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#anyway. y’all did not need an update on this but it’s one you’re getting regardless
alxclaremont · 2 years
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as of around 12 today, i never have to take another ap test ever again 😌
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seraphicalsuccubus · 3 months
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I was wondering if you still have the link for that lovely gothic night gown?
It’s just my girls style! Thank you. Hope you have a great weekend. 😊
OKAY SO. this is long and kinda rambly, but I like talking about these robes and the woman who makes because I fucking LOVE them and appreciate the hell out of her work lol.
so, first off: uh, which one are you looking for? I have two, at the moment.
I currently have a black lace mid thigh length kimono with batwing sleeves and a green velvet floor length kimono with batwing sleeves (this one has pockets bc it’s not lace!!!)
(if you want pictures of either to remember what they look like, I can provide those)
regardless, both are from the same shop, and it DOES take about a year-ish or more to get them because she’s the only person that hand makes all her orders and answers her emails and everything. they’re all fantastic quality though so they’re absolutely worth it, but it does take a while to get them in due to how high in demand her shop is with just her as her only employee, basically. she does post general order updates on her blog every 2 weeks though, so you can check the status of your order often. whether it’s in cut/prep, sewing, final seams, or about to be shipped out. and you will get an email confirming your shipping address and whatnot before it’s shipped to you.
OH. and her customer service is phenomenal. I emailed her about my green robe after a year of it being in production and she put a priority on it and sent it out a week later with express shipping, without charging me extra for it. AND she gave me a permanent 20% off code attached directly to my email that never expires and works on every item in her shop solely because I was kind and didn’t attack her about my robe not being ready after the 6-8 months it was promised to be ready for. all because I just politely asked if I could pay her something extra for her to prioritize it after it being in production for so long, and she was so grateful for the positive interaction because some people are just so fucking rude, that she did so without charging me extra for the robe or the shipping, and was very apologetic about the long wait time I had gone through. I immediately placed another order for another robe after that email thread, just to support her further and show that I genuinely appreciate the time and effort that goes into all of her work, and she emailed me again afterwards to thank me directly and give me the personalized coupon code because she recognized the name and email it was placed under. so I HIGHLY recommend this woman’s shop for all your gothic robe/spooky lingerie needs!!! just be nice to her if you email her directly or I’ll kill you with my bare hands because she’s genuinely a lovely soul and deserves kindness.
she’s actually currently making me a Barbie pink lace dressing gown, with a batwing trail and batwing sleeves. I got the only one of its kind. she only had enough of that fabric left to make one in that particular shade/style and I snagged it immediately lol. it’s from her bridal collection, it originally comes in black velvet (and my god, how I YEARN for the black velvet version, it’s just much more expensive). but I’m so excited for my pink version. I can’t wait to finally get it lol.
for reference, in advance, I got the black lace one about 4 years ago for 165, and my green velvet two years ago for 245. my pink one was a clearance item I purchased last year for like 265ish and haven’t received yet, it’s still being made. and the original black velvet version of the pink one I’m having made, is like 400 or something. just to give you an expected price range before you look at the site so you’re prepared.
anyways, if you tell me which you’re looking for specifically, I can give you a direct link to it! or just a general link to her shop for y’all to check out! just let me know!! I’m always happy to help and give product links to the things I am wearing in pictures I post here or just general shop links. ☺️
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kokoch4n3l · 21 days
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Maya’s better than me I would’ve gladly accepted Izana into my life and stayed with him forever 🥵🥵! Like you NEED ME?? say less!
The way you have me obsessed with Izana is unhealthy like fr! Maybe I need therapy LOL cuz why was I literally like I wanna marry him while reading ahaha! Same for Mikey to be honest like why can’t I have both?
Now I shall rant:
You’re really talented! You painted the story and the characters really well and that’s actually super hard to do especially with fan-fiction cuz they’re someone else’s characters that we are building upon and you did such a fantastic job. Fuck the haters!
You need to give yourself more credit you write so well (even the smut is so well written wouldn’t be able to tell that you don’t usually write smut if you hadn’t mentioned it). The way you have me counting down the days before you update your story is insane.
Contrary to what seems to be the majority on this app I actually prefer the oc having name and personality (if I don’t like them I just switch up the image in my head). It also makes me feel like I’m reading an actual book (which by the way you have the skills and talent to write your own book!)
Having a name is so much easier to read in my opinion when it’s a y/n I start literally thinking the name is “y/n” like I don’t remember to substitute my name in you know 😂😂? Like I’m in the middle of reading a story I’m gonna imagine myself in the main characters spot regardless (maybe I’m crazy I don’t mind reader insert stories it doesn’t bother me I’m just saying it’s not a big deal either way)
All this to say if you don’t like the style of the fic either change it in your head or don’t read it. I promise you life will go on and life is definitely much harder than “this made up story isn’t how I like it.”
Let creators CREATE! We (the readers) are living in the worlds they create if you don’t like this one just find one that suits you and move on!
Take it easy y’all and enjoy the story!
Anyway you’re doing great!! Now I’m gonna spend the rest of my week maybe even more thinking about how much I love Izana and Mikey. Thank you for keeping these characters alive for me! 😊 Sorry for my essay I just don’t want you to feel discouraged!
no cuz fr. while I was editing I was like,, damn I would've given in right away 💀 I'm so crazy obsessed with them it's like 🤭
Thank you so much for reading and the message. I really really appreciate it. The long message is very much appreciated and which is why I have anons on because I know many people prefer to be on it. Getting shitty anons like that made me contemplate turning anon off but collective punishment is war crime lmfaoo and not all my anons are like that.
really tho, I appreciate it, the small and long messages <3
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moon-light-jukebox · 4 years
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Germs [Reid x Reader]
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this gif isn’t mine
Summary: Reader is sure the resident BAU genius doesn’t like her, but she’s not sure why. But even if he did like her, he’s a germaphobe, so he wouldn’t be comfortable with the things she wants to do to him...would he?
Pairing: Spencer Reid / (Female) Reader
Word Count: 5.6k
Rating: Mature 
Category: Fluff and Smut 
Content Warning: Brief mentions of torture and violence, usually criminal minds stuff, nothing explicit. Light choking, oral sex (female receiving), penetrative sex, fingering, language (maybe?) 
A/n: I have come out of fan fiction writing retirement for this one. Let me know what y’all think!  masterlist
y/n - your name
y/l/n - your last name
italicized text is Reader’s sassy inner thoughts
---
I’m not sure if I believe in hell, but if there is a hell, I’m sure it feels exactly like Louisiana in July. Every time I walked outside I felt like I was walking into soup. Gross. I couldn’t help but feel guilty over my sigh of relief when I walked back into the local precinct the team was currently working out of. Young women are dying, and I’m worried about a little bit of heat.
But, fuck, it was hot.
Speaking of heat, I thought as I threw open the door to the conference room only to run smack into the hottest thing I’d ever encountered.
“Shit,” I exclaimed before I thought better of it. “I’m so sorry.” I ran my eyes up, up, up, all the way up his body until I met his eyes; those beautiful honey brown eyes that threatened to have me acting like an idiot if I stared into them for too long.  
Dr. Spencer Reid’s cheeks were tinged pink, his posture stiff, his fingers clutching the file he was carrying for dear life. “Don’t worry about it, Y/n,” he sounded uncomfortable, which made my stomach drop. “My fault.” With that, he quickly maneuvered around me and headed off to complete whatever genius task he had to complete.
My eyes followed him until he was out of sight before I mentally shook myself. ‘C’mon, this is pointless,’ I thought. ‘He doesn’t even like you.’ Which I really thought was true, the good doctor went out of his way to avoid me whenever possible. ‘Plus, he’s a germaphobe.’ This thought was confirmed true. He didn’t shake people’s hands, the only people I’d seen him touch during my time at the BAU were members of the team that he’d known for years, and some of those even seemed reluctant.
Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about germaphobia; since I couldn’t ask the only genius I knew, I did the next logical thing. I googled it. Every person I’d read about seemed to experience germaphobia differently. Some people could have sex, but others were grossed out by the very idea. Knowing my luck, Spencer Reid and his beautiful hands, and his soulful eyes, and his cheekbones that could cut glass was in the repulsed by sex category. Which is fine! Right, it is fine to not be interested in sex; the only problem was I was very interested in every part of him.  
Maybe he thinks I’m gross. Maybe I stink? Maybe he’s just repulsed by my very presence. Regardless, I couldn’t see Spencer Reid ever shoving me against a wall and fucking me senseless.
I sighed, making my way over to the conference table, pulling out a chair before I flopped into it. I could feel the exhaustion settling into my bones. We had been in Louisiana for almost a week now and we were still no closer to finding our unsub. He was a white man, he worked in a lower-paying job, and he hated women. Obviously, that didn’t narrow it down much.
The unsub was targeting women in clubs and bars, following them outside before he bashed them on the back of the head. After that, he threw the girls over his shoulder and took them to his car; he moved them to a secondary location before he tortured them. The first two victims had survived. They were traumatized, but they were fighters; they both said the same things, ‘he kept my eyes covered the entire time,’ “I never saw his face,’ ‘I did whatever he told me to do.’
We thought the killing of the third victim had been an accident, but that accident had excited our guy enough that he changed his ritual; the killing was crucial now. We had 4 bodies, 2 live victims that couldn’t tell us anything, and no leads.
Sighing, I leaned forward, bringing the heels of my hands to my eyes. I hated feeling helpless. The answer to who this fucker was is in this evidence somewhere and I will find it. If it’s the last thing I do.
The doors swung open again, pulling me from my thoughts. Hotch lead the parade of people, followed by Morgan, JJ, and Dr. Reid. Our unit chef looked gravely serious…not that that necessarily meant anything, in the 6 months I’d been with the behavioral analysis unit I hadn’t seen him have any other expression.
Morgan pulled out his phone, hitting what I suspected was speed dial number 1. “Hey baby girl,” he said, without his usual swagger; even he was tired. “You’re on speaker. You’ve got me, Hotch, JJ, Reid, and Y/l/n.”
“And I have the always wonderful Emily Prentiss, and the dashing David Rossi on the line, effectively putting my favorite people together again, as they should be,” Garcia quipped. I don’t think she meant to include me in her list of ‘favorite people,’ but it made me smile anyway. “Okay, crime fighters, what’s the play?”
“We’re still no closer to finding the unsub,” Hotch began. “He’s highly organized, methodical, and paranoid; but he hasn’t killed in 3 days, this is a break from his escalation pattern. He’s going to strike soon.” Hotch leaned over resting his palms on the shiny fake wood of the conference table. “Our best chance is to send an agent out there as bait.” There was a general murmur of agreement before he continued on. “Garcia, we need you to find all of the night clubs, bars, and whatever else you can think of in the updated comfort zone.”
The sound of keys clicking made its way through the speaker. “Assuming we’re excluding the places he’s already hit, that leaves us with 3 possibilities.”
“So far he hasn’t struck a place twice,” Prentiss chimed in. “Do we think he’s going to hold to that pattern?”
Reid moved over to the board where the map of the county was displayed. “I think so. This guy is too careful to risk going to a place where he’s been before. The chance of him being recognized is too great, especially when everyone is on high alert.” He gestured to the area he had circled on the map. “His pattern seems to be focusing in on this center point right here,” he said, placing a pin in the map. “This area means something. Garcia, what is the closest club or bar to the intersection of Washington Avenue and Harrison Street?”
“That would beeeeee…The Blue Fox.”
“That’s where he’ll be,” Dr. Reid said confidently, his eyes moving to Hotch’s face.
The older man nodded. “It’s our best lead so far, we have to run with it.”
“It’s Friday night,” Rossi pointed out. “We’ll have to act soon.”
Hotch nodded, seeming to be lost in thought. “We need to send agents in there tonight. We know the victims were all on dates or flirting with a man right before their abduction. He targets women that are happy with their companions then waits til he can separate them.”
“Who are you planning on sending in, Hotch?’ JJ questioned.
“Y/l/n is the youngest, she fits the build of the previous victims the best.” His heavy gaze rested on me. “What do you think?”
Like it was even a choice. “I’m in.”
Hotch nodded, accepting my answer. “Good. You’ll partner with Reid.”
“What?!” I squawked, much to my embarrassment. I cleared my throat before I continued. “But, Reid and I…I just thought Morgan would be the obvious choice.” Fuck, I’m just digging a bigger hole.
Morgan gave me an easy smile. “You’re just saying that because you wanna see my moves, little mama.”
Hotch cleared his throat, bringing our attention back. “Morgan is too intimidating; the unsub might not move in if he feels too threatened. You’ll go with Reid.” When he was met with silence he continued on, “alright, let’s get to work.”
-
And that is how I wound up in a club in Louisiana on a Friday night, in a tight black dress, with Spencer Reid beside me. After he walked into the club holding my hand. He doesn’t hold hands, I cringed internally at the thought. He must feel so uncomfortable.
He waved the bartender over, ordering a drink for me and a water for himself before turning to me. “I thought a drink would loosen you up a bit. You look nervous.”
I am nervous. “Right. Thanks.” I drummed my fingers on the bar, my gaze sweeping around the club for anyone who seemed out of place and especially creepy. Most lone men at clubs and bars were creepy, but we need especially creepy.
“Is that because you don’t think I can have your back?”
My head snapped back around. “What?”
Spencer paused to accept the drinks from the bartender, sliding him the money. “In the conference room. You seemed upset that Morgan wasn’t going to be your partner,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Is that because you think I wouldn’t have your back?”
Fuck. I blushed to the roots of my hair. “No, Spencer! God no! It’s not that, I know you’d have my back.” I took a sip of my drink before I said anything else. “It’s just that…you don’t seem to like me very much, and I know you have a thing about germs, and I thought maybe that’s why you didn’t like me.” I was babbling; I was absolutely babbling. “I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, that’s all. Morgan has never seemed uncomfortable around me, so…” I trailed off lamely.
The corners of his lips quirked up in amusement. “So, you didn’t want to partner with me on this because you didn’t want me to be uncomfortable?”
I nodded, fidgeting with the straw in my drink.
Spencer moved closer to me, his right hand coming to rest on the small of my back. He seemed as calm as he could be, meanwhile I suddenly had trouble breathing.
It’s for the case. He has to do this for the case. Calm down.
"What do my issues with germs have to do with this?" he wondered, leaning closer to me. I could feel his breath on my neck; my skin broke out in goosebumps.
Double fuck. “Well, we’re supposed to be…together. And you think I’m gross. What if you have to kiss me?” TRIPLE FUCK. “Not that we’d have to kiss,” I tried to backpedal. “But we might, you never know. And I just didn’t…I don’t want you to dislike me more than you do.”
The teasing smile slipped from his face, the fingers on my lower back flexing slightly. He regarded me with a tilt of his head. "You're serious?" At my shaky nod, he continued. "Y/n, I don't think you're gross."
“You don’t?” I squeaked.
He lifted his hand from my back then, sliding it up to my shoulder, his free hand moving from the bar to rest on my hip. Spencer brushed my hair back before he leaned forward. Slowly, slowly, slowly, I felt his lips touch the tender skin of my neck. My eyes fluttered shut, unable to suppress a gasp at the contact. Spencer Reid’s beautiful lips slid down to the place where my neck and shoulder met, then I felt his teeth nip the skin before he placed another kiss there. He worked his way back up towards my ear, the hand on my hip moving slightly so he was almost grabbing my ass. “I don’t think you’re gross,” he breathed, causing me to shudder. I could hear the smirk in his voice. “Germs don’t bother me in that way, especially around people I know. I wouldn’t have a problem kissing you, baby.”
I was going to need new panties after this. Spencer Reid, awkward, sweet, Dr. Spencer Reid just called me Baby.
“…Oh.” Really, y/n. Oh; you went with oh?
The good doctor pulled back, his face close enough to mine that I could see that he had freckles under his eyes and that those beautiful eyes got more golden towards the center. "Oh."
-
Michael Watkins was the name of our unsub. He was a short white man with a receding hairline and a bad temper. His last relationship had ended 3 months before the first attack; Spencer was right to pick this bar. Shortly after he tried to make my pussy combust with his neck kisses, Reid suggested I walk to the bathroom, assuring me he’d be watching if anyone followed.
Watkins’ hand was in my hair, dragging me outside before I made it to the ladies’ room. I felt a jolt of fear as I struggled to escape, strands of hair being ripped from my head. I shouldn’t have worried, because no sooner had the outside door opened than I heard the velvety voice of Derek Morgan. “FBI! Put your hands where we can see them.”
He attempted to run. Why would anyone try to run from Derek Morgan?  
After the medics confirmed I was okay, I was sent back to the hotel while the rest of the team went with the local police to book Watkins and try to get a full confession.
“Good work,” Hotch said, his hand clapping down on my shoulder.
The highest praise I’ll ever need.
I hopped into the shower right when I got back to my room, not wanting Watkins’ touch on me for a moment longer.
Spencer’s touch, however,…That was a touch I wouldn’t mind having on me. But he’d barely looked at me once he made it outside. I knew he was being affectionate in there because of the case, we were playing a role. I knew that. I still couldn’t stop the twinge of hurt I felt.
But he doesn’t think I’m gross. That had to count for something.
I had just got done blow drying my hair enough so that it wouldn’t look too crazy when I woke up when there was a knock on my door. Figuring it was Emily, I didn't consider the fact that I was in my pajamas, and my face was scrubbed free of makeup.  
It wasn’t Emily. Spencer Reid stood on the other side of my door, his eyes running down my body before he met my bewildered stare again. “You look comfy,” he commented with that damn little smile on his lips again.
“Oh. Yeah. I took a shower.” Way to go, y/n, you’re really killing it tonight.
“I see that,” he said, his cheeks going a little bit pink. “Can I come in? I thought we should talk.” Was he nervous? Why would he be nervous?
I ushered him in, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the bottom edge of my bed; his body angled towards the headboard. I briefly debated about where to sit before I joined him. Don’t make it weird, y/n.
He cleared his throat before he began. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight. I just wanted to make sure we got the guy.”
Right. “Oh, it’s okay, Spencer. I get it. I wasn’t uncomfortable.” I picked at the frayed edge of my sleep shorts, my eyes dropping so he didn’t see anything on my face that betrayed how I was feeling; you can’t be too careful around profilers.
His hand reached out to cover my own fidgeting hands, one of his hands covering both of mine. His hands were so big. His fingers were so long, the veins in his hands were so pronounced. I bet those fingers would feel really – FOCUS.
“I’m also sorry you thought I didn’t like you.” His thumb had started to move slowly over the back of my hand. “I do like you. I like you a lot, actually. I just…” I brought my gaze back up to meet his eyes. “I just get nervous sometimes.”
“You didn’t seem nervous in the club.”
“No,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t nervous then because it was my job. I wasn’t worried about misreading a signal…doing the wrong thing…I’m not the best with social cues.” I had noticed that about him before. “But I am a really good profiler.” And he’s humble too, apparently.
“I know that you couldn’t fake your reaction to me in the club. Your breathing became quicker, I felt your pulse jump under my lips when they were on your neck. I saw how blown your pupils got." He shifted closer to me then, bringing his other hand up to push my hair behind my shoulder like he did earlier in the night. "Just like they are now."
He leaned closer to me, his voice was lower, and it made my stomach flutter. "You're clenching your thighs together, Y/n. Your shirt may be baggy, but I can see how hard your nipples are too." His tongue ran out to wet his lips. "If I'm wrong, just tell me now. If I've misread this, I will leave right now, and we can pretend this never happened." Spencer brought both his hands up to cradle my face; despite how wet my panties were, how tight my nipples are, how badly I wanted him to touch me, this gesture made me feel special. He was holding me like he actually cared about me like I was precious. "But, if I'm not wrong, and you want this too, Y/n, tell me. Tell me you want this too and I won't stop touching you until you scream my name."
I let out a soft whimper then. Like it’s a choice. “I want this,” I leaned into his touch. “Please, Spencer.”
His thumb brushed over my cheek, his eyes never leaving mine. “Please, what, baby?”
“Kiss me.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than his lips were on mine. His lips were softer than I imagined, they were firm and almost…questioning. When I nipped at his bottom lip, something seemed to break free inside of him. His lips slanted over mine with a hunger I had never felt. His tongue ran over my bottom lip before I opened for him. Spencer’s tongue moved into my mouth while his hands moved; one hand moved back to grip my hair at the base of my skull, tugging firmly, the other moved down to my neck, not applying any pressure, just resting it there in a gesture that felt possessive.
The need for oxygen broke us apart, his lips moving across my cheek to my jaw, then down to my neck. “How could you think I didn’t like you?” he mumbled into my skin. “You have no idea what you do to me. None.”
I threw my head back when he sucked on my pulse point, a moan ripping from my throat. “W-what…what do I do?”
Pulling back from me, he gripped the bottom of my shirt, looking at me for consent before he pulled it over my head. His eyes were firmly on my chest, his lips parted, his breathing heavy. He pushed me down slowly on the bed; I was on my back and he was hovering over me. I felt his mouth place hot, wet, kisses from my collarbone down towards my breasts. His right hand landed on my breast, his thumb brushing back and forth over my nipple while his lips moved closer and closer to my left. I tangled my hands in his hair, urging him forward.
“You want to know what you do to me?” he raised his head slightly, making sure my eyes were on him when he flicked his tongue over my nipple, causing me to gasp. “What do you do to me in your little skirts, with your little smiles, and your little laughs?” He gave my nipple a sharp pinch. “You’re all I fucking think about, y/n.” With a growl, he finally took my nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and tongue. He switched to the other breast while he adjusted himself over me, bringing his pelvis down to rest at the seam of my body between my thighs. I shifted restlessly under him, trying to grind my pussy against him. He was so fucking hard.
With a groan, he lifted his head and started kissing his way towards the middle of my chest, moving down to the curve of my stomach. “Do you know how many times I came back to my hotel room after spending all day with you and was so hard I had to cum before I could think of anything else?” he peppered kisses down my body as he spoke.
My eyes shot open at this confession that he seemed to think was no big deal. “What?” I couldn’t believe this. “You…you touched yourself and thought of…”
He hooked his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and panties, taking my raised hips as an invitation to remove both from my body. "You. I thought of you." He threw my clothes on the floor, pulling my legs open. His eyes moved over all of me, his Adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed hard. “I thought about kissing you. About making you squirm for me.” He ran his fingers up and down my thighs, his mouth running slowly over my inner thighs. Spencer’s hands hooked around my upper thighs, moving me to where he wanted me. “But, most of all, I thought about this pretty pussy.” He placed a kiss on my clit, chuckling at the wanton moan that came from me and how my fingers tangled in his soft brown curls. “I thought about all the different ways I could make this pretty pussy cum all over me.” With that, he ran his tongue up my slit before flicking it over my clit.
Dr. Spencer Reid was good at everything, so of course, he was good at this too. His mouth moved over me, watching my reaction to see what I liked best. His tongue moved in circles around my clit before slipping down to my opening. His tongue plunged inside me, fucking me, while his thumb came over to rub my clit.
“Spence- fuck- Spencer, please.” My hips tried to shift restlessly, but his arms were iron bars holding me still. He slowly moved his left forearm to rest across my hips, bringing his right hand down to my throbbing pussy. He pulled his mouth away from me, much to my dismay. He pushed one finger, then another into me. My head thrashed wildly, and my thighs started to shake. “Spencer!”
He just smirked and curled his fingers, hitting the spot inside me that made everything in my body pulse. “What, baby?”
My breaths were coming in gasps, my voice was a needy whimper. “Make me cum, Spencer. Please, please make me cum.”
He needed no other encouragement. His fingers continued their steady thrust in and out of me while his mouth covered my clit again. He alternated between flicking my clit with his tongue, then circling it before pulling it into his mouth, sucking lightly.
“Spencer.” I felt my orgasm rising. “Spencer don’t- don’t stop. I’m gonna cum, please make me cum.”
He kept his pace steady, sucking on my clit, moaning at my words. His eyes had been closed, but at that moment they opened and met mine. Then I felt his teeth ghost over my clit, I saw the want in his eyes. That was my undoing. My back arched, my mouth hung open in a silent scream. I heard myself say his name over and over again. Spencer pushed his fingers inside me, massaging me through the most powerful orgasm I had ever had. With one final kiss on my oversensitive clit, he withdrew his fingers, putting them into his mouth to suck my orgasm off of them.
He kissed back up my body, and I tried to respond, but I was still so shattered. I had never felt anything so powerful before. He cupped my face in one hand and kissed me slowly. I returned the kiss, moving my hands to the buttons of his shirt.
Spencer broke the kiss, pulling back to look at me again. “Hang on, baby.” His hand came up to still my own. “We can take a second. It’s okay. Just breathe.”
This beautiful man smiled at me then. I felt my heart flutter when he leaned down to pepper soft kisses along my jaw, his thumb coming up to wipe a tear that fell from the corner of my eye that I hadn’t even noticed.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that. He shifted to lay beside me, whispering reassurances to me while I came back down. This was just one of the ways that Spencer was so different from every other man. I didn't feel rushed, or pressured. I could feel how hard he still was, I could feel the tension in his body, but he simply kissed me while he cupped my jaw.
He made me feel…cherished.
I moved my hands to tangle in his hair again, deepening our kiss. He didn’t move my hands away when I started to work on the buttons of his shirt. The fire that I thought had been calmed by my orgasm had come roaring back. Spencer moved his hands to his belt while I finished with his shirt. His shirt came off, tossed in the same direction as my clothes. I pulled his pants and boxers down his legs, watching his cock spring free.
Everything about him was painfully beautiful. His angular cheekbones, the jaw that looked like it was carved from granite, even the toned muscles of his body. He had a small trail of hair that went down from his belly button to his groin. His cock laid against his stomach, the head glistening with precum.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, kneeling beside him, running my eyes over his body.
His soft hand came to grab mine, pulling it to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand, smiling softly at me.
I moved to straddle him, lower on his thighs. I took him in my hand, moving up and down, twisting my wrist as I neared the tip, swiping my thumb over his head.
“Baby,” he groaned. “Y/n, as much as I want you to do…whatever the fuck you want with me, I’m so close. I feel like I’m going to explode.” I bit into my bottom lip, unable to totally stop the smile spreading over my face. “Please, I need to feel your pussy wrapped around my cock.” He moved his hands to my hips, urging my body forward.
I raised up on my knees, taking him in my hand again, lining him up with my entrance. The tendons in his neck were strained, his fingers gripped my hips so hard I knew I was going to have bruises tomorrow. As I slowly started to sink down on his cock, Spencer let out the sexiest groan I had ever heard. His eyes were fixed where our bodies were joined, watching his dick slid deeper inside of me.
“Come on, baby,” he whispered. “You’re doing so good. Just a little bit more.”
He was so long, he wasn't overly thick, but just thick enough to cause a pleasurable stretching when he breached me that was almost painful. I gasped out a sound that might have been his name when he bottomed out inside me. I slowly circled my hips, adjusting to him. Spencer’s nails dug into my hips as he forced himself to stay still.
“Please move, y/n. Please. You’re so fucking tight.” He groaned as my walls fluttered around him. “Do you like it when I talk to you? Does that make your pretty pussy wetter?” He smirked at my whimper as I tightened around him.
I began at a slower pace, trying to tease him. Spencer quickly lost patience with that; he thrust his hips upwards, meeting my movements, his hands pushing me down onto him. I leaned forward, bracing on hand on his shoulder, the other on the bed. He pounded into me while I tried to match his pace. Spencer’s hand moved from my hip up to wrap around my throat. I nodded, forcing my eyes to stay open as he moved inside me.
His fingers squeezed slightly, pulling my face closer to his. Our lips met in a sloppy kiss. My thighs burned from matching his movements. “You feel so fucking good, y/n.” His grip on my neck tightened ever so slightly, which only heightened my arousal. “I want to feel you cum on my cock. Can you do that for me, pretty girl?”
He flipped us over quickly, never pulling completely out of me. Spencer moved to push my legs further apart, the change in angle allowing him to fill me deeper than I thought possible. His hair was sticking to his brow, his cheeks were flushed, his breathing erratic. He was the most fucking beautiful thing I had ever seen.
One hand held my leg, the other went down to my pussy, his thumb moving over my clit at a rapid pace. “Tell me what you need, Pretty Girl. Tell me how to make this pretty pussy cum all over me.”
I whined at his words. “Spencer, I-“ my voice broke off. I was so fucking close. "I need you." He seemed to understand my broken plea. He brought his body down, his chest flush against mine. He rocked into me at such a fast and hard pace. His hand still in between us rubbing circles around my clit.  
I felt his lips ghost over my ear. “I want to fucking hear you, y/n.” His speed increased, his thrust getting choppier. He was close. “I want this whole fucking town to hear what you sound like when I make you cum. When you cream all over my dick, I want you to scream my name.” With that, he moved his mouth down my neck. He bit the same tender area he had kissed in the club, where my neck met my shoulder.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck yes, Spencer!" I felt myself begin to splinter apart. “Please make me cum, fuck please.” My babbling finally broke as my orgasm tore through me. I couldn’t hear his deep groan when I came, my scream was too loud. I felt the vibration against my neck. It was only as I started to float down that I realized my nails were dug into his back. With a few last thrust and my name on his lips, I felt Spencer pulse, cumming inside me.
We lay there for a few minutes, just breathing before he rolled off of me. I felt overwhelmed, so I was relieved when he tugged me over to him. He wrapped his arm around me when I laid my head on his chest. I felt his lips on my forehead. “It’s very important for women to urinate after sexual intercourse to avoid UTIs, but you have another minute or so before that becomes more urgent.”
I couldn’t control my laugh at his comment. "Thanks, Doc." I kissed his chest. "Only you could make me cum so hard I almost blackout, then go back to being…you." I slowly untangled myself from him, going to the bathroom to handle business. When I returned, I found Spencer where I left him, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, one hand resting behind his head, the other over his heart. He looked so lost in that moment.
“Spencer?” I asked, crawling on to the bed. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t pretend that something wasn’t bothering him. “When you said that I just go back to being me…Do you not like that?”
My heart broke a tiny bit at the question. “Spencer, no! I love that! I love your little facts and statistics!” How did he not know that? “The best part of my day is listening to you talk. Just being with you is wonderful.” I cupped his face, bringing his gaze to mine. “Sure, I like what we just did; but I liked you before that. I want both.” Fuck. “Assuming you want me,” I rambled quickly. “This doesn’t have to mean anything, I know that it doesn’t always-“
He cut me off by pressing his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss I had ever felt. It was filled with hope and promise and…Spencer.
“It means everything to me, Y/n.”
-
I didn’t see the rest of the team until the next morning when we all boarded the jet; I was so ready to go home. I personally didn’t think anything appeared that different. Spencer sat beside me on the couch, but that wasn’t weird…right? We were just co-workers, sitting beside each other super casually. Had we spent most of last night and a little bit of this morning screwing each other’s brains out? Certainly. But you couldn’t see that…right?
Morgan’s chuckle is what confirmed I was so wrong. “Hey, y/l/n,” he called, smiling so hard it looked like his face would split from his amusement. “You missed a spot.” He pointed towards his own neck.
There was a beat of silence before Hotch snorted. SSA Aaron Hotchner, the man who never found anything funny was laughing at me.
I felt myself turn tomato red, angling my body towards Spencer’s, burying my head against his shoulder, away from the rest of the team.
“I bet you’re glad pretty boy was your partner now, huh?”
I may have wanted to melt into the floor in embarrassment, but it was sort of worth it to see the blush on Spencer’s cheeks.
--
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thestarsanctuary · 3 years
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hiiii~ how about a Class 1-A x reader platonic where she basically never sleeps so she’s just wandering the kitchen and all of a sudden they all come down and are like ‘you’re up early!’ And reader is just like ._. I didn’t sleep
Hiiii, apologies for the late updates, i can lie and say it gives anticipation though.
SLEEP DEPRIVED
Class 1-A x reader [platonic]
This is in 2nd person so but uses she/her
~
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It wasn’t like you planned it. Every night you had just seemed to stay up for different reasons, important or not. Sometimes you had a TV show that was just too good so you had to finish it, and other times you were up doing forgotten homework, or doing some sort of activity. And somehow- it would just turn to morning!
This morning you had stayed up the previous night trying to review information for your exams that were coming up, so you were pacing the kitchen reciting formulas and the structures of a paper, anything you could spout out you did. The sun was rising as you heard the elevator open. Your first thought was to maybe run, it could be Aizawa and if he found out you hadn’t been sleeping he’d literally go insane.
However, it wasn’t Aizawa. It was Midoriya.
He had on some clothes that you could only assume were for running.
“Hey y/n! You’re up pretty early huh?” He said, and you laughed and gave him a quick ‘yeah’ before he went to grab a water bottle and left out the door.
You continued with your review for a good 5 minutes before the elevator opened again. You checked the clock- 7:00. It suddenly made sense, you had stayed up so long it was literally the time when most of the kids started to get ready for school. You still hadn’t changed out of your school uniform out of being too lazy so you weren’t worried but you were a bit dry eyed from the restless night. Quickly turning towards the doorway to the kitchen you see Jirou coming down with Momo, both laughing with one another. It’s not like you’re scared to tell them, but you’re just not too sure how to say that you’ve done this not once, but basically all the time. So you act natural, calmly, and soon enough all the kids of 1-A are sitting in the lobby. You sit on the floor inbetween Kirishima and Tsu.
“So, y/n, you were up really early today, did you just totally crash when we got home?” Denki said, as the rest murmur in agreement.
“Yeah actually, you were up really early, how much sleep did you get?” Midoriya asked, facing you from the other side of the couch.
“.....none.” you mumbled.
“What? Nobody can hear you extra, you talk like a mouse.” Bakugo spat, tilting his head to meet your gaze.
“I didn’t get any sleep.” You said and pursed your lips looking directly at him. “There ya go.” And the class broke out into- well...basically chaos.
“I’m sorry- NONE?!”
“There’s no way.”
“How are you alive and even slightly..happy?!”
“If I stay up for an hour I get immediate eye bags...”
“How are your eyes not BURNING?”
“Guys, guys, I’m fine! It’s not the first time anyways!” You giggled, and that laugh slowly died down as you realized you had exposed yourself.
“IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME?!”
“HOW MANY OTHER TIMES-
“CAN I COME VISIT YOU!”
“Mineta please drop out”
“that is quite rude.”
And it soon became tradition to where if it happened again they didn’t condemn you, but assisted you instead.
“KIRISHIMA GET HER EYE DROPS AGAIN!”
“Momo can you check on her again, I feel like she’s still up.”
“Oh just let her be.”
Sometimes they would stay up with you, mostly Tokayami as he would stay up sometimes anyways, and you two would talk about anything and everything together.
The class cared for you, their classmate, tremendously. It’s only natural that they’d help you out regardless of the situation!
EL FIN
hello!! Writing this made me realize I really need to get better at one shots and developing my skills in them! So big thanks for requesting and I hope you guys are eatin’ well and staying at least slightly satisfied with life :) it’s okay if you’re not as well! New posts coming soon y’all!
- SS <3333
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gb-patch · 3 years
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Ask Answers: May 15th Part 1
It’s been longer than usual since our last answer session, so I’m answering a ton of questions today! It’s so big I split it into two parts. Thank you for the patience on getting a response to these.
Thanks for reaching out to us with your questions and kind words ^^!
Sorry if this has been asked before or isn't something you can say but is there anyway for Cove to confess in step 4? I wanted him to confess in step 3 and followed all the steps to make him do it but ended up texting my family instead of Cove at the end.
Yeah, Cove can confess in Step 4!
Hello! I heard that Cove is on the spectrum, albeit undiagnosed. As someone who is ND, this makes me UNBELIEVABLY happy. I literally was brought to tears! Thank you for that!
Out of curiosity, will Cove be diagnosed in Step 4? I have a strong feeling y’all won’t make it a HUGE deal/make it out to be negative, so I’m not worried about that whatsoever! I’m just curious just he’ll off handedly mention it? Or will it just not be touched upon at all (which is ok!)?
Either way is ok, I’m just curious!
I’m happy it made you happy! Admittedly, Cove simply being someone with autism that grew up not being diagnosed was something I included for myself. I didn’t really think anyone would notice or ask about it, aha. But players did start to have questions about his traits, so I started to talk about it outside of the game. It’s great to see it get such a positive response and now I do feel like having it be a non-topic may have been the wrong choice and bringing it up would’ve been good in terms of having positive representation for that. I don’t know if I’ll find a way to mention it in Step 4 now, with how far along the game is, but I am at least thinking about it when originally it wasn’t something I really even considered.
Hey!  Just wanted to say thank you for Our Life.  It's been a bright spot and a needed escape in what's otherwise been a crummy year.  I know you just did a Q&A post but I figured I'd ask anyway.  Was just curious about Step 4.  Will it be similar to the other Steps in that it consists of several different moments or will it just be one long sequence?
Step 4 is shorter than the prior Steps because it’s just an epilogue rather than a full arc of a story. It’ll consist of scenes that all happen in a set row one after the other. There won’t be a collection of Moments to choose from. But it’ll still be very sweet and fun.
¡hola!, you see, first I want to say that I love Our Life! (°◡°♡) and I have 2 important questions, would Cove cry watching titanic? and what is the saddest part according to him? (sorry for my english) 
Titanic would make him cry. He’d probably think the parts showing people who aren’t able to make it to the life boats/are choosing to stay and go down with the ship were the saddest.
Hello, I wanted to ask how much you earn with creating games? Like is it possible to make a living? Thank you >< <3 
How much I earn varies a lot month to month based on Steam sales, Patreon backers, and how many projects are in full production at the time. It’s also hard to say how much I make historically, since that also changes dramatically year by year. But I do earn enough to work on these games full time! I really appreciate all the support that allows me to do that.
Hey!! I was wondering for the 18+ Our Life moment, will there be an emphasis on safety/comfort for all involved? I feel like there  would be just going off of what the rest of the game is like, but I wanted to ask 
Yes! Cove is a nervous boy himself and also super cautious about doing anything the MC doesn’t like, so clear consent from both is absolutely needed for anything to happen. It’s a conversational sexy times Moment with stops/starts so the two can talk about how they’re feeling, rather than a heat of the moment just going for it kind of thing.
Hey!! I was wondering how long the wedding dlc would be? Will it be broken up into moments, or just one big event? 
It’s one long series of scenes all in a row rather than a collection of Moments to pick from. It’s the shortest and the least expensive of all the DLCs. It’s not super crucial to get and those who aren’t into big weddings can totally skip it without worry.
HELLO AMAZING DEVS 👋 i am hopelessly in love with the worst guy ever (jeremy king) and because of this i have a really stupid question: does he really hate people who are nice to him? TvT he’s too cute to be mean to istg it’s a miracle JB held the urge to be consistently nice to him bc just look at his FACE he is so cute! thank you for jeremy’s route it’s so lovely (and awful bc he’s scum 11/10) it gave me so much laughs LMAO i hope you guys have a good day!! 
Haha, thank you. He doesn’t hate them but he’s certainly not pleased with them. Jeremy is either uncomfortable with or annoyed by people being sweet on him, depending on how they approach it. He’s far more comfortable with jerkiness. It lets him relax and he can be himself without it being a problem, since he’s also a jerk. He feels a level of guilt being such a little punk to kind people, not enough to be a better person but still.
Has Cove dated or been interested in someone other than MC? 
Nope! He stays single over the course of the game if he’s not with the MC.
Is Step 4 more mature? Or it's gonna be set in similar atmosphere as Step 3? 
Step 4 is a similar atmosphere as Step 3. Though, it’s actually kind of less mature-topic heavy than Step 3 since it’s just a ‘hey, let’s check in on the gang to see what they’re up to’ style epilogue rather than a story arc with serious issues.
will there be new music for now and forever?? or will the old our life music be reused? 
It’s gonna be a brand new soundtrack. We’ll be opening up a job position for that soon.
Hi, is it okay if we use the assets in Our Life (like the sprites) for fanworks or fan content content, like edits? 
Sure! Just as long as you don’t use the assets made by those artists to make money.
Quick clarification on Step 3 choices: I hope I didn't come off rude (because I LOVE the game, really!!), I was just curious because the intro threw me off at times. For example, you could choose how you felt about Elizabeth in Step 2 (Dinner), but during the Step 3 intro, it says that you got closer to Liz and I didn't get a choice in it. 
For the example, it can’t be helped that you’re closer to Liz in Step 3 than you were in Step 2 because she’s inherently closer to the MC regardless of whether you liked her or not in Step 2. Her feelings are out of your control and the game isn’t so dramatic that you can push her affection away and not let her bond with you, haha. But ‘being closer’ can still be relative. For some people maybe that means you’re best buds now and for others it might just mean you’re not fighting all the time any more. If there’s other parts you want to mention, feel free to let us know.
Did the illustrator for Our Life change? 
We have many OL artists! The main artists who set the game’s style haven’t changed, but there’s multiple other artists who help finish assets.
So Miranda's type is confident and outgoing, huh? So...does that mean Terri's her type?? 👀 
Haha, sorry for the late reply on this. As you might’ve seen in our post yesterday- yeah that is her type.
Hey! First, I just want to say I've really enjoyed how detailed OL got with gender identity and sexuality and how respectful the topics were handled! It's been so wonderful to play since the experiences could be close to my own (I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up at parts). Second, I was wondering, would future games explore the topic of polyamory? I'd love to see more visual novels allow room for that and I saw you've explored the topic before.
Keep up the amazing work! ♡
Thank you! We do want to include polyamory in at least some of our future projects. Floret Bond, which might be what you’re referring to when mentioning how we’ve explored the topic before, is on hold unfortunately. So right now I’m not sure when something might release or what will be the first game of ours to come out with poly relationships (we might do something else before FB is done). We’ll have see how things ends up coming together.
Hey um. I feel like im not allowed to ask this on the private discord cuz people will yell at me but why is there so much focus on OL2 and not finishing OL1 stuff? I like the new people but i kind of want to finish cove's story and get derek and baxter stuff first. didn't people pay for it? 
I’m sorry, I don’t understand entirely what’s making that situation a concern. There’s a channel in the discord for critique where no one is allowed to comment back. People can voice things they’re worried about without any way for others to push back on it. And the two teams working on the OL games are different. We try to post pretty often about how we’re hiring brand new people to start on Our Life: Now & Forever. The OL1 team is all still working on OL1 like normal. There’s only more updates on the Patreon for OL2 because the expansions to the first game are mostly script-based at this point while OL2 is just starting to get all its art, which means there’s a lot more to show off as previews.
Also, there was a Kickstarter for the first Our Life, if that’s what you mean by people paying for it. But one of the stretch goals was to start Our Life 2 early, before fully completing Our Life 1, so that the new game could be out sooner. It wouldn’t make sense to stop doing OL2 work because that would be going against what backers were promised. Maybe you didn’t get the full story before and hopefully this clears it up!
Hello! I know it's up to every player but.. What is your recommendation for playing order? Did you ever had any timeline  events planned? 
I didn’t make the events with a planned timeline. The events got made simply as I had ideas for them and then I just kind of organized them from left to right on the screen in an order to space out more dramatic ones between more lighthearted ones. Any order the player wants to go with is totally valid!
Hi! It's Step 4 a paid dlc or update? And how long it's planned to be? Ps. Love the game! 
The Step 4 epilogue is free! The Cove Wedding DLC does cost money, though. Those are planned to be shorter than the usual Steps/DLCs.
Will we have options for what sort of job the MC might have by the time step 4 takes place? 
Yeah, you can. It’s not super exact or detailed, but there are options about it.
Is there a pandemic in Our Life world, or is it just in a better timeline with no pestilence? 
Our Life is pandemic-free! That didn’t exist when we began working on the project and it’s not something we’d like to feature in this story now that it has unfortunately come along, aha.
Hi, you said that you can play tic-tac-toe or hangman with Cove in Boating if you're sick/scared but I keep getting tic-tac-toe. Am I doing something wrong?
After being sick/scared you have to continue to be upset/unwell. If you calm down and decide to just chill you’ll end up playing tic-tac-toe.
Hi, GB Patch! Since Lee was initially commissioned to only appear in two Steps does this mean she won't appear in the Wedding DLC? I really like her character so it'll be a little weird to not have our cousin at our wedding, aha.
She is gonna be in Step 4/the wedding DLC after all! We’re still working with her creator to make sure it fits with what they wanted.
Is Sunset Bird based on a real place? Asking for a friend, not trying to move there or anything. 👀
It’s based on small beach towns in So-Cal, but not one specific town you could go see in real life, I’m afraid. It’d be nice if it was real, though.
—– —– —– —–
We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog
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sukifans · 4 years
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IT’S ALL LATIN TO ME
ZUKO X READER COLLEGE!SMAU
⏎ MASTERLIST // part VI « VII. just friends :) » part VIII
SUMMARY: you’re a premed student at BSSU and you thought it’d be a good idea to take a latin class, but you’re in way over your head here. good thing your buddy sokka knows a classics major in your section you can study with.
WARNINGS: language
She really, really tried not to show how nervous she was. It would be stupid to be nervous, after all — it’s not a date, regardless of what her friends say. Besides, they had hung out alone before, even if only to study Latin. Friends meet up and get dinner and see movies together all the time. Toph and Suki and everyone else were just projecting what they wanted to happen. Surely if Zuko had intended to ask her on a date, he would simply and clearly ask her on a date. Surely.
The car ride to the pizza joint near the theater they’d decided on for dinner was mostly music-filled silence punctuated by some awkward small talk. She hoped he wouldn’t notice how often she had to covertly wipe the sweat off her palms on her pants. He was anxiously tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel as he drove, wishing he could think of something to say to break through the palpable tension. Even as he racked his brains, nothing came up. He let himself zone out to the sound of her soft humming from the passenger seat and stole glances over at her every so often. Maybe by some miracle he’d be a master at the art of conversation by the time they made it to the restaurant. Unlikely, but not entirely impossible.
“You know I have to pay for your ticket now, right?” she said, eyeballing him as he added a tip and signed the receipt for the dinner he’d insisted on covering.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m paying tonight.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m paying tonight.”
“You don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to,” he assured, bumping against her side as they left the restaurant and headed in the direction of the theater. “Besides, princesses don’t pay for anything.” He grinned at the way her nose scrunched.
“You would know,” she quipped. He rolled his eyes to draw attention away from his nervous blush when she linked their arms together and leaned into him.
“Why do they call you that, anyways?”
She pursed her lips and willed the aggressive heat rising to her cheeks to settle down. “They say I’m high maintenance,” she lied.
He frowned. “That’s kind of mean. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re high maintenance.”
“Thanks, Zu.”
They continued to chat lightheartedly as they walked up to the theater building and, after a bit of arguing and shoving to get to the card reader first at the ticket stand, (Y/N) begrudgingly accepted that Zuko would not be letting her pay that night. She held out hope that maybe she could sneakily buy something from the concession stand before he noticed. As they approached the counter, an employee ringing people up caught her eye. He was familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. The feeling kept getting stronger as she and Zuko approached his register.
“Oh, hey, Zuko,” the guy said once she and Zuko were in front of him.
“Hey, Haru.” Ah, Haru! She and him had had a few classes together in the past and sent lecture notes back and forth. “How have you been?”
“The usual, work and school.” Haru shrugged. “You?”
“Pretty much the same,” said Zuko. “Do you know my friend (Y/N)?” Haru looked over to her and gave her a soft smile.
“Actually, yeah. We’ve been in a few lectures together. What’s up? Haven’t seen you this semester.”
“Oh, you know... the usual,” she chuckled nervously. “You and Zuko know each other?”
“We went to high school together,” he said.
“It seems like everyone at BSSU went to high school together,” she said and Haru nodded.
“Most people that went to our school ended up here, honestly. But hey, I don’t wanna keep you guys from your movie. Can I get you something?”
(Y/N) had nearly tackled Zuko in order to pay for their snacks before he could, making Haru laugh. When she met his eyes, she felt warmth flood to her cheeks.
“Thanks, Haru,” she said, looking away quickly.
“Yeah, for sure. Have a good time, guys.” As she started to turn away, he leaned forwards to catch her attention. “It was nice seeing you again, (Y/N); I’ve kinda missed you copying off my notes in class. We should go out for coffee or something sometime.”
Well... that was unexpected. She was so surprised by the request that she didn’t notice the way Zuko stiffened, muscles in his face flexing as he clenched his jaw. Haru did, however, and shot him a confused look that was met with narrowed eyes. Blinking quickly, she recovered and sent him a smile.
“Yeah, that’d be fun,” she said.
“Great!” Haru said. “I’ll talk to you later, then. See you guys around.”
“Have a good shift!” she chirped. Zuko merely grunted and nodded towards Haru in acknowledgement before walking towards the theater with (Y/N). Now she noticed the tension in his posture and nudged him with her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You sure? You’re acting weird now.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” She frowned and stopped just outside the entrance to the theater. He paused too when he saw she wasn’t following.
“Do you not want to see the movie anymore? We can go home if you want.”
“No, I said I was fine. Let’s go.” He turned to leave and huffed when she didn’t move.
“Zuko,” she said pointedly and he felt his cheeks go pink. If he would’ve just plainly told her this was supposed to be a date, this wouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t her fault he was a jealous idiot.
He sighed. “I promise it’s nothing. It’s just a little jarring seeing people from high school because... well, I wasn’t a very good person back then. I don’t like to remember it.”
Her expression softened. “Sorry, Zu. I didn’t realize.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You’re right, I was acting weird.” He held his hand out to her and she took it gladly. “C’mon, we have a movie to watch.”
“If it means anything to you,” she whispered as they looked for their seats, “I think you’re a very good person now.” His pulse jumped at her words as she squeezed his hand.
“It means a lot, (Y/N),” he responded, giving her a small smile that she returned.
When they finally left the theater a few hours later, Zuko made sure their clasped hands were in plain sight as (Y/N) waved goodbye to Haru.
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A/N: hi guys!! it’s been a while, i know :/ i was going through a big slump and this chapter was giving me a lot of problems for some reason. i’m still not thrilled with it, but i wanted to get something out for y’all! thank you so much for being patient with me as i adjusted to moving back to my college town and starting classes and work again, so many of you were so very lovely and supportive and it made the slump easier to worm out of eventually. and i made a gif! :D anyways!! hope you enjoyed this update and as always feel free to send an ask or reply! for tag requests i prefer asks so i can keep track of them easier without getting lost in my notifs :^) also sorry about no read more cuts, every time i try to add one on desktop it won’t let me edit my draft on mobile to fix the formatting :(
TAGS: @theblueslytherin @beifongsss @coconutsaiyan @5sos-wdw @silverreading @the-lva-way @cupofnctea @khaleesi-of-assassins @bloomkings @pyromaniac-olive @lil-lex1 @kyleewrites @cece-lives-here @coldlilheart @royahllty @astralsaf @damianwaynerocks @darkskin-buttercup @emogril @plutaars @duh-dobrik @harajukukitsune @kangaroobunny @harmlessoffering @rosetheshapeshifter @past-2am @welovediaaxx @dailytrashypanda @thenutellabreadsticks @sara5208 @whalerus @fanworrior @andrevvminyrd @travvestys @rosesandpines @cipheress-to-k-pop @lukessimp @justab-eautifulmess @mochminnie @whoevenfrickenknows @asianequation @booksandwonderlands @dekumiya @mothman-juicy-ass @spooky-titties @394pitterpatterpotter394 @rockinearthbending-marauders @kurt-nightcrawler @sifucuteness @degenerationarmy @songofgratitude
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the-witty-pen-name · 3 years
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It Happened On Sakaar Pt. 2
Mando x F!Reader; Loki x F!Reader
Rating: M; 18+ Only
Warnings: swearing, grieving, angst, slow burn, mentions of violence (smut in later chapters)
Word Count: 3.3k
Summary: The bounty hunter’s most recent puck sends him across the Galaxy to an unfamiliar and artificial planet named Sakaar- literally the galaxy’s trash can. Sakaar is a bizarre planet, but so is his most recent bounty. Din is chasing a man he only knows as The God of Mischief. The reader lives on Sakaar as a scrapper, a similar trade to that of a bounty hunter and has a tangled history with the man Mando is looking for. Will the unlikely duo team up to capture the mischievous Asgardian or will the reader fall victim to Loki’s promises?
A/N: 
IMPORTANT UPDATE
I made a Google form to be added to my taglists, so if you want to be added, the link is in my bio. I’ll only be adding people to the list if they requested to be added by filling out the form! This way all of the requests are just in one place so I don’t miss requests! Thank you!!! 
This is unedited and if I missed anything that I should include as a warning please let me know! Thank you y’all!
Part One
Tags and Requests are OPEN
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You had just gotten paid another hefty sum for brining a new fighter to the Grandmaster, not as good as the supposed Lord of Thunder Scrapper 142 caught but still nonetheless, he was pleased and you were more than satisfied with your payment.  You were at a bar, feeling pretty good about yourself. You deserved it and you wanted to treat yourself to a drink. You sat on one of the barstools, nursing a drink and did your best to ignore the gladiators behind the barrier nearby. You weren’t looking forward to this upcoming fight, but then again, you didn’t particularly care about them in the first place anyways.  Scrapper 142 joined you, opting for a bottle instead of a glass.
 You understood her. It was an unspoken feeling you knew she also understood. You were similar people, and on this planet to escape your past. She had been here much longer than yourself, and you observe that nothing can penetrate her hard shell. She was invincible, and you envied her ability to keep her emotions at bay. Well, except for the drinking, but you still admired her.  At some point she went over to the barrier and actually spoke to one of the gladiators. It was odd, but you didn’t question it. When she got up, you bid your goodbyes and headed to get ready for the fight. You knew you wouldn’t see her at the arena, but you know she wouldn’t take it personally that you left without a goodbye.
Walking down the hallway towards the entrance, an arm grabbed your bicep and pulled you down an empty hallway. Without hesitation, you pulled your blaster with your free hand and pushed it to the temple of whoever grabbed you. When it made a clinking noise, you sighed, knowing exactly who it was.  “Mando,” you say curtly, yanking your arm free and turning to face him.  
“I need you to tell me about the God of Mischief,” he states plainly. 
“I thought you were a good bounty hunter,” you roll your eyes. 
“I didn’t get any information, I’m working with nothing,” he explains. You stare up at the visor, like somehow, you’d be able to study his eyes. You can feel them staring back at you though. 
“How is this my problem?” You scoff and he sighs, clearly getting frustrated.
 “You’re the only person I know on this planet that can help me,” he tries to insist, “I’ll split the reward, please.” 
“I’ll tell you what I know,” you say defeated. You felt bad for the man, and you knew it must’ve been hard for him to come to you. “But I’m not helping you hunt him down. I don’t want to be close to this.”
 “Deal,” he says, and offers out his gloved hand for you to shake.  
“We can’t talk here,” you state, “the fight is going to start soon and I need to be in attendance for a work thing.” 
“A work thing?” he taunts. You chuckle.
“Unless you want to join me,” you offer, “If you can get a babysitter.”
 “Fine,” he says, following your lead. You walk in silence to the stands, and you find your regular seat, and he takes the one next to you. You chuckle at how out of place he looks, too bulky from the armor to fit comfortably.  
“Do you always need to wear all this?” you ask him, gesturing to the armor.
 “Yes, it’s part of my code,” he replies, looking down at the arena. “Now, the bounty.” 
“He’s one of the two princes from my home planet,” you explain. “He’s actually a god, with powers.”  
“Powers?” 
“Yeah, astral projection, shape-shifting, hypnosis, telekinesis, teleportation…” 
“Are you serious?” 
 “Yeah,” you say with a chuckle at the shock in his voice.
“How the hell are you supposed to catch someone like that?” he sighs, leaning back in his seat more. 
“Outsmart him. Take advantage of the fact he probably has no idea you’re here or that anyone would be after him.” 
“Would anyone be after him?”
“Oh gods, he’s made enemies all over the galaxy,” you retort, “I have no idea how to determine who sent you. He has a laundry list of enemies.” 
“Of course,” he grumbles.  “Just in recent years, he sabotaged his own brother’s coronation by allowing the Frost Giants to attack Asgard- our planet. Then, skipping a lot of other chaos, he led an alien attack on Earth. He was supposed to face lifetime imprisonment in the Asgardian dungeons, but he was freed to help fight when Dark Elves attacked Asgard, and he faked his death. This brings us up to speed to when I left three years ago. With everyone thinking he was dead, he returned to Asgard and removed his father, Odin, from the throne and had been ruling Asgard disguised as Odin. He was doing so for several years, before Thor- that’s his brother; Thor came back and exposed him. So that’s when I left, so if he’s done something else since, I don’t know.”
“That was the summary?”  
“That was the very abridged version,” you chuckle, “but that’s sort of the relevant bit.”
“Why did you leave?” he asks curiously, “it seems like him being exposed by Thor was a good thing but you left.” 
“Because I mourned him for years,” you say spitefully. “Told me himself while disguised as Odin that Loki was dead. Lied right to me, deceived me and the entire kingdom. We built fucking statues in his honor like idiots…” 
“You loved him,” he states simply, preventing you from spiraling. You appreciated his ability to simplify the situation. It was grounding.  
“Yes,” you say simply. 
“And you’ve been here for three years and he only just shows up now?” 
“Yeah.” 
“Asshole,” he mutters, making you laugh.  
“Indeed,” you agree.  
“You deserve better,” he affirms. 
“Then a wanted war criminal? I would hope so,” you jest.  
“No, I mean, yes, but you seem- just, never mind.”  
“Thanks.” 
“Do you still have feelings for him?” he asks, after a short, uncomfortable silence.  
“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to,” you answer honestly.  
“I understand,” he says, but he sounds like he’s far away, lost in his own thoughts.  You both fall into a more comfortable silence, when the giant hologram of the Grandmaster emerges introducing the event and the fighters. You aren’t really paying attention; you have heard it all before. The Champion will come out, the crowd will go crazy, and he’ll just defeat whatever poor soul they put up against him. However, you are snapped out of your thoughts when you hear a familiar voice yell.  
“Thor?” you say in disbelief, standing up from your seat to get a closer look. His hair was shorter but without a doubt it was him. “Shit, what happened to him?”
 “Thor, like Loki’s brother?” Mando asks, staring down at the fight, both of you at the end of your seats. You look over across the stadium, and you see a familiar figure in the Grandmaster’s private box.  
“That weasel,” you say, narrowing your eyes, to try to get a better look. It’s him. Without a doubt, it’s Loki sitting on the large couch next to the Grandmaster. “He’s right there,” you point, and Mando follows your gaze.  
“He’s watching while they send his brother to slaughter,” Mando observes and you nod. 
“I thought I couldn’t be more disgusted,” you scoff. You wanted to be surprised but how could you be? This was Loki. Gods, you had been so blind for so long. 
“What can we do?” Mando asks, already trying to look around for the exit. There are way too many people. 
“Thor has powers like Loki- not the same ones, but he’s also a god,” you say, partly to explain but also in an attempt to calm your own nerves. “He can win this.” You hear Thor proclaim that he knows the Champion and that they are friends from work, and you cover your face with your hands from the secondhand embarrassment. You silently plead for Thor to stop trying to talk and just fight his way out. Mando hesitantly wraps an arm around you. He’s stiff and awkward but you appreciate it regardless. It was comforting. “I can’t watch,” you say, hiding your face in his shoulder.  
Mando had never experienced something like this, ever. He hadn’t touched someone for this long in a very, very long time. He knew the circumstances were terrible and his heart was breaking for you. But selfishly, he basked in the feeling of intimacy, even if it was strictly platonic. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if it was platonic, because that implies a friendship. His mind was racing and he tried to ignore the warm feeling spreading throughout his body at the contact. He doesn’t dare move; he was enjoying the feeling too much.  Mando was rendered speechless as he watched the man literally conjure lightning from nothing. The fight was unlike anything he had ever seen. Of course, he’d been all over the galaxy and has seen wonders, including the little baby back in his room, but never has he seen so much power yielded all at once. He gulped, thinking about what he would be up against trying to bring in Loki. Without a doubt, he’d need to use the carbonite chamber on the Crest- but would that even hold a being of this much power? He didn’t have much else of a choice.  
The crowd erupts, booing as the Grandmaster rigs the fight in the Champion’s favor, and Mando rolls his eyes under his helmet. Of course, he thinks. However, he can tell the man is still alive and is relieved to tell you, especially since you didn’t dare look at the spectacle- too afraid to watch the fate of your friend unfold.  “He made it,” Mando said gently, nudging you and you finally turned your head back to the arena. They brought out a stretcher and the floating device brought his body off of the ground. He was breathing. “We can find out where they took him soon,” he says reassuringly. He felt compelled to help you find Thor, not just because of his own needs, but he genuinely wanted to return the favor for the intel you provided- at no charge at that.  The crowds clear out in a somewhat orderly fashion, but then take to the streets to celebrate the Grandmaster’s Champion. 
You are furious that Loki would sit by and watch as Thor was sent out on that field. You had no doubt in your mind that he knew that was happening but didn’t stop it. You knew him too well to think otherwise. Part of you a very long time ago had a hope the two could actually work as a team, and you had seen Thor try- you realize that now. However, at the time, you always defended Loki. You remain seated, even after the whole section of seats has long since been cleared. You felt numb and disgusted.  
“Any way I can help you, I’ll do it,” you say finally, your eyes fixated on the crater that was formed by the fight. You were rigid, very much pissed. You had wasted a large portion of your first year here hoping he’d come after you, and as much as you’d say you wouldn’t have taken him back, you know that you three years ago would have fallen back into his arms in a heartbeat if he had tried to come find you. Skurge knew where you had been sent. Loki could have easily gotten that information and followed you if he had wanted to. He obviously didn’t. And you have already wasted more energy than you should’ve in your lifetime by his side, defending him, mourning him, loving him. You were done. If there was any doubt of that in your mind before, the display before you tonight solidified your feelings. 
You wanted to see him get what he deserved. 
“I need you to get close to him again,” Mando says hesitantly, and you can hear the reluctance. He knows he’s asking way too much from you, but he’s desperate. It’s the only way he can think of to out smart him. He cringes, not wanting to subject you to this character again, but he feels as though he doesn’t have a choice.  You were right that Mando needed to take advantage of Loki not knowing he was here. He could operate behind the scenes while you distracted him. It was a flimsy plan at best and he was sure you would say no. He wouldn’t blame you. He saw the hurt and pain on your face, just out for the world to see. You were usually much better at hiding it, he had observed, but the events of today undeniably bothered you greatly. He felt relieved to have his helmet on. He couldn’t imagine the discipline of controlling your expressions. It was something he never needed to master, and he admired your ability to do it.  
“I’ll do it,” you sniff looking back at him. Your eyes were glossed over with tears that you were not letting fall and you still held yourself with your head high. You were trying your best to not let your emotions spill over, and he marveled at your strength.   
“You sure.” 
“Positive. I can do it. Besides, I don’t know how you’d do it without me.” 
“You’re right,” he chuckles. 
“I always am,” you joke. You wipe your eyes and stand up, both of you heading out of the stadium. “It’s probably better if we try to find Thor tomorrow,” you conclude noticing how dark it is now. Mando nods in agreement.  
“Are they immortal?” he asks hesitantly, wanting to talk to you longer.  
“No but we live a long time,” you say with a sigh, “Very slow aging process as well.” 
“How old are they?” he asks, “I mean- do you not age either?” 
“Loki and I are similar in age, Thor is older,” you explain. “I mean, I don’t know an exact age in years, but at least a thousand? Thor probably about five hundred years older or so if I had to guess.”  
“Are- are you serious?” he asks in disbelief.  
“I’m an old maid,” you chuckle.  
“You look younger than me,” he says, still in shock. 
“Asgardians have a five-thousand-year lifespan roughly,” you giggle, finding it amusing you’ve made the bounty hunter speechless. “I know I look pretty good for my age,” you joke.  
“Yeah,” he says in agreement, and he doesn’t miss the way it makes you smile. There’s a tension between the two of you that becomes glaringly more obvious, and you both chose to try your best to ignore it.  
“So, what are you?” you ask. “You and your son- what species?” 
“I’m human,” he says quickly, embarrassed at what you thought he must look like under the helmet. “He’s adopted,” he explains, and you laugh at how flustered he sounds through the modulator.  
“Are you from Earth?” 
“No, I was born on Aq Vetina,” he explains and you nod. 
“I’ve never heard of Earth.” “I thought Earth was the only place humans dwelled,” you say intrigued, “Interesting.” 
“Are you royalty?” he asks, trying to change the subject from his backstory. 
“Almost was,” you admit, “but no. I was in the Einherjar army, warriors who protected the throne.” 
“Almost?” he asks, not wanting to pry but his curiosity of wanting to get to know more about you getting the better of him.  
“Loki and I at one point were engaged,” you say, facing the ground.  
“I’m sorry,” he says quickly, “I shouldn’t be asking.” 
“No, it’s okay,” you say reassuringly, “It’s nice to talk about it after all these years. I’m enjoying having someone who’s willing to listen.” He wondered if that would be something he would want as well.  “Then he faked his death, and well,” you joke, “I would say that is the most unique way I’ve heard of to break off an engagement.” 
“I don’t think that was because of you…” 
“Oh, I know,” you reassure him, “But it clearly showed me how little he actually cared for me.” 
“He’s a fool,” he said quickly.  
“I’m afraid I’m the one who deserves that title,” you jest, trying to make the atmosphere less depressing.  
“I don’t think so,” he counters, but doesn’t expand on his statement. You nod as a silent thank you. “I need to get back to the kid,” he says, “Should I meet you tomorrow?” 
“Where are you staying?” You say, “I’ll come to you. I’m too close to the Grandmaster, and then by extension Loki- me going to you keeps you off the radar longer.” 
He gives you the name of where he’s staying and his room, actually trusting you with it. You immediately know where he is staying and you assure him you won’t have any trouble finding him. You insist you want to go find Thor alone and he respects your request. You promise to go to him after. You part ways, and you return to your apartment and him to his room. 
With the secured behind him, he picks up the child and checks on him. He felt guilty for having left him so long, but the kid had only just woken up when Mando arrived back at the room. The child was babbling and happy, and Mando fed him. His mind is still racing with thoughts of you, and how much you’ve been though.  
It almost angers him, the way that you’ve been treated and discarded. Like you were just a pawn in a chess game. The pain and sadness behind your eyes said more to him than your words had, even though he hung on to every syllable. He feels ridiculous, but part of him thinks about how he can be the one to change it. He can be the one to give you justice, by catching the man as he was sent here to do. And maybe somewhere also in the back of his mind he thinks about being the one who can truly make you happy.  
The rapport between the two of you was so seamless. He never had such an easy time talking to someone before. It’s like you just showed up out of nowhere and fell into his life and he wants you to stay in it. He thinks about if you both are successful, he somehow by some miracle is able to catch this guy, would he just part ways with you and never see you again? He hates the idea already. He knows how irrational he is being, but he allows himself to indulge in the idea of sharing things with you the same way you opened up about your past to him. He thinks about your words about how good it felt to have someone to listen, and he thinks about the urge he has to tell you everything. He thinks about finishing this job and getting off this wasteland planet and taking you away with him. He knows it would never happen. You are the closest thing he could ever encounter to a deity, and there’s no reason for you to want him.  
With the child tired out yet again, Mando closes his pod when the baby is asleep and he is now free to take off his helmet. There’s a mirror on the wall and he looks at his reflection. He sees the signs of aging on his face, something you won’t experience until long after his lifetime. You’re the most beautiful being he’s ever encountered and here he is thinking you would return the affection he has begun to feel towards you. He doesn’t believe you’re someone who cares too much about appearances, but you are used to walking among ethereal beings. He knew he would not be good enough. Maybe he had been alone too long and his mind is playing tricks on him, but he can’t forget the way he made you smile. He clung onto it and took pride in it, desperately wanting to be the cause of your smile again. 
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The Choice - Part 2
Part 2 of my elsanna Hulder/Valkyrie au :D I know I said I’d make them 1-1.5k but I guess my sweet spot is 2-3k ¯\_(^^;)_/¯  Good for y’all
I highly recommend reading Chapter 1 and/or the original concept for context because this chapter picks up EXACTLY where we left off. And I do mean exactly. ao3 and ff.net links are up too!
Shout out to @like-red-lads again for indulging me in the concept, @giuliaciulia89 bc I know you’ve been waiting patiently for this one, and a quick spike for @snowmanmelting since you asked ever so politely for a notification of publishing 💖
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The woman who still crouched naked in the water leveled a glare at the Valkyrie. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
Anna felt like someone had wedged the padding of her armor directly into her skull. Her thoughts zipped too and fro, bouncing off the sides while whatever still sane part of her brain jumped desperately in the middle, trying to grab even one coherent thought.
Who are you? Well that’s easy, I’m Anna, the Valkyrie! Wait no, no, I can’t say that, humans that are still alive can’t know that.
What are you doing here? So funny story - I felt like I needed to be here and find you and I know why but I can't tell you or you won’t believe me, or maybe worse you will believe me and then we’re still stuck because-
Life or Death?
This question was causing the most trouble. Anna felt the answer gallop up her throat again, only for it to wilt and corkscrew off somewhere else as it neared the tip of her tongue. It leaped up her legs and tornado’d around her insides like a rock trapped in a gale, bruising everything it touched, but still it didn’t make itself known to her. It was a pressure, the kind that rattled the lid of a pot over-boiling above the cookfire.
Anna shook her head, feeling more than a little dizzy. The remaining part of her brain that was still running around for a legitimate answer grew tired as well and sat down, which prompted Anna to do the same, plopping down onto the rock below her feet in an unceremonious heap. The woman across from her flinched.
“I guess I mean,” Anna replied slowly as she crossed her arms over her chest, “that I really don’t know. And that’s never happened before.”
The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Which part?”
“All of them. Oh!” Anna pounded her fist into her palm. “Except the first question, I can answer that one. I’m Anna!” She grinned broadly, just like she had for the warrior in the battlefield. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I wish I could say the same,” the woman groused, “but considering the circumstances, you will have to forgive me for not feeling the same.”
“It’s certainly odd,” Anna mused aloud, putting her chin in her hand. She missed the other woman’s exasperated expression entirely. “Today started out so normal but now everything is strange.”
“That I can agree with.”
“I know!” Anna threw her arms out. “First there was the fight, then my plans changed without warning and I miss my ride home, then I stumble-sprint through the forest following your voice and now you’re talking to me and--!” Anna pulled up short.
She was having a conversation with a human.
A live human.
Which meant…
“Hey, this is going to sound like a trick question but, you can see me, right?”
The woman blinked, a furrow deepening between her brows. “That… does seem like a trick question.” Anna waited patiently, and saw the moment the other woman realized she would have to answer: a defeated drop of her shoulders. “Yes. Yes I can see you.”
“Oh good!” Anna chirped. “I mean uh, not good, actually,” she frowned and looked to the side, thinking. “Well not baaaad.” Anna bobbed her hands in front of her, as though physically weighing the implications on a scale. “Just… unexpected, y’know?”
The look on the blonde’s face told Anna that she did not, in fact, know.
“I… can imagine that thinking you can’t be seen, only to be seen, would be… unexpected,” was the diplomatic reply.
But Anna had already retreated back into her own head, her mini-me having rested long enough to start picking up the pieces and sorting them into piles. Piles of Normal, piles of Weird, and piles of Highly Irregular.
Being seen by a living human was definitely Highly Irregular.
Maybe something had gone wrong with the magic today, or by leaving the company of her sisters the cloaking spell had frayed and broken with distance. Regardless, if this woman did not suspect Anna’s true nature, then she supposed it wasn’t a big deal. She still had the largest issue at hand anyway.
Again the Choice stirred under the skin of her palms, racing past her funny bone in a jolt and stinging the junction of shoulder and neck before disappearing like a snuffed candle.
“Any update on that second part,” a voice startled Anna from her thoughts, “or are we free to move on with our lives?” The woman in the water had started to shiver, goosebumps covering her arms and legs.
“I’m sorry!” Anna jumped up and reached out. “Here, let me help you up.”
The blonde looked at her hand like it was a poisonous snake. “I’m more than capable of getting out myself, thank you.” Her gaze flicked back up to Anna’s, “Especially because you won’t tell me why you’re here. Or you can’t remember, which I can’t say is any better.”
“Oh, right, well…” Anna withdrew her hand and rubbed the back of her neck instead. “I’ll let you do that then.”
A beat passed before something seemed to click in the woman’s brain. “You’re just going to stand there?”
“Huh? Yeah?” Anna cocked her head, “I mean, we’re both women.”
“We’re also strangers,” the woman responded, grinding the final word between her teeth.
“Sure but, it’s not a big deal, I’ve seen plenty of naked women.”
This time it was the blonde who blushed, making her hair stand out more starkly against her reddened skin. “Right,” she said flatly. “Be that as it may, if you’re so determined to stay I’d prefer it if you at least turned around.”
“I… of course. If it makes you more comfortable.” Anna spun on her heel, her back to the water. Throughout their conversation, the strength of the tugging had ebbed, less a riptide and more a kitten batting at a string of yarn, pulling against the middle vertebrae of her spine.
If the woman replied it was lost in the swoosh and splatter of water as she moved from the middle of the stream to the bank. Anna heard the droplets of water splash onto the rocks below, sometimes more, sometimes less. Perhaps she was wringing out her hair.
“Don’t peek,” the woman scolded.
“I wasn’t going to!”
“Prove it. Close your eyes.”
Anna nearly turned around to answer in spite, but caught herself and set her eyes straight into the trees. “I’m already facing away from you, isn’t closing my eyes a little much?” But Anna did as she was told.
“No,” came the muffled reply, as though the woman had turned away from her, also. There was a ruffle of cloth and the sounds of dressing, the clasp of a belt and the slide of shoes.
And then there was the knife.
It was nearly impossible for someone of Anna’s age and battle prowess to mistake the sound of a blade leaving it’s sheathe. And even if she had, the tether pressing against her back suddenly ignited - combusting, roaring and leaping against her like a brush fire.
In a heartbeat Anna whirled around, knees bent and legs spread apart. The woman stood before her a few feet away, now dressed, though water still dripped from her legs and soaked the fabric of her dress at the collar. Between them was a hunting knife, pointed at Anna’s heart.
“You’re armed!?” Anna blurted out.
“Isn’t everyone?” The woman called back, gesturing with the tip of the knife to Anna’s waist before aiming right back at her center. “And so are you, by the way.”
“Yes but that’s because I’m--!” Anna clapped a hand over her mouth in the nick of time. She couldn’t just say she was a Valkyrie, there had to be some kind of rule against that.
“A warrior, I know.” The woman scoffed. Anna swore for a moment her eyes flashed like the glint of sea rime at dawn but it was gone just as fast. “Come from the battle up the hill have you? Is that why you won’t tell me what you’re doing here, you’re not sure whose side I’m on? Whether I’ll run away from you or into your arms? Or are you a deserter? Tucking your tail between your legs and winding up here, caught without a backup plan?”
“Yes! No. What? Absolutely not. A-And no! In that order!” Anna straightened, rubbing a hand on her temple. Her head was starting to ache, not just from the situation (which was already far, far beyond what she’d ever imagined), but from the strain of the pull on her body. Never had it lasted so long or been so overwhelming. It trod up her sternum and into her throat, dancing along the edges of her jaw. Anna ground the heel of her forward foot into the rock below, needing to physically restrain herself from walking forward. The woman noticed her shift in posture and took a half step back. “Yes, I came from the battle,” Anna said, taking a deep breath. “But not because I was involved in it. I came here because… because I needed to find you. Because I heard you singing.”
Well that was true enough, Anna thought to herself. “Who lives and who dies is important to me,” she continued, finding her way through the half truths that would have to bear her along, like stepping stones made from clouds. “But equally important is that those who are not destined for combat are spared. That those whose lives are decided by other things are not drawn into battle needlessly.”
The woman knelt slowly, keeping her front towards Anna at all times while retrieving a bag from behind a rock. She slung it over her shoulder before speaking. “Oh, so you are a judge, too,” she said icily. “Well then decide. But bear in mind - your choice is not the only one guiding my fate today.”
Decide. Choose.
The words barked in Anna's head, bayed like hounds on the scent. The Choice bore down on her again, like the stones that crushed guilty men, one on top of another.
“My name is Anna,” she said gravely, drawing upon the power with which she made Choices before the war drums had even played their first beat.
“Part one,” the woman counted, standing tall.
“I came here to solve a mystery, to find whomever was at the end of a string… a song.”
“Part two…”
Anna felt it, the Choice zinging up her arm, raising the hairs on her neck, feeling the thrum of her heart in her chest. It was time.
“And I choose... to let you go.”
Silence passed between them, and then the woman frowned, the tip of her knife dropping just slightly. “What?”
“I mean, I never meant to keep you here, and I’m sorry that you felt threatened.” Anna placed as much compassion as she could muster into her words, which was quite a lot. One didn’t get good at comforting dead souls by being callous for hundreds of years. Besides, this woman was only human, and if there was a problem with Choosing, that wasn’t her folly but Anna’s, and something she needed to investigate on her own. “You must live somewhere nearby?” Anna coaxed. “The village southwest of here perhaps, down the hills? I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you safe. I won’t tell anyone you were here, just in case. But it’s not safe to stick around. You should go back home.”
“Home…” The word fell oddly from the blonde’s lips. “Yes I-, I’ll do that.”
Anna rocked back on her heels, hands settling genially on her hips. Despite the draw she still felt between her and this woman, it was manageable now. She wasn’t sure what she was going to tell her fellow Valkyries about this, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
“If it’s all the same to you,” the woman said, interrupting Anna’s thoughts, “I’ll wait until you leave. You’ve made yourself more trustworthy than you first appeared, but I’d not like to take chances.”
Anna smiled despite the scrutiny. “Well I was going to offer to walk you home, but you seem like you can take care of yourself. That knife has hardly lowered once.”
“I think that’s a genuine compliment, for which I’ll say, ‘thank you’.” The flicker of a smile came and went in the dappled sunlight across the woman’s face, so quickly Anna almost missed it. “Don’t take this the wrong way… Anna,” the woman spoke as Anna began walking back into the forest, “but I hope I never see you again.”
The Valkyrie’s heart trilled at the use of her name, even as sadness dampened it’s cheer. It was entirely possible they’d never meet again. Perhaps on the next morn, battle long over, Anna would wake and the pull would disappear completely. Freed from the burden of Choice until it came around next time, for someone new. Though, Anna hadn’t been lying when she said she’d arrived following a mystery. And mysteries hated going unsolved.
But for now she trudged through the trees back toward the hill, throwing a last hand over her shoulder in farewell.
With each step the tug grew lighter and lighter - a snag, a tap, a whisper across the room, until finally it was only noticeable if she concentrated.
Clear frost filigree inside a spyglass.
------
Elsa waited until the Valkyrie was long out of sight. She sheathed her knife only when birdsong came back to the wood, and with that movement went the last of her strength.
She fell to her hands and knees, trembling.
A Valkyrie. A Valkyrie had come looking for her.
In all her years, all her centuries of life, Elsa had never been so close to one. She knew who they were and to whom they were sworn. What they dedicated their life to. Reaping souls for the glory of another war and leaving the rest to rot.
Elsa breathed heavily, her brave and icy façade melting as her lungs begged for air to quell the panic in her heart. She’d made a mistake reacting to the Valkyrie's presence, even if it had been a genuine surprise. Humans couldn’t see Valkyries, and if Elsa wanted to remain hidden, she needed to keep pretending she was human.
But the Valkyrie… Anna..., had seemed distracted too. Something had been bothering her, or maybe even hurting her.
Yet she’d been armed, and knew how to use the sword at her hip. She was a woman who decided whether a person would continue on to see the sunset or not.
Even though she’d been kind, Elsa had not been willing to take the risk.
Elsa’s jaw clenched, her hands forming fists, drawing lines in the sand and loose dirt of the riverbank. She’d been clumsy but she hadn’t been caught. Her secret was safe, for now. The Valkyrie still thought she was nothing but an innocent woman, bathing too close to a battlefield.
She gathered the rest of her things, not that she had many. It was time to disappear and lay low for a while. The song she was singing before came back to her mind, but now it felt tainted so she didn’t even hum. Her malaise showed despite her best efforts however, in the irritable swish and flick of her tail beneath her dress.
That is when she had felt the most terror. Anna had not just come upon her naked in flesh, but in spirit.
Every moment she’d crouched in the water had been eons in her mind. Her muscles still ached with the effort of keeping her tail wound around her calf and ankle. Praying that the Valkyrie would have the modesty not to look, or if she didn’t, to be unable to see through the ripples in the water.
Coupled with the intense need to keep her front to Anna’s at all times, lest she see her back, left Elsa with hardly enough energy to stand.
That’s why Elsa had asked her to close her eyes, even with her back turned. She couldn’t trust the Valkyrie’s word, not when Elsa didn’t know the true reason she’d come. While her lie about following a song hadn’t been entirely false, it certainly wasn’t the whole truth. At least Anna had complied with her request. Elsa wasn’t sure what she’d have done if she hadn’t.
Probably disappear into thin air.
But that would have been more suspicious, and Elsa had known she still had a chance to ward off the preoccupied Valkyrie. Though she’d been successful, that triumph, in its wake, only made her light headed, with nerves so bundled up in her core she felt nauseous.
Elsa checked her surroundings one last time before reaching out in front of her, a little above her head. She felt for a Seam, running the pads of her fingers up and down, along divots and warps until she found one and pulled. An opening appeared before her, like a drape pulled away from a window. Inside the world was muted, duller, quieter.
Elsa took one last breath of fresh air before she stepped inside, feeling the doorway close behind her.
After all, the Hulder did say she’d go home.
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Chapter 2
A/N: Hey guys here’s another update of this story for y’all! Sorry I haven’t been posting much I promise I am working on updates and your requests that you have kindly given me. I’ve just been in a little rut but I promise I’m trying my best to work through it. Thank you so much for reading and your patience ❤️
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Warnings: Mentions of drugs and violence
Daniella followed Angel into the scrapyard. Her nerves only increased the closer she got. She held Hope tightly to her, the little girl nuzzled against her shoulder. Her palms were sweaty and her body felt like it was shaking internally, all normal sensations for Daniella when she was nervous. She didn’t understand why she was making such a big out of this. He didn’t care about her so why should she care what he thought? Still she couldn’t shake the feeling of him wanting to be proud of her. To show him how well she turned out without him, without anyone. Even though it was hell to get there.
Composing herself, she followed Creeper and Angel into the clubhouse. She immediately looked around taking in her surroundings. A habit she had developed over the years.
“He’ll be out in a minute.” Creeper said before leaving her and Angel alone in the room.
Angel smiled looking down at Hope. “She looks just like you. You’re gonna be a little heartbreaker like your mother, huh?” He asked tickling Hope with zero reaction from the girl besides her squirming away from him and closer to Dani.
Daniella rolled her eyes as she looked around the small space. The place was littered with Mayans memorabilia making the place seem more homey, but that seemed to be the purpose of the clubhouse. A home for the members of the club. Daniella knew enough about MC’s to know they were much bigger than just a club, they were a family.
She could relate, she had her own sense of family away from blood with the women she worked with. They were more of a family to her then she ever had, always looked after. They had her back just like she would always have thiers.
Many people looked down on them, like they were less than because of their line of work. Thinking of them as only an object to get off too, a warm body at their disposal, but they were so much more than that. Those women were the strongest, most incredible people she had ever met. As fucked up as a situation that it was that got Daniella into prostitution it was one of the best things for her. Another step in the right direction that led her to where she was now, who she was now.
“So, is her father in the picture?” Angel asked.
Daniella turned her attention back to Angel actually welcoming the conversation as a distraction for her bundle of nerves about meeting her own father. “No, it’s just us. Her dad is kind of a piece of shit anyways, it's better this way.” It wasn’t a lie.
Angel nodded, tucking that information away. At least he didn’t have competition with that douchebag. “Anyone else?” He asked. He had to know if there was any man whatsoever in the two girl’s lives, had to know if there was an opening for him.
“Nope, just us.” She repeated, “And before you say anything else no, we aren’t looking for anyone else.” Well besides Bishop Daniella thought. “And we don’t need anyone else.” She wasn’t here to flirt, or find love, or any of that shit. She was here for only one man. He was her top priority. She couldn’t afford any distractions and Angel was just that, one tall, attractive distraction.
Angel went to speak up again only getting cut off once more as Daniella’s attention was immediately drawn to the Templo’s door opening.
Bishop and Taza came out of Templo to meet their potential new girl. With Taza just behind him Bishop momentarily froze in his place when he met the eyes of the young woman. Eyes he knew so well, eyes he never thought he’d see again. The eyes of the love of his life staring back at him. It was like seeing a ghost or being shot back to his past. His heart clenched in his chest at the memory of what was lost to him, of what he tried to bury all those years ago when he gave up all hope.
It was all so surreal.
She looked just like her mother. Being in the same room with both her and Bishop the likeness couldn’t go unnoticed by Taza either.
Bishop composed himself quickly, looking cool on the outside as he approached her, his daughter.
He just knew it was her.
“Bishop Losa,” He introduced himself with a smile. He was so caught up in his own thoughts when he saw her that he almost didn’t notice the small child in her arms.
Daniella was praying he wouldn’t notice her trembling hands as she kept her grip on Hope. One thing for sure the two had in common was being able to remain their composure on the outside despite the rushing thoughts and emotions running through them.
“Daniella,” She said with a smile, “and this is my daughter, Hope.”
Daniella, Bishop thought to himself, and Hope. His daughter Hope, now went by the name Daniella and ironically named her own daughter Hope.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Daniella.” Bishop said. “Why don’t we have a seat,” He suggested nodding over to a table in the back. “Angel can take your daughter. “ He saw the uncertainty in her eyes as she contemplated his suggestion. “They’ll stay close, won’t go out of sight.”
“Okay,” Daniella agreed, passing Hope over to Angel. She tenderly tucked a strand of Hope’s hair behind her ear. “I’ll be just over there, okay?” She told the young girl, “I won’t be far.”
“I’ve got her.” Angel reassured her before taking Hope over to the bar and setting her on top of it. He watched as she kept her eyes on her mother, sucking her thumb before turning her head to look up at him, her big eyes melting his heart.
Daniella stole one last glance at Hope before taking her place across from Bishop at the table. It was crazy how in just the few days she had known Hope she had become so attached to her. She couldn’t imagine being here alone anymore. Deep down she needed Hope maybe more than Hope needed her.
“So, Daniella.” Bishop started, “Where are you from? We haven’t seen you around before.”
“All over the place, really,” Daniella said with a friendly smile. One that anyone during an interview would have. “But most recently Stockton.”
“Stockton?” Taza spoke up from where he was standing behind Bishop. “What were you doing there?”
Rowena suggested she stick as close to the truth as possible that way she would be less likely to slip up so that was exactly what Daniella was going to do. “I’m going to be honest with you,” She started. The way the two men perked up at those words and how they were observing her rather carefully was not unnoticed by Daniella.
At the same time, she was doing the same thing to Bishop. She took in every detail of him that she could. The way he spoke, how he held himself, and any little movements he made.
Bishop was waiting for her to tell him she was his daughter. He tried to plan out what he would say to her, what he should say to her. What do you say to your daughter who was taken from you so long ago? Who probably did not have an easy life, who you loved with all your heart but was not there for?
“I just got out of a luxury stay I had booked at Stockton State Prison.”
That was not what the two men were expecting to hear. Taza smiled to himself, like father like daughter. Both were clearly trouble makers.
“I was booked for possession of heroin with intent to sell, being under the influence of heroin, and resisting arrest.” She watched the men, mostly Bishop trying to read any reactions. “The heroin wasn’t mine, it was my step dad’s.” She explained. Leaning down on the table she clasped her hands together. “Look, I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of but I’m clean now and just want to start fresh not only for me, but for Hope.” 
“I appreciate the honesty, Daniella.” Bishop said. He wanted to reach over and grab her hand in his but didn’t. To hear what she had been through broke him. His baby girl was never supposed to have that life, but it’s the life Joselynn had so it was no surprise that she had been dragged under with her. He wanted to kill Joselynn for what she did, and kill fucking Billy too because he was almost certain the scumbag was involved as well. “We believe in second chances here. I can see you are trying to start new, that’s admirable.”
The warmth practically radiated from him making Daniella almost forget every horrible thing she knew about him, almost. She knew better than to let his act fool her though.
“What about any of your other family?” Bishop questioned. Daniella couldn't really see how that would pertain to the job but kept listening regardless. “Is your mother around? Or your father?”
“No.” She said plainly sitting back in her seat.
“What about her father?” Bishop asked nodding back to the little girl on the bar who was staring back at them waiting patiently for her mother to be done paying no mind to Angel who was trying to give her his keys.
“Not in the picture. It’s just us.”
Bishop nodded. Whoever the prick was did not deserve her time or to be in the young girl’s life in his opinion and he really hoped to never meet the man. “Okay, well we will of course have to do a background check.” He informed her. Now was her chance to speak up.
“Of course,” she smiled that fake smile again, that smile her mother used to give to anyone she was not too fond of. To anyone else it looked like a normal polite smile but Bishop knew better. “I don’t have anything to hide. I’m an open book.”
“Well, Daniella, find a sitter for your kid and you can start as soon as tomorrow. I think you will be a great addition around here.”
“Great,” her smile became more genuine. She was not expecting it to be so easy to get a job. “I already have a girl. You won’t regret this, I promise. Thank you so much, Bishop.”
Bishop smiled at her shaking her hand before she headed back towards Hope scooping the girl up in her arms and exciting the clubhouse with Angel behind her.
Stepping forward Taza set his hand on Bishop’s shoulder giving it a squeeze. “She's finally home, hermano." Taza said looking at the door where they just disappeared from. "Do you think she knows?"
"She knows." The way she was carefully watching him during their interview was what really gave her away. She knew who he was, he was certain of that. Maybe she didn't know he was her father but she definitely knew of him. "There's no way her showing up here is a coincidence."
"Are you going to tell her?"
“No,” Bishop shook his head. “I want her to come to me. She’s been through enough already. Who knows what lies Joselyn filled her head with. Now is not the time. I just got her back," Bishop's voice softened as he thought of losing his daughter once more. "I don’t want to push her away already.” More than anything he wanted to learn more about the woman she had become.
Taza understood where his brother was coming from. He never personally met Joselyn but as one of Bishop’s closest confidants he had heard the story of how he lost his love and his daughter in the same night. Bishop would not often talk about it but he never truly gave up looking for her either, even after all these years. None of them could have expected that she would be the one to find them first.
“So how does it feel, grandpa?” Taza teased.
Bishop shook his head with a smile. “Fuck off.” Standing up from his seat he passed Taza with a pat to the shoulder before making his way back to Templo. Taza watched his brother head in and close the door behind him before heading outside with the other’s to give him a moment alone.
Sitting down on his chair at the head of the table Bishop pulled the old diamond engagement ring out of his cut where he had kept it since the day he lost his family. It was nothing fancy, a simple small diamond on a silver band but his Evelia would have loved it. She was a simple woman who only needed two things in her life, Bishop and their daughter, her family.
As much as he missed her he was thankful that she did not have to live with the pain of losing their daughter like he had. At least she was spared that much. She would not have survived that.
Brining the ring to his lips he gave it a small kiss before placing it back into his pocket just over his heart. He rested his hand on top of the leather where he could just barely feel the delicate jewelry as he thought about his family and how he now had a chance to know his daughter. “She’s home, amor. She’s finally home.” He murmured. “I promise I won’t lose her again. I won’t fail her or you this time.”
Carrying Hope, Daniella headed back to her vehicle in a bit of a daze trying to fully wrap her mind around the interaction. She finally met him, actually talked to her father. She wasn’t sure how to feel in this moment and Angel walked beside her going on and on about who knows what was not helping. She could only faintly hear his voice as he talked her ear off, his words sounding muffled as her mind was elsewhere. She wasn’t listening to him but he didn't seem to notice or care. He could be telling her his deepest darkest secrets and she would never know.
“Yo. Earth to Dani.” Angel said, sticking his phone closer to her face until she subconsciously reached out and took it. He was just talking about getting her number for work which she had nodded along to but now it was like she had not listened to a single thing he had said.
“What?” Dani asked looking over at him. They were now stopped in front of her black ford focus.
"Your number?" Angel nodded down at his phone in her hand. "For work."
She shifted Hope on her hip as she looked at Angel’s bright screen with the beginnings of a new contact with her name across the screen. “Is this your way of getting my number? Man you really don’t give up. You’ve hit on me what, three times now in one day? That’s gotta be some type of record.”
Angel licked his lips leaning against her car annoying her further. She wanted to play hard to get than that was fine with him. He liked the chase. “Just for work purposes, I swear little mama." Angel smirked.
Daniella was more irritated now as she glared back at him. “So you’re telling me you aren’t going to use it as a way to send unsolicited dick pics of your,” Daniella paused to glance down at the crotch of Angel’s jeans before back up to his face with her own smirk, “less than impressive package?”
“Trust me one night in my bed and you won’t be saying that.”
Danielle chuckled, unlocking the door to her vehicle. “Trust me,” she said opening her back door nudging Angel out of the way. Bending over she set Hope into her car seat making sure she was secure all while feeling Angel’s gaze directly on her ass. Once she had Hope fully situated and buckled she turned back to face Angel. “That won’t be happening.”
Now that sounded like a challenge to Angel. “We’ll see about that.” Walking backwards he smirked as Daniella glared at him. Looking past her he waved to Hope. “Bye Hope,” He said before meeting Dani’s eyes. “See you tomorrow little mama.” Smirking Angel left her with that turning around heading back to the scrapyard. The car door slammed behind him before the vehicle started up and headed down the road. He wanted to turn back around and give her one last look but he was not going to. He was exactly where he wanted to be, under her skin.
****
Daniella shot up in bed clutching her stomach as the pain pierced through her abdomen so vividly. She was drenched in sweat and consumed by panic as she tried to come to her senses. Looking down she found her shaking hands free of blood bringing her some comfort as she came back to reality.
It was just another nightmare.
“Fuck,” she breathed out running her hand through her hair. Reaching over she grabbed a scrunchy from the bedside table and piled her hair on top of her head securing it loosely. Looking over she found Hope sound asleep and sprawled out across the other side of the bed, her hair sticking to her face from the heat that radiated from the young girl while she was asleep. She brushed the strand off her forehead before slipping out of bed in hopes of not disturbing her.
Padding down the hall she made her way effortlessly through the dark apartment snatching her pack of cigarettes and lighter from the coffee table on her way to the window. She unlocked it and slid the pane up. Daniella situated herself on the windowsill, one leg dangling out the edge with her back resting against the side. Lighting up a cigarette she took a long drag holding it a moment before blowing the smoke out and into the night. She leaned her head back and stared out at the full moon. They say strange things happen during full moons. Maybe that was the reason behind the violent nightmares. But if that were the case she wouldn’t have so many so often. No she knew that wasn’t true and didn’t believe in all of that anyways.
No matter how many times she had the nightmares they always seemed to shake her up, feeling just as real as when she was in prison. Most of the time it was just flashbacks of her time inside, more often than not the day she was jumped in the hall. She would never forget that moment, the rush of adrenaline when they grabbed her, the piercing pain, the metallic smell mixing with the sickeningly strong aroma of bleach from the cleanup that happened just prior.
Two women grabbed her and held her tightly in their grasps against the wall as the third, some woman with red hair and the most sinister smile on her face pulled out the shiv and waved it in front of her face, teasing her with the sharp object. “With love from Billy bitch!” The woman sneered. Before Daniella could really register what was happening the shiny metal was pierced through her abdomen, not once, not twice, but three times before they finally let up, releasing her. She clutched at the open wounds, the blood coating her hands as she collapsed onto the cold hard tile, one hand reaching out to catch herself but slipping across the floor doing nothing to lessen the impact. Leaving her with a swift kick from each the last thing she remembered is watching the women be let out by the guard as her vision clouded around her.
But this time the dream was different. Instead of being in the prison she was back in her childhood home and this time it was Billy holding a knife as he sneered down at her, her mother watching on from behind, encouraging him to finally rid her of the worthless, ungrateful reminder of what she lost, of what she’d never be.
Daniella caught the brief movement from the side of her eye and looked over into the living room almost slipping out the window. Her heart leapt into her throat as she reached out catching herself before she could go anywhere. “Jesus Christ.” She muttered with her hand on her head. Daniella looked back into the brown doe eyes staring at her. “We really need to get you a damn bell or something.”
Hope sucked on her thumb as she stared at Daniella wide eyed with Mr. Bear as Daniella called him held tightly against her chest.
“Can’t sleep?” Daniella asked, putting the cigarette out and sliding back into the apartment. She pushed the window back down, latching the lock securely before closing the curtains. Crouching down in front of Hope she ran her thumb across her face, caressing her skin where a stray tear had found its way down her plump little cheek. “Me neither. How about we put on a movie, yeah?”
Standing up she walked with Hope to the couch helping boost her up onto the leather sofa. Bending over in front of Hope Danilla caressed her face. "This is our fresh start, okay? They can't hurt you anymore. No one will ever hurt you again." Kissing Hope on the forehead she gave the girl a small smile. She meant every word. She would do anything for Hope.
Stepping back to the entertainment center Daniella sat down on her knees looking through the various titles on the shelf. Unfortunately when Rowena set everything up it wasn’t with a toddler in mind. She ran her fingers across the spines of the many DVDs before pulling out Stranger Things. “How about this?” She asked holding the case up for Hope to see. “Ro said it was the first thing I needed to watch once I was out and there’s kids in it so that means it’s kid friendly, right?” Hope stared back as always snuggling into one of the purple pillows on the sofa. “Yeah, we’ll try it.” Daniella decided, popping the disc into the DVD player and grabbing the remote before sitting down next to Hope.
The show began playing the theme song quietly as Daniella stared ahead watching the colors flash across the screen. Her mind wasn’t on the show however but her meeting with her father just hours before. “I know I should have told him, but we don’t even know the guy Hope. Right now we have the upper hand, the chance to see just who he really is before we give ourselves away.” She explained. Maybe she was a coward but she had been burned too many times in her past. She wasn’t about to open herself up to him leaving herself and Hope included vulnerable to him or anyone for that matter.
She chewed on her bottom lip as she replayed the meeting over and over in her mind. “He wasn’t what I was expecting Hope.” Daniella said, turning to look at Hope. “He didn’t seem like the shitty person mom made him out to be.” She pulled her legs up onto the couch sitting criss crossed. It was weird seeing Bishop in person to Daniella. He seemed nothing like what she had envisioned from the few details her mother would give her. He seemed like a good guy and she craved to get to know him better, craved the love she didn’t receive growing up but she knew better than to get her hopes up. “But first impressions don’t mean anything, Hope.” She explained to her as Hope listened intently. She was a good listener at least. “Most people won’t show you their real colors until they’ve already sunk their claws into you. You can’t trust anyone. It’s just you and me against the world now. We gotta look out for us.” In time he’d slip up and show her the real him, it was really only just a matter of time.
Tagging: @everyhowlmarksthedead @cind-in-real-life @ifoundmyhappythought @woahitslucyylu @briannab1234 @carlaangel86 @sammskellington @chibsytelford @mheart27 @scuzmunkie @vsfavs @starrynite7114 @gemini0410 @whyisgmora
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knight-ingale · 4 years
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Chapter 5, Near-Death-Experience
Heyyy y’all! Sorry, I wanted to post earlier today (and with an update/warning so y’all could see it was coming) but a lot of... stuff(?) has happened this weekend. Hope you all enjoy regardless! ✧・゚: *✧・゚:*---~---~---~---~---~---~--- *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
“So,” you ask, leaning into the middle console, “What happened?” Bella purses her lips for a moment. 
“Um… a lot?” She starts, eyes still locked on the road, “He said ‘hi’ to me at the beginning of class, I guess, so that was new.” You nod, “He also called me Bella instead of Isabella, but no one else has done that? Like… he even corrected Mr. Banner when he called me Isabella.” You shrug, holding your head in your hand as you lean back against your door.
“Maybe since we’ve been here for a bit, he heard from everyone else you like being called Bella?” Bella nods, though her expression was disbelieving.
“Maybe,” she concedes, “But I don’t think so?” You shrug, making a movement with your other hand to queue her onwards. “He asked me a lot of questions, I guess. He tried to make small-talk about the snow at first, but I don’t like snow. He figured it was difficult for me to live here in Forks. Said I was ‘hard to read’ for some reason.” You shrug again, though she couldn’t see it. 
“Well, he doesn’t really know you, right? Just because Mom and I can read you doesn’t mean someone new can, I suppose.” She sighs, 
“That makes sense, I guess. But… there’s something else.” You lean away from your door to sit up straight. 
“Well?” you prompt after a short silence, “What is it?” Bella’s fingers tap against the wheel anxiously. 
“Well… have you noticed his eyes? The color change, I mean.” You freeze. Edward’s eyes had changed too? You noticed Jasper’s since he sat next to you, but you hadn’t noticed his brother’s change from across the room during lunch. Bella glances at you, “What? What’s wrong?” You shuffle in your seat, leaning back against the door with your arm.
“Well… I just.. I noticed the same thing with his brother, Jasper. He sits next to me in Psych. His eyes used to be really dark. Like, really dark. Now they kind of match his hair, like a golden color. I didn’t say anything about it, but it’s kinda weird.” Bella is obviously surprised by your comment. 
You drive the short rest of the drive home in contemplative silence.
You’re able to get most of your homework done before dinner, and Bella helps you with the Algebra after dinner. Dinner, speaking of, was the usual silence you were now used to. You doodled for a while before you decided to go to bed. 
The next day, you woke up to a surprise. The overcast, green-tinted light you were used to waking up to had cleared into bright, filtered light. You got dressed before you looked out the window and walked back to your closet to get your boots. On the other side of the glass, there was a snowy and frozen wonderland. Fern-like designs of frost hugged the edges of the glass on your window, every needle was coated in crystalline ice. The driveway had become an ice-trail of possible future concussions and a trip to the ER.
You came downstairs to see Bella making a bowl of cereal. You gasped in horror when you saw her drink orange juice straight from the carton while making your own cereal when she finished her own bowl. Bella sat in her chair practically vibrating with nervous energy as she waited for you to be done with your breakfast. 
“What’s with you?” You ask, shoveling another spoonful of Cheerios into your mouth while Bella gathers her thoughts. 
“I guess I’m just, kind of excited?” You nearly choked on your cereal. Y/n Swan, the beloved sister, died by shocking news and breakfast. A little ball of dread reappeared in the pit of your stomach. 
“Excuse me,” you ask, still coughing a little bit, “But why on Earth?” You already knew the answer as soon as she nearly killed you with your own surprise and food, but you asked anyway. 
“I… Agh, I know it’s stupid!” Your sister admits sheepishly, “But… I guess to see him.” You scoffed, this time not nearly dying.
“Yup, sounds very, very stupid. You shouldn’t trust someone who lies about their eyes,” You note, raising your eyebrows at Bella. She nods her head, but you can tell her attitude hasn’t changed much. You sigh and finish off your milk before standing to rinse your bowl out in the sink. You and Bella grab your bags and prepare to leave, fearing the worst for the journey ahead. 
You guided Bella to the very front of the truck, holding onto each other as supports to make the short way to the truck. It was only when you and your sister parted to go to your respective sides of the vehicle when Bella nearly toppled. Luckily, she caught the mirror of the door on the way down to steady herself. You laughed, relieved when you both made it into the cab without injury. Bella wasn’t nearly as amused. 
Bella drove carefully through the icy streets without difficulty, but still slowly, which you were glad for. The last thing you needed was for your father to show up at the site of a crash after carving a path of destruction through town. Despite this, the little lump of dread on your stomach was growing bigger and heavier.
When you made it to school, you got out of the warm cab, you noticed Bella stop at the back of the truck. You make your way to her side curiously. Did she find something on the ground? Standing beside her, you see what she’s looking at. Thin, silver snow chains had been fixed to your tires. You realized, like Bella seemingly had, that Charlie had gotten up early and put them on the truck for the both of you. This small act stunned you. Your mother had never done anything like this to take care of you, in fact, Bella had always been the one to take safety measures and care for you. Bella leans up, tears welling up in her eyes. You lay a hand on her shoulder and try to smile through the mini-wave of emotions.
A loud noise abruptly tears through the quiet air of the parking lot. You turn your head to see behind you a large, dark blue van skidding on the icy blacktop, and it’s headed right towards you and Bella.
You knew you wouldn’t have any time to run, you wouldn’t even have time to push Bella out of the way.
 Nothing was in slow motion, but you were fast enough to manage one maybe final act. 
You turned to Bella, her brown eyes wide and looking off away from the van at the crowd, and wrapped your arms behind her. One arm reached up and held the top of her head, the other crossed from one shoulder to hold the other. You were already on the outside, Bella was between you and the corner of the truck. You knew you were going to die. The chances of being pinned between the truck and a van probably weren’t very high, but maybe you’d be enough of a barrier to at least get your sister out alive? You hoped so.
Right before you expected to be smashed by the oncoming Frisbee-ing vehicle, you were pushed. You felt your wrist, the one behind Bella’s head, hit the concrete with sharp pain. Something cold and hard was pinning your back down. You hadn’t even blinked when you realized you were on the ground next to a tan car Bella had parked next to. You barely had time to look up and see two white hands thrust forward to stop the van from hitting you, pushing into an already deep dent in the side of the body. Then, like a blur, one hand reached to hold under the van and the other pulling you away, your legs swinging and hitting the tire of the car beside you.
And then, it was over. For a moment, it was silent after the van settled and the glass popped. After that short silence, pandemonium.  Many voices started yelling at once, the most you could understand was several people yelling your names. That was when you realized there was someone else there. You looked back behind you to see none other than the bagel-hater himself, Edward Cullen, holding you against his side, you sandwiched between both him and yourself clutching Bella to you.
“Bella?” He repeats, “Are you alright?” Bella groans and tries to escape both of your grasps, but you held onto her, as did Edward.
“I’m fine,” she groans. She looks up to you and realizes who you were being held against and immediately struggles to sit up against you. You help her sit up gently with Edward’s white hand guiding her back.
“Be careful,” he warns her, “I think you hit your head.” Bella reaches a hand up to her head, placing her hands against a spot above her left ear. 
“Ow.” Bella mumbles, sounding surprised. You sat up as fully as you could and gently looked about Bella’s face, your hands holding her jaw as you searched for any more irritated spots of impact or scrapes. Thankfully, she seemed fine.
“That’s what I thought,” Edward hums, almost sounding amused? If you weren’t in the head space of just trying to make sure you and your sister were alright, you probably would have at least turned to glare at Edward, maybe even yell. Bella mumbles, still wincing as she held onto the side of her head, 
“How in the…?” She shakes her head and her voice trails off before looking back up, “How did you get over here so fast?” Edward makes an expression of what you knew to be feigned-confusion,
“I was right next to you, Bella,” he says, his voice no longer exhibiting a humorous inflection. You steady Bella as she begins to push away to sit up and Edward unwinds his arms from around your side and Bella’s and scoots as far as he can in the very limited space in between the far too-close vehicles. You turned your back to press against the side of the tan car behind you, one hand on your sister's shoulder as you both looked over to the boy beside you. The way he was looking at you and Bella was bizarrely off-putting. The way he almost looked to be sincerely confused, he truly wore the expression of authentic befuddlement, but not quite. You looked into the golden hues of his eyes and knew that couldn’t be right. His gaze was too hard, too much like he was pleading you to just stay quiet or just go with it. He wasn’t confused. He knew exactly what had happened and what Bella was asking. 
Edward shifts his gaze to you, his expression slightly harder in some way, guarded perhaps? 
You’re snapped out of your speculative train of thought by voices. Now that everything had stopped, you realized there was screaming. Different voices screaming Bella’s name, screaming your name. Funnily enough, you weren’t able to pick out anyone calling for the Cullen boy beside you in the noise.
A crowd rushes up to the vehicles, crying faces and yelling greet you as you look up to them all. 
“Stay put!” Someone instructs loudly, but you can’t see who. 
“Get Tyler out of the van!” Someone else shouted. There is a dizzying amount of movement around the vehicles as you look back to Bella as she tries to stand up. Both your hand and Edwards place themselves on opposite shoulders before she can elevate herself.
“Somebody said to stay put just now Bells,” You remind softly as she lowers back down the few centimetres.
“But it’s cooold,” she whines. Edward snickers behind you, but Bella cuts him off, “You were over there. You were by your car...” her voice trails off once again as she looks up into his eyes. Edward drops his smile and instead presses his lips into a hard and narrows his eyes, frowning ever-so slightly.
“No, I wasn’t.” 
“I saw you,” Bella insists. Over the argument you hear deeper voices, teachers, arriving to the scene. 
“Bella, I was standing with you, I pulled you out of the way.” It seemed he was trying with all his silent might to convince your sister other from the truth. Bella breaks her gaze from Edward’s and looks at you. You could practically see the vicious curiosity burning behind her brown eyes. You turn to look at Edward and realize he had been staring at you. His nearly pleading gaze making contact with your own vision causes a strange panic to stir in your chest.
“You… you couldn’t have been there.” You say, “You weren’t there even when I turned and grabbed Bella…” Edward, obviously displeased with your answer, looks between you and your sister with a guarded panic, 
“Bella, Y/n, please,” he pleads softly. For some reason, his gentle voice aggravates the panic already present in the back of our mind, though you can’t tell why it did.
“Why?” Bella almost glares at the boy across from her. Obviously, you were alone in your sudden feeling of alarm.
“Trust me,” you begs again, his forceful gaze shifting from Bella to you before returning back to your sister.
“Will you promise to explain everything to me later?” Edward lets out a sharp sigh at your sisters continued pressing,
“Fine,” he snaps.
“Fine,” Bella echoes with her own angry tone.
You look between the two teenagers with worry. The far off sirens were finally in the parking lot. You could see flashing red and blue lights reflecting off of the wet asphalt and snow and edges of the vehicles around you. Through the wailing sirens and abrupt feeling of panic, you have a feeling the rest of the day was going to be a disaster. Though, how much worse could it get from here?
Turns out, much worse.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*---~---~---~---~---~---~--- *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
Tags: @twilight-loveer, @rushiruby
57 notes · View notes
bladekindeyewear · 4 years
Text
HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-08-23
More homestuuuuuck
I’m a little tired today so I don’t expect much intelligent analysis out of myself, but if anything classpecty happens I doubt I’ll be able to help myself regardless.
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oh, always
(EDITS: added note on horn colors, link to ask on potential Blood powers reference)
> CHAPTER 12. Really Convoluted Metaphorical Horseshit
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cuuute
In the bowels of a different ship, at a moment in time that is not pinpointable in either direction from the previous interaction, another Dave raps quietly to himself.
another dave raps quietly to himself.  i am glad that phrase exists it brings me joy
(LATER EDIT: A friend on Discord pointed out that throughout this entire update, Karkat's horns are #FF0000 red. They were normal candy-corn colors in previous glimpses at the ship crew, though they used a dark single-color shortcut typical of old Homestuck at one point... but THIS time it stays STARK red even when we zoom in close later. Is this just artistic liberty? Did Karkat color his horns for fashion? Does this happen to red-bloods like the Sufferer after a certain age? Just how much time has actually passed, here? We might have to wait for the commentary for this one.)
KARKAT: I WAS SAYING I THOUGHT WE MIGHT GO, I DUNNO, ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE ENTIRE SHIP WHILE THE CLOTHES WERE WASHING. KARKAT: SEEING AS THIS DECREPIT MACHINE WE WERE SO BLESSEDLY PROVIDED WITH MAKES A WHIRRING SOUND SO PANCHAFINGLY ARHYTHMIC THAT IT THREATENS TO ERADICATE THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TEMPO FROM THE UNIVERSE.
Karkat really has chilled out hasnt he?  like this is surprisingly level for him, and that fact is hilarious.
KARKAT: AND YET SOMEHOW BASICALLY ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WE STARTED THE LOAD IS THAT YOU’VE BEEN USING IT AS A FUCKED UP BEAT TO WHISPER TO YOURSELF ABOUT FLOWERS TO.
oh gosh that’s why he’s rapping
> ==>
DAVE: kanaya was telling me this kids story the other day about this dude who didnt cherish a flower enough until it peaced out to do flower stuff idk its not pertinent to the story DAVE: except the flower was a person DAVE: because it was a metaphor
Oh right, coming back to the Little Prince stuff I was too lazy to metaphor-deep-dive into, and literally asking the same questions we were asking about who the Little Prince’s story applies to mapped here if anyone at all, like Dirk and such, or what biases were in the retelling of it and the way Kanaya phrased it.  So now we’re practically mocking it by deep diving it here, hence the last page’s “DAVE: i was just thinking through some really convoluted metaphorical horseshit”, which means we’re both about to further explore AND shit all over the existence of this story metaphor until it doesn’t mean anything and most of the meaning we drew from it earlier is made a joke~
well, not “we”, cause I was too lazy, so... y’all
DAVE: anyway what goes down in the story is that once the flower lady is out of the picture DAVE: the main character goes around making all these connections between her and everything else in the universe until every damn thing feels like a symbol for how much he fucked up and how much he will never see her again KARKAT: THIS SEEMS PRETTY FUCKING INTENSE FOR A KID'S STORY DAVE: yea thats pretty much what i said
Oh holy shit.  That’s yet another way to put it.  Are we doing a whole moral takedown of the Light aspect today?  cause it sounds like we’re taking a dump on the Light aspect and RoboRose getting too obsessed and immersed in it, which would be excellent
DAVE: but i guess its not so much what the story was technically textually about but more like the version of it kanaya internalized and then told me when we were talkin about how she misses rose
exactly
DAVE: so like now im taking the story she told me she was projecting her feelings onto and projecting my feelings on top of that
yes absolutely, you just rephrased it a different way with that exact same bias
DAVE: this is just one big game of emotional projection telephone so feel free to go paraphrase it to roxy later and make it about whatever fuckin thing youre currently missing
perfect. i need an emoji for that Italian thing for when you pinch your thumb and forefinger together and kiss it
ah this’ll do:
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its like the expression “choice” but in nonverbal form
[...] whatever fuckin thing youre currently missing KARKAT: YOUR ABILITY TO GET TO THE POINT DAVE: gotem DAVE: anyway you’re not gonna have to miss that skill of mine for long DAVE: get ready for this shit because i am about to slap you with the point so hard youll fall ass first into the washer DAVE: just scrambling around in there getting all sudsy DAVE: but your brain is gonna be so blasted from the mindfreak of a point im about to make that there wont be anything left to clean
Anytime dave is told to get to the point he is contractually obligated to spend at least 20 seconds talking about how he’ll get to the point in a way that is not getting to the point
DAVE: so its genuinely cool that kanaya can go around creating meaning that may or may not be actually present in every little thing DAVE: connecting every feeling she has to the idea of her wife existing out there DAVE: so i told her she should keep that shit up DAVE: but im having the opposite issue where im struggling to find anything to be that kind of tether because every single thing i could possibly consider about what it is were doing just reminds me of yet another thing to be afraid about
Great examples of Light being good and bad!  Attaching strands of connective meaning to everything.  --though, in Dave’s case AND Kanaya’s case you could argue it’s both bad in terms of effects.  That it’s great for Kanaya to care, but that she should be able to divest herself and live on her own terms without idealizing Rose literally everywhere she looks, personal growth which would be useful in helping bring Rose back to her in the first place.  The struggle they’re looking forward to is largely philosophical, not just physical, and until Rosebot acknowledges that she was wrong it’s not over.
DAVE: everything fuckin sucks huge cosmic donkey sack and im terrified KARKAT: OK, SO I FEEL LIKE YOU SKIPPED A COUPLE NECESSARY STEPS IN YOUR POINT CLARIFICATION PROCESS.
Pretty sure Dave was on the same page as most Epilogue and start-of-HS2 readers.  This situation is pretty bleak to dump our heroes into, no matter how much we believe will be resolved in the long run.
DAVE: ok but were you going with sweet or savory please give me that much at least KARKAT: YEAH IT WAS GOING TO BE SUNDAE-BASED. DAVE: nice KARKAT: YEAH. KARKAT: DO YOU WANNA WATCH MORE GBBO AFTER THIS? DAVE: absolutely
--ah, Great British Bake-Off, can’t say I’ve indulged
do they still have that?? did they save it from old Earth?  or did they go where unflooded Britain used to be and say hey, new show reboot
KARKAT: GREAT. ANYWAY, LIKE I WAS SAYING, FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET HUMAN CHRIST, PLEASE BACK UP TO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU’RE ACTUALLY SCARED OF. KARKAT: ALSO COME HERE, IDIOT.
That last line is like, exactly as fucking sweet and awesome as we imagined their relationship to be.  :)
> ==>
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OH MY GOD THAT’S ADORABLE
DAVE: ok yeah this is a better position to unleash all my inner fears n anxieties from
indisputably.
DAVE: those times its like my mouth was saying words about the situation wherein our friends are AWOL and maybe dead but my brain wasnt fully letting me experience the emotion that goes along with them DAVE: man its like i cant even start genuinely thinking about how afraid i actually am for rose and john without my brain flippin its wad and whiting out DAVE: like haha fuck i hope theyre ok DAVE: now i better make a fuckin joke before i succumb to the gaping mouth of despair waiting for me to fall in it as soon as i look down and acknowledge that its there ogling how juicy my ass looks as it trembles with terror
I really hope that the writers of HS2 know full well that this feeling? the one Dave is describing here? is what many of us who got way overinvested in the well-being of Homestuck’s surviving characters felt reading the Epilogues and Homestuck^2.  So I really hope they’re working through it in a way that will result in a preponderance of GOOD THINGS happening and hope-filled situations.  Cause that “can’t even think about X” feeling is too familiar, and if they understand it as well as it LOOKS like they’re getting to, I’d really like them to give us a helping hand healing.
I think that’s what they’re going for?  Seems hopeful for me to think so, but they HAVE been doing better as HS2 has been going forward, from an emotional standpoint anyway; definitely better than the Epilogues.  And I’ve worked through some of that stuff with the help of that, because it’s MUCH easier nowadays to think about Homestuck without my gut clenching.
DAVE: i guess im just fucked up about how to worry about dirk and be angry at him at the same time DAVE: because if i get as unholy pissed at him as i sometimes wanna be i also gotta admit to myself that maybe i coulda done something different there
Mhmm, Karkat’s potentially a pretty good person to speak with here since he’s done so much work trying not to feel responsible for everything that’s ever gone wrong.
DAVE: also like DAVE: and this by the way adds a whole other layer of guilt on there that i dont really know how to fuckin reckon with but DAVE: even with all the shit hes pulled and the fact that we are more or less heading toward having to take him down DAVE: whatever that is gonna mean and whether or not he planned it like that DAVE: i just DAVE: me and him had come so far with each other and it was really cool for a while to have him and i DAVE: ugh DAVE: i dont WANT to hate him
Yeah, Dirk and Jane’s heel-turns were really shitty for anyone who was a fan of them in the fanbase, as well.
KARKAT: WELL THEN QUIT FUCKING PICKING AT THE SEAM ON MY SHORTS AND SPIT IT OUT. THEY'RE BARELY HANGING ON TO THE DEFINITION OF "SHORTS" AS IT IS.
That is an adorably real boyfriend-laying-in-boyfriend’s-lap thing to do
DAVE: the part i mentioned before about how we really have no goddamn clue how long this trip is even gonna take DAVE: i cant help but feel like its barely getting revved up DAVE: and for me and roxy and jade and callie and kan thats normal shit at best and boring at worst but we all have our immortality to thank for that DAVE: we can just dick around in space for near-eternity waiting to catch up to our friends who may or may not be our enemies now and itll be fine DAVE: i mean no itll be categorically miserable DAVE: but well survive it KARKAT: HOLD THE FUCK ON. DAVE: but you KARKAT: DAVE. DAVE: no lemme say this
Oh god damnit.  Karkat’s limited lifespan.  As if we hadn’t ALREADY covered a nauseatingly extensive gamut of disheartening topics of conversation.  We really have to confront every shred of misery in their past, present and future one after the other after the other in the Epilogues and HS2, don’t we?  >:(
I guess it had to be discussed, though.
DAVE: we dont talk about it much and i got shit to say about it DAVE: its not like i never thought about how youre mortal before but i just thought wed be able to figure it out before it mattered DAVE: come up with some kind of plan DAVE: i was just distracted being happy with you i fucking guess and so i didnt think up a way to fix it DAVE: and now thanks to dirk we have to work it out right the fuck now DAVE: because i cant spend this trip just sitting around watching you get old and die
Jesus.  I mean, WE know(?) that it’s not gonna be THAT many years, but THEY don’t know that.
Unless it really IS going to be that many years and HS2 is going to shamelessly take a fucking sledgehammer to our feelings for no goddamn good reason.  Which it won’t!  Right???  >:T
> ==>
Dishwasher ding
> Dave: Grapple with the clean, soggy consequences of the passage of time.
Hey, don’t make it a metaphor here. --though, fuck.  I suppose we are dealing with everyones dirty laundry.  God damnit.  SURE, deal with it all story but then GET IT OUT OF THE WAY AND PUT SOME SERIOUS FUN AND LAUGHS IN HERE so we don’t feel like we’re wading through an entire garbage dump!!!  *click*
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Karkat’s eyebrows-only mouthless frown is really cute.
> ==>
okay Karkat explain the nope you’re lodging
> ==>
*put*
> ==>
*foot*
> ==>
DAVE: ok go on
I mean I at least appreciate the time investment in adorable boyfriends.  That’s definitely something of SOME good value they’re giving us in exchange for this misery
> ==>
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That Karkat image makes me wanna do that red-shaky-gif-thing with it
KARKAT: IT'S NOT LIKE I'M NEW TO THE PARTICULAR MOOBEAST WRANGLING EVENT OF SOMEONE I PREVIOUSLY LOVED BRUTALLY TURNING ON ME AND LEAVING ME TO TRY AND CRAM MY FEELINGS ABOUT THE SITUATION BACK TOGETHER ALL ON MY OWN.
True
KARKAT: HE DID THAT ON HIS OWN. AND WE MADE THE CHOICE TO GO AFTER HIM ON OUR OWN.
Yes, and you’ll possibly convince him more of that over time, though not in this short conversation
KARKAT: I WAS FOLLOWING YOUR LITTLE TRAIL OF COOKIE CRUMB FEARS UNTIL IT LEAD TO THE BIG SNACK FINALE OF WORRY ABOUT MY FRAGILE MORTAL MEATSACK. KARKAT: IF I HAVE SOMEHOW NOT BEEN CLEAR ABOUT THIS WITH YOU YET, LET ME GO AHEAD AND RECTIFY THE SITUATION RIGHT THE FUCK NOW. KARKAT: HANGING OUT WITH YOU ON THIS LONG TRIP TO WHO THE SHITTING FUCK KNOWS WHERE IS QUITE LITERALLY THE HAPPIEST I HAVE EVER BEEN IN MY ENTIRE MEAGER EXISTENCE. KARKAT: I'M SO ABSOLUTELY BLISSED THE FUCK OUT OF MY MIND TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT YOUR STUPID IMMORTALLY SMOOTH HUMAN FACE SKIN EVERY DAY AND NOT HAVE A COMPLEX ABOUT IT.
D’AWWW
And with that darkly angry expression too, that’s PERFECT
I mean it’s true.  What exactly would they be doing DIFFERENTLY on Earth C other than enjoying each other like this?  It’s pretty fucking great.
...hm.  Isn’t this journey-not-the-destination stuff pretty Breathy?  Karkat’s proving more balanced by the moment.
KARKAT: AND I'LL BE STRAIGHT WITH YOU. IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVEN'T BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME COMPLICATED GUILT, MYSELF. KARKAT: THE FACT THAT I'M HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE JUST FUCKING CHILLAXING AND BEING IN LOVE IN SPACE IS A CLEARLY INCONGRUOUS WITH THE REASON I'M ACTUALLY HERE CHILLAXING TO BEGIN WITH, AND I'M NOT LETTING MYSELF FORGET THAT, EITHER.
Pff.  He feels guilty for ENJOYING IT so much.  <3
KARKAT: BUT I RESENT THE IMPLICATION THAT MY HAPPINESS IS REGISTERING FOR YOU AS YOU HAVING TO JUST "SIT AROUND AND WATCH ME GET OLD," BECAUSE I KNOW YOU KNOW IT'S MORE THAN THAT.
I’m glad Karkat knows that DAVE knows somewhere in him that it’s more than that, because yeah, if Karkat thought he DIDN’T know that at some level that’d be a reason to take MUCH MORE SERIOUS offense.
KARKAT: LIKE, JESUS, DAVE. YOU KNOW I'M AFRAID FOR YOU, TOO, RIGHT? KARKAT: OR DID YOU FORGET THE WHOLE HEROIC DEATH THING? KARKAT: I WORRY ABOUT LOSING YOU FAIRLY FUCKING REGULARLY.
Hah!!!  Point taken.  Karkat must view Dave as practically more fragile than HIM.
KARKAT: ONE: WE'VE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH HELLACIOUS PANWARPING TRAUMA THAT I REFUSE TO NOT ENJOY THIS SHIT WHEN I FINALLY FUCKING GET IT, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT MAY OR MAY NOT LAST. KARKAT: TWO: IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE DOING NOTHING. WE’RE MOVING. WE’RE WORKING. WE’RE HEADED SPECIFICALLY TO A PLACE WHERE WE WILL UNDOUBTLEDLY ENDURE YET MORE FUCKING HELLACIOUS PANWARPING TRAUMA. KARKAT: AND THREE: WE'RE DOING THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE FRIENDS WHO WE CARE ABOUT THAT NEED US. THAT IS OUR FOCUS, HERE. NOT OUR FEAR. IT'S ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE HAVE TO SAVE. KARKAT: SO DON'T FUCKING WORRY ABOUT ME, DAVE. I'M FINE.
Okay, this is great and wholesome.  I am now retroactively GLAD that this topic got brought up.  :)
> ==>
Dave is still afraid. There is a part of him that will always be, he thinks. He has accepted this about himself. There is another feeling coursing through him too, though. It’s something he's felt before, though never quite so intensely. He looks up at Karkat and understands, viscerally, the simple power his words have. They pump through Dave’s own body, alive and warm and true.
He wonders if Karkat realizes it, or if he’s just, as always, saying what he feels as he feels it. Dave doesn’t attempt to dissect it further. There will be time for that later.
Every really loving moment like this is sort of undercut by the fact that it’s also, in some senses, part of alt!Calliope’s narration and, by extension, her fanfiction.
EDIT 2: There's also either a hint to potential Blood powers or even an explicit Blood power use here that I didn't recognize. I'm leaning towards it's-laying-the-groundwork-for-future-use-of-Blood-powers-but-isnt-magical-in-this-case.
> ==>
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Smooooch!
That was nice.  Still gonna wait on doing any commentary til next time or a Bonus update or two, cause I’m beat.  See y’all next time!
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wellhellsbelles · 4 years
Text
to the rhythm of your wild heart, chapter 1
next chapter for y’all! it’s about as much as i have written so far, but i figured i’d post it since i had it. i’ll keep working on it, but for the meantime i have no idea when the next update will be. i’ll still work on it, though! as always, thanks to all who read my stuff :)
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“And you’re sure you have your passport?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“And enough clothes for two weeks?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“And plenty of money on you? Because I wanted to make sure—”
“Dad!!!”
link for ao3 or read below
Riley
“And you’re sure you have your passport?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“And enough clothes for two weeks?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“And plenty of money on you? Because I wanted to make sure—”
“Dad!!!”
“You are being a little bit of a helicopter parent right now, honey,” Topanga interjected, patting her husband’s back sympathetically. “Riley will be just fine. Farkle will be there to watch her, won’t you Farkle?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Farkle replied, holding a hand over his heart and one up, palm-forward, “I promise.”
“And you’ll do the same thing for our Farkle, right?” Jennifer, Farkle’s mother, asked. Riley nodded her head.
“We’ll both watch out for each other, as always.”
“Good. Now, then, I believe some goodbyes are in order?” Farkle’s dad Stuart said.
Topanga and Cory pulled their daughter in for a hug at the same time Stuart and Jennifer did their son, squeezing tightly as they said their goodbyes.
“Now, you’ll call us if you need anything, right?” Topanga asked.
“Of course, Mom.”
“And you’ll listen to the chaperone?” Cory warned. Riley rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring him.
“I love you both, and I’ll see you soon. Okay?”
“We love you, too.”
They all finished hugging and Riley and Farkle picked up their luggage, waving goodbye as they entered the airport. They scanned the crowded area for their group, only locating them once they found a sign sticking in the air that had “Abigail Adams High” scrawled neatly across it. Ms. Moretti, their Italian teacher for the last few years, was at the center, directing students sporadically.
“Alright, settle down! I need to start taking attendance to make sure everyone is here! When I call your name, please say ‘Here.’ Abelson, Karri?”
“Here.”
“Bradford, Missy?”
“Here.”
“Missy is here?!” Riley huffed under her breath to Farkle. Farkle just shrugged, unaffected. Missy Bradford had it out for Riley since middle school when Riley won over Lucas, and even though Riley and Lucas had broken up a long while ago, it had since been as if it was her God-given right to make Riley’s life miserable.
“It can’t get any worse, at least,” Farkle offered, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
“Gardener, Charlie?”
“Here!”
“Merde,” Riley cursed, her brow furrowed.
“I believe it’s ‘merda’ in Italian,” Farkle told her, and Riley shot him a look of disdain. “Sorry.”
“Whatever. It can’t be too bad. Besides, Charlie’s let up quite a bit since we’ve been in high school. Isn’t he dating Rebecca?” she asked quietly. Farkle shook his head.
“I heard they broke up before graduation.”
“Matthews, Riley?”
“Oh, come on!” Riley exclaimed loudly, much to Ms. Moretti’s chagrin. She looked at Riley pointedly before carrying on to Farkle and then the remainder of the list. Farkle patted her back.
“There, there. We’ll get through this. It’s only two weeks, after all.”
“I bet there’s a lot of terrible things in history that lasted ‘only two weeks’,” Riley grunted.
After Ms. Moretti finished the roster, they waited for the final two students to appear, then moved toward the bag check together. The wait for the bag check line was about fifteen minutes, and once they dropped off their big bags, they headed straight for the security check line. Riley wanted to groan from the amount of waiting they had to do for each part of the airport, but luckily Farkle was there to entertain her the whole time, and it was almost enough for her to forget about the process altogether.
The security check was quicker than Riley thought it was going to be, and as soon as she was through, she and Farkle left to find their gate. Riley had her ticket out, searching for gate ‘G’ as Farkle flipped through his Italian history book he’d brought along, reading aloud the “interesting” facts about Rome that Riley honestly couldn’t give a single flip about.
“Did you know that by the early fourth century, the Romans had built a network of roads 53,000 miles throughout the entire Roman empire? It’s where we get the phrase “All roads lead to Rome”. Pretty cool stuff, huh?”
“No offense, Farkle, but I do not care. Where is gate G even at?” she asked, frustrated. Farkle pointed ahead of them.
“Right there, Ms. Buzzkill,” he deadpanned. Riley narrowed her eyes at him and Farkle returned the favor, sticking his tongue out at her before guiding them towards their gate. They joined the rest of their classmates, sitting on the floor beside them since there were no open seats around.
“Guys, we’re going to the land where they invented spaghetti!” Yogi shouted as they joined them.
“And concrete!” Farkle added, but no one seemed to be as excited about that fact as he was.
“You tried,” Riley offered sympathetically when he noticeably deflated, “They’re intellectual heathens.” Farkle looked at her amusedly for a moment as the rest of the group carried on conversation, talking about all the food they’d encounter in Rome.
“Okay, there’s one thing I didn’t cover,” Farkle initiated conversation a second later.
“Shoot,” Riley said, preparing herself for another Farkle speech on ancient Rome. Instead, he said,
“Who gets the window seat?” Riley smirked.
“Oh, me for sure.”
“Uh, definitely not, Matthews. I am definitely going to have the window seat. In fact, I call “shotgun” on the window seat,” Farkle grinned, determined.
“Shotgun on a window seat? Does that even work?”
“It does now.”
Riley shook her head.
“I don’t think so, Minkus. Let’s settle this with a classic game of rock, paper, scissors, and the best two out of three wins. Sound fair?”
Farkle wasn’t as sold on the idea, but he knew it was the only way they were going to settle the affair. So rock, paper, scissors it was.
Too bad he was never good at games of chance.
“Ha. I win the window seat!” Riley celebrated. Farkle pouted.
“Fine. But I get it on the way back, you cheater.”
“I didn’t cheat! You’re just a sore loser,” Riley wrinkled her nose.
Right as Farkle was preparing his rebuttal, their gate was called for boarding. Their whole group lined up in their designated location and patiently waited until they began scanning the tickets, allowing the passengers to pass through. Riley and Farkle were at the tail end of their line, speeding off to catch up with their group as soon as they were given the okay-go.
As they climbed aboard the plane, a silent pact was made between the two of them to sit towards the back, not too close to the wing of the plane, but not too close to the last row of seats. Riley took the window seat as was her reward and Farkle settled next to her, buckling his seatbelt as she buckled hers. His leg bobbed up and down in excitement while the rest of the passengers boarded, and Riley echoed the sentiment in her rapidly beating heart.
They were going to Italy. Italy! This was their big trip before heading to college in August, and she couldn’t believe it was all happening so fast. It felt like it was only just yesterday that her, Farkle, Maya, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle were graduating, only yesterday that Maya and she made a pact to have the greatest summer ever, that they went on the road trip to end all road trips. Now it felt like she had blinked and everything was about to end.
It was sort of hard to come to terms with that.
Things were changing regardless of whether or not Riley liked it. She really never was one for change, but she was going to have to accept that she was growing up, and life wasn’t going to be the same as it was in middle school or high school. She was going to encounter new experiences, new changes in her life.
But for now?
She’d rather just focus on Italy and what it had to offer her.
“Italy, here we come,” Riley breathed as they sat back, ready to take off.
 //
  Farkle
  Farkle woke up to the sun cascading on his face as it set, a heavy weight on his shoulder. He blinked groggily, yawning as he began to shift around in his seat, realizing once his eyes fully opened that the weight was Riley peacefully asleep against him. He tried to resist moving around more as to not disturb her, and he could hardly deny that it was cute and he didn’t want to disrupt that, either.
He’d keep his secrets to himself.
He cast his gaze out the window, trying best to see the view outside. Much to his surprise, land was in sight, and he could only conclude that they were close to their destination. Farkle moved his shoulder a touch, nudging Riley awake so she wouldn’t miss out on the breathtaking landscape below.
“Huh?” she muttered as she awoke, lifting her head at once. Farkle ignored the twang of hurt that rung in his chest from her absence, instead pointing out the window.
“Look,” he told her. She sat up even more in her seat, peering out beyond the glass.
“Wow,” she gasped, awestruck, “It’s beautiful.”
“I thought you might not want to miss it, especially since you cheated me out of the window seat,” Farkle jibed.
“Hey! Not true!” she exclaimed, ignoring Ms. Moretti’s pointed look from behind them. It was the morning after all, but Farkle knew Riley didn’t care. Besides, they were about to land soon, anyway.
Silence fell between them a moment as they continued to stare at the scenery below, and Riley was the first one to break it.
“Do you think two weeks is going to be long enough?” she asked, her voice quiet all of a sudden.
“Long enough for what?” he raised his brow at her.
“We’re going to be headed off for college so soon after. It just feels like everything is slipping by so quickly. I just want to be able to enjoy what little time we have left,” she explained with a sigh. Farkle reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it a couple of times.
“Riley Matthews, I make this promise to you: we will have the best time ever, and this week we will use every minute we are given for adventure. We’ll make it last as long as we can.” Riley smiled at him, squeezing his hand right back.
“Thank you, Farkle.”
“Alright everyone, if you could, please buckle up as we prepare for landing,” the person over the intercom announced. Farkle released his grip on Riley’s hand and did as told, with Riley following suit.
This was it. Italy.
 //
 Everyone boarded off the plane once they were allowed, heading for baggage claim to grab their belongings. Ms. Moretti was barely heard over the chatter, shouting at them to group up once they had their things, but then getting drowned out by the excitement of everyone being in Rome.
After they found their suitcases, they met with Ms. Moretti and she led them towards the entrance of the airport, a bus already waiting for them. They all loaded onto it, and once everyone was in place, it headed toward the inner part of the city where their hotel was. And as it took off away from the airport, their mouths all drooped open in awe as the sights around took their breath away, a whole different scenery from the plane.
“Ooooh, Farkle! Look, look!” Riley kept pointing sporadically. Farkle smirked, leaning over to look out the window with her. Although he didn’t express it aloud, he was just as excited to see everything around.
They definitely weren’t in New York anymore, that was for sure.
Everything was modern and yet not. The architecture was gorgeous, still upholding a sort of ancient Rome feel. The setting sun allowed the lights of the city to become more noticeable, sparkling vividly like the stars on the clearest of nights.
“I wish we could start exploring already!” Riley bounced jubilantly.
“Me too, but I’m glad we have the night to settle in. I don’t think I could keep myself awake,” Farkle yawned. Riley puckered her lips.
“Didn’t you sleep all the way over here in the plane?”
Farkle shrugged.
“What can I say? I like my rest. Besides, someone snored in my ear half of the time, so I didn’t really get much sleep.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms.
“Whatever.”
Their eyes remained trained outside the window for the rest of the ride, getting a taste of all that they’d be exploring for the next couple of weeks to come. The bus slowed down once they were outside their hotel and everyone grabbed their belongings, rolling suitcases inside the concrete arches adorned by the archway to the building.
Ms. Moretti went to the desk to retrieve the keys for the hotel rooms while everyone stood idly by. She then returned, keys in one arm and clipboard in the other, gesturing for everyone to gather around.
“Alright, alright! Quiet down! I’m going to give you your room assignments. When I call your name, come grab your keys and then stand next to your roommate!”
Farkle and Riley waited patiently as the names were announced, tapping their feet gently on the ground while listening out for their names. Riley was called first before Farkle, but not before her partner’s name was called.
“Missy Bradford,” Ms. Moretti said, “You’ll be rooming with Riley Matthews.”
Riley perked up immediately at that, casting a horrified look at Farkle. He felt bad for her as he watched her step up to get her key to her room and then shuffle off to the side with Missy, her face looking like she had met the end of the world.
Farkle had to admit, it was a little funny, though.
His amusement passed as soon as it arrived when Ms. Moretti called out his name in junction with Charlie Gardner’s. A guttural noise escaped his throat as he walked to grab his key, mouth puckered in dismay at Riley and his terrible luck.
“End me,” Farkle whispered as he sidled up next to Riley.
“Remember earlier, when you said it ‘can’t get any worse’ and then Charlie ended up being a part of our group?” Riley whispered back. Farkle nodded his head. “Well, this is worse than that.”
Farkle threw his arms up in the air, exasperated, but didn’t complain any further. He was going to have to deal with a whole two weeks of Charlie Gardner, so he had to tamper it down and just let it all out when the trip was over.
Ugh. Two freaking weeks!
Ms. Moretti finished giving out keys to the group and instructed them to drop their stuff off in their rooms first, and then they’d be allowed to wander around the hotel for a bit before curfew at midnight. Farkle and Riley made a silent pact to meet up with each other once they were finished, heading up the stairs with their belongings after to find their rooms. Charlie made small talk with Farkle as they looked for their room (which Farkle didn’t mind), but it ended abruptly once they found and were inside their room, right when the door closed behind Farkle.
“So, Riley—” Charlie started, and Farkle threw his head back with a groan.
“No, we are not doing this.”
“I just want to see if you can get her to talk to me!” Charlie exclaimed. Farkle shot him a look of disdain.
“Absolutely not. She’s not interested.”
“How do you know?” Charlie asked. Farkle crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.
“She’s my best friend, Charlie. I know. Trust me on this.”
Charlie stared back at him, unconvinced.
“Are you saying that because you’re interested?”
Farkle gawked at him.
“What?!”
Charlie shrugged.
“You heard me. Is that why you’re being so protective of her? Because you like her?”
Farkle breathed, disgruntled at his situation. He wondered if Riley was faring any better with Missy. She probably was, considering Missy most definitely wasn’t talking to her.
“Alright, here’s the deal. One, Riley’s not interested in your advances, and I know that because I’m her best friend. And two, maybe instead you can try to be her friend? That’s usually a good first step. Now do you mind? I’ve got places to be.”
Farkle left the room without waiting for Charlie’s response, desperate to just get away.
Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the first time any guy had approached him about his girl friends. On multiple occasions has he been flagged down to see if Maya, Riley, and Smackle were free, and Farkle managed each time to slip away, tired of having to face stupid teenage boys and their advances on his friends.
Farkle made his way back down the stairs, hopeful that Riley had escaped her room so that the two of them could just hang out on their first night in Rome. Of course, part of his wanting to be around her was due solely to his social anxiety, but the other part was truly because he wanted as much time to hang out with his best friend before their time together waned for the near future.
“Oh, Farkle. Thank god,” Riley sighed with relief once he was back in the lobby, “You have no idea what five minutes of hell I’ve been through.”
“I think I definitely have some clue,” Farkle said. “Can you believe Charlie wants to see if you’ll go out with him?”
Riley buried her head in her hands.
“I think he’s built me up on a pedestal. I’m not that good of a person.”
Farkle tugged on a lock of her hair, smiling.
“I beg to differ.”
Riley chuckled.
“Your opinion is null. You’re biased because you’re my friend.” 
“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?” he raised his brow. She shook her head, linking arms with him.
“Nope, not at all. Now, Mr. Minkus, care to explore the hotel with me?”
“I thought you’d never ask, Ms. Matthews,” he smirked, allowing her to lead the way.
 Together, Riley and Farkle ventured every nook and cranny of the hotel, disturbing some of the guests in the process who had already gone to bed. Farkle felt a little bad, but he didn’t regret the laughter that erupted from within him from spending time with Riley. Also, it was hard to deny that it was funny when an adult stepped out and shot them a nasty look, only for Farkle and Riley to apologize and then make fun of them as soon as they shut the door.
Being in Italy was like being a kid again. It felt kind of cathartic in a way, feeling no pressures of school and being completely unattached to the world around him. Spending time alone with his best friend while the world was theirs to conquer.
Farkle missed those days terribly.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Farkley?” Riley prodded him after his laughter died down, leaving them in a bout of silence.
“I was just thinking that this is like when we were younger. Remember when me, you, and Maya would spend every summer day at the park and your mom had to practically drag us away from the monkey bars? You were so determined to make it across,” he chuckled, recalling the memory fondly.
“I did do it once. I wasn’t going to give up on that, especially since Sarah had teased me about it each year.”
“And when you finally did figure it out, your mom was really impressed. I think that was when she realized that you got a lot from her, too.”
“I’m still every bit as much Cory’s daughter. It makes him proud, like he has his own little mini-me or something,” Riley joked before stopping dead in her tracks. “Ooh, let’s check this out!”
Riley pulled Farkle onto what appeared to be a large stretch of balcony off the fourth floor of the hotel. A slight breeze danced through the air, the city below them illuminated by the light of the moon.
“Wow,” Farkle said, sucking in a breath of fresh air, “Every time I think Rome can’t get any more beautiful, I’m proven wrong. I’m so glad we went on this trip.”
Farkle walked closer to the concrete railing guarding them from the drop below, watching intently as everyone moved around below by the dim of the streetlights. Riley joined him, beaming.
“And glad that I forced you to take Italian with me the past couple of years?”
Farkle snorted.
“That, too. Though, I already knew a few languages and my options were limited, but I would’ve chosen it, anyway. You’re my friend. That’s already enough to get me to do things.”
Riley looked away from Farkle bashfully, her cheeks dusting a light pink that was noticeable enough by the moonlight.
“Sometimes, I think you’re too much of a pushover for your own good, Farkle Minkus,” Riley told him, leaning her head upon his shoulder. He hummed, not denying that fact one bit.
They stood there for a long while, letting a comfortable silence fall between them as they continued gazing at the wonderful city below them. Then, Farkle said something so quiet that almost he didn’t quite hear it, but the words were still there.
“I’d do anything for you, Riley Matthews.”
Even he could barely grasp the depths to which he cared for her, maybe a little more than he could understand at that very moment, but he knew he was fond of her. Nothing could change that, not even growing up.
His heart would forever remain hers to some degree, and Farkle thought to himself that he could live with that.
It always was and always would be—no amount of distance could change that fact, either.
[taglist for this fic: @hisanas]
[anyone else who wants to be on the taglist for this fic, let me know! :) ]
18 notes · View notes
jimlingss · 4 years
Text
Thank you, everyone, for your words of encouragement. In this short amount of time, I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed with messages of support. I want to reassure you all that I’m by no means as hurt as some of you think, or at least not after so much kindness. I’ve always encouraged all kinds of feedback!! From compliments to constructive criticism. And I’m (supposedly) an Adult™, so I can definitely take someone’s opinion.
Regardless, thank you to everyone who reached out to me. I want to respond to each and everyone of you under this post so I don’t flood other people’s dashes.
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Anonymous said: about the anon who said your fics lack emotion, hmm i wouldn't quite agree tbh, i remember reading tears of a villian and deadass crying, it hurt me so much!! also, in "fall in hatred" their feeling are so well portrayed and i could understand why they acted a certain way! to conlclude, there is always some space for constructive criticism but your stories, are to me, something very attentively built and created, it's apparent that you completely enjoy writing, I can feel your enthusiasm!!
--to that anon; pls don't get this wrong way but it's just the way I see it and I've read quite a lot till now
nah deadass crying isn’t good enough anymore, anon. You have to be keening and violently sobbing until you’re brought into the ER for my fics to be considered to have emotion. lol I’m only kidding, thank you for the message.
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peachiest-hun said: To that anon who said your work lacked emotions, I beg to differ! I have read Jungle Park so many times I know at exactly which chapter when the heavy angst starts happening and I read those parts when I just want to have a good cry (I still cry every. single. time)! Also Head Over Heels to Hell, The Colour of Our Voices, Love So Shallow (because I so relate with OC), and many more have given me the FEELS (happy and sad ones). 1/2
So what I'm trying to say is that Jimlingss is doing a great job in her craft. She does deliver emotions in her work and the reason I love it so much is that it's SUBTLE and not completely in your face. Sometimes emotions that are subtle and they hit you slowly, but powerfully it hurts even more for me. On another note, I'm loving Sugar and Coffee. In times of darkness which are often these days, I have something to look forward to every week to keep me motivated. So thank you Jimlinggs! 2./2
Istg Jungle Park is one of the most unexpectedly beloved fics on my blog but I love it hahaha I can’t believe you’ve read it to the point of knowing what chapter is what though. that’s an honour. There’s definitely stories of mine that are less subtle than others, but I’m glad that you enjoy the latter of them too :’) Thank you.
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Anonymous said: This is my first time ever leaving a message on someone’s tumblr, but I just felt that I HAD to after reading that anon’s comment about your stories lacking emotion. I wholly disagree (in the nicest way possible, not throwing any shade at anyone). I’ve read all of your fics (for the past two years) and I look forward to when you release new material (the highlight of my Mondays right now after I come home from working at a clinic). Your stories have really lifted my mood during this pandemics an
Anonymous said: Sorry for that long tangent. Don’t even know if I made sense. You don’t have to respond to any of this, but you deserve to hear some positive words as well.
Oh my god. Did I just take your tumblr-message virginity? asdfghjkl I’m kidding. but thank you for reaching out to me. I can’t believe you’ve been around for such a long time and that I’m a part of your Monday routine :’) 
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Anonymous said: OK that ask about "constructive criticism" was def imo RUDE. You don't just anonymously go into someone's asks and bluntly tell an author that their fics "lack emotion". That is not the way to encourage someone to improve and continue to work hard. That's just flat out mean. That person clearly doesn't care about your feelings or the fact that you write and share your stories for FREE for us to enjoy. I love your stories and appreciate what you've shared with us. Thank you for your hard work ❤️
I like to give the benefit of the doubt to anons and anyone sending me a message online in general. God knows there were times I meant well but it was received wrongly. But anyway, my mind was more boggled than I was hurt, that’s one thing for sure.
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joonie-mono said: + it was called love so shallow which genuinely made me see myself in a character, but my point was that your writing has a specific feel to it, it's made me laugh and cry (His Name personally killed me :] ) and that's my opinion. You and your writing are amazing and I'm sorry but that anon was just so wrong.
oof bringing out the evidence. be my attorney please.
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Anonymous said: As someone who has read your entire masterlist (and going through it again) i will have to wholeheartedly disagree with that anon. The way you portray SO many emotions in your fics is *chefs kiss* and I honestly thought that the ones that “lack emotion” were meant to be that way, with an open ending, the idea that their love just started, soo.... yeah, I’ll have to disagree.
There are definitely stories of mine that are a bit looser on romance. Such as Kitchen Romance, The President’s Son, The Heiress’ Son, Arcadia, etc. But I have a loooot of fics that are quite emphasized in either despair/sadness or cute fluff.
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ladyartemesia said: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I am here to disrespectfully disagree with anon who probably doesn’t write effing ANYTHING and has no idea what it takes to produce the content you do. I have followed for months and I’m still not through your masterlist BECAUSE reading your stories is a bloomin EMOTIONAL EVENT. When I read Brass and Strings, I LOST A WHOLE DAY. Like I was so into it, my DAY was gone. Anon is prolly salty there isn’t more smut I guess. That’s whatever for them. (Part 1)
It’s subtle, deep, meaningful, and incredible and you’re one of my favorite authors. I can’t FOR A SECOND let that comment go cause it’s RIDICULOUS. You’re literally so gifted. You don’t need to change a thing. Every artist, no matter their medium, should continue to improve. So in that sense I wish you all the growth in the world as you work towards the perfection of your craft. BUT SERIOUSLY you’re an incredible writer. That anon is loony. I’m so sorry you had to even read those crazy words.
As I answer these messages, it’s starting to feel like I’m the third party mediator of a dispute and all y’all are just HAMMERING it to this anon, LOL. I’m not sure if the anon is necessarily requesting for more smut but if they are, they might be happy this Friday (*COUGH spoiler for those actually reading my responses)
Anyway, you’re too kind. thank you. I am definitely not as hurt as I was earlier.
((and tbh you’re hilarious, you’re actually making me laugh irl))
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krystle1990 said: Woah!! Ok first that Anon is absolutely crazy. I literally stalk your page for new work being put out! I probably blow up your notifications daily. I've never been disappointed in any of your work. You always give a heads up if it will take time for the characters to realize their feelings which I absolutely love. It always leaves me ready for the next part and I am glued to my phone with every update. You're amazing and I can't wait to see how you grow with your work. 💜😘
ASDFGHJKL PLEASEEE if it’s someone who’s worried about blowing up notifications, it’s me. To those who have notifications on I sincerely can’t fathom how often I blow up people’s phones. I digress, I always give out warnings to keep people patient since I know slow burn can be excruciating haha thank you for the message.
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kigurumu said: Also just want to add that saying you have good intentions or "don't mean to be mean" does not cancel out whatever offensive thing you just said. IT WILL STILL RUDE. Not saying all negative feedback is bad. Criticism can be hard to take no matter how it's phrased, but telling a writer to be more like another writer is like telling them their style isn't good enough which is NOT helpful. Your writing is your own. If the anon wants to read fics that are like gukyi's, they can read gukyi's fics 🙄
Also I've been waiting until Sugar and Coffee is done so I can binge it all at once but avoiding spoilers from all the asks is so hard haha! I keep seeing all these good things about it and I'm SO tempted to just read it now but I've already waited this long so I don't wanna give up kfnrjrofvjskdh guess I'll reread your other fics in the meantime
The message was fine on its own but I think dragging in another writer at the end was definitely not ok. When will comparing writers end. But regardless, gukyi and I are cool with one another - i mean we wrote 100k together so it’s gonna have to take a reverse Zuko arc for us to be on bad terms lol
Anyway, oooh you’re one of those bingers. Can’t say I blame you cause I love binging myself, so it’s understandable for readers to wait till the series is over. and since you were so kind in following up your original message with two more and expressing so much appreciation for me :’), I’ll let you know that the finale of Sugar and Coffee will be posted by July 20th! by then, the entire series will be completed. 
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Anonymous said: Tbh i think that neither you nor that anon is wrong. Some people like it more romanticised and cheesy, some people dont. I believe that your stories are more on the realistic side of life. People (whom your characters represent) cant always be cheesy and passionate for love, there are other things in life! Maybe you're just the type who's too realistic for any hopeless romantic things like i am and it's fine. Not all writers can write dramatic romance
Tbh, I agree. It’s a matter of opinion and there’s no one wrong in the fight of opinions. As I’ve said many times on my blog, the cringe factor varies between person to person. What someone might think is fluffy is absolutely cringey to another. What someone might think is a good amount of fluff is not enough for someone else. I’ve written a lot. And I’ve made sure to add lots of variations between the amount of romance in my stories. Indeed, some are definitely more subtle and “realistic” while others are completely cheesy and makes me gag from the amount of sugar in it lol I just think the anon should take a look at more of my stories before coming up with such a conclusive opinion.
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Anonymous said: I’ve been reading your fics for over a year now and religiously follow updates every week. Why? Because they make me feel something whether it be joy from fluff or grief from angst. I’ll remember a story of yours months after I first read it and return to it just to feel those emotions again. I understand that emotional responses are usually subjective but I think that anon needs to read your works again, because they sure are missing out.
I replied to that anon that they should check out more of my fics and then come back to tell me if they haven’t changed their minds, so I don’t know if they’re missing out or not lol
I don’t expect my stories to elicit emotional responses or fanatic feedback for everyone. God knows there’s been other people’s writing styles that just didn’t resonate with me no matter how hard I tried to read their stories. But all I ask is that people try. It’s fine if you give up halfway but at least try reading. That’s fair to ask, right?
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ncityofangels · 5 years
Text
NCT 127 + U Reaction : You Being Under Anesthesia and They Tell You Things They’ve Never Told You Before
a/n: this was requested and took really long but it was so fun to write because I’ve never written a reaction before so yay! Anyway....I included 127, U, and Kun in this reaction so have fun. Hope you guys like it :D
Genre : Flufffffff x10
below the cut because I’m nice like that ;)
Taeil
I could definitely see him being one of the more emotional ones whenever you go to get your wisdom teeth out
He’s definitely big worried about you
I don’t think he would really express it to you though
HOWEVER
Don’t think that he won’t be taking funny pictures of you during your procedure to blackmail you with later
Once you were completely under though he’d turn into a big softie
Would wait in the waiting room all night just to make sure you’re okay
Constantly talking to the doctors to make sure everything was going according to plan
“How did I get so lucky?”
“You’re so beautiful, Y/N”
Johnny
Today was the day you got the procedure done to donate your kidney
He comes to the hospital with you (of courseee)
Brings hella snacks for both of you
but like
Not healthy snacks. Probably a lot of chocolate.
Watches YouTube videos with you on his phone while you wait
Once you get called he gets a little nervous
The entire time the procedure is being done he’s like pacing in the waiting room
Doing that knee bounce thingy people do when they’re anxious
After the procedure is done and you’re in your room, the biggest smile erupts on his face
“I totally knew you’d be okay babe”
“You’re the strongest person I know”
Taeyong
first off
big baby 1/4
He was already hella concerned when you broke your leg but when he found out you’d have to get operated on
This boyyyyy was freakin out
I definitely see him being one of the most anxious ones
Highkey tries to teach you a choreo he thought of while you’re in the waiting room to calm his nerves
“Oh right, your leg is broken. Sorry babe. Let’s find something else to do then”
Doesn’t want to be separated from you when they take you back
After the operation they tell him he can go back to your room and he could not get their faster
Definitely has a whole conversation with you while you’re still under
“Hurry up and get back to me”
“I love you too much”
Yuta
Why do I picture him being so chill the whole time
Like not in the way that he doesn’t care 
but
He trusts you’re in good hands with the doctors
You’re definitely more nervous than he is
“Babe, you’re just getting your wisdom teeth out, it’ll be okay.”
Plays a game on his phone while your waiting
Or reads one of those magazines they always leave out for patients
Buys flowers after they take you back
I feel like without a doubt he spent at LEAST 15 minutes in the hospital gift shop picking out what kind of flowers to get you
Probably asks the people working there for advice too
The procedure didn’t take too long so he was able to see you pretty soon, even though you were still under
“See babe I told you everything was going to go good”
“You’re so beautiful when you sleep”
Kun
Very similar to Johnny imo
Plays with your hair while you’re in the waiting room
“You don’t need your tonsils anyway”
This makes me soft
Tells you fuckin dad jokes to calm you down like the nerd he is
ALSO
FLOWERSS 
this boy will go all out because he really loves your ass
Expect your room to smell good af after you get up
Why do I feel like he’d order take out for you before you wake up so it’s ready for you when you come to
ik thats like kInDa weird but I just feel that in my soul so
ANYWAY
Lowkey wants to cuddle you the whole time you’re under
“I’ll never leave your side”
“You’re so adorable like this”
Doyoung
Alright this is my bias y’all sooo
I definitely feel like he’s kind of similar to Yuta
a LOT more chill than some of the other members
“I’ll see you in a bit”
“What do you want to eat after this?”
Lots of hugs before you go back
Roams the gift shop while he waits
Probably gets you some small little thing that made him think of you
“She’ll like this”
Sings to you in your room while you’re still asleep
WOW im in love with this boy
Checks in with the doctor to make sure things are going well
Doesn’t leave your side once they move you into your room
Not in the way that he is worried, he just likes being close to you
Treats you to dinner after you’re released
“I never knew I could care about someone so much”
“Take your time babe, I have all day”
Ten
veryyyyy touchy
big baby 2/4
not really worried at all though
Will be all over you before you go back
Just very affectionate in general, regardless of the situation
When you told him you had to get your appendix taken out he was like “okay, lets go get that fixed”
brings snacks like Johnny
When it’s time for you to go back he holds your hand and tells you everything is gonna be okay
Brings you food
Updates the members on your condition (idk that’s just something I think he’d do)
Probably ends up falling asleep in the waiting room tbh
“Are you really under anesthesia or are you just messing with me?”
“I’ll always take care of you”
Jaehyun
wow we love ANOTHER bias
Okay so
Brings his airpods and a speaker so yall can listen to music together while you wait
this is so cute i’m literally crying
why do I see him packing a lunch for the both of you
Does the MOST
“Hurry, you have to eat this before they take your wisdom teeth out”
Big softie
A tiny bit concerned, but knows you’ll be fine
Can’t wait for the cuddles that he’ll give you after your release
repeat after me… TAKES. CARE. OF. YOU.
Most likely ends up feeding you at home too because you’re a mess and can’t do anything for yourself
Once they let him back to see you though he just melts
So proud of you tbh (even though you literally didn’t do anything”
“That’s my baby”
“I can’t wait to marry you”
Winwin
big baby 3/4
Would quite literally do anything for you
Lots of backhugs and reassurance
Jokes around with you to calm you down
definitely shows you memes from the NCT group chat to cheer you up
“I’ll be right here the whole time, don’t worry”
Speaks Mandarin for you because you find it relaxing
lil cuddles in the waiting room
I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH
Y’all have the softest relationship
Expect this boy to literally never leave your side during recovery
Won’t let you do anything but rest because his baby has to be in top condition
As soon as he sees you after the operation he gets a little emotional
Most likely just has a regular convo with you while you’re under
“What do you think about this outfit, Y/N?”
“Yeah, I don’t really like it that much either”
“You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met”
“I can’t wait to grow old with you”
Jungwoo
big baby 4/4
a lot like Taeyong tbh
aegyo to make you feel better
For some reason I don’t see him worrying too much though
Like he loves you soooo much and you will never question that but he’s just chillin once you go back
Misses your presence once he’s alone in the waiting room
“How long does it take to take an appendix out?”
Probably is wayyy too into a game on his phone when the doctor comes to tell him that he can go back
“Aw baby, you look so cuteee”
“I just want to hug you until you’re better” 
Lucas
honestly
big meme boi
Roasts the shit out of you for having to have your wisdom teeth out
You try and explain to him that it’s literally a common thing but nope
he still make fun
“Don’t worry, even though your body is failing our relationship isn’t”
Asks the doctors soooo many times how much longer it is going to take
Just because he can’t wait to show you some meme he found or tell you some joke he made
Don’t mistake his teasing though because this boy will wait all day in that hospital for you
Goes to get food while he waits
Forgets to get you something and gets mad at himself for being so wreckless
Flowerssss 3.0
idk I just love the idea of Lucas getting you flowers leave me alone
not like this big bouquet tho, very simple. Like maybe a couple roses
Playfully sings to you while he waits for you to wake up
“My ladyYyYyY”
sorry y’all i had to
“I love you so much it hurts”
“I can’t focus when you’re around”
Mark
Jaehyun 2.0 tbh
makes you listen to this new song he found on SoundCloud (yikess we love him tho)
probably raps to it because we been knew he’s a dork
sings to you if you want him to
big cuddler tbh
worries when they take you back
just doesn’t want to be away from you in general
Likes his space but also whiny when he’s in the mood for some time with you
wow i’m really whipped for him, let’s continue
I don’t really see him buying flowers for you but I think he’d roam the gift shop for a trinket you would like
Runs home to get one of your stuffed animals or something to remind you of home and make you feel comfortable
When they let him see you he gets super excited
“Hey baby, long time no see”
“I’m so in love with you”
Haechan
This mans gonna tease you the wholeeee time
Kinda like Lucas but more like a loving tease
Pinches your cheeks a LOT
“My baby is getting surgery todayy”
Your procedure is like a whole event tbh
Gotta pack a lunch
Some snacks for AFTER lunch
lots of drinks
pillows maybe a blanket
Very extra in general
Also very worried when they take you back
Texts the members about how worried he is
“I just love her so much, I don’t want anything bad to happen to her”
Is super relieved when he gets to see you again
“Hello my angel”
“I think i’m falling in love with you”
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