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shitsolkat-theblog · 3 months

Text

ME TALKING ABOUT SOLKAT

I can talk about these bitches for HOURS! This is an analysis of Karkat and Sollux (also as individual characters) and their relationship.

Finally I translated and edited this shit!! Let me know if you find any grammar/spelling/etc errors, google translate is my only beta reader and it’s sad.

Before continuing, some notes:

This is around 6,4k long, I told you I can talk about them A LOT.

English is not my first language, be patient :(

This is a PERSONAL analysis of the characters and the ship, you’re allowed to call me stupid dumbass (only if you then explain why logically after).

The text will be often “interrupted” by extra (important) notes! Read them pls.

Some of the things here written have been already “spoilered/discussed” by me in my other blogs as well (sollux’s nicknames), (solkat horniness), (solkat quadrants)

I will talk/mention other ships that aren’t Solkat!

Johndave

Johnrose (mention)

Johnvris (mention)

Johnkat

Arasol (an entire section dedicated)

Solfef

Gamkar (in the notes)

Other briefly mentioned ships

Please, note that this is a SOLKAT analysis, done by someone who will suck their dicks all day long, so if you see your ship (mostly with Sollux and Karkat) being “be littled” by me, I’m not doing it on purpose and I’m really trying to be nice while explaining why I prefer them over other ships (I like most of this ships too lol).

WARNING! This is mostly a sexuality analysis at first! It’s inevitable to talk about sexuality when talking about them.

Sollux and Karkat have supposedly been friends since forever. It's implied that they've known each other for a long time, but whether that's the case or not, it doesn't take away from the fact that they're definitely close friends — in every sense of the word. But to understand this better, we first need to understand the characters individually and how they manage to be best friends while fighting every five seconds — and then I'll delve into their relationship itself.

Starting from Karkat: he is an insecure, short-tempered boy who loves romantic stories and who often fantasizes about having a relationship. However, the most important thing to keep in mind about Karkat is that he is practically a teenager (puberty can develop from 10-11 to 14 years old, and he is 13) and as such he has the so-called HORMONE SHOOT in his body.

Karkat is proposed as the complete opposite of John — already just the example of their Aspects: Blood and Breath, which are opposite in the wheel of Aspects — and therefore the way in which they both approach adolescence or, even more specifically, sexuality.

John is almost the stereotype of the innocent child: practically always unaware of what is around him, or somewhat careless, remaining as a pillar of purity and lightness — highlighted by his Class Aspect: Heir of the Breath, which makes him the most childish, light and free of all others. All this also applies to sexuality. His first approach is his non-flirts with Dave(1), which are clearly not serious and very superficial; making more jokes about how much "they're gay and they love each other", but in a very clearly platonic and casual way. On top of that, before meeting Karkat, John never really seems to think about things more impure than just pure romance which he also demonstrates to Rose and, to a small extent, Jade, similar to how a child would bring home a girlfriend than how a pre/adolescent thinks of a person to whom they are sexually/romantically attracted. One might comment that he behaves this way because he is not really romantically attracted to his friends, but one sees him behaving the same way with Vriska, with whom he is explicitly in love — the only difference is that he becomes a simp for her.

In the end John is practically "forced" to think about his sexuality — in a less innocent way, I mean — after his constant texts with Karkat, who is not innocent by any means.

1: John and Dave’s relationships contrasts with Karkat and Sollux’s one - important for later

Finally, after talking about John, let's talk about his opposite, Karkat. What makes him recognizable to kids/teenagers who read Homestuck is also his approach to puberty, which isn't as innocent and carefree as John's, but more chaotic and horny, like that of normal people (ironic that he's not even human).

It's not that it's immediately clear that Karkat speaks more with his dick than with his mouth, but he certainly mentions dicks very often in his monologues, always in a way that doesn't appear Horny™ but actually is quite Horny.

Speaking of John, Karkat shamelessly flirts with him AND his sister. John doesn't understand it at first for the simple fact that Karkat was attempting to pitch flirt with him, a concept that isn't really present in human society, but once he recognized the patterns, he immediately told Karkat that he isn’t gay and Karkat panicked, trying to erase everything he said before.

It's not that he flirts on purpose, his sexuality is intrinsic to everything he does and says — like a normal teenager — and so it's reflected in his dialogue whether he does it on purpose or not — and it doesn't help that he's so devoid of shame.

Now, Karkat is HORNY even on a fetish level, in fact he is one of the characters who shows his sexuality the most (along with Damara, Cronus, all those horny-bitches), to the point that it is literally no longer a secret. It is therefore not strange that he has a kink for exhibitionism, perhaps another factor that contributes to his openly, even unconsciously, flirting. Perhaps his is not even a real fetish, but rather an absence of social education, given by his physical isolation from the rest of the world — to protect himself and not let others discover the color of his blood. In the sense: it is possible that Karkat, famous for reading "romantic comedies" without shame, is not really aware of social norms and therefore has never been taught to Keep It in His Pants™, living his sexuality like hell, even at the expense of important situations — like warning John about the future AND NOT FLIRTING WITH HIM. Those who don't help are the people he talks to the most, first of all his best friend: Sollux Captor.

But before talking about Sollux, a small mention about Karkat: it's true that Karkat always seems to hit on different people, a bit at random, but in reality there is a very specific pattern. He doesn't hit on everyone, much more with those who piss him off at a level higher than simple "annoyance"(2),(3). He is always irritated and takes it out on everyone, yes, but there are those who insist and persevere with him specifically — directly (Terezi, Sollux, partly Jade) or indirectly (John and Gamzee) —, which leads him to the end, until you give him a blow and make him fall in love. Contradictory, I realize, but Karkat's entire fucked up sexuality must be taken into account; which we discussed earlier.

2: This is why ships like Kanaya x Karkat, Nepeta x Karkat or Meenah x Karkat cannot work in my opinions. There is no anger, therefore there is no passion. Except for Nepeta's case, there isn't even any trouble between Karkat, Kanaya and Meenah. They are not couples destined to last (in my opinion!!!)

3: His anger could be a true transposition of his passion. Not in the sense that he gets angry because he loves, but he loves because he gets angry.

And in any case NONE OF THIS necessarily has to do with the pitch quadrant.

Now we can move on to Sollux!

As with Karkat and John, Sollux also has a "human counterpart". Not all trolls have this counterpart, obviously, but since John has a best friend, a best bro, then Karkat has it too. For John, Dave is his best friend with whom he talks all the time, for Karkat it is Sollux, only that Sollux IS NOT "the opposite of Dave", but rather "an alternative Dave".

As highlighted by the introduction of the two (Dave) (Sollux 1) (Sollux 2), both have many parallels between them. Both are the "cool guys" of their group, but Sollux is more of a "cool-wanna-be" at the very beginning of the story — then immediately taking the role just a few pages later, because Hussie and Coherence Of The Characters never married. In fact, the only opposite they demonstrate is the management of emotions: Dave is monotone, almost cold, but he talks a lot, almost too much; Sollux is emotional, extremely sensitive (to quote Karkat and Terezi), but of few words. And these are the only substantial differences that lead the two characters into two completely opposite paths; starting first of all from the relationship with "their leader" — because both are their "right-hand men".

I have already spoken extensively about John and Dave, and their very pure and saccharine homoromantic messages and comments, albeit platonic ironically disguised as "romantic"; what's missing is the homoerotic flirtation poorly disguised as "platonic jokes" between Sollux and Karkat, but first I should explain Sollux in general a little.

Sollux, unlike Karkat and what it might seem, is not particularly horny, nor does he openly display his sexuality except when talking to Karkat; rather showing his weak and sensitive side, less grumpy and volatile, with those few with whom he interacts with more than a few messages - as with Aradia, for whom he has an absolute weakness, and Feferi, who caught him in a vulnerable state after the death of Aradia (I specify that he also shows it to Karkat, except that there is also the dick involved with him). Rather, it's The Hoes™ who rally around Sollux — giving him the title of "guy who fucked literally every character in the comic."

However, we must ask ourselves, who is Sollux talking to? Because despite his being a "Double Dreamer" — therefore finding himself on both Prospit and Derse —, in fact he speaks openly and exposes himself only to a very small group of people(4): only two, in reality: Aradia and Karkat, and Feferi if you really want to be generous.

4: It is no coincidence that he is reincarnated in his Dream Self of DERSE, while his Dream Self of PROSPIT is left to die; both after the destruction of the planet (he becomes a ghost), and with Lord English (in which he finally dies).

The peculiarity of Sollux is that he gives a nickname to everyone, and this nickname is made up of two letters of the person's name. However, this actually seems to be more of a fanonical rather than canonical conception, as the only nicknames that Sollux uses are (and are for):

AA, Aradia

KK, Karkat

TZ, Terezi

Priince, Eridan (to make fun of him)

FF, Feferi

For the rest of the people, either repeat the abbreviation of their chathandles (i.e. Nepeta, AC) or use their full names. Therefore, canonically speaking, Sollux only uses specific nicknames with those he is emotionally close to; with the rest either use their real names or use a nickname that these people have given themselves; and he does it with Terezi too. Yes, Sollux calls her “TZ”, but he also calls her “GC”, the chathandle abbreviation of Terezi, who he is friends with casually, without speaking much to each other on the basis. You might think that this “no nicknames - chathandle as 'nickname' - personal nickname” thing is not very significant because of Aradia, whose abbreviated chathandle is “AA”, exactly as Sollux calls her; therefore the “nickname hierarchy” simply does not exist.

And that is COMPLETELY wrong. Her name is Aradia, she already has a double A in her original name; the fact that her chathandle is also AA, making her nickname a quadruple — or double double — A.

Basically, what I mean is that Sollux has a sort of “hierarchy of importance” based solely on the amount of doubles in people's names. Demonstration:

Aradia, AA (nickname), AA (chathandle) - double double A - Sollux choose her and not Karkat (I will talk better about it later);

Karkat, KK (nickname), CG (chathandle) - doppia K - flirts a lot with each others, are close friends in general;

Feferi, FF (soprannome), CC (chathandle) - double F and double C, but separated(5).

Terezi, TZ (soprannome), GC (chathandle) - no doubles, she’s a friend;

Everyone else.

5: I'm not sure why he’s more attached to Karkat and not Feferi, rationally speaking, but it could be for a simple reason of time. That is, if he had had more time with Feferi, maybe she would have been “more important” than Karkat. Which I don't really believe much in, since 1. they were already friends, they could have been "be close" from the start, 2. I think that Sollux only used Feferi as comfort after Aradia's death/radical change; so just calling her "important in her life" is a bit of an exaggeration, but she's certainly more important than most of Sollux’s friends.

So why, in my very humble opinion, are Sollux and Karkat better than Sollux and Aradia? Simple: because the other person is also important; a relationship has at least two people, not one.

Aradia, at least in death, seems to care a lot about Sollux.

AA: s0llux i actually w0uld like it if you were happy

TA: ok. thank you for 2ayiing 2o.

AA: y0u seem sad and angry all the time

AA: what d0es anger feel like

AA: i f0rg0t

TA: have you ever been angry?

TA: ii dont remember you gettiing angry about anythiing.

AA: maybe i never was

AA: i feel like i was th0ugh

AA: 0nce

TA: why dont you a2k karkat, he2 way angriier than me.

TA: for that matter why dont you get on HII2 ca2e about iit iin2tead of MIINE.

[extract page 2085]

(Notice how Sollux cites (unnecessarily) Karkat even in this conversation with Aradia :3)

SOLLUX: aradia, s0rry, i can't be a part 0f this anym0re, it's just making me feel dirty.

ARADIA: i understand sollux

SOLLUX: let's catch up again later, h0pefully when this is all 0ver.

ARADIA: yeah :D

[extract page 6045]

This might seem like nothing, and I’m really going to start talking at a personal level here: I hate how cold and distant Aradia feels when interacting with Sollux on later acts.

It might seem like a cute/good thing: Aradia just letting Sollux go to do what he wishes to and all, but I personally didn't interpret it as such.

Sollux openly hates fucking SGURB/SBURB, he wants nothing to do with this game, like at all; that’s one of the reasons he leaves with Aradia in the first place (again, I’ll talk about it better later on). Though, after leaving the meteor, the next time we see Sollux he is, in some way, again involved with the game; all because Aradia is curious and wants to see how it will all end. I think it’s egotistical to put it at least. I’m not saying Aradia should have putted her wantings away for Fucking Sollux (no offense Sol), though she knows that Sollux doesn’t want anything to do with the game and that, now that he is blind, he is very dependent on other people — in fact, if it wasn’t for Feferi and Nepeta, Sollux would have never be able to leave Vriska’s ship.

Although it is implied that Sollux never complained about his involvement with all of that until the very end, when he decides to leave.

I think arasol can still work very well as friends, or, if I really want to stretch it, matesprits; but with all those communication problems, it’s very much impossible for me to see them as moirails, like other people most likely prefer — unless it’s a toxic moirallegiance, that would suit them good.

Also, I won’t talk about Homestuck: Beyond Canon, because…

ARADIA: he is probably ok

DAVEBOT: so youre telling me you dont even feel a little bad that you ditched him to be a weird death acolyte

ARADIA: no i think he found my wiles both charming and irresistible

[extract HS:BC, page 283]

But, to be fair, HS:BC ruined everything, a lot, most characters and ships. It surely didn’t help to make me like Arasol more (like I liked it at the beginning), but whatever.

Basically, what I’m saying is that, personally, I prefer solkat over arasol because Karkat has emotional involvement in it:

SOLLUX: yeah, i think i'll hang behind here t0o, if that's 0k with you guys.

KARKAT: WAIT, WHAT?

KARKAT: NO COME ON, DON'T BE LIKE THAT

SOLLUX: be like what? a ghost??

SOLLUX: i d0n't think i belong with the living anym0re.

KARKAT: YOU'RE A *HALF* GHOST, ASSHOLE.

KARKAT: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? HOW ARE YOU EVEN TAKING THIS IDIOTIC "HALF DEATH" SERIOUSLY IF YOU JUST GO HOG WILD AS A FUCKING WHOLE-GHOST, AND SAY STUPID SHIT LIKE, BLAH BLAH, I BELONG IN THE AFTERLIFE NOW LIKE A DUMBASS.

SOLLUX: kk, SORRY.

SOLLUX: i'm just d0ne with this crap, this insane adventure bullshit, it's nothing pers0nal.

SOLLUX: i just want to spend time with aa and chill 0ut and catch up with some 0f our dead buddies, is that 0k?

KARKAT: WHATEVER, FINE.

[extract page 4356]

I’m not sure how Aradia pre-SGURB/pre-death behaved with Sollux, most likely she was very close (emotionally speaking) to Sollux, so much that their relationship is later on described as “ambiguous”, and Ghost Aradia, as I said, shows it! Though I can’t get over the present, which is not great for them… Also (this is VERY personal) I find them more boring than solkat, too fluffy for me, sorry not sorry.

Anyhow, what's different with Karkat, then? Since I'm talking about him so much.

First of all: the "hatred" they throw at each other is non-serious and mutual. This means that if Karkat offends Sollux, Sollux offends Karkat and they don't take it personally, it's simply how they communicate (and flirt).

[extract page 3318 (not working lol)]

It’s simply nothing personal.

Also, if for whatever reason, they are not in the mood for that shit:

SOLLUX: what diid you want me two do get down on the floor and kii22 your faiinted corp2e on the lii2p two wake you up on a nonexii2tent pro2piit?

KARKAT: LET'S NOT DO THIS, OK MAN? JUST THIS ONCE. I DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY.

SOLLUX: yeah ok fiine.

[extract page 2792]

(after this dialogue Sollux simply answers Karkat's questions, without annoying him)

In this case Sollux is the one who respects Karkat's boundaries, but it would be stupid to say that it wouldn't be the same if the roles were reversed.

Okay, so that explains why Karkat is a better choice than Aradia (MY OPINION) and I've talked a little — a lot — about the two of them together, but more specifically, why should Sollux and Karkat be together? After all, Sollux abandoned Karkat (page link again).

This bullshit remark blows my mind every single time it's brought up, so I'm going to analyze Sollux even more before moving on to the two of them together, so as to explain why Sollux chose to leave at the end of Act5Act2.

Imagine that one day — perhaps since birth — you’ve been “gifted” with the ability to tell who is going to die, by hearing their begging, suffering voices screaming in your brain, filled with horrific images. Not only that, you even hear the voices of all the people that are going to die altogether because of one game(6); a game that, you know, will also kill you twice, but not after blinding you, and will also make all your friends kill each other for no apparent reason.

6: “But the end of Alternia would have arrived regardless of the game, the game was ‘a hope’ to save the planet”; not actually. It’s very explicit that, despite the event that led to Alternia’s end, the game was the number 1 influence for that event to happen. So it’s still SGURB’s fault, basically.

So, after dealing with the death of all your kind, yourself included, after dealing with all your friends being killed brutally by other of your friends, after becoming blind and dying right after; when you’re reunited with your now alive close friend/girlfriend(?), not hearing any voices screaming in pain, with the choice of staying in the game that caused all of this or leaving for the better. What would you do?

Maybe it’s a little stretch to say it, but I don’t actually think Sollux’s choice was between “Aradia or Karkat”, but rather between “staying in the game that ruined you and all you knew or escaping it”. Of course Sollux did it for Aradia too, but she was secondary, like leaving Karkat was simply a consequence of his choice and not the choice itself.

Now I can talk about the two of them in more detail (finally).

As I said before, Karkat and Sollux are "the negative" of John and Dave, and of their relationship: where John and Dave's affection is platonic, ironic and cute, that of Karkat and Sollux is romantic/sexual, absolutely serious and they suck at pretending that it isn't, and "violent" in a certain sense.

But having said all this, which quadrant would they end up in if they got engaged? The answer might seem obvious: they flirt pitch, they are kismesis; many chatlogues suggest this:

[extract page 2027 - this page is all gay btw]

[extract page 2086]

Why aren't they kismesis then? referring to each other exclusively as “best friends” and nothing more?

Here the issue of an unshown past comes into play, a bit like for Aradia and Sollux.

It's likely/implied that they've been best friends for a long time, maybe since birth (kind of), but definitely since they were little — as I also mentioned at the beginning. In fact, one of the main tropes they seem to follow is the “friends to lovers” trope, where in their friendship they tease each other, they “argue” but without repercussions, nor without really meaning it — again, things I explained before. I assume that what changed in their relationship after puberty hit is the intentions they have when they "argue" like this. They don't necessarily want to fuck every time they talk to each other, that's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that their closeness, Karkat's being Horny™, teenage hormones have contributed to making their interactions more awkward — to put it simplistically — over time, which then became a habit rather than an intention every single time.

[extract page 2027]

SOLLUX: what diid you want me two do get down on the floor and kii22 your faiinted corp2e on the lii2p two wake you up on a nonexii2tent pro2piit?

KARKAT: LET'S NOT DO THIS, OK MAN? JUST THIS ONCE. I DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY.

SOLLUX: yeah ok fiine.

[extract 2792 (again)]

(Yes, I’ve already used this, but it explains well how it’s a habit for them).

The attraction is there, the desire is there, but what blocks them is embarrassment. I don't think I need to explain why they might feel reluctant to openly confess their feelings and abandon their long friendship for a pitch relationship; especially because like kismesis, these two suck… like, a lot.

:O but why do they suck like kismesis? Don't they have pitch feelings for each other?

Complicated to explain (I’ll try anyway).

I think that they are seriously convinced that they have pitched feelings (I think), but this is actually the result of a natural evolution of their previous relationship — in which they were already pushing and making fun of each other — combined with sexual desires, rather what a real pitch feelings. But I'll get back to this shortly; for now: why would Sollux and Karkat suck as kismesis?

In the comic we had some examples of kismessitude.

[extracts pages 2459, 2381, 6797]

(These are the first ones that came to mind, I don't remember if there are others lol)

Leaving aside Eridan and Vriska — since their past together is only hinted at and not shown — the major examples are Vriska and Tavros and Terezi and Gamzee. What these two couples have in common is brutality: Vriska traumatizes Tavros again and again, first by making him paraplegic, then by dragging him around like a slave, then by showing him her bloody, nearly dead corpse and ordering him to kill her, etc. Gamzee beats Terezi to death until she dies. I'd say it's pretty clear.

In reality, even without giving examples one can still reach this conclusion: Alternia is a violent and cruel place, so much so that not only is one of their quadrants based on hatred and cruelty, but there is also a need for a another quadrant to get between the two to prevent them from killing each other.

ROSE: Think, Lalonde. Think!

ROSE: What did Kanaya tell you about this quadrant?

ROSE: Does it really involve such gruesome fisticuffs?

ROSE: I...

ROSE: I can't remember!

ROSE: I was probably drunk during that particular lesson.

ROSE: What am I saying.

ROSE: I was drunk for all the lessons!

ROSE: Ugh, what a disgrace.

ROSE: I am the actual worst auspistice who ever lived.

ROSE: THE ACTUAL WORST!!!

[Extract page 6811]

Normal kismesis are extremely violent; if they don't kill themselves, they are always on the verge of doing so. There is no understanding, there is no goodness, there is certainly no THIS:

You are relieved to find Sollux is not DEAD. He is merely KO'D.

You don't think you could handle it if this was ROUND TWO of watching your good bro get killed.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling twinArmageddons [TA]

CG: BRO ARE YOU OK.

CG: HEY

CG: OH GOD

CG: WHAT HAVE I DONE.

CG: SOLLUX?

CG: PLEASE TELL ME THAT'S JUST HONEY.

CG: PLEASE JUST BE HONEY PLEASE JUST BE HONEY PLEASE JUST BE HONEY

CG: HAHA, OK, MAKE-BELIEVE TIME IS OVER!

CG: OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

[extracts pages 3424, 3351, 2471-2, 2470]

And, if you want to add Pesterquest:

[Horrible screen I stole on google images of Karkat’s Game Over route - yes, I’ve played Pesterquest lol]

NOTE: I’ll use this stuff later too.

Basically: just because they are prickly at each other and insult each other and flirt pitch, doesn't mean they would be good kismesis. Indeed, recontextualizing everything, between the two of them there is practically nothing of pitch apart from the insults and flirting. I'm not saying that an "abnormal kismessitudine" with them couldn't work, on the contrary, but, in my humble opinion, reaching this conclusion would simply be too reductive.

Since I showed them, let's talk about the pages above now!

It's undeniable — whether you want to see them as friends or lovers — that Karkat and Sollux care about each other.

And I know everyone's talking about Karkat carrying Sollux to safety, despite him being a burden while he runs for his life; and how Karkat doesn't want Sollux to abandon him at the end of Act5Act2, but I'd like to take a moment to analyze something I've never seen anyone mention, for some reason.

First, there's one assumption to have in mind before moving forward: characters — in general, any series — can lie. They don't always have to be honest and they don't always have to tell us when they're not; it's up to us to connect the dots. Having said that, HERE ARE THE POINTS I HAVE CONNECTED, you’re welcome :)

PCG: OK SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS FROM LIKE 5 HOURS IN THE FUTURE JUST TO GIVE ME A HARD TIME, NICE.

PCG: WELL THANKS FOR THE HELP, SO WHEN DO I BAN YOU, FUTURE BOY?

PTA: a few liine2 down, after ii pretend liike iim goiing two diie.

PTA: iim 2ure for a laugh on account of my iimmiinent banniing, FUCK how could you even do that two me.

PTA: 2o cold man.

PCG: ARE YOU REALLY STILL SORE AT ME FIVE HOURS LATER FOR RUNNING THAT VIRUS, GOD DAMN GET OVER IT.

PCG: IT WAS YOUR FUCKING VIRUS ANYWAY, YOU'RE TO BLAME.

PTA: eheh no bro we're cool about that, now future you ii2 connectiing wiith me 2o ii can enter the game.

PCG: OH YEAH?

PTA: yeah 2o thank2 for that fiive hour2 iin advance.

[extract page 2543]

Sollux will die immediately after.

No, I won't touch this dialogue for now; let's think first about Sollux, in general. Sollux knows when he will die and how, in a very generic and vague way, at least from what transpires from his dialogues:

TA: ii am goiing two diie.

TA: ii mean we all are.

TA: but e2peciially me.

TA: ii am goiing two get my a22 2erved two me twofold.

TA: double the 2erviice.

TA: liike two dude2 on doublebutler ii2land.

TA: gettiing worked over by a 2iiame2e twiin ma22eu2e.

TA: but before ii diie, iim goiing two go bliind liike you.

TA: iit ha2 two happen liike that.

TA: iim not 2ure why, but ii thiink iit2 liike...

TA: fulfiilliing 2ome requiirement for a true prophet of doom.

TA: iin order for the vii2iion2 two be riight, that ha2 two happen, and the uniiver2e wiill make 2ure iit wiill.

TA: iit2 kiind of liike how a prophet earn2 hii2 2triipe2, by beiing bliind, liike how an angel earn2 iit2 wiing2.

[extract page 2082]

Now, we can be idiotic children and believe that SOLLUX, who told Terezi precisely that he will die twice, that he will become blind before dying in one of these, and that becoming blind and dying is the key to returning to life as a sighted person. according to a strange prophecy he mentions, he doesn't know when the fuck he'll die. It could be, although it is extremely unlikely. It's true that he doesn't say anything about the circumstances in which he will die, but the omission does not imply unawareness, BUT LET'S PRETEND TO BELIEVE HIM WHILE HE SAYS IT!

In any case (later in the comic), the words Sollux uses in his last dialogue with Karkat before his death #1 are strange, too confident and stupidly false.

PTA: yeah 2o thank2 for that fiive hour2 iin advance.

PCG: THIS IS BS ISN'T IT.

PCG: TROLLING ME FROM THE FUTURE, HOW JUVENILE CAN YOU GET.

PTA: no man iit2 true, we are bulge bumpiing pupa pal2 agaiin.

PCG: OH FUCK THIS CONDESCENDING FUTURE KNOWITALL ACT, WE AREN'T BUMPING SHIT, YOU ARE SO BANNED.

PTA: nooooooo, not the ban, it buuuuuuurn2, oh god hahahaha.

In short, even Karkat doesn't believe they are sincere. I don't think the tone Sollux uses is condescending, but I'll talk more about it shortly later.

Why didn't Sollux tell Karkat right away that he was going to die? Simple answer: the prophecy had to be fulfilled. Sollux, who is a Doom player, accepts this and lets himself die because he knows that this will make the game progress.

And it's a good explanation, but it doesn't explain why he chose to say those things to Karkat, when there was absolutely no need to. You could justify it with "Sollux knows he's going to die because of Karkat so he's mad at him", and that might make sense initially, but then it becomes meaningless when you think about it again. Why act so genuinely, like he's having fun, instead of being pissed, being sarcastic, spiteful, or something like that?

THEORY, really, don't take my word for it, BUT I BELIEVE Sollux was trying to calm Karkat down. WEIRD THING I KNOW, but Sollux obviously knows Karkat better than anyone else, so Sollux knows he's going to die, he knows how Karkat will react to his death — because he knows Karkat is sensitive and, in general, cares about people — and he decides to make it funny; pretending to fake his death, so as to get himself blocked and at least delay the moment in which Karkat sees his corpse.

But maybe I'm just traveling in my mind. The other possible reason that comes to mind is that Sollux didn't really think about it; he knew he was going to die and contacted Karkat before doing so, making light of it. Here we could open a whole discussion on why Sollux chose Karkat, but I think the reason is "ironic" (just to see him get pissed off before dying, because it's funny).

Now we can go back to the previous scenes. Whether Sollux, in the dialogue discussed above, acted for ironic reasons or to reassure Karkat, it is equally undeniable that these two do give a damn about each other, but mainly it is Karkat who shows it:

Karkat crying (twice) over Sollux's deaths;

Karkat who feels guilty for his death;

Karkat, who is relieved that Sollux isn't dead, drags him to safety—despite the fact that a killer clown is following them and that Sollux greatly slows their escape.

These are some examples, the most famous - which is why I didn't dwell on them too much.

[PS: Another, very minor example of Sollux “proving to give a damn about Karkat” is this scene here:

TA: KK DO NOT RUN THAT CODE.

TA: hello??????????????

carcinoGeneticist's [CG'S] computer exploded.

TA: oh my god.

[extract page 2086], but I’ll talk better about it NOW:]

The point is (GOD this is getting too long) that they are too “soft” with each other to be kismesis, despite the pitch flirting and insults.

Sending a virus < a kismesis might do it == warning that person right after and trying to “save” them from it after a change of heart < NOT kismesis.

Checking that the other is still alive after he faints following a battle < the comic suggests that this is not normal behavior between kismesis, but it may still be within the norm == carrying his body with you despite risking getting yourself kill yourself < NOT kismesis.

Insulting < normal for two kismesis == stop immediately when the other tells you he's not in the mood < NOT kismesis.

It might be bad for a fan to see that, in the end, kismesis do not have a “moral code and mutual respect” in the original comic, contrary to what has been around in the fandom for ages. It may still be that all the examples of kismessitude we have had are wrong and do not reflect the true troll concept of "pitch relationship", but, ultimately, we have never had any examples other than the ultra-violent ones. And I don't see it as unlikely that, in a society like that of Alternia, the Empire would try to normalize so much violence by labeling it as "romantic".

And Karkat and Sollux are not violent with each other. They’re not kismesis, the end.

But it must be said that they are not even moirails. They are much more likely to become moirails than kismesis, but they are not. The reason is very simple: they suck at talking about their emotions. The problem lies precisely in them as people (/trolls), which does not allow them to form any pale relationship, even with other trolls.

Karkat was in a pale relationship with Gamzee. It lasted two pages(7). Sollux was in an ambiguous relationship with Aradia, which could be either just friendship, or matespritism or moirallegiance — although I’ve already explained why I think they would suck as moirails.

7: In this specific case -- gamkar shippers please don’t kill me -- I believe that Karkat had never had any LASTING "pale feelings" for Gamzee. Karkat cares about everyone's well-being, and when Gamzee -- an out of control highblood -- started killing everyone, obviously BIOLOGY TROLL and Karkat gave his ass away to calm him down. It wasn't something that was meant to last regardless, unlike other pale relationships like that between Equius and Nepeta, who actively nurse their moirallegiance. (it was a One Night thing, in short).

They could, eventually, find other forms of communication and establish a healthy relationship, actually, but the immutable fact would remain that they feel sexual attraction to each other. The first rule of a pale relationship is DO NOT BE SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO YOUR MOIRAIL — which many translate as “don't fuck your moirail,” but I have a lot to say about that(8). They could be "atypical moirails", but at this point they could also be "atypical kismesis", one is as good as the other and why should I choose one and not the other?

8: OK I'LL SAY IT! Comfort sex is a thing. Moirallegiance is based above all on comforting, helping and protecting the other; so in certain situations, needs, etc., I don't think two moirails would have too much trouble fucking.

Moving forward, the last quadrant is missing — I won’t analyze the ash one for the simple reason that I have already said that they cannot be kismesis, and if they are, they would be too little dangerous to "earn" an auspice — the flushed quadrant.

It might seem like a good compromise: they care about each other and feel sexual attraction. But you only need to see their relationship for five seconds to understand… it doesn't make sense. Too many insults, too many threats, too much teasing, even in this case we would fall into an "atypical matespritism".

Their relationship, in conclusion, hangs on too many sides to give a precise definition:

Too serious flirt to be friends;

Too soft to be kismesis;

Too much physical attraction to be moirails;

Too mean to be matesprits.

There is only one solution, in my mind, that makes sense for these two.

The only solution I personally find is a quadrant vacillation, or even a mix.

In moments of flirtation and insults they are kismesis; in vulnerable moments they are moirails. I find it difficult to see them “mixing the two together” to vacillate red, but it could happen (a lot). Among other things, if they filled two quadrants at the same time, it would further satisfy Sollux's fetish for number two, and we're all happy.

The other idea, that of mixing pitch and pale, makes sense in the context of “atypical moirallegiance/kismessitude” that I have talked about so far, but I find it a little less likely as a path.

[Or they could just be Friends with Benefits, idk, that's likely too].

AND ANYWAY I FINISHED TALKING ABOUT THEM THANK GOD!

(I can still go if yall want to tho xoxo).

#THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS TOOK ME A LOT AND I LOVE IT!!#i won't tag the ships that i only mentioned #homestuck #analysis #character analysis #ship analysis #solkat #sollux captor #karkat vantas #arasol #johndave #aradia megido #john egbert #dave strider

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stevengrant-my-beloved · 2 years

Text

set fire to me, leave me begging for more [18+]

Jake Lockley x female!Reader

Rating: Explicit

summary: you and your friends go on a pub-crawl and eventually you meet a mysterious stranger who takes you on the best ride of your life, literally.

warnings: substance use (alcohol), club scenes(idk), oral (f receiving), handjob, multiple orgasms, riding (that’s like the main thing), car sex, outdoor sex(?), squirting, not beta-read because that’s how we roll

word count: 7k

a/n: please for the love of god if u find yourself in a similar situation like y/n DO NOT be like them and go off with random strangers promising you a good time, no matter how hot they are XD also I tried with the Spanish, i swear, consulted multiple different websites because i know google translate is unreliable asf.

_______

It was 9 p.m. on a Friday night, and you’d been lounging on the couch in your cozy apartment, nursing a glass of wine when you heard the doorbell ring, followed by multiple shouts of your name through the front door.

“One second!” you shout, recognizing the voices of your friends and wondering why they’d showed up unexpectedly. Not that you minded, really, but you had been looking forward to a quiet night in with some wine, cheap takeout and whatever movie might have been playing on the TV.

You open the door, and before you can get a word in, your friends are pushing their way into your apartment, all excitedly talking over each other about how they were here to pick you up and go have some fun.

“Uh, guys? What- wait, can someone tell me what’s going on?” you ask as your friends busy themselves with going through your wardrobe.

“We’re going clubbing bestie!” one of your friends exclaims, grabbing your wine glass out of your hand before steering you towards the bathroom. “Come on, it’s been ages since we last did something exciting ‘cause we’re always busy with stuff.”

You sigh, because, yes, it’s true that you and your friends hadn’t really had the chance to hang out, and yes, you did think it would do you some good to actually go outside for a change, but-

“Yeah, I can tell you’re debating this, and I’m not letting you do that,” your friend declares, before unceremoniously pushing you into your bathroom. “Go take a shower. We’ll pick out something for you, and then we’re heading out!”

You hear a chorus of ‘hell yeah’s before the bathroom door is closed shut and you’re left standing in front of your bathroom sink, taking in the disheveled appearance of your reflection.

“Screw it, let’s do this,” you mutter, running your hand through your hair, before stepping into the shower.

You were going to make up for months of not going out by having the best night of your life, and you were going to look good doing it.

---

Twenty minutes later, you’re stepping out of your still steaming bathroom, and you find your friends surrounded by a pile of clothes, each one of them picking up different items and trying to style them into a full outfit.

“You’re helping me clean up after this, I swear to god,” you groan, as you make your way to your dresser. You fiddle with your hair, unsure of what to do with it, before ultimately deciding to just let it stay down as it is.

“Okay, [Y/N], you have to wear this!” You watch your friends through the mirror you’re sitting in front of, and they’re all nodding in agreement as one of them holds up a mini dress, one you don’t remember wearing in a long time.

They’re looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to try it on. You know that if it really came to it, they’d let you walk out in your pajamas if that’s what you wanted, but they looked so excited and it wouldn’t hurt to try it on, so you walk up to them and grab the dress, stomping your feet and huffing, making a show of how much of a pain this all was (it really wasn’t).

You’re all making idle chit-chat as you pull the dress on, and once it’s completely on you, your friends start cheering and whistling, which honestly made you feel just a little bit better about yourself.

Growing up, you never had the best view of yourself, and even though you know better now, even though you know that you’re good-looking, sometimes the little voice in your head still manages to convince you that you’re not perfect the way you are.

Your friends help though. They’re always there to remind you just how smart, beautiful and amazing you are, and you couldn’t be happier in that moment, standing among your them in your small, messy bedroom as you get ready to go have some fun.

The dress itself helps. It’s black, with sheer balloon sleeves and a deep V neckline, and it fits perfectly on your body, accentuating your silhouette in a way that you knew was definitely flattering. You quickly slip on some jewelry and your heels, before you and your friends file out of your apartment and make your way out onto the street.

“Alright bitches, let’s get wild!”

---

The first pub you and your friends hit was pretty quaint. It was mostly silent, even for the time of night it was, so you all just sit at a table and get your preferred drinks, talking about anything and everything. It seemed like this particular pub was hosting a trivia night, which your friends decided would be fun to participate in, just for the heck of it. You get most of the answers wrong, but it was the most fun you had had in ages, laughing with your friends and just relaxing with them.

The second and third ones were a little louder in comparison. You’re pretty buzzed already at that point, which means you’re being louder than usual, adding to the noise of the pub. You stumble to the bar, arms linked with your friend so you can grab your group’s drinks, when you bump into someone, almost making them spill their drink.

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry-“ you start to say, freezing when you feel a hand grab your elbow to help you right yourself.

“It’s alright,” a gruff voice mutters, the words almost lost to the loud chatter in the pub. You look up to see the man who still had his hand on you, and when your eyes meet, he straightens up and lets his hand fall back down to his side, before nodding at you and your friend and walking towards to the back of the pub.

You and your friend turn to each other, wide-eyed, because you were both pretty similar and obviously thinking the same thing.

That guy is super-hot.

You manage to get your drinks, and you and your friend make your way back to your table to join the rest of the group when you make eye contact with the man from earlier, who’s sitting at the table closest to yours. His large hand is gripping the neck of a beer bottle, and suddenly your skin feels warmer as you watch his eyes scanning your body, gaze moving from your face all the way down to your feet and back up to your face, before the right side of his lips quirk up in a small smile.

“[Y/N], he is totally checking you out,” your friend whispers. Everyone at the table starts giggling while you focus on passing everyone’s drinks to avoid embarrassing yourself. You eventually take your seat at the table, and by some twist of fate, you’re right in the man’s line of sight.

You sip your drink, something mild and citrusy as you take in the man’s appearance. He’s dressed more formally than you’d expect for a night and time like this, in a white dress shirt and tie under a dark jacket with its collar popped up, a flat cap completing his look. You couldn’t tell how much time passed, with the two of you just staring at each other, occasionally breaking eye-contact when you would turn to address your friends, who kept urging you to go over and talk to the man. There was a part of you that wanted to do just that, but tonight was supposed to be about having a good time with your friends, so you resist the compulsion to walk up to him. That doesn’t stop you from checking him out from time-to-time.

It was around 11 p.m. when you and your friends head out of the pub, deciding to hit a nightclub that was close by. You look over to the table the man was sitting at, only to find that he’d already left. Feeling slightly disappointed, you walk out of the pub, where you and your friends stand debating if you should just wait for a taxi or book one.

You’d been leaning against the outside wall of the pub, wondering if going to a nightclub after hitting three different pubs was really a good idea, when you spot the man from earlier. He’s leaning against a street lamp, a little farther away from you, and when you look up at him, he’s already looking at you, his gazing moving across your form just like it had earlier.

Maybe it was the buzz from the alcohol, maybe it was the way your friends were letting out low whistles and waggling their eyebrows at you, but you suddenly find yourself taking deliberate steps towards the man, managing to stumble only once on your way there.

“Hey,” you whisper as you stand beside him. From this close, you take the time to observe all his features, your eyes immediately landing on the little bandage he has on the bridge of his nose.

“Hi,” he drawls out, his deep voice sending shivers down your spine. “Can I help you?”

Well…now what?

“Um…”

Just as you were about to most probably make a fool of yourself, your friends step in, telling the stranger that you were all headed to the club, before asking him if he wanted to join.

“Sure…I could drive you guys there.”

---

“You ride a limo?”

“It’s…a company vehicle.”

“Oh, okay…”

When the man (you still didn’t know his name, you should probably definitely ask for it sometime soon) told you that he could drive you and your friends there, you expected him to lead you to a regular car, maybe a CUV, or an SUV. The last thing you’d expected to be led to was an honest-to-God limousine.

It was stark white, with vanity plates that read ‘SPKTR’ and red interiors. While your friends stand around marveling at the limo, excited about the turn of events their night had taken, you stand in silence, stealing glances at the man, until he turned around to look at you.

“My name’s Jake. Jake Lockley,” he says, extending his hand forward. You try not to stare at him as you take his hand and shake it. His grip was firm, and his hands felt soft, save for the few callouses he had on his fingers. “So, what’s yours?”

You’d been holding onto his hand, and it took a few seconds for his question to register in your mind, but eventually, you pull your hand back to push a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“I’m [Y/N].” You know your cheeks are flaming red, and you’re hoping that it’s dark enough outside to hide it.

He nods, before going up to the limo and opening the door for your friends, who eagerly get in. He then walks up to the passenger side of the limo and holds the door open for you, taking your hand as you step in. He closes the door behind you and you shift in your seat, pulling at the ends of your dress to make sure they didn’t ride up your thighs, as he makes his way to the other side of the limo and takes his place on the driver’s side.

He looked back at your friends through the open partition. You follow his gaze to find your friends staring at you both with shit-eating grins.

“Ready?” Jake asks.

“Yes! Let’s fucking go!” your friend yells. Jake chuckles before turning back to you and quirking an eyebrow. He seemed to be waiting for something, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. You tilt your head, wondering why he hadn’t started driving yet.

“Seatbelt,” he whispers, motioning towards it, and you scramble to pull it on as he pulls the limousine out of it’s parking spot, before driving towards your next destination.

What a night.

---

“Oh my god, this is my song you guys, we have to go dance, right now!” your friend yells over the booming music in the nightclub.

You, your friends and Jake had arrived a few minutes ago and had gone up to the bar, where Jake had decided to buy a round of drinks for the group. You’d all spent some time talking, you and your friends taking turns asking Jake questions to get to know him, and vice versa. He wasn’t the most talkative, preferring to sip his drink in silence and watch you and your friends having a good time instead.

At some point, your friends had all moved to the dance floor, leaving you and Jake sitting near the bar. The conversation had moved from friendly curiosity about each other’s lives to flirting. Emboldened by the alcohol you slip one of your heels off, before trailing your toes against his calf and watching the grip he has on his glass tighten.

The music changes then, to something even more sensuous than before, and you slowly put your heel back on before abandoning your drink. You’d had enough for the night, and you had something different planned.

“Let’s dance,” you say as you grab Jake’s hand, pulling him to his feet and weaving through the crowd of grinding bodies until you’re both right in the middle of the dance floor. You turn towards him and when you see that he’s still standing a few inches away from you, you grab his tie, using it to pull him closer to you until your bodies are pressed flush against each other.

You let the music guide you as you move against Jake, feeling his hands settle against your hips. Slowly and furtively, you sway to the music, rocking your hips against his, and you’re surprised when he does the same, especially with how he moves to the beat. You bring your arms up and around his neck, tangling your fingers in the curls on the back of his head and pulling lightly, feeling your core clench when you see his lips part and his nostrils flare slightly.

Fuck, he is so hot.

Jake brings one of his hands to the side of your face, his fingers pushing back a strand of your hair that had fallen over your face. His hand lingers there for a few seconds, before he moves it down to rest on your lower back.

The heat emanating from his hand burned your skin through your dress, and suddenly you were hyper aware of just how close together you were standing. His piercing gaze was becoming too much for you to handle, so you turn around to press your back against him, grinding your hips against his as you bring his arms around you. You feel his warm breath wash over against the side of your neck as he leans his head down to rest it against your shoulder.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Jake whispers into your ear as you rest your hands over his as they rested over your stomach.

You take the time to think about it. Was it really a good idea to go off with a man you’d just met an hour ago? Sure, he was extremely good-looking, and he hadn’t really raised any alarms in you yet, but he was still a stranger. All you knew about him was that he worked for a ‘private company’, did some ‘contract work’ and drove a limousine.

Something in you said you should take him up on his offer though. It’d been a while since you’d done anything exciting and this seemed pretty damn exciting.

Jake hums, before saying, “We don’t have to-“

“Let’s do it,” you cut him off, turning back towards him and picking at the collar of his shirt to keep from staring at his eyes. “I need to use the bathroom though, give me a minute yeah?”

You smile at Jake before scurrying off to the bathroom, walking through the crowd of drunk people. Your heart is in your throat by the time you lock yourself in a stall, leaning against the door as you take deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You pull out your phone to shoot a quick text to the group chat, hoping your friends see it.

┏

guys, jake just asked if i wanted to ‘get outta here’ and i said yes hafshshdh

OMG [Y/N]’s ABOUT TO GET LAID Y’ALL WOOOO

um wait, is this a good idea??? i mean i barely know the guy…

Babes, it’s your call. If you do go though, keep us updated on your location.

oh hell yeaaa, [Y/N] you better give us all the deets later!!!!!

okay okay ig I’m doing this oh god-

DON’T FORGET TO USE A CONDOM!!!! DO U HAVE SOME? IF NOT, COME GET ME BEFORE U LEAVE, I HAVE SOME!!!

Jfc okay, [Y/N] be careful, have fun, text us if anything comes up <333

YESSS HAVE FUN WE LOVE YOUUU

alright, thanks guys, text y’all later <33

┛

You don’t stay in the stall for too long after that, walking out to the sinks to splash some water onto your face. You fix your hair and makeup before making your way back to Jake, who had moved back to bar to get out of the crowd.

“So, where are we going?” you ask as you link your arm in his, leaning into him slightly and reveling in the warmth of his body. He looks down at you clinging to his arm and quirks his lips in a half-smile.

“We could go on a drive,” he says as he leads you out of the nightclub. You’re disoriented for a bit because of the sudden absence of noise and the cold winding that hits you the second you’re outside. “I know this place, it’s an hour away. Only if you want to though.”

Jake waits for you to answer, but you’re distracted by how the wind is biting at the skin of your exposed legs, and how your sleeves aren’t doing much to protect your arms. You’re shivering when Jake slowly pulls away from you, making you whine at the loss of slight body heat you’d been getting from him.

“Lo siento, cariño. Give me one second,” Jake whispers, before pulling off his jacket. “Aquí.”

He drapes his jacket over your shoulders, adjusting it until it fell perfectly over your body. You instantly feel better, the wind less harsh on your body now that you were more covered up (and maybe the rise in your own temperature from hearing Jake speak Spanish helped too).

“So, can I take you on a ride?” he asks, smirking when he sees you shiver despite being bundled up in his jacket.

“Yes, please…” you all but moan as you lean into him, before you’re being led back to his limo with his arm around your waist.

God, what a fucking night.

---

“So…” you begin to say, leaning against the door of the passenger side to look at Jake. “You’re not taking me somewhere remote and creepy to murder me, right?”

He chuckled. “No, it’s my day off.”

"What?"

"It's nothing."

Jake Lockley, the mysterious man you’d only met a couple of hours prior to getting into his limo and agreeing to go on a long drive with him, kept his gaze on the road ahead of him, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove.

You were on an open stretch of road, with barely any other cars around. You might have been extremely buzzed when you’d entered the limo with Jake, but you’d sobered up pretty quickly once the reality of the situation hit you. You were with a beautiful man, driving to an unknown location where you were assuming (and really hoping) you were going to have a good time. You had rolled the window down at some point, and you looked at all the scenery that you passed by, leaning your head on your crossed-over arms which you’d rested on the window frame. The wind in your hair, and the soft music playing on the radio added a dream-like feeling to the situation. You hadn’t felt this relaxed in quite some time, and it felt nice, getting away from everything for a while.

Eventually, you feel the limo pull to a stop, so you straighten up to take in your surroundings. It’s pretty dark outside, save for the moon and the stars lighting up the area, and one lone street lamp in the distance. You watch Jake get out of the limo, before walking to your side and opening the door for you, taking your hand and shielding your head as you step out.

“Oh, wow…” you mutter, taking in the view before you. “What is this place?”

You’re on a cliffside as far as you can tell, and you hear waves crashing as the familiar scent of the ocean wafts over to you.

“I’m sure it’s got a name,” Jake says as he stands beside you, leaning against the hood of the limo. “But I don’t know it. Just happened upon the place during…a job…”

You hum in acknowledgment as you lean against him, resting your head against his shoulder as you look up at the moon. You try not to think about how intimate this moment feels as Jake slides an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his side.

“Qué guapa eres…” you hear him whisper, and just as you’re about to ask him what that means, he steps in front of you, taking your hands in his and rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, bending his head down to brush his lips against the corner of your mouth. Words escape you, so you retort to grabbing his collar and pressing your lips firm against his. He stepped closer to you, pressing you against the hood of the limo as his hands moved up to hold your face. His lips were warm and soft, and you taste the whiskey that he had been drinking earlier when they part, allowing your tongue to slip inside.

You feel your heart beating against your chest, warmth spreading across your skin as your lips tingle from the kiss. Jake’s cologne, something mild and musky, was dizzying, and your hands land on his back, fingers clutching his shirt as you lean into the kiss. You and Jake kiss for a long time, pulling away and going back in, each kiss growing more desperate and messier than the last. Jake’s arousal presses against your belly, and you clench your thighs in anticipation, biting into his bottom lip to keep from crying out.

You break away from him after what feels like hours, breathing heavily as you bring your fingers up to your now plump and wet lips, and you peer at Jake as you shrug his jacket off of your shoulders, which makes his gaze fall down to your heaving chest. The next few minutes were a blur as Jake leaned his head down and nudged his nose against your neck and trailed it up to the spot behind your ear that made your knees shake. One of his hands trail up your body before settling on your breast, groping slightly as he presses his knee between your legs, right against your clothed pussy, making you moan embarrassingly loud.

Jake leaves kisses on your neck, occasionally biting at the skin behind your ear as he grinds his knee against your core. You grind back against him, whining as you feel yourself getting wetter by the minute. Right when you think you’re about to reach your peak, he pulls away, before grabbing the back of your thighs and hoisting you up, prompting you to wrap your legs around him.

“I want to taste you,” he whispers against your cheek as you pant against his ear. His voice sounds hoarse, and it sends a shock down your spine, making you shake in his hold.

“Oh god, yes-“ you cry out as he moves to the passenger door, somehow getting it open even with you squirming in his arms and biting at his throat. He lays you down on the plush leather seat, and you lean on your elbows with your legs bent over the edge of the seat. Jake was still outside the limo, kneeling on the ground as his hands trailed up your thigh, rucking up your dress as he rests his hands on your hips. The cold air is hitting your clothed core, making you aware of just how wet you’d gotten, and your thighs quiver as Jake’s thumbs rub circles into your inner thighs.

“This okay?” he whispers, dipping his thumbs into your underwear just a little, watching you as you gasp for breath. You nod quickly, lifting your hips up in the air to urge him to take off your underwear, which he does. Jake makes quick work of taking it off and you’re hit with a wave of embarrassment as you feel it peel off of you from where it had stuck to your soaking wet pussy, but before you can dwell too much on it, your legs are being lifted and placed on Jake’s shoulders.

“Jake, please- oh my god, please-“ you whine, as Jake licks and bites his way up to where you’re craving attention. You’re aware of how much your gushing, and just when you’re about to beg for him to put his mouth on you, you feel his tongue lick a stripe up through your soaking folds all the way to your clit, making you buck up against him, trying to feel more of his mouth on you.

He continues laving his tongue through your folds, sucking them into his mouth and smiling against your skin when he hears the sounds that escape your mouth. Your hand shoots out and moves to the top of his head, pushing off his cap before your fingers grab onto his hair. Your thighs clench around his head as he traces his tongue around your clit, and you feel all your blood rushing down to that one area, making you throb with need. You’d felt his light stubble on your neck earlier, but feeling them between your legs was something else altogether, pushing you closer to the edge.

“[Y/N], you taste like heaven-” Jake whispered once he surfaced from between your thighs, his lips and chin glistening. He licks his lips as he moves his fingers over your wet pussy, sliding them through your folds and watching as you clench.

“Te ves muy guapa…”

You moan as his finger dips into you, sliding in effortlessly from the combined wetness of your arousal and Jake’s saliva on you. His finger thrusts in and out of you, and you beg for more, until one finger becomes two and you’re grinding back against his hand, hoping he’d pick up the pace and just fuck you already.

You don’t realize that you’d said that last part out loud until you hear Jake click his tongue before saying something about being patient. You have half the mind to thrash around and take matters into your own hands, but ultimately, Jake gives in and starts thrusting his fingers into you faster, adding in a third finger to stretch you out. It doesn’t take him long to find the bundle of nerves inside you that has you screaming his name and cumming on his fingers. You ride out your first orgasm for the night, thrusting your hips back against the fingers that were still inside you, massaging your walls and coaxing out weak moans from your mouth.

Jake pressed soft kisses to your inner thighs as you catch your breath, slowly pulling out his fingers before bringing them to his mouth and licking them clean, making you groan.

You were still recovering from the feeling of Jake’s large fingers stretching you when he straightens up and unbuttons his slacks, giving you a clear view of the outline of his dick pressing against his pants. You stand on shaky legs and grip his tie to steady yourself, before moving your fingers to the buttons of his shirt, unbuttoning them as quickly as you could. Jake rips off his tie, before helping you with his shirt buttons until they’re all undone and he shrugs it off, before chucking it and his tie through the partition in the limo.

Just as you’re about to lie back down against the seat, Jake moves around you and sits on the seat, before pulling you onto his lap. You straddle him, his hands moving under your dress and grabbing your bare ass as your arms move to wrap around his neck.

“Fuck me, fuck me please-“ you pant against his mouth, grinding against his still-clothed dick. “Want to feel you inside me.”

Jake moves his hands to his crotch, pulling down the zipper of his pants ever-so-slowly as you lean against the dashboard and watch him, biting your lips at the sight of his pecs and hard abs as they flexed in the low light of the moon. He eventually pulls his dick out, and your jaw slackens as you take in his size, itching to get your hands around him. You give in to your urges, wrapping one hand around the thick base of his cock, feeling him jerk under your fingers.

You pay close attention to his face as you slowly jerk him off, moving your hand up and down his cock, using his precum to ease your way. His breathing turns shallow, and his eyebrows are knitted together as he stares at your hands. The air around you grows hotter and heavier as Jake lets out a low moan, raising his hips slightly to chase the feeling of your hands once you move them away.

You move to grab your purse, just as Jake’s arm moves around you to open the glove compartment, both of you reaching to grab a condom. Jake manages to fish one out first, which he quickly pulls out of the foil and slips onto his cock.

“[Y/N]…” he grunts, mouthing at the skin of your chest that is exposed due to the deep V-neck of your dress. “Ride me baby, c’mon-“

It doesn’t take much more than that for you to hike your dress up over your thighs and you move to hover over Jake, holding his cock to line it up to your hole, rubbing the head against your soaking wet folds, before slowly moving down to take him within you. Despite how Jake had stretched you out with three fingers, it still takes some effort for his cock to finally push into you.

“Relax,” Jake whispers, grabbing onto your thighs as you flex them to lower yourself further onto his dick, whimpering as you feel his length fill you deep, pressing into you further than his fingers had. You knew you were clenching around him, and it couldn’t have been all that comfortable for him, but Jake remained patient, rubbing your thighs to comfort you as you continued taking him in, wondering just how big he was.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re big-“

“Fuck- [Y/N]-“

Inch by inch, Jake’s dick fills you until you’re completely seated on his lap. You’re gasping against his shoulder, thighs quivering as you feel his cock jerk inside you a little.

“Está apretadito…”

You can’t do much else beside whine and mouth at any and every part of Jake’s body that you can reach, your fingers tangling in his curls as you raise your hips slowly, feeling his cock drag against your inner walls, before you drop back down in one swift thrust, moaning out Jake’s name. Your hands find purchase on Jake’s chest, nails digging in and leaving red welts in his skin and you ride him, raising and lowering your hips rhythmically.

“You’re so fucking sexy, [Y/N],” Jake groans, his hands moving to the sleeves of your dress before pulling them down your arms, exposing your breasts and making your nipples perk up. Your fingers pull his curls hard when his mouth moves over your breasts, kissing and sucking bruises into the skin, making you throw your head back and moan loudly.

You continue riding Jake’s cock, going faster when he sucks one of your nipples into his mouth as he tweaks the other between his fingers, scratching it softly with his fingernail, causing goosebumps to appear all over your skin. You thighs feel sore, and you’re worried you’re going to collapse from exhaustion when Jake uses his grip on your waist to lean you back on the dashboard, before planting his feet firmly on the floor of the limo and-

“Oh my god, fuck, fuck, fuck- Jake, please-“ you scream, as he thrusts up into you, managing to nail right over the bundle of nerves inside you that caused your vision to white out with every buck of his hips. Before you can really process what you’re about to say, the words bubble out of your mouth and you moan out, “Oh, papi-“

You feel Jake’s hips stilling, and you gaze down at him through your lashes, your hips grinding back and forth. You’re starting to wonder if you made a mistake, when Jake’s grip on your hip tightens and suddenly he’s slamming you back down on his cock, before raising you up and doing it all over again, making you scream his name repeatedly until your head lolls to the side and all you can do is let out weak moans as Jake continues to fuck you.

“Say it again,” he grunts, bringing one of his hands up to his head to push his hair back. “Say it again cariño.”

“Papi…please- I want to cum, fuck-“

Your orgasm takes you by surprise, and you feel all your muscles clench and quiver as you cum around Jake’s cock. He watches in mild amusement as you writhe over him, before he brings a hand to your clit, rubbing it mercilessly as you ride your orgasm, causing you to clench even harder before you-

“¡Mierda!” Jake exclaims, his eyes widening as you buck up and squirt all over his stomach, sobbing from the overstimulation.

You rise up and off of Jake’s cock before flopping back against the dashboard. Jake stares into your eyes as he runs his fingers through the wetness on his abs, before bringing his fingers to his lips and sucking them clean, smirking when he sees the way your thighs clench slightly.

“Stop, oh god- I don’t think I can take anymore…” you groan out, making him laugh.

Jake hums, before reaching a hand under the seat and pulling a small bag, out of which he pulls out a towel. He quickly wipes himself down, before reaching down to wipe at the mess between your thighs. You flinch, the rough material of the towel making your skin tingle slightly.

“Fuck, it’s cramped in here.” You maneuver around Jake’s form, trying to step out of the car with without accidentally stabbing him with your heels. “It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this…”

You manage to get out of the car and step to the side, before you catch your reflection on the tinted window of the larger compartment of the limousine, and realize just how promiscuous you look. Your dress was still pulled down under your breasts, which were bare and on display. You lean closer to examine the various bruises Jake had left on your skin, biting your lips as you trail your fingers across your skin.

Jake eventually steps out, and you turn to look at him, smiling in satisfaction when you see that he’s just as ruffled up as you are. His curls are a mess, and his skin is littered with bruises and lipstick stains, but unlike you, he’d made some attempt to cover back up and tucked himself back into his pants. He steps towards you, moving to pull your dress back over you and smoothing his hands down your arms, before turning back around to pick his flat cap and jacket that you had discarded earlier. Once he’d grabbed those and flung them into the limo, he made his way back to you, standing close to, before leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. There’s something so soft about it, and Jake holds you like something precious, like he wants to cherish you, and it leaves you feeling fuzzy.

---

Jake had taken care to clean you both up as much as he could before you shuffled in and leaned against him before promptly falling asleep with your legs folded under you.

When you wake up, your head is in Jake’s lap, who is awake, staring out the window with his fingers carding through your hair. He feels you squirming against him, at which point he looks down at you with a small smile.

“Good timing, there’s something you need to see,” he says as you move to sit back up. An open bottle of water is pushed into your hands, and you take big gulps, hoping the water would wash down the taste of the several alcoholic beverages you’d had the night before. Jake gets out of the limo, before grabbing his clothes from the back compartment and quickly pulling them on. You slide out too, smoothing the skirt of your dress over your thighs as you walk up to Jake, who’s standing at the edge of the cliff.

“What’s going on?” you ask, wrapping your arm around his waist and leaning against him. “You want to- oh…”

You’re left speechless as you watch the sun slowly creep up over the horizon, casting a rosy hue across the sky. The golden rays of the sun hit the water, making the ocean gleam.

You sigh. “Believe it or not, I’ve never actually seen the sunrise in person…it’s amazing.”

Jake hums, before slinging his arm over your shoulder and pulling you close. “I’m glad I got to show you then.”

You stand there in silence, losing yourself to the moment. You look up at Jake Lockley, the man who had somehow managed to squeeze his way into your heart within just hours of meeting him, the man who had brought you to a beautiful cliffside, where he had given you the time of your life, the man who stepped away from you and held out his hand for you to grab, before leading you back to his fucking limousine and driving all the way back into the city, back to your regular, boring life.

And the whole way back, all you could do was stare at the side of Jake’s face as your phone buzzed inside your purse, wondering what kind of fate had put this man in your path.

---

“Are you sure you’re not hungry? I can get you coffee, if you want,” Jake says, as he drives to your neighborhood.

“No, no, I’m good, thank you.”

The rest of the ride goes by with you and Jake making idle conversation, talking about the most random things that came to mind. It’s comfortable, surprisingly so, and you can’t even hide your disappointment when Jake eventually pulls up to your apartment building. He steps out of the limo and walks over to the passenger door to open it for you, holding out his hand to help you out like he’d done before, and you’re hit with the sensation of butterflies in your stomach.

Oh, this is bad.

You walk up to the front door of your building, and Jake follows you with his hands in his pockets. You’re almost tempted to invite him upstairs but you hold back, not wanting to come off as desperate.

“Thank you…” you say once you’re at the door. “For last night, and today…I had a really good time.” You’re blushing furiously by the time you’re done talking, and you stare down at your feet, kicking at a stone on the stoop.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Jake whispers.

A few moments of silence pass, before Jake sighs and fidgets with his flat cap, pulling it off to run his fingers through his hair.

“I’d like to see you again, if that’s something you want too,” he says reaching his arm towards you and holding your hand.

“Yes!” you blurt out, barely managing to contain your excitement as you try and fish out your phone from your purse. “Um, we can exchange numbers, and you can text me- oh shoot…my phone’s dead.”

You stare at the blank screen of your phone, and you look up to see Jake holding up his phone, which was also dead by the looks of it.

“It’s okay, I think I’ve got- ah, there we go,” you announce, as you pull out a tiny notebook and pen from your purse. You jot down your number really quick, making sure your handwriting is legible, before ripping the page off the book and handing it to Jake.

“Text me,” you whisper, smiling as your fingers brush against his as he grabs the paper. You don’t linger for too long after that, making your way into the building and up to your apartment, where you scramble to get to your window. You know it faces the street out front, and your surprised to see Jake still there, leaning against the hood of his limo, staring down at the paper you’d given to him.

You watch as he brings it up to his face, closing his eyes as he brushes his lips against the slip of paper before tucking it into his pocket. Your heart flutters in your chest and you turn away form the window, biting the nail of your thumb with a huge smile.

You go about the rest of the day feeling like you’re floating on a cloud, and when your phone charges and comes back on, you’re hit with a million notifications from your friends, all asking how the night went. You shoot a quick text to reassure them that you made your way back home, and just when you’re about to drop your phone back onto your bedside table, another message pops up.

Hey [Y/N], this is Jake Lockley.

This might just be the beginning of something really, really fun.

_______

i am horny <3 i hope y'all liked this one, it was a mess to write and took way longer than i liked. might turn this into a series

#m writes #moon knight fic #jake lockely x reader #jake lockely smut #jake lockley fic #nsft fic #moon knight smut #nsft writing

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ashes-writing · 2 years

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wanna be yours pt III | mcu ; p.maximoff

A/N ; And here we are. Another chapter and even more intense sexual tension. Maybe a lil softness here and there too. This just came to me on a whim earlier so I present it to you without any beta whatsoever because honestly, I fly by the seat of my ass here. Anyway, let's get to it, shall we? There will be more parts to this incoming.

Pairing ; Pietro Maximoff x Stark!Fem reader. I realize this possibly narrows the whole 'reader' thing, but alas... I will try to be as vague as humanly possible so that anybody who wants can imagine themselves in this, I'm still new to this tho.

Timeline / Other Stuff to Note ; part I || part II can be found by clicking the links I just gave. Again, let it be noted.. This is after AoU. Before all the other shit and Pietro's death is ignored. Also, Spidey makes an intro to the fold a little sooner because sue me, Reader needs her psuedo lil bro and she will in the future parts of this too. We're also pretending that Stark Towers is not destroyed or that it's been renovated / rebuilt and the Avengers are now staying at the tower and working at the compound. Makes sense? I hope so.

Tag List ; @beardedbarba is the only person on my MCU tag list. if you'd like to be added to my taglists for anything including fandom piece in question is for, please let me know or add yourself -> here.

Warnings ; Even more heavy lingering sexual tension, babes and dolls. Even more. This is going to be one of those intense ones, me thinks. There is just a little touching, an intimate moment here and there but overall, this one is safe to read.

Other Stuff ; tag list doc || my rules - fandoms and some characters I write for || requests are open (pls.. pls... send me things) but they're limited to headcanon asks + filth/fluff alphabet letters and I'm not accepting wrestling / wrestlers in my ask box. Any other fandom/character but wrestling that I happen to write for is fine and I beg of you -> send me things.

I do not consent to my work being reposted elsewhere or copied/reworked/rewritten and reposted here or elsewhere. You don't own this, I do. So like... don't steal my shit.

Translations if any; — Ți-e foame, prințesă? - “ are you hungry, princess?” -- thanks to google translate. as per usual, draga mea means my darling / my dear and I'm basing Sokovian on Romanian.

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

“It’s impressive.” Wanda mumbles from beside her twin. Pietro’s eyes flit around the massive foyer of Stark Towers and he shrugs. But his eyes are still wandering and Wanda doesn’t need her nifty little abilities to know exactly what her twin is searching for. Or who, more to the point. She gives him a nudge as Natasha tosses keycards on a lanyard in their direction. Pietro catches his and turns it over in his hands, gazing at the credit card sized plastic just to avoid the pointed look his twin is giving him.

Natasha speaks up. “The living space out here, the game room, the kitchen, the bar, the home gym and the home theater and the spa are ours to use too. We just have to stay out of the garage, the basement lab and the fourth wing.”

“What’s the fourth wing?” Peter Parker asks.

Bucky chuckles and reaches out, smacking the bright eyed teenager in the back of the head. “That’s baby Stark’s personal wing. You oughta know that, kid.” and briefly, the hardened soldier locks eyes with Pietro Maximoff and shakes his head while mouthing, “Don’t you fucking dare either, kid or so help me God.”

And almost as if summoned, you wander out into the living room, pausing at a control panel on the wall. The ambience of the room goes from soft classic rock to loud and angry hard rock with heavy emphasis on guitars and screaming. It's Avenged Sevenfold, this is what they're known for and also, they happen to be one of your many favorite bands...

You wander right past the group lingering in the room and into the kitchen, your nose stuck in a thick book as you walk.

Wanda elbows her twin. Pietro’s gaze is locked on you and he’s biting his lip. He’s doing that thing he does where he’s thinking entirely too hard about doing something that’s likely not a good idea. Wanda palms her face.

Peter nudges Pietro. “Dude, I’ve seen her leg sweep a guy.” Peter nods at you and laughs to himself in amusement upon seeing the way Pietro is staring at you like you're on fire and he's got a hose.

“Mhm.” Pietro’s only half listening, instead he’s watching you as you slice tomato on a carving board. You pile the tomato into a bowl. A few seconds later, you’re tearing lettuce and letting the leafy green vegetable fall into a slightly bigger silver bowl. Then you’re scaling the counter, poking around in a cabinet that’s way over your head, pots and pans clanging together noisily as you dig into the cabinet as deep as you can. You find the frying pan and in your triumph, you lose your balance a little.

Before you even have a chance to steady yourself on your own, Pietro’s taken off in a blue streak blur and he’s scooped you up into strong arms bridal style just as you nearly take a tumble off of your high perch. You stare at him with a raised brow and wide eyes as you blow some hair out of your face. Pietro stands you on your own feet in the kitchen and he’s doing that thing again where he lingers, towering over you. Staring at you intently as if he wants to say something.

Blue sky eyes settle on the various ingredients spread out on the counter and the battered Ace of Spades playing card that’s marking your page in the thick textbook you’d been reading as you navigated the living room a few minutes before. He nods to the ingredients and chuckles quietly.

“— Ți-e foame, prințesă?” the question is asked quietly. You tilt your head and you’re pouting at him. “English, please? Or at least, y’know… Teach me your language?”

Pietro leans in a little. “I asked if you are hungry, princess.” as he nods to the food on the counter again. You glance back at it and laugh softly while nodding. “Starved, actually. I kind of missed lunch today. I was working, it slipped my mind.” you shrug as you say it.

“How do you forget to eat?”

“Uh, you realize who my father is, yeah? It’s a genetic thing.” you shuffle bare feet against the marble flooring of the kitchen as you try to look somewhere else, anywhere else but his eyes. But you’re lost in them and drowning all over again.

You jump a little, startled when Natasha makes her way in, watching you and Pietro like a hawk. A little smirk on her face as she opens the fridge and digs around until she finds her usual beverage of choice. Once she’s popped the cap against the edge of the quartz countertop, she shotguns the drink down and drags her hand across the back of her mouth, glancing at Pietro.

“Stop bothering her, Speedy.”

“He’s not, uh.. He’s not bothering me, Nat. It’s fine.” you smile to reassure the older woman. You nod to the thick book sitting nearby. “That’s what’s bothering me and if Finals week doesn’t hurry and end I swear to God I’ll punt that book out of the Tower.”

“I thought you were in the dorms.” Natasha questions.

“I was. But my roommate is in the honeymoon phase with this idiot she met on a dating app, so…. Home it is, I guess.” you grimace and Natasha laughs. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.” and she’s made herself comfortable sitting on the kitchen island as she takes a tomato slice and pops it into her mouth, much to your chagrin.

Pietro’s gaze lingers on you. You reach for the soda you’d gotten yourself while foraging through the fridge across the kitchen and you twist off the cap and take a sip, staring right back at him. Stepping just a little closer before you even realize you’ve done it.

Natasha clears her throat and glances from you to Pietro and then hops down from the counter, sauntering out of the room. You take a deep breath or two and they come out just a little shakier than they should have. Pietro chuckles. “Relax, draga mea. You seem so tense.”

“Tense. Yeah, that’s uh.” you raise a hand to drag it through your hair and blue eyes fix on the movement intently, distracted by it for a few seconds. “That’s one way to put it, I guess.” - oh you're tense alright. the sheer sexual tension you feel right now is almost overwhelming but you're not admitting to that, oh no.

A throat clears from the kitchen door and a girl wanders in. When she lapses into the same language Pietro uses around you a lot, you glance from one to the other. Scarlet Witch.. Pietro's twin, Wanda Maximoff...Your father told you about both of them joining the team, he mentioned it casually a while back.

You smile when she happens to look up and catch you watching them. Then you grab the package of bacon you’d been about to fry for the biggest bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich you can possibly make yourself in one sitting and you turn your attention to the stove, turning it on.

You plop down a few pieces of bacon into the pan and the whispering back and forth heatedly continues behind you between the Maximoff twins. You can’t really understand it and you’re really not trying to listen, but every now and then a word or two grabs your attention and you wonder what they mean.

Grease pops out of the pan and splashes your wrist and you swear under your breath, holding your wrist against your body for a second or two to dull the sting. You didn’t realize he’d come across the room until he reached out and grabbed hold of your wrist, studying it with brows knit in concern.

“It’s just a little bacon grease. It’ll sting then it’ll be fine. Just hurt like hell.” you reassure him. Pietro nods and he mutters something under his breath and in his mother tongue that you can’t understand. That you’re probably not meant to understand. Which has you frowning a little because you want to know what he’s saying when he talks to you in Sokovian.

Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold begins to play and you hum along quietly as you grab a pair of tongs from the utensil holder by the stove and begin to pull crispy strips of bacon from the hot pan. You turn to Wanda and Pietro. “Do you guys want one? It’s fine, there’s enough tomato and lettuce. Definitely enough bacon.” you nod to the bowls in question. The twins share a look and Wanda politely shakes her head No. Pietro shrugs. “ I could eat.”

“You’re always hungry.” Wanda retorts, giving her brother a teasing look as she laughs.

Wanda turns and walks out of the kitchen and Peter, the kid your father has taken under his wing, he wanders in. You grin at the bright eyed teenager. “Hey, Parker! You hungry?”

“Is it bacon, lettuce and tomato?” Peter asks with a broad grin.

“That’s the only thing I know to make beside grilled cheese, buddy.” you smile back and shrug almost apologetically. "Sadly.. My dad's great at a lot of things.. Cooking so he could show me how is not one of them. But he's learning. At least one of us is," you laugh softly.

“Yeah, that’s right. The last time you tried to cook the fire department was called in.”

“Oh fuck you!” you pout at the teenager and he laughs. Raising one side of your thick text book to look at the title. “You’re in medicine? I thought you were going into somethin else?”

“Mhm. Nursing. I decided I wanted to go into it to help people as best as I can.” you smile as you say it. Peter grins and pulls himself up onto one of the tall stools. Pietro, you notice, is giving the teenage boy a dirty look. You laugh softly. And despite trying not to, you find yourself stepping even closer to Pietro Maximoff.

He mirrors it and one of his hand lingers close to one of your hips. You glance down at his hand when it grazes your hips and you bite your lip quietly. Peter makes his way out of the kitchen after mumbling something about needing to breathe and you swallow hard.

Now that he’s mentioned it, the air is thick again. When is it not thick when Pietro Maximoff is present, though. That's the real question.

You spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread and begin piling tomato, lettuce shreds and bacon onto your sandwich. Pietro is still lingering close behind you and when his hand grazes your side again you gasp quietly and glance sideways over your shoulder at him. A soft giggle leaving your mouth.

You start to make another sandwich for Pietro and you feel his chest press into your back carefully as he watches you, reaching out to steal a strip of bacon before you can swat away his hand. You finish making the sandwich for him and turn to face him, holding it up to him. Smiling a sweet little smile that Pietro stares at for longer than he probably should have. He wants to stop staring, to stop touching you and stop being so painfully aware of you but it’s like he can’t. He’s tried everything he can within reason to do so. Nothing has worked yet.

You’re literally the one girl he wants more than any one in the past and you’re also the one girl who happens to be off limits.

And it’s driving him crazy, he doesn’t know how much more he can take.

You take a bite of your own sandwich and Pietro reaches out, dragging his thumb across your cupids bow. Fighting off the urge to groan at the way your lip felt like velvet under his thumb. Or the way it quivered.

He licks his thumb quietly and chuckles. “Messy eater, draga mea.”

Your eyes are glued to his thumb as he does it and you can feel your thighs clench so much tighter. To counter this, you shuffle your bare feet against the marble floor. And you finally manage to look anywhere else but his mouth. Or his hands.

“Kind of.” you shrug and smile. “I’m gonna go watch General Hospital now.” you announce as you gather your soda and the massive sandwich you’ve made yourself and wander into the living room. As you flip through the channels on the massive television on the wall, you can feel Pietro’s sister watching you intently.

You glance over as you stop the tv on General Hospital right as the opening credits roll and you take a bite of your sandwich. Wanda moves so that she’s sitting next to you.

After a long pause when you’re getting absorbed in the latest drama to befall your favorite mob don, Sonny Corinthos, Wanda gasps quietly.

You glance over at her.

“Hm?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” but Wanda says it quickly. A little too quickly.

The reason for her gasp was because she accidentally brushed against you and the second she did, she got to see in high definition clarity exactly what you were thinking in regards to her brother, Pietro. She also got a real good glimpse into the way he’s been plaguing your filthiest dreams every single night and exactly how frustrated you are because you can’t figure him out.

Wanda smiles to herself. Nods to the television. “What is going on here?”

“That’s a mob meeting. Sonny’s trying to take down a rival family, I think.. Or he’s being threatened by one. They’re discussing how to handle it.” you explain, throwing up your hands in annoyance when Sonny’s wife wanders onto the screen. “Go away, Carly, oh my god.” you groan as you palm your face. Wanda laughs softly and nods to the screen again. “You don’t like her?”

“I mean, she’s okay? She’s just very, very… Involved. It’s invasive. And nine out of ten, when she does get in the middle of something she makes it so much worse..” you cringe as you listen to Carly talking to someone on the phone a scene later. “I swear to God, if she even thinks about it.”

Wanda laughs again. And she watches you quietly, smiling to herself.

Maybe she could drop a few hints with her brother, ease his mind. She’d never seen him twist himself inside and out quite so much before. Normally, he kept it fairly surface level, stealing the girl who caught his eye little gifts and trinkets, flirting openly. For some reason, whenever he tried with her he claimed that the words wouldn’t come.

Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe he needed to keep doing exactly what he was doing.

Wanda rose from the couch and made her way into the kitchen where her brother sat eating the sandwich you’d made for him.

“It might interest you to know that she feels… Very intense things for you as well. Don’t make a mess of this, Pietro. This better not be one of your little whirlwind flings. She’s been hurt a lot, I think.”

Out in the living room, you yell at the television set and as you make your way into the kitchen to grab another soda for yourself, you’ve got your hands thrown up in disgust. “I can’t with that show.” you grumble aloud as you step past Pietro and open the doors to the fridge, digging around until you find your usual brand of soda.

You can feel Pietro’s eyes fix on you intently. Practically burning a hole right through you as he stares. You pretend you don’t as best as you can and you wander over, picking up the textbook you left behind on the kitchen island. Then you wander into the living room and switch off the television set. You settle in on the couch with every intention to study, but at some point, you doze off.

Pietro happens to catch sight of you sleeping on the sofa and he shuts the book open in front of you, careful to place the battered Ace of Spades on the page where you left off. Then he tells himself he’ll just walk away, but he can’t. It’s as if his feet have grown roots.

He spots a sweater knit throw blanket draped over the arm of the couch on one end and he grabs it, spreading it out over your body. Then after smoothing his hand over the way your hair is fanned out all around you, he hurries off to his assigned wing in the tower.

And he knows he’ll try and try but given what Wanda’s told him tonight, sleep probably won’t come fast or easy because now he knows that whatever he feels right now is mutual. And he knows he’ll never be able to keep ignoring it or pretending that he doesn’t feel the way he feels.

You’re under his skin. Deep under his skin. And now, he knows that he’s not the only one affected.

Now, the only question is… Does he abide by what everyone keeps insisting -that you’re off limits, or does he act on what he wants most?

It’s gonna be a long night for Pietro Maximoff. A very long night.

#pietro maximoff #pietro maximoff fanfiction #pietro maximoff fanfic #pietro maximoff imagine #pietro maximoff x stark!fem reader #pietro maximoff x stark!fem reader imagine

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stanknotstark · 3 years

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Astral Pt. 10 (Loki x Reader)

So im out eating right now so ill add the link to the last part in an hour and stuff also I did not beta read this part and apologize if I need to change something later on but I want to try and keep up with posting at 5:30 so im releasing it 🤗

Alright we finally have some actions and many open ended questions that I’ve got to close up BUT we also experience one of our main villains warriors. If you read the comics you’ll immediately know who the main villain is (Or Google it but I suggest not doing that if you want to be surprised :p)

You knew having peace and hanging out with your team and Loki would only last for so long, but you were still saddened when it came time to finally work.

You’re all on the top most floor of the Avenger’s tower, the War Room as Tony called it (sounds a bit over dramatic but it was Tony so...). Fury is there in hologram mode, sitting in the middle of a large custom made table that had the Avengers logo engraved into the middle of the dark oak.

“What kind of readings are we talking about?” Stark asks Fury.

Fury’s hand comes up and swipes at something invisible on his end and it translates to Stark’s theater size screens on the wall. It’s a bunch of graphs, statistics, and other jargon you can’t understand. You raise a brow when Tony and Bruce gasp and start talking in hushed tones to each other.

“Tony, make this english so everyone can understand what’s going on, please?” Steve asks.

Tony clears his throat and points to one of the graphs, “According to Fury’s collected data, Thor give Jane a big hug when you next see her, they’ve picked up on some form of energy spikes in the middle of Death Valley, Nevada. Like we’re talking colossal size spikes. ”

You look at Loki who sits up in his chair next to you and squints at the screens.

“I know what these ‘energy’,” Loki says energy like it’s disgusting, “readings are. It’s magic from another realm. Specifically, it’s time travel but...” Loki frowns and you watch as his eyes become almost fearful.

“Spit it out, Reindeer Games.” Tony says, sounding concerned at Loki’s fear.

“It’s time travel across an alternate timeline.”

Tony blinks. Bruce frowns and pushes his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. The entire room is silent.

“You wouldn’t happen to know who caused these readings would you?” Tony finally asks.

Loki, who has a neutral face now and the fear is gone from his eyes, shakes his head. “I can’t know for sure unless I can inspect the magic in person.”

Finally Fury speaks, you had almost forgot the director was even here. “Prepare a quin jet Stark, get Loki and whoever else you deem reliable to escort. We need to figure out who came for a visit and if they’re ally or enemy as soon as possible.”

Fury disappears from the table and Tony gets into worker mode immediately. He points to you, claiming you’re the close combat person, to Clint, who is your ranged fighter, and to Natasha who would be pilot and your extraction.

Things become a blur after that. You remember going to your room and jumping into your Shield issued attire (Stark had yet to make you your own suit), and meeting Loki at the roof where a quin jet readied for take off. Before you walked into the quin jet Loki stopped you, his hands holding your shoulders making you face him.

“I promise that I will let nothing harm you, you’re my first priority and if things get violent I will teleport us away to safety.”

You nod but give him a small smile, “I can handle myself but it’s good to know I’ve got someone watching my back.” You then push onto your toes and give Loki a peck and make your way to the quin jet.

The ride there is tense and quiet. Loki says he’s putting a spell on you that acts as a shield but doesn’t specify how it works.

Looking back you wish you would have asked how it worked.

Landing around 100 meters from the destination Clint, Loki and you leave the ship and begin your trek to the site.

“Holy fuck! If I could strip out of my skin I would.” You say to Loki and Clint. Death Valley’s temperature was a recorded 130 degrees today.

At your displeasure Loki slows till he’s next to you and puts an arm around your shoulders. You look at him questionably but gasp as his arm generates a coolness that at least stops your sweating. You make sure not to say anything so Clint, in front of you, doesn’t become jealous.

The trip to the site is very uneventful. Even reaching the site is uneventful. About 30 meters from the site you see nothing. Literally, it’s just desert, surrounded by high cliffs, for miles.

So you snoop, you walk around the site as Clint and Loki argue about whether the coordinates are correct.

“I swear, this is what Stark gave me so, if they’re wrong, blame him!” Clint says, exasperated.

“It can’t be wrong I can feel something pulling at my magic but-”

That’s when you run into an invisible wall and yelp as you fall backwards onto your butt.

“Found it!” You cheer as a space ship slowly appears, the colors changing and shifting from the point you hit till the whole thing is uncovered. At first glance the ship looks futuristic but once you overlook the whole thing with Clint keeping his distance, and Loki exploring with you, you realize it’s shaped as a sphinx.

Very fitting for the desert surrounding the ship.

“Work you magic.” You tell Loki and he does. You both congregate at the head of the ship/sphinx and he waves his hands over it, his green magic trailing out here and there to touch the ship. Loki himself mutters under his breath.

You keep your eyes on him but also keep vigilant about the area. You finally get an idea and close your eyes for a second, your magic leaving your body and passing through the ship. No life forms. When you open your eyes again Loki lifts a brow at you, still muttering.

“No life I can detect.” You tell him and he nods and focuses back on the ship.

You put a hand to your ear piece and tell Clint, “I don’t sense any life forms but I’d keep a close eye anyways.”

Clint gives you an acknowledgment.

Loki finally stops his magic and drops his hands to his sides, just as he looks at you and you hear Clint yell into your ear, you’re hit by a concussive blast. When you look up in shock you see one lone humanoid figure walking towards Loki, who although wasn’t in the way of the blast also got blasted back, curious you think. Loki had immediately gotten into a defensive stance after getting up from the blast, one hand on his back holds three daggers, the other hand put up in a manner meant to calm the figure.

You quickly get on your feet and stand next to Loki, your magic congregating at your balled fists.

“Listen, buddy, I don’t know who you think you are-” Loki hisses at you, trying to get you to stop antagonizing the being that is close enough to identify. He is tall, around 7 feet tall and is dressed in a skin tight tank and leggings that are a dark purple color, it looks like metal but it’s too flexible to actually be metal. His head is encased in a tight helmet that frames his face and covers his head from his forehead, up, in a way that makes you think he is bald underneath. You shiver as you look into his eyes, they glow white.

“Identify yourself.” The being says. Standing casually as if he didn’t attack you.

“I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, and you are?”

The being stands there silently. You huff. “I’m y/n, of Earth.”

The being stands still for a few seconds then gets into a fighting position.

“I am here to take y/n, anyone who stands in my way shall perish.”

Loki immediately grabs you and teleports you to Clint, you yell out angrily as he teleports back to the being and they start fighting. Loki throwing magic and daggers at the being. You gasp, the first ball of magic Loki throws at it makes a purple light encase the being, in a rippling effect, who then grows a bit. Hawkeye lets loose some arrows that explode on impact. It does nothing but make the man grow even more.

Loki also realizes what’s going on because he stops attacking the being. The being takes his chance and lunges at Loki. Loki isn’t fast enough and takes a blow to the head. You scream and begin running towards him as he lays in the dirt discombobulated. Clint tries to grab your arm but misses you just so.

In your ear you hear Clint tell Natasha to ready the jet. Before the being can get to Loki you throw yourself over his body. When he’s a few feet away you look at him with furious eyes.

“Stop!”

To your surprise the being stops mid step, considers your words, then stands in place. You frown but look at Loki who is watching with fascinated eyes, recovered from the hard hit he took. You watch as blood trails down the side of his face and out of his ear. He probably can’t hear out of his left ear.

Looking back up at the being you ask it, “Who sent you? What are you?”

The being stares at the two of you but answers, “I am Subject 52103 Growing Man, and my master sent me.”

You feel Loki tense under you and assume he knows who his master is.

“Tell your master to leave Earth alone, that if you or him show your faces here again, the Avengers will take you out without hesitation.”

The Growing Man nods and leaves in a flash of purple and black.

Letting out a tense breath you stand and help Loki up. Making your way back to the quin jet, you pick up Clint.

“Why does he want you?” Clint asks, looking at you.

You walk, holding Loki at your side, the hit from the Growing Man doing enough to leave him a bit disoriented and sluggish.

“I don’t know and I’m not quite sure I want to know.” You say. Loki stays conveniently quiet the entire walk to the quin jet. Clint doesn’t ask anything else either.

Pt. 9.1/Pt. 10/?

Tag list: @justfangirlthingies @emelieh99 @high-functioning-lokipath @loveableasshole

#astral pt.10 #astral #loki x reader #loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #reader insert #my writing #GUYS we're starting to get into the mystery here #why does the being want you #why can you command it #what the ever loving hecko is going on?!#:)#poor loki i had to hurt him a bit but it's ok you'll take care of him :p #he's a god he'll recover

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dandyxrandy · 3 years

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After-Shoot

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Length: 3k

Warnings: Protected Sex ; My Spanish sucks so Google translate helped. If a phrase is wrong, PLEASE reach out to me so I can correct it. Also not beta read. So if mistakes found, again, reach out. The easier for you to the read, the happier I am.

Gif Credit: @pedrospascl

It couldn’t get any worse, you told yourself. It really, really couldn’t. This was the first time you were invited to have coffee with another in God who remembers how long and you ended up being late. Not only were you late, but you were cold and soaked to the bone from the rain that ended up being a whole hour earlier than the forecast predicted and really, you should've known better than to listen to any predicament of weather because it was usually wrong anyways.

You checked your phone again and it was still dead as a door nail. You had dropped it in a puddle earlier when you tried to answer the call from Pedro, no doubt wondering where you were, and it shorted out the motherboard. You would have to replace it whenever you got home and you honestly had half a mind to just turn around and do just that. That would seem silly, however, with you being more than halfway to Pedro’s apartment where he had invited you for an afternoon coffee get together the day before when you worked together on the Style Magazine photo shoot.

You were really, really tired of having a shit day. Frustrated and in near tears you saw the place that Pedro was staying in for the time being while he was in your state. It was a nice condo type home with large front windows that overlooked the city, the style modern and sleek.

You let out a small breath, even as the storm crackled above you, and tried to muster your resolve up. You were a mess, but hey - you were here, right? Hopefully he wouldn’t be too upset with you. It wasn’t exactly your fault that you had to park six blocks away because there wasn’t any closer parking nor was it your fault the weather was wrong.

You took a deep breath and rang the doorbell and before the small chime even ended the door swung open, Pedro filling the entire frame. Oh. He looked absolutely stunning. His soft curls were slicked back against his head and he wore one of the outfits from the shoot the previous day. One of the ones you had commented on, to be precise. His eyes took a long drag over you, from head to toe, his jaw working from one side to the other. His irritation seemed palpable.

“I see the coffee isn’t the only thing that’s cold.” His hand slid down the door frame before dropping to his side, a hefty sigh heaving from his lips. “Come on, let's get you inside and warmed up. I have some spare clothes that you can wear.”

You felt sheepish following him inside. He didn’t even give you time to explain and once the door was closed you were able to try.

“Pedro, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be late.” You, shuffled in behind him, following him to the bathroom where he grabbed you a towel. “There wasn’t any parking and my phone died and I just - please don’t be mad.” And you did feel like crying then. You could tell he wasn’t happy with you and that on top of being cold and tired, you felt a little part of you break.

He reached out with the towel and brought it to your face, gently wiping away the raindrops that stuck to your cold skin.

“You have nothing to apologize for, guapa.” He brought his other hand to your cheek and you couldn’t help but lean into the touch a little. You blame it on how he was so warm and you weren’t. “I was worried that something had happened. And then worried you stood me up.”

“Stood you up? Yeah - okay…” You laughed at him but when you caught his gaze you saw it had softened considerably. He looked relieved and you noticed the slight part of his lips as he turned away, going to another room and reappearing a moment later with a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that looked like it would even be big on him.

“Why don’t you change into some dry clothes. We can throw your wet ones in the dryer.” He nodded to the clothes dryer that was in the bathroom. “I’ll go make us some new coffee while you swap out.” He set the clothes down on the toilet seat and gave you a half smile. “Mi casa es tu casa.”

He left you then with a soft closing of the door and you felt a flood of relief course through your body. He wasn’t mad or upset or hell - anything that you thought he may be. Instead he was kind and courteous and worried, and you’d be damned if that didn’t make your heart melt even more. You thought of the moment when he had opened the front door and the dark look in his eyes and the tick of his jaw. It made a low heat curl in your belly at the memory.

Was it wrong to think those things of someone who clearly wanted what was best for you at that moment? Pedro was, in all essence, taking pity and caring for you and all you could think about was warming yourself up by crawling into his lap. You were horrible, you decided, but the kind of horrible that could be forgiven later.

You did change out of your clothes then, pausing as you tried to decide if you were going to keep your bra and underwear on but argued they would just soak the dry clothing. Off those went and joined the pile in the sink. You did a quick rub down with the towel to at least try to get most of the water off and then squeezed it through your hair before you stepped into the sweatpants and large tee-shirt, silently thanking the world at how warm they were. You wrung out your clothes as best as you could before you tossed them in the dryer and pressed ‘start’.

When you opened the door the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit you and it instantly set you at ease. You padded your way into the kitchen but didn’t find Pedro there and instead turned to find him sitting on the couch without his red suit jacket on. Two cups of coffee set on coasters in front of him and a small spread of sugar and cream were there, too. The entire set up screamed ‘casual but obvious effort.”

“Hey…” You rounded the side of the couch and sat next to him, unsure if this was alright. It was just your nerves.

“Hey. I see everything fits well!” He teased lightly. “I wasn’t sure how you took your coffee so I figured I would let you do your own. I also turned the heat up a little to help get you warm.” Which would explain the missing jacket.

Pedro took one of the cups and pressed it into your hands, his own wrapping around yours for a moment. “If you’re still too cold I can grab you a blanket or a sweatshirt.”

“I think I have enough of your clothes on. If I end up with more I’m afraid that you might not get something back.”

“Is that so?” The corners of his mouth quirked up in a devious smirk, hands coming to his own cup of coffee to lift to his lips, eyes peering just over the rim of his mug. “Well, I will have to take inventory of all articles of clothing before and after you leave.” Was he flirting with you?

You hid behind your own cup of coffee, blushing. “What I mean is that it looks expensive and I could never afford some of the clothes you wear.” Even though you were pretty sure these ones were borrowed from the wardrobe department from the shoot.

“Hm. Here I thought you were wanting a little memento from me.” He chuckled and you nearly choked on your coffee as you inhaled it a little too quick and it went down the wrong pipe. He was flirting, now, you decided as you tried not to die.

“Hey, hey now…” His hand came to your back, patting you lightly to help you cough up the coffee. “Didn’t mean to make you choke! You okay?” He was finding far too much amusement in your predicament and you were caught between laughing with him and locking yourself back in the bathroom to wait for your clothes to finish drying.

It took you a minute but you finally stopped coughing, your eyes burning and your pride non-existent. Pedro’s hand, however, was still on your back. He was no longer patting in efforts to help you but now his fingertips were stroking over the gentle curve of your spine, thumb pressing into the muscle just beneath your shoulder blades.

“Sorry.” You croaked, voice scratchy from the coughing fit. “I wasn’t expecting to be called out so quickly. You certainly know my end game.” You hid your embarrassment with sass and you had to put the coffee down before you did any damage. Pedro’s hand stilled as you moved, but he didn’t stop touching you, not even as you leaned back again.

“You’re still cold. I can feel it through the shirt.” His arm slid across your shoulders as he tucked you closer to his side. You both sat in a stretch of silence as he waited for the silent permission of his touch. You realized he was stiff and not as at ease as you thought he would be. You rested your hand on his knee, fingertips curling against the red cotton of his pants as you leaned in against him, nose tucking against his side. You felt him relax then.

“Thank you for this.” You whispered as you let your fingers trace his kneecap.

“Of course. I couldn’t let a damsel stay in distress.” He let his other hand, now coffee less as he set his mug on a side table, come to yours on his knee, fingers lacing to hold your hand. “But I do have a confession to make, if I may…”

“Hm?” You felt warm and cozy. You hadn’t quite expected that you were going to find yourself cuddling with this charming man today, but you weren’t going to complain either. The weather had taken a toll on you and you were quite ready for a nap. Pedro wasn’t helping either with the slow inhale and exhale of his breath that rocked you like a boat on a lake. Gentle and lovely.

“I would very much like to kiss you.”

He squeezed the hand on his knee before unlocking their hold and bringing his fingers to your chin, turning your face to his. He bumped your noses a moment, lips ghosting just over yours in a teasing breath.

“May I?” He whispered. “Please, tell me what you want.”

You shifted, your thighs rubbing together as you felt the curling heat span in your belly and you suddenly felt very, very hot. Pedro kept his gaze steady on yours, never once faltering as he waited for your consent. He was so close that you could smell the hint of coffee on his breath, the smell of the aftershave and cologne on his skin.

“Please...yes, Pedro.” He tilted your chin a little higher, lips just touching. A mockery of a kiss as he smiled wickedly. “Please, kiss me.”

He did then, his lips pressing firmly into yours as his hand slipped to cup your cheek. Neither of you moved for that moment, letting each other take in the press of your mouths until you let your hand slip a little higher, fingers tracing the seam of his pants on his inner leg and it broke the reserve he had. Pedro groaned low and he all but lifted you into his lap, your legs splaying on either sides of his hips.

His mouth never left yours as he moved, his hands coming to grip the gentle curve of your hips, pulling you closer to him, yours breasts pushing steady against his chest. He groaned into your mouth as his hips rolled up and you felt the sudden hard length of him against your thigh.

“Fuck -” You moaned out at the feel of him. “I've wanted to do this since the moment I saw you, hermosa.” Pedro’s voice was husky against your skin as he moved his hands under your ass, fingers tight as he shifted your hips together, pushing his clothed cock up into your hand. “You lit up the room, you know. The moment you stepped foot into the light, I was taken away. Captured.”

You couldn’t help but let your fingers curl around his length and give a gentle squeeze, testing the size of him and oh - oh, he was large beneath your fingertips. Pedro tipped his head against yours, lips ghosting along your nose.

“Take off your clothes.” He breathed and you moved with him to pull your shirt over your head, his hands immediately coming to undo your bra and let your breasts hang free. His head dips to take a nipple in your mouth and you arch into the wet heat and you hiss when he sets his teeth against the sensitive skin.

“Shit - Pedro. I need - “ You needed him out of his shirt, too. But it was hard to coerce him out of it when he was attached to you like he was. You pushed him away a little, trying to create space enough to get him out of his shirt, your fingers working at the buttons in a clumsy haste.

“Bed.” Pedro grunts and you two move off of the couch, peeling from each other. You still kept your hands on him as he guided you to the bedroom and you both all but fell into the large bed. Pedro rolled to the side to flick on the bedside lamp to fill the room with a soft glow and the light highlighted the deep amber in his eyes. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.

“C’mere.” You motion to him as you lay back on the plush pillows, arms stretched out to take Pedro in. He comes above you and rests on his forearms as he slides a knee up between your legs, making them spread wide and he settles there, his hips rolling into the crux of your thighs.

You arch up to meet him again and he presses a kiss against your mouth, licking you open. He tugs at your pants insistently and you lift your hips up to let him shimmy them over your soft curves and down your legs. You kick them off in a haste and Pedro pauses, lifting himself to lean back on his knees, staring down at you. You blush under his gaze because it's so heavy, so slow. You don’t remember any man, any person for that matter, who looked at you like that. It was so needy.

“Eres tan hermosa. You are so beautiful.” He reaches out and drags his fingertips along the side of your face, down your neck and across your collarbone. He keeps going lower and lower, mapping your body out with his touch until he comes to touch your between your legs. His fingers tease your outer lips first, a gentle drag of his knuckles and then he moves in deeper, pressing a thumb against your clit and circling.

You moaned as he pressed a little more firm to work you into your pleasure and the tip of a finger teased you open and curled. Gods, he was good at this. You clenched around him and he added a second finger, curling up to rub against the textured spot inside you.

“Pedro.” You moaned out as he continued to work you and you felt your climax climb, your body taught with need. “Pedro, I’m - fuck, I’m close. Don’t stop. Don’t -”

“Por favor, mi amor. Cum for me.”

You did as he told you, your eyes closing and head tilting up to close out the world as you focused only on your orgasm. He continued to stroke you inside, his thumb continuously applying the delicious pressure on your clit and only eased up after your thighs stopped trembling, returning to a soft stroke.

Pedro caught your gaze as he brought his fingers up to his mouth, slipping them against his tongue, sucking in, tasting your orgasm that he brought out of you. He left you breathless. You parted your legs again as an invitation and his gaze dropped to the movement. Pedro shimmied his pants off, tossing them over the side of the bed and you wanted very much to touch him but he instead fumbled with the drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a condom.

You watched as he rolled the condom on with an ease and he moved over you again, taking your hands in his, twining your fingers together. It was an intimate gesture and one you adored. Pedro seemed like he couldn’t get close enough to you, even as he pressed his flush skin against yours.

He slid into you easily with how wet you were and he bottomed out in you almost immediately, stretching you full. Pedro lets out a groan, his head dropping to yours as he rocked into your cunt. He was so intimate in this, so incredibly loving, and to a person whom he only just met. You felt him love with his entire being and it was a gorgeous act that he gifted you.

“I won’t last long, I’m afraid.” He grunts out between thrusts. You bring your legs up and around him, pulling him closer and his thrusts turn into a grind. You were still blissfully sensitive from your climax earlier and you were more than okay with his admission. He took care of you first, above his own pleasure. “Please, Pedro. It’s okay. Please, just...it’s good.” You didn’t know what to say in his softness but you knew it was the right thing because he ground into you harder, his hips snapping as he tightened his grip. His mouth dropped open in a silent moan as he came, his rhythm breaking into stillness.

“You will have to forgive me.” Pedro breaks into a wide smile against your neck as he relaxes against you, his weight dropping like a blanket. “You are far too soft for any man to last long.” He pulls from you and glances down to take off the spent condom and set it in the trash that was next to the bed. He settled beside you, his head propped up on his hand, his other tracing along your stomach.

“You flatter me far too much.” You giggle, smacking his hand away. It instead settles against your face, his thumb brushing under your eye.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” He asked.

The offer wasn’t one you were expecting. In all honesty, you didn’t really expect any of this, but perhaps you were naive when it came to what coffee dates entailed now, not that you were complaining.

“Of course.”

You didn’t think he could light up any more than he already was, but he did. His face became childlike and gleeful. He was adorable, really.

“Fantastic. I’ll make sure we get some proper coffee in the morning. Promise.”

#pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal #writing #well shit looks like i finally banged out another one.#ill throw this on Ao3 later #pedro #pascal #randywrites

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teledild0nix · 3 years

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Fic Writer Questions! (you can find me here on AO3 if you're interested!)

tagged by dear @theburialofstrawberries mwah!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

112 yowza!

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

750,421 kinda tempted to go delete one word so it can be 750420 which is a far more Pleasing number

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

12ish but some of them overlap: BBCS/Sherlock Holmes/ACD (these are all different bc my bbcs fics are not the same as my own modern fem Sherlock Holmes adaptation are not the same as my ACD Holmes fic; Good Omens; Harry Potter/The Werewolf Draco Malfoy Cinematic Universe; Captive Prince; The Hobbit; Fleabag (it was a crossover with BBCS but Fleabag is the perspective character so it still counts as a separate fandom imo); Doctor Who; The Office; Parks and Rec; Broad City (one a piece for those last 5 but I AM going to write a Parks and Rec polycule fic for @gaykagome)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

They're all Good Omens fics from the 2019 Summer of Good Omens! Susceptible to Summer, Fragments Shored Against My Ruin, Something So Magic, Enter Serpent, and Anything We Like

All of those have over 2k except the last one, but average engagement for me is like 400 kudos or so

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try! It depends on what's going on with me. Sometimes I just don't have the energy, and I figure people would rather I spend my brain power on writing new fics than on writing replies to comments. Wish I had a fave button tho so I could let people know I read and reread comments, because I do!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh I wrote this ficlet series called A Chemical Defect about John and Sherlock's relationship in s3 of BBCS, and it's WILDLY unpopular. People don't read my fic to cry sad tears I guess! John and Sherlock are having an affair in the story, and it ends with the implication that their relationship is unsustainable and that Mary knows about it anyway. I intended to come back to it after s4 and write a more optimistic ending but LOL! Didn't have the heart.

7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I know this answer is kinda up my own ass, but like. I think stories that feel true to life sort of feel like they end on a beginning if you know what I mean? You don't really consider a chapter of your life closed until you look back on it from the next? SO that said, I think I'd have to say that it's my big BBCS serial The Only One in the World. I spent 2 years writing it, and it ends with John retiring from medicine to solve crimes and write books full time.

Could also be my WDMCU (werewolf Draco Malfoy cinematic universe) series Moonrise, which starts with Draco isolated in his abusive mother's house, trying to cope with lycanthropy essentially alone and ends with him in love and surrounded by found family in a cozy cottage in Hogsmeade, having gotten some lycanthrope rights legislation passed after working at it for years and talking to Harry about whether they want to have kids. Oh man I feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I have written one crossover. It's BBCS/Fleabag, because me and @loudest-subtext-in-tv were laughing about how John seems like one of the horrible guys Fleabag sleeps with basically out of self loathing, so I wrote this fic to make Nattie laugh, and you should read it bc it's so good and so underrated.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, but people don't seem to know that authors can read bookmark tags unless you private the bookmark, and someone once put in the bookmark tag on one of my fics 'writing was meh but it was okay.' Okay so why bookmark it then??

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Fuck yes! I'm not sure what 'what kind?' means? People fucking? Sloppy, silly, and awkward, with lots of laughing. I also really like writing afterglow scenes which are even sillier and gigglier and often involve one character cooking for another. Food as love language is a very distinct pattern of mine tbh

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, but occasionally I'll write a post on here where I make some elaborate head canon, and I'll see people in the tags talking about how they want to write fic of it, and it makes me breathe fire out of my nose like a dragon like PLEASE DON'T. The WDMCU came out of a ficlet post I made on here like a year before I actually wrote the 60k series so like!!! Please don't do that!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! To Russian and I believe Chinese. Not my entire oeuvre but a handful of BBCS and Good Omens fics

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

No, but I wrote a fic inspired by an RP I did with my gf right around when we met (actually now that I think about it, it's two fics), and I waaaaaaanna do a WDMCU collab with my beloved Sally @clytemenestras at some point if he has time bc he inspired me to even write werewolf draco with his original lesbian werewolf story

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

favorites are hard for me? I always think I'm currently doing my best writing lol so I'll say drarry

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don't post fics unless theyre finished, so I don't have any WIP up on AO3, but I did intend to continue with my fem Sherlock Holmes series, Your Many Tendencies. I just haven't been in a Holmes mood for a long time. Maybe I'll come back to it idk. This particular series is honestly very unpopular? People will just straight up say they don't read femslash, and it hurts a lot. This series feels really personal too, bc it's about a Black autistic nonbinary lesbian, so it does hurt my feelings that no one seems to care, yknow? I mean the people who read it are extremely kind and thoughtful in their engagement with it, but it has vastly less engagement than my m/m fic, and that's painful. It gets literally 1/10 the attention my fics usually get.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Almost all of my writing is romance, but I tend to write concurrently about recovery and found family, and I think I'm very good at doing that in a way that connects with my audience. I once had someone ask if they could use my words in their wedding vows, and I've had people tell me they started doing things with their spouse that my characters do with their partners in order to express love. I think about that all the time. My Impact. It makes me feel like I have a real duty to my audience yknow?

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

This question is hard for me like I've been writing so long and so much that I'm literally always happy with my final draft! It's always exactly to my taste, yknow? I suppose I could say that my fics tend not to be terribly plotty but so WHAT? That's beside the fuckn point for me. Plot who? I don't know Her. Also honestly like. Stories feel more True to me when they aren't ruthlessly devoted to plot bc like life isn't like that yknow?

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If you're not fluent in that language, get a beta who is!!!!! That said, I have written scraps of very simple dialogue in French using mostly Google Translate (sometimes I check w Sally bc he speaks French but I am usually too impatient), and I am perfectly well aware that I take my life in my hands each time!!! Also don't do that bullshit thing where it's in italics? That shit is weird and exoticizing. Just write it in quotation marks like normal dialogue.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

BBCS babey back in 2012. Ended a 5 year dry spell for me after I got my writing degree.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmmmm I think it's probably gonna be the fic I'm working on now that I haven't posted yet, but I know it's called Names for a House, and here's a tiny bit of it

Thanks again Shreya for asking me to do this bc I really love talking about myself. I tag @the-moon-loves-the-sea, @clytemenestras, @tomiano, @gaykagome and @totallysilvergirl

No pressure <3

#sherlock stuff #ask games #apliddell #if y'all wanna send me asks about names for a house #or anything else i mentioned here #they would be welcome

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rosequartzstarswrites · 3 years

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20 Questions for Writers

Thank you @cheesyficwriter for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3?

What's your total AO3 word count?

351,699

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

As of now, I have only written for Harry Potter; however, in February I began several LOTR/Hobbit WIPs that I have not yet published. The first one is due out at the start of September though!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In Another Universe: Hermione Granger is brilliant: she completed her PhD in Linguistics at 25, and is the youngest faculty member at the University. Ron Weasley, an unruly quantum physicist... well, he's getting there. But when Granger gets stacked with a project she hates and has to talk to other scholars at the University, their paths cross and become permanently intertwined in a way neither of them could've ever anticipated. (Slow Burn Multichap Muggle Uni AU) Rated T.

Rosebury Grounds: Lady Hermione Granger has been reared up in society, to marry well and be a good housewife, like any good Edwardian lady, but that's far from what she wants. When a handyman by the name of Ronald Weasley joins the house staff, utterly disarming her from the moment they first meet, he might just be the opportunity she needs to break loose and choose her own destiny.Lord Draco Malfoy has a secret— a secret he knows would cost him everything if it ever saw the light. But it's getting harder and harder to keep it from his father, because Draco keeps bumping into a pair of emerald eyes and a head of lush black hair, and he can't pretend his knees don't buckle at the sight. Which would be quite alright, if not for one small problem: it's not a woman they belong to.Two tales of forbidden love, set in Edwardian England. (Multichap Muggle AU) Rated M.

Something Growing: Hermione’s pregnant— and she’s freaking out. She’s always been good at everything, but she’s not sure that’ll hold for being a mother; however, when Ron gets home earlier than expected, she realizes she doesn’t need to be great at everything so long as she’s got him beside her. (Oneshot) Rated G.

Big in Japan: Harry Potter is a famous rockstar out on a world tour— but when one too many meet-and-greets threatens to drive him insane, he takes an escapade out into the streets of Tokyo, where he ends up at an expat bar with a captivating redhead that seems totally unaware of who he is, or why she should know him at all, for that matter. (Muggle AU oneshot) Rated E.

Teaspoon Vindication: After escaping Malfoy Manor, Ron comes to visit Hermione in her room at Shell Cottage, and does the one thing that may be the hardest for him— talking about his feelings. (Romione oneshot)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try my best, though I don’t always get to all of them! My reasoning is that if folks are kind enough to tell me how much they enjoyed my writing, the least I can do is thank them for their lovely words.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

The Last Farewell! It’s a Wolfstar oneshot, set in canon universe, where Remus comes to Sirius’s grave to ask for his blessing (and forgiveness) to marry Tonks. It was angst central from the start and I even wrote it while listening to an angsty song.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I generally write happy, fade-to-black endings, but if I had to choose I’d say Truth or Dare. This is a male!Hermione x Ron summer camp AU born of a game of spin-the-bottle/truth-or-dare that ends with them figuring out their feelings go beyond friendship. I say it is the happiest ending because I think the “boy figuring out he likes boys” scenario has been overdone in angst a bit too much, and the fact that the feelings are reciprocated and they decide to stay in touch would make me giddy if I was their age and in their shoes. Anyway, it’s just a sweet ending.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

Not at all— I actually don’t like crossovers at all, so I have never even entertained reading, let alone writing, one. (No hate at all to those with imaginations large and strong enough to conjure up awesome crossovers— I am in awe of you all, they’re just not for me!)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Never, luckily, since the Romione community is so lovely and supportive! But, though not outright hate, for a while I had an anonymous FFN reviewer who left reviews on every chapter of Rosebury Grounds saying that my title was a porn/sex act...? I was distraught and scoured Google to see if they really were right and this was some obscure euphemism I’d entirely missed, but turns out it wasn’t, and they had gotten confused with a vulgar but similar term. So I ignored those reviews but they kept coming and then eventually one time I found a 500 word very graphic description of the sex act in question in my reviews, so desperate was the reviewer (apparently) to get their (wrong) point across. Yikes.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes! I’ve written a lot and of many kinds— explicit, implied, just foreplay, fade-to-black, referenced... I’ve written both M/F and M/M.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No— I didn’t even know that was something I should worry about!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I speak fluent Spanish, so I’m planning on translating In Another Universe and Rosebury Grounds myself once I’ve finished the latter.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, the most I’ve done is beta from the plot-building stage!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Gahhhh don’t make me pick! Romione (HP) is first in my heart because I see so much of myself and what I want in it, but Samfro (LOTR) is, to me, the truest depiction of love in all of literature, ever. I will forever come back to it.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I hope to finish my Hogwarts Actually series that I started for Romionecom (hi, Discord friends!) inspired by Love Actually. I have it all planned out, translating all the relationships in the movie to HP pairings and friendships, and all I need to do is write— but I think I’ll come back to this periodically and unoften. Hopefully I’ll finish it!

What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that I write good and witty dialogue. I’m a theatre person, so I think my dialogue sounds mostly natural when spoken. I also have a good sense of beginning and ending, so most of my works/chapters start and end with a memorable phrase of some sort. I also have excellent grammar and spelling, so except for a few occasional typos, that makes the job of proofing much easier!

What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I sometimes write sentences that are waaaay too long and convoluted. I use words that are too big sometimes and just take approachability from my writing. Fanfic has been excellent to practice correcting this, though!

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As a bilingual writer myself— don’t write dialogue in other languages unless you speak it well or get it translated directly through someone who speaks it well. Though I appreciate the effort, I can always tell when something was put through Google Translate, and that kind of dialogue most often ends up lacking the context clues/colloquial familiarity of real language speakers, and ends up sounding stiff and forced.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I’m not proud of it, but I used to write MCR RPF back when I was 13 or so. It was a very brief stint and I have since deleted the works in their entirety, since my principles have evolved to the place where RPF to me seems disrespectful and invasive. Plus, it was on Wattpad.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

Again, don’t make me pick please!! I truly have had a lot of fun with Rosebury and I think it is a testament to how much I love it that I was able to keep the idea on hold for a full six months before I started writing it. I love the Downton setting and the Edwardian dialogue is a lot of fun to me. But I also have a soft spot for the In Another Universe original oneshot I submitted to the RFF2020— that work awoke my love for Muggle AUs (which I like to think I’m most known for), inspired me to start work on my first multichap fic, and keeps me coming back to it anytime I have doubt in my ability to write swoonworthy scenes. It was the oneshot that started it all.

Tagging: @accio-broom @be11atrixthestrange @folk-melody (and anyone else who would like to!)

#fanfiction #fanfic writer #rosequartzstars #hp fanfic #hp fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #fanfic author

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isitgintimeyet · 4 years

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Just a Friend

So I finally started to write another story...

I will try and post weekly, but can’t promise on account of real life and my inability to actually focus on translating what’s in my head onto paper (or screen!)

Getting the courage to post never gets any easier, but here goes. I hope you enjoy this frothy bit of fun. I will also post on AO3.

Thanks to @wickedgoodbooks for being an excellent beta.

Chapter 1: From Airport to Aggravation

Bank holiday crowds, on the whole, are hell.

And this one is rapidly turning into an even deeper level of purgatory. The hottest May for years in Scotland and I’m stuck at Glasgow airport with a dozen women, collectively known as ‘Geillis’s Hen Party Posse’, each displaying varying degrees of inebriation, hangover or general sleep deprivation, and all aiming for the luggage carousel showing the flight from Barcelona. Which apparently is where several hundred other disembarked passengers are also heading.

Eventually, I manage to get a view of the bags and cases slowly making their way around the belt. They’re pretty picked over by this time, apart from the couple of boxes covered in gaffer tape that always seem to be first off a plane—any plane—and last to be collected. They’re always there, on every flight. Why is that?

I pause from my musings to wave frantically at Geillis, who now has a trolley and is clearing a path straight towards me.

“I got us a trolley.” she informs me, stating the obvious. “I thought it’d be easier. Have ye seen ours yet, Claire? I canna see the others. They must have already gone through.”

“No,” I answer, keeping my eyes firmly on the little hatch, willing our bags to appear. All I want is to go home, put my sleep mask on and try and get some sleep. Three days in Barcelona celebrating Geillis’s forthcoming nuptials have worn me out, and, I glance at my watch, I am due in theatre in approximately seventeen hours time.

"It's there, it's there," Geillis points excitedly at the neon pink and green leopard print bag making its way towards us.

She makes a grab for it as I continue to look for my bag. Predictably, it’s one of the last ones on the carousel. I recognise it immediately from the piece of red gift ribbon tied to the handle of the plain black Samsonite. I load it onto the trolley and Geillis and I head through customs to join the rest of the posse.

We say our goodbyes loudly, with much hugging and kisses. A stranger viewing this scene might imagine we won’t be seeing each other again for weeks or even months. In truth, I’ll be seeing most of them in the next week or so at the hospital as our schedules coincide.

“Shall we two get a taxi, then?” Geillis asks me.

I start to answer as my mobile pings — a text from Frank...very nice, very caring, very predictable.

Darling, it’s been a long three days without you. I am ready to collect you from the airport if you would like. If not, might I see you later this evening? xxx

And that is very clearly Frank. Correct grammar and punctuation, even on his texts. I shake my head as if to drive away my inner bitch and pretend I haven’t read it. I will respond, of course, just later when I’m back at home.

So, I smile at Geillis and agree. “Of course, we can go halves.”

***********

As I walk into my flat, the peace and quiet and sheer bloody calm wraps itself around me like a swaddling cloth. It’s blissfully cool too, with all the shutters closed.

It’s not that I didn’t have a good time in Barcelona. It was actually great. But being in the company of others twenty four hours a day is wearing, much as I love them. And we all had to do everything together. No sneaking off for a solitary walk, or escaping to bed for a little siesta.

I deposit my suitcase by the bedroom door, slip off my converse, pour myself a glass of orange juice, settle down on the sofa and figure out how best to tell Frank not tonight without offending him.

Frank, Sorry but tonight isn’t —

I delete and try again.

Thanks for the offer to pick me up. I was already in the taxi when I got it. Can we give tonight a miss? Theatre in the morning and I’m knackered totally exhausted. You know what Geillis is like. Speak tomorrow, I promise. C

Frank knows what Geillis is like. Frank thinks Geillis is a bad influence on me, with her larger than life personality and wild ideas. I think Frank doesn’t really know me at all if he believes I can be influenced like that. I hang out with Geillis and my friends because they’re fun and we laugh… a lot.

Without realising, I feel my shoulder muscles relax as soon as I’ve sent the message. These are not good signs for my relationship with Frank. He’s investing far more into ‘us’ than I am willing to do. But as long as I’m honest with him…

There are advantages to being with Frank, of course. He’s punctual, very organised and a proficient and considerate lover. He always makes sure I come, even if I sometimes...er… exaggerate my reactions to hurry things along. So much for honesty, then.

I finish my orange juice and plan my evening. Four things to do - unpack, grab some food, shower and sleep. Not even going to wash my hair. That would really be too much effort, struggling with my untameable mane, and it’s going to be stuck under a surgical cap for most of tomorrow anyway.

It takes a bit of effort to actually move from the sofa. I could quite happily fall asleep there. But then I’d wake up in the middle of the night—starving hungry and still smelling of sweaty airports. Reluctantly, I haul myself into a vertical position and head for my bedroom picking up my suitcase en route.

Opening the suitcase, I am not greeted with the expected haphazard mass of sun dresses, t shirts and shorts—all with the evocative aroma of Hawaiian Tropic—but a layer of white dress shirts, immaculately folded and the faint scent of a musky cologne.

Shit, shit, shit!! Some else has walked off with my black samsonite with the red ribbon on the handle. My evening plans are rapidly going awry. I delve into my handbag praying that I kept my boarding pass with the sticky bar code luggage receipt. The relief when I find it lurking in the bottom of my bag is immense. Quickly I google the airline lost baggage number and dial.

After a few bars of some god awful plinky plinky hold music, I hear a recorded message. “Your call is important to us, please hold. Your call is important to us, please hold.”

Good to know, then back to the plinky plinky before another message. “The office you are trying to reach is now closed. Please try again during office hours nine am to five thirty. Thank you.”

“If my call is so important to you, why is no one there at six o’clock?” I yell down the phone, but the plinky plinky ignores me and continues its irritating melody.

I sigh. I don’t want to have to wait until tomorrow morning to sort this out. Besides, by nine am tomorrow morning, I will be somewhat unavailable - reshaping the hip bone of a seven year old boy. So, I have no alternative. I will have to have a bit of a dig around this stranger’s suitcase, looking for any clue or contact details.

As I start to have a feel around, it occurs to me that some stranger might, at this very moment, be doing exactly the same thing — having a poke around my suitcase in the hope of finding my details. No doubt judging me based on my choice of holiday attire. And, I suddenly realise, his judgement may well be coloured by the discovery of some items of a more adult nature.

I say ‘he’, based on the XL white shirts, the pair of battered jeans and faded Scotland rugby shirt, but I could be wrong. I don’t have to dig any further into the case as I spy, in a mesh pocket, a neat rectangle of card with a name — James Fraser — a mobile number and an email address.

Relief sweeps over me. Perhaps we can get this all sorted tonight. Unless this James Fraser lives miles away and was just passing through Glasgow on his way to, say, the Outer Hebrides. That could be a whole other level of problem.

I quickly reach for my phone. Another message from Frank awaits.

Are you sure, darling? I’m looking forward to seeing you. Would tomorrow evening work for you?

I ignore it for the moment. Let me sort my luggage issue out first.

I dial the number on the card and begin to pace around my bedroom as it rings and rings. I am just about to give up when, thankfully, it’s answered.

“Hello?” A female voice asks warily.

I clear my throat and put on my most pleasant phone voice. “Is there a James Fraser there please?”

“Ye’ve the wrong number.”

“Oh, sorry, I must have mis—“ I begin, but find myself apologising to dead air.

I try again, carefully comparing each digit to those written, very neatly, on the card.

“Hello?” The same female voice answers, more than a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“I’m sorry, but this is the number I have for James Fra—“

“And I already told ye, ye’ve the wrong number. Dinna bother again.”

In the days before mobiles, I’m sure this would have been accompanied by a deafening crash as the receiver hit the cradle. Pressing a soft key doesn’t have the same dramatic effect. But I get the message anyway.

So, new plan needed. All I can do is email this James Fraser and hope he actually has written down the correct email address. If not, I’ll have to sort it out with the airline tomorrow afternoon.

My stomach rumbles and I suddenly realise that I’ve not eaten since breakfast, unless you count the slices of fruit in my jug of sangria. I wander into the kitchen and peruse the contents of my cupboards and fridge. I’m not the most gifted cook, but I’m not too bad and can usually rustle up something edible and fairly tasty. The bread feels a bit on the dry side but will be fine toasted, and I know I have eggs.

I put a knob of butter in a pan and text Frank while I’m waiting for it to sizzle.

Think tomoz will be ok. Talk 2morrow. C

I don’t normally use text speak at all, but something about Frank’s perfectly formed text messages always makes me want to rebel. I can imagine him wincing right now. He’s a professor at the university and is forever complaining about the standard of literacy amongst his undergraduates. If he thinks he has problems, he should try dealing with junior doctors.

With my scrambled egg on toast all eaten, I focus my attention on the email to James Fraser. I write it quickly, brief and to the point: I have your suitcase and therefore presume you have mine, can we meet to swap them over and here’s my phone number.

The longing for a shower and then bed is now overwhelming. I strip off and bundle all my clothes into the laundry basket, tie my hair up with a scrunchie and step into my shower. This is undoubtedly one of my favourite places on earth and possibly the reason that I bought this flat. Large enough for two, I suppose. Although none have yet been invited to partake in this heavenly experience. Maybe I’m saving that for someone extra special. It has a huge overhead rainfall shower head and a handheld shower head too.

My indulgences are all in here — a selection of expensive shower gels, scrubs and lotions and an assortment of huge fluffy bath towels. I choose a lavender scented gel and scrub all traces of the day from my skin.

Wrapping myself in one of my pristine white towels, I slather shea butter lotion on my slightly sun-burnt skin, noticing the uneven red patches where the sun cream hadn’t quite reached but at least it’s not sore.

A quick check of my emails shows there’s no word from James Fraser as yet, so I decide to just settle down to sleep and leave luggage worries until the morning. Fortunately, I had changed the sheets before my weekend away, so I simply unwrap my towel, leaving it in a heap on the floor and slide into bed. The feeling of the cool, crisp bedding against my skin is wonderful. I assume a sort of diagonal starfish position, not having to worry about any other occupants. It crosses my mind whether to reach for the tiny vibrator in my bedside drawer, but I’m too comfortable and drowsy for that, so instead I check my alarm and settle down for sleep.

#outlander fanfic #outlander fanfiction #Jamie Fraser #Claire Beauchamp #Just a Friend #chapter 1 #Here goes

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sqsupernova · 3 years

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How to Post your Works to the SQSupernova Collection!

That’s right - it’s almost time for Authors and Artists to put their beautiful works on display! We’ve made our beautiful, wonderful guide to help you post your work successfully - please read it THOROUGHLY before asking questions! We promise we’ve covered almost anything that could cause issues.

The posting deadline for all works is midnight EST on August 30th!

(What time is that for me? Or, check out our Countdown Timer!)

For those of you with experience posting to the Swan Queen Supernova collection from previous years, this year’s collection can be found HERE - just hit the ‘post to collection’ button and away you go!

Quick reminder - don’t forget to click POST when you are done formatting your work, NOT ‘save as draft’! We will not be able to see or reveal your work if you save it as a draft, and it will not count as being submitted!

For those of you who need more assistance as you prepare to post, read on for more specific instructions:

All right! For those of you who would like further clarification, your first step will still be to go to THIS LINK and click ‘Post to Collection,’ as seen below.

On this next page, you will enter all of the information about your fic/art - starting with rating, warnings, fandom, category, relationships, and characters. A sample page would look like this:

Please make sure your rating and warnings are accurate to your fic/art. If you think a warning might spoil something for the plot, you can select ‘Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings.’ Do NOT select ‘No Archive Warnings Apply’ unless your fic/art truly does not have any of the warning elements present in it.

The Additional Tags section is a place to put anything else you feel should be indicated about your story/art. Is it a historical au? Does it take place on a spaceship? Is it fluff? angst? crack? These tags are optional, but many people do use them to organize their fic/art or to find new fics to read and art to appreciate.

Next up is the preface section - this is how you introduce your fic or art!

Authors - you’ve already sent us a title and summary, so if those still work for you, go ahead and just copy them right in there! If you’ve changed some things up since that submission, go ahead and put your final version in here.

Artists - whatever title you use, it’s probably a good idea to add [Fanart] or [Art] to the end of your title, and to tag it as such in the additional tags as well - this will help people find art specifically!

Notes can be posted at the beginning of the fic - like if you are thanking a beta, or blaming someone for making you do this, or giving introductory notes to the readers about setting, etc - or at the end of the fic, if your notes might spoil part of the plot. You can also check both boxes and put notes in both places!

Now for the fiddly bits:

The first, and most important, thing to check is that under Post to Collections / Challenges, ‘SQSupernova6′ is selected. This should automatically show up, since you used the ‘Post to Collection’ button, but please check anyway!

You can also choose to gift your fic to someone - authors may choose to gift their fic to their artist, or vice versa. You should have their AO3 name from your match-up email!

‘This work is a remix, a translation, a podfic, or was inspired by another work’ - this will be a handy section to connect your fic to your artist’s art, but you won’t be able to use it until after reveals. Skip it for now and come back to it later, once your partner’s work has been revealed!

‘This work is part of a series’ - if your SQSN was part of a series that you have already begun, you can link it to the previous parts here. Otherwise, skip it.

‘This work has multiple chapters’ - If you’d like to split your work up into chapters, select this option. Once you post the first chapter, you will be able to add additional chapters from the first chapter of your fic/art.

‘Set a different publication date’ - DON’T DO ANYTHING WITH THIS NOW. LEAVE IT ALONE. You will receive instructions in your reveal date email about how to change this date later, to help ensure that it shows up at the top of the Swan Queen tag, so you get the most eyes on it. You cannot change the date BEFORE the date of your reveal, so leave this field alone for now.

You’re almost there! First up are some privacy questions:

These are all options that can make it harder for people to leave mean or abusive comments - but they also make it harder for commenters without accounts to leave feedback, so consider the pros and cons before selecting!

And finally, it’s time to input your fic or art!

For fic - if you are comfortable with html coding, feel free to use the HTML editor button in the top right to switch editing boxes. Otherwise, the Rich Text editor will let you do most basic word editing functions, and will maintain bolding, italics, etc pasted in from Word or Google Docs.

For art, you will need some words in the post itself in order to post, so be sure to add a sentence or two about your work, then select the insert/edit image button:

It will bring up this menu:

Source - this is where you should paste in the url of the image you are hosting on another private site - so don’t publicly post it to your Tumblr! Use a PRIVATE post, at least until reveals are over. For a list of recommended sites, check out AO3′s helpful article on the subject!

Remember that your image URL needs to end in a filetype, like .jpg, .png, .gif, etc etc.!!! IT WILL NOT WORK IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A FILETYPE AT THE END OF YOUR URL. Your image will NOT appear if your link ends in .html, /, or any random numbers or letters.

Image description - this is very important for people who use screen readers because of vision impairments. Please describe your image as best you can, for example: this is a four-panel cartoon of Emma Swan, a barista, tripping over a chair and spilling hot chocolate down Regina Mills’ shirt. Regina is in a fancy blouse and skirt, and looks very, very pissed off.

Dimensions - if your source image is very, very big, it is recommended that you shrink it down a bit here. You can always come back and play around with the size once you post, so be sure to check that your image isn’t so big it’s hard to see all of it on a normal computer screen.

Aaaaaand, you’re done! If you’re confident everything is correct, you can click ‘Post Without Preview’ (you daredevil, you), but otherwise, click ‘Preview’ and give your story a quick glance over to make sure everything’s in the right place.

Then, once you’re satisfied, just make sure you click POST on the next screen - this is the only way to submit it to us for the collection!

If you don’t click ‘Post,’ your work will stay as a draft and will NOT be counted as submitted! Please make sure to hit POST once you have everything ready.

Once you post your work to the collection, it immediately becomes an unrevealed work. This means that its details are hidden from everyone but you and your beloved mods! Unfortunately, this also makes it a liiiiittle harder to find.

To locate your work once you post it to the collection, go to ‘My Dashboard’ by clicking on the menu that appears when you click on your username in the top right corner of the page, then click on ‘Works’ on the left-hand side.

From here, you can access your hidden work in one of two ways:

Click ‘Edit Works’ on the upper right side of the page. This will let you view all of your works, sorted by fandom, including the one you just submitted to the collection. Click on the title of that work to continue editing it!

Once your work is approved and added to the collection, you can also click ‘Works in Collections’ on the upper right side of the page. This will display all of your works that are currently in collections, sorted chronologically. Your SQSN work should be at the top, with “Unrevealed:” in front of the title. Click on the title of that work to continue editing it!

The URL of your work will also not change once you’ve clicked ‘post,’ so you can also bookmark or save it to come back to at any time.

If you need to add additional chapters to your work, you can do it by going to that URL or locating your fic again as described above, and clicking this link on the first chapter:

Just make sure to press POST on each additional chapter as well! ;D

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katyobsesses · 3 years

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I've decided to do that fic ask thing that's been floating around even though I haven't been tagged <3

how many works do you have on AO3?

22... apparently? three of those are fic book covers though.

what’s your total AO3 word count?

139,883 words

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3? 3. In general? 4 or 5 i think? I currently write for Glee and Marvel on my AO3 (there's also one Yuri On Ice fic) and I've previously written (and published) for Harry Potter on FF.Net. I do also have a few outlines/ideas for Merlin fics floating around my google docs but I've never posted any, and I used to write Twilight fics back in the day.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) Book Cover with 222 kudos (Marvel published 2016) --A book cover for a popular Stucky fic

A Punch In The Face with 101 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --A Young Avengers drabble of sorts, Teddy/Billy meet cute

Express Your Love with 81 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --I cannot remember what this is, I think it's Stony? Something about Tony never saying 'I Love You' to steve but instead showing his love through actions?

In A Previous Life with 77 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --A drabble of sorts. Billy and Tommy talk to Wanda about their life with her before they were reincarnated.

Putting a Punching Bag in the Workshop was Tony's Best Idea Ever with 64 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --Basically what it says on the tin. Stony. Tony is distracted by Steve's arse as he boxes.

Annoyingly these are all fics I'm not that proud of, but they're older so the kudos amounts make sense i guess 🙄 the next most Kudos'd is one I am proud of though - “You took EVERYTHING from me.” with 58 Kudos (2019) - Basically a little oneshot of what I thought could have happened in the 5 years everyone was dusted and how I thought they might have introduced Billy and Tommy into the MCU, it was going to create a whole 'verse but then we got confirmation on things like Kate Bishop and Cassie Lang and Spiderman Far From Home came out and I dropped the ideas. But I still like this fic.

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

most of the time, yes, though sometimes I leave them sitting for too long and then feel awkward about replying to them and i don't (*cough* most of my comments on WTNY(ibwfy) *cough*)

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

probably In Paris With You which I'd forgotten about until scrolling through my fics! I wrote this, orginally, way back in like... 2011 based on a poem of the same name that got stuck in my head as i studied it for my English GCSE. but it's been updated and changed like 3 times since then.

Also my fic As long as I'm here as I am, so are you is rather angsty. Basically Kurt is listening to Ben Platt's album Sing to Me Instead and one song reminds him of Finn. (because it reminded me of them)

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I've never written a crossover, though I think I once toyed around with some sort of Harry Potter crossover that never made the light of day, I can't remember what it was with though... maybe Merlin?

have you ever received hate on a fic?

not on AO3! But I did have someone call my OC in One More New Direction a Mary Sue on FF.net which wasn't nice, and someone else said they hated my characterisation of Mercedes in a chapter which was weird because Mercedes wasn't even in the chapter it was just my OC talking about her and her impression of her.

do you write smut? if so what kind?

I've tried, multiple times, in my 10+ years of fic writing, but i just can't do it. Maybe it's because I'm Asexual? it just always feels weird even after I've read smut as, like, revision. I feel like a lot of the characters are, like, ace by proxy because i don't know how to write characters being motivated by sex.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! Not that I know of anyway

have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

not that I remember? I vaguely remember being a Beta for someone like 10 years ago though.

what’s your all time favourite ship?

I honestly don't know! I've definately written mostly Klaine, but I'm such a multishipper that I have no clue. I'm really loving writing Hevans rn mostly because we are lacking Hevans content which is criminal. actually, fun fact, my fic Welcome To New York (it's been waiting for you) was originally going to be Klaine, but as i was writing the outline I fell back into the Hevans hole and decided to switch it up. I'm glad i did because it would have gotten nowhere as a Klaine fic!

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

If i don't think I'll finish something I don't post it. I have a graveyard of fics half drafted.

what are your writing strengths?

I honestly don't know. I like writing dialogue and I know I'm good at portraying something with a small amount of words but you'll have to ask my readers 😊 (in fact, if you've read my stuff please let me know what you think my strengths are! I'm honestly curious!)

what are your writing weaknesses?

I'm terrible at stretching a scene into something bigger if it warrents it. Like i said I'm good at portraying something with few words but sometimes I feel like that throws the pacing off. I use a lot of paragraphs because of that, to make the reader pause and reflect until the next line or to show that the character is pausing and reflecting. idk man. I also hate writing dates, which is annoying because WYNY(ibwfy) is mostly dates. I've been on one in my life and it was shit so i have no idea how to write one lol.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think that, unless you don't want the reader to know what is being said or the words used are obvious in context, that you should write it in english EG: --"Merci!" Kurt said.-- is fine but if you want to write something longer I would do something like --"hello my name is Kurt Hummel and I love scarfs" Kurt said in french-- or something, it depends on the context.

Actually, going back to In Paris With You. Kurt is french in that, and it's from Blaine's POV so when Kurt speaks french it's in french with Blaine translating what he can in the narration. He's not meant to be able to understand Kurt perfectly, so the audience doesn't either. But if I was writing, say, Kurt and Sebastian talking to each other in French from Kurt's POV I'd write it in english so that audience can also understand that Kurt understands.

(does that make sense?)

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. definately Harry Potter! It was how i got into fanfiction, and how i got into glee <3 JKR is a horrible person, but her books - and especially the fandom surrounding them - mean a lot to me.

what’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I have no idea. I'm really liking my Love and Friendship series right now, and I love One More New Direction because it got me through - is getting me through - this crazy couple of years. so probably them? I also really love (that makes you) The Scarlet Witch which is kind of like a character analysis of Wanda that I wrote after watching WandaVision.

#long post #katy writes #katywrites #fanfiction #glee #mcu #marvel #harry potter #ao3 #me

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thirteenandten · 3 years

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hello, do you have any tips for writing in English when you're not a native English speaker? Do you write in English from the start? Love your writing, btw!

Well hi! This was a very nice anon to receive, I'm honoured! And thank you for the compliment <3

So first let me start reminding you that writing in a language that it's not your own is super difficult, because it's not just diferent words and structures, but a whole different way of thinking and understanding the world. So please be gentle and patient with yourself while you do it!

Yes, the stories that I intend to publish in English are written in English from the start. Ever since I started writing my fics in English I took this approach and tbh I think it’s the best one. I reccommend it big time because you surely will write more complex or ellaborate stuff in your native language and then it'll be very difficult/frustrating to try and take that into English. Don't worry if your first stories in English are a bit rough, you'll get better with time! Practice here is key.

You can find the tips under the cut because I’m wordy as hell so it turned out super long.

- When English is not working for you like, I suggest writing down a little summary in your own language of what you want to write for later. Not the actual thing but what you want to tell. The ideas will probably come easier in your native language and then when English is working again, you can go back to it without losing your ideas.

-This one may be obvious but READ A LOT IN ENGLISH. I would especially suggest books written in English by English speakers. But of course, everything helps, including fics. And while you do that, try to stop and pay attention to the language. When something really works for you (a dialogue, a description, a feeling) pause, go back to the words, and notice how it was done. I've been doing this "active reading" lately and it has helped me a lot.

-Similar to the one above: expose yourself to a lot of English. Tumblr is okay but also go and watch videos of native English speakers. Listen to songs in English and take the time to look for the lyrics and think about them. When a word sounds interesting but you are not certain of the menaing, look it up! Even if you don't remember the words exactly for later, the little research will help you either way. Watch movies and series and pay attention to the language and how people talk. That'll also help you to incorporate phrases, jokes and sayings that people use in everyday life. Just expose yourself to English as much as you can and have your writer brain open and attentive!

-Going more into the writing process, those lists of different ways of saying words, or words for different moods or situations are fantastic. Just always remember to check for the word precise meaning and usage before putting anything in your work.

-I highly recommend Thesaurus. It's great for looking for alternative to words (always checking meaning and usage!), but also sometimes you know there's this word that reminds you of this other that would fit perfectly in your text and you just can’t remember the actual word you want. In those desperate moments, I go to Thesaurus, search the word I do remember, and more often than not, I arrive to the one I actually wanted (or sometimes, to another great word I hadn’t thought about!)

-Using a Collocations Dictionary literally saves your life (? I learnt about these dictionaries during uni and I loved them so much I bought a physical one which saved me many times while writing essays. Basically it gives you the prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, whatever that most usually “collocate” (go with) the word you’re looking for.

-Check for spelling whenever you are not certain you are writing a word correctly. And I mean putting the word straight on the Google search bar. If you got a letter (or several) wrong, Google will help you.

-Google combinations of words between quotation marks (”word”) to see if they are actually used by English speakers. I can’t come up with anything better right now, but for example, “seat belt” in Spanish is “cinturón de seguridad” and you could translate that literally to “security belt”. If for some reason I wasn’t sure of which of these combinations the acceptable, I could google each phrase between quotations marks and see the number of results. Usually, the option with more results is the one that is most commonly used and that will be understood more easily. For example, “security belt” throws 316k results, while “seat belt” throws 57million results.

-Use Google Images to look for specific vocabulary you can’t remember or simply don’t know. “Kitchen appliances names”, “parts of a book names”, “parts of the body names” “clothing names”. You’ll get charts with pictures and names and it’ll make your life ten times easier, I promise.

-Decide if you are writing in British or American English... or if you don't care lol. The most sensible thing to do is to pick one, but if you are writing just for fun, you might as well accept that you’ll have inconsistencies in that matter and let it be. If you do choose one English variant though, google the most common differences in spelling AND I highly suggest running Word’s spellcheck after setting the language to the English variant you’re using.

-Needless to say, writing blogs are your friends. They are full of resources, some even specially thought for non native English speakers.

-In general I would say that googling stuff is an excellent strategy when you have doubts: verb conjugations, one words vs the other, anything about English grammar, etc.

-If you feel comfortable with it, getting a Beta reader who is an English native speaker is super great. A Beta reader in general would be fine because someone else may notice a mistake you overlooked (God knows how many "ringed" instead of "rang" I've posted in my life). Also a trusted friend giving a second read can help. Or you reading out loud, if it's not a very long thing, can help you identify if there's something off.

-Be gentle with yourself! You'll make mistakes! You will even post them! My fics, old and recent always have at least one mistake no matter how much I check them. That's fine! You can go and edit them or leave it, and I promise people won't get mad at you (if they do let me know and I'll virtually punch them).

-Finally, practice, practice, practice!

I hope this very long answer is somewhat useful! And do let me know if I can help you with anything else.

Much love xx

#writing #ask #anon #seriously why do i need to write such long replies lol #i hope they are at least useful skjdfhs #i'm not a pro writer by any stretch but i've been writing in english for a long time #+ i am a professional english spanish translator lol #but by that i mean that a) my advice might not be the best and b) it's okay not to be on the same level as someone else #like for sure the first two or three years i wrote in english i wasn't as fluent as i am now #and i've gained A LOT of experience since then with uni and my work #so yeah #writing should be fun

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fantranslatorbychoice · 4 years

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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 4 - Secret Girls' Night-out

T/N: Hi y’all, it’s me again, it took a bit longer because I did my best to beta-as much as I could, but if it’s still wonky, I apologize, it's not like I get paid to do it lol also it's rather challenging when I had to convert my brain waves from Japanese to English to my native language and however those combinations work just to spew all of these out in sufficiently passable English. So I hope you all don't mind stuff like typos or inconsistencies with the tenses srsly even the original text has that and I just literally gave up evening out the tenses, like really apparently it's no biggie to have an entire paragraph in Japanese that both has past and present tenses (they mostly don't have future tenses) but if that happened in English some would just nitpick that shit out. I mean, yeah, for sure when I do editing and get paid for it I would, but if I'm just reading fanfics from writers who don't have English as their native language I just don't give a hoot, as long as the story's good, to heck with grammar, spelling and syntax. Srsly some non-native EN speakers get turned-off or even scared when nitpickers hit on their imperfect spellings or grammar or dictions, srsly honestly just give them a break, they worked hard to learn another language. I felt this even more so when I started learning Nihongo, like srsly as long as a person gets to say what they want to say even if it's not perfect in anyway, then that's more than enough for me. srsly I am forgiving like that. Also this chapter has more notes than usual, especially regarding Nihongo and stuff, so if you don't like it you can always move along lololol Also I gave up, I'm keeping the titles and roles in Japanese i.e. Odanna-sama, Wakadanna-sama, Bantou-san, etc. I'll just stick in more notes instead lol

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. OK, with all of that out of the way, here's Chapter 4 now. P116 "Th... These are... The Southern Lands' cultured Japanese amberjack**... A bundle of Kiseki beef.. And there are so many other local products from the Southern Lands too. Ah, there's even the coconut oil that I always wanted!" So many extravagant ingredients have been hauled into Yugao, and I was flabbergasted by them all. There were also so many cans of various contents as well as dried fish and other products stuffed inside. Canned tuna and other canned stuff were considered as high-end products in Kakuriyo, and I am very grateful. Ginji-san and the Daruma gang from the kitchens delivered a box packed with so many ingredients to Yugao, and we had no idea why. "Well, the Dog said that these are their repayment to our kindness. It's because a while ago, Ranmaru came to Tenjin-ya." "Really, Ranmaru from Orio-ya?" "Hatori-san also came too, with him." In some way, Ginji-san's mood was good. For a while now, his nine fluffy tails were wagging from left to right. "It's from our head accountant Byakuya-san, Aoi-san's rewards for your achievement, and for Tenjin-ya's cooperative business venture and all sorts of other demands that were deemed justifiable, and because they wanted to give other things as a way of expressing their gratitude, they brought in many other souvenirs and products as well. They also exchanged with us various other information." T/N: This is related to tuna fish, but don't ask me how they cultured it. Probably in the open sea, like in sea cages. Yes, that's a thing, and yeah I was also in the fishing industry at some point in time, if you're wondering. Also if you're wondering why I rarely use "you" in the dialogues of the translations, it's because in polite Japanese conversations, instead of saying ANATA or OMAE= you, one's name is mentioned instead. In the original text, when people are talking to each other, rather than say "you" they say the other person's name or occupation + san instead i.e. bengoshi-san= lawyer san, Ginji-san, or if it's a username because they don't like using their true names- USERNAME-san. Because using "you" in any way, shape or form in conversations is deemed rude AF. So the next time you chat with Japanese people, please remember to address them by their name, or occupation, unless you've established rapport with them. I forgot to put this explanation in my earlier posts, but it's one of the most important stuff I learned in my Japanese classes, the Japanese folk won't care so much on grammar but more on being polite and taking care of remembering social status stratification aka just be polite by using polite terms. I actually experienced this first hand after chatting with some of them, they just told me not to use Google translate and just chat with them with whatever I know. They're very grateful when people could talk to them in their native tongue, especially when the honorifics are used. This note's long AF but I did say that I'm gonna drag you all with me in this whole learning Nihongo thing, and I'm doing just that. P117 "That friendly Ranmaru did that? Doesn't he hate Tenjin-ya?" "Hee hee. Well, don't take this too seriously, OK?" Even though saying it that way, I imagined that Ranmaru's horrible words and demeanour were probably due to his circumstances. Orio-ya sees Tenjin-ya as its rival, it's hard to imagine them having an image of humbly bringing over souvenirs. And the business dealings, I wonder what those are...? "Oh that, Ranmaru saw that you had a strong sense of duty. He wanted to particularly express his gratitude to Aoi-san." And thereupon, these ingredients from the Southern Lands. Stuff I rarely get hold of, especially something like that one round amberjack, and I unconsciously grinned. "Even so, if the circumstances allowed, he would have stopped by and said it himself** ..." "It was before Aoi-san's business hours, and Ranmaru is also busy it seems, so he had to go back immediately. Even I wanted to take our time since I thought it was fine, but it can't be helped... Because Ranmaru is the Southern Lands' Hachiyo." "Ha ha. Then what happens next is that if it's possible, Ginji-san will go to Orio-ya, won't he? Nothing's stopping you two from visiting each other now?" "Aoi-san...." Up until recently, Ginji-san and Ranmaru's long sibling feud previously ended sometime ago, and the long-standing so-called inn rivalry and clash between Orio-ya and Tenjin-ya has been cut. T/N: aisatsu=挨拶=greeting, introducing one's self, improving relations by dropping by every now and then, can also mean like popping up to say hi or whatnot. I don't know how to directly translate it since aisatsu has more of a sense of how a supervisor pops up in the work place or a teacher suddenly appears in a class just to check, it's not as informal as a neighbor dropping by the house just to have idle chitchat. Hweh. P118 But after the ceremony, the changed relationship between the two has been noticeable. "Oh, that, I see. Someday soon, I will take a break and go visit him too." "Yeah, I agree, that's great. Oh, I wonder if everyone's doing well... Hatori-san and Tokihiko-san, Hideyoshi and Nene, the cute twin chefs.. And Nobunaga." "It seems that everyone's doing fine. The twins Kai-san and Mei-san, Orio-ya profoundly realized that they're really suited to be chefs, and everyone seems to cheer them on, Hatori-san was still the same as ever, but sometimes he returns to Shumonzan. He says that he bickers with Matsuba-sama as always, but one way or another they've become in good terms with each other." Ginji-san asked Ranmaru, and he told things about Orio-ya's management staff. I see, everyone in each of their own way have been doing their best to move on forward. "Oh, and somehow Hideyoshi-san and Nene-san seems to have been engaged." "Whaaat? Why that fast?" Wait a minute. Hideyoshi knew that Nene-chan has decided, that she likes Ranmaru, wasn't it? But that's what Hideyoshi said... My astonished face must have looked funny, and Ginji-san turned away his face and giggled. "It's surely shocking, isn't it? Why, it's amazing, Hideyoshi was especially honest and manly. P119 I simply cannot..." Ginji-san let out a tiny laugh again. What is it about his old haunting grounds, being delighted at the many changes in Orio-ya? At any rate, I was surprised with Hideyoshi and Nene's engagement. Firstly, congratulations Hideyoshi. You thought that your unrequited love has been going on for so long, it was outside your thoughts early on, but now your love bore its fruit. I'm glad, as I'm rooting for you on from the sides. What the heck, behind my back, how did they get involved in that, that was surprisingly an unusual story, if I meet Nene this time I need to get information from her. "But the when the trustworthy Waka-danna** and Waka-Okami** get married, Orio-ya will surely become peaceful, and Ranmaru will also be pleased. Certainly after the marriage, their organization will grow even stronger. He'll get exhausted if it's just Ranmaru holding everything together." "Isn't Tenjin-ya also reasonably solid?" "I guess, although the position for Waka-Okami easily changes. Originally the person in that position is supposed to only resign once, but right now Kikuno-san has temporarily retired as the Young Mistress and supposed to come back. However, there have been circumstances in her family, and she immediately relinquished her seat as the Waka-Okami." "Ehh, like that?" After showing my disbelief, Ginji-san sadly nodded.

T/N: Waka-danna=young master, Waka-Okami=young mistress P120 "If it comes to that, when a new Waka-Okami doesn't hold the position for very long, we can say that there's a gifted person in Tenjin-ya, and it's only a little issue.** Likewise, during that matter with Orio-ya, we in the management staff really wanted the former Waka-Okami O-ryo san to come back and give it another go. Her abilities are very outstanding." "Even I too... I was shocked to see O-ryo completely doing her job well. Even Nene, one way or another admires her so much." "Yes, I agree. But, oh well... O-ryo-san returning to her former position, it's already a huge chance and a necessity. Right now she's drifting away from supporting her fellow waiters and waitresses, well, O-ryo-san must be intending to. To me, she seems to be enjoying having lesser responsibilities and more carefree in her current position." "Well, that's for sure..." Based on how Ginji-san talked about it, lately it seems that O-ryo has no obsession on the position of Waka-Okami. A little bit until recently, she seems, to have returned the bearing of her Waka-Okami decorum, but lately she's wholly just wanting to eat and eat, when she finally gets some free time she goes to Yugao, and lately has been persisting on going out hunting for marriage partners. However, I could say with confidence that she seems to be taking advantage of being relieved of her position as a Waka-Okami , and surely Tenjin-ya will realize that they need O-ryo's abilities. O-ryo's strength, is diligently doing her duties in that position. "Anyway, Aoi-san. I was preparing and building up the Autumn Festival here in Tenjin-ya at the end of this month, and I was thinking of using pumpkins, is it possible for Yugao to make Autumn foods and sweets for us?" T/N: Honestly double-triple negatives are a pain in the ass, srsly it's like inception to the nth power, I had trouble deciphering this line and almost this entire page in the original text so if it doesn't make sense, meh, I did my best within my current abilities. P121 "Pumpkin? Of course. It's gonna be fun, like Halloween." "Oh, right! There's a foreign festival called Halloween in Utsushiyo, but I thought it's impossible to recreate that here in in Kakuriyo, though I could imagine it to be made into a Pumpkin Festival." "Oh, not at all, we can make that same Halloween theme here because Tenjin-ya is mostly full of Ayakashi." A Japanese Halloween that doesn't use costumes... "But certainly, this year's pumpkins are delicious, so Pumpkin Festival sounds good, doesn't it? It's also a great idea to give out candies to our young guests." "We can probably decorate with paper lanterns and pumpkins too. We can place ogre-fire inside, and make them float all around Tenjin-ya." "Wow! That's very much like Utsushiyo's Halloween!" Why, the Autumn Festival goes well with the Pumpkin Event and our imaginations ran wild. "Also, Aoi-san. Pumpkins are not Odanna-sama's favorite." "..." Abruptly, the topic on Odanna-sama popped up, and I stiffened a bit. Some days ago, we came back from the orchard park date. I remembered being hugged in the airship's deck...** "How are you feeling, Aoi-san? Why is your face all red?" T/N: **insert lenny face here** You can't stop me wahahaha P122 "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, this is nothing. Odanna-sama not liking pumpkins, I wonder if I somehow asked that before..." "Oh, right. I saw that Odanna-sama often puts a lot of his boiled pumpkins in Byakuya-san's small bowl." "...really, isn't Odanna-sama unbelievable?" "Yes, he is. I don't know when Byakuya-san patience will end, but I want Odanna-sama to overcome his distaste for pumpkins." "You're right. His pickiness for food would not end... In this event I will feed Odanna-sama with the pumpkin cuisines I wanted him to try..." I haven't yet known what Odanna-sama likes, but I know what food he doesn't like. It wasn't at all regretable to make fun of Odanna-sama, but this time I got surprised. "Aoi-sama-- Manjuu-steaming has been finished!" Ai-chan's face suddenly popped out of the kitchen. She seemed to have established her affairs in Hyakumeyama, and she has changed her appearance to that which she made herself. Her time before returning to the pendant is still short, but she's working hard right now as a newly-hired employee. "You were steaming manjuu**? I thought I was smelling something good." "Yeah. Just a while ago Dr. Saraku was asked by Tenjin-ya to do some manufacturing trials for a new souvenir product.** T/N: Steamed bread with bean jam filling. They’re really good, try them when you can!

when I write souvenir product, it's translated from omiyage=お土産= something that you take home for your friends or family when you go have fun somewhere like a national park or a museum or amusement park. Like when you buy takeaways - T-shirts, food, keychains, etc. and bring them home or something. Is there an English equivalent for this? Because I don't know. In my native language we have an equivalent, well, for most Asian languages I guess. Don't know about others though.. Hm.... korewa....*inhales* O_O

P123 "We're still only in the middle of improving it, but once we're done we want Ginji-san to be the very first to try them out." "Wah, that sounds fun. When Byakuya-san saw the special products from Orio-ya, he also also saw the need for Tenjin-ya to make new specialties and other famous products, and he's going to be considerably sensitive about it." "Uhm.... But we have no confidence to meet that expectation..." If we couldn't get to sell all of the products that we made, what will we do if Tenjin-ya gets struck greatly by that? What will we do if Tenjin-ya's status and popularity crashes down? With regards to that, we had to think very hard. For Yugao as a small establishment it is a challenge, and the pressure feels a bit different. "It's alright. With regards to hit products, through time and through fads, luck always has a greater control. To me, the only thing needed by Dr. Saraku are failures no matter how many times, in his division. That is why it is important to fail when tackling new challenges." ".. Ginji-san..." "Because I think, we become stronger, don't we?" Ginji-san's relieving smile is so bright, even today it's promising. Having his support, for today as well, I will work harder for Yugao's business operations. P124 The next day, around noon. Tomorrow Tenjin-ya will be closed for a break. Since today Tenjin-ya's business operations will end and all shall check out at the same time, everyone's waiting to be free of work. Today, Yugao also has no business transactions, so tonight I was making up my mind to call all of the ladies to make hotpot. I was thinking of calling out all about to all the members who could attend, I only need to walk to the inner garden. "Oh, it's Kasuga." I noticed Kasuga first. On the other side of the log bridge, she was under the ginko tree. I was about to call out "Hey Kasuga--" but she seems to be talking to someone and I stopped. Behind the base of the ginko tree whose yellow leaves were slightly changing color, what the... Kasuga is usually cheerful but her face now weirdly has this blank expression. "Isn't that..." Beside her, it was Chiaki-san, the doorman in charge of the footwear. A Bake-Tanuki like Kasuga. Normally he doesn't get involved with her much deeply, but this time their dialogues seem to be at a crossroads. I thought that the young man was humble and modest, somehow trying his best to look cool, but somehow he is speaking to Kasuga with a harsh expression, the atmosphere doesn't seem good in there, the impression is very different from the usual funny and light. What is up with those two. These two were different from how I knew them. "Oh, Aoi-chan." P125 From far away, Kasuga noticed me, her Tanuki ears popped up, and rushed towards me. "Aoi-chan, are you going to the main building?" "Ehhhrm, yeah. That was weird, seeing the two of you." "You think so? Chiaki is my relative you know. We were just talking." "Oh, I see..." I don't understand but, I wonder what's normal for those two. "Speaking of, Kasuga, tonight, uhm, won't you come to Yugao after work?" "To Yugao? To make me eat food?" "Yeah. I was thinking of actually holding a ladies-only hotpot banquet. I'll set up the kotatsu, and there's also mountain apple liquor. Let's have a girls' night-out once in a while." "Girls night-out..." Kasuga said "That sounds so much fun" with a wicked Tanuki face. I wonder if she's recalling amusing stories she got out of everyone. "I was thinking of calling O-ryo and Shizuna-chan too. I'm going out to meet them now." "If you say so, I'll go tell them. I'm roommates with Shizuna-chan, and I'm assigned to the banquet hall with O-ryo sama." P126 "Oh, is it OK to ask? Sorry about that." "It's fine, it's like the usual running of errands." Smiling like a beast, Kasuga nimbly dashed away. Under the deep autumn air that feels cold, her fluffy Tanuki tail swings left to right. "..." Looking back at the ginko tree, Chiaki-san the chief doorman wasn't there anymore. I wonder what the two talked about. He seemed to have casually listened to the girls night-out plan. The strong mountain apple liquor, lend me your strength... "Aoi-dono" "Wah, Sasuke-kun!" Without warning, Sasuke-kun the O-niwaban fell down beside me. He has a long scarf hanging down his neck, ninja-style from sunrise to sunset. Normally, during the day he usually wears a monk's robe as he sweeps the garden. "What's up? Something happened during work?" "I am patrolling around. Lately, there has been some disturbances." "Well, tomorrow the inn will have its break, it must be difficult. Are you hungry?" "Ah, my stomach is..." P127 Grrrrrmmmmm. Sasuke-kun's hungry stomach made some noise. "My stomach is probably hungry..." "Hee hee. When your duties are done, while on break come to Yugao. We received a lot from Orio-ya, blessings from the sea. The Southern Lands were also grateful to Sasuke-kun, would you want anything?" "Is that true?" Sasuke-kun always had a cool expression, but when it comes to food his eyes sparkle with joy, like a child's. Realizing that he's let out his enthusiasm, he cleared his throat and hid his mouth with the scarf while saying "Well then, until later," and he disappeared into the wind. Sasuke-kun is just as always very earnest, it's adorable. "Nevertheless, some disturbance..." I heard about that by accident, recently. The disturbance, it's shady, things don't look good, among other things. I was working and doing my best in Yugao, and whatever lurks up in my surroundings I don't notice anything at all. But, at the moment I don't know about the things that have started happening, and I got more anxious and worried. P128 Today is a secret girls; night-out, no guys allowed. It's going to happen after Yugao's working hours, a hotpot party will be opened for the ladies of Tenjin-ya. Today it's not at Yugao, the venue will be at my room at the back, and I will bring out the kotatsu. Tonight's dinner will be amberjack shabu-shabu. We'll make a light konbu/kelp dashi amberjack shabu-shabu from the many seafoods from Orio-ya. "We'll use the top shelf kelp to make the konbu dashi for the seafoods of the Southern Lands. It's a hotpot filled with crunchy mustard greens and thinly-sliced daikon, Welsh onions and enoki mushrooms, I'm going to fill it with amberjack as much as I want." "OK--- Let's eat!" Despite it being after work, the ladies' eyes will get fired up. I wonder if that's the case when they get hungry after working hours. I immediately placed in the fatty slices of amberjack in the hotpot's boiled konbu dashi, and let it cook. I will add in here some ponzu for that single tingly flavor.** "Ahhh, what is this luxury. It's been a while since I had amberjack shabu-shabu..." "O-ryo sama, eat the vegetables too. Adding the thinly-sliced daikon makes this a shabu-shabu." "Alright, I get it..." O-ryo just ate only the amberjack, and Kasuga sneakily added in the vegetables. She also placed some of the boiled enoki, and placed a lot of the dashi along with the fish slices, placing all of these together she took a bite. T/N: Sour-tasting soups are best with fatty meats and fish, so I'd get that Aoi would do this to cut the fat and make the shabu-shabu taste even better and also to cut the fat and greasy feels. P129 The two closed their eyes in contentment. Certainly, when the raw amberjack was cooked over a flame, the entire flavor of the fish changes. Instantly the soft slices of amberjack became tough, and over that ponzu was added, this was entirely different when eaten as sashimi or with pickles, it can be an enjoyable, extravagant yet healthy food. Well, not really, it's just the season to eat hotpot deliciously. "Speaking of, what time is Shizuna-chan coming?" "The bath hours haven't ended yet, I think she'll come over after fixing and cleaning up the bath houses. She's the only one from the management staff, and she has to stay in her working area up until the end of business hours." "Oh, yeah. I see. Shizuna-chan is part of the management staff." I lightly glanced at O-ryo. O-ryo was a former management staff member, but she seems to be unaffected by my words. It seems that the person in question enjoys whatever working position she's in right now, and is drinking carbonated water as well as the mountain apple liquors equally. Somewhat it's like being that annoying single office-lady... "Perhaps I should say it- did you know? Orio-ya's Nene is married to their Waka-danna?" "No, aren't they just engaged? It seems like that for the time being, before getting married?" P130 Uhm, Kasuga and I looked at each other. But O-ryo wasn't listening. "Hmmph. That young girl, she'll be suffering so much marrying so young. That Waka-danna called Hideyoshi, that tiny squirt, he'll noisily scold her." "You think so? I've seen that Hideyoshi, he seems good enough. Well, he is pretty noisy. But he seems to like Nene very much, I think it's wonderful that he got his feelings through." I feel like an aunty who's earnestly chatting away about her relatives. If I could talk about it better, those two make a cute, tiny couple. "Gah! Enough chatting about a guy's love for some girl! I am not interested in the happiness of other people!" With a thud, O-ryo slapped her empty wine glass on the kotatsu. "Ahhhh, O-ryo sama don't start complaing about envying other people..." As always, Kasuga started telling her off with her "good grief!" pose. "I'm sorry I'm late--" A breath of fresh air, Shizuna-chan has joined the party.** Shizuna-chan takes care of the bath houses and bears the task of keeping them in order, and is Tenjin-ya's sole management staff for that purpose. "Shizuna, you're late! The battle has already started!" T/N: well the transliteration of the original text was "Shizuna-chan has arrived in the battlefield", but I think this has the same feel, from RPGs honestly IDK anymore lol anyways IMO food parties are always a battlefield so wth it's the same gahaha P131 "Ah, yes--? I'm sorry, ehhh, a battle?" After that, even if O-ryo was just a waitress who glared at her instantly, Shizuna-chan humbly apologized. It seemed that she had no idea what O-ryo meant with her words of choice. Shizuna-chan brought a box for us, filled with so many delicious sweets.This seemed delicious to eat as dessert. "Shizuna-chan, come sit beside me. Say, do you like amberjack shabu-shabu?" Shizuna-chan rarely visits here. I did my best to take care of whatever she needs. "Well, it has been a while since I had some amberjack shabu-shabu, how nostalgic..." "Oh, right. When you were young, you were a staff at Orio-ya. During that time, did you ate a lot?" "Yes, it was my favorite. Shishou-sama** made a lot of it for me..." Talking while bashfully fidgeting, Shizuna-chan started to eat with a lot of etiquette. Suddenly, O-ryo started looking at Shizuna-chan like a sister-in-law. "I say, uhm, Shizuna? There's someone in Orio-ya like you, who's also nice and has good vibes?" "Yes? A person with good vibes?" "Hey, weren't you explicitly pursued here in Tenjin-ya? Who was it.... That guy who looks withered up, called Tokihiko. You like someone who looks bitter and glum, don't you? It's illogical and unadult-like. Don't think that somehow you're under the shadow of that guy.. *hic*" T/N: I don't know how to call the main artist or the one who takes in a lot of disciples or students or apprentices so this is the next best thing, I guess? I mean, it’s directly translated as Master=師匠-Shishou, but it can mean other stuff, not just like sensei though. P132 "Oh, uhm.. that.. Shishou-sama.... he is uhm..." Shizuna-chan's face started blushing, like she had some beer or whatnot. Once that conversation was started, she immediately got perplexed. "Wait a minute, O-ryo! Shizuna-chan just started eating, don't ask her such direct questions, her throat might block off the shabu-shabu." "You're loud Aoi! Shut up, what's more important than looks are the uses**, you crazed-cook!" "What the.." Whom on earth did she think this hotpot party was prepared for? When O-ryo drinks liquor, she always blurts out unapologetic things. "Haaahhh... Aoi may be crazy about cooking, but in the end, eventually she'll get married to Odanna-sama... He'll pick up an excessively-expensive palanquin for you, you won't understand how miserable I am..." "What the heck are you saying... I'm doing my best to avoid being his fiancee." "But Aoi-chan, didn't you and Odanna-sama went out, and you were away for more than a night?" "Hold up, Kasuga, it's a weird, story, it can't be helped. We were captured by the mountain's Kaku-zaru." "Ah, but.. Odanna-sama pulled you out of a pinch, didn't that made you have a change of heart? Or some progress?"

T/N: hanayoridango=function before looks, like buying food first before buying flowers, yeah that’s the literal meaning of the phrase. P133 "...what?" A while ago Shizuna-chan got asked the same kind of questions. Suddenly, the three girls gazed at me. What the, what's up with their eyes, those three? They look like hyenas having an eye on their prey. "I.. I didn't mean it that way! Uhmm... Odanna-sama just.. gives his all as he saves me..." Speaking of progress, what on earth is progressing right now? My first-hand experiences weren't much, and even using those as my basis, I still don't understand. In the end, somehow despite never having an idea on what occurred, the warmth I felt when I was hugged just abruptly pops back again into my mind, and ultimately my face remains blushing, as I chattered and gritted my teeth in silence. I really don't understand this, I wonder... what is this feeling? "What the heck is that..?" "Yeah, what gives? It's weird, Aoi-chan's face is so red, why is that?" I could hear Kasuga and Shizuna-chan somewhat breaking the silence with their hushed conversations. "OK--- that's enough talking about sweethearts and whatnot-- That's every last one of them--" "Yeah, I heard you, I heard you!" O-ryo had enough of the topic already, and she rolled down into the kotatsu with an angry and dead-drunk expression. She probably got one-punched...** T/N: Yeah I feel you O-ryo, when everyone has some special someone and you're the lonely third wheel I mean, I can't blame you girl, I really can't. It's worse than getting one-punched by Saitama, but... Still lol tho sry my bad P134 "O-ryo sama, with that middle-aged man attitude such as yours, you'll miss your chances of getting married." "Kasuga? With the romance that a little girl-chama like you would know, wouldn't have an idea on what love is like, there's no such thing as an immediate fated encounter. Really esteemed women like me, wouldn't have to rush in choosing.There's no leeway for mistakes--" "Yeah, yeah. But regarding myself, I have a first love..." "What, that story about when you were young? Yeah, yeah, sure, that story that smells of inexperience is good enough. Kasuga, go pour me some more.." "Y-yes... Good grief..." The esteemed woman bully lied down again. And as the junior poured more liquor for her, she drank heartily, again. "But Kasuga, speaking of that, during the day, I saw you being with the Gesokuban** Chiaki-san. What on earth were you two chatting about?" "....uhm..." I suddenly remembered it, and without thinking I asked. Kasuga's facial expression slightly changed. "Reallyyyyy?! What the, Kasuga is with that Chiaki?!" Hearing that topic, O-ryo suddenly bolted upright. She kicked her legs inside the kotatsu, and Shizuna-chan let out a tiny, pained "ouch". "What is it, O-ryo?" "Chiaki may look sloppy and gaudy, but so many waitresses are eyeing on him. Not only does his face look good,

T/N: Gesokuban=下足番= doorman in charge of the footwear, normally in Japanese inns or hotels the footwear are kept outside the halls to prevent dirt from coming in. I think elsewhere in the world this is a practice, there’s a thing called indoor and outdoor slippers or shoes. P135 but being a Gesokuban, he's pretty much a member of the management staff. If he gets married, it's easy to dominate him. That's what I understand from hearing other people. Kasuga, he's also your type?" "...what are you talking about, O-ryo sama? Chiaki is my Uncle. Simply put, my father's younger brother.**" "Whaaa... Really?" Everyone got shocked. Everyone in here seemed to be unaware of that fact. Kasuga went "Uh-oh". Her face spelled out "I shouldn't have said that." "It's probably due to this liquor.. I may have said too much..." Kasuga was scratching an itch on her temple. Taking the opportunity, Shizuna-chan suddenly seemed to have remembered something. "Speaking of that... Kasuga is taking a long vacation to go back to her parents' home, and at the same time, Chiaki-san probably won't we working too, isn't it? Could it possibly be that, he's going home with you?" Somehow, a lot of suspicions and doubts started rising up, and Kasuga started clamoring and wailing. "Geez... stop it already! What I told you is already enough! More importantly, hotpot! Look, the mustard greens and onions, and the tofu had all boiled down.The umami of the vegetables and the amberjack have already dissolved into this precious konbu dashi, and it's considerably better now. Aoi-chan, how are we going to divide this?" With dexterity, Kasuga started distributing the contents of the hotpot into smaller bowls, but I was still determined to press information out of her. This girl is pushily taking charge over the hotpot... T/N: I don't know about you guys, but in some families due to the age gaps between the siblings, some of the nieces and nephews ar more closer in age to their aunts and uncles than the aunts and uncles have to the children's parents. I was actually raised by an elder cousin, and her eldest brother was around the age of my father, so yeah, I could understand how this whole thing with Kasuga goes. P136 "Ok, with this, it's definitely udon!" "Udon!" "Yeah let's do that" Shizuna-chan gratefully put her hands together, and O-ryo's sparkling eyes were on standby. Immediately, the udon balls were brought in, and these were dunked into the deliciously-filled dashi stock. After boiling it down, we only had to wait for the noodles to absorb the flavors. "By the way, you all, what do you think of the single guys in Tenjin-ya?" "Yes?" "Do you have anything funny about them to talk about?" While O-ryo poured some newly-opened liquor, she drunkenly pushed the question at me. This woman, sets herself aside and starts gossiping about Tenjin-ya's male army. "First of, let's start with Akatsuki. That guy's the youngest male in the management staff, he may have a promising future, surely being young his composure isn't yet enough, I think. Well, in desperate times I could say that he's adorable, but he's the type that holds grudges, and it's not a good thing that he easily snaps out. For certain, I think he doesn't have a girl." "It seems that O-ryo sama has a problem with the Bantou** -sama snapping out at her words and deeds, don't you?" "Shut up Kasuga--" "Owwwww" T/N:Bantou=番頭=head clerk, or the head receptionist

P137 O-ryo pulled out Kasuga's cheeks. Kasuga's cheeks stretched out so much. "Akatsuki-san's face is a bit scary, but he is a hard-working employee, in my opinion. But, well... I'm not interested in someone younger than me..." "That's right Shizuna, you have an older guy fetish don't you?" "Yeah, the guy has been living for 500 years now, yes..." Shizuna-chan just casually blurted out that she wasn't interested in Akatsuki. She's probably a bit drunk. She's drinking the mountain apple liquor on the rocks... "Akatsuki, you say... When I met him he shouted like he was going to kill me, that guy gave me the impression that he was the worst but... Now I think he's a really good chap. One way or another way though, he's not someone who likes taking care of others. I remember her younger sister.." That child** comes here to Yugao, his eyes may look evil but he's a caring person. Surely, I think that he's concerned about troubling his younger sister Suzuran and grandpa, among others. "Oh, and by the way..." At this point, Kasuga secretly pulled out a notebook and started telling us the stuff that she wrote. What the... What the heck, that is scary. "According to my research, the Bantou-sama doesn't have a woman's touch on him. He's aloof, and he easily and earnestly gets resentful. It also seems that despite the lady waitresses asking him out to have fun, he always doesn't go with them." "As expected..." T/N: the term Yuuma-sensei used for Akatsuki is mame=マメ=bean, but can also mean a child, a little person, etc. Honestly it's not wrong, Akatsuki is an actual precious bean IMO lol protect that spider bean lelz P138 "But that guy, a little girl once invited him to play with her..." Surprisingly, I thought this was a bit rude. Most likely, Akatsuki is sneezing a lot right now. "Wah, udon, udon--" Finally, the udon has been boiled enough. Everyone started putting udon on their bowls. "Gahh... This is it. The udon to finish the hotpot."** "Cooking this in the dashi makes it yummier, doesn't it?" The udon has surely absorbed the umami and the fatty flavors of the amberjack. I added the refreshing taste of the Sudachi Ponzu in mine. This went smoothly down the throat, and this perfectly wraps up the the meal. No, I mean, this is a work of art. "Hey Aoi, you only drank one glass of the liquor? You go drink some more..." "Sorry but, I dont drink more than a cup. Previously, drinking made my eyes hurt when I look at things." A cup of that liquor tastes great. But I dread getting drunk if I drink more than my limit. But everyone was just drinking heartily, so I guess it's fine. The mountain apple liquor also has another nickname, it's called "Easy Bandit-Killer". "Well then, next is the Waka-danna sama's turn" O-ryo continued the conversation where we previously left off. "Waaat? Even Ginji-san?! But.. Isn't Ginji-san perfect? No, a perfect Youkai? I couldn't find any fault with him." T/N: Just in case you're wondering how this works, it's rather easy.. After eating all of the ingredients in the Japanese hotpot, like taking out the veggies and meat, there's a lot of soup left. It's easier to just drink the soup but in Japan, they add stuff to help it go down easy. Choices are either noodles or rice, and the young ones love putting the noodles in. It actually tastes good either way, but I prefer noodles. I think in Persona 5 they also had this same dilemma lol Also yeah Ginji is just the ball, perfect ball of fur lol but he also has this shadowy and mysterious side so if you want a dude of mystery, Ginji's your man gahahaha P139 "Eh. You don't understand, Aoi. Seeing no faults or imperfections is that person's shortcoming-" An adultish smile floating up her face, O-ryo started spinning her glass around. "Waka-danna sama is, well, fanstastic. When you look at him he's handsome, he is well-mannered, and is skillful at his job." "Yeah I get that. He's very sweet, and he always lends a hand... But for sure, Ginji-san seems to have no interests in romantic relationships..." Even I haven't unraveled the reasons to why Ginji-san is still single. But I'm not surprised that he's well-liked. "Oh, well, based on what O-ryo-san was saying, Ginji-sama has no chink in his armor, doesn't he? When a little girl couldn't get any confidence from everyone and has to hold it together by herself, when that perfect Ginji-sama sees that person, his voice would probably not break so easily." "The Waka-danna sama isn't a greedy type, but look, what Aoi-chan is saying is that the Waka-danna seems to have no hobbies or interests. Aoi-chan doesn't understand how, but among the employees he seems to be the type that only admires one person. In that case, his attraction for this one girl could unfortunately end. And she won't be pursued relentlessly." Oh, I get it... Shizuna-chan and Kasuga pointed this out, and I could understand it better. "But after that thing with Orio-ya, somehow the air around the Waka-danna sama has changed, didn't it? T/N: OK I just translated from Japanese what I'd say if I was fan-girling over Ginji, srsly arrrghhh does a guy like this exist? I'd want the extra tails and the transformation powers but I'm OK without those as long as he's into romantic stuff.. Does he? Does he not? I don't know yet lol are there any Ginji fan-fams here too lololol P140 I heard it from the lady waitresses that aren't easy to talk to. That person, he has undoubtedly became likeable. And then, the Waka-danna sama, didn't he take care of you in your condition?" "..." With a wicked face, O-ryo was testing me with her words. But to me, up until now I think that Ginji-san is likeable, and in that case it's not even a joke. He hardly comes to Yugao now, and because of that it's gotten lonely... "On another point, among the Waka-danna sama's nine tails, the third one below, from the right seems to be the most unique.That is somehow a weak spot." "Kasuga, how did you know such information?" It's scary... Kasuga's information is creepy. Even though she's drunk the power of her research skills scared all of us. "Well then... Choubachou** Byakuya-sama--" "O-ryo, don't you dare take another step over there--" We suddenly exercised caution with Byakuya-san. If we speak rudely of him, we feel like we're going to get cursed.** "I honestly couldn't remember a time when he got angry..." "Me either..." "Me too..." T/N: OK so my bad, Byakuya’s supposed position ranges from accounting to reception, but I just previously translated his position as head accountant because it’s what I got before. But he’s more or less the chief of management operations, which includes accounting. Anyway... Hey, I mean, if Byakuya can kick Raijuu's ass then it's justifiable that Byakuya is always in a sour mood, and it's bad to talk about him rudely. Raijuu's a pain in the ass for sure. Arrrgh P141 In the end, this girls' group had nothing more to say. We shuddered when we remembered stuff, and inside the kotatsu we all curled up. Though we were only just talking about him, his pressure on us made us feel defeated even in here. "H.. However, Byakuya-sama stealthily spoils the pipe cats living at the back of the mountain..." "Kasuga, nobody knows about that yet. Don't talk about it, if that gets leaked out we'll get killed." Well, in short, Byakuya-sama pours all of his love to the pipe cats. "Geez, we've wrapped out heads too much on these puzzles, and my hands have lost all feeling. Like Odanna-sama, he also exists above the clouds." "That's because Byakuya-sama is Odanna-sama's good old wife." O-ryo and Kasuga opened the box that Shizuna-chan brought for us, and while munching on these they were sloppily chatting. "Good old wife?" Isn't Byakuya-san a guy? as I tilted my head. "Since long ago, he has assisted in the running of Tenjin-ya. Odanna-sama is able to go here and there freely for work, and Byakuya-sama was staying in Tenjin-ya and presides over it. He has long been in good terms with Odanna-sama, and Byakuya-sama could readily and frankly give out his opinions to him." Come to think of it, before Odanna-sama and I went out, him and Byakuya-san were talking about something one way or the other. P142 In that case, other than the other employess and executives, nobody sees it like an older wife giving encouragement to her husband. "And for sure, when the Oo-Okami** sama isn't here, Byakuya-sama also takes in that role as well, doesn't he?" "Oo-Okami?" Shizuna-chan was drinking the last drop of the sweet liquor, she was reminded of her old home and started talking. "Ougondouji-sama is currently residing in Orio-ya. Previously, Ougondouji-sama was asked to be the Oo-Okami. She holds the same position and rank as Odanna-sama, therefore ever since Ougondouji-sama left Tenjin-ya,the position has been vacant." "Oh, I see... If that's so, with regards to that old tale, I have asked Ginji-san about that." And with that, Byakuya-san also holds the position of Oo-Okami. "Haaaahhh... That weird chat about the Oo-Okami has been a bit too much already." "O-ryo sama, didn't you tell me back then that you'd focus intently on becoming Oo-Okami ,once upon a time?" "Shut up Kasuga! It's a harsh fact that I have to live with!" With O-ryo and Kasuga's conversation, my ears grew eager to listen. "But isn't that.. O-ryo already has no interest with the Waka-Okami position?" "Whaaat? Aoi, you're asking that question? Did't I tell you that I won't get into the position of Waka-Okami again?" T/N: Oo-Okami, Mistress of the House, or something, like the big lady boss.

P143 "R..Really?" "It's fine, really it is. My enthusiastic, indomitable personality is dead. I want to enjoy living a carefree life. I plan to marry a rich guy, then immediately stop working--" "..." Somehow, the atmosphere became tense. Could it be possible that, among all the people in here right now, we're all thinking that O-ryo didn't really want to give up that position? Especially Kasuga, she was shell-shocked, and her face looked troubled. I felt that the mood has changed, so I tapped my fist in my hand. "Oh, right, right. I brought some large-sized grapes from the fruit orchard park, and I made some grape tarts. Let's eat some? I added a lot of grapes on it, it's a custard cream dessert." "Kasstard? OK OK let's eat--" It seems that nobody understood what I meant, but everybody nodded their heads excitedly. Grape tart. I made the crust with the coconut oil from Orio-ya and baked it, and by adding the large grapes called Daishisui that I gathered with Odanna-sama yesterday, the tart looks like a sparkly jewelry box. On top of the crust, I laid down an easily-made custard cream made of Cassowary egg and some wheat flour, with cow's milk and a bit of sugar, P144 and these buried the grapes cut in halves, which I later baked in the oven. After baking this for a while, I topped everything with raw grapes and pure cream. These were arranged as such because the tightly-packed grapes beneath this layer cannot be seen. "Woooooow!" Those dynamic-seeing eyes, everyone's eyes were sparkling. I sliced the large tart in front of everyone, and when the neatly-arranged grapes were cut through, Shizuna-chan let out a regretful-sounding "Awww".** There wasn't any fork, we used kuromoji, special wooden chopsticks** normally used for Japanese sweets or just ate them using our bare hands. "Uwahhh this is juicy-- What is this, I thought this food has raw grapes, but this tastes is like it was meant to be a baked dessert!" "This is the first time I ate something that tastes like this, but the grapes' sweetness stands out, it's really delicious--" O-ryo eating with her hands and Shizuna-chan using a kuromoji, they fell into a trance like typical ladies who love sweets. "This is generally called a fruit tart, and with the rich taste of the eggs in the custard cream, it blends well with the sweet and sour freshness of the fruits, and together these really bring about the best-tasting combination. The sweetness gets reduced, and the sourness becomes mild." As I was explaining how the mild taste came about, Kasuga haven't taken a single bite of the grape tart, and while propping her chin with her hand, she was observing it quietly. T/N: Lol I feel you Shizuna-chan, I feel the same when a freshly-bought ice cream tub looks so neat I don't wanna cut through it lol that's why ASMR of perfectly arranged anything are famous bahaha

Kuromoji=黒文字= Japanese sweets are eaten traditionally by using tiny wooden chopsticks, to cut and skewer them. You can check them out via search engine or smth P145 "What is it, Kasuga? Don't tell me, you don't like grapes?" "Hmm? No, it's not like that.. I really love grapes. That dessert you called tart, I was thinking of something." Kasuga ate held tart like it was a hard cookie, and bit on it heartily despite doubting what it was, before chewing on it. She filled her cheeks with the grapes, the custard, and the fragrant crust. "Mmmm, I wanted to eat some more. The grapes are heavy, and they burst in my mouth." Just a while ago we were enjoying some amberjack shabu-shabu, but we still had room for dessert, and all of the girls ate as much of the grape tart to their hearts' content. "Aoi-dono--" In that moment, came a boy's voice that can be heard from inside Yugao. "It's Sasuke-kun. I told him that I was going to give him something to eat after his working hours." The three ladies around me went "It's.. Sasuke-kun?", and they looked at me from the side. "Say, Aoi, tell Sasuke-kun to come here too." "Really? Even if today's a no-guys-allowed girls' night-out, it's OK to call him in?" "Yes, it's totally OK. Sasuke-kun is an adorable and good boy." "..." Even though there was a nagging feeling, I went outside of Yugao and called out to Sasuke-kun. "Sasuke-kun, thank you for your hard work. We were just having a hotpot party inside but, P146 I'll also add something for you, OK?" "Hotpot, is it? Is it because it has already gotten a bit cold?" "Come in. Everyone's waiting for you. I'll go and prep up." "I understand." Sasuke-kun unknowingly trudged toward the innermost room, and opened the door. "?!" No sooner than opening the door. Sasuke-kun the ninja couldn't react fast enough, and he was dragged into the room. "Gyaaaaahhh! Aoi-dono, Aoi-dono---" Sasuke-kun, the innocent and sweet Sasuke-kun, he was preyed upon by the ladies starved of men. "I- I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I'll make you a delicious hotpot, OK?" I feel guilty that he gets harassed, and using another earthen pot I added dashi stock, vegetables and the amberjack slices, and hurriedly went towards the innermost room. Please, please let Sasuke-kun be OK! "..." Sasuke-kun was already pestered by the drunken ladies, here and there he was grumbling being urged to drink liquor, P147 his hair has been tousled and his scarf stretched out, it was horrible, but he was being coddled and spoiled. "Aoi-dono--" Poor Sasuke-kun, he was crying out of fear. He was unprotected, and the swarming girls were getting their fill, it was another shabu-shabu over the kotatsu setting. They're feeding him too much. While he's eating delicious food, I will protect Sasuke-kun.

Despite the determination of that bunch, just like turning off a lamp, the girls suddenly collapsed.

Zzzz.... The effects of the mountain liquor came at last, and the intense sleepiness has struck. "Aoi-dono.. What on earth, were you doing here?" "Hmm? It's a secret girls' night-out, Sasuke-kun." "Secret girls' night-out..."

It's really too much to handle drunkeness. The true intents and personalities of the girls, were hidden and unseen, in this empty room these must not get out. Everything that they spewed out, they'll probably forget in the morning. And that was the so-called, girls' night-out.

End of Chapter 4, Volume 6. Previous - Intermission 1 Next - Intermission 2

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 4 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 4 english fan translation

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zwritestuff · 4 years

Text

Can(t) Speak French

Though Gigi technically can speak French, she finds impossible to even speak at all whenever Nicky is around.

a/n: I said I would write a fic with Girls Aloud’s song Can’t Speak French, AND HERE IT IS. Short-ish one-shot, just to try to explore the girls’ personalities and dinamics. It’s not beta-ed at all, so there will be mistakes.

The bolded dialogue indicates they’re speaking in French, because I didn’t want Google Translate to do me dirty.

“So, you’re telling me that out of all the people working in this office, I’m the only one that speaks French? How?” Gigi inquired in complete astonishment. Yvie nodded with a sigh.

“Apparently, yes. Most of our employees know Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Farsi…” She listed, trailing off a little. “Hardly anyone listed being fluent in French when they applied for their jobs. The only other employee that knew French is Katya, and as we all know she quit to work in her wife’s make-up company,” Yvie pointed out, punctuating the annoyance in her tone with an eye roll.

Gigi suppressed a smile. She’d been working there for mere months, and she didn’t really know who this Katya was, but she was thankful that she quit. Up until now, she’d just been the typical new employee that serves coffee, runs from here to there to deliver papers and almost nobody took seriously due to the fact that she was the youngest girl around.

“When is Miss Doll arriving?” She asked, trying not to show how excited she actually was.

Yvie looked at her wrist watch and then back at Gigi.

“In an hour or so after lunch.”

Soon after Gigi was dismissed to go back to work until it was time for the meeting, and she had the biggest smile in her face as she walked back to her desk.

After having thrown her hopes and dreams of being a fashion designer to the trash, she decided to move to New York with a friend that was going to study at the city. She went around applying for jobs until she got where she was on Charles Building Company.

Though her mother had offered her a million times to send her money to pay rent and buy groceries so she could go back to college —she always insisted she had a good eye for design and fashion, being more sad than upset when she quit college— Gigi always declined, saying they lived just fine from Gigi’s paycheck, her income from the little side business she had as a make-up artist, and the money Crystal parent’s sent their daughter.

Being financially stable didn’t mean she was happy with her job, though — most days she was bored out her mind and she didn’t have any friends despite having worked there for half a year now. The closest thing she had to a friend being Jackie Cox, one of the Company’s lawyers, and she didn’t even know if she could consider Jackie a friend; she was nice to everyone.

So when she sat back at her desk, instead of paying attention to Raven’s voice that shouted from the other side of the room to bring her a coffee, she decided to do some research on Nicky Doll.

Who knew, if she excelled at this she’d probably get promoted to a higher position and people would stop treating her like a kid.

According to Google, Nicky Doll was a French businesswoman known for both her fashion sense and cutthroat attitude when negotiating. She used to be one of France’s most beloved models, and now she was a designer herself, among having investments of all kinds.

Gigi knitted her brows in a frown, starring at a picture of Nicky in her latest fashion show. What kind of business would she want to make with Charles Building Company?

“Yes, mom, I’m wearing the red suit. You know this one fits me like a glove and I only wear the pink one on Fridays because it’s comfortable and on Fridays I hang out with the girls after work,” Gigi rambled as she rushed through her lunch, trying to not let her phone fall from the crook of her neck.

Lunch time was almost over and Gigi had taken advantage of it to call her mom and get herself ready before Nicky arrived, vibrating with excitement.

Her mom was telling her how proud of her she was —and also kind of rubbing in her face that she had been right about sending her to French classes since she was little— when Gigi looked at the time and realized she had to go back to her desk and finish reading the contracts before the meeting.

She said her usual goodbyes and packed her lunch back in her lunchbox, heading towards the door of the rooftop, taking a last glimpse of New York’s busy streets before she was going down the stairs.

The rooftop was her favorite part of the whole building; it was mostly deserted when the company wasn’t using it for fancy parties, and Gigi loved it — the view was amazing, and she didn’t have to think on her co-workers purposefully leaving her out when they all got lunch together.

Gigi was humming a song as she went to call the elevator, but she was surprised when, without having pressed any buttons, its doors opened and she saw two people having an argument in a language that clearly wasn’t English.

Gigi’s heart jumped when she noticed this was Nicky Doll. Holy shit.

“Stop pressing more buttons, Leila! You act like a child that’s never been in an elevator,” Nicky huffed, folding her arms. Hesitantly, Gigi stepped into the elevator, making Nicky aware of her presence and causing her to suddenly straighten her position and soften up her expression. “Good evening, Miss,” she politely greeted her with a nod.

Gigi inhaled sharply, all her French knowledge was suddenly gone and her throat was dry.

The photos definitely didn’t do Nicky any justice. She was nothing short of stunning in person, and Gigi was suddenly nervous at the thought of having to spend a lot of time with her as the negotiations went on.

The doors closed and Gigi somehow felt as if there wasn’t any air.

“Good evening, Miss Doll,” she replied with a croaky voice. She bit her tongue and a blush covered her cheeks, as Nicky Doll looked her from head to toe with an indecipherable look. “I— I’m pleased to meet you,” she immediately said after, trying to not let her voice tremble.

“And you are…?” Nicky asked, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

Gigi gulped, even if she didn’t mean it, she looked very intimidating.

“My name’s Gigi Goode and I’ll be your interpreter during the negotiations,” she informed with a shy smile, and Nicky tilted her head to the side.

“What a coincidence, then, to find you just when we thought we were lost,” Nicky said, turning to see her assistant. “This is my assistant, Leila, and it’s safe to say us both were surprised when we arrived and there was no one to receive us and show us around.” Gigi felt Nicky scrutinizing her, and she mentally cursed Yvie.

‘An hour after lunch my ass,’ she thought.

“My apologies for that, our boss was under the impression that you’d arrive later on, we weren’t expecting you so early,” she explained, with her tone full of embarrassment.

Gigi thought she deserved a raise after this; apologizing in behalf of the whole company wasn’t part of her contract.

Nicky suddenly opened her eyes widely and looked at Leila.

“You got the time zones messed up again when you e-mailed them, didn’t you?” She inquired, folding her arms. Leila instantly looked mortified and began apologizing profusely, but Nicky dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “Whatever, it’s already done. Make sure you double check the next time.”

Nicky turned to see Gigi with an apologetic look.

“My apologies for the confusion, Miss Goode. My assistant is still learning,” she said, rubbing her temples.

Gigi nodded understandingly and glanced briefly at the assistant. She’d be lying if she didn’t see herself in her; she used to constantly fuck things up when she began working there. How had Yvie not fired her was beyond her.

The elevator soon was in silence and Nicky pulled out her phone, slightly leaning against the wall.

Gigi tried so hard to not stare at her, but it was nearly impossible. Nicky just had something in her that made her incredibly alluring.

“I like your suit, where did you get it?” Leila complimented, snapping Gigi from her thoughts. She blinked repeatedly before she realized what she’d asked her.

“Thank you! Oh, my mom made it,” she replied with a toothy smile, twirling a little.

Nicky looked up from her phone, eyeing her curiously.

“Your mom is very talented, Miss Goode,” Nicky said, taking a step forward and inspecting every little detail on Gigi’s suit, as Gigi fidgeted with her hands behind her back. “I have to admit, your mother’s work is very polished, and it looks like something that’d be sold at Paris finest boutiques.” Nicky smiled at Gigi, locking eyes with her.

Gigi’s cheeks got a slight rosy tone, the wide smile still present in her face.

“Thank you, Miss, that means a lot coming from you,” she replied, just when the elevator’s doors opened again.

“Miss Gigi, would you do me the favor of showing me around?” Nicky inquired, and Gigi nodded right away.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Nicky softly interlocked her arm with Gigi’s and looked expectantly at her, batting her eyelashes a little.

“Lead the way, Miss Goode.”

Gigi felt her face burning, but she mechanically started walking, unable to form a coherent sentence.

#my fanfiction #can't speak french fic #gigi goode #nicky doll #rpdr fanfiction #yvie oddly

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eclecticstarlightconnoisseur · 5 years

Text

Edinburgh To Boston - Chapter 10 - Getting To Know You

Good evening all,

I’m back with Chapter 10. I tried something different here and I hope you all like it. There are some words I used that I got from Google Translate, I hope they are correct. The story also includes references to middle eastern culture. I also hope these are correct. I did my due diligence and researched the culture as best as I could. If there are errors, I do apologize.

We are nearing the end of this story. I am wondering if after I finish it should I continue with a Part II? Would you all be interested in continuing to read about these two or should I move on to something else? Your opinion matters to me.

Any thoughts or comments you have about the story, please let me know. Constructive, respectful criticism is welcome.

I need to thank @curlsgetdemgurls for putting up with me, encouraging me, and being the best beta around.

So without further ado, I give you:

Edinburgh to Boston

Chapter 10

Getting To Know You

SPLAT!!!

Something struck Jamie squarely in the center of his back. He had a suspicion of what hit him and who did it. Turning around he found Claire standing several feet behind him with the most angelic look on her face and her hands behind her back.

“What are ye doin’ there a nighean?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. She had the appearance of pure innocence.

“Oh, Jamie! I saw it happen. Those little buggers. It was a drive-by snowballing. They ran off that way.” she pointed with her chin toward the street.

Against his better judgment, he turned to gaze in the direction that the supposed miscreants had fled.

SMACK!!!

Another snowball struck Jamie just below his hairline. The snow had yet to freeze and remained soft and powdery. The cold missile exploded sending a shower of fine-grained flakes across his neck tightly gripping his warm skin with icy fingers.

“Ifrinn! Now, Claire! I…” Jamie grumbled, wiping off his forehead, fingers cold.

THUMP!!!

Hurling her third projectile, it impacted successfully at his mid-center.

“OOF! I’ll get ye for this, ye wee minx. See if I dinna,” he said, his eyes narrowing. He meant to get his revenge.

“Catch me if you can!” Claire squealed as she turned to run as fast as the snow-covered walk permitted.

She was no match for Jamie’s long stride and powerful leg muscles.

“Got ye, ye wee besom. Now, tell me what I should do with ye?” He caught up his Sassenach wrapped his arms around her, gripped her in a tight embrace, lifting her up.

“Anything you want to,” she smirked.

Claire dropped her head down and gently kissed him on the tip of the nose. Her eyes shining bright with mischief.

“I can think of any number of things I’d like to do to ye, but none of them can be done in a public place.”

She lowered her head kissing him tenderly on his wide sweet mouth. Her lips parted, tongue sweeping across his, seeking entry. Granted. Their kiss deepened. The world, the cold, the snow all melted away.

“For the love of Mike! Get a room will ya?! This is a public park.” A voice barked out from some distance away.

The lovers broke apart, each looking at the other giggling.

“We have one!” they called back in unison to the anonymous voice.

“Then go there and use it, for Pete’s sake.” There was no malice to the voice rather it sounded amused and happy for the couple.

“Aye, I think we will. Thank ye for the advice.”

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

The lovers continued their slow-paced walk. Hands linked, fingers intertwined, they stole shy glances at each other. She found his crooked smile charming. He thought her smile sweetly radiant, warming him to the backbone. The walkway was narrow causing them to frequently brush against each other or they wanted to believe.

They talked about everything and nothing, truly getting to know each other. Even though they had worked together for the past year, they knew precious little about each other.

“Have I ever told ye about my family, Sassenach?”

“No, not really,” Claire shook her head.

Jamie, a born storyteller, told her about his family and childhood at Lallybroch.

“My Mam, she seemed to favor me for some reason.” He added quickly, “No’ that she dinna love Willie and Jenny, but she would always look at me, smile and tell me that I was special that I was born to do something important. She said she kent it the day I was born. She would look at me and say, “Jamie lad, I want ye tae study hard, harder than ye want tae or think ye need tae. Someday ye will do something that will affect a lot of people. Ye need tae be ready.'’ I always thought all Mams said such things to their bairns. I dinna ken what I was supposed to do, but I studied hard just as she asked.”

“Now my brother Willie, I idolized him. He could do no wrong as far as I was concerned,” Jamie said with a wistful look on his face, his eyes glistening. “Lord, I was a true pest! I followed him everywhere he went, never chased me away. I mimicked everything he did or tried to. He was to be the next Laird, no’ me,” he said with some guilt in his voice. “He woulda been the better choice for it.”

“Why so?”

“He loved the land, the farm. No’ that I don’t, mind ye, but he woulda stayed at Lallybroch. No’ like me. I kent I had something else to do.”

He went on to tell her about playing with Ian his best friend and his sister Jenny. Bossy one she is and a true meddler. Jenny took over the household when Mam died. He told her tales of going fishing in a burn, sword fights with sticks, climbing trees, and a broken arm from falling out of a tree.

“Did I tell ye about the time Ian and I set the barn on fire? Accidental like, ye ken?” He looked rather sheepish in the telling. “Weel, it happened just after I turned fifteen.”

“Did ye get it,” I asked anxiously as I grabbed Ian by the arm pulling him into the barn.

“Aye, I did.” Ian looked around making sure that they were alone. He looked nervous.

“We’re alone here ye numpty. Where is it?”

He pulled out a fairly crumpled handkerchief from his jeans pocket. The unwrapped bundle revealed a cigarette, somewhat bent, but intact. A half empty book of matches was withdrawn from his other pocket.

Standing there the two boys looked at the cigarette with great reverence. It was the symbol of their burgeoning manhood. They thought of emulating cool Hollywood icons, Steve McQueen, James Dean, Paul Newman, or Marlon Brando with a cigarette hanging from their lips.

“What if we get caught, Jamie? Our Das will kill us.” Second thoughts raced through Ian’s mind wanting to forget the whole idea.

“Nah, we’re safe here. They’re in the fields and willna be back for a few hours,” he grinned. “Ye watched yer faither smokin’ one. So, how do we do it?”

Sighing, he acquiesced to the plan. “He does something like this.” Ian placed the cigarette in his mouth, letting it dangle trying to look ‘cool’. Instead, he looked like a bird with a worm drooping from its beak. He struck the match and the smell of sulfur floated about the barn. The flame ignited the end turning the tip red and glowing. He took a tentative inhale causing the paper to blacken. The fragrant scent of burning tobacco lifted and borne upon the air current. He choked, coughed, and his eyes began to water. His wame twisted and turned with the collywobbles.

“‘Tis good,” he exclaimed lying, not wanting to look unmanly.

“Ye try.”

Jamie dubiously scrutinized his friend/brother. “Ye dinna look so good.” He took the cigarette afraid to look the coward, took a deep inhale, held his breath, eyes bulging wide, and expelled the blue-grey smoke in one giant cough. He continued to cough, sputter, gag, and felt the bile rise to his throat.

“I dinna ken why anyone would wanna tae do this! It tastes nasty, burns my throat and makes me wanna puke.”

At that moment, the laddies heard the return of their fathers from the fields.

They looked at each other with abject horror on their faces, knowing they would soon be caught.

“Damn it, Jamie. I thought ye said they would be gone for a while.” Ian grabbed the cigarette threw it down trying to stomp on it but did not see where it had dropped.

“He told me they would be gone for about an hour or two! They must have finished early.”

They ran to the barn door just in time to see their fathers cresting the hill.

“Did ye put it out?”

“I dinna ken. I think so. It got buried in the hay.”

“Jamie, lad where are ye? Have ye finished yer chores?” Brian Fraser called out in his deep rumbling voice.

“Och, Brian, ye ken they’re probably off on some mischief.” Auld John chuckled. “Ye ken what they’re...what’s that smell? Like something’s burning.” He raised his long straight nose in the air and began to sniff. His eyes drifted toward the barn. “FIRE!!!!”

All the heads swiveled toward the barn. It was on fire.

“Christ,” Jamie exclaimed looking at the back of the barn where they had just been. “Ian get water, I’ll get the horses out. NOW.”

Ian nodded his head and ran hell-for-leather to find the hose to drag it into the barn.

The horses were stamping, snorting, large heads tossing in agitation, eyes wide rolling wildly in their sockets while trying to break free from their stalls.

Donas, the massive ill-tempered black, gnashed his teeth.

“Sin, na biodh eagal ort a-nis. Tha mi an seo.”

Jamie took his shirt off threw it over the head of the black leading him out of the stall. He ran back leading the other two horses to safety.

Ian had returned with the hose dousing the fire putting it out.

Their fathers had arrived breathless from running to find everything under control.

“Care tae explain this?!”

Squaring his shoulders, standing to his full height and taking a deep breath (while commending his soul to God), Jamie told the truth taking the full blame. “I talked Ian into taking one of his Da’s cigarettes. The blame for everything should rest on me. I’m sorry Da.”

“Ye canna take the whole blame. I had a part in this also. ‘Tis my fault as much as his. I’m sorry too Da.”

Jamie stood with his hands clasped in front of him awaiting judgment and punishment to be pronounced. Likewise, Ian stood straight, hands at his side, ready to hear his sentence like a convict before a judge.

“Bairn, get ye tae the rail. Brian’s hands went to unbuckle his belt.

“Both of ye.” Auld John said in a tone that would brook no argument.

“No. Sir.”

“Defiant too, I see. Whatever has gotten into that thick skull of yers, son? Are ye testing me?” Brian asked his face red with fury.

“No, sir. I am no’ testing ye. I just think that I should be punished as a man, no’ as a boy. I have admitted my wrongdoing, seen the error of it, and willing tae take my punishment as a man would, sir.”

“Oh, ye think ye are a man now? Would a man be as careless and start such a fire, hmm? I think no’. Over tae the fence and let’s get on with it.”

“No, Da. Ye need tae punish me as a man, no’ as a boy.”

The two fathers walked away from the boys to confer with each other.

“Man!” Brian snorted sarcastically. “I’ll gie ye a chance tae prove yer a man. As a man, ye should choose yer own punishment. But, I warn ye, if it is not serious enough ye will be over that fence faster than a thought going between a lad and a lass.”

This was an unexpected turn of events.

Jamie and Ian also went to consult with each other and came back with a plan.

Jamie cleared his throat then began, “We have caused considerable damage tae the barn, so we thought we could repair whatever was destroyed in the fire on our free-time after school and weekends. We’ll clean out the old storage shed tae make room for the horses tae stay until the barn is repaired and we’ll take care of the horses, feeding, watering, grooming them, and mucking out the shed. In addition to our regular chores.”

“Ye ken that means ye have to give up yer after-school activities and sports.”

“Aye, Da we ken. We want tae prove we are responsible for our actions and make amends. We’ll explain to coach why we canna participate.”

The two young men stood patiently awaiting the acceptance or rejection of their proposed punishment.

Their fathers looked at each other and smiled.

“Get ye gone, lad. Tell your sister that four men are hungry for their supper.”

Jamie turned to look at his Sassenach after telling her this tale.

"Strange, the things you remember. The people, the places, the moments in time burned into your heart forever, while others fade into the mist. I've always known I would live a life different from other men. When I was a lad, I saw no path to take in front of me. I simply took a step and then another. Moving ever forward, ever onward. Rushing towards someplace, I kent not where. Then one day, I turned around and looked back. I realized that each step I'd taken was a choice. To go left, to go right, to go forward, or maybe no’ go at all. Every day, every man has to make a choice between right and wrong, between love and hate, and even between life and death. And the sum of those choices becomes your life. The day I realized that I became a man.”

There was a faraway look on his sweet face, seeing memories of a time long gone.

“My Da was a strict man, but fair. That day I saw him bend and it made me mindful of what it meant to be a man. A man is one who cares for his family, his community, his friends, his land. He takes responsibility for his actions every day of his life. From that day, I kent I wanted to be just like him. I took things more serious like after that day.”

Jamie paused in telling his story drawing Claire to him gathering the strength to continue from her nearness.

“It...It was after my parents and Willie deaths that I decided to become a doctor. I thought I should do something to help other people, ye ken. Since my heart was broken, I thought I would become a heart surgeon so I could fix other people’s broken hearts and give them a second chance. Does this make sense tae ye, Claire?”

“Perfect sense.”

His hands went to her waist, pulling her even closer to him anchoring himself to her. He rested his chin on the top of her wooly cap. “Do ye think me becoming a doctor and helping people is what my Mam meant about doing something important that would affect a lot of people?”

“I don’t know if she knew you would become a doctor, Jamie but you help so many people because you are. That is something important. The one thing that I do know is she would be so proud of you.”

“Thank ye, Sassenach, for listening.” He clasped her close to him feeling her love permeate out into him warming him to the bone.

He kissed her tenderly on the lips then gave her a little push back looking into her warm amber eyes.

“Enough about me. What about ye, my Sassenach, what was it like growin’ up for ye?”

Claire reciprocated in kind. Telling him of her Travels with Lamb. She laughed saying she always thought that maybe it should be the title of a book. Besides Lamb, there was Firouz, a manservant in her uncle’s employ. Far from being just a steward, Firouz became a beloved second uncle.

Her uncle undertook her education with Claire studying by lamplight each night. On her own, she learned enough of the local language and customs which allowed her to play with the village children. She also learned how to do many things not normally suited for a young lady of gentle birth, digging latrines, hauling water, building campfires, cataloging artifacts, and generally helping her uncle with his excavations.

The trio traveled the world together. India, Egypt, Peru, Mexico were by far the most frequented archeological sites. There once was a summer spent in Paris, while Lamb helped organize an exhibition at the Louvre.

“When I first went with my uncle I was five years old. Poor Firouz, he more or less became my nanny. I spent all my time with him whilst my uncle worked in the field.”

“Come little one! We must hurry to the market before the Aljaddat buy everything. If we do not get there soon, whatever is left will not even be fit for the dogs.”

The child’s legs were no match for the long graceful strides of the man. So, she simply gave up and sat down in the dirt road in her pretty pink dress, white pinafore, white ankle socks with lace trim, and black mary jane shoes. The dust and sand blew around her, covering her in a fine layer of dirt. Her face was gritty, and her curly hair a magnet for grim. The road traffic, braying donkeys and bleating goats, people on foot, children running amongst the animals and pedestrians, passed around her without so much as a glance. No one paid attention to the strange forlorn little girl sitting on the ground.

The man continued to talk believing that the child remained at his side. He stopped when she did not answer him and froze. He looked around and she was gone. Where did she go? Firouz, fearing the worst, began to run quickly retracing his steps only to find her sitting waif-like in the road. He ran to her picked her up cradling her to him. He ran his hands over her, checking her for any obvious sign of injury. Thank Allah, she was sound.

“What were you doing, child? Why were you sitting there?”

“I couldn’t walk that fast.” She looked up at his face speaking in a tiny tremulous voice, “I thought you left me too.” Claire buried her face into the crook of his neck, sobbing.

‘You are a foolish man, Firouz’, he berated himself. ‘She is so small, how could she keep up with you? And after everything that has happened to her? You must be more careful.’ He felt guilty for almost losing the Professor’s niece. But he was a bachelor in the service of a bachelor. What did he know of children, especially a little girl?

“Do not cry Aziz, I will never leave you.” He wiped her face with the sleeve of his tunic. “Let us go to the market, I will carry you.”

“My name is Claire, not Az...Azz”

“Aziz, little one. To me you are Aziz.”

“What does that mean, Aziz?”

“It means beloved.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled.

“Come, let us go, before there is nothing left, only food not even fit for the dogs.”

Claire, snuggled against him and gave a little giggle.

Five Years Later -

“Come onnnn, Uncle Firouz, what is taking you so loooong?” Claire now age ten, ran ahead of her Uncle. She was indistinguishable from the other street urchins, dressed in loose white gallabya decorated with colorful embroidery and a floppy hat on her head. The sun had kissed her once porcelain skin turning it a warm golden brown. Her hair glowed with strands of gold, copper, and auburn scattering amid her dark brown curls. The child was thriving and happy, Firouz thought and was pleased. Although, there were moments when he could still see terrible sadness in those remarkable topaz eyes.

Claire ran back to her Uncle grabbed his hand pulling him toward the market. “Uncle Firouz if we don’t hurry then the Aljaddat will buy the best and ...”

“We will get what is not fit even for the dogs,” he said with a laugh. “You do pay attention, Aziz.”

Claire’s shining eyes looked up at him with affection, “Yes, Uncle I do.”

Claire ran amongst the stalls picking, choosing, and bargaining just as her Uncle had taught her. It amused him to watch her haggle, hands on her hips, pretending that the quality of the merchandise was poor and negotiating for a better price. She was an amazing child this child of his heart.

After purchasing what they needed, they walked to a cafe where her guardian would sit and take coffee with a friend.

“You have done well Aziz and earned a treat.” He reached into a pocket gave her some coins. “Go and buy yourself something. But do not be long, we must get back to the camp.” He touched her cheek tenderly, “Now shoo.”

To Claire, the bazaar was a magical place. The sights, the sounds, the smells that wafted around her enticed her to come nearer much as a moth dangerously circled close to a flame. All the tents, shops, and stalls were decorated with colorful pennants and banners, blue, red, yellow, green, offsetting the drab desert colors of neverending orange-yellow sand and dreary beige landscapes. Flags swayed gently in the breeze beckoning her forward like a finger curling in temptation. Many of the shopkeepers knew her by name and called to her hawking their wares.

She didn’t know what to do with her few coins. Should she buy herself a treat of some candy or a sweet bun? Perhaps she should save it as Lamb’s birthday was near and she wanted to get him a little present.

She wandered the maze of the marketplace, looking at this and that but finding nothing she wanted. Suddenly a gust of wind rose up around her carrying a spicy, herbal smell on the air that she had never noticed before. The aroma pulled at her with an almost mystical proportion weaving around her transporting her to it. She followed the fragrance to a tent where a woman was busy grinding something. She shyly crept forward watching the woman work.

“Do you wish to watch, child?”

Claire nodded. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making medicines.”

“Why?”

“Because some people come to me for help when they are sick.”

“But there are doctors and hospitals for that.”

“Some people prefer the old ways, the more natural ways, and sometimes people cannot afford to go to doctors or hospitals. So, they come to me.”

Inching closer, she peered into the bowl. She wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar odor.

“These are coriander seeds.”

“What’s it for?”

“It can be used for many things. Like relieving pain and stiffness in joints, headaches, stomach aches, like when you eat too many sweets!” The woman tickled Claire’s belly and laughed broadly showing a number of missing teeth.

“Would you like to try?”

Her head nodded vigorously.

Pulling up a stool for Claire to kneel on, she began to show her how to grind and crush with a mortar and pestle. They laughed at some of the seeds escaping over the rim of the bowl.

The sound of grinding and scraping filled the little enclosure. The healer showed her novice different herbs and spices explaining what each was used for and how to make tisanes and ointments with each.

A great shadow darkened the entrance, “What are you doing with my niece, witch?” said a deep male voice brusquely.

“I am not a witch!!” the woman spurted out angrily. “It is always the same. Women who have knowledge of healing are condemned as witches.”

Claire looked from her Uncle to her new friend in complete confusion. “Uncle, she was only showing…”

“Enough, Aziz, we must be going. It is getting late.” Firouz spoke more sharply than he had intended.

“Yes, young one, it is late. You must go back with your Uncle.”

“Will I see you again?”

The woman looked at Firouz who scowled fiercely at her. “No, child, I will be gone by the morning.” Carefully, so as not to be seen, she slipped a small pouch into Claire’s hand and whispered, “Something to remember me by. Do not show it to anyone. It will help you when you heal.”

Claire gave a little nod, slipped it into a pocket murmuring thank you.

“We are leaving Aziz. Come.” Firouz took her small hand in his large one guiding her out of the shelter.

“Why were you so upset, Uncle? She was just teaching me her ways of healing. It was interesting.”

“Aziz, women like her are often looked upon as witches. The villagers might think of you in the same way if they see you with her. It could only bring trouble for you if they do. I only want to protect you, my precious girl,” he said with a sad smile.

That night Claire spoke with her Uncle Lamb about what had happened. He thought it all stuff and nonsense as he did not share the villagers’ superstitions.

“Claire, the most important thing you need to learn, even though we do not share their beliefs, it is to respect them.”

“Even if their beliefs are wrong, Uncle?”

“Even if they are wrong. You must remember, my heart, that these people have never been more than a day’s ride away from where they were born. They live in small villages, and among the oases. They don’t know anything else other than the superstitions and beliefs that have been passed down over the centuries. It is hard to blame them as they don’t know any better or different.

“But shouldn’t we tell them it’s wrong?”

Lamb considered for a moment what to say, “My precious girl, you have a kind heart, this I know and you would like to help people, but changing long-held beliefs takes a very, very long time to take place. It can happen, but not as quickly as you or I would like. Have faith that someday it will come about.”

“That was the lady’s name...Iman. She told me it means to be faithful.”

He pulled his niece onto his lap, cuddling her close to his heart. “I love you my Claire, you are my heart’s own child.” He kissed the top of her curly head.

Lamb sat in quiet contemplation before speaking again.

“Firouz, I think we should encourage Claire’s interest in healing. What do you say?”

“As you wish, Professor.”

“There is one proviso, my dear girl, and that is if Firouz or I think you should not go to visit one of these healers, you will obey our instructions.” Lamb raised an inquiring eyebrow to her.

“I’ll listen to you and Uncle Firouz. I promise. Thank you, Uncles.” Claire snuggled into Lamb’s chest, feeling safe and loved.

“As we traveled to different countries, I spent time with the local healer, herbalists, shaman, or curanderos learning how they healed the sick and what herbs they used. I think that Iman set me on my path to becoming a healer, a doctor that afternoon.”

“I have one question for ye Sassenach, what was in the pouch?”

“Ah, well there was dried mint and thyme leaves, coriander seeds, and a small uncut, unpolished sapphire. Sapphires help to channel healing energy from one person to another. Very essential for any healer to have, wouldn’t you say. I kept the pouch in memory of Iman, my first medical teacher. The herbs are all dust now, but the sapphire is still there.”

“Yer a verra fine doctor, Sassenach. Iman would be proud.”

Claire kept her arms wrapped around her Scot, holding him close, resting her head on his chest.

“Thank you, Jamie, for always being there for me.” Standing on her toes she reached up and tenderly kiss him. She relaxed into his embrace feeling loved and cared for.

They stood holding each other within the sanctuary of their cocoon enjoying the warm feelings from sharing parts of their life story with each other.

Their heads rose listening to the stramash slowly headed their way. A voice carried on the swell of the air currents. It sounded like a woman scolding someone, scolding, a child. The voice sounded familiar. It carried a certain lilt to it. Scottish.

“Rabbie, ye wee gomeral! Dinna stick yer brother’s head in the snow, aye. He canna breathe in there.”

The figures drew closer, a man and a woman, an elderly couple. Accompanying them were two children, two boys and rambunctious ones at that. Always one with a good eye for detail, Jamie was certain he had met the couple before. The man had a jaunty set to his cap, a commanding height, and the spectacles were placed on the tip of his nose. The woman also was tall, but not as tall as the man, grey hair, and had a certain fullness of figure, grandmother-like.

“Sassenach, ‘tis Harry and Maizie from the plane. I dinna think we would ever see them again,” he said a wide smile playing across his sweet mouth.

Jamie raised his arm waving it furiously loudly calling out, “mo charaid.”

***********

Oh, Jamie! I saw it happen. Those little buggers. It was a drive-by snowballing. They ran off that way. -- I adapted this from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire and the drive-by fruiting. RIP Robin Williams

Sin, na biodh eagal ort a-nis. Tha mi an seo -- Hush, don’t be afraid. I am here now.

Aljaddat -- Grandmothers

Aziz -- Beloved

Gallabya -- is a traditional Egyptian garment native to the Nile Valley.

Iman -- to be faithful

#edinburgh to boston #chapter 10 #getting to know you #outlander fic #my writing #growing up #cigarette #fire #egypt #healer #Harry and Maizie return #bet you didn't see that coming #curlsgetdemgurls #julesbeauchamp #we are almost at the end #Here Goes Nothing

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