#basically I’m complaining about one thing that’s entirely affected the last four hours of my life sorry | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aiiwa · 4 years

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LET HIM KNOW — SAWAMURA DAICHI.

✗ REQUEST: can i please make a request of jealous daichi ( a fic if it’s possible). this thought has been living in my head for the past week and i just 🤰. so basically daichi gets jealous of a boy talking to you and flirting with you and just grabs you by the throat/jaw and just tongues you down right then and there. a college au would be great too!

— sawamura daichi x fem!reader

⤷ genre: college au

⤷ warnings: suggestive content, cursing, jealous (?) or rather possessive daichi, boy who disrespects relationships and doesn’t know when to give up

⤷ word count: 1.7k

— a/n: hi! i just wanted to announce that i actually reached 200 followers yesterday and i am extremely grateful for everyone who takes the time to read, like, reblog my content and for those who even message me! i appreciate everything, thank you so much! 💖

out of everything you prepared in celebration for your four-year anniversary with your boyfriend, sawamura daichi; the last thing you expected was to spend it tutoring in the hour right before your date.

you had spent months prior planning this special night for the two of you. from having dinner at his favourite restaurant which served the best shoyu ramen, to the rose-petalled bubble bath surrounded by the pine and vanilla candles he’d gifted you last month; and then, of course, ending it in the best way possible with him buried balls deep inside you and fucking you til dawn.

it was while you were getting ready for your date that you received a panicked text message from haru, the sweet freshman you’d been tutoring for the past five months, asking if you could help him today. you tried to schedule a session for tomorrow, but he was insistent almost begging you; and with a discontented sigh you relented, telling him to meet you at the library in twenty. he’d replied with a quick - “thank you y/n-senpai! <3” - and the love heart attached at the end was purposely ignored, as you headed out of your studio apartment.

daichi was less than pleased when you had phoned him, informing him of the last minute tutoring session.

“angel, tell me you’re not serious right now.” his deep voice was clear-cut, despite the sounds of traffic in the background; a tell-tale sign that he was in fact already on his way to meet you.

“i’m sorry, dai. it shouldn’t take too long, haru-kun said-”

“haru? that little shit?”

sighing internally, and making your way towards the red-bricked building with the click-clack of your thigh-high boots against the pavement, you nodded your head as if he could see you. “yes, it was haru-kun who requested the session.”

“you know how i feel about that brat.”

daichi had been more than supportive when you first started tutoring to earn some money on the side, and even though most of your tutees happened to be boys, it didn’t bother him much since they would take one look at him and give up on trying to win over your affection. haru was different. he was the furthest thing from subtle when it came to his crush on you, but you could handle his endless compliments and his attempts to take you out on a date; your boyfriend on the other hand, couldn’t. as intimidating as daichi was, haru had all but given your boyfriend a lazy once over before scoffing and mumbling about how you could do so much better.

that was the first time in a long time that you had seen daichi almost lose his cool. since that day, any interaction between the two of them had been borderline hostile; with your boyfriend hissing whenever haru’s hand would brush against you, and in turn the younger male would complain about how daichi must not be treating you well enough whenever you had chosen to walk home instead of having him pick you up.

“i know, baby, but the session shouldn’t be that long.”

“y/n.” the baritone slivering through his voice had you faltering in your steps. “you know he’s doing this on purpose. that kid has no respect for our relationship, or me- he needs to know his place.”

“daichi…i’ll talk to him today.”

“hm.” he hums in response, his side of the call silent for a beat. you could hear the blinking of his indicator before he asks, “are you at the library?”

“yeah i am, haru is probably waiting inside for me already. i’ll message you, okay?”

“alright, i’ll see you soon.”

the call had been disconnected almost half an hour ago, and you found yourself zoning out for the umpteenth time while haru busied himself by yapping away next to you. flipping your cellphone in the palm of your hand, your brows furrowed, thinking about how daichi hadn’t ended the call with his usual - “i love you, angel.” - perhaps he was mad you? it didn’t happen often, but flashes of you writhing beneath him as his hand cracked against your ass after heated arguments, had you crossing a leg over the other; thighs clenched together in an attempt to relieve some of the tingling pressure.

“y/n-senpai~!” haru waved his hand in front of your face, forcing you to blink away the less than innocent images playing in your mind. “are you okay? i’ve been calling out to you for a while, i have a question.” haru almost whines.

“i’m fine, haru-kun, sorry. please repeat your question for me.”

manicure fingers brushed over the exposed flesh of your plush thighs, between the hem of daichi’s favourite pleated mini skirt of yours you decided to wear for him and the ink coloured boots that wrapped around your calves and past your knees. you hadn’t realised the already short skirt had risen up, and as you tugged it down it was hard not to notice haru’s gaze watching the action intensely. maybe it was time to talk to him.

“haru-kun, i think we should talk.”

his eyes lingered on your legs, slowly dragging themselves past the dip of your waist, over the curve of your breasts, before they met with your own.

his eyes are wide, smirk less than innocent, as he shifts his whole body to face you. “really? about what yn-senpai?”

“about my relationship with daichi.” at the mention of your boyfriend, haru’s expression morphs into a scowl. “listen, haru-kun.” you start, deciding to ease into it. “i’ve been with daichi for a long time, in fact today marks the anniversary of our fourth year as a couple...”

“and you’ve finally realised that he isn’t worthy of you.” ‘worthy of me?’ you think to yourself, completely taken aback; haru nods his head in understanding, as if he didn’t just completely misinterpret what you were trying to say to him.

“no, that’s not it-”

“come on, y/n-senpai, let me treat you how you deserve to be treated.” he rests his arm on the back of your chair casually. “i could give you everything he can and more. you just have to give me a chance.”

“that’s not going to happen, haru.” dropping the honorifics, tone snappy. you crossed your arms tightly across your chest.

“and why not?” he bites back. “what does he have that i don’t- did you tell him to come here?” he questions accusingly, staring over your shoulder.

“no…? i didn’t...”

swivelling in your seat, your breath hitches at the sight of your boyfriend heading straight towards you. each purposeful stride of daichi’s long legs, had the smooth material of his dress pants tightening around his strong thighs, the silver of his belt buckle glinting under the harsh library lights. his navy blue dress shirt stretched over his wide shoulders, first few buttons popped open to reveal his smooth, tanned skin underneath.

daichi stopped right by your seat, so close that you instinctively pressed the palm of your hand against his hip, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin cotton material. you were instantly surrounded by the sweet and familiar woodsy scent of his cologne, wafting around you and sending your senses into overdrive.

looking up at him, his pretty mouth was pulled into a devilish grin, pearly whites peeking from the corner of his lips and a single dimple poking through his cheek.

“hi, angel.” his voice was low, dripping in honey that washed over you; goosebumps prickling across your skin.

“daichi…?” a whisper was all you managed to get out. “h-how come you’re here...?”

“you look so fucking beautiful, y/n.”

haru’s scoff goes ignored, yanking his arm away from behind you and grumbling to himself in the background.

a warm flush rose in your cheeks as daichi continued to smile down at you, walnut coloured eyes appreciating every curve of your body; searing gaze lingering on your skirt, before he released an airy chuckle, almost kin to a growl. you could feel the heat pool between your legs, unconsciously leaning against his towering frame.

“i’m here because we’re gonna let him know…” daichi starts, loud enough for the boy to hear.

one arm flexes against the strain of his sleeves, sliding behind you to grip the back of your chair; the other reaching a large had to press against your cheek. the callouses on his palm are rough against your skin, thumb rubbing lazy circles before trailing down to the pout of your lips. dragging his thumb across your fullness of your bottom lip, your pink tongue darts out to taste the saltiness on the pad of his thumb. halting his ministrations, releasing a heavy breath out through his nose, he grabs your jaw, grip tight, and tilts your face to meet his as he leans downwards.

“...let him know that you’re mine.”

and then his lips are pressed against yours. it starts off sweet, sighing softly into him for a fleeting moment, before daichi deepens the kiss. it becomes sloppy, extremely possessive, and borderline nasty as drool at the corner of your mouth dripped down your chin; moans trapped down your throat. the lewd sounds of his tongue swirling around yours sensually, exploring your mouth, clouds the thoughts in your mind.

your body has a mind of its own, right hand tugging at the tufts of dark at his nape, while the left moves from his hip to trail across his navel. you grin when he bucks against your touch, yet gasp as sucks on your tongue. he consumes you entirely, and you’re all too willing to abide.

when he moves away, a string of silver keeps the two of you connected. you’re a whiny mess, mewling at him for more, and tugging at his sleeves for attention; while he sets his gaze on the sulking figure by your side.

“we’re leaving now. good luck studying, kid.” daichi calls out, smug look on his face.

he doesn’t even wait for a response, tugging you up and into his chest, while leading the way out of the library. stumbling a bit on wobbly legs, you grip his toned arms to steady yourself, as he holds onto your waist.

“dai.” you murmur, pushing up against him. “are we going to dinner now?”

“dinner?” he repeats, staring at you from the corner of his eyes. nodding your head, you feel the coil in your tummy tighten as his hand trails down to trace the underside of your ass. “forget about dinner, angel, i’m ready for my dessert.”

#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #daichi x reader #daichi imagine #sawamura daichi #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu college au #sawamura daichi x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu fluff #daichi #haikyuu daichi

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robinofinashiro · 3 years

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“Baby, I am a wreck when I'm without you / I need you here to stay / I broke all my bones that day I found you / crying at the lake.”

request status: OPEN

pairing: bertholdt hoover x fem! reader

note: pls send something in! my inbox/ask box zero req’s so if any of you have any ideas wanting to get out, feel free to ask. all my fandoms are pinned as well as my rules.

you sat with Annie, throwing her small pieces of napkins as she annoyingly shook her head at you. you had been sitting down, doing absolutely nothing for the last thirty minutes as she tried to study.

“where is everyone? you’re boring me out and I’m like ready to do something!” you exclaimed. she gave you a dead stare before going back to studying, “you’re no fun! i’m getting food. want anything?” you asked her.

she replied with water as you stood up, smacking the back of her head playfully before running away. you made your way to the line with a basket full of your snacks and Annie’s water as your boyfriend finally making his way down the stairs with Reiner.

“long time, no see,” you heard a voice say behind you. you turned around to see someone you felt like you hadn’t saw in centuries, “JAEGER?” you yelled a bit too loudly as you engulfed him into a bone crushing hug, “Eren! i haven’t seen you in forever!” you exclaimed.

he laughed, scratching the back of his head shamefully, “my god, you grew your hair out, you look great!” you complimented, “damn, how is everything with Mikasa? are the two of you still together?” you asked.

Eren nodded, “yeah, we’re going onto our two year anniversary soon. how are you and Bertholdt’s tall ass?” he joked. you playfully pushed him, “we’re great, we’re celebrating four years soon,” you saw Eren’s face change to confusion, “what?” you asked.

Eren found it odd that in the four years both of you were dating, Bertholdt had yet to ask for your hand in marriage.

he shook his head, “nothing, forget it. we need to hang out soon. i bet Mikasa and Armin would be excited to see you again!” you nodded excitedly, giving him your number on a napkin before giving him another hug, “of course, I’ll text you later to see when’s the next time you and the others free!” you said before grabbing your things and leaving.

as you walked away, Bertholdt stared at Eren, feeling as though Eren was basically eye fucking you the entire time you were talking with him. he knew you were friends with the teal eyed boy but he had never saw you so friendly with anyone before.

“something wrong Bert?” Reiner asked. he shook his head, remaining silent, “hey, did you losers finally get out of class?” he asked. Reiner stared at you, before giving you the middle finger, “what was Jaeger doing here?” he asked.

Bertholdt saw your eyes light up instantly, “honestly, no clue but it was nice seeing him!” you said, digging into your muffin, “there’s a part happening tonight, y’all should go,” Reiner asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

you shook your head no, “Bert and I have a date tonight. we’re having our annual movie night tonight,” you said, squeezing Bert’s hand tightly, “but I know Eren’s been interested in hanging out soon so I’ll text him later tonight to see when they’re all free,” you added on.

Bert tightened his grip on your hand at the mention of Eren. you found it a bit odd but thought nothing of it. the rest of the time that all of you were sitting together, Bert didn’t say much. given that he hardly said anything to begin with, he just couldn’t keep his eyes off you. it was like you mesmerized him all over again.

Bertholdt couldn’t help but think of the first time he saw you. that very day was the day he knew he wanted to make you his.

it was the first day of college. you had been moving all of your things into your dorm along you siblings and mother. you were excited to begin this new chapter in your life and although your mom hated the idea that you were sleeping in a co-ed dorm, she was happy that you were finally getting real world experience.

you were sharing a dorm with a girl named Annie. you had only messaged her a few times, getting all her info and social media tags. she was bit on the shyer side, not really saying much when the two of you talked but you knew that she wouldn’t be a bad roommate.

“text us when you’re done getting your dorm together,” your sister reminded you as she placed the box on the floor. you went the front desk, saying the rest of your goodbyes when you felt someone accidentally hit you.

your siblings immediately asked if you were okay, “I-I’m so sorry,” you heard a timid voice say behind you. you turned around to face the tallest person you had ever met, “you’re okay, don’t worry about it!” you said with a smile plastered on your face.

his blond friend next to him laughed, “i think you’re our friends roommate! Annie is the girl right?” he asked. you nodded yes, “do you know her?” you asked them. you saw as the tall boy tried to stutter out an answer but didn’t, “yeah, we all went to high school together and managed to get into same college as well. I’m Reiner and this is my friend Bertholdt,” he introduced.

you introduced yourself as your siblings told you they were heading out, them not failing to make you embarrassed as they warned you about not getting any crazy ideas while you were away.

“we’ll walk you to your dorm if you don’t mind,” Reiner said. you gave them a smile as they pressed the elevator door, “not talkative, are you Bert?” you jokingly asked him. Reiner laughed at his reaction, “not really. we’re lucky if we get any words out of him and we’ve known him for years,” Reiner replied.

you laughed, poking Bert’s side, “well, I guess I’ll just make it my mission to make you talk,” you told him. by the time you reached your dorm and opened it, you heard Annie groan from seeing them.

“don’t tell me you’ve already made friends with them?” she asked you. you nodded yes, “great, now that’s going to give them a reason to be here even more,” she complained, “but now that you’re here, be useful with something and help me get something out of my car,” Annie stated, grabbing the blond by the arm.

Bertholdt felt himself getting nervous, realizing that he was going to left alone with you. once the door slammed shut, Bertholdt ran his sweaty palms against his pants, not really knowing what to do or say.

“so Bertholdt, you usually this awkward?” you joked again. he stared at you for a moment before feeling a blush cross his face, “uh, y-yeah, making friends isn’t as easy for me as it is for Reiner,” he explained. you gave him a look, with a small smirk playing at your lips.

he felt his heart stop suddenly. yeah, he had felt nervous before but this was a feeling he had never felt before. even the tiniest of smiles made his heart race and even being at close proximity with you made him sweaty.

wait. was this the feeling Reiner kept telling him about?

was this the feeling of actually liking someone? Bertholdt had really never liked someone before. given that many people thought that him and Annie would make a great couple, Annie had never saw Bert in that way and vice versa.

finally pulling back into reality, he stared down at you before giving you the tiniest of smiles, “what has you happy all of a sudden?” you asked. he shook his head, “n-nothing,” he replied.

later on that night, you were prepping the things the both of you needed for your movie night. you usually tended to Bert in your bed, basically attached to him like a koala as he held you close to his chest.

whenever the two of you cuddled, you were usually cuddled into him shirtless. he knew you liked his physique, he was tall, very built, and lean so whenever the chance presented itself, you would make him take his shirt off so the two of you cuddle ‘correctly’ as you liked to say.

you heard a knock on your door, realizing that it was Bertholdt and ran to it. you gave him a smile, placing a kiss on his lips before letting him in. Bert on the other hand had other plans and bent down for another kiss, quickly making it steamier than usual.

“where did that come from?” you asked a bit flustered, “just wanted to kiss ya,” he replied, making a beeline to your room. you followed as he had basically dragged you in there, crawling into bed as quickly as possible.

you grabbed the remote for your tv as the two of you got to scrolling through the movie lists. it didn’t take long until the two of you finally found a movie, settling with watching ‘Singing’ in the Rain’, one of your favorite movies.

for about an hour, you were engrossed with watching the movie, making side comments about how cute the couple was.

“what has you so affection tonight, Hoover?” you asked, your fingers dancing along his chest. he nervously touched the suede maroon box in his shorts as you remained silent, “I wanna ask you something,” he mentioned a bit quieter than usual.

you gave him a concern look, “you’re not breaking up with me, are you? you’ve been acting really weird since I spoke with Eren earlier today and if you got any implication-,” Bert cut you off with a kiss, surprising you completely, “it’s nothing like that, relax,” he said.

reaching into his pocket, he gripped the box almost feeling like his knuckles would turn white. you had covered yourself with the blanket, feeling the cold hit you. finally, Bert gripped your chin as a million thoughts ran in his head. he knew this was the next step in your relationship and oddly enough, he didn’t feel nervous at all.

“marry me,” Bert whispered as he opened the box and showed the ring. you felt your heart stop in its tracks as you gazed at the ring for a moment before looking to Bertholdt again, “really?” you asked, feeling tears spring into your eyes, “yes, of course Bertholdt,” you exclaimed as you tackled him into a kiss.

‘You Were Meant For Me’ was playing in the background as Bertholdt pulled away and took the ring out of its box to place on your shaky hand. you couldn’t stop gazing at the ring as Bert wiped a tear from your face.

“Reiner is the only one who knew I was going to do this tonight and although he wanted me to give this big elaborate speech, you know that really isn’t my style.”

you didn’t say anything back, jumping onto Bert again and kissing him, this time a lot steamier than usual. he was caught off guard but didn’t mind where you were going with this and let you continue what you were doing.

“we can call everyone tomorrow. i want to spend the rest of the night with you,” Bert whispered into your ear, as he started to remove your tank top, “I couldn’t agree more Mr.Hoover,” you said smiling.

Bert for the first in what felt like a long time smiled harder than he ever had before, “I appreciate it, Mrs.Hoover. Mrs.( your name ) Hoover,” he said back. you felt your smile get even brighter before nervously giggling at hearing those words coming from him.

you knew that everyone from Annie and up to your siblings would freak out about the news, but later that night after everything was said and done, both you and Bert sent a photo too Reiner. your hand was being held by Bertholdt as he showed the ring off to him with both your smiles plastered on your face.

#attack on titan #attack on titan imagine #attack on titan x reader #aot #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyojin imagine #shingeki no kyojin x reader #snk #bertholdt hoover #bertholdt imagine #bertholdt x reader #bertholdt hoover imagine #anime #anime imagines #anime imagine

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kiras-sunshine · 3 years

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I’m gonna hold onto your heart for sure

Written for day 3 of Carlos Reyes Week: “well, that just happened” + friendship

Summary:

“It’s not out of obligation or anything like that,” he says immediately, “we are friends, no matter what. Besides, you’re basically part of the team, like an honorary member of the 126.”

on ao3

Carlos is surprised to find Paul, leaning against his blue Camaro outside the police station when he finally gets off from shift.

The sun is already setting, painting the whole yard of the police station in golden light.

Paul’s face lights up when he spots him near the doors, and he gives him a small wave. He has changed out of his uniform, but he is still wearing dark pants and AFD t-shirt.

He tries to go through in his mind if he has forgotten any plans they might have made when he walks up to the car and him. He cannot come up with anything, but he is still glad to see him.

“Hey, everything okay?” He asks, mostly out of habit. He looks fine and he guesses he wouldn’t be grinning that widely if something atrocious had happened.

“Yeah,” he agrees and claps his hand on his shoulder. “Just checking up if you’re moping like a lovesick puppy,” he jokes.

Carlos flashes a smile, but he shakes his head as he glances their shoes. “I’m not.”

TK had to leave up to New York to attend his cousin’s wedding. He had been invited too as a plus one, but he couldn’t get four days off from work, and TK had assured that he was completely fine going there alone too, but he misses him.

It has been three days, which is ridiculous considering how much he wants to see him and longs to have him back in Austin. He cannot remember when he would have missed someone this much, and it almost terrifies him a little.

Obviously, they have been texting and calling, but it still isn’t the same thing.

“TK seemed pretty miserable when I called him,” he shrugs, with innocent smile, “just saying.”

He just huffs at that, amusedly, as he tries to fish out his car keys from the pocket of his jeans.

“Also, it’s family dinner today, so I’m picking you up. Well, I don’t have a car ‘cause Marjan just dropped me here on the way to supermarket, but still, the point stands.”

The 126 has created a tradition of having a proper, full-scale dinner once a week. The time and day changes, adapting to their shifts, but they never fail to have one. Owen has dubbed it as a family dinner for team bonding reasons. He has attended it a couple times with TK, but he feels like it’s a quite accurate term.

The crew definitely is a family, and they care each other a lot and deeply, and there is so much love and affection in the air when they don’t have to worry about getting called to scenes, and they always have each other’s backs.

He is almost a little jealous of the bond they all share.

He lets out a small laughter and fidgets with his car keys. “That’s nice but you don’t have to--,” he starts, but Paul is gesturing him to stop talking.

“It’s not out of obligation or anything like that,” he says immediately, “we are friends, no matter what. Besides, you’re basically part of the team, like an honorary member of the 126.”

He would be lying if he said that hearing that wouldn’t make him feel fondness towards the entire team and it makes him feel cared for and a little special. He knows he generally gets along with people well and he has no issues making friends, but he has been missing Michelle and he appreciates it more than he can say that he has become friends with everyone in the team and they aren’t just tolerating him for the sake of TK.

“Okay,” he agrees.

Spending the evening with friends and eating a proper dinner definitely beats his plans of cleaning his apartment and ordering takeout.

“Yeah,” Paul laughs and before Carlos knows he has been pulled into a tight hug. It’s surprisingly comforting hug despite the fact that it’s short and brief.

“Well, that just happened,” he says, and there is a certain edge of uncertainness that wasn’t there before, with apologetic expression when he lets go off him. “Sorry, got carried away.”

“Hey, we’re friends, friends get hugged,” he tells him, immediately, resting his hand on his shoulder.

He isn’t maybe the most tactile person in the world, but sometimes it is easier to say something through touch than words and he firmly believes in hugging.

“Yeah,” Paul agrees, softly and his grin is back and already brighter. He nods towards his car. “Let’s go. Cap won’t like if we are late.”

***

Carlos isn’t sure if his stomach hurts because all of the food he has eaten or because of all the laughter. The food was delicious and there was way too much of it, and they had been talking about everything that came to mind. They had been sharing anecdotes of work and what their lives had been like before they arrived in Texas and the firehouse.

The 126 is back on shift in a couple of hours, and the whole team, except Owen, has sprawled on the couches, trying to survive their food comas. Judd and Mateo are talking about basketball, deep in their conversation and Marjan is showing Paul some video on his phone, and they all seem content in the moment, and the whole room is filled with laughter and chatter.

Carlos smiles as he looks at them, but his phone starts to vibrate in his pocket. He quietly slips away and walks towards the doors to get some more privacy. It’s basically all for nothing because the firehouse been built so that privacy is almost non-existent. Especially with this particular team.

“Hey,” he says, when the video call connects and he sees TK’s tired, but beaming face on his phone screen.

“Hey,” he says back, but tilts his head and squints his eyes at him. “Is that a fire truck?”

He turns his phone a little, so that he gets a glimpse of the bright red side of the truck. “Yeah.”

His grin gets wider. “Missing me that much?“

“Yeah,” he breathes out, with genuine laughter, “also Paul dragged me to the dinner.”

“Oh yeah, the family dinner. I should’ve remembered,” he says, as he runs his hand through his hair, making it stick up slightly. “That’s nice.”

“It is,” he says, sincerely. “I wish you were here with us.”

It’s nice that he is, in their eyes too, his own person outside of their relationship. He knows they are close, and they still keep complaining when they will grow out of their honeymoon stage, but he still knows how to be his own person and he doesn’t feel less whole without him. He feels that together they are something more, but not lacking otherwise either.

“Me too,” he admits under his breath, “we do have pretty great friends.”

It feels like an understatement but it’s still true. “Yeah,” he says, nodding. The corner of his mouth twitches into a gradual smile. “Your dad promised to teach me how to bake a sugar free key lime pie.”

It makes him laugh, and it’s such a beautiful sound and he would gladly spend rest of his life listening to it. His eyes are glistering with what looks like happiness. “He doesn’t teach just anyone,” he points out. “Kitchen is like a sacred place for him. He certainly hasn’t taught baking to anyone I have dated.”

“Yeah,” he says, rubbing his neck.

He likes Owen, and he feels like they would get along even if he wasn’t dating his son, but it is sort of a big deal for him that he seems to like him, too. He knows he doesn’t need anyone else’s approval, but he still loves the fact that all of them just took him in as one of their own.

“Also,” he starts, and points at the screen with grimace on his face, “his sugar-free key lime pie is terrible. It tastes like flour, so good luck.”

“Ah, I’ll just make the others eat most of it. Practice the fine art of guilt tripping,” he deadpans, but it is getting impossible to hold back the smile.

“Good strategy.”

“Your dad misses you, too,” he points out softly, “he had a baby pic of you on the dinner table.”

He had placed the framed picture on the spot that he usually sits on. It had been mostly a joke, a way to boost the team morale, but he had noticed how many times Owen had glanced at the picture during the dinner. The picture had been of TK, barely standing on his own, grabbing leg of a table and he was wearing orange overalls and grinning as widely as a one year old can.

TK groans, and he cannot help but chuckle. “It’s on the wall now. According to them, they have put it high enough so you cannot take it down when you get back.”

“I hate them all,” he mutters, but there is no heat behind his voice.

“You were a cute baby,” he adds, just because he can.

“I wasn’t,” he insists, “especially if it was the orange overalls picture.”

“It was, but I guess I have to ask him to show me the entire photo albums,” he says, mostly just teasing him and mostly because he genuinely wants to see the photos.

“Please don’t,” he says, but the amusement shines through his voice. “He would love it.”

It would probably take hours, but he might do it one day when he has time.

“How’s the wedding?”

“Good, it has been nice seeing everyone,” he tells him, sounding genuinely happy. Carlos knows he hasn’t seen his mother’s side family in years. “It would be more fun if you were there. They all keep asking about you.”

“I’m sorry for not making it,” he says, gently.

He would have loved to go with him, but the wedding had seemed a little like a last-minute thing for him, and the invitation had come in mail just a couple weeks before and there was no way he could have managed to change all of his shifts.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it as a jab,” he remarks, softly.

“I know.”

“It’s mostly just funny. I head a bunch of my aunts talking and doubting if you’re even real because you sound a little too perfect, and that if you’re real, how did you end up with me,” he explains with a huff, but his voice sounds amused and there is certain mischief in his eyes.

“You could tell them that I’ve a very specific type,” he jokes, because he can feel the warmth creeping up on his neck.

He knows how to accept a compliment, but perfect definitely isn’t a word he would associate with himself, let alone expect a bunch of people he has never met to describe him as such.

“What would that be?”

Before he has any chance to answer, he spots Judd walking towards him and he claps both of his hands on his shoulders and flashes a smile at the phone screen. “Rude green-eyed firefighters who don’t let their family know they are calling,” Judd quips into their conversation.

TK is laughing again, but he is definitely delighted to see him, too. “I feel like you can find twelve of those in a dozen.”

“More like once in a lifetime,” Carlos murmurs, as rest of the team swarms in and forms a sort of half-circle around them. He knows TK hears him, because he holds his gaze, and his face softens. His smile is tiny but genuine and he feels like it’s only reserved for him.

“Ugh, you’re too sappy,” Marjan complains, but she ends up sounding mostly fond.

Carlos tries to hold up his phone high enough that he manages to see everyone. They keep waving at him, and he looks genuinely touched. “I’m glad you’re there.”

“We are glad to have him,” Mateo pipes in.

“We miss you,” Paul adds, “but we think we like Carlos better,” he says, deadpan.

“Cannot blame you for having good taste,” he shoots back, with a wink, and suddenly the warm feeling in his neck creeps back up.

“At least he knows how to cook, unlike certain someone,” Marjan says, with a glare that doesn’t linger on her face.

“Hey, the casserole I made last week was edible,” TK argues.

“Yeah, kid. Edible, not good,” Judd says with deep sounding laughter.

“It made my stomach feel funny,” Mateo admits, sounding a little distraught.

“Even Buttercup didn’t eat it,” Paul reminds him.

“Y’all are so ungrateful,” he says, with mock exasperated sigh as he stares beyond his phone, but amusement doesn’t disappear from his eyes.

Carlos knows that TK’s culinary skills are common joke for them, and he can admit he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near kitchen and unfortunately, he had gotten the leftovers of the casserole too. It had been dry and tasteless, but he still he had eaten it.

“I wouldn’t have eaten it if it wasn’t made by you,” he admits, too.

“Ah, blinded by love,” Judd says, shaking his head.

“You’ll end up with food poisoning,” Marjan tells him, as she pokes him in the arm.

Before he has any chance to reply, TK looks like he is listening to someone speak in the other end of the call. He flashes them a smile. “Sorry, I gotta go. Carlos, I love you. The rest of you are okay, I guess,” he jokes in a light tone, and his smile is so wide and genuine that it definitely reaches his eyes.

His crew fake exasperation around him, but they all end up erupting in laughter and keep telling TK how much they miss him before they manage to actually end the call.

#carlosreyesweek2021 #tarlos #tarlos fic #day 3 #this was really fun to write #i have soft spot for team and carlos #carlos reyes

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pepethehobbit · 3 years

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I wrote a van der stoffels AU for the Skam Holiday Event and because I am a giant mess I couldn’t stay with one theme and kind of jumbled a lot of them together? This story is basically for Day 1: Decorations, Day 3: Winter and Day 5: Parties

And because holidays are stressful even with Corona I didn’t manage to finish it on time, but it’s the 26th so it’s technically still Christmas, so I hope it’s okay that I post it now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little snippet of Jens and Lucas being dumb and in love.

„I’m sorry you want me to do what?“

„Pretend? Please, Luc. I know it’s such a weird thing to ask of you but I can’t stand their constant questioning and interrogation any more of when I will finally bring a nice girl or boy home, especially not around Christmas. My family is weirdly obsessed with my relationship status and that it’s currently single. I just want them off my back.”

Lucas hears what Jens is saying. And it’s nothing new either. Jens’ family really is oddly nosy about his relationship status even more so since he came out, as if the fact that he is bi would enhance his chances somehow. Lucas knows this frustration because Jens has talked to him about it a few times especially around holidays or Jens’ birthday, where his family is extra persistent about Jens finding someone.

Jens hasn’t done anything about it, he stays silent and then complains about it to Lucas later. Until now, Lucas guesses. Because Jens just asked him to come to his parents house for a Christmas family gathering with coffee and cake and a later dinner. But that is not the thing that took him by surprise. Lucas has spend a few Christmases at the Stoffels household, especially when his own family couldn’t be there for him or just straight up left one year like his father had. They basically spend every Christmas together in some capacity since Lucas moved to Antwerp when he was eleven and both of them becoming inseparable.

Jens has been Lucas’ best friend for eight years now and at first he thought Jens was kidding, but he recognizes a serious expression on his face when he sees one. He has years of experience to back it up. So that is the thing that surprises him. Jens is seriously asking him if he can come home with him for Christmas to pretend that he is Jens’ boyfriend. Lucas must have been too quiet for too long because Jens begins to backtrack. He shakes his head and then lowers it. His voice is filled with an unusual insecurity.

“Forget it, Luc. It was a dumb question to ask of me. They probably wouldn’t believe it anyway.”

“I’ll do it.”

It slips out before Lucas could consciously think about it. He wasn’t really planning on saying yes to this, because there was a voice in his head that immediately screamed: “No! Bad Idea!” But with the way Jens head snaps back up to him with a huge smile of relief he can’t bring himself to take it back.

The problem is, Lucas wants to be like that with Jens for real. It took him a while to figure it out after Jens broke up with Jana but he is definitely in love with his best friend and has been for two years. Pretending to be with Jens so his family gets off his back would be pure torture for Lucas. He knows exactly what his best friend is like when he is in a relationship. Jens doesn’t shy away from open affection, says the cheesiest shit that he makes out to be a joke (but Lucas knows he means every single one of them) and is just in general the most attentive and supportive boyfriend anyone could ask for. Maybe Lucas is a bit biased on this topic but he is pretty sure that being on the receiving end of these things from Jens would not help him at all to get over his best friend like he should. Especially with the knowledge that it’s all fake from Jens’ side. He would get a glimpse of what it would be like and then Jens would snatch it all away and thank him for being such a good friend. Lucas is not sure if his heart would survive that.

“Really? Luc, oh my god, thank you! You really don’t know how annoying they are. I don’t know what’s gotten into them lately but they are worse than ever.” Jens seems so relieved and Lucas’s heart breaks a little more. He just needs to be medical about this, needs to set up some rules that he and Jens can stick to so Jens doesn’t do anything that Lucas wouldn’t recover from. Like kissing him.

“Have you thought about how we would sell it? Because your family knows me pretty well, knows we’ve been friends for years. What’s the story?”

Jens ducks his head for a second and then raises it with a sheepish smile. “Well, I didn’t really expect you to say yes to this, so I didn’t do a lot of planing ahead. Maybe we can do that together?”

After an hour or so they had it all planed out and rules to stick to. When Lucas mentioned rules, Jens got a bit confused (Rules? What kind of rules?) and Lucas had to fight down the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, don’t you think that your family will find it weird when we won’t touch all evening? We need some rules of what is allowed and what isn’t.”

Lucas felt so awkward in that moment. Not only talking to your best friend about what is and isn't off limits but at the same time trying to stop thinking about how much he wants Jens to do all of things for him for real. After agreeing that holding hands and a little bit of cuddling is definitely okay, Jens suddenly got very shy again and asked with a small voice: “What about kissing?”

Lucas’ very fast and firm “No!” seemed to shock Jens a little bit and a look of disappointment flashed across his face which made Lucas momentarily mad at Jens. He has no right to be upset about this, he can’t be expecting Lucas to kiss him for the sake of making it believable. Lucas’ could not go back from that. Kissing Jens, knowing what it would feel like, what he could have if Jens only returned his feelings, no that’s too much for Lucas. “No, you’re right. Sorry. I wouldn’t want to make you more uncomfortable about this evening than it will probably already be.” Lucas doesn’t point out that kissing Jens would be the exact opposite of uncomfortable for him and just lets him think that that’s why he draws the line at kissing. “It will be like any other Christmas I have spend with your family, Jens. The only difference is that we will have to pretend to be madly in love, stick to our story and hold hands the entire time, what could go wrong?” Jens chuckles at Lucas’ obviously fake positive outlook for the evening and said: “Famous last words, Lucas.”

And that is how he currently finds himself on the steps of Jens’ old family home with Jens hesitantly taking his hand in his and asking: “Ready?” Jens slowly raises his other hand to ring the bell but Lucas interrupts him: “Wait. Let’s go over it again.” Jens lets his hand fall again and with the other one he gives Lucas an encouraging squeeze. “Luc, we’ve been over this a million times. They won’t notice a thing. We got this, okay?” Lucas doesn’t have the chance to respond because then the door is being opened and Jens’ mum gives them an enthusiastic welcome. She doesn't notice their joined hands and simply hugs them both. It gives Lucas an instant kind of comfort. Mama Stoffels has always been there for him. When he couldn’t be around his own family she opened up her home to Lucas as often and as long as he needed.

“You must be freezing. Come in, come in. The others are already here. You’re the last to arrive.”

They get in and the familiarity of the surroundings help Lucas to calm down even more. He knows these people, he knows the place and he knows Jens. The only thing he has to do is to pretend to be in love with Jens for one day. It wouldn’t even be pretending for Lucas. The only thing he has to do is to let down his carefully constructed wall that keeps Jens from knowing Lucas’ true feelings for him. Lucas only hopes that he can rebuild the wall once this day is over.

Mama Stoffels already left for the living room while Lucas and Jens shove off their jackets, scarfs and beanies, expecting them to follow her to the room where the rest of Jens’ family already waits for them. Lucas looks nervously up at Jens and then at the door which is currently still hiding them from the storm of questions they are about to receive when they walk through that door.

Jens takes his hand again, which is part of the plan and asks: “Ready? We can still not do this. It’s your choice.”

“No, I’m ready. Let’s do this. You owe me big time for this, though.”

Jens grins at him easily and says: “I know, thank you, Luc. And believe me, the next four vettige vrijdag are on me.”

“Alright, I can live with that.”

Jens squeezes his hand once more and opens the door.

Lucas knows more or less everyone in this room. Jens’ parents of course, his little sister Lotte and his older sister Lies he knows best but he has met both of Jens’ aunts, uncles and grandparents several times as well. There are a few faces he doesn’t know, mostly younger kids who don’t pay attention to them anyway (Jens said a few of his younger cousins would be there as well). The first one to see them enter is Lies and Lucas has to hold in his laugh at the way her face goes through confusion, to understanding and lastly arrives at pure and utter joy.

“Oh my god, finally!” Lies all but screams and that works to get everybody else’s attention as well. Lucas feels the eyes of nearly everybody in the room on them and sees how they their gazes swipe down to their tangled hands and up again. He looks nervously over to Jens because that’s most definitely his job right now.

Jens clears his throat and says: “You know how you always annoy the crap out of me to find someone nice to date? Yeah, well. I did.” With that he gives Lucas’ hand a squeeze and raised their joined hands so everybody can see them properly.

The silence that follows is grating on Lucas’ nerves but then everybody kind of erupts in enthusiastic screams and shouts over each other. Lucas’ doesn’t understand everything but he thinks the overall consensus about the revelation is that everybody is thrilled for them and the world “finally” is heard a little too often for Lucas’ comfort.

Lies is the one to bring them all to silence. “Guys, stop! I know we are all thrilled that they finally got their head out of their asses but let them say hello first.” Lucas doesn’t want to think about the implications of Lies’ statement and is glad that he gets distracted by her pulling them both towards the table, giving them both a firm hug and setting them down at two empty seats.

As everybody is kind of settled again, the silence returns and Lucas’ should have known that the gleam in Lies’ eyes would mean that this is far from over for both of them.

“And now the interrogation can begin. So, shoot. How did this happen?”

All the curious eyes are on them again and Lucas looks over to Jens to find him already staring. He hopes his eyes convey his silent support because this first portion of the plan is definitely all Jens. All Lucas has to do is sit here and look convincingly in love with Jens, which again is not really a hardship for him anyway.

“Well you all know that we’ve been friends for a long time now and a few months ago I started to realize that my feelings for him changed.” Jens takes Lucas’ hand again and places it in his lap, it’s an obvious enough gesture to support the story. Lucas notices how the mischievous gleam in Lies’ eyes is replaced with a much softer, fonder one. “Then I drunkenly kissed him at a party one night and lucky for me Lucas kind of stopped me and said ‘Kiss me again in the morning, when you’re not drunk.’ And that’s what I did and now we’re here.”

Lucas couldn’t help the blush that spread on his face, even though the story is completely fake, the thought of Jens kissing him just does that to him. It seemed to help their case though, as Papa Stoffels points out: “Look at you blush, Lucas. I always knew Jens would eventually fall victim to your charm.”

At this Jens lets out an incredulous “Dad!” but Lucas can’t help but laugh. Jens fixes him with an over exaggerated indignant gaze and Lucas just needs to tease him. “So my charms are what finally got to you, huh? Tell me, what exactly about my charms was it? The handsome looks? The devastatingly funny sense of humor? The -”

Before he can continue Jens hides his head in the crook of Lucas’ neck and mumbles loud enough for the others to hear as well: “Shut up oh my god, you’re so annoying.” While he speaks he feels Jens’ lips lightly move against his neck and Lucas suddenly has a hard time coming up with a response. Thankfully, he is saved by Mama Stoffels.

“Well, Jens. You didn’t deny any of those things, either.” Her tone is cheeky and it’s not the first time Lucas’ notices the similarities in their natures between Jens and his Mum.

Jens lifts his head to stare accusingly at the rest of his family and says: “You are all annoying. Can we eat our cake now, please?”

Lies’ fixes them both with a stare. “You can. But don’t think this is over. The interrogation has only just begun. I want to know everything.” Her words sound harsh but she says them in such a fond tone Lucas can see them for what they are. She seems so genuinely happy and not that surprised at the news that he and Jens are dating that Lucas wonders if she has always kind of known how he really feels about her brother. But he can’t worry about that now as they get drawn into the conversation around them. He can feel himself relax in the presence of these people who he would consider his second family. At one point Jens puts his arm around Lucas’ shoulder to pull him into his chest while talking to his grandparents. A gesture they don’t usually share and should feel unnatural but it being the exact opposite. Lucas forgets that this is only pretending and decided to soak up as much of Jens’ freely offered affection as possible. Because if he is only allowed to have them for one night he is going to make the most of it.

He fully snuggles up to Jens, links their fingers together and begins tracing the moles on Jens’ arm with the other. Something he always wanted to do. When the conversation gets dragged back to them and about how they got together, Lucas gets brave and offers a sign of affection of his own. Jens is in the middle of explaining how he confessed his feelings for his best friend when Lucas raises his hand to strike a hand through Jens’ raven black hair. Jens’ falters for a second, then looks at Lucas with big eyes and a small smile on his face that has Lucas’ insides churning. It’s not a look that he would usually receive from Jens and it’s doing things to Lucas, like forgetting that this is all pretend.

“You two are going to be that couple I can already tell. You are both so smitten.” It’s Lies’ voice once again that interrupts their weird moment of eye contact. Lucas tries to find his voice again because Jens is just ducking his head, trying to hide a blush that Lucas can see rising up his neck anyway. He tries to steer the conversation away from them to get them to safer grounds.

“Don’t pretend that you and Josh wouldn’t be the same if he was here. You are ten times worse than us.”

“He is right you know.”

“Mama!” Lies’ indignant tone raises a laugh from all of them and the conversation moves on around them. Jens is still not looking at Lucas and he has pulled his hand back to himself. Lucas nudges him with his elbow but Jens doesn’t look up.

“Hey, you alright?,” Lucas asks quietly so that the others don’t hear.

Jens takes a deep breath and finally looks up at Lucas with an expression that’s much more closed and sadly one that Lucas is much more used to, nothing compared to how he had looked at Lucas just moments prior.

“Yeah, I’m okay. All good.” Lucas is not convinced but he can’t exactly nudge Jens for more when they are surrounded by his family within hearing distance. “I’ll go see if Dad needs help in the kitchen, be right back.” With that he stands up and leaves Lucas confused and alone with his family. Something happened there and Lucas isn’t sure what. Jens is just pretending. Why is he suddenly fleeing when it seems to be working? Isn’t this exactly what Jens had wanted?

Lucas doesn’t have a chance to think about this further as Lotte, now twelve years old, calls for him to come to the door which leads to the kitchen. “What’s up Lotte?” he asks once he has reached her but she is suddenly turning around, calling for Jens in the kitchen without answering his question. Lucas is confused but then Jens stands in the doorway with him and asks Lotte the same question who gazes at them both with a bright smile on her face.

“Look up.” Jens and Lucas share a confused look but do as they’re told and realization begins to sink in. Mistletoe. Lucas lowers his gaze again and locks eyes with Jens straight away. The one rule he is still unsure about wanting to break and Jens seems equally hesitant.

“People are supposed to kiss under a Mistletoe, right? So kiss.” Lotte says it as if this would be the easiest thing in the world and from the corner of his eye he can see that they gathered quite the attention even though the rest of Jens’ family tries to be subtle about it.

He takes a step towards Jens, never leaving his eyes. Jens returns his gaze with an equal amount of vulnerability and questions. Lucas takes his hand in his and decides to just go for it. Screw the consequences. This evening is an exception to everything and suddenly he really wants to know what it feels like to have Jens’ lips on him, at least once. As quietly as possible he whispers: “It’s okay.” He can see Jens starting to argue, he obviously remembers how adamant Lucas was about no kissing. But now Lucas doesn’t care. “It’s okay,” he whispers again and he can see the protest fleeing out of Jens’ eyes.

It’s Jens that closes the final distance between them. He sees how Jens’ eyes flutter shut before his own follow. Their noses touch, sending a shiver down Lucas’ spine in anticipation. When Jens angles his head and finally connects their mouths Lucas can only hold his breath. He thought Jens would go for a simple peck but once their lips are connected both of them can’t seem to let go of each other. Jens’ lips are warm and gentle and when he parts them against his own he tastes of the gingerbread cake they ate before. He feels Jens stepping even further into his space and beginning to move his lips against him with a slight tremble and Lucas melts into his chest.

A loud whistle is what separates them and they both all but spring apart from each other looking for the source of the noise. It was Lies, of course. Who else could it have been. Lucas chances a quick look at Jens but he is not paying him any attention, as if this kiss was completely ordinary and did not just completely turned Lucas world upside down. Which reminds him once again, this is pretend. Of course Jens is acting like this, because he doesn’t feel what Lucas feels and because he can’t act like this was their first kiss when they are supposed to have kissed for over a month now.

“Oh Lies, shut up. You’re just jealous because Josh isn’t here.” Lies looks like she is ready to throw back another teasing remark when Jens’s father steps out of the kitchen. “Jens, language!” His son ducks his head, ruffles Lotte’s hair, who still stands next to them and says “Sorry.”

“Well, if the show is over now, you can all come into the kitchen. The buffet is open now. I hope you’re all hungry.”

The general commotion that follows gives Lucas some time to collect himself. He tries to catch Jens’ eyes again but he seems very determined to ignore Lucas right now. Jens follows the others into the kitchen to get in line for the food and doesn’t say anything about what just happened. Lucas suddenly doesn’t feel that hungry anymore and flees to the bathroom.

He steps in front of the sink and looks up in the mirror. His eyes automatically zero in on his lips as if searching for proof that the kiss really happened. His fingers gently trace his own lips where Jens’ have been just a minute before, disbelieving. Lucas got what he wanted and it was simultaneously the best and worst kiss he has ever experienced. Kissing Jens has felt like coming home and just so utterly and purely right but it comes with the knowledge that is wasn’t the same for Jens. He was so nonchalant after, like he wasn’t affected at all whereas Lucas is now freaking out in a bathroom. How is he supposed to survive dinner and a few more hours with this play they put up for Jens’ family. All he wants is to go home and be alone so he can try and forget the kiss that cemented his feelings for his best friend. Before, there may have been a chance of getting over his crush but with the knowledge of how it feels to be kissed by Jens that chance is completely gone. He should have never agreed to this. But he has and Jens is still his friend. Lucas turns on the tap and splashes some water in his face and tries to collect himself. Only three more hours or so and then he can go home. One last deep breath and he opens the door to join the others again.

When he sets foot in the living room/dining room his eyes immediately find Jens and he looks at him as if asking him if he is okay. Lucas tries his most convincing smile and nods once, then turns around and makes his way to the kitchen to get some food. He sits down next to Jens and conversation with his family starts to flow easily again.

Dinner is not as bad as Lucas thought it would be. But he notices that Jens is more distant. Before he pulled Lucas into his personal space as much as he could and now he doesn’t even try to hold his hand. He is worried and relieved at the same time. Worried that he made Jens so uncomfortable with the kiss that he doesn’t even want to hold his hand anymore and relieved because Lucas is sure that he couldn’t have handled more fake affection from Jens. He softly nudges Jens with his elbow to get his attention. Jens turns around and looks at Lucas questioningly. “What is it?”

Lucas slowly leans forward and as quietly as possible he asks: “Are we okay?” Before Jens scolds his expression into a reassuring one Lucas saw the flash of sadness in his face. Anyone else would look over it but Lucas saw and it makes his stomach drop with anxiety.

“We’re okay.” But Lucas doesn’t relax with these words, not in the slightest. He knows that there is something going on in Jens that he wants to hide from Lucas and it's probably his fault and the fact that he was kind of forced to kiss Lucas when he probably really didn’t want to.

After desert Jens’ family slowly makes their way home member by member. Jens and Lucas stay a little bit longer after everyone already left. They are on the floor in front of the fake fireplace and play a round of The settlers of Catan with Jens loosing terribly and Lucas teasing him mercilessly for it, his parents and Lies joining him. Lotte is a sweetheart as always and tries her best to trade with Jens anything that he needs. Lucas is still very unnerved about this whole evening and what happened between Jens and him but this is familiar. It warms his heart to see how easy he fits in here and how natural it seems for Jens’ family to not only accept his presence but welcome him with open hearts to family evenings like this. It works to calm his nerves a little bit, especially because Jens seems to be more like himself as well. He leans more into Lucas and falls into their natural teasing so effortlessly as if he forgot the weird mood that surrounded them after the kiss.

In the end, Lies wins and she demands that everyone bows down to the queen of settlers. They jokingly indulge her but she looses their attention when Lotte runs to the window and excitedly jumps up and down and screams: “It’s snowing, it’s snowing. Look!!”

They all get up to look at the white powder falling from the sky, which has already covered the whole street in a thick layer of snow.

“Can we go outside and make snow angles?” Lotte asks in a voice so giddy that only an overly excited 12-year-old can manage.

“Lotte, it’s way too cold and it’s way past your bedtime already. The snow will probably still be there in the morning and then we can all go outside and have a little walk through the snow together okay?”

Lotte seems to accept that quite begrudgingly and mumbles something about boring party poopers under her breath which has Jens and Lucas eyes meet with shared amusement. His mom and dad usher Lotte upstairs and Lucas takes the opportunity to announce that they should be going as well.

“Lucas, you two can’t go now. It’s a twenty minute walk and it’s snowing very heavyly. Why don’t you two just stay in Jens’ old room? I’ll drive you both home tomorrow after breakfast.”

Lucas wants to argue, especially as he feels Jens stiffen next to him, bringing back the uncomfortable mood between them. He opens his mouth to say something but Lies interrupts him.

“Stop that. You’re not intruding, not at all. You are always welcome here you know that. Even more so then your boyfriend.” She says the last part with a wink towards her little brother who just fondly roles his eyes and shakes his head at his sister’s words. Lucas can hardly argue that but he still looks to Jens for confirmation that this is okay, especially after Jens seemed very uncomfortable with the idea of them staying the night. But then he pulls Lucas more into his side as he sees Lotte’s questioning gaze on them and says: “Sure, let’s stay for the night. More time to cuddle with you.”

Only now Lucas realizes that he has to share a bed with Jens for the night and he instantly regrets it again. Why. Why can’t he just say no for once in his life. It’s so weird between them right now. Even though Jens has him in his arms, he feels more than a thousand miles away from him.

They inform Jens’ parents and soon after say their goodnights to them and make their way upstairs to Jens’ old room. Lucas had tons of sleepovers here and they shared a bed many times before but this is different. He knows that he won’t get an ounce of sleep with Jens so close next to him. Jens informs him that there is a spare toothbrush in the bathroom and gives him some of his clothes to sleep in that he still keeps in his parents place. Even though Jens seems all chill Lucas sees through his act. The air between them is awkward and stilted and Lucas has no idea on how to fix this. Talking about it would probably help but Lucas isn’t ready to loose Jens yet, which will probably happen anyway with the way Jens acts kind of cold towards him.

They take turns in the bathroom down the hall and when Jens is gone Lucas settles in on the left side of the bed towards the windows. Jens comes back, turns off the light and Lucas feels the bed dip under his weight as Jens settles in next to him. The bed is big enough for both of them but their shoulders are still only a few inches apart and Lucas is very aware of the fact that his hand is very close to Jens’ own in the middle of the bed. A very uncomfortable silence stretches unbearably between them, not even a quiet goodnight, and it’s enough for Lucas to finally speak.

“I’m sorry for kissing you, Jens. It was obviously too much and I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable. I know I said no kissing but everyone was looking at us and because you asked about it in the first place, when we sat up those rules, I thought you would be okay with it. But clearly it made you super uncomfortable because you have been weird for the rest of the evening and I’m sorry.”

Lucas is met with silence again and the fact that he can’t see Jens’ face in the dark makes him even more anxious. Then Jens speaks.

“Why did you decide to kiss me when you seemed so appalled to it earlier? You were the one that was clearly uncomfortable just at the thought of kissing me, so you could’ve easily said no or made a joke about it. You didn’t have to kiss me like you meant it when you clearly didn’t want to. So, why did you?”

Lucas is taken aback by the hurt in Jens’ voice and hates himself for being the reason for it. It makes him want to be honest, maybe Jens will be even more mad at him for basically using him but at least he won’t hurt him anymore by lying to him.

“I wasn’t appalled to the idea of kissing you. That is the whole problem, actually. I said no to kissing at first because I knew there would be no going back from that for me. But in that moment today I just went with the excuse because I knew it would be the only opportunity for me to ever know what it would be like to kiss you. And I’m sorry for that. I knew this was a bad idea from the start because I knew that my feelings would ruin this and I-”

A sudden light makes Lucas stop in his apology and confession in one. After adjusting to the sudden brightness he sees how Jens sat up in the bed and turned on the light in the bedside table. Lucas sits up as well and waits for Jens to say something. But he just looks at him with wide eyes full of doubt but also… hope?

Lucas sees how Jens’ hand slowly reaches for his own and sucks in a breath when Jens intertwines their fingers together. “What are you doing?”, Lucas asks with a shaky exhale of breath and looks up from their joined hands to Jens’ eyes. Something seems to be decided in Jens’ brain because the doubtful expression vanishes and is replaced with a softer look full of affection and determination.

“Luc, okay first of all. I wasn’t uncomfortable when we kissed, not in the slightest. Quite the opposite really. If anything it made me come out of my denial and proofed what I suspected for a while now.”

“Which is?” Lucas asks when Jens doesn’t continue. Hope begins to settle in his chest and an excited warm and fuzzy feeling spreads when Jens raises their joined hands to his lips and kisses Lucas’ hand.

“That I am in love with you.”

Lucas can’t do much but stare at Jens completely speechless as an overwhelming feeling of happiness washes over him. He feels how is lips stretch into a smile that he can’t help and then he grabs Jens by the front of his shirt, pulls him towards himself and kisses him again. Jens’ surprised yelp is smothered by their lips softly moving together and Lucas feels how Jens melts into him after the initial surprise. He lets his hand slide from the collar of the shirt to Jens’ neck and begins to play with the short strands of hair. Jens lets out a little satisfied sound and opens his lips for Lucas, inviting him in.

Lucas feels like he is floating when they eventually break apart. His eyes stay closed for a few seconds to bask in this feeling only a little while longer. He opens his eyes and is met with Jens’ most beautiful smile and begins to realize that he is the reason for that. Lucas can’t help himself and steals another short kiss from Jens before he says: “I love you, too. In case that wasn’t obvious.”

Jens laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. “God, Luc. Today was pure torture. The whole time I was asking myself ‘How can he be so good at pretending?’ And then that kiss and I… God, I was having a silent freak out after that kiss but I couldn’t show it and you were looking at me like that and I couldn’t handle that it was all pretend, that’s why I was so weird after. I finally came out of my denial for my feelings and it was because of a fake kiss with you.”

“I can’t believe I bought your chill act. I totally believed you weren’t affected by that kiss at all and it made me freak out and flee to the bathroom because I couldn’t handle the fact that I just kissed you.”

“We are so dumb.” Jens says with laughter and Lucas can’t help but agree. During this whole conversation he has been smiling so much his cheeks hurt. Jens is making him so unbelievably happy, he can’t believe he got so lucky.

“So, I guess the plan is off?”

Jens looks at him confused but the smile never leaves his face. Lucas isn’t much better off. “What do you mean?”

“You know, the plan where we would’ve told your family that we broke up in three weeks because we are better off as friends?”

At that Jens face light up with remembrance and he gets a teasing glint in his eyes. “Oh that plan. Yeah, I mean, I guess you can carry the title of my boyfriend a while longer if you want to,” he says with over exaggerated nonchalance.

“You guess?” Lucas indulges him in his teasing, tries to act offended but he can’t keep the smile off his face or the happiness out of his voice.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t bother me, you know. As long as you keep doing the things a boyfriend does,” Jens says with wiggling eyebrows and a teasing smirk. Lucas can’t help but lean in and wipe that smile of his face with his own lips. “Oh, I see. And what does that entail, exactly?” he asks when he leans back.

Jens closes the distance again and whispers against his lips: “More of that.”

They fall asleep embraced in each other and Lucas couldn't remember a time where he slept better than in Jens' arms. He woke up before Jens and lets himself admire the beauty that his a sleeping Jens. It's as if his fingers have a will of their own when they begin to trace Jens' face, from his forehead down to his eyebrows, then his nose and lastly his lips. They begin to twitch into a small smile but his eyes stay closed. Jens lets out a content hum. "I could get used to waking up like this."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Oh long enough to know that you've been staring at me," Jens says teasingly but he sounds way too happy for Lucas to really question if Jens is bothered by it.

Jens finally opens his eyes and reaches for Lucas' hand which has fallen down between their faces after Lucas was done with caressing Jens' face. He intertwines their fingers together and snuggles up even closer to Lucas.

"So, last night wasn't a dream then?" Lucas can't help but chuckle at the clichee words but he also kind of melts at Jens' sleepy and hopeful voice.

"Would it have been a good dream?"

Jens looks up into Lucas' blue eyes and with an expression full of affection and love he says: "The best."

Lucas agrees. He could get used to waking up like this as well.

#skamholidayevent #vds #van der stoffels #lucas van der heijden #jens stoffels #christmas fic #fake dating au #my writing

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not-close-to-straight · 4 years

Text

Hexes and Honeysuckle (Four)

We dive into a little bit of Bucky related angst in this chapter but don’t worry, Tony comes riding to his rescue like everyone’s favorite feline Prince Charming.

MASTERLIST

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

“So you can’t in fact do an invisibility spell.” Bucky re-lathered up the washcloth and continued scrubbing at the stains on his arm. “Or did you confuse invisibility with ‘blueberry flavored soul staining ink’?”

“To be fair, I didn’t take into account the different ways a spell would affect a feline form versus a human form.” Tony sank further into his giant bowl of soapy water, nothing but his little face above the bubbles and massive amounts of hair floating around him in a halo. “I didn’t expect the explosion, neither did I expect the ridiculous color.”

“Clearly.” Bucky dunked his head back into the bathtub and soaped up his hair. “How long is this gonna stay on us?”

“Do you remember the witch Wonka?” A bubble landed on Tony’s nose and the feline went cross eyed trying to stare at it. “Had that weird house and got in trouble for being careless with his spells?”

“No.” Bucky shook his head. “Don’t pay much attention to other witches, Tony. What does Wonka have to do with me being blueberry blue?”

“Uh…. nothing. Nevermind.” the bubble popped and Tony went back to splashing idly, watching soapy lines of blue fade out of his fur and turn the water almost purple. “You shouldn’t be complaining by the way, you look great in blue. You should be thanking me.”

“I should be shaving you.”

“Eh.” the familiar gave a kitty approximation of a shrug. “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”

It was easier after that, after one good spell and one acutely horrible spell and a wonderful camaraderie bloomed from shared blue skin, hair and fingernails.

Tony would be sassy to the day he died but at least now his comments were layered with something almost close to affection, the bite missing from his sarcasm and literal bite missing from any moments of annoyance that inevitably sprang up.

Bucky took peas out of the dinner rotation entirely and bought chicken at the market to shred and prepare the way Tony demanded requested, read his spells out loud so Tony could correct any mispronunciations and at night he even put a pillow over at Tony’s side of the bed so the cat would stop poofing it away.

When the day to day things worked without devolving into chaos, non magic related moments started inching towards domestic and maybe even friendly and as the days rolled into weeks, the heart to heart bond that was so essential to witch-familiar relationships finally began to spark between the pair.

“Peggy told me I needed to learn some humility.” Tony offered one day as he shredded dandelion blooms for their next attempt at a potion. “She told me I was too young to be half so confident and when one of my spells got out of control and nearly hurt someone, she got mad.”

“Spells get outta control all the time.” Bucky paused in his mixing and re-read the incantation for the third time so he wouldn’t screw it up when it came time to recite. “I’m still scrubbing blue outta my scalp from the invisibility thing. Sometimes people get hurt. Why was she so mad?”

“She said it should scare me that someone was almost hurt. But I said that they weren’t actually hurt, so why did it matter.” the familiar tipped over his bowl and pawed the dandelion out onto the table. “So she hexed me into this form till I learned some empathy and humility.”

“Uh huh.” Bucky scooped up the dandelion and added it to the mix. “So how’s that going?”

“Well, I’ve been a cat for about a billion years now so you tell me.” Tony batted at Bucky’s hand when the witch tried to add too much liquid. “Stop that, you’re doing it wrong.”

“You’re rude.” Bucky batted the cat right back. “Billion years, huh? Is that why your hair’s gone gray?”

“WHAT?!” Tony puffed up instantly, eyes wide and ears laid back and aforementioned gray fur fuzzed out. “I am not gray! I am not old enough to be gray!”

“Sure you are.” Bucky countered with a sly smirk. “How old are you in human years, anyway?”

“It’s rude to ask a cat their age.” Tony sniffed primly, settling his fur back down and going back to his spell. “If I was a lady, I’d slap you for being pertinent.”

“You not being a lady hasn’t stopped you from slapping me.” the witch stated, and checked off the last ingredient on their list to make sure the potion was ready. “You slapped me earlier today cos your eggs were runny.”

“I struck you lovingly with the soft side of my paw cos you cracked a raw egg on my plate and told me to quit yowling for food.” Tony corrected, and scooped up just a tiny bit more of dandelion leaf to add to the bowl. “And for the record, I’m still young for a witch. Just over two hundred.”

“Twice my age, huh?”

“Yeah, you’re a baby witch.” Satisfied Bucky wasn’t going to blow the roof off the cottage with a mismatched spell, Tony decided his work was done for the day and rolled over into the patch of sunshine on the table to sun his belly. “Thank goodness you have someone powerful and wise like me to show you the way.”

“Is that what you’re claiming these days?” Bucky hesitated, then hesitated again and then finally reached out to give scritches on the familiar’s soft belly. “That you’re powerful and wise instead of hairy and spiteful?”

Tony cracked an eye at the witch, then wriggled a little closer and closed his eyes again. “Who says I can’t be all of the above?”

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

“Can you hear me?” Tony tapped on the wall a few times and watched closely to see if the witch huddled inside the glass cage reacted at all. “Bucky? I know I said your dreams were boring but I’d take it back if you’d just acknowledge how absolutely cool I am for being able to dream walk out of my familiar form.”

The witch didn’t answer just like he hadn’t answered the past several times Tony had let himself into Bucky’s psyche and wandered around the empty surface.

“Why do you do this?” Tony slid down onto the floor and crossed his legs, propped his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. “Most witches practice for decades before learning how to physically control their dreams but you can actively choose where your consciousness goes when you sleep despite having set the table on fire this morning. So why do you choose to lock yourself up in nothing?”

The silence was almost painful against Tony’s ears and he wondered idly if being stuck as a cat for so long had translated into his human form having weird catlike issues like enhanced hearing.

“Are you worried about nightmares?” he asked through the barrier. “About your magic flexing and hurting someone?”

No answer.

“We should plant honeysuckle.” he told dream-Bucky. “It keeps evil spirits away and maybe if we keep them away in your waking hours, you’ll be able to dream instead of hiding away in here. You look lonely and I don’t really like that.

No answer.

“...Bucky?” Tony swallowed uncomfortably. “I’m getting worried about you.”

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

“We should plant honeysuckle.” Tony told the witch the next morning. “We should plant an ash tree too, and at least some sunflowers but also definitely honeysuckle.”

“Why’s that?” Bucky looked exhausted today, dark rings under his eyes and hair rumpled from tossing and turning all night. He hadn’t slept well the last several nights, his usual dream meditation interrupted by the feeling that someone was watching, lurking, that something was hovering just out of range of his safe space inside his own head. It hadn’t felt malicious, hadn’t felt dangerous, but the presence had disrupted his calm anyway and after several days of hardly any sleep, Bucky was miserable and faltering.

...and scared, because when he was overly tired the nightmares were always worse and he didn’t want one tonight or any time soon. “Why uh-- why honeysuckle, Tony?”

“Cos it’s pretty.” Tony kept his eyes trained on the toaster, watching carefully, closely so when the toast popped it wouldn’t scare him off the counter like it had done yesterday. “And it keeps the evil spirits away.”

“But then you wouldn’t be allowed in the house anymore.” the witch said tiredly.

“Oh har-dee-har-har.” The familiar’s ears flattened warily when the smell of nearly finished toast reached his nose and he tensed in preparation for the noise. “Fine, don’t plant it. I’m allergic anyway and would just sneeze the whole time.”

“That sounds exactly like something an evil spirit would say. What are you hiding beneath those whiskers, cat?” The toaster pop!-ed and Tony yowled and fell off the counter right into Bucky’s outstretched palm, because the witch remembered the familiar splatting onto the floor the last time this happened. “Were you scared of toasters when you were human?”

“I’m not scared of toasters!”

“Say’s the pussy cat with his claws digging into my wrist.” Bucky hefted the cat onto the counter and went to wash his hand before going back to cooking. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Tony glared at the offending appliance. “My magic is linked to iron which is the base of everything steel and I think cat-me has taken that link and magnified it to the point of--”

Bucky just looked at him, and Tony sighed. “Basically my magic is so compressed in this form that it comes out in weird ways, and the longer a timer ticks down on anything remotely mechanical, the harder everything vibrates through me. It’s annoying.”

“You got a headache?” Bucky was exhausted but he still took the time to scratch at Tony’s ears gently. “Would honeysuckle help with that? Drive the evil spirit of technology from your body by way of allergies?”

“Keep talking and I’m gonna--”

Tony shut up when the witch unplugged the toaster and the hum buzzing down the familiar’s spine finally eased. “Oh. Thank you.”

“Yeah, kitty.” Bucky gave up on breakfast and stumbled back towards the bed. “I’m gonna sleep some more, okay? You okay out here alone?”

“I’m an apex predator, Bucky. I can handle being alone in a countryside cottage for a few hours.”

“You’re forty pounds of irritation and claws.”

“I am sixteen pounds at the most”

Whatever Bucky mumbled in response was lost in his pillow as he fell face first onto the mattress, and after a quick nibble at not quite cooked bacon and eggs, Tony jumped from counter to table to floor and trotted over to the bed.

“Can I come up, too?”

The witch mumbled something that might have been, “When have you ever asked before doing anything?” and Tony took that as permission to leap onto the blankets and pick his way towards the pillows. Bucky rolled over a little bit and hugged one of his pillows tighter, hiding his face beneath his long hair and groaning quietly when Tony booped at him. “Leave me alone!”

“Tell me about your magic.” Without the buzz of plugged in appliances running through his veins, Tony felt like he could finally breathe and he nudged in close and booped at Bucky’s nose again in appreciation. “Do you know anything about it at all?”

“Think it’s linked to nature.” the witch pushed the feline away again and rolled onto the other side so he didn’t get a face full of fur. “Maybe winter. Dunno what it feels like to be powerful, but I always feel better when it’s cold, when it snows.”

“Okay, Elsa.” Tony wibbled and wobbled as he crossed the pillow so he could see Bucky’s face again. “When winter comes we’ll try some outdoor spells. Get you grounded to nature and see what happens.”

“When winter comes.” Bucky repeated. “You think you’ll still be here when it snows?”

“Bucky bear, at the rate I’m going I’ll be here till the world ends.” Tony turned in a few circles and burrowed down into the blanket to sleep next to Bucky. “Lucky you, huh?”

Bucky finally smiled a tiny bit and rested his hand on the big cat’s rear, petting lightly until Tony’s tail lashed out to smack him in the face as a warning to stop.

“Sheesh. Sorry.”

“I’m trying to sleep and touching my butt just makes me horny.” Tony reprimanded and Bucky grimaced, “Yikes that’s weird, don’t say that. You’re a cat, Tony.”

“I might be furry and feline, but I’m still a man.” the familiar snipped. “In my human form, my butt would put you on the floor. You’d actually drool over the roundness of my rear.”

“Annnnd on that note, I’m gonna face the other way.” Bucky turned back to the other side of the bed and Tony grinned to himself and settled in for a mid morning nap.

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

Everything was white and still until it wasn’t, and then Tony was running as fast as he could across the endless space to get to Bucky, to get to the screaming and the noise and the horror that had forced its way through the walls of the witch’s mind.

The thing had tentacles, had multiple heads and rows and rows of teeth. It was blood red one moment and then vile black the next, a Hydra monster and a nightmare, a cursed creature set loose by another witch’s wrath, and the demon from Bucky’s past.

Bucky was screaming, the Hydra monster screeching, the witch scrambling back against the walls of his self made cage and covering his face with his arm, the creature shoving through the cracks in the glass and reaching-- reaching--

“Bucky!” Tony slammed both hands onto his side of the wall and shouted for his witch. “Bucky! Let me in so I can save you! Let me in so I can save you!”

The far wall shattered beneath the weight of terror, teeth and tentacles and stench roiling over the shards to rush towards the stranded witch and Tony dug both hands into his hair and cursed his helpless, cursed his Auntie for taking so much of his magic, cursed himself for being so foolish and cocky to end up in the position when he couldn’t even help someone who mattered.

Tony screamed his frustration to the white nothing outside the box of horrors, then set his teeth and straightened his shoulders, called every bit of dormant magic from his bones and pulsed it out through his hands in a bolt of bright blue.

The glass melted beneath his magic and Tony burned his legs as he climbed over the molten edges but he didn’t let it stop him as he raced to Bucky’s side. “I’ve got you!” He cried over the noise of the monster, over the sound of Bucky’s screams and the way they landed physical and awful on his soul. “Bucky, I’ve got you! Hold on!”

Another blast of power towards the monster and the thing recoiled with a shriek, Tony kept one hand over Bucky’s eyes and kept the other palm out towards the Hydra, shoving the mass back through the cracks of the walls, pushing it far enough that he could move the atoms of the glass and weld them back together. It was an ugly scar across a previously pristine wall, a disfigured slash across what had once been protecting the witch and there was a lesson there, a metaphor about Bucky’s past and the scars cat-Tony didn’t have but human Tony kept hidden beneath his clothes.

But now wasn’t the time for personal reflection or whatever lesson Tony needed to learn. Right now Tony needed to rescue his witch and this was a dream which meant he had no trouble scooping Bucky’s bulk up into his arms and running towards the melted wall and away from the thud-thud-thud of the Hydra throwing itself against the other side and the moment Tony set foot over the barrier of the room--

--Bucky woke up screaming, crying, thrashing around in the bed and Tony just curled as close as he could, meowing and trying to purr and trying not to cry in shared pain as his witch sobbed into the pillows.

“It’s okay.” he whispered and Bucky bit out a frustrated curse. “Bucky it’s-- it’s okay. We’re gonna be okay. I promise.”

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

The afternoon sun was warm and golden through the windows of their cottage when Tony finally got up the courage to go and sit next to Bucky. The big brunette had been wrapped up in a quilt and staring out at the empty garden for hours now, and when Tony jumped up onto the arm of the easy chair, Bucky only shifted a little and sighed.

“You uh--” the familiar cleared his throat. “You’ve spent decades working on a spell to keep yourself from dreaming, haven’t you? Cos when you dream it’s only nightmares?”

“...yeah.” Bucky’s voice was hoarse from screaming and Tony nudged a cup of tea closer to the witch. “Must not be a real good spell though, or you wouldn’t have gotten through.”

“You knew that was me?”

“Your voice is the same.” Bucky muttered. “Voice and your hair, human you and kitty you have got sorta a dumb amount of hair.”

It should be a joke but Bucky was so tired and miserable that Tony couldn’t even smile. Instead he hooked his claws in the quilt and tugged it down past Bucky’s left shoulder so he could see the red star, then down a little further to see the mess of scars and pushed his forehead onto the ruined skin in a moment of deep sympathy. “I’m sorry about what happened to your coven.”

And after another minute, “And I’m sorry I was so callous about you not knowing any magic when we first met. How old-- uh, how old were you when it-- when the Hydra--”

“I was twenty five.” Bucky’s pale eyes closed when a soft soft paw patted at his mark. “Not even old enough to have started any training. The old covens like Lehigh, they raise witches meant to be connected to nature so the first thirty, forty years are all spent getting to know the Earth Goddess. They figure if we know the name of every plant, every seed and sapling and the way the water talks then when it comes time to use it with magic, we’re a step ahead.”

“Not a bad theory.” Tony loafed out next to the witch, tucking his paws under his body and his tail in close to his side. “So you weren’t only young, you barely knew anything at all.”

“I didn’t know nothin’.” A flash of anger in Bucky’s voice, there and gone before it amounted to much of anything. “Sure didn’t know enough to help when that thing came outta the water and killed everyone I knew. Didn’t know enough to figure out why Alexander hated us enough to kill us. Dunno why--”

Softer, “Dunno why I survived.”

“Bucky--”

“Should’ve been swept into the sea right along with my home.” the witch finished in a broken whisper. “Stead’a wandering around for seventy years fuckin’ useless.”

“You’re not useless, you feed me, don’t you?” Tony twitched his whiskers and tried to make his witch smile. “In your dreams, why glass?”

“Sometimes it’s easier to see what’s out there than to close my eyes and pretend I can’t hear it coming to get me.” Bucky finally shifted over towards Tony and the cat immediately met him halfway, leaning in so he was tucked to the witch’s side. “Cos I already know, you know? I already know what’s coming, and it scares me every time but it’d be worse if I didn’t look.”

Tony was quiet for a few beats. “You think you’re saving yourself by walling out the nightmares but really you’re just walling yourself in.”

“Huh?”

“Your dream box.” Tony said softly. “It keeps the bad things out until it doesn’t, but then in the scary moments it keeps you trapped. You need a door.”

“If there’s a door then all the scary things can get in too.” Bucky sounded like he might cry again, hopeless and angry and Tony meow-ed at him comfortingly.

“Make it an escape hatch. A secret tunnel. A bat cave.” Bucky’s brow scrunched down and Tony clarified, “I forget you don’t know the same people I do. The familiar Bruce is a bat in animal form, and he’s freaky as hell but he’s got the coolest house I’ve ever seen.”

“Tony--”

“We call it the bat cave, cos the guy is batty.” the familiar explained, and waggled kitty-brows at the witch. “Get it?”

“You tell bad jokes.” Bucky reached over with his right hand to scratch behind Tony’s ears. “An escape hatch, huh?”

“Just one that you know about.” Tony promised. “You and um-- maybe me. Just in case.”

“Just in case.” the witch finally smiled a little bit and the familiar climbed into his lap, then stood on hind legs to boop their noses. “What was that for?”

“I’m glad you didn’t get swept away with everything else in Lehigh.” Tony said slowly, carefully, the act of being honest about his feelings something he wasn’t particularly used to. “Cos you know, cats hate water. It ruins my hair.”

“Of course it does.” Bucky scooped Tony up in his arm and pressed his face into all that fur. “Thank you for saving me, Tony.”

...and as they sat there in the sunshine, a little piece of Tony felt saved too.

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

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER

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

@itsdisapointmentasmrworld @luvstruckscum @thanossucks @nanita90a @firelightmystic @ravynfyre @i-am-worth-it-25 @theshipinspector @vampiregirl1797 @dayzor @schalabi422 @yomama-umbridge @i-am-worth-it-25 @bookbutterfly1999 @thanossucks @flamesburnonthemountainside @endrega23 @daddieslittlefangirl

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @1fuckingshitup69 @agentlokii @livewire28 @tulipsnbigcats @kimstark @alex-stark-rogers @bibbarnes @heeeyitskay @goindownshipping

#ncts fics #winteriron #tony stark #bucky barnes

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babyybitchhh · 4 years

Text

Thotty Thursday: Part 2

The second installment of Thotty Thursday is upon us. Rejoice, heathens!

Now, let me just say that I’m picking dudes at random while trying to keep things balanced between old shows and new ones but ... y’all really bout to notice some patterns the more we do this so I’m just gonna wait for someone to call me out tbh. 😰

FYI, I like to think of myself as an equal opportunist thirster and if a dude is hot then he’s hot. I’m not one to question this shit. But when you get right down to it I have like four types: high IQ smarty pants, dummy thicc, dad and bad boy bastard. Our next snack belongs in the last category, without question.

He’s honestly prettier than me and that is not an exaggeration but don’t let his good looks fool you

This Arabian Nights styled dime piece has a mean streak a mile wide. Because of Reasons, ofc, but that don’t change the facts

Not only did he once punch a child in the face for no other reason than to assert his dominance (fact) he also pretended to cry in front of the person he hates most just to laugh about how they fell for his (flawlessly executed) act

He honestly may or may not have a few screws loose but that’s part of the appeal, you see. It adds a dash of spice to the meal

And you know what they say about crazy bitches in bed 😏

Full disclosure, I started reading Magi: Labyrinth of Magic before the anime aired and his name was originally translated as Judal so that’s what he’s always going to be in my mind. The official translation is Judar, and I respect that, but at the end of the day I do not know her

Judar who?

Can I also just take a moment to point out that gloriously long, thick braid he’s sporting tho

This man has hair for days and there’s just something I find incredibly attractive about that

I want to take it all down and carefully comb through it, play with it and style it again

Really show him the attention he deserves

If he decided to suffocate me with it, well, I guess I wouldn’t complain about that either

Now, the setting alone had my interest PIQUED right out the gate because I love Middle Eastern inspired aesthetics and I truly don’t think it’s utilized as a setting half as much as it deserves to be. It’s very beautiful imo and the anime team did a pretty good job of capturing that vibe but if I’m being honest I think the manga was better (up to a point)

However there ain’t nothing quite like seeing your man move on screen or hearing his voice with your own two ears and when I say Judal put on a show each time he showed up ... 🥵

I think I can safely say my pussy clenched whenever I got so much as a whiff of him possibly making an appearance, PHEW

He’s just so pretty and mean

My favorite combo tbh

“But why do you like mean boys so much 🤔?” You ponder aloud and my answer to that is “I don’t know. I just do.”

Judal gets my kitty purring for a variety of reasons but the biggest is probably that I can’t look at him without imagining myself as his feisty little slave girl, wearing nothing but sheer silk and delicate gold chains, completely at his mercy ...

Oops, did I say that out loud? 😳

I mean, can you really blame me when he’s running around in those baggy harem pants though?? Can you really???

So the first thing you probably thought was: damn. This guy kinda dressed like a thot 👀

And you’re not wrong

Does he HAVE to dress like that? Strictly speaking, no. But I am definitely not complaining about his fashion choices

His titties are so close to popping out of that tiny little shirt that we’d be getting nip slips left, right and center if he had any more meat on his bones than that and trust me when I say he did that shit on purpose

This boy is SUCH a fucking tease and he loves the attention it gets him - first and foremost because he’s used to being the CENTER of attention but we’ll get more into that a little bit later

Hes just a tad 👌 narcissistic, loves to show off, definitely bipolar and is in a constant state of feeling himself so he’s hitting all his marks as far as I’m concerned

In short, he’s perpetually oozing big dick fuck boy energy and I live for it

That’s why he’s always showing up with that stank ass attitude, he knows damn well he can pull the baddest bitch around AND her man too

He’d fuck you and your boyfriend at the same time just to prove a point, that’s actually how petty he is

Honestly though I’d like to see ANYbody maintain their resolve when he’s laying on the charm and Judal’s just cruel enough to do it for shits and giggles

Probably wakes up in the middle of his sprawling imperial bed at two in the afternoon and says something like “damn, I need a little pick me up today” and then proceeds to manipulate and harass his lucky unfortunate victim of choice

He’s relentless too and will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants, even if that means breaking you in the process

Again, I like the challenge he represents

But also I just like a man who can make me cry 🤷‍♀️

And I don’t doubt he absolutely would. Tears probably turn him on tbh and I’m positive he’s got a bit of a yandere streak too

Are y’all seeing those patterns yet??

So did you guys notice that wand he keeps twirling around like a goddamn baton?

He’s a magic user, or in this case a magi which means he’s literally at the top of the food chain in this universe

He’s special special

Every ounce of confidence he has is rightfully deserved and even tho he’s not the strongest per say, he IS extremely powerful and his destiny as a magi is to influence the world

THE WHOLE ASS WORLD YA’LL

That’s why he’s got such a big fucking ego

I promise these aren’t major spoilers, so you don’t have to worry about that

When he was still a (too precious for words) child, he was abducted by an evil cult so that they could manipulate him and use his powers to influence shit in a bad way. The exact details of what they did to him are hazy, but based on the snippets we did get it seems like they basically put Judal on a pedestal and raised him as if he were some kind of god or a king

I’m talking waiting on him hand and foot, giving him whatever he wanted, essentially worshiping him and using persuasive mind control magic to convince him that he’s the best thing to happen since sliced bread

And it worked

Can you tell exactly how fucked up this kid is right now

Keep in mind here that I’m not saying his screwed up personality isn’t the result of some seriously bad mojo

Magi are supposed to be what tips the scales of fate in this setting which, generally, means for the betterment of the world and this whack ass cult pointedly steered him down a path he otherwise would not have gone

But it’s this tragic past of his that really brings the whole package together

He could be a mean pretty boy for no other reason than because he wants to and I’d still drop into a split on his cock

I like mean for the sake of mean too

It’s just that knowing what made him the way he is gives us the perfect amount of insight to truly feel sympathetic despite all the bad shit he has done and will continue to do

Personally, it makes me want to be the one to show him genuine, tender affection no matter how much he’s initially appalled by the mere suggestion so in a lot of ways it’s similar to how I feel towards Hiei

But that doesn’t mean I want him to change and start being n - 🤢 start being nice - 🤮

He’s perfect just the way he is and there’s just something about big, confident egos that gets me going like little else

And Judal seems to truly believe he’s the greatest gift the world has ever received and he’s not wrong about that imo so yeah he definitely has an attitude problem

But that also means he’s a spoiled brat tho and he’s definitely one of those dudes who needs to be dommed on occasion to really get the full experience 👀

I am not too shy to pin him down and milk his cock for all it’s worth, that is all I’m saying fam

And can I just point out how breathtakingly gorgeous he’d look all flushed and sweaty, whimpering like a needy little bitch in heat while having his prostate relentlessly teased for hours on end?

Goodness, it suddenly got HOT in here, is that just me??? 💦

Ofc the only way that’s gonna happen is if he allows it - which I don’t see being a common occurrence - but that’s why you gotta take advantage of that shit when it does 👀

On the topic of Judal being spoiled, I want to mention that there are actually TWO very different backdrops that I can thot around with him in, and I like that

There’s the fantasy Middle East setting ofc which I personally can’t get enough of

I’m wearing the slave girl Leiah outfit in my mind right now btw

But he also spends a lot of time in this worlds version of ancient China complete with all the dramatic robes and elegant architecture to really set the mood

He has an entire imperial palace on lock and if that doesn’t get you even a little bit horny then idk what to tell you

The royal family for the most part treats him like one of their own despite not being related in any way, if that tells you exactly how much clout he pulls in this setting, and even tho they’re essentially using him for their own gain Judal doesn’t seem to mind it one bit

He likes being at the top and having the freedom to do whatever he wants so if that means doing a little dirty work for the Kou Empire then so be it

And I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be a ride or die on these little errands

Like, just imagine this pretty boy pulling up to you on his flying carpet (that’s not a joke or something I just pulled out of my ass btw) and asking if you want to come back to his crib for some fun

You say yes, because you might be a thirsty slut but you’re certainly not STUPID

And he straight up takes you to a fucking palace

Be honest with me guys, how fast do the panties come off tho?

Be real with me here

This is actually just the plot of Aladdin but with the gender roles reversed 🤣

Fr fr though, A Whole New World plays softly in the back of my mind every time I think about this dude, except it’s much darker and ... explicit 😏

But my point here is that Judal’s got basically everything he could ever possibly want so he really just needs a pretty little concubine at his side to complete the picture

And I dead ass feel like it should be ME

When I say this man could get it ....

OOF

He is TROUBLE in its purest form and I regret nothing about my choice in fictional men

Absolutely nothing

He could honestly fuck me up seven ways to Sunday and I’d thank him for the honor

Spit on me, king. Please. I don’t need nothing else to sustain me

Unless you want to throw some of that choice dick in for free? 👀

Lord have MERCY

#thotty thursday #judal #judal magi #magi labyrinth of magic

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rivalsforlife · 4 years

Note

"Eventually Miles said, “Do you want to know when it happened, when I realized it, or when I came to terms with it?” / “You have three answers?” / “Technically four. Don’t be a hypocrite, you rejected me even though you were in love with me —”" and the rest of the scene if you want to haha, not a lot fits in the ask box :P

Alright!! I’ll do... most of the scene haha, there is one part of the scene I really want to point out, so I’ll once again put this under a keep reading so I don’t take up all this space on people’s dashboards...

Okay!

So basically this part of the scene existed because... I kind of wanted to touch on Miles’ perspective throughout this entire fic as well as a handful of headcanons for Miles and also so that I could fit in a bunch of narumitsu fluff in there somewhere, since my notes for this chapter were pretty much to just shove as much fluff as possible to make up for the rest of it.

In some ways I’m kind of regretting talking about Miles’ perspective because that reduces some of my flexibility for possibly rewriting this fic entirely from Miles’ perspective OR the handful of jumbled scenes that could potentially form a sequel someday... but honestly writing has been like pulling teeth lately so who knows if that will happen at all. Either way I’m sure I’ll be able to get it to work somehow. (Also kind of... directly pointing out what Miles was feeling when it probably would’ve been a better decision to leave it implicit but WHATEVER TOO LATE NOW --)

“When did you fall in love with me?”

Miles didn’t say anything, and Phoenix might have thought he fell asleep again if it weren’t for his breathing. It didn’t line up with what Phoenix had learned from experience, when Miles fell asleep.

Eventually Miles said, “Do you want to know when it happened, when I realized it, or when I came to terms with it?”

“You have three answers?”

when you’re Miles Edgeworth emotions are waaaaay more complicated than they need to be huh. Since this scene was just Dumping Ground For My Headcanons they for the most part tend to line up with what I think most of the time, buuut I might go into more detail a little later.

“Technically four. Don’t be a hypocrite, you rejected me even though you were in love with me —”

Phoenix shushed him by clapping a hand over his mouth, except he missed in the dark and slapped Miles’ nose instead. “Whoops! Sorry. Okay. Give me all four.”

aww see they can laugh about it now like Miles didn’t cry for several hours after the rejection :’)

“I should have guessed,” Miles sighed. He used the hand not currently squished against his side by Phoenix’s entire body to hold Phoenix’s hand, guiding it down from his face and holding it against his chest.

This is me trying to find a way to write affection in a way that isn’t totally awkward... uh so basicallyyyy I am not a very affectionate person and I don’t think Miles is particularly big on physical affection most of the time, so when I write him trying to express affection I typically go for subtler things... like hand-holding and such, because I think even that much would be a pretty big deal for him when it wouldn’t be for some other people.

Pretty much every time in this fic he initiates any form of physical touch (which is pretty often because he is attempting to Court Phoenix (ba dum tshhh)) it’s something that he’s deliberately thought through and deliberately initiated, as opposed to like... Phoenix who does it more unconsciously. (And of course not all of Miles’ initiation of physical affection is strictly romantic, I like to headcanon him making an effort towards platonic physical affection as well towards his friends + found family members... just putting this here to cover my bases so no one thinks every time Miles puts his hand on someone’s shoulder he’s flirting with them haha that’s NOT what I was going for, more that he’s aware that lots of people enjoy physical contact and see that as a way of expressing affection, and he’s trying to get better at expressing affection, and Phoenix happens to be one of those people he is expressing affection to, in both the platonic and romantic sense.)

(That was a very long paragraph for literally one sentence about affection hahahaha...)

“Well, I am fairly sure I had a crush on you in fourth grade.”

“No, you didn’t. I had a crush on you in fourth grade, I changed my whole career for you because of it. You were in love with your law books.”

“I told you I ‘liked’ you and you started talking about girls.”

“O-Okay, sorry I didn’t know about bisexuality when I was nine, give me a break here.”

I waver back and forth on whether Miles had a little baby crush on Phoenix in fourth grade or not, I guess when I wrote this I was feeling that way! Anyways this line is referencing the flashback part of chapter 3:

“Do you like anyone, Miles?”

Miles blinked. “I like you.”

Phoenix’s face reddened. “N-No, I meant like-like. You know, like a girl.”

Miles looked at the ground, and his face was red as well.

this fic would have been over with SO MUCH FASTER if Phoenix actually knew what he meant there --

My interpretation is pretty much always that Phoenix had a little baby crush on Miles in fourth grade, but it wasn’t until he got older that he realized that it was a crush and not just pure idolization -- which was definitely part of it too, and I could probably write thousands of words on how baby Phoenix’s idolization crush on Miles when he was younger shaped some of their interactions throughout the trilogy but I’m not going to get into that now. I thiiink I said in this fic somewhere that Phoenix didn’t realize he was bi until he was in his teens, so baby Phoenix just thought that Miles was His Best Friend Who He Wants To Hang Out With All The Time And Hold Hands With And If Miles Were A Girl Phoenix Would Want To Kiss Him, and at some point adult Phoenix remembers this train of thought and goes “... wait.”

As for Miles, in the universe of this fic he figures out that he’s gay pretty young, probably largely influenced by Larry talking constantly about girls while Miles complains to his father “I don’t know why Larry’s talking about how pretty [girl of the day] is, I think Phoenix has a nicer smile” while Gregory tries to pretend his laughter is him choking on his dinner. And I think Gregory was an excellent father who loved and supported his son, and probably talked about it a bit with him and made sure Miles knew he was always loved and supported no matter what and --

Anyways, there’s that.

The next paragraphs are mostly them talking about the situations where Miles did fall in love with Phoenix (Turnabout Goodbyes) and then realized it (after Farewell, My Turnabout/ when Phoenix fell off the bridge) then kind of... repressed it until post-canon because he didn’t think he was ready yet and they weren’t really in the right place. I don’t have much to say about it because it’s all pretty straightforward stuff...

Then Phoenix deflects Miles asking about when he fell in love, because Phoenix is still struggling a bit with expressing his emotions this way haha. Also because he was in denial for a really long time so he can’t quite pinpoint exact moments aside from “the moment Miles stood up for him during the class trial”, but much like Miles he’s probably had multiple realizations of love throughout his life.

My personal headcanons though is that Phoenix genuinely thought he was just helping out a friend throughout the trilogy... and then sometime during disbarment, possibly during one of those Europe trips, he realizes “oh crap I loved him the whole time”. Obviously in this fic Phoenix doesn’t realize he’s in love with Miles until the cherry blossom petals scene at the end of chapter 4 and then can’t quite articulate that feeling as love rather than more general attraction until the end of chapter 8 after reading Trucy’s note. (Where the last psyche-lock breaks!)

What I DO want to talk about though is this line at the end of the scene:

“It doesn’t matter when I realized it,” Phoenix whispered. “What matters most is that we’re here, together, now.”

No one’s pointed it out so idk if it was too subtle or too obvious that it didn’t need pointing out, but it’s a callback to this line in chapter 4:

Edgeworth stared at him with an unreadable expression, almost curious. “Well, you don’t have to say anything,” he said. “What matters most is that I can be here with you now.”

It’s a very slight difference in the last part of the dialogue, but an important one!!

I had an interesting conversation with my best friend a while ago... long story short her brother was in a relationship for a long time with this one woman then they broke up and now he’s engaged to a different woman, and they dated for a shorter time than the first. And my friend says that she and her family knew that this was a different relationship and that she was “the one” because the way they talked about doing things was different -- more of a “we’re going to do [x]” rather than “she and I are going to do [x]”. This probably isn’t really a real thing so like... don’t use it to judge relationships around you... but I thought it was pretty neat.

So in the conversation in chapter 4, Miles says “What matters most is that I can be here with you now”, which is still like exceptionally romantic, but it still sees the two of them as separate entities -- whereas Phoenix in chapter 9 saying “What matters most is that we’re here, together, now” sort of phrases the two of them as more of a unit. ... not that they’re not still separate entities with their own lives outside of just each other of course but you know. you know. just having some fun with sentences!

Anyways that’s what I really wanted to talk about... I hope you enjoyed!!

#dvd commentary meme #the catch-up game #asks

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ariannjs · 4 years

Text

FAKE HAPPY | A SasuSaku FanFic One Shot

So I recorded a cover for Paramore's "Fake Happy" (full vid here) last week and since my initial plan for #SasuSakuTwitFest2020's Day 2 is not yet finished, I thought of writing this fic connected to the song instead😬

For #SasuSakuTwitFest2020 Day 2: Connected

"You see it's easy when I'm stomping on a beat

But no one sees me when I crawl back underneath."

-Fake Happy by Paramore

Disclaimers:

-I do not own Naruto nor Paramore.

-Situations stated are based on general possible experiences of some people especially during this time, though most are familiar and personal to me also.

Trigger warnings: Anxiety Attack. Depressive thoughts.

Ending in angst is not my purpose for this, it's actually the other way around❤️ but if you think it would not be helpful for you to continue reading this fic at this time due to the trigger warning, it's definitely okay.

However, please do NOT miss the author's note in the end🤗

Much love,

P.S. Here's to the #FewButTrue people that see the signs and reach out to us at just the right time even though we look fine on the outside.

––

It was supposedly her rest day, the one thing that she has looked forward to all throughout her jam packed week. Yet much to her dismay, despite her body being rested, her mind had other plans. Sakura could barely remember the number of times she has thrown her phone on the bed in a span of four hours.

It was a lot to take in.

Earlier today, it was announced that the number of positive cases for the pandemic has skyrocketed in Iwa, yet the council has decided to partly lift the quarantine there, increasing the people’s exposure to the virus as they try to go back to their normal lives before all these. It didn’t make sense.

Few moments later, a short video went viral on Twitter, wherein civilians from Ame flocked in front of their Kage’s Tower to complain about the lack of relief goods distributed for them in the past month. A month! To think that all of the Hidden Villages had been under quarantine for three months now and there were so many people in dire need of supply for their basic needs. It didn’t make sense.

There was also a reliable national media company that was shut down by Kiri’s council, at such a time as this wherein a credible source of news and updates was a need for everyone. Sadly, many employees have lost their job in the process, amidst the uncertainty caused by the pandemic which was the main issue their council should’ve focused on to begin with. Again, it didn’t make sense.

What surprised her was the amount of facebook posts that disclosed irrational killings from members of a huge clan in the Sound, an issue that has been ongoing yet remained an elephant in the room for how many years. It broke her heart seeing the messages of relatives who were screaming for the justice of their murdered family member through typewritten words. Others even had videos of themselves with placards containing their stand on the issue. She couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be to be there right now, what with the virus still lingering around them and the possibility of being shot on the spot just because you wanted to fight for your people. The Sound’s council continued to wash their hands. And yes, it didn’t make any sense at all.

But the last thing that struck her nerve was the decree that Konoha’s council of elders has released a few minutes ago, wherein any form of appeal or complaint by the people – whether via peaceful protest or a mere social media post – could lead to them being suspected as insurgents, which would then result to authorities having the right to detain them without a warrant of arrest.

And just like that, the fact that the entire world was facing a deadly pandemic has gone down the drain. Honestly? Sakura didn’t even know what else makes sense right now.

She screamed against her pillow and continued lying on her bed. Her head hurt. Her eyes were puffy. Her heart was palpitating. And her hands began to shake as she breathed heavily in the confines of her bedroom.

There were pain, frustration, anxiety, fear, anger, guilt, confusion, and so many other emotions bubbling inside her that they started to weigh her down even physically. Besides, it wasn't the first time that Sakura broke down during the twelfth week of quarantine. Everything externally and internally was just too much to bear these days.

She thought it would be nice to return to social media after being away from it for a week, leaving her stuck with the messaging apps that she kept active only because she needed them for work. But she was totally wrong on all levels.

It was nice that she became informed about the latest news, yet she now learned that indeed, too much exposure on social media wasn't helpful for her at all. She needed to take a break, or maybe lots of them.

It took a while before the tension in her body ebbed, and when it did, it was the best feeling in the world.

Still, extensive exhaustion filled Sakura from the inside out, leaving her with no more tears to shed as she sat up after a 14-minute nap. These days, naps kept her going, though they weren't really enough. She was glad the rampage in her brain paused somehow but she wished it could've been like that for hours. Well, it's better than not being able to sleep at all.

Moments later, her eyes widened due to the sudden vibration of her phone. There was an incoming message. And she couldn't help but feel on edge once more as she felt frozen in place.

Please don't let it be my boss. Please don't let it be about my presentation! Or wait, is it mom? Are they okay?

Sure, she could've stopped herself from getting her phone with her now sweaty hands and checking the SMS considering that it was her rest day, but the nagging guilt inside her about saying no to anything asked of her overpowered her senses. And there was also the thought that it could be an emergency, she didn't want anything to fail just because she didn't respond immediately.

With her decision being final, Sakura took three deep breaths before opening the text that she received, yet what she saw on her screen made fresh tears trickle down her face once again.

Sasuke Uchiha:

I'm just here, okay? Let me know if you want me to call you.

Sakura didn’t expect to receive such a heartwarming message at the exact moment she needed it. She hasn’t seen Sasuke ever since Konoha imposed a nationwide quarantine and they haven’t even talked online for weeks, but for him to suddenly message her with such reassurance as if he knew that she needed to hear it, it made her feel like they had no distance between them for months.

She read the message once more, and as she parsed the two sentences like it’s from a language unfamiliar to her, it slowly felt like the dark cloud above her head began dissipating somehow.

A part of her hesitated in responding to him. She didn’t want to sound needy. She didn’t want to be a bother, because for sure, Sasuke also has baggage of his own.

However, she realized that he was not the kind who would ever think of her that way. Never did he look at her with judgmental eyes, only with concerned ones. And that was enough for her to trust that it wasn’t something to be guilty about if she accepted his generous offer of being a listening ear that night.

Sakura didn’t bother typing a message anymore, instead, she scrolled through her contacts and called his number, fingers slightly twitching in nervousness. Because what if he's suddenly busy? What if he's not really interested in what she would say? And what if he would change his mindset about her after whatever she'd be able to share to him tonight?

Her mind was bombarded with tons of "what ifs," but when she heard a gentle "Hello?" on the other line, she was unable to stifle another cry.

"Sakura, how are—?"

Her sobs became a little louder, and she was worried that Sasuke would end up cutting the call.

"It's alright, Sakura. Go on, just release that. I'll stay here."

Yet he surprised her again. She didn't know how many minutes passed by as she just teared up with Sasuke silent on the other line. As her cries kept going, relief slowly entered her system like it was something she had never frlt before. She didn't know she needed to cry with somebody until she called Sasuke. She realized that it was so much different than when she was having a breakdown on her own.

"Are you feeling better somehow?" Sasuke asked when her muffled cries subsided.

"Y-yes. I guess."

"You know you can tell me anything."

She heaved a sigh, nodding her head as if Sasuke would see her. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"Don't thank me yet. What happened?"

And then Sakura told him everything, from the terrifying news that astounded her that afternoon up to the messy details of her hectic week.

She told him about how worried she was for her parents who were in the province, wherein the number of those affected by the virus was increasing day by day. And as much as she wanted to help them with their food supply, she felt helpless that she couldn't do much while she was here in the city.

She also told him about how she felt like she was merely moving in a tiny box instead of flourishing in her profession, how it seemed like she was going nowhere in life despite being at the ripe age of 27.

She mentioned regarding her presentation that she wasn't really happy about, because it wasn't something that she wanted to do. And even though she tried her best in working on it, she already knew that her boss would not even recommend it to be approved.

Speaking of her boss, she also expressed to Sasuke how the mere presence of her boss made her feel so small, like she was a physical representation of a failure. And just thinking about having no choice but to stay in that company, especially considering the pandemic situation, saps her of the little motivation in life that she has left.

Sakura still had a lot to say. But even she could not express and understand them yet. So she just ended her words with the truth that she has never felt so alone until right now.

That's when Sasuke spoke a full statement again other than his cues that he was listening earlier. "I'm so sorry that you are going through all these, Sakura. You're right, things could've been better so you didn't have to end up feeling the way you do right now. But you know that I'm here, right? And it's not even just me. The dobe is there. Also the rest of Rookie 12. Sakura, it may not feel like it but I want you to remember that I'm here. I never left and I never will."

Another stray tear escaped Sakura's eyes. "That means so much to me, Sasuke. That means so much. Thank you."

"Always." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm glad you were able to share all that with me. I hope it was helpful."

For the first time that day, Sakura found the urge to smile. "It was, really. I'm sorry it was too lengthy and messy, though. I...I honestly don't really know how to express everything. My mind's just so clouded right now."

"Hn. It doesn't matter, Sakura. It's okay if it's lengthy and messy, as long as you were able to let it out."

There was just silence after that for Sakura didn’t know what else to say. Even silence with Sasuke was comforting, so she just allowed that comfort to consume her continuously, never wanting it to end.

“Sakura?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re not weak.”

Gasping a bit, Sakura could feel the tears starting to brim her eyes again, but this time, not due to the negativities inside and around her.

Sasuke continued, “You’re not a physical representation of a failure either. You're made for so much more. I’ve seen you succeed in so many things, Sakura. And we all fail, but our failures don’t define us. Your failures or what you think as shortcomings don’t define you at all, you hear me?”

“Y-yeah.” She sniffed and wiped a tear with the back of her hand. “Sasuke, you’re making me cry again!” Sakura slightly giggled amidst her tears, and Sasuke could imagine that if he was beside her, she had probably slapped him hard enough on his arm while saying this.

He let out a chuckle. “Now look at you, you’re already laughing.”

“Your fault.” She huffed playfully.

“Not sorry at all, then.” Sasuke grinned on his own. For him, he didn’t even do much, but for Sakura, it felt like Sasuke had pulled her out of a deep trench by simply being there.

There was one question that lingered in her mind ever since she received his text message. And so she asked him before they even ended the call. “Uhm...Sasuke? How did you know? I mean...why did you message me? How did you get the idea that I wasn’t feeling my best this week?”

Quietness filled the other line for a few seconds. “Intuition, I guess. You’re like that with me also, aren’t you?"

It was true, there were instances before that Sakura was the one who reached out first, as if it was a coincidence that he wasn't at ease with something by the time she talked to him. The only difference was that, during those times, they saw each other often, unlike now.

Sasuke added in a softer voice, "This wasn't the first time, Sakura. Maybe – no – I believe it’s because we’re…”

Realization hit Sakura even though Sasuke didn’t even mention the word. And then she beamed, because honestly, she felt that too. They were connected, and no quarantine could affect that connection that they had.

Sakura muttered with a smile, “I believe that too, Sasuke.”

That night, she was able to sleep with a light feeling for the first time within the week. All thanks to Sasuke for reaching out when she started crawling underneath.

–––

June 2020 (c) AriannJS

–––

Hello. I don't know what this fic made you feel. But if you've made it this far, thank you. I'm proud of you, not only for reaching the end of this fic but also for surviving up until now❤️

I know it hasn't been the best time in the world, literally, but it is my desire and prayer to hopefully bring a bit of comfort to you guys while or after you read my works.

Here, Sakura had the assurance that Sasuke is there for her. For us, it's really amazing if we have a few trusted friends like that whom we could open up to, but sadly, some of us probably don't have anyone we're comfortable to confide with at all. But can I encourage you with this?🤗

Maybe your friends are busy. Or maybe your trust has been broken by so many people that you find it so difficult to open up now, but you also know full well that you kinda need a Sasuke to your Sakura especially these days. So let me share this with you...

"Cast (throw) all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 ❤️

Here's a thing, God loves you and cares for you so much, and that's the reason why you could throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him. He will listen. He always does, even when at times it doesn't feel like it. And whatever it is that you would tell Him, it wouldn't change the fact that He loves you just the same🥰 So go, throw it all to Him now, I pray that you personally experience the peace that transcends all understanding once you do so❤️

On the other hand, I know some of us have diagnosed conditions and the situations around us are definitely not helping us recover further mentally. I'm not an expert but I really hope we could help one another during this time so here are a few reminders:

If you have medications, take them regularly and make it a priority. If needed, it's even better that you restock early regardless of the quarantine status in your place. I actually almost forgot taking my meds twice this week! Hahahuhu. But thank God I was working on this fic in the middle of the night so I still got to take it before sleeping😅

Make sure to take breaks even short ones within the day, especially during work days. Take a nap. Play an instrument. Eat. Read fics. Watch an episode of an animé. Anything that would fill your tank so you could be pumped up somehow as the day continues.

Lastly, don't hesitate to seek help from your trusted friends. Please, don't. You are loved. You are not a bother. You are worth listening to. You are valuable. You are made for so much more.

I may be a stranger but you can also contact me if you need someone to talk to🤗 I have the same username on IG and Twitter too! Sorry this was such a long author's note, but yeah, let's keep fighting one day at a time, alright?✊🏻

And if indeed you have a diagnosed mental condition, here's what my doctor has told me this week, you are not weak. Your condition is a part of you, but it is NOT all of you😭❤️

Thank you for dropping by. God bless!

-A

#SasuSakuTwitFest2020 #sasusaku #ss fanfics #sasusaku fanfics #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #ariannjfics

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typicalfictosexualfangirl · 4 years

Text

dare-out (bnha one-shot; shinso x todoroki x mina x f!reader)

a/n: idk this idea just got into my head and yeah i really wanted to write it, i’m gonna use first person pronoun for the reader bcus that’s how i roll, and don’t question the way i write HAHAHA

summary: four people out to do some dares !!

Shoto, Hitoshi and I were lazing on the couch, just some casual netflix and chill while Mina was taking her own sweet time dolling up.

Well, in actual fact, it was only Hitoshi and I watching Lucifer that was playing on the television as his head laid on my lap.

Shoto was leaning against my shoulder, eyes glued to his phone, probably scrolling through Instagram or something. The three of us had bought him a smartphone his last birthday and yeah, we kinda convinced him to download social media so we could tag him in pictures and create a group chat where we share posts of memes and drop not-so-subtle hints of gifts that we wish someone would get for us.

Shoto adjusted himself on my right, shifting his butt further from me so that he was now lying on my lap too.

I sighed, realising that we have waited for Mina for almost 2 hours. “Babe, are you almost done yet?” I yelled from my place on the sofa, struggling not to move too much and ruining the comfortable positions of my two boyfriends.

“Yes!” she staggered down the stairs.

“Finally,” Hitoshi heaved, sitting up. The three of us turned to look at her, to find out the outfit that had wasted all of our times.

She had on a pale blue long-sleeved crop top that showed off her navel piercing that was of a breathtaking amethyst, a grey skater skirt that stopped mid-thigh, and furry ugg boots.

She spun one round for us to take in her entire outfit, “What do yall think?”

“I think,” I paused for impact, “that did not have to take a full one and a half hour,” I finished my sentence, smirking at her.

She pouted, “Bitch.”

“Now that everyone’s ready, can we go and get some food already?” Hitoshi complained.

“In due time,” I turned to him, pecking him on the lips, “but before that, let’s play a dare game.”

This time, Shoto spoke up, “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Aw, it’ll be fun!”

“Yeah, it does sound fun!” Mina exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me from behind the couch.

“So, we will split into two teams, the ladies versus the gentlemen, and the game will last until dinner time,” I explained the basic rules of the game, “the team that gives in on the most number of dares will have to do the other team a favour, deal?”

Knowing that they can never say ‘no’ to us, both Shoto and Hitoshi sighed in defeat.

“The boys can start,” I suggested, looking up at Mina who gave a nod in agreement.

“Okay, we’ll start with..” Hitoshi trailed of deep in thought, “[Y/N], wash your hands in the toilet bowl,” he smirked at me, the rest of our jaws dropping.

After processing the information, I caught myself and smirked back at him, “Easy.”

The four of us headed to the bathroom as I plunged my hands into the toilet bowl, Mina flushing it for me.

Once I lifted it from the water, I started spraying the water at Hitoshi.

“Oh no, you don’t, get away from me!” Hitoshi screamed as I chased him around the house.

Shoto helped me blocked his way, restraining him with a hug to prevent him from running any further as I happily wiped my hands clean on his shirt.

I thanked Shoto while Hitoshi muttered, upset, “I hate you.”

“I love you too,” Shoto smiled at him.

Mina kept her phone away and spoke up, “Okay, Sho, I dare you to order every single thing on the menu at McDonald’s.”

Shoto grinned at the sound of that, whipping out a credit card from nowhere that was very much Endeavour’s, “I can do that.”

“How has he not terminated that card already?” I questioned.

Shoto shrugged, “Probably because he’s willing to go to great extents to make up to us and patch the family back together.”

“Well, whatever. Let’s all go get some food, I’m starving,” Mina whined, shoving us all out the door.

“Says the one who made us wait for 2 whole hours,” Hitoshi stated, earning him a slap on his upper arm. “Ouch,” he rubbed the spot he was hit.

“Guys, stop the domestic abuse and pick up your pace,” I joked.

“You’re the one who abuses us the most,” both Hitoshi and Mina retorted.

I cowered into Shoto’s side. “Sho, they’re bullying me,” I pouted, causing Shoto to let out a chuckle and he patted my hair.

Buying out the entire menu was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We ended up having an eating competition, that was a draw between Mina and I, and quite a bit of leftover food that we did not touch.

We decided to pull pranks on people with it by immediately serving the food to them as soon as they told the counter their order. There was also one time where a little boy was tugging on his mother’s sleeve, pestering her about wanting to eat what we had, so Mina just went up and dropped a paper bag in front of them. It was all in good fun.

Shoto turned to Mina, our last paper bag in hand, “You see that group of guys there? Go sit beside them and chat them up while eating their fries.”

“Sure, but if I get beaten up yall gotta stand up for me okay?” she waved us off, stalking towards them.

We watched as Mina hopped onto the chair beside one of the guys, starting up a conversation and casually eating his fries. Every time she reached for the fries, the guy’s eyes would dart from her face, to her hand, to his fries, and back to her face again when she popped the fry into her mouth and slowly chewed on it. He tried to move the packet of fries away from her but she would somehow find her way back to it and eat them again. It was truly a hilarious sight to watch.

It was only when the group stood up, the rage burning in their eyes that we decided to interfere, afraid that a fight would break out. Shoto gave them the bag of free food as compensation for the fries that Mina ate.

“Well, that was intense,” Hitoshi commented as soon as we got out of the fast food restaurant.

Mina agreed, “It was scary and hot at the same time, I’d say I’d never do it again but we all know I will.”

We all burst out laughing.

“I wanna give a dare now!” I exclaimed, raising a hand. “Sho, Toshi,” I turned to both boys, “we can’t be selfish so it’s time for us to share your bodies with your fans.”

The looks of horror on their faces made me laugh out loud again. They sure did not like physical affection, unless it was from either one of us.

I placed my hands on their shoulders, “The two of you shall provide fanservice by giving free hugs at the central plaza.”

“Without your shirts on,” Mina added as soon as I finished.

I nodded at that suggestion. “You two can pass it up if you are prepared to do us ladies a favour!”

It was then that Hitoshi was motivated to not let the dare get to them, “Never.” He dragged Shoto by the hand and headed for the plaza, “Come on, Sho, we’re not gonna lose today. We’re gonna prove them wrong and show them that we can do this.”

At the plaza, Mina and I were seated at the fountain, holding up the signs we had made for the boys to give hugs to the members of the public. It was a heartwarming sight indeed, people of all ages going up and wrapping their arms around them, the genuine smiles on their faces contagious and attracting a whole lot of attention, brightening the day of those that were here to witness this exchange.

“They would be so much more popular if they were more willing to smile in public like that,” Mina whispered in my ear.

I nodded in agreement but I couldn’t imagine it. They have definitely become more expressive ever since the four of us started dating, but my selfish ass kinda not want anyone else to see the expressions they could make.

“Earth to [Y/N]!,” I heard Mina spoke as she wave a hand in front of my face, breaking my reverie.

I shook the thoughts out of my head, “Sorry, I was just thinking about that large group of schoolgirls before.”

This caused a smirk to form on Mina’s face. “Ooh, girl, you jealous or something?” she nudged me in the side.

“I guess,” I muttered, embarrassed.

“But you were the one who dare them to do this,” her voice was accusing, even though that was the absolute fact.

“I know,” I heaved a sigh.

“Aw, babe, you know you don’t have to be,” she wrapped an arm around me and I leaned my head on her shoulder, “you mean so much more to us than we can express, and even if those two idiots were to dump your stupid ass, just know that I’ll always be here,” she comforted me.

I gave her a smile as thanks and she leaned down to kiss me, a reassurance to tell me that she meant every single word she had just said.

Shoto had his hands on his hips and Hitoshi had his above his knees, both of them were panting hard.

“Whoa, you guys seem like you just came back from a workout or something,” Mina commented on their sweaty and disheveled appearances.

After catching his breath, Hitoshi spoke up, “Damn, that was harsh.”

“[Y/N], you alright?” Shoto asked me gently, coming to sit on my other side.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, other than being jealous of the group of girls back there, she’s good,” Mina explained the situation in my stead.

I shoved her away from me, “Traitor.”

She stuck her tongue out at me in response while Shoto tilted his head slightly in confusion, “But weren’t you the one who suggested we do this?”

“That’s what I said!” Mina huffed.

“That’s why I couldn’t say anything,” my voice was muffled by my hands covering my face.

Hitoshi sat on the now empty spot beside me. “You know there’s no reason for you to,” he pulled me into his side.

“Yeah, to us you’re irreplaceable,” Shoto added, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning on me, “it was all thanks to you that we are who we are today.”

“That’s what I told her!”

I grinned. If anyone asked me what bliss was, I’d tell them it was this moment, but it was not only that, it was all the moments I shared with them, all the memories we made together. Four people of different personalities, backgrounds and lifestyles coming together, and sharing a house together. Sharing a life together.

“I’m so glad you guys are a part of my life.”

a/n: THIS IS NOT THE END, I WILL BE BACK WITH A CONTINUATION, MORE DARES, AND MORE OF THESE FOUR

#BNHA #SHINSO X TODOROKI X MINA X READER #bnha reader insert #bnha fanfiction #heartsuharu fanfiction

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wild3flow3r · 5 years

Photo

Chapter Three

December 7th

“You’ve made us late,” Harry growls as he knocks on this mansion’s front door.

Lorelai rolls her eyes and checks her watch. “We’re four minutes early.”

“If you didn’t take public transportation then we would have been ten minutes early. Just the way I like it.”

“Hey, I want to accompany you on this meeting even less than you want me to, okay? Stop complaining about every small inconvenience you have, put on your big boy pants, and get this meeting over with.”

Harry was meeting a very important client today. If Harry won the case then the company would score their biggest paycheck in years. Bertram thought this meeting was too important for Harry to attend alone, so he sent Lorelai along with him to be his official notetaker. Said that she’d be his assistant for the day, and Lorelai almost threw up at those words. Never would she ever want Harry to be her boss, and thank god he hadn’t been around when Bertram had said that.

An older man opens the door. His eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of booze and cigarette smoke. He was wearing a pair of long johns and a bathrobe with his initials on it. It was only a little past noon and this man was already in such bad shape.

“What do you two want?” The man snaps as he eyes both Harry and Lorelai.

“Mr. Webber, I’m Harry Styles and this is my associate Lorelai Sterling. We work at the law firm Clemens & Son. You hired me last weekend to represent you for your divorce case.” Harry sticks his hand out for the man to shake.

Mr. Webber’s eyes light up as he takes Harry’s hand in his and shakes it vigorously. “Well fucking finally. It’s about time I get a divorce from that bitch.”

Lorelai slightly cringes at the man’s vulgar language about his soon-to-be ex-wife, but nobody notices. He lets Harry pass him into the house before shaking Lorelai’s hand as well and letting her follow Harry. He shuts the front door with a quiet thud and leads them into his dining room.

“Please, take a seat. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He nods at the two of them before heading upstairs. Lorelai hopes he was going to change his clothes and dump a bottle of cologne onto himself.

Lorelai does as told and takes a seat, Harry taking the one next to her. She opens her purse and takes out her notepad and three pens. She tests all of her pens out to make sure they’re working, which they are, and then writes down Mr. Webber’s name at the top of the sheet. Harry watches her the entire time.

“You sure you’re going to get everything written down?”

Lorelai sighs. “I always do.”

Mr. Webber comes down in record time, now wearing a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt. He did put on cologne, but Lorelai thought it made him smell worse than before. His hair was slightly dripping as if he had tossed his head underneath the sink faucet for a second to wash some grease out of his hair. He takes a seat across from Harry and Lorelai.

“Sorry for the wait,” Mr. Webber apologizes, but his voice sounds nothing like it. “You said your name was Styles right?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry nods as he folds his hands together on top of the table.

“You related to a Zachary Styles? He’s a lawyer too. He did some work for my company about a year ago.”

Lorelai watches as Harry’s hands grip onto each other so tight that a vein pops out on his wrist momentarily before taking a deep breath and calming down slightly. “He’s my father,” Harry replies.

“Really? Never mentioned he had a son. Talked about his daughter and grandchildren loads though,” Mr. Webber didn’t seem to notice Harry uncomfortably shifting in his seat, or maybe he did and he just didn’t care.

“We’re not that close,” Harry dismisses the topic, his gaze not wavering from Mr. Webber. “Now we came here to speak of your divorce, yeah?”

At the mention of his divorce, Mr. Webber went into this entire tirade about his terrible soon-to-be ex-wife and about how she had been a bitch the entire three years they had been married and had only used him for his money that lasted for a solid ten minutes. Lorelai ended up writing her grocery list down in this time. She stopped listening to him after the first two minutes of his speech.

“Did you sign a prenup?” Harry asks when Mr. Webber pauses to take a breath.

He glares at Harry. “Of course I bloody didn’t. I regret every day not doing so. Now this whore is going to suck me dry and take every penny that I have to my name.”

Lorelai grits her teeth to stop her from saying anything she shouldn’t to the man. She even sees that Harry was not pleased by Mr. Webber’s word choice by the way his eyebrows raised. He doesn’t let it affect his work though.

“I promise you, Mr. Webber, I will not let that happen to you. She’ll just maybe get a dime from your bank account.”

***

Harry charmed the man in the next hour and a half that their meeting continued. Mr. Webber was so pleased with Harry that he was basically ready to throw stacks of cash at him immediately after he officially hired Clemens & Son to represent him. He left Harry with parting words that made Lorelai want to throw up on his front porch.

“Never get married, you hear me boy? All women do is complain and beg for money. Their mouths should be used for things other than talking, eh?” Mr. Webber began to laugh and shut his front door before Harry even had a chance to reply. Lorelai didn’t even want to look at him to gauge his reaction.

Lorelai walks past the front gate, holding it open long enough for Harry to squeeze through. She wraps her jacket closer to her body to fight off the bone-chilling winds before heading off in the direction of the tube. “See you back at the office,” she ticks over her shoulder in Harry’s direction.

“You’re not seriously going to take the tube back to work when I could drive us both there, are you?” Lorelai can picture him rolling his eyes.

Lorelai stops in her tracks. She turns around slightly to spot Harry standing next to his parked navy blue Bentley. He stares at her expectantly, but also slightly shocked that she was even considering his offer. Maybe if the wind hadn’t been so cold that every time it nipped at her skin she was scared she was going to get frostbite, or maybe even if it didn’t look like it was about to start pouring rain, maybe then she would have kept walking without a reply. It was because she didn’t want to get sick and die, she told herself as she marched over to Harry and his overly expensive car.

“Not scared I’m gonna kidnap ya and murder you anymore?” Harry asks, an evergrowing smirk appearing on his lips.

Lorelai sighs as he opens the passenger side door open for her. “There are worse ways to pass on I guess.”

Lorelai settles into the car seat and immediately buckles herself in. Harry lets out a dramatic sigh after he enters his own side of the car and sees her checking to make sure her seatbelt is properly buckled.

“I’m not going to get us into an accident, Sterling.”

“I will never ever ever trust you with my life, Styles.”

Harry starts his car and drives away from Mr. Webber’s house. He turns the radio on and some classical song leaves the speakers. Lorelai can’t help but to laugh.

He glances over to her momentarily before focusing back on the road, his eyebrows frowning on the top of his head. “What are you laughing about?”

“I just didn’t peg you as the Mozart type,” Lorelai says through her giggles.

“And what did you peg me as?”

“Honestly? I thought you just sat in silence every time you drove anywhere. You’re absolutely boring like that.”

Harry scoffs. “I am not boring. And it’s Bach by the way. This is The Well Tempered Clavier. Classical music is supposed to help you focus and get in the correct working mindset.”

Harry stops at a red light and looks over to her just in time to see her roll her eyes. “You’re basically like a stuffy old man who thinks making his aid cry is the funniest thing about his day.”

Harry sits back in his seat, his eyes latching onto hers. “I’m not that terrible of a person.”

“Your job is literally helping to solidify the breaking up of a family.”

“Well I’m not the one who put a crack in it in the first place. And who the hell are you to speak? You help the man who helps solidify the breaking up of families.”

Lorelai's face hardens and she refuses to let her gaze falter. “I’m working here because it was the only job that would hire me. What does it say about you that you chose this path?”

“Who said it wasn’t my only option as well?”

The atmosphere in the car was so tense that you couldn’t even cut through the air with a knife. You would have needed a wrecking ball to break it. They stared at each other until a car behind Harry honked its horn to indicate that the light was green and probably had been for a while. In that time Lorelai noticed the way Harry’s breathing picked up and his face turned into a stone cold mask. He only broke eye contact when the man behind them started calling Harry names out of his window.

“Was it?” Lorelai finally breaks the silence after another few moments of it.

Harry only sighs in response, his body hunching over as soon as he let the breath out. All of a sudden he looked very tired to Lorelai. There were bags under his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before, and his body looked about ready to tip over and stay down for the rest of eternity. And then in the next second it all disappeared, the true Harry disappeared, and his mask slipped back on and he went back to the same way Lorelai’s always known him.

“What’s it matter to you anyways?”

“It doesn’t,” she replies a little too fast.

“Exactly.”

December 12th

Lorelai longed for a dog. Her seven other siblings, they all wanted children in their early twenties, but Lorelai was nearing her late twenties now and she is just feeling like she is ready enough to take care of her own puppy. The only problem was that her long work hours did not go along with the amount of time a puppy needs attention for, but still she could look at the shelter websites and dream what it would be like to be a dog mother.

Lorelai was smiling at a particularly cute pitbull puppy when Harry exited his office and headed towards her. He eyes her suspiciously over her desk, and even though she would have liked to have frowned at Harry, the puppy was just too cute to keep her from doing so.

“What are you doing?” Harry asks her with an eyebrow raised.

“Work,” Lorelai murmurs in response as she reads over the puppies description. His name was Rufus and he had just turned six weeks old.

“You never smile at the work you’re doing. A lot of frowning and aggravated huffs, yes, but never any smiling. What are you looking at?” Harry leans forward to take a sneaking look at her screen, but with a quick click of a button Lorelai’s screensaver pops up.

“What do you want, Styles?” Now that the picture was gone Lorelai’s frown finally appeared.

“Need you to fax something for me,” he announces as he holds a stack of papers in front of him. “Or actually, a lot of things for me.”

Lorelai rolls her eyes and leans further back into her chair. “I’m not your assistant, remember? You’ll have to get your own to do the work you don’t want to do.”

“It won’t take you that long.”

“If it won’t take me that long, then it won’t take you that long either. My schedule is just as busy as yours. I can’t be doing work that I’m not getting paid to do.”

“Come on, Sterling-”

“No,” Lorelai cuts him off.

“It’s just-”

“I said no, Harry.”

“I’ll return the favor.”

This catches Lorelai’s attention and keeps her from repeating the word she had been so adamant on.

“What type of favor?”

“Anything you want, workwise that is.”

Lorelai bites her bottom lip as she looks up to the ceiling in deep thought. She clicks her pen a few times before she finally nods in agreement. Lorelai stands up, takes the papers from him, and shuffles over to the fax machine a few feet away.

“Well? What is it that you want?” Harry asks, his voice now taking on more of concern that she had agreed so easily to his bribe.

“You’ll see.”

***

Twenty minutes before Clemens & Son closes for the night, Lorelai stands from her desk and heads down the hall to Harry’s office. Bertram left thirty minutes ago, so Lorelai knew for sure that he wouldn’t show up out of nowhere and disturb the conversation she and Harry were about to have.

Harry’s door was already open, but Lorelai knocks on it twice to grab his attention anyways. He glances up from his computer screen, his cell phone pressed against his ear, and he stares at Lorelai warily. He beckons her with two fingers to come in and to sit down at the chair across from his desk and to wait until he was finished with his phone call.

“Sorry, Uncle Xavier, but I’m just too busy with work these next few weeks. Won’t be able to see you until my mum’s Christmas party.” Harry speaks into the cell phone, although Lorelai could tell he was barely listening to the conversation by the way he was clicking the mouse to his computer screen a million times a minute, and even more so now because Lorelai was in the room.

Lorelai can barely make out the voice on the other side of Harry’s call, but she can hear the tone of it and the man on the other side sounds clearly upset. Harry doesn’t seem to care though.

“No, I can’t arrive a few days earlier. I’m way too busy with these case files. Yes, even divorces don’t take a break for the holidays. Listen, I’ll have to call you back, alright? Something's come up. Alright. Yup. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Talk to you soon. Goodbye.” Harry hangs up the phone even though Lorelai was sure the person on the other side was only in the middle of repeating goodbye back to Harry.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Lorelai apologizes as Harry places his cell phone neatly on his desk.

Harry shrugs. “I should be thanking you really. Those conversations usually take up more of my time, but your interruption gave me the perfect exit.” He clicks a few more things on his computer before he turns fully towards Lorelai to give her his full attention. “Now, I assume you want your favor done?”

“You assumed correct,” she announces before handing Harry a file over.

“What is this?” Harry asks as he eyes the file, but makes no move to open it.

“Reasons why you should give me a raise.”

Harry sighs and falls back into his chair. “You’re not due for one.”

“Actually, I’m overdue for it. Should’ve gotten one last winter, but because Bertram decided to hire you instead it was pushed back.”

“You faxing things for me and me giving you a raise do not fall in the same ballpark.”

“You said you owed me any type of favor as long as it was work wise. Well, you’re the head of the financials here, so you would be the person to go to for me to ask for one.”

Harry stares at her in complete silence for about thirty seconds, his green eyes turning harder as the time goes by. Finally he leans forward and opens the file. It listed all of the work Lorelai’s done over the last two years she’s been here, all of the overtime she put in even when she didn’t need to, all of her accomplishments here at Clemens & Son. Lorelai watches Harry as he looks at his file, his eyes glancing over everything. She blushes ever so slightly when she thinks she’s spotted an impressed look in his eyes, but she wills away her embarrassment as much as she can.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Harry finally announces. “I’ll have to take the file home and take a more extensive look. I can’t just give you a raise here and now. It’ll take time for it to process through, and I have to make sure I give you a proper one that’s in the companies budget, but as long as the things you’ve written in this file pan out, then I can probably get you a raise right after the New Year starts.”

Lorelai sits there shocked, unable to properly process Harry’s words. Honestly, she expected him to shun her away immediately, but his words were a promise that he would do what he could. That was enough for her. She stands up and straightens her skirt out, Harry rising just a few moments after her.

“Alright, well, thank you, Mr. Styles.”

Lorelai thinks that maybe his lips are trying to turn up into a smile at the way they wobble slightly, but she also thinks that it might just be a trick on her eyes.

“It’s no problem, Miss Sterling. I’ll let you know of my decision sometime next week.”

Lorelai nods once before exiting the room. As soon as she’s out of eyesight she does a small jig of happiness in the hallway but unbeknownst to her, Harry spotted her dance by a mirror placed in his office and shook his head in amusement. He watches her and she shuffles down the hall with a new pep in her step until she’s reached her desk and was once more out of sight.

Lorelai gathers her coat and grabs her card to clock out. Finally, for once, Lorelai had a pretty good day at her job.

#1dff #cmiyc #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #one direction fanfiction #let me know what you thinkkkk :)

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fuck-customers · 6 years

Text

Angry Woman

This was back when I first got my job, been in it for about a month and it was my first week working school holidays. This was also my first bad experience with a customer/complaint made about me in like two years of customer service jobs.

It had been a looong ass day with 2 holiday groups of 40 kids each coming through so I was tired and grumpy after cleaning up their mess (seriously, why the heck would you let these brats throw popcorn everywhere in a golf course???) Some lady came in about the holiday groups and I was polite with her (treated her like every other customer) even though she walked in pretty grumpy about something and I seriously wanted to put her in her place for taking it out on me.

Now I just wanna explain that where I work we are very understaffed so if I'm working weekdays, I'm there the entire day by myself with no breaks for food, drink, toilet, anything. If I'm hungry I need to bring food or a drink and have that whilst I'm working, if want to go to the toilet I need to wait until there's no one in the course, close up the store and run down the hall to the bathrooms then run back and reopen ASAP because I'm technically not allowed to leave during the day (I know it's fucking horrible, I'm waiting for my eight month mark so I can gtfo without it affecting my CV too badly). So I had basically been running around cleaning up after brats for hours, checking people in to the course and trying to make sure that the holiday groups let smaller groups go past (which is just plain polite).

So this woman comes in after the second group has left and I was in the middle of cleaning the party room after the last group of kids had left. I see her walk in and I'm all bright smiles and "Hey, how can I help you?"

Her: "I'm here for *insert name of holiday program*"

Me: (I had no idea that a third group was coming so my first thought was that she'd arrived late to pick up her kid or something.) "I'm sorry but the group just left, if you hurry you might catch the bus before it leaves?"

Her: "No. I'm with the next group." In a really defensive voice and I figure she's probably worried that they only booked for 2 groups instead of 3.

Me: "Oh, sorry, I wasn't aware that there were three groups coming in, let me just check the bookings real quick."

She follows really closely behind me as I check and confirm it.

Me: "Oh yeah, you guys are in here, sorry it's been a really long day and I'm pretty caffeine deprived, you know?" (I should mention that I use this joke a lot at work and people usually have a little chuckle about it)

Her *getting angry now*: "Well that's not our fault!!!!" In like the bitchiest voice I've ever gotten.

Me *surprised*: "I'm sorry, that was a bad joke, my bad." *she doesn't say anything so I just keep talking and tell her the same thing I told the other group leaders before her* "Okay well, I've got the party room set up for *insert holiday program* today so your kids can hang out in there when they're not in the course. Can I just ask that you keep the kids on that side of the front area so we still have space for other customers to sit and eat or drink if they want and can I also ask that you put the kids into groups of four when they go through the course and that you tell the kids to let other customers play through so they don't get stuck behind the big group?" (just wanna point out, that was the only group that didn't even try to do what I asked, they just put their kids through in one massive line and let them run around the entire course without any supervision, which made us lose regular customers because they couldn't get through the course)

Her *listening to everything I say without interrupting*: "You need to repeat all that to [name]. It's not my job." Then she walks away and sits herself down at a table to wait for her group to arrive.

So basically she ignores me the rest of the time she's here (except for asking if I was the only one working, I said no I'm the only one here if she has a problem I can surely deal with it. She kinda walks away then comes back to offer to buy me a coffee(???) I say no thanks, I'd most likely get in trouble if I send customers out to buy me drinks) and when her group arrives she sends one of the leaders to talk to me and I repeat what I said (same thing I said to all the other groups and the leaders of those groups were all polite and happy to do what I asked) this one is very against what I'm asking for some reason and all the other team leaders are really rude to me and basically ignore me where the others had been friendly and chilled with me while their kids were going through the course.

Cut to a week later and my manager comes in (very rare occurence because, like I said, I'm usually there on my own and only see them for restocking or something). He says that someone made a complaint about me last week and I immediately know it's that one b***h. Apparently I was rude and made very inappropriate jokes...

I tried explaining the situation to my manager and he seemed to believe what I was saying and just told me that I'm too blunt for some people to handle and to be more careful in future. I don't think he actually took the woman seriously but still????? It was my first complaint, the first time a customer had seriously gotten angry with me and instead of trying to talk to me about her problems or whatever she felt like just writing a really long email about me being rude and talking about coffee.

tdlr; grumpy woman with no sense of humour came into my work and found every small thing she could to complain about and got me in trouble literally for making a joke about coffee....

#fuck customers #server problems #submission

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omniversalobservations · 5 years

Text

Some Belated Thoughts on “Avengers: Endgame” and the Multiverse

Spoilers ahead!

Like a lot of people (a whole HELLUVA lot of people), I saw "Avengers: Endgame" on opening weekend ... and really enjoyed it! The movie was a wonderful pay-off for "the most ambitious crossver event" in history, featuring plenty of callbacks and in-jokes which celebrated the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. However, there was one aspect of the storyline that is still nagging at me:

Why did the writers insist on using the term "time travel", when we are clearly dealing with a "multiverse" situation here?

Really, when you think back to how The Ancient One tried to explain the ramifications of removing the Time Stone to the Hulk, she put it in terms of causing an alternate timeline to "materialize" into existence at that exact point in his "past" ... However, they eventually came to the conclusion that returning the stone to that specific moment in time, after Thanos had been dealt with in the "present", would somehow cause that alternate timeline to "disappear" forever (in her demonstration, the "timeline" actually broke apart into dust like so many victims of The Snap!)

However, MY argument would be that this is in fact not what would have occurred ... The "new" timeline where Hulk had taken the Time Stone away from The Ancient One would not cease to exist, but rather continue as its own alternate reality - i.e. separate and distinct from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. That's why nothing the Avengers did could change the future of that primary universe, because their "past" was not the same as the "past" of this universe that they visited via the Quantum Realm (confused yet?).

So, where am I getting the evidence to support such an argument? You guessed it: Back to the Future II!

Now, before you get even more confused, let me say that (despite my previous statement) I actually agree with Scott Lang on this point: BTTF was a bunch of bullshit ... but not quite in the way that he was probably thinking (I delved into the subject in my previous article, "Is Marty McFly The Biggest Douchebag in the Multiverse?").

To quickly summarize, the idea that a "time machine" causes these alternate realities to simply materialize out of thin air (poof, like magic!) is fundamentally flawed ... Instead, we should think of Hank Pym’s creation (and Tony Stark's implementation of said creation) as a device capable of travelling to parallel worlds, allowing its users to "pop in" on another reality that has always existed (just separate from the "main" continuity that our characters have already established). So, for example, when Captain America travels to New Jersey in 1970 in order to retrieve the Space Stone, he's not visiting the "past" that occurred in HIS universe, but rather the "present" of an alternate planet Earth within the multiverse (that just so happens to be exactly the same as the Earth of the 1970s from his reality).

That's why I would have been much happier to see Stark and Banner explain the Quantum Realm as a gateway to alternate universes, i.e. focus on the "space" aspect of "time and space" ... Sure, that probably means the writers would have had to cut the scene where Ant Man becomes a baby/old man and pees his suit (but at three-plus hours, I don't think people would have complained too hard about a little more editing).

Regardless, this gives the Avengers the convenient plot device of having to pick up the Infinity Stones from OTHER realities (not collecting them from specific points in their own past) ... They bring these Stones to the main MCU (again, not affecting the Stones that Thanos had destroyed at the beginning of the film, remember that those are technically "different" Stones), use them to bring everyone that was dusted away back into existence, bada boom bada bing and we're done!

It even gives us an opportunity to "explain away" that problematic final scene with Old Man Steve Rogers ... If we try to view the events of the movie through the lens of time travel, then having Captain America show up off-camera as a geriatric doesn't make sense. The Hulk specifically stated that changes to the past won't affect the future, but if we are to believe that Rogers stayed in 1970 with Agent Carter and ended up living an entire life with her, then that most DEFINITELY changed what happened in the future (unless you want to believe that the husband Peggy mentioned in "The Winter Soldier" was actually Future Steve all along and he always existed in the MCU's past, which just makes my head hurt).

However, if we instead accept as truth that the version of 1970's America where Rogers and Carter reunited was - in fact - an alternate Earth (completely separate from the past depicted in MCU films) then this doesn't defy logic ... He has basically been living on "another planet" with its own version of Peggy Carter (not the one we're familiar with from the first Captain America movie or her television show). They have their dance, get married, grow old together, then Cap uses some previously unknown means to return to his original Earth, where he can pass the torch (or shield, as it were) to Sam Wilson.

Now, that last bit (the "how" in how he was able to travel back to his Earth without appearing inside the machine that was specifically designed to extract travelers from within the Quantum Realm) is the one tricky part ... Maybe he visited that parallel Earth's version of Tony Stark and asked him for help? Either way, it effectively elminiates that paradox of having Rogers travel to "his" past and growing old until he was able to "catch up" with his Avengers teammates in their present (i.e. he simply grew old somewhere else).

So, that's basically the crux of my argument for why the writers of "Endgame" should have had the storyline hinge upon the concept of the multiverse rather than time travel ... But after all that, y'know what really grinds my gears about the whole thing? We have "Spider-Man: Far From Home" set to hit theaters (supposedly the final chapter meant to close out Phase Three of the MCU), and what is the bombshell that Mysterio just casually drops into the conversation?

That's right, the multiverse!

youtube

Yep, there's Nick Fury telling us that a visitor from "another Earth" has arrived in the MCU proper, bringing dire warnings of a "multiverse" torn asunder by the machinations of Thanos' evil schemes. Now, one could argue that this is all a big swerve designed by a master manipulator, paving the way for Mysterio's eventual heel turn in the climax of the film (after all, calling the MCU dimension "Earth-616" flies in the face of established continuity) ... but perhaps Mysterio isn't lying (at least, not about everything).

In the above clip, he insinuates that the dimensional barrier between universes has been weakened by the actions of Thanos, allowing Mysterio to (presumably) leave Earth-833 and visit Peter Parker's Earth through a rip in the fabric of space and time ... This makes sense, when you take into account that a reality-warping Snap was used a grand total of FOUR times in this universe:

Thanos' initial snap at the end of "Infinity War", to wipe out half of all life in the MCU (Earth-199999)

Thanos snapping again at the beginning of "Endgame", to destroy the Stones and avoid the temptation of using them again

Hulk using another set of Stones (each one taken from an alternate Earth within the mulitverse, remember) to bring everyone back

Iron Man snapping at the end of the movie, to destroy Thanos and his army

Again, that's four times where the universe was literally warped and re-arranged on a cosmic scale ... Of COURSE the fabric of space and time is going to be weakened substantially!

So, whether Mysterio is hiding certain aspects of the truth (or he doesn't even fully understand them himself), I'm going to go out on a limb and say that his story about the multiverse is legit ... which just makes me even more disappointed that "Endgame" didn't fully embrace the concept from the beginning.

Nuff said!

#movies #Avengers #Doctor Strange #Spider-Man #Mysterio #time travel #multiverse

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malodorousmalcontent · 5 years

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Sucreabeille Review Part 2

Hey everybody it's that time: the Sucreabeille reviewapalooza is upon us once again. A short explanation: near the beginning of February, Andrea, owner of Sucreabeille, offered me a coupon to explore and review some of her scents. I accepted, and through various circumstances, ended up placing three more orders and coming into ownership of a grand total of 32 33 of her house blends, aaaaall of which I plan to review. Since that's, y'know, a lot of smells, I decided to divide up my reviews into four parts.

This is part two. You can read part one here!

So, without further ado, here's my thoughts on Arsenic; Longest Night; Death Unicorn; Let's Be Bad Guys; Banshee; Here's The Thing: Fuck Everyone; Arya; and You're In A Cult, Call Your Dad.

ARSENIC || Antique lace, gasoline, old books, fresh vanilla bean.

IN THE BOTTLE: Like a strawberry jolly rancher!

ON THE SKIN: Honestly? Still like a strawberry jolly rancher: bright, sour-sweet, mouthwatering candy, though it is accompanied by the occasional whiff of sharp gasoline-like fumes. This is like a brighter, perkier take on genuine gasoline... And, truth be told, i'm not complaining. I really like the smell. It really puts the toxic in intoxicating.

...Get it

Be--because, it's. It's arseni--

Anyways

As it dries down, the vanilla comes out, and it's this bright, rich, foody vanilla that doesn't let this scent darken in the least. At no point do I get the lace or the old books, though, which was a bit of a disappointment: I was sitting there huffing my wrists, trying to convince myself that any smoothness in the scent was the antique lace, that I was catching a whiff of paper or the reserved scent of a hardback cover... But, nope. Toxic jolly rancher, then vanilla.

Lasts for 2-3 hours before it starts to fade.

RATING: 4/5. Docked a point because of the lack of an appearance of half the notes, but even without them, it's a really tasty scent.

LONGEST NIGHT || A big glass of merlot, cinnamon sticks, freshly grated nutmeg, cedarwood, pure honey, frankincense, myrrh, sweet sugar plums.

IN THE BOTTLE: Very faint spiced wine.

ON THE SKIN: This starts out with the merlot and nutmeg/cinnamon conbination at the very forefront, and under it is something that, in my notes, I listed as smelling like a baked good - but it's the combination of the spice with the honey note, i'm absolutely sure. Usually honey is too strong on me and ends up being kinda unpleasant, but it's reigned back here and is actually pretty nice. Underneath it all, real subtle-like, is the same bubblegum smell that Frozen Moon has in spades: the sugar plum. I think the perfume could do without it, but it's faint enough that it doesn't really affect the scent too much.

On the drydown, the spice and honey takes over as the dominant scent - a little disappointing, considering what I said earlier about not liking overpowering honey notes. The merlot is still there, but much lighter, and there's still just the faintest whiff of bubblegummy sugarplum, and... That's basically where it stays. I never get the cedarwood, frankincense, or myrrh.

RATING: 3/5. Doesn't smell bad, but not something i'm in love with, either.

DEATH UNICORN || Fresh cut lavender, black anise, sweet vanilla bean, black pepper crushed under a unicorn’s horn.

IN THE BOTTLE: Anise made sparkly from lavender.

ON THE SKIN: So, for the first, oh, five minutes, I can smell basically everything in this. The anise is at the forefront, gummy and earthy and licorice-y, and the lavender gives it this floral edge, the pepper makes the scent buzz, and... Without looking at the notes, i'm guessing there's vanilla?

*Checks notes*

Yup, dead-on! It's below everything else, but still notable.

Unfortunately, after those first five minutes, basically every note but the anise, amped up by the vanilla, is gone... And I don't like anise. Pure licorice smell. It had some alright sillage, could catch whiffs of it while just going about my regular business, and it was strong and clear on my wrist... But I can't report on longevity - I had to scrub it.

RATING: 2/5 - not only do I just not like the smell of the biggest note in this, but the fact that everything else faded so fast is a bit sad. Maybe I just amp anise?

LET'S BE BAD GUYS || Tobacco/vanilla, gunsmoke, leather, sandalwood.

IN THE BOTTLE: Bright, fresh, new leather.

ON THE SKIN: This one's similar-ish in notes to Khal Drogo, but definitely doesn't smell the same. While KD's leather note was old and worn and velvety, this one is bright, fresh, and new - without going car interior. I think it's the same leather note that this house uses in Belladonna, which almost smells like dark, inky rain to me. It's a really pretty note - if you're familiar with Alkemia's The Raven, it smells like that. The sandalwood is there underneath it, dry and dusty, but it's way more subdued than it is in KD - the leather is definitely the star of this scent.

The rest of the notes, I think, are really well-blended and are there to boost up the leather. The gunsmoke lends it a surprisingly clean smokiness without going BBQ or getting amped to hell, as smoke notes will sometimes do on me (lookin' at you, Alkemia's Smoke and Mirrors and Solstice Scent's Foxcroft). The tobacco/vanilla's there, but it's very subtle, and just gives that leather a tiny swirl of sweetness.

Has some decent sillage - I can just barely detect it from 6-7 inches away - and stays pretty strong and noticible on my skin for a good few hours.

RATING: 4.5/5. Really good leather scent that stays surprisingly clean for the notes it has. Unisex, almost leaning butch - it makes me feel like a badass leather-clad biker lady.

BANSHEE || Burnt sugar; baby powder; nag champa; real ylang ylang; a perfect sunflower; palmarosa; fresh figs; a moonlit night; decadent pomegranate; metallic copper; white musk.

IN THE BOTTLE: Baby powder mostly, perhaps with a tiny bit of the burnt sugar.

ON THE SKIN: Woof, it's burnt sugar and baby powder time!

The burnt sugar is the first thing I smell, and it's the same note from Cream Tea - though it's much more subtle in this, not headache-inducing. Sitting up there at the top with it is the baby powder, which... Look. I'm not super familiar with the smell of baby powder, but this certainly smells like the baby wipes we've got in our house: clean, with a weird slightly bitter aftersmell, and, of course, powdery. Really, really powdery.

This perfume has a lot of notes i'm not super familiar with, so I had to kind've keep my thoughts general on the smell of it. I get the burnt sugar, the baby powder, something kinda earthy-dank, and a floral edge that's sort'a perfumey, not sweet at all. The sweetest thing in this that I can even sort of detect is the fig, which, honestly, ain't that sweet.

When it dries down, the burnt sugar goes away, but the baby powder persists, and there's something giving it a... Almost wheaty, nutty smell? I'm thinking it might be the 'perfect sunflower' note, which might be closer to sunflower seeds. The metallic tang of the copper is also much stronger, gradually overtaking the scent. The floral edge is gone, and i'm still not picking up anything fruity. The last thing I smell is the clean, slightly soapy nature of the everlasting fricken' baby powder.

Starts out strong, but gets sorta light on my skin within two hours. The last thing I smell before it disappears is just a strangely clean scent. ...Prooobably that baby powder.

RATING: 1.7/5. I bought this because it was a weird scent, and, I mean, I got what I expected.

HERE'S THE THING: FUCK EVERYONE || Bourbon, rich chocolate, dark amber, touch of dirt.

IN THE BOTTLE: Chocolate! Imagine that.

ON THE SKIN: So, when I first tried this on before resting, this was chocolate for all of 20 minutes before turning into dirt, and then it just kinda stayed at 'dirt'. Bit of a disappointment. I'm happy to say that after almost two weeks of rest, it's gotten a lot better!

First off, it's staying sweeter for longer, which is great. It reminds me of Hexennacht's Evening Star - powdery chocolate amped up by amber - but, uh, obviously dirtier. There's a teensy bit of a boozy edge, but honestly, if I hadn't seen the word 'bourbon' in my previous notes, I don't think I would have noticed it. Underneath it all: very subtle, dry, dusty dirt - but like, clean dirt. Like if you smelled a handful of dirt that had nothing else in there but dirt. No minerals. No, idk, worm poop. Just dirt.

As it dries down, the dirt overtakes the Sweet Notes, so now it's dry, dusty dirt on top of... Honestly, i'm pretty sure it's the amber - i'm not getting a lot of the chocolate anymore, but the scent is still very rich and sweet in the way that sweet amber can be. The bourbon's come out more, too. Let this one rest, guys! Forreal!

Sillage of 2-3 inches, and it's not light on my skin - nice n clear n easy to find, even on the drydown.

RATING: 4/5. I'm not personally interested in smelling like chocolate - something I learned shortly after ordering this - but it's not a bad scent at all.

ARYA || Peaty oak moss, lemon verbena, frankincense, a double shot of good bourbon, smoky sandalwood.

IN THE BOTTLE: Strong, slightly green lemon.

ON THE SKIN: Unsurprisingly, I amp that lemon verbena to hell and back, as I do most lemon scents, and it just completely overtakes the entire scent. The most that I get out of this from the other notes is a vague, fresh green-ness, which I imagine is from the oakmoss... Or, heck, maybe it's just more of the lemon verbena, since that's, y'know, a plant. Geeze. I was hoping maybe i'd get the other notes on the dry-down, but... Nope. As soon as the lemon starts to fade, the entire scent goes with it.

At the very least, even though it's really one-note on me because lemon is a Cursed Scent with my skin chem, it's a very light, cool, refreshing lemon. Like sniffing a raw lemon with a cold stream nearby. It eventually just becomes the soft, pleasant smell of lightly lemon-scented hand soap.

I... Didn't take any notes on sillage or longevity, because, gosh, i'm so good at what I do. I do recall that I never really smelled it in the air, so, it wears close to the skin, at least.

RATING: 2.5/5. Well. It's a good lemon note. :( Just wish I could get anything else.

YOU'RE IN A CULT, CALL YOUR DAD || Flannel, sedona trees, bergamot tea, snickerdoodle cookies.

IN THE BOTTLE: Snickerdoodles and flannel. The snickerdoodles smell so fricken' good, this is another scent that made me go 'ooooh!' upon first whiff.

ON THE SKIN: Oh, golly gee, this is so frickin' good. My absolute, hand-to-god, favorite scent i've picked up from Suc. Period. Saving the best for last, here.

Starts out with those rich, bright, mouthwatering, buttery, sugary snickerdoodles - but they're not cloying even on their own, though they have the flannel to temper them back as well. And, oh, gosh, that flannel's so good. Nice, fresh, cozy-as-can-be flannel: the flannel of the pajamas you wear on Christmas morning, out in your isolated cabin surrounded by a sunny-but-snowy forest. That kinda cozy.

On the drydown, there's suddenly a small, slightly bitter green note, which I assume is the sedona trees, but mostly it's just smooth-but-tangy bergamot tea, the snickerdoodle sweetness still floating around it. This has good sillage both when wet and dry - I catch whiffs of it often - and it lasts for a good, long time - I'll wear it to work and still smell the tail-end of it 8 and a half hours later.

It reminds me a lot of Sixteen92's Shadow Show, which is another HG scent of mine - not because they smell very much alike, they honestly don't, but because they both give off very similar not-quite-gourmand vibes, which i'm in LOVE with. I could wax poetry about this scent. I could sing ballads about it. It's so good.

RATING: 7/5. Like. Go buy this! Right now!

So, that's part two! Two more parts to go. Next review's gonna be: Liquid Gold, Belladonna, Big Damn Heroes, Cersei, Stay Sexy, Shiny, Margaery, and one scent I haven't chosen 'cause it'll be coming in my next order.

#perfumes #perfume reviews #sucreabeille #arsenic #longest night #death unicorn #let's be bad guys #banshee #here's the thing: fuck everyone #arya #you're in a cult call your dad

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enzap · 6 years

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The Dragon Prince: Episode 1 Review

To immediately address the elephant in the room: Yes, the choppy animation is distracting, the character movements looked stilted, and it almost certainly would have looked better in traditional animation. But since this episode was almost entirely void of action it didn’t affect my experience all that much so that’s the last I’ll be talking about that for this review.

Also, because of the creators’ association with Avatar the Last Airbender, I will be comparing the two. I feel it’s unavoidable. AtLA also is a great example of an animated series done right in nearly every way, so I know I personally end up comparing a lot of shows to it anyway.

I’ve decided to split up my thoughts into things I thought needed work, things I liked, and overall thoughts. I may change up this style for later reviews as the episode demands.

Stuff that Needs Work

This show leans heavily into typical fantasy tropes, like reeeally heavily. Tropes are not bad things inherently, they’re basically a way to quickly communicate an idea with the audience so you can get to your story and not have to worry about setting up characters and setting for hours on end. That being said, the story and characters that are set up by those tropes should feel original. For an example I turn to Avatar. The four nations and the Empire have strong Tolkein-esque feel to them and the superobjectives of the characters are nothing too special; beat the bad guy, get the girl, the usual. Despite this, the approach to these tropes and the themes of the show really set it apart. The unique cultures inspired by real-life, non-European nations. The bending and how it’s incorporated into daily life in creative ways. Each character’s individual journey. The tropes allow you to easily understand the new ideas that the show is presenting so the writers can get away with doing less explaining and more doing.

As of episode 1, The Dragon Prince does very little to add to or subvert the tropes it’s employing. For example, when establishing the sources of magic in the intro, the show introduces “dark magic.” And of course it’s about as generic as possible. It’s obtained by stealing the life force of magical creatures. It’s colored dark purple because of course it is. It was discovered by a middle-aged scary warlock looking dude. I can’t think of a single original idea that you wouldn’t find in any average Saturday morning fantasy cartoon.

Speaking of that intro, it was quite literally one giant exposition dump, and not one that seemed... necessary? Almost everything said seemed like information that could have been sprinkled throughout the first couple of episodes rather than throwing it at the audience all at once. Though seamlessly adding exposition into the dialogue and setting takes a lot of careful planning and skill, so there’s a chance it would have resulted in distracting pauses throughout the episodes. Maybe it’s better we got it out of the way first thing instead, but either way it felt like the first scene of a movie adaptation rather than the intro to a series.

That’s enough complaining about the worldbuilding for now, and since that was the focus of the episode I think I’ll move to talking about the positive apsects.

Stuff I Liked

I didn’t think the characters were particularly groundbreaking, but their introductions were done well enough. Callum is extremely transparent (”Art? Finally, something I’m good at!”) but I am a bit curious about how he ended up in the situation he did and how he’s going to develop from here.

Ezran was already the more compelling of the protagonists to me, even though it seems the show is going to focus more on Callum’s character. The little kid getting into trouble is a bit of a tired cliché, but I want to see him grow into a more worldly young man like Aang from Avatar or Steven from Steven Universe.

I’m not sure how to feel about Rayla yet, but I think the idea of the Moon Shadow Elves is pretty interesting. Even though we haven’t had a real taste of their power yet, the way the show hyped them up leaves a lot of potential for them to impress me next episode. I wish their character designs were a bit more diversified though. if the humans are allowed to have different skin tones and hair colors the same should be true for the elves in my opinion.

The side characters are hit or miss. I got very mixed signals from Lord Viren. He seems like a stereotypical treacherous confidant, but some of his dialogue was also played for jokes so he could go either way. I’ll have to wait and see more of Soren and Claudia. They had my favorite character designs in the episode and some of the most memorable personalities.

I appreciate that the King and one of the main characters are black, which is always nice to see in a fantasy setting. I hope we see even more diversity as the show progresses in both race and other forms of identity.

Overall Thoughts

I’d like to talk about the humor of the show here because I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I think there is potential to the writing style, but King Harrow’s first line being a joke when he’s otherwise depicted as a stern character felt... awkward. The whole episode felt awkward really. That’s typical of a lot of shows trying to find their stride. Still though, given its pedigree I was hoping for some more interesting worldbuilding, visuals, and characters, but it’s always possible those will come later on.

The show has potential to be good, but at this point I don’t think it’s going to gain the title of “great.” It may be too early to tell, but if the show was going to take more risks I would have expected to see them by now, and I’ve watched way too many shows with high expectations throughout a show only to have them let down in the end.

I’ll be back for another review whenever I get around to watching episode 2!

#the dragon prince #tdp #netflix #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #avatar #review #tdp reviews #the dragon prince episode 1

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queer-ii · 6 years

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I Need Advice, Please

Here is my situation;

(TW; racial stuff, rape, molestation, abuse, self harm)

My parents are super racist

This is pretty ironic since only one of my parents is white, and I'm a mixed child. They often say things like "this area has gotten so ghetto" when anyone that isn't white is around. They told me when we moved that they looked for a school that was "predominantly white so you will get better education, and we won't need to worry about the other students' behavior." They even speak about other mixed kids and praise the lighter skinned as "good mixes" while shaming those who inherit darker tones.

My parents are super sexist

They often say things like "you need to marry rich" to me and it's just horrific. Considering they're both women. They'll often slut shame anyone who is open about their sexuality, they justify any actions a guy does to a woman because "guys are more rough." It just pisses me off. I'm honestly too tired to write out all the stupid shit they said here, so I'll just leave you with that.

My family is abusive

They are very big about hitting, beating, throwing down, throwing things, and so on. They were the kind of people that forced me to eat my food from the trash can as a child because I was a picky eater and would try to throw it away--they also threatened to force me to eat my vomit if I ever threw up. I don't think I can recall every belt, broom, mop, or wooden object that has been broken over me, but I can assure you it's a lot. It got to a point where my father sprained my leg and yelled at me for limping on it because it impeded on my ability to continue my chores. I was nine.

There's also the emotional stuff. They'll be cruel to me in so many ways. For example, they would praise my brother--he's the favorite--for things that I do. There's also times like when I was sent to suicide watch, where my mother clung to my arm and made everything about her. My father yelled at me the entire time. They're both manipulative as fuck, for instance they will try to buy my affection and trust, and then the next day throw everything I own away(which they have done numerous times.) They're controlling. I haven't been allowed outside on my own in almost five years. Then there's examples like the most recent time my father kicked me out of the house. They blamed me and claimed I was a runaway, yelling at me for not answering my phone. Right after kicking me out, my father had taken my phone and thrown it down the hallway, away from me. Just to give you an idea of that. And I don't even want to get started on my brother.

My parents are transphobic to nonbinary folk

They equate nonbinary folk to drag queens and girls who like to wear pants. They like to shout about how their existence is fake and a cry for attention. When I came out as nonbinary(which was over four years ago) they ignored it until it was right in their face. Then they yelled at me and did as they always did--push unnecessary arguments that don't make sense and punish me for not being who they wanted as a child. That's an entirely different story, about the time they told me they would have forced me to be female, even if I wasn't born as one.

My parents are transphobic to anyone who is under the age of 20

It's bad enough that they don't respect the fact that I am trans. They disrespect EVERYONE. All of my friends. Kids younger than me. You name them--my parents will ignore it.

My father--WHO IS A TRANS WOMAN--also doesn't like "new age" trans folk for having plans on how to transition(such as when to start horomones after taking blockers for younger kids). For not experiencing the same prejudice--like being forced through shock therapy. For killing themselves over something "so small" when peers push them too far. From what I gather, her mentality is "How DARE you not suffer as much as I did? You haven't earned the right of passage."

I have known I was trans since I was very young. It took me time to know just what it meant, but I have known since I was in elementary school. Yet both of my parents like to remind me that I'm not trans--because I couldn't possibly understand what it means to be trans.

My parents are narcissistic

They really enjoy complaining about everyone else's behavior, and then do the exact fucking thing they were complaining about. My mother brags constantly and acts like everyone around her is a child that doesn't have basic knowledge. My father down plays everyone's achievements--including the fact that I have written over a dozen books while she's only finished one--and says that they will never be good enough.

My parents ignore me and do not respect me

They will ignore nearly everything I have said. They ignore me when I try to show them something important to me. They ignore me when I ask them to stop calling me things like "baby" or "lovies" or even any of the countless insulting nicknames they've come up with for me.

Then there's the bullying. They will sit there and pick apart every detail about me. My hair? Ahh, that looks stupid, let's mock it and laugh! My stomach is visible? Better remind our child to suck it in! Keep in mind with that last example; I'm the skinnest one in my family.

Oh! And then there is the family business. Once, back when I first joined Tumblr and tried to reach out for help after I realized I had been molested and raped for years as a child--it suddenly became the family scandal, and I had to hide in my room for hours because EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Of my relatives was calling to ask why I would ruin his life (I'm not going to say who it was, but know it was a family member). Keep in mind, my account was not open to anything they would have normally seen. No, instead my parents have a list of all of my accounts and passwords. They have access to my original email. And they demand to have the passwords to every other account I've made.

I'm financially under the thumb of my parents

When I turned 18, the funds from my previous work was moved into an account I had access to. However, my mother made sure that HER name was on the account, so I cannot close it without her permission or remove funds without her knowledge. In the time from when I lost my first job to the time I gained access to my bank account, about a thousand dollars went missing. Anyone want to guess where it went?

My parents prevent me from seeking help for my mental problems--and will chastise me for having them

Ever since I can remember I have been punished for crying. I have become more than aquainted with the phrase "You want to cry? I'll give you something to cry about." Except i was almost always crying because of what they'd already done to make me cry. I've had panic attacks regularly since I was seven years old because of them. Fuck, I've had nervous breakdowns increasingly too.

Then there's the time they found out about the years of sexual abuse--which, by the way, I confided in a friend online about, and they learned of it by snooping through my accounts. They sent me to therapy because they thought I was lying and was trying to ruin his life. I was not allowed alone in the room with the therapist. I was barely allowed to talk. All of it was everyone screaming at me and saying things like "you want to ruin him? Send him to prison for the rest of his life? Is that what you want?" Or things like "you want to sue him, right? No? Then he must not have done anything wrong." Think of a ten or eleven year old going through that. I would also like to mention that I contracted a urinary tract infection from it--something commonly caused by not urinating after sex. And they ignored it until I was clawing the skin off my arms from the pain.

Then there is the time I was sent to suicide watch by my former high school. I was punished for being sent there. I was punished for self harming. I was guilt tripped and yelled at for feeling so stressed that I needed to cut--and they ignored me when I asked to seek help because I actually cut when nothing fells real, and only the pain could make me see what was real and what wasn't.

Keep in mind, I am now a legal adult. I was unable to emancipate myself because I have no where to go. I have no money, I have been unable to find a job, and I unfortunately still live with them.

I would also like to bring up that I can't bring charges against them. I can't contact police about any of this. I don't have any proof anymore besides my word against theirs, and even if I did, there are other reasons of why I can't. It will impact how people view trans women. It will impact how people see interracial couples. It will impact how people see two women raising children. Those people who like to think abusive childhoods cause lgbt kids because of how many experience it. With the struggle of people barely accepting the community--if at all--I can't put people through that because of what they did to me. It wouldn't be fair.

What can I do?

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