause you're so brave

Stone cold crazy for loving me

Yeah, I'm amazed

I hope you make it out alive

#westallen fanfiction #westallen #barry x iris #iris west #strangers to lovers

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invisibleicewands · 3 years

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Staged's Anna Lundberg and Georgia Tennant: 'Scenes with all four of us usually involved alcohol'

Not many primetime TV hits are filmed by the show’s stars inside their own homes. However, 2020 wasn’t your average year. During the pandemic, productions were shut down and workarounds had to be found – otherwise the terrestrial schedules would have begun to look worryingly empty. Staged was the surprise comedy hit of the summer.

This playfully meta short-form sitcom, airing in snack-sized 15-minute episodes, found A-list actors Michael Sheen and David Tennant playing an exaggerated version of themselves, bickering and bantering as they tried to perfect a performance of Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author over Zoom.

Having bonded while co-starring in Good Omens, Amazon’s TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, Sheen, 51, and Tennant, 49, became best buddies in real life. In Staged, though, they’re comedically reframed as frenemies – warm, matey and collaborative, but with a cut-throat competitiveness lurking just below the surface. As they grew ever more hirsute and slobbish in lockdown, their virtual relationship became increasingly fraught.

It was soapily addictive and hilariously thespy, while giving a voyeuristic glimpse of their interior decor and domestic lives – with all the action viewed through their webcams.

Yet it was the supporting cast who lifted Staged to greatness,Their director Simon Evans, forced to dance around the pair’s fragile egos and piggy-in-the-middle of their feuds. Steely producer Jo, played by Nina Sosanya, forever breaking off from calls to bellow at her poor, put-upon PA. And especially the leading men’s long-suffering partners, both actors in real life, Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg.

Georgia Tennant comes from showbiz stock, as the child of Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson. At 36 she is an experienced actor and producer, who made her TV debut in Peak Practice aged 15. She met David on Doctor Who 2008, when she played the Timelord’s cloned daughter Jenny. Meanwhile, the Swedish Lundberg, 26, is at the start of her career. She left drama school in New York two years ago and Staged is her first big on-screen role.

Married for nine years, the Tennants have five children and live in west London. The Lundberg-Sheens have been together two years, have a baby daughter, Lyra, and live outside Port Talbot in south Wales. On screen and in real life, the women have become firm friends and frequent scene-stealers.

Staged proved so successful that it’s now back for a second series. We set up a video call with Tennant and Lundberg to discuss lockdown life, wine consumption, home schooling (those two may be related) and the blurry line between fact and fiction…