#but I didn’t expect Alabama

[mando-abs]

I recently just found out England is the roughly the size of the US state of Alabama, and I am inconsolable.

Like imagine, if some group from Alabama comes up to where you live and says “you’re under our jurisdiction now.” Like I think the fuck not

How embarrassing must it be now for the royal monarchy that ultra conservative idiots have more influence over the same amount of land.

#the only thing English history has proven is the audacity #England #uk politics #I was thinking about how the longest carried from south to north England #was like only half of what I did on road-trips to Florida #and then I started thinking about size knowing England isn’t big #but I didn’t expect Alabama #that’s just sad

[mjolnirswriststrap]

SCARED

Neighbor!Bucky Barnes X F!Reader

Word Count: 2,519 ⭐️Masterlist⭐️

Summary: I loosely based this off of a real life event of mine, so if things don’t make sense, ask God 🤣🤣

Warnings: Agegap, neighbor!bucky, adultery, 18+ not quite smut but I don’t want childen reading anything I write 🤷🏻‍♀️ suggestive or not.

Spending the summer with your aunt wasnt something you planned for when school ended. It meant church every Sunday, and Wednesday night. It meant no wifi and being stranded in a strange town on the border of Georgia and Alabama.

You’d never been to Georgia and the possibility of driving to Florida to go to the beach was enough to convince you 5 weeks wasn’t that long. The 10 hour drive there lasted longer than the summer escape.

The first few weeks were exactly what you expected. Church, shopping, eating your aunts famous fried chicken livers, talking on the porch late into the night. On the third Sunday, after church, she informs you that you’re taking a trip to Alabama. Her grandson is coming to spend the week. You both needed to go pick him up from her daughter.

It took 4 hours to get there, napping made it feel like 30 minutes. Your aunt pulled up to a trailer park, and you scan your surroundings. You were even further in the middle of nowhere, then what you were at your aunts house. You always wanted to know the way out. But here, a 2 mile dirt road separates you from the highway you turned off of. You take notice of the neighbors, one had a pool out front, some older ladies floating on pool noodles waved at your aunt, they must know her. The neighbors on the other side of your cousins house weren’t so inviting.

You saw a toddler sitting in the dirt crying. Watching up at his parents flinging spit in each others faces. You avert your gaze when the man flicks his eyes over to you. You know men like that, they’re terrifying and unpredictable. He could walk over to you and start on you just for glancing in his direction. Your aunt ushers you into her daughters house, not wanting you to see the altercation.

You hadn’t seen your cousin since you were a little girl. Now she has a little boy. It was weird. Your family was so large, it was impossible to keep up with everyone. You had many cousins you hadn’t seen since Christmas of ‘06. After a ham sandwich and barbecue chips you were ready to leave, it was more boring here, and your cousin even had cable. You aunt must’ve noticed your boredom, offering a swim in her friends pool out front.

“But I didn’t bring a bathing suit?” You say grinning, knowing you’d go naked if it meant you could swim. “Just wear your bra and I’ll go ask the neighbor if she has some shorts that will fit you.” Your aunt says, swinging open the screen door. You nod your head, quickly braiding your hair to keep it out of your face. You almost lose your spot, twisting knots into your hair when the blonde woman from next door walks in, smiling. “Hey, your aunt said you needed some shorts?”.

You hop up from the couch. “Yes, thank you, I don’t know if we’re even close to the same size but what can it hurt to try?” You give her a soft smile. She looked like a wounded animal. She was way too nice to be getting yelled at like that. You wonder what set him off. But you know better than to ask. “Tanya, your kids crying.” You both look behind her to the open door. The dark haired man was standing there, looking thoroughly disgusted. When his eyes find you again, you have nowhere to hide. “Your aunt says you guys are staying the night.” He informs you, walking away. You furrow your eyebrows, why wouldn’t your aunt tell you that herself?

“She did, James needs a ride into town tomorrow and your aunt couldn’t say no.” She gives you a tight lipped smile. She knows a young girl would rather be spending her summer somewhere else. Once you squeezed into the shorts, you bolted to the pool, with a quick introduction to Sherry and Barb, sisters who owned the park. They were nice, asked you questions and treated you like family. Your aunt must really know them, you had no clue how.

Tanya and your aunt walked across the grass and climbed into the pool. Tanya tightly held onto a bottle of Budweiser, letting you know the night was already starting. You dunk your head, wanting to wash away the sweat from your forehead. When you resurface you see James stomping towards the pool, his shirt missing and motor oil smeared on his chest. “Drinking beer but not watching your kid I wish I could be surprised.” That’s when you notice a little boy in his hands, floaties tightly wrapped around his arms and body. He snatched the brown bottle from her hands, tossing the boy into the pool. “I got shit to do.” He walked away, finishing the beer and throwing the empty bottle to the ground.

After two more hours in the pool, your cousin came out looking for your aunt, leaving you alone with the Tanya and the baby. “Are you happy?” You finally ask, only because you’re truly alone with her. Her eyes well with tears, she shakes her head no. You move across the pool grabbing the boy you’d become acquainted with. You pulled yourself out of the water, not bothering to dry off, but you wrapped the boy in a towel. The sun was setting and it wasn’t warm enough for him to be out here wet. “I’ll be right back.” You give her a firm nod, carrying him in the direction of her house. She just watched helplessly as you turn the corner out of site.

Your heart started beating faster as you walked up to the trailer, knocking on the door. You try to think of what to say as you wait for him to open the door. You hear cursing from the other side before it’s swung open. He stands there for a minute, holding the door open before you realize he’s inviting you in. You step up, still holding onto the toddler. You don’t move from the doormat, afraid of tracking water through the house. “You can lay him down on the couch.” He says, pointing toward the corner of the room. You nod, padding your feet across the cold linoleum. You didn’t even notice the boy fell asleep in your arms, swimming always tuckers out kids. You straighten your back when you feel water droplets sliding down the inside of your thigh, pooling water at your feet.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even dry off before bringing him.” You look at the ground, wondering how you could fix the wet footprints that painted his floor. “I’m not.” He says but you barely catch it. “Huh?” You ask.

“Don’t be sorry, it’s just water honey.” You look up at him, not believing his sincerity. His blue eyes are piercing into yours. “Okay, well I better get back to the pool.” He watches you as you walk out of the door, he doesn’t make room for you to slip past him, causing you to turn your body towards him, he smelled good, you don’t know how. He was covered in black dirt from under the car, and sweat. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt and his tanned skin was so smooth, save for the happy trail growing up his stomach.

He was a lot older than you, more than 15 years, you’d guess. But you couldn’t tell standing this close to him. Your brain forces you out of the door. If you stood there in the tension for a second longer you don’t know what stupid thing would come out of your mouth. When you got back to the pool everyone had rejoined Tanya, even your aunt and cousin were drinking. You escape to your cousins house, changing back into your leggings and putting on your t-shirt. You check on your baby cousin, he’s sleeping in his room, not a worry in the world. You take the chance to spend a minute alone and turn on the tv.

You don’t even care to change the channel, SpongeBob played, lulling you to sleep. You’re awoken by your aunt, handing you the neighbor boy. “Will you watch him for a minute?” You just nod, and she’s out of the house. You peak through the curtain to see blue lights out front. Why are the cops here? You rock the boy to sleep, laying him down beside your cousin in his bed. When you walk outside everyone’s gone. The cops, your aunt, the neighbors. “What the hell.” You say out loud. You go knock on Sherrys door, hoping your aunt was there. But no one answered. Walking across the grass field someone caught your attention. It’s James, yelling at his trailer. “You don’t love me anyways, bitch.” He throws another beer bottle, this one smashes against the siding of the house. “I should’ve never fucked you and let you have my kid.” You stop in your tracks when he turns around, obviously drunk. “Hey.” He says, slowly walking towards you. “Are you okay?” You ask naïve as ever.

“I’m a good person, right?” He asks. You don’t know what to say, not wanting to tip him off that you were shitting your pants right now.

“Yes, you seem like a really good dad.” You’re trying to deescalate. “I am.” His voice is a little louder than it should be. “I don’t doubt it.” You’re still standing in the same spot, too afraid to move. “You’re nice.” He says, smiling widely. You give him one back, he hadn’t done anything to you yet, you weren’t going to give him a reason to.

It was no secret that you were nervous. Your breathing was fast and your eyes kept darting past him. “You don’t have to be scared. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He throws his hands in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He says, stepping closer to you again. “Everyone hurts me. Treats me like I’m not worth anything.” He lets his head hang, and you start to feel guilt building inside of you, this man just needed someone to lean on. “I’m not worthless, right?” He looks up at you with tears in his eyes. You know he’s drunk, but this pain was real.

“You’re worth more than you know.” It was cliche, but a true blanket statement, no one knows their true worth. “Thank you.” He says, wiping his eyes. “I just need someone to hold me for once.” You felt that, you knew exactly what he meant. “Wanna hug?” You offer, knowing that sometimes that’s all people need, church the last three weeks had taught you that. Sometimes a smile and a handshake is all the human contact people get all week.

He just looks at you, expecting you to close the gap between you. So you do, you walk towards him, fear in the form of sweat, still dripping from you. You give him a warm smile as you lay your head on his chest, wrapping your arms around his middle. His hands quickly found your hips, pulling you even closer to him. He squeezed you tightly, and you swear you hear him smell your hair. You try to pull away after an awkward silence falls over the two of you, but he won’t let you go.

“I’m sorry you’re going through stuff man, I am.” You say, patting his shoulder to tell him to let go. You feel his body go rigid against yours so you think he’s crying again. Drunk tears are never ending. “It’s okay.” You wrap your arms around him again, rubbing up and down his bare back. You try to pull away again, this time saying something “Don’t want Tanya to come out here and catch you hugging a stranger, probably best we let go now.”

His silence was a thousand words. Then he spoke, “You can’t do that.” He says lowly. You pull away and try to look at his face. “What are you talking about?” You ask, fear filling you again. He looks into your eyes, letting one of his hands slide down to the curve of your ass. You instantly put your hands on his chest and try to push him away. “You can’t be sweet to me and expect me not to like it.” His voice was different now, desperate. He presses his face into your neck, sloppily kissing up to your jaw.

Your heart is beating out of your chest now, and you stop fighting, not wanting to anger him. “You don’t want to cheat on your wife, you’re just drunk.” You try to break through to him. “You don’t know me.” He says, pulling you towards the back yard. “No I don’t, but you seem like a good man, don’t let a drunken mistake ruin what you’ve built for yourself.” You keep trying to persuade him.

“I wasn’t drunk earlier, when I watched you bend over in my living room, dripping wet. I wanted you then, just didn’t say anything.” He says, pressing you against your cousins house. He breathes in your face, and you smell more than beer on his breath, whiskey was pungently invading your nose. “So what? You like me or something?” You ask, confused on where this was going.

“Something like that.” He says, pressing his lips to yours. You’re shocked, you thought you were gonna be able to talk your way out of it. “This isn’t right.” You stop the kiss, nodding towards his trailer. You look between his eyes and try to find some common sense. “Then why does it feel right?” He grabs your hand, forcing you to cup the hard mass in his pants.

You gasp, you’d never felt one before, your virginity not up for debate, you’d never even had a boyfriend. “See, you like it too.” It’s like he’s trying to convince you. You look between him and the houses, searching for a witness. When you couldn’t find a soul, you stop fighting all together. He feels your body relax and takes it as permission to pull your leggings down. “Hey!” You say, but you guess it was too loud for his liking because he covers your mouth with his hand, looking you dead in the eye while his fingers push past your panties and dip inside of you. “You like being scared little girl?” He pulls his hand away from you, licking his fingers and tasting you.

Him reading you like a book was also a turn on. You stay silent, telling him everything he needs to know. He twist your body, pressing your face into the plastic. “Maybe you like it rough too, huh?” He slaps your bare ass, rubbing the raised red welt to soothe it.

You whimper, you’re going to let him have his way with you. If this was the only eventful thing that happens this summer, then what the hell. Tanya wasn’t happy and neither was he, who were you to interfere with destiny?

#avengers fanfiction #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x y/n #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x reader #neighbor!bucky

[thequeendesi]

Piercings

Title: Piercings

Alt Title: A Wincing Bitch

Warnings: swearing, you used to live in Andalsuia, AL, and work as a body mod artist, ashtray is still alive. Ty. And he’s 14 🫶🏻🫶🏻

Disclaimer; I don’t own you or the euphoria franchise. I just own the fic.

Rating: PG

You hummed to yourself, music playing on the radio. Your body moves on instinct as you set up for your client’s piercing. You lip synced to the lyrics as you moved everything the way you preferred. You moved to the front room as you led back ‘Ashtray’ and his older brother, Fez.

“Alright baby, go ‘head and sit there for me.” You pointed at the chair as you put your gloves on. “You ever gotten a nose piercing before?” You asked him.

“Nah.” He answered. “Alright. So the way I do it is I give you three dots. You can choose from the three dots where you’d prefer it, and if my dots don’t do it, you can.” You said to him.

“Mhm.” He nodded. You grabbed your toothpick and dipped it in the ink. You moved his chin with your index finger and leaned in a little.

“Dot. Dot. Dot.” You said, as you placed a triangle dotting pattern. You handed him your handheld mirror.

“Second dot.” He said. “Alright.” You smiled at him.

“So I know you wanted a hoop. But, I gotta pierce you with the standard post and head.” You said, grabbing the needle. He nodded and leaned back.

“Why no hoop?” Fez spoke up. “Well, standard piercing practice says no hoop for six weeks. Can cause unnecessary damage during the healing process.” You explained.

“Makes sense.” He nodded. “Alright, sugar.” You angled his head and aligned the tube to where your needle will come out. His eyes clenched shut.

“Say ‘when’.” You said, aligning the needle.

“When?” He asked, opening an eye to look at. “Alright.” You shrugged, and pushed the needle through, piercing the boy’s nose. “Ouch.” He seethed, closing his eyes again.

“Oh hush. It didn’t hurt.” You said, pulling the thread through and disconnected the needle.

“How do you know it ain’t hurt?” He asked, a tear involuntarily slipping. “I didn’t feel a thing.” You shrugged, attaching the jewelry to the thread and finishing the piercing process up by screwing on the head.

Fez laughed a little.

“If you wanna laugh, you can get pierced too.” You said, taking off your gloves.

“Bet.” Fez shrugged.

“What?” You said, disposing of the needle, tube and thread into the disposable basket.

“Why not. If my brother can do it, I should too. Support him, or whatever.” He said.

“You sure you just don’t want me in your business?” You asked, spraying disinfectant on your piercing tray.

“Could be that.” He smiled at you.

“Alright.” You said to him.

“Y’all flirting?” Ashtray asked Fez. “Move man.” He said. “Lil’ ma tryna clean and you’re still sittin’ there.” Fez said. “Go look at your piercing baby.” You said, patting his shoulder.

“Your voice got a twang to it. Where you from?” Fez asked.

“Don’t look at me weird when I say it.” You said. “Andalusia.” You said, spraying the chair down and wiping it.

“Where’s that?” The younger asked. “It’s a small-ish town in Alabama.” You answered, setting up for Fez’s piercing.

“Whatcha doing in East Highland, California?” Fez asked. “Wanted to make a name for myself. Didn’t expect to live in Alabama forever.” You shrugged. “You like it here?” He asked another question.

You motioned for him to sit. “Yea. It’s interesting.” You shrugged. “How old are you?” Ashtray asked.

“18.” You said, placing the same amount of dots and similar style on Fez’s nose.

“You just a year younger than me.” Fez said, looking in the mirror you handed him as soon as you did.

“You’re younger than I expected.” You said. “You always wanted to do piercings?”

“Yea.” You nodded. “I’m apprenticing for my tattooing too.” You said. “You makin’ good money?”

“You two ask a lot of questions.” You laughed a little. “This one.” Fez pointed at one.

“I make pretty good money.” You nodded. “You make good money doing whatever it is you do?” You asked him. “You could say that.” Fez said.

You aligned the tube where the needle will come out. “Alright, I gotta question for you.” You said. “You know what a wincing bitch sounds like?” You asked.

“Na-A-Ouch!” Fez winced as you pushed the needle through and discarded the tube as you chased the thread through. “I guess you do.” You shrugged a little and inserted the post and screwed in the head.

“Fuck…”

“Alright boys, listen up.” You took off your gloves and placed your hands on your hips.

“No touching, no nose candy, no swimming.” You said. A warning you tell everyone. “Six weeks to change it out. Please come here before you try it yourself. I’ll even change it for free, so long as you bring or buy the jewelry.” You said, disposing of the needle and thread and tube.

“What if I wanna see you before six weeks is up?” Fez asked, standing up to look at his nose in the mirror.

“Make an appointment, or, ask me on a date.” You looked up at him through your lashes.

“What’s that number?” He asked, giving you his phone to put your number in it. You smiled a little and put your number and name in it.

“I’ll text you date details tonight ma.” He said, putting two crisp hundred dollar bills, and walked out with Ashtray.

#fezco oneshot #euphoria fezco #euphoria fez #euphoria fezco x reader #fezco fluff #fezco x reader #fezco imagine #fezco o'neill #euphoria x reader #euphoria imagine #euphoria fic #des’ writing #des’ guidelist #desi’s oneshot #desi's writings

[fluent-in-lesbianism]

I just found out there’s a religious cult called Church International forming in my hometown, and the cult leader (Robin Bullock) is some greasy guy my mom went to high school with and he’s like some rock musician turned prophet and he’s buying up all the properties in town to make it part of his “church” and he’s telling folks he’s been to heaven like 11 times and that God’s encased in gelatin in heaven and basically spreading QAnon conspiracy theories directly from the pulpit, and the people in the cult are literally giving this man their entire life savings with the biggest donation being over 200K (from a man I’ve known my entire life and who I didn’t expect to listen to bullshit like this)

It’s become such a problem that the town council’s holding special meetings to figure out how to legally stop him but they can’t because he’s buying the property under religious exemptions to make part of his church but he also bought the old mayor’s house that was supposed to be a historical donation to the town but he somehow managed to buy it for his private residence instead

And recently an 82-year-old woman from California traveled all the way to Warrior, Alabama just to join the “church” but they turned her away bc she didn’t have any money to give them so she had to sleep in the parking lot

The story seems to be getting out there more but it’s still considered too small for most folks to worry about since it’s occurring in a super small town in rural Alabama, but the folks here are fearful that it’s gonna turn into another Waco or Jonestown situation:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Birmingham/comments/1284voj/a_cult_has_effectively_taken_over_my_home_town_of/

#I never thought Warrior would have a fucking cult #it'd be almost comical if people weren't give away thousands of dollars to this grifter #but if I get calls to this cult compound Robin I'm gonna be pissed as fuck

[nouies]

hello and welcome to this month’s fic rec featuring my favourite works from what i’ve read during the past weeks. as always, please check tags before reading. if you liked the fics please reblog their posts, leave kudos and write a nice comment. happy reading! rec tag | more rec lists

— harry/louis —  

໑ I See You Shiver With Antici-- (SAY IT, SAY IT) by @homosociallyyours (G, 666, strangers, meet-cute, the rocky horror picture show references) Harry has elaborate costumes planned for each night of the Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings at the indie movie theater downtown. The cute guy taking tickets seems appreciative.

໑ Lazy mornings by @lvinlou (spanish, E, 1.2k, established relationship, pwp, morning sex) Las mañanas perezosas eran definitivamente las favoritas de Louis. El sol ya iluminaba toda la habitación y un nuevo día ya había comenzado para otros, pero no para ellos dos. Y Louis presentía que, a juzgar por la mirada hambrienta del ojiverde y la manera en que apretaba su trasero, no saldrían de la cama en al menos un par de horas más.

໑ always tell the truth by anditsonlyforthebrave / @HARRYSC1NEMA (NR, 5k, acquaintances to lovers, dentist harry, patient louis) Harry is Louis' dentist and getting a wisdom tooth removed shouldn't be the end of the world.

໑ You Were Always Mine by GoldenSunflouervol6 / @sunflouervol6 (E, 6k, enemies to lovers, a/b/o au, blood, injuries) Prompt 45: A/B/O fic where Louis and Harry have a lot of mutual friends but they don’t get along (mostly Louis doesn’t like Harry). One day, Louis turns up on Harry’s doorstep covered in blood and asking for help. (Inspiration: Prompt #126 from the BLFF 2021).

໑ Spaces Between Us, Hold All Our Secrets by Whoopsiedaisiesss / @shining-louist (NR, 6.4k, enemies to lovers, anxiety attacks, mean harry) The one where Louis suffers from anxiety. His rivals with Harry makes this even worse. Until one day he accidentally calls Harry duringone of his panic attacks.

Harry just wants Louis to feel better. He always does.

໑ Leave Like The Summer Breeze by @larringiscaring (E, 6.5k, strangers to lovers, farm au, farmer harry, stranded louis) When Louis and Zayn are stranded in Alabama, a farmer offers them shelter. He just asks for one thing in return.

໑ The Writing on the Wall by @stylinsonwritingpalace (E, 6.7, exes to lovers, teacher louis, author harry) When BookToker Louis receives a gift basket filled with all his favorite sweets, wines, and stuffed animals alongside the new Harry Styles book, he's shocked at the story he finds in the pages.

໑ we can follow the sparks by moon_rose25 / @darkinfinity (M, 6.7, a/b/o au, strangers to lovers, scenting, implied omega drop) “I, uhm, this is gonna sound weird, but my friend is an ER doctor and he kinda taught me what to do in this kind of situation,” the man takes a step closer to Louis, “He said a close presence of an unmated alpha and light scenting should keep an omega from dropping, so I, uh, I can help you.”

or

Louis nearly drops in Harry's bookshop and sparks fly from then on.

�� Muffins & Cigarettes by sweetkalachuchi / @neverforpickles (M, 7.5k, established relationship, rich harry) Louis pouts.

“You can’t pout your way into this, Louis”, Harry said as he was fixing his tie, watch and rings glinting against the soft sunlight filtering through the window.

“Of course, I can. Watch me.”

໑ Please, don’t say you want me by pjinkfleur / @pinapplouis (T, 9.3k, strangers to lovers, a/b/o au, royalty, arranged marriage) Prompt 496: ABO/royalty AU. Where Omega Prince Louis is forced to marry alpha King Harry by his father for the benefit of their kingdom. After the wedding, Harry lets Louis know that he didn’t want a mate and to not expect a relationship from him. Since they are already mated, Harry has to officially reject Louis’s omega to break ties. This practice is so taboo that he doesn’t know the omega has a maximum of a year left to live after rejection. As time goes on, the omega gets weaker and weaker.

໑ Hello, my name is Louis by tedtokat / @tektokatt (M, 9.7k, strangers to lovers, mean harry) Prompt 148: Louis is a scam caller. Now this isn’t exactly the job of his dreams, but it pays well enough for him to continue doing it. Louis is a very anxious person, making it hard for him to talk, so he’s very shy when he inevitably scam calls Harry. Harry ignores the scamming, but after a certain number of calls, he’s had enough. Here ensues mean Harry at the beginning, sensitive Louis who doesn’t know what is going on half of the time, and if the author is up for it, autism-coded Louis too!

໑ is ur mother worried? by @outropeace (E, 12k, acquaintances to lovers, college au, fraternity, himbo harry) In retrospect, Louis should’ve seen it coming. Way before, his ex tried to “spice” their sex lives with a threesome, they simply didn’t work as they should, not just in bed but outside of it too.

From early on in the relationship, it was evident that Leo wished for someone different from Louis, not better or more, just different. And Louis was very aware of this, but Leo was his very first love and no matter if said love was nothing more than a memory, it was difficult to let go.

At the end, Louis didn’t have to do a thing because Leo decided to pull the plug in the worst way possible.

He cheated on Louis with Harry Styles.

໑ we can start a family who will always show love by @lvinlou (spanish, E, 12k, a/b/o au, single mother louis, PE teacher harry) "¿Les gustaría pasar por un helado? Quizás podamos seguir esta charla allí".

Alfa y omega se sumieron en su propia burbuja, concretando el flechazo que sintieron al verse por primera vez. Louis aceptó con un leve sonrojo tiñendo sus mejillas. Ambos adultos se sonrieron, sin reparar en la confusa mirada que les envió el adormilado cachorro, quien durante el viaje a la heladería se preguntó por qué su mami había decidido cambiar repentinamente sus planes habituales de jugar un poco y tomar una siesta junto a él.

Sin embargo, no se quejó cuando frente a él tuvo su helado de fresa y chispas de colores favorito, agradeciendo a su profesor y, ahora, amigo de su mami.

໑ part time soulmates (full time problem) by localopa / @voulezloux (M, 12k, enemies to lovers, a/b/o soulmates au, physical pain) sworn enemies harry and louis are soulmates. everything is going smoothly until the pain hits.

໑ Wait until you're sure by tommilfson / @tommilfson (E, 13k, friends to lovers, a/b/o au, best friends pact) Prompt 465: Louis and Harry are best friends who made a pact. If neither of them has found love by the time they’re 30, then they’ll get married. It was all laughter and fun until Harry realizes they’re celebrating his 30th birthday and in a few months, Louis is gonna be 30 too. So, he struggles to find someone for Louis to avoid being together, but Louis just keeps rejecting all men Harry introduces to him (because he has feeling for him, of course), which really upsets Harry. They argue about that and Louis says something like “wow, it’s that bad to be with me?,” accepting that Harry simply doesn’t feel the same. Louis moves for a couple of months with another friend and Harry has all this time to understand his feelings, realizing that he loves Louis too and wants to be with him. But when he goes to tell him, Louis is already seeing someone else. So what’s Harry gonna do to get Louis back?

໑ Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice by @harriblou (M, 13.4k, enemies to lovers, college au, baseball player harry, physics major louis, arguing) “You’re a fucking brat, you know that,” Harry muttered through clenched teeth, bones already burning with the pure desire and hatred mixing in his body. It was an intoxicating rush of adrenaline and something else that probably came with fucking Louis Tomlinson. He squeezed his neck just a little tighter. “I can’t stand it.”

Their lips were brushing against each other, just moving with the ragged movements of their mouths and harsh breathing.

“You’re a lying piece of shit dickhead,” Louis muttered right back. That was all he did, challenge and nag. He loved to have the last word and Harry let him because he used all his energy to fuck him mindless.

໑ in deep devotion by ifthat / @lovehl (E, 15.6k, friends to lovers, a/b/o au, mistaken identities) “I think the folk here think I’m an Omega,” Harry voices out loud.

His suspicions began shortly after he arrived to Wright. Wherever he goes, this strange behavior follows. That type of treatment reserved for Omegas.

໑ Bend the Rules by @youreyesonlarry (E, 16.8k, friends to lovers, chef harry, video game developer louis) Prompt 588: Lous hires a ‘ghost cooking’ service because his family is worried he’s not eating well and he wants to impress them by showing them what an amazing cook he’s become. The service includes sending a discreet cook to your house and have them get everything ready so that you only serve and take the credit. Problem is, his sisters (can be OCs if that’s more comfortable) get to his flat earlier than planned and the actual cook has to hide in the master bathroom for hours. Louis is mortified. The cook is amused and helps him to clean and well. Gives him a thorough service. Feel free to pick your fave as the cook.

໑ give my heart a holiday by Ashisinlove / @ashisinlove28 (NR, 17k, friends to lovers, university au, bad puns, pining) AU where Louis and someone else both like Harry but Harry obviously likes Louis and is oblivious to the other person with scenes like Harry’s sitting with his legs on the coffee table and the other person wants to walk across and Harry doesn’t see them, so they have to say excuse me, but when Louis wants to cross he doesn’t even have to say anything because Harry sits up, puts his feet down, and gives his undivided attention to Louis.

໑ Wait For Me by cherrygelb / @cherrygelb (E, 17.4k, neighbours, single dad harry, student louis) Moving to a new place always comes with a few challenges. For Harry, it’s trying to start over after his divorce, while still doing his best taking care of his son. Though just like every parent, he is not infallible, so some mistakes are bound to be made, settling into his new role as a single-dad. For his son, Davie, moving means he has to get used to all the changes happening in his life through no fault of his own. Discovering a secret passageway on their new property lets him form an unlikely friendship with the young man and his dog he finds on the other side.

໑ Heart Eyes by @smittenwithlouis (E, 21.5k, enemies to lovers, incubus louis) Harry is a dedicated sentinel with a strong aversion to demons, and Louis is the lovesick incubus who will go to any lengths to win Harry's heart.

໑ Impractical Magic by @crochetsunsets (M, 21.6k, strangers to lovers, curses, witch louis, royal harry) "You're a witch?"

"Yes."

“So all of this–us–it’s all a lie?”

"No."

or Louis and Harry have both been cursed since birth. What happens when they're forced into proximity? Will their curses reign, or will they have their happily ever after?

໑ Death Wish by Speechless / 0__Speechless (E, 22.6k, enemies to lovers, vampire slayer louis, vampire harry, banter) Louis hates vampires, he lives his life trying to kill as many as he can, night after night, year after year.He hates them.Then why the fuck is he kissing one?Again.“I mean it, Harry.” Louis says, into his mouth this time. “You need to get the fuck away from me.”   Based on Prompt 403: If having more chemistry with a villain than with your own boyfriend was a crime, then Louis would be in jail. Or the hero slowly falls in love with the morally grey character AU

໑ There is Thunder in Our Hearts by thecheshirepussycat / @the-cheshire-pussy-cat (E, 39.7k, hellcheer au, acquaintances, cheerleader louis, musician harry) 1986, Hawkins Indiana.

Stoner, nerdy, metalhead Harry Styles sells drugs to the boy of his dreams, seemingly perfect overachiever, head Cheerleader Louis Tomlinson. It wasn't supposed to become a Thing.

OR, a Stranger Things HellCheer au (without all the death)

໑ Define me again by Hazzascul_07 / @hazzascul (M, 54.3k, established relationship, amnesia au, accidents, read tags and author’s notes) His entire life literally flashed in his mind, vision growing more and more weak and he fought unconsciousness. Memories and the picture of Louis lying unconscious in front of him altered and flickered, so rapidly that he felt dizzy with how fast his mind was whirring.

What happens when you die? God he was so, so, so, fucking terrified.

All his senses gave out, last thing he felt was Louis' hand in his and then, everything went black.

໑ the face of love's rage by @outropeace (E, 67k, a/b/o au, royalty au, enemies to lovers, murder, read tags and author’s note) Seven kingdoms, two sinners and one big secret.

— rare pairs / categories —  

໑ In The Dark by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13 (gen, T, 666, haunted house, choose your own character) It’s the dreams.

He’d be fine without the dreams… suggesting things. If he could face all this - whatever this is - with a clear, rested mind.

໑ Crush by @allwaswell16 (louis/niall, T, 1.4k, co-workers, office au) When Niall stops smiling around the office, his co-worker Louis sets out to lift his mood with the help of their office mates.

໑ it's the summer of our love by localopa / @voulezloux (louis/ryan ross, G, 3k, gym bros, sexuality crisis) ryan is in love with his best friend and gym bro, louis. the problem? ryan is straight.

໑ Got My Chaos Automatic by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 (louis/liam/zayn, E, 3.1k, established relationship, canon) The one where Louis comes home from tour feeling exhausted, yet antsy. Luckily, Liam and Zayn are there to put him back together.

໑ softer than satin by cinnamons / @sunbellylou (louis/joel miller, E, 4k, established relationship, pwp) “Wanna go back to bed,” Louis whispered languidly, voice partly muffled by his boyfriend’s lips on his. “Mm, but we just got up, baby,” Joel murmured. Lips touching softly with each syllable. Hands groping the soft flesh around Louis’ hips, kneading at the skin there and feeling his curves.

໑ Feeling Feline by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13 (louis/niall, T, 4877, magical au, animal transformation) “I’m telling you,” drifts through the cracked door, and Louis’ ears prick, twitching with interest. “There’s something wrong with that cat.”

“Have you talked to Liam?” asks another voice, worried. Louis thinks it’s the tall one with curly hair. Taller one. They’re all tall when you’re ten inches high.

“Not medically wrong,” the blond one says. “But I swear, and I know this sounds nuts, but I don’t think he’s a cat?”

໑ lonely in [paris] by f_ckromeoandjuliet / @louiesonlyangel (louis/awsten knight, T, 5.8k, strangers to lovers, canon au, coming out) Summer flings are complicated and healing comes from the strangest places.//Alternate version of Louis's tour where he's in a secret relationship with Awsten Knight from Waterparks. Based on Awsten tweeting at Louis.

໑ if i'm being honest by @disgruntledkittenface (girl direction louis/niall, E, 22.2k, acquaintances to lovers, falling in love, cats)

Niall is perfectly happy in her dating life, always finding a reason to break things off before her relationships get serious. When she finally gets a chance with Harry, her dream girl, their friend Louis makes her promise to give her a real chance. The only problem is that Harry has a cat… and Niall is not a cat person. Instead of running like she usually does, Niall has to figure out how to live with an adorable menace. And when it starts to feel like love, Niall has to decide: Is she ready for the real thing?

Inspired by Must Be Love.

໑ all tumults and feelings by camilevol6 / @svnflouwervol6 (louis/carlos sainz jr, E, 24.4k, strangers to lovers) The search for euphoria in a world that seems to be spinning out of control is perhaps what drove Louis to visit the heart of a city as vibrant as Barcelona. Everything is warm and bright on his holidays, even at night, where he finds solace in desperate lips and comfort in beautiful brown eyes that break his heart by making him realize that he has always been more fond of emerald tones covering the irises of his lovers.

#28th appreciation #1dficvillage #1dsource #hlcreators #hljournal #trackinghome #ficsfor4am #* #*rec

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I would never have expected the inside of this house to look like it does. I expected full-on white & gray decor, but you can never tell. It was built in 2002 in Lowndesboro, Alabama. It has 4bd. 8ba. and is listed for $799,900.

This is the front entrance to the middle building which is the residence. The 2 buildings on the sides have been used as venues for weddings and other events.

So, here we are in the main hall. 

I can’t imagine someone designing something like this- look at the column, or whatever they are, in the middle- it has a niche for a statue. Weird. 

At first, I didn’t notice the railing and thought they just had flowers sticking up all along the stairs.

Here we are in the sitting room. You can never have enough chandeliers or decorative ceilings. Or gold.

Interesting fireplace wall. Looks like some of the little gold cherubs on top must’ve fallen off. 

I’m going to say that this is a ballroom. The mirrors on the walls and ceilings would allow the guests to see themselves dance. 

This would be the dining room. It has wainscoting, an ornate fireplace, wood ceilings accented with gold and some kind of statue with flowers in the corner.

Chandeliers all down the hall.

I don’t understand this- gold ceiling, chandeliers, ornate fireplace, and mismatched cabinets. 

This looks like one of the venue rooms. 

This could’ve been a venue room, but now the house is a residence, so they’ve made it into a very large bedroom. 

Here in the bathroom, they have a laundry area.

The main bd. is very large and has room for an office corner.

The owner is also a harpist. 

This closet is actually a passage way to one of the side buildings. 

This house is very confusing, b/c it’s been a catering business and a residence, so the side buildings look like they’ve been both. 

There’s tons of storage for supplies.

Yet, there’s a bath with a walk-in tub. 

Could this have been a public restroom?

This looks like it may have been a living room.

Maybe a bd. with an exercise area in the corner.

And, here’s a kitchen.

Plus a residential bath that you wouldn’t see in a caterer’s. 

The 22.82 acre property is beautiful. There’s a lot here for less than $800K. 

https://www.bexrealty.com/Alabama/Lowndesboro/3166-Us-Highway-80-E/single-family-home/

#interesting houses #unique houses #unusual houses #houses #house tours #home tour

[billyrayjo]

How Time Flies (Fangs Pt. 2)

An: This is a part 2 to my previous post titled “fangs”!! Been drafting up some ideas for a while now!

Watching Damon hurl your bags into his trunk was not how you expected to spend your morning. Although, you were finding it hard to be disappointed about it.

He had shown up bright and early, scaring you out of your sleep with a pillow to your head. You vaguely remember hearing something along the lines of “I need my sexy sidekick for this one” as you stretched and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

Since it was going to be quite the drive, you had settled with a pair of leggings and a maroon sweatshirt representing your high school mascot as your OOTD. The loose curl your hair still held would suffice for the days plans.

After everything had been loaded into the car, Damon made it a point to speed through your neighborhood at unholy speeds for your departure.

Once you hit the interstate, you rolled your head to the drivers seat to take Damon in. He was wearing his signature leather jacket and had an all-knowing smirk on his face at your glance.

“What? Didn’t get enough of me in your dreams?” he mused, gaze turning to meet yours for a quick moment before going back to the road.

“Actually, I was trying to see if you were always so cocky even this early in the morning. I’d say the answer is yes..” you retorted, rolling your eyes but keeping your gaze on him.

He noticed your continued stare and glanced at you again, this time with a concerned look taking over his features.

“Is it bad, Damon?” you almost whispered, anxiety coursing through you as you pictured the scene you would arrive to in Alabama.

Elena was your friend, and as much as it pained you to suffer in hidden desire, you were still concerned about who she considered the love of her life. If you and Damon couldn’t figure this out, Elena would probably be in worse shape than she was when her parents died, and that brought fears to you far stronger than your annoyance with said lovers’ smutty brother.

At the look on your face, Damon forced a small smile of sympathy and reached over to push a piece of hair behind your ear.

“It’s not the best news, but it will at least bring us closer to finding him.” he muttered, hand landing on the juncture of your shoulder and neck before he pulled it away to playfully land it on your thigh.

“Enough depression. I’d rather not have to put in my Evanescence CD to match the emotions in this car.” he teased, right back to his sarcasm and smirks.

You couldn’t help the laugh you let out as you reached forward and turned up the radio. As the drive continued, you tried not to overthink the fact that Damon’s hand was still, in fact, resting on your thigh.

A couple of hours later, after stopping to inhale a Big Mac at a lone McDonald’s in the middle of nowhere, you felt your eyelids getting heavier as you watched the passing horizon. Deciding you wanted to take a nap, you first started with your head leaned against the window.

After a few minutes of that, your temple smacked directly into the glass as you heard Damon let out a little “oops” before you sat back upright.

Deciding to not let yourself over analyze it, you turned towards Damon and slowly reached out to pinch the sleeve his jacket. His head snapped towards you, an eyebrow raised in question as he tried to figure out what you were doing.

Gently, you tugged at the sleeve until Damon got the hint and brought his arm out for you, leaving it hovered over the center console as he awaited your next move. You gently grabbed his hand and pulled it across the console, wrapping your arms around his singular one and laying your head against his bicep. You tried to fight the blush off of your cheeks when you felt Damon looking down at you.

Anticipating Damon telling you to get off, you kept your eyes closed and a light grip on his arm. When his hand stretched further and rested back on your thigh, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and relaxed further onto his arm.

You awoke to something moving under your head, and groaned as the movement caused your neck to bend awkwardly. “We’re here, (y/n)” being whispered into your ear is what solidified the end of your slumber.

Sitting up, you let your arms rise above your head in a stretch as you tried to blink the blur of sleep out of your eyes.

Slumping back into the seat, you let your eyes close again and a murmur of curses tumble past your lips at the tiredness you felt. Your door being popped open alerted you, and you quickly sat back up and opened your eyes to see Damon standing in the crack, arms held out to you.

“Relax, pretty. We just need to check into the hotel.” Damon whispered, hand coming down to wrap around the wrist of your raised hand. You let him pull you out of the car before following him through the dingy front doors of a run-down looking motel.

“Was I asleep for that long?” you questioned, the bell above you signaling the two of you crossing the threshold. Glancing around the place, it seemed as if you and Damon were the only guests on the premises.

Wrapping an arm over your shoulder with a yawn, Damon ignored your question as he pulled you to the front counter. A short, plump teenager was sitting behind the counter, a small tv screen lit up in front of him.

“Room for two?” He asked, eyes not even moving from the TV. Damon let out a murmur of confirmation, his arm pulling you closer as he drummed his fingers on the countertop.

Letting yourself enjoy the moment, you leaned your head onto his chest and let your eyes fall shut once again. Keeping your arms crossed between you, you were turned entirely towards him with your forehead right at his collarbone. At your movement, Damon slid his arm off of your shoulders enough to allow his hand to grip the back of your neck, his hand sliding under your hair to keep the contact with your skin.

“That’ll be $35 even.” the man at the counter stated, and you heard the ring of a key being placed on the marble before you pulled yourself away from Damon.

Damon pulled out his wallet and threw down some cash before he swiped the key, and pushed you with his chest in the direction of the room. “Thanks man. Breakfast starts at 8? I know I’m going to be starving.” He mused, an obvious smirk on his face as he led you away.

As you both walked, you mentally scolded yourself for being so needy and touchy with Damon. Day by day, he was making you forget that he was a known vampire, and you knew you needed to keep your composure better. ESPECIALLY if you were going to be alone for the next few days…

Walking up to the door marked number 6, Damon inserted the key before kicking open the door. Your thoughts vanished as you took in the room, the single double bed staring back at you. Damon strolled in, threw down his duffel, and plopped down onto the bed.

Right as you were about to enter a nervous breakdown, Damon smirked with his eyes closed and teased, “Don’t worry, pretty girl. I’m an excellent cuddler.”.

You’re doomed..

Tags! @alexawhatstheweathertoday @bitchatemybagel @starved-kitten

#damon salvatore x reader #damon salvatore #the vampire diaries #fluff #comfort #hot as hell

[haruhar-u]

Just your average CEO novel yep definitely

CWs: Alcohol usage, cursing, drawn out suggestive conversation (humorously), one character mentions throwing up but doesn’t actually

Co-written with @chocolate-cat-bread and a friend that doesnt have tumblr

taglist: @edith-is-a-cat @the-banana-0verlord @angelhairpastawithherbs @v-anrouge @twistwonderlanddevotee @ferris-the-wheel @twst-om-lover @xen-blank @whspermy-name @cheezy-moon (lmk if you wish to be added or removed)

definition of chinese words used

Chapter one

The first thing I heard when I woke up was the song “Sweet Home Alabama” blaring loudly from my phone, but in Mandarin, and that was all I needed to throw off the covers and turn off the alarm, cursing my past self for losing a bet with my cousin and ending up with this ringtone. 

I checked the time and sure enough, it was 6:30. I was expected to be at work by 7:00 am.

“Oh shit, I’m gonna be late.” I quickly put my hair up in a messy bun and put on a white dress shirt, a beige plaid vest and a matching pencil skirt.

I hurried down the stairs, nearly tripping while I hastily shoved my socks on. It took all the self-control in me not to string a bunch of curses together that would make even a sailor flustered, as my socks were refusing to cooperate with me.

Once my socks weren’t threatening to slip off my feet, I headed to the kitchen to grab a slice of toasted bread and shove it in my mouth, before grabbing my shoulder bag and heading out the door.

It took me a while to unlock the car door, my head was all over the place after somehow getting the position as the CEO’s assistant. Apparently, the previous one had quit the job, leaving the position open to anyone with experience.

I applied mostly because I had experience in a few of my previous odd jobs, and also so I could finally put that degree to use. During the interview, I may have stumbled over my words quite a bit, and I was sweating profusely that I was pretty sure even the interviewer could tell.

While I was driving, I noticed two elderly people yelling at each other in the middle of the street. There were at least a dozen other cars that were stopped right in front of the arguing old people.

Why are they arguing on the street of all places? I wondered, not even irritated by the fact that I was probably not going to make it on time. More so concerned about the fact that they could get run over if someone wasn’t being careful.

“You BASTARD! I told you to wash the damn dishes, and yet here you are, eating fried donuts! Hiya!” The old lady yelled, yanking the old man by the ear, who held onto the fried donuts for dear life.

“I was going to get these fried donuts for you though, but clearly that doesn’t matter to you!” The old man snapped back.

The old lady looked even more pissed off than before, if that was even possible. “Why didn’t you do the dishes first before getting them, huh?!”

“Because the donuts were 50% off the original price, and it was the last hour before they went back to the original price, lah!” The old man said like it was the obvious thing to do. Chiu could see the logic in that, 50% off was a pretty good deal after all.

The old lady rolled her eyes, most likely used to these kinds of antics. “Fine, but only because 50% off is good deal lah, now come home and do dishes!” She then yanked the old man by the ear away from the street, ignoring his cries of pain.

I blinked, once, twice, processing the unusual yet somehow normal scene. That was… interesting. At least everything was resolved in the end, and fortunately, it didn’t seem like a domestic abuse case or anything, which is not very uncommon, much to the dismay of any normal person.

Traffic carried on as usual, and I managed to arrive at the building with at least ten minutes to spare. Patting down my hair and outfit, I walked in as professionally as I could, trying not to trip over my brand-new heels, while I headed to the front desk.

I immediately noticed a very pretty lady at the front desk, with her dark hair in a high ponytail, wearing a pale pink cardigan over her work attire.

“Oh uh, hi. I’m the CEO’s new uh…assistant.” I said and internally facepalmed myself for my blunder. First day on the job and I couldn’t even talk to my first colleague without stuttering like a fool.

The receptionist smiled, her eyes crinkling along with it. “You must be…ah, Lien Chiu? Nice name, by the way.”

I fidgeted, a bit flustered by the compliment. “Thanks, it’s um…I’m from rural Taiwan, we speak Hokkien there.”

The receptionist lady nods. “Figured as much, your accent gives it away. I’m Hujin, if you couldn’t tell already, I’m the receptionist, and I have to answer a bunch of phone calls and greet visitors and such.”

“Sounds interesting,” I say, trying to be polite. “So uh, where is the CEO’s office?”

“Ah, it’s on the 50th floor. For your sanity, you should take the elevator. About the CEO, he might be a bit busy…but I give you full permission to bother him.” Hujin winks, a mischievous smile on her face.

“Thank you.” I pretended to not notice the scheming grin on the smaller girl’s face.

She spun around in her chair. “Ah, no worries.” Hujin then paused, fixing her gaze on me like a cat. She pursed her lips together, rummaging through her purse before pulling out a pastel, rainbow star hair clip.

“Here,” She said quietly and tenderly, reaching over the desk and tucking the hair clip in my hair, pushing back my curtain bangs. I didn’t even know it was blocking my line of sight until she put it up for me. Why was it so warm all of a sudden? Why was she so close? Is there something wrong with me?

“Oh uh, th-“ I was about to say, but she waved it off.

“No need, now go on and bother my-the uh…CEO. Yeah.”

I nod, ducking my head as my thoughts swirled in my head and my heart raced at incredible speeds. If I had a strange look on my face the entire time I was in the elevator, no one commented.

The CEO had their office on the top floor in the corner. Stepping in, there was a fireplace adorned with various pictures of what seemed to be a family, and a bookshelf filled with books that looked like they were never read. There was a dark oak desk with a laptop placed on it. Behind the desk, there was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. His dark hair was mainly well kept with only a few strands astray. He wore a professional-looking suit. He was slumped over, holding his head up with his hand. He immediately perked up once he saw me. I could feel my heart beating rapidly again, and my breakfast threatening to somersault out of my stomach. I forced it back down, it would be really bad if I threw up right now.

“You must be my new assistant, correct? The last one quit after he went back to America…Oh, I’m Li Haoyu.”

“Yeah um,” I swallowed, trying to get myself to stop panicking. Stay calm, my mind unhelpfully supplied. “My name is uh…Chiu. So, is there anything I can help with? Like, um…paperwork?” I offered, trying not to sound as awkward and wrecked with nerves as I felt.

“I have my schedule in the printer.” He gestured to a fancy black printer against the back wall. “I think there might be some paperwork, I forgot to sign...not sure.”

I went to the printer and checked the inside, and sure enough, there was some unsigned paperwork. I take it out of the printer, find an empty seat and begin to sign the paperwork. It wasn’t much honestly, I just needed to sign using the company’s signature. The signature became less and less clear each time, probably because I was running out of ink.

Haoyu tapped me on the shoulder, interrupting my work, he was carrying a tray with tea on it with one hand. “Do you want a cup?”

“Oh, um, t-thank you so much.” I stammered, a bit flushed and reached out to take a cup of tea from the tray, almost dropping the cup from how shaky my hands were. I went back to signing paperwork, pressing my pen against the paper and frowning when no ink came out.

Haoyu was still there, sipping on his tea with a calm expression on his face. He looked very handsome, no doubt about it. The thought of approaching him, and disturbing him, made me more anxious than I already was.

I eventually sucked up the embarrassment, inching closer to him with the sad, inkless pen in my hand. “Um…excuse me…” I pushed on, despite Haoyu’s look of concern. “Do you have an extra pen or something? I-uh…the pen. Ran out of ink.”

He nodded, rummaged through one of the drawers of his desk and handed me a really expensive pen. “Keep it. Also, what meetings do I have for today?”

I flip through his schedule, trying to find the one that had the present one on it. “You have a meeting with two clients, they own a very wealthy private tech business. It says that they want to buy a license to sell a camera brand owned by this company. It says their names are uh…Yuen Zixuan and Huang Mingze?”

Haoyu let out a sigh. “Those two again?”

Surprise. “Wait, you know them?”

“I went to university with them…”

“Ah, I see. Am I required to come with you for this meeting?” I asked. I probably should have known if it was or not, but I may or may not have skimmed through the job description. So asking stupid questions it is.

“Not required, recommended, though.”  He probably wasn’t judging, yet it still felt like he was staring into my soul. I averted my gaze, looking at the floor, then the wall, then the wooden chair that was very, very interesting. Just so the man wouldn’t stare into my soul and figure out that my left sock had a massive hole where my ankle was.

Even though I wasn’t required, it was recommended, that was basically just another way of saying it was required, at least for overachievers like me. “I’m coming with, then,”

“Can you tell me exactly when this meeting is?”

I handed him the schedule and pointed at the timetable where the meeting takes place. “It’s at 9:30 am, so 2-3 hours or so from now.”

He nodded, “You can do whatever until then.”

“Okay, thanks.” I take a long sip of my tea, emptying the entire cup. ‘Is there…a sink nearby?” I chewed on my lip, wondering if I should even be asking. Maybe they didn’t use sinks, or maybe they had their own dishwasher because only rich people can afford dishwashers.

“Oh… I think in the staff room. Don’t worry about the cup, just leave it on the tray outside and someone will come pick it up to be cleaned.”

“Wait so I don’t have to wash it…? I mean…of course. Uh, sorry about that.” I make my way out of his office and to the staff room in embarrassment.

—-2-3 hours later—

“Hiii!” Mingze says

“Oh, uh, hello. How’s up? I mean life?” I rambled, my body at least five degrees hotter than normal from how nervous I was.

“Is Mr Li late again?” Zixuan asks, glancing down at a watch. He spoke with a Cantonese accent.

I shrug. ‘Probably. Is it normal for him to be late?”

“Yes, especially now that he doesn't have an assistant to wake him up.” Zixuan sighs. “He was notorious for being late in university.”

“Oh god, does that mean I have to be his personal alarm clock,” I grumble. “I did not sign up for this sh-to be a human clock.”

“Assuming you’re his new assistant, yes. Have fun, I was the human alarm clock 8 years ago” He says sarcastically. “Oh. He also tends to forget his wallet and phone often.”

I groan, burying my face in my hands. “So I’m going to have to be his human wallet too…”

“Luckily for you, that’s usually Huijin.” 

“The…pretty receptionist girl?”

“Yes. Don’t ask.” He checks his watch again and impatiently taps his foot.

Haoyu finally shows up 15 minutes later. “My apologies.” He takes a spot at the head of the table after pouring everyone a glass of either water or tea.

I pull the cup of tea closer to me, desperately needing an energy boost after navigating the hell that is buildings with 50 floors. “Apology accepted for now. So um, you said you wanted to buy the license for…this camera?” 

“Surely this could have been done in an email,” Haoyu says in an exasperated tone, rummaging for a piece of paper. 

“Didn’t get much sleep, did we?” Zixuan retorts, rolling his eyes. 

“Can we pretend to be civil for at least five minutes?!” I grumbled, before immediately realizing my mistake. Oh fuck. Is this really how I’m losing my job?

Haoyu clears his throat, using a fist to cover his mouth“Anyway, the licenses.” He hands Zixuan and Mingze two pieces of paper. “Sign here, then write a cheque then they’re yours.”

Mingze immediately grabs a pen and signs both cheques. “Thanks, dude! You’re the best!”

Zixuan elbows Mingze in the ribcage. “Did you seriously not read the fine print? We could be selling our souls for all we know “

“Fine print? Wait uh…oops.” Mingze said sheepishly.

“I understand, you’re not the only one who doesn’t read the fine print,” I admitted. I wasn’t quite sure what possessed me to admit something like that out loud. Maybe I was just really stupid.

Haoyu rose from his seat, “Once you have finished going over the documents please give them to my assistant, I believe this meeting is dismissed.” He was oddly cranky.

“Okay, no need to be a grump,” Mingze said grumpily as he painstakingly read the documents. Sporadically, he would look to Zixuan, who would softly pat his back with a look of affection, and then throw his head into his arms in despair. I watched very concerned as Mingze looked like he was about to rip the documents apart.

“Here, I’ll read them.” Zixuan dragged the documents from Mingze towards himself with a finger. He spent about 5 long minutes reading before signing and pushing them over to me.

“Thank you. Uh, you can go now.” I took the papers, shuffled them in order and then put them in a folder to do later because I didn’t feel like doing it right now.

After finishing all the paperwork, which took a lot longer than it should have because my wrist pain started acting up again. I let out a sigh of relief, flex my wrist and do a quick stretch before checking my cellphone. I had a couple of unread emails that were mostly just junk files and a new...text message?

Li Haoyu: I apologize for my mood earlier, may I invite you to dinner after work with Hujin nd my brother to make up for it?

Lien Chiu: It’s alright :) and sure!

Lien Chiu: Where is the place?

Li Haoyu: It’s a hot pot place best in Shanghai, around 3 blocks down. I usually get a taxi.

Lien Chiu: Oh

Lien Chiu: What time do I arrive there? You said after work, but I would like a specific time, if that’s ok :)

Li Haoyu: Right after, I’ll pick you up from your office.

Lien Chiu: Ok thanks

I turn off my phone and turn on my laptop, where I mark a bunch of emails as read and play some music while I’m at it. 

Later, I hear a knock at my office door. “Miss Lien? Mr Li wanted me to tell you that the taxi is here” An employee called.

“Coming,” I called.

Outside there wasn’t a taxi but a limo instead and Haoyu was outside casually chatting with the driver and Huijin as if they were old friends. 

“Oh hey, Chiu! Come on in!” Hujin pats the seat beside her. “Sit next to me, please! I’m so much better than Haoyu.”

“Yeah sure.” Haoyu scoffs at Hujin with a smirk on his face.

Hujin sticks her tongue out at Haoyu. “I’m obviously cuter, and at least I don’t always forget my wallet. And my keys. And my phone.” She says teasingly.

“You two…seem close?” 

Haoyu bites his lip “Friends from college.” He says rather quickly. “Also speaking of forgetting my wallet and phone…”

“NOT AGAIN!” Hujin yelled, repeatedly whacking Haoyu with a pink bunny neck cushion, which made me snort with amusement.

“I’ll e-transfer you later tonight? I’m paying by the way.” He just stared deadpan at the pink bunny neck pillow, casually blocking it with his arm. 

Hujin just glared at him. “Fine.” She paused in her relentless attack on Haoyu with the neck pillow, before whacking Haoyu with a bear plush.

“Okay, you can stop beating him…” I said, attempting to grab the bear plush from Hujin. Every time I would try to grab it, she would shove the plush in my face, perhaps she was trying to use the fluffiness to distract me, which totally wasn’t working!!

Then the limo stops in front of this fancy-ass-looking restaurant. They got out of the limo, walked in and were seated by an oddly formal hostess. At the table was a guy who looked almost exactly like Haoyu, the only difference was this dude was dressed a lot more casually and his hairstyle was slightly different. 

“Are you by any chance made in a lab?” I blurted out, before immediately having the urge to descend into the earth’s core.

“Uh…pardon?”

I looked at Haoyu and Hujin, the former with an awkward smile on his face and the latter stifling her snickers with her hand covered over her mouth.

“Well, it’s just that…You look exactly like Haoyu. Except that your hair and clothes are a bit different.”

“We’re twins.” Haoyu points out.

I mentally facepalmed. “Ah. Right. Well,” I retorted, trying to defend my honour. “In my defence, you never know if someone is made in a lab or not.”

Hujin’s eyes darkened with mischief. “You’re right actually, both Haoyu and Huifen are made in a lab. I’m the one born the standard way.”

“Hey! Stop with the conspiracies!” Huifen interjected. 

Haoyu only rolls his eyes at Huijin’s comment, “All 3 of us were born because our parents had sex.”

“Yeah, well our parents had sex in a lab and then had you guys, meanwhile I was actually born in a hospital,” Hujin replied. Meanwhile, I was recovering from shock, at Hujin’s crude sense of humour, the way she took my joke and pushed it to the limit.

“Why are you more invested in this conspiracy than me?” I asked Hujin, very concerned for the way she seemed so dead set on her opinion. 

“Dad told me it was in a private jet ...For all 3 of us” Haoyu replies, his eyes scanning the menu. 

“What?!” Huifen, Hujin and I yelled at the same time. Hujin marched up to Haoyu and poked him in the chest.

“Are you being serious or silly?!” She said, staring up at him with a scowl on her face. It was really cute, honestly.

“Dad told me because I asked why there were drawers full of condoms.” Haoyu was probably serious as he didn’t even crack a smile.

“You guys can afford to make love in a private jet?!” I shrieked, pulling at my hair.

“You can’t?” Haoyu asks dumbfounded, staring right into my soul.

“Well, I’m sorry I don’t have a million dollars to spend on a private jet!” I retorted, exasperated and recovered from a culture and lifestyle shock.

“I could let you fuck in our private jet, wait what,” Huifen said nonchalantly.

“WHAT?!” I stared at Huifen. “I don’t even know how to fuck, let alone in a private jet! Is there, like a…difference?”

“I don’t know how to fuck either.” Haoyu replied bluntly. Hujin elbowed him again, sending him a deadpan glance.

“Aaaanyway, enough sex talk, and let’s eat. I’m starving and I’d rather not starve to death while the last thing I hear is about the differences between regular citizen sex and expensive private jet sex.” Hujin declared, putting her hands on her hips.

“Bitch, we didn’t even order any food yet. We scared the waiter off.” Huifen objected

Hujin glared at Huifen. “And who’s fault is that? You gotta stop projecting on me, gēge.”

“Wait hold on, you guys are siblings?” I exclaimed. Honestly, why was I even surprised? Even without the obvious slipup, I should have figured it out long before, it was basically hinted at me since Hujin told me to be a little shit to Haoyu when I first arrived, and the fact that they said their parents had sex. Fuck me.

“Yeah, it was kind of implied when we said that we were all from our parents having sex in a private jet,” Huifen states.

“Enough with the private jet sex!” Hujin shrieked, 

Haoyu’s gaze hardened, “Do not tell anyone.” Then his gaze softens again, “Besides dìdì, maybe she thought it was a gangbang.”

“I SAID ENOUGH SEX!!!” Huijin screamed even louder, which definitely made everyone sitting at neighbouring tables concerned. If they were not already, that is.

I hold my hands up in surrender. “Okay, I wasn’t going to anyway. Although…are you sure you trust me enough to not…slip up or something?”

Hujin grabbed my hands and I nearly jumped at the sudden touch. “Of course we trust you, silly goose! Besides, we’ll just pay them a million dollars to shut them up. Now,” She grabs all of us by the arms. “Let’s go order something before A PRETTY YOUNG LADY STARVES TO DEATH!!”

Haoyu waves down a waiter and puts in an order. The waiter looks at all of them with an odd look, before gasping.

“No way! You must be…you must be Haoyu, CEO of Revocorp! And you look, wait no, are you Huifen! I love your cosplays so much! Woah,” The waiter does a double take at Hujin, who was dressed in a pink strawberry cardigan, a pastel rainbow-striped gown and brown Uggs. “Aww, aren’t you adorable!”

“Thank you!” Hujin beamed. Her smile is also cute…I think with a pang of jealousy.

“No problem, ah right, your orders?” The waiter pulls out a pen from their ear and a notepad, ready to write down our orders.

“Chiu, do you drink?” Haoyu asks.

“I drank vodka once…? Does that count?” I say.

Haoyu turns to the waiter “This set.” He says, pointing to a certain spot on the menu. Then he leans in to whisper something to the waiter “And a bottle of your most expensive wine plus 4 glasses.”

“WHAT! HOW ARE YOU AFFORDING ALL THIS?!”

“Money.”  

I glared. “Yeah, I know that, you dunce. But like, wha-we never had this back home! Oh, wait, do I have to pay my share or…” I search through my wallet, and well…I had a couple of coins, two $20 bills…and my credit card which was definitely going to expire soon.

He puts his hand on mine, “Don’t worry about it”

“Oh…” My brain short-circuited for a good moment before smiling shyly. “Thanks.”

A fit of giggles erupted from Hujin, who was shaking in her seat from laughter. Huifen nudged her, but she continued to laugh. Her laugh immediately dropped to a frown when she found that the waiter put down kids utensils, with the Doraemon bowl and colored cutlery.

“Is this…oh this has to be a joke,” Hujin grumbled.

Haoyu meanwhile was smirking at Huijin’s grumble. Wait, wasn’t he whispering to the waiter earlier?

“I think it was Haoyu’s doing,” I told Hujin, who immediately stood up and glared down at Haoyu.

“You! It was your idea for them to give me children’s cutlery! This is ruining my reputation! And I’m 26!” Hujin shrieked dramatically, miming stabbing Haoyu in the throat with the plastic knife.

“I mean…” I say, as an attempt at being a devil’s advocate. “Kids menus are cheaper?”

Hujin scrunched her nose at me before scowling at Haoyu. “You jerk! You know damn well that you can afford 3 adult meals! You could afford this entire restaurant!”

“Baby sister for a reason.” Haoyu shrugs, brushing her off.

“I’m 26…” Hujin pouts. I pat her on the back comfortingly.

“There there, some of us are just born to look like 12-year-olds.” I teased.

“Not you too!” Hujin wailed dramatically, grabbing onto my sweater vest. “You were on my side, I trusted you…and you just betrayed me…were we ever meant to be?”

I grin. “What are you, a theatre kid?”

“I took drama in high school.” She props her chin on her hands. “Guess it never wore off.”

Then the waiter shows up with a bottle of fine wine and Haoyu gracefully pours a glass for everyone at the table, even making sure to put some in the coloured cup that Huijin had.

“Okay not gonna lie, this cup is actually kinda cute.” Hujin says as she stares at the wine in her coloured cup.

The waiter shoots a glance at Hujin and she sighs, pulling out her ID card. After a few moments, the waiter nods and leaves her drink alone.

“Does that happen often?”

“Yes.” All three of them say, all at once. 

“Used to happen to Haoyu and I before last year.” Huifen sighs. “We’re getting old.”

Hujin rolled her eyes. “Tell that to the middle-aged and seniors, they’ll think you’re crazy. Although…” she grins mischievously. “Are you sure none of you have back pain?

“We’re 27,” Haoyu mutters. “I am hunched over at a desk all day though.”

I nudged Haoyu. “I have wrist pain, so I guess you’re not alone. Probably since I’ve been writing every day for over 5 hours since I was a teen.’

Hujin took a swig from the sippy cup of wine. “Woah, body pain. Couldn’t be me.”

“Because you actually have time to stretch. Lucky.” Haoyu grumbles.

Said woman swirls her cup around, letting the wine slosh around the cup. “Even a minute of stretching out your arms could help, you bum.”

“Hmph, I don’t even have time for that. Besides, how would stretching my arms help with neck and back pain.” Huifen sighs. “I hope we can eat soon so I don’t have to be insulted by my own sister. I wonder how Mingze deals with bratty younger sisters.”

“I’ll have you now I’m only a brat 40% of the time!’ Hujin hissed. I couldn’t help but notice the way she looked like a very grumpy, rainbow, sparkly earring-wearing cat.

“40% is still a lot…” I mumbled before immediately being pinched on the cheeks by Hujin. ‘Ow ow ow, I take it back, help me-”

Then the waiter awkwardly places the food on the table. 

“Hey uh, I’d really appreciate some help here,” I stare pointedly at Huifen and Haoyu while escaping a headlock from Hujin. 

“You’re on your own,” Haoyu says, taking off his blazer then, putting some meat into the pot.

“Bastard,” I hiss at him. Huifen averts his gaze and I glare at him too. “Hey don’t look away! You’re also a bastard.”

Hujin then pulls me into a bear hug. “I guess we’re all bastards then!” She leans her head on my shoulder.

“Yeah…” I notice her head on my shoulder and stop in my tracks, all of a sudden the room went from hot to a boiler room. I’m pretty sure my brain was thoroughly cooked, better than the most well-done of steaks.

Haoyu puts a steak on my plate. “It’s Wagyu, you should try it.”

“Okay, uh, bon appetit.” I poked at the steak with my fork, before sighing and trying to cut it open with a fork and a knife, then sighing again and was almost tempted to just grab the wagyu by the end and shove the whole thing in my mouth, with chopsticks or something.

“Silly, you don’t need to cut it. But I’m sure someone here wouldn’t mind helping you,” Hujin teases, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Of course that certain someone wouldn’t mind helping their girlfriend,” Huifen smirks. I blink at him stupidly, trying to process what he said for a solid two seconds before the realization hits me with all the grace of being clonked in the head with a brick. Oh.

“No.” Interjects Haoyu. Still, he leans over with his knife and proceeds to cut the steak for me. 

“You really didn’t have to,” I say, while Hujin sulks about Haoyu being a ‘party-pooper’ and ‘old man wheezer’. “I was going to just eat it whole anyway.

Haoyu completely ignores Huijin, “Don’t worry about it.” He smiles ever so slightly. “Besides, you shouldn’t eat it whole. You will choke and die.”

“I’m too powerful to choke and die,” I deadpan back, picking up a large piece of steak and devouring it. Hujin looks at me with a mixture of awe and concern.

“Woah, I’m so trying that.” Hujin doesn’t even bother trying to cut her steak open, instead tearing off a huge chunk and swallowing. Her face turns a bright shade of red and she pounds on her chest while taking a huge swig of alcohol

Haoyu gently pats Hujin on the back, then clears his throat and he kinda glares at Hujin as if he’s trying to reprimand her for her table manners. Hujin glares back, not getting the memo about table manners. “Also don’t drink too fast, you’re going to get drunk.”

“Do we have a feral animal for a sister or what?” Huifen asks, half-joking, half-not.

“Mother would have killed her for this,” Haoyu replies cutting off a piece of steak. “And Father would have given all 3 of us a lecture on how we are representatives of our family 24/7”

“Thanks for that, now I’m going to choke on meat even more out of spite,” Hujin coughed out, covering her very rosy red face with a napkin.

“What are you, straight?” I quip.

“I’m whatever you want me to be, darling,” Hujin said in a sultry Southern accent before bursting into a fit of giggles so uncontrollable that Huifen jumped out of his chair in shock.

“I’m calling her an Uber home later…” Haoyu murmurs.

I nod. “Please,” I say while trying to avoid being suffocated while Hujin wrapped her arms around me and rested her head against the crook of my neck. “Help me…” I tried to move Hujin’s head away from me to take a bite of steak but gave up when she burrowed her head in further.

Haoyu removed Huijin’s arms from around me softly and guided her head towards himself. “Actually, I’ll just take her back to my place tonight.”

“Nooo,” Hujin whined. “She’s warmer than you. And more soft.” She grinned widely, a soft giggle forming on her lips. I suddenly felt my face heat up, probably because of how hot the steak I ate was. Most definitely.

“Huifen, can you take away her wine please?” Haoyu asks. “Erm, I also forgot my wallet so…”

Huifen threw his hands up in frustration. “Are you fucking kidding me?! This is the third time this week! Fine, I’ll pay though.” He pulled out his wallet, dropped 3 hundred-dollar bills in the little basket and waved for a waiter to come and collect it.

“I’ll e-transfer you once I get back to the office. Also Language we're in public.”

“Yeah yeah, no need.” Huifen waves it off. “It’s only a hundred dollars.”

“No no, I got it.” Haoyu waves off Huifen’s wave off.

“Don’t forget the e-transfer then,” Huifen sighs.

“Rich bitches,” I interrupt them while putting down twenty-five cents as a tip. “Good enough.” 

Haoyu helps Huijin to her feet, “Do you have your own ride or do you want to join us in the limo?” He looks at Huifen. 

“I’ll join you guys, a bit of family bonding I guess.” Huifen sighed and put his wallet back into his bag, and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go I guess.”

“Don’t fall” Haoyu warns Huijin, still he walks slower to ensure he’s right next to her.

Hujin pretends to trip out of spite, before immediately straightening herself afterward. “I’d never fall…unless it’s head over heels.”

“At this point, you’re falling head over heels literally.” Haoyu sighs, “I’ll let you have my bed tonight, I don’t want you alone right now.”

Hujin frowned. “Ah, right. That makes sense.” Her face and tone were grim, and it made me feel grim for some reason. I wanted to do something, anything to make her smile again.

“So um…penguins?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Opinions?”

“They’re cute,” Haoyu says, getting into the limo.

Hujin perked up immediately and started rambling about penguins, from their scientific name all the way to their mating seasons and their dietary habits. By the time the limo was on its way back to the company building, Hujin was now rambling about…Madagascar and how accurate the penguins representation was.

“Chiu, you’re dismissed, feel free to head home once you get to the office,” Haoyu says authoritatively. 

I smile warmly at Haoyu. “Thank you, for…well, everything.” My stomach churned with unease and I fought off the butterflies in my stomach with a pained grimace. “Sorry, I don’t really feel well right now…still getting used to uh…life in the big city.”

Haoyu nods “Do you want me to walk you to your car?” He offers.

I glance at Hujin and Huifen, who nod and give a thumbs-up in a strangely devious manner. “Um, okay, that would be nice. 

The four of us walked to the parking lot in comfortable silence, although I couldn’t help but notice Hujin whispering to her brothers in a drunk way and then started bursting into fits of laughter. Just what was that manic pixie nightmare girl yapping about now?

“Are you sure you don’t mind me teasing your new assistant girl?” Hujin says in a sing-song voice to Haoyu. Huifen gives Hujin a deadpan stare and a grunt before plugging in his earbuds, his social battery worn out 

“Shut it.” Haoyu stops to boop his sister’s nose. Hujin wrinkled her nose, an angry pout on her face.

“Uh-uh, I’m stealing her from you,”

“Stealing who?” I butted in, wanting to be included in the conversation. Back at home, I was often given weird looks by others for not minding my own business. However, the siblings didn’t seem like the judgmental type, so I didn’t really bother asking. 

“I honestly have no idea,” Haoyu replied. “Uh is that your car?” 

I nod. “Yeah. Uh, see you tomorrow I guess?” I look at Hujin, who was basically using Haoyu as a human teddy bear. She was snoring loudly on his shoulder and startled awake when I nudged her awake

“By the way,” I said smugly. “You’re going to have a killer headache tomorrow.”

“Noooooo…” she whined, burying her face even more into Haoyu’s shoulder.

“I think I have stuff to treat it at home, you’ll be fine.” 

“My head feels like it’s been hit on a rock…” Hujin complained.

I sigh, both exasperated and fond. “Maybe if you didn’t chug five glasses of vodka in one go?”

Haoyu shook his head, “Mother and Father would have killed me for even letting you drink, period.”

Hujin grumbled. “If only they ever treated me like an adult, not a fragile glass doll. Rargh!” She gripped at her hair.

“They’re dead,” Haoyu says bluntly. Crossing his arms with a stonefaced expression, returning to his soulless facade. “We can’t wish for anything from them anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” I say apologetically. Though sympathy was probably the last thing either of them wanted, it was the only thing that I could think of

Hujin waved off my concerns. “It’s fine, it’s not like it hurts…that much.” She cradled herself, looking a bit shameful. “Um…I mean, they’re our parents, so I should feel sad, but…” She shoots a pleading glance at me

“Don’t feel bad, I’m kinda glad they’re gone.” Haoyu blurts out. Then he grumbles  “I couldn't even force myself to cry at their funeral.”

I look at him, mostly a bit confused, before coming to an understanding. “So, I’m going to assume they weren’t the best of parents?”

“Far from it,” Huifen chimed in, sounding almost nonchalant…or detached?

Haoyu remained silent from here, his face suddenly becoming pale as if he said something he shouldn’t have, he’d occasionally glance at his twin but other than that he was frozen.

The air was getting more suffocating by the second. I opened my car door and slid in. “Um…thanks for accompanying me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I lock the car door and drive back home.

chapter 2 release tbd

#original novel #original character #original writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #authors of tumblr #orignal novels

[3tabbiesandalab]

Sweet Home Alabama

Here’s another Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd x Reader fic

It’s loosely based (and I mean loosely) on the movie Sweet Home Alabama and the fictional town Pidgeon Creek. It has plenty of movie quotes for those who have seen it.

Now I know everyone has lots of ideas of where every one is from. But lets just pretend for this fic to make any sense that Maverick, Penny, Hangman, Coyote, Bob and reader were either born or live/or have lived in this fictional Alabama town at some point okay?! This town also happens to be great at growing naval aviators. That’s just the way it is! And they all don’t have accents for whatever reason. (Remember I’m an Aussie so my southern accent writing skills aren’t amazing!) 

Thank you to @coyotesamachado for the encouragement. I hope you enjoy it!

Trigger warnings - miscarriage and minor character death. All my love to those who have experienced loss.

……..

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The screen door rattled with a loud persistent knock. YFN was quite relaxed in her bubble bath after an early shift at the hospital. But whoever was at the door, didn’t sound like they were going away anytime soon. She groaned as she got out and wrapped a towel around her dripping body.

Screw it.

Seeing as they were so determined to keep banging the door, she might as well embarrass the hell out them for interrupting her.

It was probably just Penny, or it could even be her friends Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin or Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado. She had heard that some of the famous Pidgeon Creek navy boys were back. Of the small number of people YFN knew who had actually managed to get out of the tiny little Alabama town, they had a bit of a habit of becoming naval aviators like the local hero Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“Alright I’m comin’. Don’t get your panties in a twist!” YFN called out to whoever was responsible for the incessant noise.

She ripped open the door with a smirk “This better be good, I was just havin’ a lovely bubble…”

The words died in her mouth. Stood on the porch was the last person YFN ever expected to see. Her ex – but not really ex, since they were technically still married - husband.

Robby. Or Lieutenant Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd as he was known now.

It had been almost seven years since he’d last been in town.

YFN sucked in a breath at the sight of him. He was still the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on, now even more so.

They’d grown up together as kids and had been inseparable. YFN had been in love with Bob as long as she could remember, he was even her first kiss at ten years old. He’d been her first everything, and she’d been his.

The boy she’d married at eighteen years old was still there, under the more muscular body and aged features. Bob’s cherub face, the errant curls in his hair he could never tame, and the most beautiful blue eyes behind the same vintage wire framed glasses. Those eyes held the same sad look he’d had the day she’d sent him away.

That look quickly morphed into surprise as he took in her state of undress.

“YFN! What are you doing? What if I’d been some pervert or something?” he cried out.

Bob’s southern accent was barely there, which wasn’t at all surprising since he had only returned to their hometown once after leaving for college and then the navy. It didn’t matter though as soon as she heard her name from his lips again her heart and body ached. This felt like torture.

“Well I spose I made their job easier for them, didn’t I?” YFN joked, slipping into her default sarcasm to hide her own shock. She quickly brought her hand up to cover her necklace. The one that had her wedding ring on it. As she opened the door fully for him, she didn’t know if she hallucinated the light blush that spread across Bob’s cheeks and down his neck and that his eyes ran up and down her body.

“Are you going to put some clothes on?” he said as he looked flustered. Bob stepped inside; his eyes now firmly fixed on the ground.

“It’s your fault I’m half naked. I got outta my bath ‘cause it sounded like you were gonna break the door down. Besides it ain’t nothin’ you haven’t seen ‘fore.” YFN quipped nervously as Bob moved past her, his body not far from her own.

YFN closed her eyes and took a deep steading breath in through her nose. He still smelled of sandalwood and vanilla and something that was uniquely him. The t-shirts he’d left behind spritzed with an old bottle of his cologne that she often slept with when she was lonely, were a poor substitute for the real thing.

She let out the breath slowly and opened her eyes to find Bob’s blue ones fixed on her. YFN was sure he noticed her breathing him in and she flushed at being caught. He might have noticed her necklace too, but he didn’t say anything, just stared at her curiously like she was a puzzle to be solved. But his eyes held something else there too, something more intense.

“Umm. I’ll just go…” YFN said nervously. “Make yourself at home, not a lot has changed in it since...” she couldn’t finish her sentence and she quickly made her way down the hall.

YFN closed the door of the bedroom door behind her, the bedroom that they once shared. Her heart was beating out of control. “Fuck.” she whispered to herself as she brought a shaky hand over her chest and tried to calm herself. She was not prepared to see Bob again, not prepared for the feelings he stirred up inside her.

Pain, guilt, anxiety, and love coursed through her, and she fingered the necklace that had her wedding band on it.

She always knew deep down she wasn’t good enough for Bob, when they were growing up most people would say so. They were complete opposites but had always been like two peas in a pod. Bob was quiet but so sweet, smart, and talented and he had dreams of being a naval aviator and was accepted into college out of state. Even though he was shy, he charmed everyone who ever met him.

And YFN was loud and crazy and sarcastic, with nothing that remarkable about her. She was just the troublemaker who worked part-time at the dixie stop after school and had a passion for painting but no offers for college.

Right after their senior year she got pregnant, and Bob married her despite his parent’s objections. The gossips whispered that YFN had trapped him, but she ignored them as best she could, and they made plans for her to follow him to college so he could chase his dreams.

It would have been tough, but they were so in love and sure they could make it all work. But then her mamma got sick and was all alone as YFN’s daddy had left when she was younger. YFN made the decision to stay behind and nurse her mamma and her kind and loving Bob was prepared to give up on college and stay with her. But YFN was determined to make sure he could live out his chosen path, so made him go.

Her mamma was sicker than anyone realised, and she died shortly after and YFN miscarried their baby the day before the funeral. Her grief over the losses was enormous and on top of that her mamma had no life insurance, so YFN was saddled with her parent’s debt. Bob came home with the intention of dropping out, but he was too smart, too talented, too special to be stuck with her in their little town.

His parents were adamantly against it and even though she didn’t like them, YFN agreed. There was no way she was going to let him give up on his dreams for her and so she broke up with him and said the most awful things she could think of to push him away and get him to leave.

And she was still haunted by them today.

She burst into tears as she allowed herself to remember it. That time had been the darkest, hardest part of her life – she had lost their baby, become an orphan and was deep in debt at eighteen. YFN had been desperate for Bob’s love and support, but he had so much going for him and she couldn’t be selfish and ruin his life too. So she shut him out, determined to make sure he fulfilled his potential.

And he did. Bob graduated college and got accepted into the naval academy and although he was young, he quickly become a successful and highly sort after WSO. YFN had always kept tabs on Bob over the years and she was so incredibly proud of him.

And was still very much in love with him.

After the worst of the grief had subsided, she tried to call him, but she would chicken out and hang up before Bob even answered the phone. She thought it’d be easier to write letters to apologise, but she never sent them. YFN had found the courage to visit Bob at college once to try and explain, but he looked happy and carefree there and she couldn’t bear to ruin that for him. So she left without a word.

She had selfishly wanted to share in his happiness so with a little help from Penny, YFN managed to secretly watch Bob’s college and naval academy graduations, but she couldn’t approach him with his parents around. Although she missed him and regretted letting him go every day, she was content in knowing he’d achieved his dreams.

YFN worked on her own goals as well. The miscarriage and nursing her mamma influenced her future and she trained to be a nurse and a midwife. She became successful with her painting, a lot of her work sold, and it helped pay off her debts. She did it for herself, but there was a part of her that hoped if she deserved Bob enough, that maybe fate would bring them back together one day.

And here he was, seven years later. Probably not for the reason she wanted though.

……..

Bob tried to calm his breathing while he paced around the living room of his former home. YFN was just as beautiful as he remembered, even more so. He had no idea that she could make him feel this way after all this time. He had loved her ever since he was old enough to know what love was.

And now he’s really not sure he ever stopped.

“What do you wanna marry me for anyhow?”

“So I can kiss you anytime I want.”

Their special vow.

Bob used to dream about hearing it, even if it was just one more time.

But that ship had sailed long ago. Their world had been turned upside down when she’d lost her mamma and then their baby. And then YFN had made it clear that she didn’t want anything from him, and it had broken his heart.

Bob was so angry and hurt but he respected her wishes and never contacted her and focused as best he could on college and the naval academy. It had felt selfish at times, to fulfill his dreams and leave her behind. He ached for years to reach out to her, but he could be a stubborn southern boy when he wanted to be, and he would remind himself that she was the one who pushed him away.

His parents moved out of Pidgeon Creek not too long after he did, so apart from YFN, there was little else there for him. And she didn’t want him, so he never looked back and took the longest deployments that were the furthest away, to try and forget her.

But Bob never could forget her. He’d be reminded of YFN in both the big and little moments. He’d eventually taken his wedding ring off, but he took it everywhere he went, and would occasionally slip it on when he thought about her.

He didn’t know what she was to him or how he felt about her anymore. Bob just knew that YFN didn’t want him though, she’d made that clear all those years ago.

YFN walked into the room breaking him from his thoughts. Bob turned to face her, and she looked as if she’d been crying, and his heart ached. He had always hated seeing her upset.

“Have… have you been crying?” he asked concerned.

“I stubbed my toe. I’m fine an’ dandy.” she said unconvincingly. She was lying.

“Why are you even here Bob?” YFN puffed up her chest and huffed at him.

God she could be pig-headed.

Bob set his jaw; he was a little hurt at her obstinance. Fine then. If she wanted him to get straight to it, he would.

“I was in an accident a while back and the hospital…”

“The hospital? Are you… are you hurt?” YFN cut him off and he watched her anxiously scan his body for injuries.

When they were younger, she always worried about him, looked after him if he was sick or patched him up if he got injured.

His jaw relaxed and he gave her a small reassuring smile “I’m ok, I promise.” And she looked relieved.

“It’s just… after the accident the navy reviewed my records and ah questioned why my wife wasn’t my next of kin.” he said softly.

“Oh.” she uttered as she stared at him with a look he couldn’t decipher. But she shook her head and quickly masked her emotions.

He had to do this. Bob took a deep breath and offered her the divorce papers he’d been holding “Yeah. It’s umm been so long, and we never did… We never fixed up any official paperwork. But the navy needs it sorted. So maybe it’s time we…”

He tried to but couldn’t gage her reaction. YFN’s eyes bore into his before she looked down and stared at his outstretched hand holding the papers.

When she didn’t react for a long while, Bob gently prompted her “YFN. Did you hear me?”

Her head snapped up. “Honey just ‘cause I talk slow, doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” she spat angrily and snatched the papers off him.

“I didn’t mean…”

YFN waved him off as she interrupted him “It’s fine. I guess it just slipped your mind since you don’t think ‘bout me anymore. You’re probably with someone by now…” she trailed off.

She was wrong on both counts. Bob thought about her and there was no one else, but he didn’t correct her.

“Oh.” she reacted quietly to his silence. “Makes sense. Nobody finds their soulmate when they’re ten years old.” she practically whispered.

They both thought they had back then. Guess they were wrong.

……..

YFN turned away from Bob and put the papers on the table. He didn’t want her; he was with someone else, and he’d only come back to town to divorce her. Tears pricked at her eyes, her chest ached, and she felt like she was suffocating.

She had to make sure he didn’t know how heartbroken she was.

So YFN did what Bob asked and signed them with a trembling hand.

She had to get out of here.

“Oh shoot. Will you look at the time. I’ve signed your damn papers. Now I gotta go. I’ve got a date.” she lied in a shaky voice. She tried to hide the tears that now fell freely from her eyes as she ran to the front door.

“YFN wait!” Bob called out, but she ignored him and quickly got in her car and fled.

……..

YFN drove around for ages while she sobbed, and she finally stopped at Penny’s bar when her tears had dried up.

She made her way through the crowd of locals and headed straight to the bar to get a drink. Penny took in her state and sighed at her sadly “Honey. I’m so sorry.”

“You knew he was back and didn’t tell me?” YFN whispered as she downed the glass of whiskey Penny gave her in one hit.

“Blame me. I should have told you.” she heard a male voice to her right and turned to find Maverick looking at her with a sombre smile.

“Mav. You’re back. I didn’t even realise y’all knew where he was stationed.” YFN said simply as she hugged him tightly and downed a second glass of booze.

He gave her a small smile “All the Pidgeon Creek boys somehow ended up on the same mission together. First time I’ve worked with him. It was a tough one. But I should’ve warned you, I’m sorry.”

A loud shout from by the pool table caught YFN’s attention and she saw her friends Jake and Javy with a couple of others she didn’t recognise. “Hey Coyote. Are you hungry?” Jake called out.

“Sure am Hangman.” replied Javy, a smirk on his face.

YFN smiled and she was immediately squashed between Jake and Javy. “I sure could use a YFN sandwich!” they hollered.

She laughed a little and ducked out of the middle of the men, “Javy. Jake. I love you both and I missed you. But I’m not inna mood for a YFN sandwich or a YFN taco or a YFN corndog either.”

She sighed and gave them a sad smile “You coulda told me he was back.”

“We’re sorry darlin’. The last detachment was the first time we’d seen him in a long time too. We had no idea he was comin’ home until he was on the transfer with us.” Jake said apologetically.

He took in her sombre appearance and embraced her again “You’ve been cryin’.” he said.

“So you didn’t know he came to get a divorce?” she said quietly as she wiped her face.

“What?! We didn’t I swear it. I’m so sorry. We thought he might still lo…”

“Leave it Coyote.” Jake warned as he interrupted Javy.

“He said he met someone. All I’ve ever wanted was for him to be happy, so I signed the papers. Then I panicked. I said I had a date and walked out on him. Jake honey, I need you to pretend we’re together or somethin’. He knows Javy’s married so that won’t work.” she pleaded.

Jake and Javy looked at each other, confused at her words.

The other two people, that YFN didn’t recognise, approached them. One was a gorgeous, petite, brunette woman, and the other was a good looking tall, tanned man with an impressive 80’s moustache.

The man looked both concerned and amused and said, “I don’t think that idea’s going to work.”

YFN looked at him sceptically “And why’s that?”

“Because Hangman has a boyfriend.” Javy grinned.

“Oh my god. You do?!” she squealed. She was happy to hear some good news.

Jake smiled “Yeah it’s kinda new.” he said shyly as he looked at the man beside him. YFN had never seen Jake look so coy about a relationship and it made her smile.

“I’m the boyfriend. Rooster or Bradley if you’d prefer my real name.” he said extending his hand to shake. YFN just engulfed him in a big hug.

“Happy to meet you sugar! Rooster… Bradley… why do they sound familiar? Wait Mav’s talked ‘bout you ‘fore I think.” YFN mused.

Bradley smiled “It’s good to meet you too. Yeah, he’s sort of like my uncle, I guess. You breed a lot of aviators in this little town of yours.”

YFN laughed “That we do. No there’s somethin’ else ‘bout you. Holy shit Jake! This is the pilot you’ve carryin’ on ‘bout? The one who’s ruffled your feathers all these years?” she exclaimed.

Javy doubled over in laughter. Bradley raised an eyebrow at Jake “Aww Hangman, you been sweet on me for that long baby?” he teased.

“Sweet on you as in I wanted to rip that dumb stash of your face until recently? Then yes, yes I was.” Jake joked and YFN looked at the woman beside them who laughed.

“The G-forces made ‘em lose all their manners. I’m guessin’ you’re a pilot too. I’m YFN.” she chastised the boys and hugged her.

“I’m Phoenix but you can call me Tash. I’m Bob’s pilot. I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know what that idiot had planned when he wanted to come down here.” she said warily.

YFN sighed “Don’t you be sorry. Not your worry honey. He’s got someone now, so I can’t really blame him for wanted to get things sorted. But I kinda need to blow off some steam so how ‘bout we get drunk and show these morons a thing or two ‘bout pool?”

Penny must have read her mind because she and Maverick brought over trays of beers and whiskeys. “You know they could use a good laugh after our mission. How ‘bout you tell them the story of how you blew up the bank at ten years old.” chuckled Maverick.

“Ten years old. Jesus. How did you manage that?” laughed Phoenix.

Coyote grinned and said “She strapped dynamite to Fuzz the cat and he wandered into it.”

The group laughed and YFN smiled “I had help. Pidgeon Creek’s resident WSO lit the fuse.” And she downed her whiskey in one go.

“Bob?! Our sweet and innocent Bobby boy actually did something illegal. That’s quite a story.” Rooster proclaimed.

“He was quite a boy. I used to get ‘im into all sorts when we were kids. His folks kinda hated me.” YFN laughed.

“But you’d take the blame for me every time. Wouldn’t you darlin’?”

They all turned to see Bob stumble slightly towards them. He looked a little upset and pretty drunk, and that had made his accent return in full force.

“I didn’t think Bob drank?” Bradley mused quietly.

“He doesn’t often.” Javy sighed as he lined up to take a shot on the pool table.

Bob didn’t drink much even back when they were younger, but when he did, the quiet, shy boy usually disappeared. He could be funny and stupid and a bit bitchy and until YFN reeled him back in before he got carried away.

Jake wrapped an arm around YFN protectively and whispered into her ear “You good sugar?” and she nodded slightly and shot another glass of whiskey.

“You hittin’ on my wife Hangman? Won’t Rooster get a little jealous?” Bob taunted.

She felt pretty loose from the drinks she’d had. “Thought you were keen to drop the wife part Robby.” she quipped using her name for him from when they were younger.

Bob looked surprised at the name or the dressing down and backed off sheepishly “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

YFN sighed, even though he could be sarcastic when he was drunk, he was still sweet and apologised if he went too far. And even though she was heartbroken right now, she couldn’t be angry with him.

“Hey. Robby look at me.” YFN said quietly, and he met her eyes with his sad ones.

“It’s ok. I shouldn’t have said that. You ah… you had to do what was right for you. And Mav said the last detachment you did together was a tough one. So let’s all play some pool like we used to as umm friends. Have some fun yeah?” she offered.

“Yeah c’mon baby grab a stick and join us. If you have trouble findin’ one, just use the one that’s shoved up your ass right now.” Jake needled.

That broke the tension and the whole group including Bob burst into laughter.

……..

Bob sat back and watched his friends play pool as he nursed a beer in one hand and a pool cue in the other. He’d slowed down with the drinking since he was already pretty drunk off the whiskey he’d found at YFN’s house, before he showed up to the bar.

He tried to have fun, he’d laugh along with the others and occasionally say something back. But he was still in shock. He was a little floored that YFN signed the divorce papers as soon as he gave them to her. Bob thought maybe there might have been the smallest chance that even after all these years she would refuse to, she used to be stubborn as a mule after all.

He knew he’d been the one to bring it up, the one who asked the question. So Bob guessed he got what he wanted.

He didn’t feel like he got what he wanted. He felt the absolute opposite of that. He was gutted.

And YFN just acted like everything was fine and chose to be so understanding about the whole thing.

Hangman and Rooster sat down either side of him.

“Well Bobby. We love you but I think you might have fucked this up.” Rooster said simply.

“Yeah, what were you thinkin’ baby? Just rockin’ up with divorce papers? I thought you were sposed to be smart. And you ain’t gotta girl. For someone who’s been hangin’ on to somethin’ so long, you’re pretty fast to let it go.” Hangman shook his head as he quizzed him.

Bob sighed deeply he had no idea why he’d done it like that. He hadn’t planned to ask YFN straight up. She had looked surprised to see him but there was something else he couldn’t quite place. He was observant and he was sure that she had breathed him in, and she’d quickly hidden her necklace for some reason. But YFN had just deflected it all in the stubborn way she used always did.  

Part of him was still angry at her after all this time and he also was annoyed because he could tell she was hiding something. And his brain wasn’t working all that well after seeing her in a towel, she was still so beautiful. So he’d just come out said it and then couldn’t take it back. It was pretty obvious she was upset, and he was pretty sure she had cried but YFN just signed them.

Just like that. And now they burned a hole in his back pocket.

“I don’t know… She was… She thought I did, and I never said I didn’t… Don’t know why… I never thought… Fuck maybe I hoped she’d never sign ‘em.” Bob stuttered out as he watched YFN laugh at something Phoenix said.

“I wasn’t sure if I loved her anymore. But maybe I… Shit. It doesn’t matter. YFN didn’t want me back then and she doesn’t want me now.” he finished dejectedly and skulled the rest of his beer and dropped his head. Screw slowing down.

“YFN Floyd! It’s your turn.” Coyote drunkenly called out and Bob’s head snapped up and he dropped the stick he was holding on the floor in shock.

“For fuck sakes Coyote.” Hangman grunted at the man.

YFN bent down and picked the pool cue up, she was pretty tipsy. “What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t pick up after my husband. Well not anymore I guess, sweet boy.” she said laughed and tried to make light of Coyote’s slip up.

“Floyd? You kept my last name.” Bob whispered wistfully at that and her calling him ‘sweet boy’ again.

“Yeah, I did. Sorry. I guess that’ll be a problem now with your new girl. I promise I’ll change it.” she sighed as she fingered the necklace under her shirt, all traces of her humour gone.

Bob just stared at her. Once again, he didn’t correct her about him seeing someone, he was too shocked to do it.

She’d kept his name all this time. Could that mean something.

“It might take me a while to change it though Robby. I hope she’s ok to wait a little bit. The hardest part will be changin’ it at work and let everyone know that I’m gonna start signin’ my charts…” YFN trailed off quietly.

Bob was ashamed that had no idea what she was talking about. He hadn’t asked anyone about what she had done with her life for a long time. “Charts?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I’m a nurse and a midwife.” she said softly. Her eyes looked deeply into his.

“Oh. Because of your mamma and our…?” he faltered with a whisper not breaking eye contact.

YFN just nodded at him, tears welled in her eyes “I guess I just wanted to…”

“Sweet girl…” Bob breathed as reached for her. And he used his name for her for the first time in seven years.

YFN paled “No! You can’t… You can’t call me that… I just… I need some air.” she choked out. “Mav can you. Can you drive me?” she asked as she ran out of the bar. Maverick nodded and followed her.

So for the second time that day, Bob watched as YFN ran away.

After she left, Phoenix enveloped him in a big hug and then smacked him in the back of the head “Why do you make me be so mean to you?”

“Oww! What the hell. Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?” Bob grumbled.

“She still loves you, you idiot! And now she thinks you’ve found someone else because you didn’t correct her!” Phoenix shouted.

“What?” Bob said incredulously.

Hangman sighed heavily “You know she went up to your college to see you.”

“Who? YFN? When?” Bob asked surprised.

“About a year after you left. But she saw how well you were doin’. And she thought she’d need more than an apology to win you back. She needed to conquer the world first.” Hangman said sincerely.

“But she broke up with me. Told me she didn’t love me. Didn’t need me. Told me never to speak to her again. She said she was glad she lost our…” Bob choked out.

Coyote shook his head “YFN lied Bob. Your folks put a bit of pressure on her. Called her quicksand. But she didn’t want to hold you back. Didn’t want you stuck with her folk’s debt. So she lied. She tried to call. Wrote you letters but never sent them.”

Bob just stared at them all in shock. He hadn’t been close with his folks for a while. He knew they never approved of YFN but didn’t realise they had a role in their breakup. She had convinced him that she didn’t want to be with him anymore after the miscarriage.

“Why didn’t y’all tell me?” he whispered.

“Honey it wasn’t our place. You gotta understand, it was so hard for her in the beginnin’. She lost her mamma and the baby and then you. But she’s always kept track of you. I helped her get to your college and naval graduations so she could cheer for you. She was always there for you, always thinkin’ ‘bout you even if you didn’t know it. She hoped you might come home one day, but your parents moved away, and you never came back.” Penny said softly to him.

“YFN still wears her weddin’ band on a necklace baby.” Hangman added.

“You need to see something Bob.” Penny said simply as she pointed at the wall a few metres from him.

Bob got out of his seat and walked over to see the ‘Pidgeon Creek Wall of Fame’. It was covered in photos and newspaper articles of former residents who had done something special. His eyes were drawn to the striking paintings in the middle of it. They were beautiful.

There was one of Maverick, Coyote, and Hangman. And there was one of him, the day he’d graduated the academy. It was so realistic and detailed, as if the artist had been there. It looked like it had been painted with love and care. And in the corner where the artist usually signed was the name YFN Floyd.

Shit.

Phoenix stood beside Bob “Wow. She’s really good.” she breathed.

“YFN didn’t think she was enough for you. Wanted to make somethin’ of herself. Between selling her paintings and her work at the hospital, she paid off all her debts. But it had been years, so she thought it was too late to tell you. She’s a stubborn southern girl after all.” Penny said honestly.

She never stopped loving him. And Bob realised he had never stopped loving her.

He immediately sobered up. “Fuck.” Bob whispered as he turned around to face his friends. “Fuck. I… God I’ve fucked up.” he said again louder this time pulling the divorce papers out of his pocket.

He looked at Phoenix, his eyes pleaded with her to help. “Don’t look at me Bob. I’m not responsible for your stupid shit on the ground.” she said.

“Just tear them up and go after her. Tell her you’re an idiot. It’s not official yet!” Rooster exclaimed as he took the papers off Bob.

Hangman then snatched them off his boyfriend and looked at them and laughed loudly. Bob stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

“Baby you’re as fuckin’ slow as molasses in the wintertime.” he said sarcastically. “YFN signed them, but you didn’t.” he chuckled.

Bob barked out a choked laugh “You mean we’re still married?”

Maverick walked back into the bar and called out “Only if you want to be.”

“Yes! Yes I do want that!” Bob blurted out. “Mav please. Where is she? Can you drive me?” he begged.

“Fucking kids.” Maverick groaned as Penny kissed his cheek.

“Wait right ‘ere y’all. I’m gonna go find my bride!” he said joyfully as he practically dragged Maverick out of the bar.

……..

YFN sat on the beach, illuminated by the moon, and cried. She was in their special spot, the place Bob and her had found together. She heard movement in the sand but didn’t turn her head when she felt someone sit next to her. She knew it was Bob, the smell of sandalwood and vanilla and him settled in the air.

“YFN. Darlin’ I…” he whispered.

She had waited a long time to apologise to him, to explain her actions. She took a deep breath and turned to him “Let me get this out before I can’t Robby.” she murmured, tears in her eyes.

“I never meant to hurt you, sweet boy. I thought us bein’ together with our baby, while you followed your dreams was gonna be full of adventure. But then my mamma got sick and died and then I lost… I knew you were gonna stay behind with me and then it would’ve been your only adventure. And your folks… well it doesn’t matter. They were right.” she sobbed.

Bob reached for her, but YFN put her hands up in front of him defensively.

She took another steadying breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I lied about everythin’. I said all those hurtful things, but they weren’t true. You deserved a better life Robby, and it was the only way I could think of to get you to leave and never come back. And you’ve done real well for yourself. I’m so proud of you sweet boy.” she sniffed and gave Bob a small sad smile.

“You know I coulda had both roots and wings YFN. We coulda figured it out.” Bob sighed.

“Maybe. Doesn’t make a difference now. I hope your new girl knows how lucky she is.” she whispered.

“There is no one else sweet girl. I’m sorry I let you believe that. I’m a fuckin’ idiot YFN.” Bob confessed.

He gazed into her eyes intensely and said softly “Truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago. My whole heart and I never really got it back.”

YFN breathed out slowly. He still loved her.

Bob reached for her, and he slid his fingers under the neckline of her shirt and pulled out her necklace, revealing her wedding ring on it. He moved to lift the chain over her head, and she let him.

“I’m sorry I gave you the papers darlin’. I was so stupid. I don’t wanna divorce, I never did. But it turns out I never signed them myself so apparently you and I are still hitched.” Bob said softly, love in his eyes as he removed the ring from the necklace.

“The paintin’ YFN… Why didn’t you tell me you came to see me?”

“You were always too good for me. I needed to make something of myself.” she uttered. YFN’s breath hitched as he lifted her left hand and placed the wedding band on her ring finger.

Bob smiled shyly at her “Are you ‘bout done? ‘Cause I have never thought that ‘bout you YFN. I loved you back then and I tried to forget about you, but I never did. I’m sorry I never fought for you. I love you more than anythin’ sweet girl.” he breathed.

“I love you, Robby. I never stopped. Not for a single second.” she whispered as she gazed at him reverently.

The small smile she wore slowly widened.

“What do you wanna be married to me for anyhow?” she asked coyly as she shifted closer to him.

Bob grinned at her; his eyes shined brightly in the moonlight.

“So I can kiss you anytime I want.” he replied softly, and he lifted his hands to cradle her jaw.

And he did kiss her.

They kissed slowly and deeply.

Honk. Honk. Honk.

Honk. Honk. Honk.

They broke apart and laughed when they saw Maverick standing next to his car. He’d driven it down on the beach.

“Nearly done here? You kids have always been a pain in my ass, and I need a drink.” he sighed dramatically.

……

When they got back to Penny’s bar, Bob looked at YFN with a big grin on his face and she shrieked when he swept her up into his arms bridal style and carried her inside.

“Well folks. Look who finally got their shit together. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr and Mrs Robert and YFN Floyd!” Maverick called out loudly.

The room erupted into cheers.

YFN gasped at the scene in front of her and Bob looked equally surprised. She had no idea how they had done it, but they’d turned the bar into a reception of sorts. And half the town had somehow turned out to celebrate.

Their small group of friends came up and congratulated them.

Jake smiled at YFN “You happy sugar?” he said. And she smiled widely and nodded as they embraced.

“You hittin’ on my wife Hangman?” Bob laughed and Jake hugged him tightly.

Bradley playfully punched Bob in the arm and smiled widely at them.

Coyote and Tash hugged them both and she placed something in YFN’s palm and she gasped.

Bob’s wedding ring.

“How? Where?” he spluttered.

Tash just shrugged “I saw you playing with it a few times. Found where you keep it in your bag. You better put it on him, so he doesn’t lose it. And neither of you better fuck this up again.” she laughed.

“Yes ma’am.” YFN and Bob both replied.

Bob offered his left hand to her with a grin and YFN slipped his wedding band on his ring finger and kissed it.

“I think it’s time for a dance, don’t you?” Penny said with a joyful smile on her face.

YFN grabbed Bob’s hand and led him to the dance floor. “Hey Penny. Make it a slow one.” she said as she smiled back at her.

Penny walked to the jukebox and punched the buttons. The sounds of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ started to play.

YFN looked at Bob lovingly as they swayed to the music “I love you sweet boy.” she murmured.

“I love you too sweet girl.” he breathed back as he gazed at her adoringly.

Bob cupped her cheek with his hand and lowered his lips to hers. He stopped just before they touched and he smiled “You’re the first girl I ever kissed, and I want you to be the last.”

YFN lips curved up into a matching smile. “Guess you can find your soulmate when you’re ten years old.” she whispered, and she kissed him.

And she didn’t plan on stopping ever again.

……

#bob floyd #robert bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #robert floyd #robert floyd x reader #robert bob floyd x reader #robert 'bob' floyd #rooster top gun #hangman top gun #phoenix top gun #coyote top gun #maverick top gun #top gun #top gun maverick #top gun fic #penny top gun #lewis pullman #Bob top gun

[ninathekllrr]

General!Ticci Toby HCs. . .

This took longer than expected . . Read till the end for a lil blurb <3 reminder ! English isn’t my first language.

—Clothing;

It depends on how old Toby is.. at first he only wore the clothes Slenderman “found” him in and whatever other articles of clothing he was able to scavenge up. It wasn’t until a few years later he felt safe enough to venture out and buy some clothes from the thrift. (with stolen money cuz bitch don’t get paid to be a lumberjack,,, a human lumberjack that is.)

I’m so bad at describing; just think of Will Graham's season 1 outfit n shit. 😭 I feel like he’d probably dress like a grandpa. Oversized Grandpa sweaters, those button-ups/dress shirts under w collars that peep out, any baggy pants in general. Work/toe steel boots >> .

He just doesn’t bother much w dressing up! It’s also so he doesn’t stand out much whenever trying to go somewhere in public — sometimes he’d get lucky and find band tees of bands he likes or Jeff lets him borrow some of his own.

—music;

A firm believer that he loves metal. Something about the chaotic-icy helps him “soothe the voices.” his favorite bands would be Sevendust, Rammstein, and Lamb of god!

Once when he was on a mission he accidentally broke into the wrong house and lucky him it was a middle-aged white dad who had a thing for 2000s rock and metal. Killed that fucker and stole as many albums and CDs as he possibly could :p.

He’d DIY a bunch of studded leather bracelets and give a few away to Natalie and Jeffery. Gifting is his love language tbh

—interests;

Most residents of the manor (when he ‘lived’ there) don’t/didn’t know much about Toby since he doesn’t bother socializing much. He seems pretty disinterested to the rest but the dude really has some great hobbies and things he enjoys. For one he loves crafting, especially wood carving! He also has a habit of collecting animal bones/remains to clean and use them as decor. His favorites prob have to be fox skulls :). Very much a trinket collector as well. Just a odd man :3

Besides hobbies, oddly enough he enjoys Sanrio-related things—specifically cinnamon roll. (Since it’s the only character he knows,) he will convince you that the cinnamoroll is a bunny, not a dog. He refuses to accept that the little cartoon character is not a bunny as he first assumed. Of course he likes music music,, he’s given poetry a chance, isn’t the great at it but really enjoys it!

—Biography;

Toby is Dominican-German. His mom was Dominican while his dad was German! He’s fluent in Spanish and somewhat broken German. Around 5’9 to 6’0 foot tall. Late teens and early twenties he was more scrawny than anything but after 13 years of labor and trying to survive he obv grew some muscle mass and like… isn’t built like a 17-year-old boy idfk. Ofc, he was born on April 28th 1994. Toby grew up in more southern states (specifically Alabama) and has a slighht southern accent.

—Proxy experiences;

Toby is a runaway proxy; one of the very few that managed to escape Slendermans (or the operators, depending on which) grasp. Though he isn’t exactly safe cuz of this, If he gets too close to the terrority of Slenderman or the operator he starts developing symptoms and illness. Course the main being static n amnesia, waking up in random places covered in blood, etc. Toby can’t feel pain so the static doesn’t cause immense headaches but it’s dangerous for that exact reason; he can never tell when his nose starts to bleed or his ears rupture.

Toby only got involved with the operator in his later years (maybe around midish late 20’s) when he was in the minced of escaping Slenderman, and just so happened to meet Tim Wight. He spiraled into a REDACTED hell hole from there.

—Love interest(s) ?;

Oh boy, , it really depends on how quirky im feeling. Ticciwork and TicciJeff tbh. He loves ppl with no sanity 🫶🫶 Thankfully Jeff isn’t involved with Slender because he’s too much of a loose cannon to be controlled, much like EJ, the rake, seed, smile, grinny, etc. and Slenderman doesn’t take interest in Clockwork but since she has connections with some of slendermans valuable tyrants and or proxies, the entity leaves her be.

Jeff was the one to help Toby escape slenderman, and snapped him out of his “devotion” era. Clock is just amazing girlfriend and always there for him :p.

extra . . . .

[ REDACTED ! ! ]

This Deja vu feeling haunts him. He doesn’t understand why he’s being searched for. Why do the cops know who he is? Why is he? Who was he?

Childhood didn’t exist. Was he always grown ?

Why is it when he passes down that neighborhood, it feels so nostalgic . Nothing left but ashes and decaying foundations of homes, homes that were once were preoccupied by happy families. He call still smell the remains of the burnt buildings. Strange. It’s like he could never forget.

Jeff always went quiet whenever they were talking and the topic of this neighborhood was brought up, does he know something the EX proxy doesn’t?

What’s more confusing is that fateful night with Natalie, he found himself driving down a dark road that one night. It shared similar sentiment much like the abandoned neighborhood, only much more sinister. He was with Clocky, Pretty brunette with a clock for one eye,, the other an odd emerald green. Over time, the twitchy man taught himself to read clocks just so he wouldn’t have to check his phone for the time. Natalie’s eye always went tick tock, tick tock.

It was only him and Nat against the world at that moment,, so who was the mauled looking blonde in his rear view window? Sitting in the back of his car as well, it was strange. Jeff usually hoarded up the back seats. . He wouldn’t share it with a victim.

But it isn’t just a victim. Toby found himself struggling to catch his breath, who is she? Nat. It’s not Nat. It’s not Jeff. It’s just some blonde girl. A young adult that resembles someone he doesn’t know. Does he know ? ? ?

Who is she?

What was once a soft and familiar safe touch was now ghostly and evocative ? ?

Everything is blurry around him. He doesn’t hear her asking if he’s okay.

He doesn’t feel her cold touch, her hand covering his on the steering wheel.

One moment he’s on the road

The next he’s out cold

.

What caused him to swerve into that tree ?

Why did he put their lives at risk ?

.

Panting. He heard harsh panting. Was that him? Was that her? His hands were completely thrown off the steering wheel and replaced with paler, somewhat smaller ones. Not so gentle though. Something warm was dripping down from his nose. Metallic scent wafted and clogged his nostrils. He licked his lips and wasn’t surprised to be met with blood - he looked in the rear view mirror - NO BLONDIE IN SIGHT

He looked out the window. Did he just barely manage to swerve away from that tree? No. He didn’t save their lives. He looked to his right. A singular green eye met his. She’s unharmed, unlike REDACTED but shooken up. What brought him back to his senses was that familiar disoriented voice.

“Toby, what the fuck ??”

#creepypasta #slenderverse #marble hornets mention #the operator #Tim wright mention #Ticci Toby #Tobias Rodger’s #Ticciwork #Toby x clockwork #ticcijeff #Toby x Jeff the killer #headcannons #sourcemates #Sanrio #cinnamoroll #the slenderman

[venus-haze]

Rebel Yell (Severen x Reader)

Summary: The clan splits up for the night, and Severen gets in an easy, early kill before booking it back to the motel room. Small towns look the same after a while, and this one is nothing short of dead, even without a group of ruthless vampires stalking the streets for prey. It isn’t until you show up at the motel room door, pretty, helpless, and soaking wet from the rain, desperate for a place to stay, that the night finally gets interesting.

Note: Female reader, but no other descriptors are used. Near Dark has really vague rules when it comes to vampires, so I took some (gross) creative liberties on how sex would work. Do not interact if you’re under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 3.2k

Warning: Violence, technically major character death. Sexually explicit content that involves extremely dubious consent and bloodplay (a lot of it. He’s a vampire). Do not interact if you’re under 18.

Severen slumped into the lone armchair in the motel room, its tropical theme sorely out of place in the middle of Oklahoma. Hundreds of miles of fields and nothing worth looking at. He preferred the desert, brutal and hostile at night yet equally so in the daytime. He envied that type of power. Wanted to be the devil that appeared to saints in their isolation. Lead them into temptation and shed their blood. Despite having eternity, his own hours of operation were woefully limited. 

The clock on the wall opposite him read 11:39. Fuck. The night had barely started, and he’d already fed. Jesse had warned them to only take one person each. It was a small town. Not long before the residents notice half a dozen people dead or missing. As Severen found after feeding on the first easy target he came across, there wasn’t shit else to do. Plenty of time to kill before the others got back. Dejectedly, he looked at the stack of girly magazines Mae swiped from a truck stop a few hundred miles back, somewhere in Alabama–or maybe it was Arkansas. He never paid much attention to that kind of thing. Cosmopolitan’s cover screamed ‘STEP UP THE SPICE! 5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR MAN ON HIS TOES AND IN BETWEEN YOUR SHEETS.’ He sucked on his teeth as he grabbed the magazine.

Page 37. Ladies, have you ever felt like—blah, blah, blah—number one, wear lingerie. No shit. Number two, initiate sex instead of leaving it up to him. He frowned. People couldn’t be so stupid they needed common sense stuff spelled out for them. 

Unfortunately, he’d left his preferred reading material behind in a motel room a few states ago. It was a lucky find in the first place. Small towns typically didn’t carry that type of thing, even at rest stops. He liked the hardcore stuff that was still kinda amateur. Photos that looked like they were taken in someone’s actual basement instead of on a set. 

He threw Cosmopolitan to the side in a huff. The magazine slid to the edge of the table. He looked at the covers of the other ones. Nothing that piqued his interest. 

He stared at the ceiling, brown patches from water stains over the years. A spot near the opposite side of the room dripped water every few seconds. Thunder rumbled. Lightning crashed. Oh yeah, it was raining. Not many people were out that night because of it. He should’ve waited. Broken into someone’s home and had some real fun. He was always impulsive, especially when he was bored and restless. Jesse called him stir-crazy. He certainly felt that way, his knee bouncing from his pent-up energy.

Muffled below the claps of thunder, there was a steady knock at the door—rapid, desperate. Severen grinned. Maybe the night wouldn’t be a bust after all. 

He stood up, wasting no time in making his way over to the door. A voice on the other side was nearly drowned out by the thunder and knocking.

“Hello? Is anyone awake?” 

He wasn’t sure what he expected when he opened the door. Definitely not you, drenched and shivering. Probably had no idea your top had become see-through from the rain. You were pretty, but damn, you looked pitiful. It took everything in him not to pounce. He had to play it smart, drag things out so as to not find himself in the same predicament as less than a minute prior.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I haven’t seen anyone in the front office, and this was the only room with the lights on this late—“

“Come on in, darlin’,” he said, moving to the side to allow you entry. 

“Thanks a lot. I’ll check the office again in a few minutes.”

He didn’t respond, tongue darting out from between his lips. Your natural scent mixed with the fresh rain water nearly had him drooling. The view of your bra through your wet shirt didn’t help any. 

“Got a towel?” you asked, folding your arms around yourself in an attempt to stay warm.

“Sure, you make yourself comfortable.”

He motioned to the seat he’d just been moping in before disappearing into the bathroom. Gave himself a once-over in the mirror as he grabbed a towel. Ran a hand through his messy hair. Good enough considering you looked like someone pushed you into a swimming pool. 

“Severen,” he said when he handed you the towel. “Christ, you’re soaked.”

You smiled, answering with your own name. As if he’d remember it. As if you’d survive the night to ever tell anyone else. It didn’t matter. You felt comfortable around him. He sure hit the jackpot with you coming along. The universe threw him a bone for once. Stupid, soaked, and way too trusting of strangers in the night.

He grabbed one of the chairs next to the small table in the room and pulled it over. The towel was already damp from you trying to wring out your clothes with it. You were so absorbed in drying off that you didn’t notice how close he was sitting. He couldn’t help himself.

“You’re real brave, knockin’ on a stranger’s door in the middle ‘a the night. For all you know, I could be some psycho killer.”

You giggled nervously, wrapping the towel around your shoulders. “Guess I’ll find out.”

“Hey, I’m just messin’,” he said. “Where ya headed to?”

“Arizona. I’m gonna go to the Painted Desert.”

Gonna. You’re not gonna do shit. “Why? Does it need a fresh coat?”

You laughed, conversation flowing easily for the next few minutes. He noticed how you relaxed in the chair the longer the two of you spoke. Good. He wanted you to feel comfortable. Trust him. Not expect a goddamn thing.

“I should check the front office again. I’ll be right back.”

“What’s the rush? I mean–”

“Oh my god,” you groaned, looking at the seat. A giant wet spot had soaked into the fabric from your clothes. “Shit, Severen. I’m sorry.”

He waved you off. “Throw another towel over it.”

You rushed into the bathroom. He tilted his chair back just enough to get a look at you. Wet clothes still clung to your body. You bent over as you smoothed out the fresh towel over the armchair. The waistband of your panties peaked out from your jeans.

“Wish me luck,” you said as you headed out.

He smiled in return, which fell as soon as you turned your back. The door shut. Shit. Why did he let you leave? More than that, how did he get so distracted staring at you that you were able to get one over on him? He almost considered going out there to follow you. He shook his head at himself. No need. You were nice. You wouldn’t check-in and not tell him, forget to thank him for taking you in for a few minutes.

Even if you did get your own room, all wouldn’t be lost. He could insist on helping you bring your bags over and then pounce. Probably work out better than making a mess in a room he had to share with everyone else. Either way, he had you. 

He settled back into the chair, arms folded behind his head as he waited for your inevitable return. A grin spread across his face when there was a knock at the door a few minutes later.

“Hey Severen, it’s me!” you called from outside.

“It’s open!” he shouted.  “Any luck?”

“Still nothing,” you sighed, closing the door behind you. “I might see if there’s another place up the road—“

“Darlin’, there ain’t shit for miles,” he said. “What’re you gonna do, sleep in your car?”

The sincerity in your smile should’ve made him feel bad. Instead, he felt restless. You were back to swimming cageless with the sharks. One drop of blood and it was all over. He wasn’t letting this go to waste.

You sat back down in the soggy armchair, rubbing your hands over your arms. He noticed you starting to shake a bit, teeth chattering.

“Cold?” he asked. “I can turn the heat up, but it’ll cost ya.”

You laughed. The carefree sound filled the room for the very last time. You had no idea. 

“What? You think I’m just gonna let you stay here outta the kindness of my heart?” 

“Oh, right! I got money,” you said, beginning to rifle through your purse. “At least $30 in here, but I need some of that for—“

“Ain’t interested in your money, sweetcheeks.”

“I’ll leave, then.”

“Didn’t say that.”

“I’m not a whore,” you spat.

Finally. You had some fight in you after all.

“Didn’t say that either.”

“Then what do you want?”

He sauntered over to you, leaning over the chair. You were trapped. His head tilted down, and he pulled at your scalp to expose your neck. It felt like he was running a razor blade down the vulnerable skin of your throat. 

At first, you didn’t realize what he had done until he lifted his head. Crimson smeared across his face. His grinning mouth dripped blood. A crack of lightning and the room went dark. Shadows obscured his face. He looked like the devil. The lights came back on after a few moments. Too late. He captured your lips in a kiss that made your stomach churn.

The taste of copper filled your mouth, harsh and metallic on your tongue. You nearly choked on your own blood, straight from the mouth of this lunatic whose motel room you’d foolishly taken refuge in. This time, you felt the sting on your bottom lip. How was it possible for his teeth to be so sharp? 

You pushed against him, your palms flat on his chest. “Get the fuck off of me!” 

He didn’t budge. Threw his head back in a fit of maniacal laughter. No way he wasn’t the devil. He tore apart your shirt with ease. The cool air in the room making contact with your bare, wet skin sent a jolt through you. 

His hands gripped your shoulders. “Easy darlin’, I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

You blinked, and he pulled you up to your feet. You should have just slept in your car. Kept driving to the next motel, the next city, the next state. Instead, you stopped there and knocked on the lunatic’s door. 

He grabbed a towel and dragged you over to the bed. You watched as he threw the towel to the side. He’d only keep it around if he thought he needed it to clean up something. Blood. 

In your moment of distraction, he pushed you back onto the bed. Severen’s eyes raked over your body, briefly observing, considering. With one hand, he pushed down your bra. Your tits exposed to him, at the mercy of his rough grasp. He squeezed and pinched until your nipples were perky and sensitive. Brushed his thumbs over each of them. You let out the slightest whimper at the sensation. 

“Severen,” you implored. “You don’t have to do this.”

“No, but I really want to.”

He lowered his head. A flash of pain took over your senses. With teary eyes you looked down and saw blood all over your chest. His mouth was practically glued to your tits. They were bleeding. He was nursing on your bleeding tits. 

You shrieked in terror. That only seemed to egg him on. His hands flew to your jeans, peeling the wet denim off of your body. The growl that rumbled from deep in his chest didn’t sound human. He sure as hell didn’t feel human as he began rutting his own denim-clad crotch against your panties. They were wet from the rain. That’s what you kept repeating to yourself. You weren’t turned on by this situation, even subconsciously. It was disgusting. Foul. It had rained. That was all.

Then the rough fabric brushed your clit just right, and you let out a strangled moan. He was still fully clothed. No sign of letting up on your tits. No attempts to get his own pants off and fuck you instead of the animalistic over the clothes humping. You supposed you should be grateful for that much. There was only one way a situation like this could end. You were going to die.

Maybe it was the shock finally settling into your body, but the way he was manhandling you started feeling good. You lifted your hips to give yourself more of the friction from his bulge. His fingers dug into your hips. You wouldn’t be surprised to find more blood. That’s all he was preoccupied with, like he wanted to drain you of it.

His mouth finally left your tits. Another target had been identified. He brushed his nose against your racing pulse on the side of your neck, licking a stripe over it before breaking skin with ease. Your brain felt fuzzy. But you were so close. Didn’t you at least deserve one last moment of pleasure before your impending doom? 

You breathed his name as he lapped up the blood that flowed freely from your neck. It took all of your strength, but you lifted your leg, hooking it around his waist and pressing his body closer to yours. He growled against your skin. Low. Primal. Wet. Everything was so fucking wet. 

Not quite there, but achingly close that you could practically reach out and touch your release with your fingertips. You tried pressing him closer, getting some kind of leverage so you could just cum already.

You spoke through gritted teeth. “Harder.”

His teeth sunk deeper in your neck. It started to hurt again. Everything hurt until it didn’t anymore. The howl you let out burned your throat and rattled your bones. The pleasure filled your body, your pussy clenching around nothing at all, mutilated chest heaving as your strained cardiac system attempted to keep up with you with far less blood than it was used to. Then, all of a sudden, your mind went to mush.

Looking down between you, there was so much blood. Blood everywhere. Some of it was lower than you expected. That part of your body hadn’t been his focus. You weren't on your period. There was no reason for that much blood to be between your legs, on your thighs. The front of his jeans practically drenched in it.

“Why is there blood?” you asked hazily. “Down there. Wh-What did you do?”

He clamped a hand over your mouth. “Nothin’ you need to worry ‘bout. Fuck, ‘m close.”

You didn’t have the energy to do anything besides lay there. Take whatever he decided to give you as he chased his own release. Then, after that, into the abyss. 

Suddenly, the door swung open, and you let out a confused whine at the two voices you heard. Severen growled against your skin.

“What do y’all want!” he shouted. “I’m in the middle of somethin'!”

Your head lulled over to the side. A teenage girl and a young boy stood by the door, the latter slamming it shut. 

The girl had a wild look in her eyes as she pushed the boy behind her despite his protests. She didn’t pity you. Wasn’t nervous either. Almost looked like she was holding herself back. A dog having the slightest bit of self-control while a steak is waved in its face. Of course a freak like Severen would keep similar company.

“Jesse and Diamond are gonna be back real soon,” the girl said, her gaze focused on you. “She shouldn’t be here.”

“Well shit, Mae. I was just finishing up before y’all barged in,” Severen snapped. “Just wait outside a few minutes.”

“It’s our room too!” the boy protested from behind Mae. 

You groaned, feeling a sharp pain wrack through your body. Your stomach felt like it was turning inside out on itself. They didn’t care. Severen got up to argue more with Mae and the boy. Threw a towel over your writhing figure as if that’d make you disappear. Out of sight, out of mind.

Aching, burning, that was all you could feel. Every minute movement was fire. Blood loss, probably. You didn’t know how much you had lost in the first place. Severen ingested most of it. Not enough to pool around your body, give you an idea of how many pints down you were. The arguing voices jumbled together into a cacophony of varying annoyed tones that suddenly silenced when the door opened.

“Are you out of your mind?” a woman snapped. Not Mae. Someone else.

“I’ll dump her somewhere, Jesus,” Severen said.

A gruff, older man’s voice cut through the argument that had started up again. “She dead?”

“I was gettin’ around to it.”

Footsteps approached. The towel was pulled from over your face. You threw your arm over your eyes to shield them from the motel room lights. More like spotlights, their sudden intensity burning your eyes. You could almost hear them too. The constant buzzing made your head throb. You groaned.

“Fuck,” the older man grumbled. “She turned. How the hell did you let that happen?”

“‘Cause he wasn’t thinkin’ with the right head,” the boy said.

“Brat,” Severen hissed. “C’mon Jesse, first time in a hundred years I fucked up. Gimme a break.”

Did he just say a hundred years? You pushed yourself to sit up, holding the towel in place over your exposed, bloody breasts. The headache took a backseat to how awful your stomach felt, like you hadn’t eaten a thing in weeks. 

“You know she has to come with us now? Learn to feed, to survive. That’s gonna be on you,” Jesse said, his steely gaze on Severen. “‘Less anyone has a better idea.”

The boy piped up. “Leave her outside somewhere and let the sun take care of it.”

The woman rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her face. “Let the grown-ups talk. I’m with Jesse.”

“Me too. I think we should give her a shot. Only fair,” Mae said.

Majority ruled. You were staying with whoever the fuck those people were. So much for seeing the Painted Desert.

“‘Nother mouth to feed,” the boy muttered.

Severen squeezed you against his side. “Shut your trap, Homer.”

Suddenly he gave a shit, as if he wasn’t planning to kill you if the other maniacs in the room hadn’t barged in. You were so furious that the room spun. Everyone’s eyes looked owlish as they watched you fall backward onto the bed, your hands clamped over your stomach.

Jesse was shouting something. You didn’t know what. Your body screamed with unprecedented hunger over his frantic instructions. Your view of the ceiling was replaced by Severen’s bloody face. He bit into his own wrist. The copper scent hit your nose like a freight train. You grabbed his arm, bringing the open wound to your mouth without a second thought.

Severen watched with morbid curiosity as you fed from him. He’d never turned anyone before. Didn’t have any plans to. He supposed it was bound to happen this way, some freak accident. At least if it was anyone, it was you. Liked him well enough before. He was sure he could get you to come around to him again. Even if you didn’t, you looked even prettier covered in blood than drenched in water.

He wrenched his wrist from your grasp. You sat up, hungry gaze following his arm. He looked from it to you.

“Damn darlin’,” Severen said, a grin spreading across his face. “You’re a natural.”

“A natural what?” you asked, looking at the group of strange people crowded around you.

Their eyes shifted among each other before Jesse gave you a knowing smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

#severen x reader #near dark 1987 #severen #slasher x reader #slasher fandom #slasher community #near dark

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Submit - An Angel Reyes/Reader One Shot Story.

Some dom!Angel goodness for my babes! 

Words - 1,285

Warnings - Smut below the cut, sub/dom pairing. Minors DNI!

You pull hard against your restraints, the rope binding your wrists creaking, your body straining as you feel the anticipation tumble through you, brought to the sizzling peak of your crest, only to be denied. Again. Like an avalanche hitting a gigantic wall, your fall into bliss is prevented, the stimulation in the form of a rapidly moving tongue taken away, your lover grinning at your anguish.  

You sob, shaking, breathing erratic. “Please, Angel. Please! I need it, just let me cum!”

He leans forward, hand clasping your jaw, his nose touching yours as he shakes his head. “And I said I'd punish you, so you’re going to lie there and fucking take it.”

“But it’s not fair!”

A slap of reprimand stings your cheek. “And you were told not to misbehave. Look at you now, though. Still being a needy, whiny brat who refuses obedience. I don’t reward that shit, and you know it.” The level of sternness arrows right to where you are gaping for him, your soaking cunt desperate to feel the intrusion of what you yearn for.

“I’m so fucking cock hungry!” you cry, Angel sneering slightly, shaking his head.

He leans to your ear, tongue tickling a lick against the lobe. “And unless you quit your demanding, you will starve.” Oh, the fucking eroticism of it, your walls tightening, his words the ignition to the blaze that burns through your core.

He sits up slowly, the rippling of his muscles a feast for your eyes, his hand curling around the thick swell of his engorged cock, stroking slowly, positioning the head against your clit, rubbing it in merciless tease. His dark eyes fix upon you, his stare baleful. “This is what that needy little pussy wants, isn’t it, baby? You need me to fill you up, stretch you out?”

You gurgle, a charge of glimmers ensnaring your voice, trapping it beneath the heavy brunt of dark desire. His hand slaps at your slit, reprimanding. “I expect an answer, little girl.”

“Yes, I’m craving you, Angel. Mmmm, I can’t wait to feel you inside me as soon as you decide I’ve been good enough to deserve your cock.”

He chuckles, a dark rumble of sinfulness. “She used all the right words, but that don’t mean she gets what she needs yet.” He drops back down to lie flat on the bed between your spread legs, his fingers wandering over the many intricate knots that bind you in utter sumptuous divinity, each leg lashed to the opposing bedpost by the many metres of black bondage rope coiling your trembling calves, the tip of his tongue snaking through your sopping folds, circling your clit so featherlight, he’s barely touching you at all.

“Look at that needy little hole pulsing, all empty. You want some fingers in you, baby?”

“Please,” you pant, Angel sitting up, slowly rubbing a soft circle over your aching bud with his thumb, his hand stroking in a smooth glide up your quaking body.

“Open your mouth.” You oblige, his third and fourth fingers sliding in until the cool metal of his heavy rings touch your lips, a groan pooling in his throat as he imagines his cock being sucked within the same snug heat. He slips them back and forth, pressing in your tongue, feeling your mouth become aqueous, his thumb speeding up a little.

You look at him pleadingly, your eyes full of need, Angel chuckling darkly. “Oh, you thought when asked if you wanted some fingers in you, you meant right around here, didn’t you?” Not losing the tangency with his thumb, he stretches a finger down to your slick opening, teasing you, barely penetrating, your eyelids fluttering as the anticipation crashes through you like an out-of-control car.

“Please, please, please,” you beg in whisper, sucking hard on his fingers until he slips them from your mouth, grasping your jaw, your chest rising and falling rapidly.  

“Focus, baby girl. Look at me.” You do, for the briefest of moments before your eyes roll back again. “What’s your name?”

“(Y/N)”

“What’s your safe word?”

“Alabama.”

At hearing that, he’s satisfied you’re coherent enough to continue. An inept dom wouldn’t realise that they need to pay close attention to their sub, that such practices do not merely extend to the pushing of pain thresholds, but those of pleasure, too, or rather the denial, the delayed gratification that Angel understands can also mentally turn someone inside out. That’s why you trust him so much, to be submitted to his will entirely. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“Good girl.” He smiles, pushing his fingers back into your mouth, leaning to you, placing smouldering kisses over your throat, the single digit teasing at your petals slowly sliding within, a filthily indulgent moan pouring from you to finally feel a smidgen of gratification. “Yeah, is that what my baby needed, huh? Something to stroke at that tight, wet little hole?”

Your walls brace around him strongly as you bite his fingers, breathing erratically through your nose. “Yes!”  

Your wailed statement is met by the hard press of a fingertip against your g spot, curling, raking, your legs tensing as your toes curl. “Fuck, you’re so wet, querida. Who owns this beautiful little pussy?”

“You do.”

“Do you think I should let you feel me making it mine all over again?”

“Please. Angel. I need you so badly.”

He moves to kneel before you, gripping his cock, his eyes never leaving yours as he pumps at his shaft, getting himself even harder, bringing it to your slick folds and rubbing himself against them before pushing, finally parting your walls, cries of utter ecstasy leaving your open mouth.

“There you go, that’s what you needed, my big dick right up in this pretty little cunt,” he groans, his voice gravelled with roaring lust. “How’s it feel?”

“Amazing,” you gasp, your body writhing, desperate for more friction as he slowly drags back again, every last thick inch of him scraping your fluttering heat, his shaft slick and shiny with the glossy saturation of your arousal. “Fuck, you’re so fucking hard!” you continue in mumbled gasps, panting heavily, your hands clutching at the bindings leading from your wrists to the bedposts.

The way your body undulates looks like poetry in motion to Angel, his hands gliding over your thighs as he steers himself back and forth, entering and retreating the hot clasp of your fluttering cunt, the rhythm slow and rolling, not giving you too much, although to pound you into the mattress with complete voracity is exactly what he craves.  

He holds it all within, though, like a storm contained, giving himself to you almost languidly, barely putting any speed behind the pace, but the power of him, his big body rutting against yours as each deep thrust sends him fully inside you, it has you sparking down to your marrow. The heat begins to crackle, embers sizzling beneath your skin, the addition of his thumb returned to your clit having you clenching around him like a vice, white heat fizzing through you, the swell of your orgasm reaching every part of your body as you shatter for him completely.

He fucks into you hard, groaning deeply, the warmth of his cum flooding you as your walls flutter around him, everything tingling as you gasp for breath, your body shaking violently. After the feeling of divinity has ebbed away, he unfastens your bindings, hands lovingly rubbing each of the red marks left behind, pulling you against him as he covers your bodies with soft blankets, holding you close.  

Adoring kisses are laid to your head, his hands stroking, aftercare blooming. “You did so well, beautiful.”  

#angel reyes #angel reyes smut #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes x female reader #angel reyes fanfiction #angel reyes x you #angel reyes fanfic #angel reyes fic #mayans mc #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc smut #mayans mc fanfiction #mayans mc fanfic #mayans mc fic

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Catfish and Dog Cemeteries

Chapter Nine of Sweet Home Alabama

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x OC (Linley Mitchell/Floyd), Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x OC (Linley Mitchell/Floyd)

Description: The Annual Pigeon Creek Catfish Festival is always your favorite event of the summer. Being back here after seven years feels different. It should be a consolation that you're only going to be in Pigeon Creek for a few days more. But instead, another encounter with an old friend makes you question everything you thought you knew about your soon-to-be ex-husband. A chance encounter with the man himself makes you question everything else in your life, too.

Themes: love, attraction, angst, sex, cheating, lying

Warnings: discussions of grief, discussions of miscarriage, discussions of animal death

Word Count: 2665

A/N: This chapter is one of the saddest in this entire fic. I know, I know. It's awfully hypocritical of me to say that when most of Sweet Home Alabama (the movie) is really really sad. This is the chapter I sobbed while writing. It's also the first time Jake and Linley address the pain they have put each other through. I hope you love it!

Thanks to the gorgeous @desert-fern for reading over this chapter and smacking my imposter syndrome demon when it refused to give up.

AO3: Cross-posted here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted here!

My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

Pigeon Creek's Catfish Festival is busier than you've ever seen it when you pull up and park your rental car on Main Street the next day. The festival used to be your favorite day of the summer, the one day during summer vacation when you could run free and eat as much candy and fried things as you wanted. You walk through the crowd on autopilot, walking down the line at the buffet until your plate is filled with all of the things you never actually let yourself eat anymore, and slip a twenty into the donation jar at the end of the table. The fried fish and steaming french fries had looked so good that you couldn’t stop yourself. 

But as you stand in the grass with your plate in your hand, it reminds you of something else. Nobody in Pigeon Creek likes you very much. Everyone you know is chatting and laughing and enjoying the good food. Yet you’re still the outsider. Like you were before Jake became your best friend like you have been every minute of every day since you left town. Not a single person wants to meet your eyes. A part of you understands why. Jake was the golden boy of the town. Jake is still the town hero. You’re just the girl who threw him away.

Of course, what you don’t expect to see is Dorothy sitting at one of the tables with a baby in her lap. She’s the only person who doesn’t glare at you as you walk up.

“D’you mind if I sit here?” Gone is the confident Linley who took New York by storm. In her place is the four-year-old with a lisp who used to get pushed off of picnic tables because she was too different.

“Sure.” You sit silently, gratefully, smiling at the chubby-cheeked baby in Dorothy’s lap.

“I, um..” You’re captivated by the shocks of tiny dark hair and big eyes and the way the little sweetheart is waving their fists around. “I didn’t know you and Mickey had a baby.”

“Aww, yeah. When you came around the bank the other day, there wasn’t much time for us to catch up now, was there?” She hums to the baby for several long moments before turning all of her attention to you.

It occurs to you at that moment that maybe you were more than a little prejudiced yourself as a kid. You have more fun with Dorothy than you’ve had in years. Getting to eat good food and just be yourself probably helps, too. Every time you see her snuggle her daughter, it feels like your heart breaks a little more. You can’t turn back time or change history. Seeing the baby squeal as a calf licks her hand makes you smile.

“Y’know he went up there?” There’s a secretive smile on Dot’s face as she rescues the baby from having her frock eaten by a goat.

“Who?” You drag your eyes away from the kids playing in front of you and focus back on Dorothy. “Dot, who went up where?” When she just looks at you, the lightbulb goes off in your head. “Jake? When?”

“About a year after you left.” That little tidbit of knowledge hits like a dart hitting a bullseye on a dart board. “He doesn’t know that I know, but Mickey let it slip once.”

“Jake was in New York?” You sound like a stuck record, but you can’t believe that Jake ever went to New York. Jake has always hated the idea of the big city, much preferring the country to the city. 

“He told Mickey he'd never seen anything like it.” Your heart is six feet under the earth.

“He realized straight off…” You’re leaning in despite yourself, some sick sense of curiosity expecting you to know, “That he'd need more than an apology to win you back. He needed to conquer the world first. He's been tryin' ever since.”

You didn’t think that you were so cruel a few days ago, standing in the middle of that fashion show back in New York. But now? Now, you feel like the worst person on the planet. 

“That's why he kept sending the papers back.” Is the world spinning off of its axis, or is that just you? How is it that you can know someone for most of your life and that they still surprise you every time?

“Yeah, it's funny how things don't work out.” The baby starts fussing in Dot’s arms, and the sweet burble of sound puts a smile on your face.

“It’s funny how they do.” 

You spend the rest of the day hanging out with Dorothy, smiling and laughing like a fool while playing with the baby. But it’s as night falls and the kids all go home to bed that excitement starts to course through your veins. The first twang of the guitar sets your feet tapping. For the first time since you came back to Pigeon Creek, you feel like you’re at home. With good music and even better alcohol in your hands, you finally feel free. 

Of course, what you’re not expecting, even though you totally should be, is Jake and Bob walking up to the small gathering you’ve found yourself in. It’s almost like once Dot approved of you, everyone else did, too. He looks like sin, his worn jeans clinging to his thighs and a soft red flannel clinging to his broad shoulders. His eyes and hair glisten in the soft light, and if you were a younger, less encumbered woman, you would have climbed him like a tree. But as it is, your soul feels heavy, and your left-hand feels even heavier. The worst part isn’t just how you lost the love of your life. It’s in how you’ve lost your best friend, too.

You can’t look at his smiling face, not when it hurts to see him happy when you’ve never been sadder. So, instead, you fixate on the glass your beer is in. It’s crystal clear and gorgeous, and well, it’s glass like you’ve never seen in New York. Is it any wonder that you lift the glass to see if you can see the manufacturer? Of course, just as you lift up the glass, it’s Dot who notices what you’re doing.

“Oh, honey, you…” She giggles, looking at you, “You drink that from the top.”

“I know that, Dot. I’m just lookin’ to see who makes this Deep South Glass. I wonder if you can get it in New York?" You take a sip of your beer and sigh. "It's beautiful."

"D'you hear that, Jake?" There is mischief in Dot's voice. "Lin wants to know where she can find that snooty-faluty glass." Why's she asking Jake, of all people?

"Why ask me?" See that? That's why Jake Seresin was your best friend. He always knew exactly what you were thinking and had the courage to express the thought, too.

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's because…" You've only had a few sips of your beer, so you don't miss the glare Jake shoots at Dot. You don't know why he's keeping secrets, but you have a feeling it isn't for a good reason. "You're all spiffed up and all."

"Wait, y'all." You probably look as confused as you feel. "Am I missing something?"

But all of a sudden, the familiar tones of Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd echo across the dance floor. You can count on one hand the number of times you've passed on dancing to this song - and all of them have been when you were in New York. It's a right of passage, a way of life. A part of you is sure every 'Bama baby has been put to bed at night with a crooned-out rendition of this song since it came out. Already, you can feel the beat tapping your toes, but a part of you isn't sure if anyone will ask you to dance. You smile vaguely as Dot marches off to the dance floor, Jake in tow, leaving you standing at the edge of the dance floor yearning.

"Y'know, she says that I've got two left feet, but the truth is she's got no rhythm." You startle just a bit at Mickey's voice, though you smile when you hear the pure love in it for Dot.

"Why don't we show her just how well I can dance, then, Miss Linley?" 

"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Garcia." 

You're smiling from ear to ear as Mickey twirls you around on the dance floor. Your eyes flutter closed as you feel the beat in every hummingbird thud of your heart. But when you open them again, it feels like the world's standing still. The music is gone. There isn't another person on the dance floor other than Jake and you. He's got his hand on your waist, and your heart's not beating in time anymore. Your palms grow clammy, and your tongue feels like it's swollen in your mouth.

There is something unreadable in Jake's gaze as he twirls you once, twice, and then one final time before applauding for the band and walking away. You spend the rest of the night as far away from Jake as you possibly can. You know where he is; you always have. But it's different going out of your way to avoid him. Everyone's cleared out for the night when you finally see the sign for the dog cemetery.

Bear used to love clear nights like this, and something about it makes you remember him. His little plot is the newest, and it hurts to think of the puppy you bottle-fed lying six feet under the ground when you never even got the chance to tell him you loved him one final time.

"Hi there, boy." Your hands shake as you clear away a couple of twigs ensnared in his grave marker. "Sorry, it took me so long. I would have come sooner if I'd known you were sick."

Sitting here tonight, you don't think you can lie. Not to Bear. "Actually, that's probably not true. I've been pretty selfish lately."

Tears track hot down your cheeks as you remember the dog you loved with all of your heart. "Dogs don't know anything about that, do they, though? You were always like a big old pillow. Like when everything went pear-shaped…" Your voice cracks on the words because pear-shaped is an understatement for how your life splintered. "You never left my side. And then I just left you. I bet you sat there wondering what you'd done wrong."

"I told him it was my fault." You stand up so quickly that you nearly fall over. It's Jake because who else would it be when he's so close that you can smell his cologne and feel the heat radiating off of his skin?

"Quit bein' so nice." 

"It's the truth." It's not. Not in the slightest. It was your fault. Your body, your mouth. Your fault. But you can't verbalize your words or how sorry you were for everything that you did.

"How come it has to be so complicated?" You sigh the words even as you wipe your tears away.

"What?" Despite his hatred for you, his voice is gentle, a melodic hum over the buzz of a summer night out in the country.

"The truth, life…" Finally, you trace your fingers over Bear's name. "This."

"He was one hell of a good dog, wasn't he?" You can only nod, moving to sit on a stone bench nearby. It's quiet for several moments, just you and Jake staring at the graves.

"You looked like you were having fun out there tonight." It's true, you did have fun. But it wasn't quite as easy as he thought it was to let loose.

"I'm happy in New York, Jake. But then I come down here and…” You gesture around you to all of Pigeon Creek. “This fits, too." Who are you trying to convince? Him? Or yourself?

"Since when does it have to be one or the other? You can have roots and wings, Lin." Not possible, not with your all-or-nothing life.

"Maybe I could just fly south for the winter." As if the Honorable Carole Bradshaw would ever let you do that.

He sits down next to you suddenly, warming the left side of your body as he gets close.

"Look." It takes you a bit to figure out what you're looking for, but when you see it, it makes you feel like a kid again. "There. Do you see 'em?"

"Only you. Lightnin' bugs." There's a childlike wonder on his face. This close, you can feel each exhale and can see the specks of amber floating in the green of his eyes

"You know, I still go out there sometimes. I see those big thunderheads rollin' in. It's like a religion." Of course, he still goes out on the beach in the middle of lightning storms.

But his confession has you spilling one of your own. "I had a dream about it the other night." You watch the lightning bugs track pinpricks of light through the dark night.

"It had me thinking, Lin. You ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't have gotten pregnant?"

Your heart falls to your feet at his words. Please let him regret you, but not that sweet baby. Please, not your sweet baby. Your throat barely pushes out the sound as you whisper, "Jake."

"Just," His eyes are pleading, and the sight of the pain in his eyes blanks all the thoughts out of your mind. "Let me get this out before I can't. I thought that baby would be an adventure."

"And it took me a while to realize that it would have been your only adventure." Yup. The sound you hear despite the blood pounding in your temples is your heart shattering into infinitesimal pieces. "I just guess Mother Nature knew better, huh?"

Your hands make abortive movements in your lap. But you can't reach for him, not with the ring weighing your left hand down. "I was so ashamed, Jake. 'Cause I felt relieved. How selfish am I, huh? I lost our baby, and I felt relieved. I felt relieved. And I couldn't handle that. All of a sudden, I just needed a different life. So I left."   

Your voice is so quiet you're not sure Jake can actually hear you.

"You’ve done really well for yourself. I'm proud of you, Lin." He's so close all you want to do is fall into him. But you can't. You can't.

"I'm just sorry I never danced with you at our weddin'." How does he make your heart feel so full that you're sure it's going to overflow?

"I'm sure this next one's gonna go better for ya." His hands are strong and warm and perfect as they cradle yours. But every press of his hands rubs the ring, Bradley's ring, into your hands. It feels like a brand, the guilt turning into a five-ton weight sitting there. And it's that itchy, heavy feeling that has you yanking your hands from his own. 

"Jake, I can't do this." Who are you trying to convince as you walk away? Like so much of this conversation tonight, you're not really sure.

"I know."

Something about those words has you turning around. It's not a feeling or an expressed desire, but you still stand on your tiptoes and kiss Jake. Just once, you promise your traitorous heart. Just once. But he feels like home and tastes like it and smells like it. The electricity ricocheting through your veins makes you feel so good that you don't break the kiss until Jake does. Your lips are swollen, and you can barely breathe. But Jake? Jake just looks angry.

"Go home." Is it any wonder that you do so with your tail between your legs?

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

@atarmychick007 @the-romanian-is-bae @lt-spork @buckysdollforlife @blackwidownat2814 @praline357 @seitmai @cheyrenee @trickphotography2 @abaker74 @marrianena-library @angelbabyange @temptest13 @kmc1989 @im-an-adult-ish @chaoticassidy @inkandarsenic @lynnevanss @shanimallina87 @khaylin27 @mizzzpink @emma8895eb @hookslove1592 @leahnicole1219 @djs8891 @sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @horseshoegirl @dakotakazansky @teacupsandtopgun @footprintsinthesxnd @thedroneranger @cherrycola27 @roosterforme @mak-32 @beyondthesefourwalls

#star writes #top gun fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun imagine #sweet home alabama #a top gun au #star's sweet home alabama top gun au #jake hangman seresin x oc #hangman x oc #jake seresin x oc #bradley rooster bradshaw x oc #rooster x oc #bradley bradshaw x oc

[blackberrysummerblog]

Happy Sunday everyone! I’m really hoping to get some writing done this week when I’m in Alabama, because after that I suspect I’m going to be insanely burnt out for a week or two. Thank you for tagging me today @aroace-genderfluid-sheep, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @confused-bi-queer, @shutup-andletme-go, @forabeatofadrum, @tender-ministrations, and @valeffelees!

Here’s a bit of Snow POV from my AU:

“Hey,” I say, standing up. “What’s this?” There’s initials carved into the trunk—in many cases, burned in—most in hearts but some by themselves or in a circle. The tree’s completely covered in them, like an extremely involved tattoo sleeve.

Climbing to his feet, Baz sighs and traces the shape of one of the hearts. The initials inside read NP+MG, just above his head and burned in deep. “It’s a Pitch tradition,” he says. “It goes back generations, long before the manor was ever built. My mother’s family lived on this land going all the way back to the very first Pitches.” The smallest shadow of a smile tugs at his lips. “We’re fire mages, Pitches. Grimms too, come to that. That’s why so many of these seem burned into the bark.”

“But…what are they? Couples?”

Baz looks at me. “Yes. Crucible bonded pairs, love matches mostly. Pitches tend to defy expectation that way.”

I don’t ask if the hearts are for love matches, or what exactly he means by defying expectation. Looking at his family—well, I suppose Fiona is the only other Pitch who lives here, but Mr. Grimm was married to Baz’s mother—I can see where it might be easy to assume their relationships would be based on practicality. It’s hard to picture Baz’s aunt head over heels, or his father. “Oh!” I say, taking a harder look at the heart Baz is tracing. “That one’s your parents, isn’t it?” He nods a bit wistfully, so I give him a nudge with my elbow. “Didn’t know your family was a pack of raging vandals, did I.”

Baz laughs. “Dealbreaker, Snow?”

“Not hardly. Let’s get ours up here, Baz.”

A look of surprise comes over his face, but he’s snapped his wand out of his sleeve already. “Hmmm,” he murmurs, inspecting the trunk. “Help me choose a spot, Snow.”

I walk around the tree until I meet up with him again, then slip behind Baz and wind my arms around his waist. “Do you trust me?”

He looks back over his shoulder and frowns. “I mean…some. What are you going to do, Snow?” I point at a spot about seven metres up; there aren’t too many branches that might impede flight in this spot. Baz scoffs. “Always have to be different, don’t you?—all right, but if you drop me, I’ll put a moratorium on Vera’s scone making for the rest of your life.”

And that’s that for another week. Wishing you all the best for the month ahead! ❤️

Tagging: @cutestkilla, @larkral, @facewithoutheart, @fatalfangirl, @raenestee, @ileadacharmedlife, @bazzybelle, @aceumbrellaheroes, @supercutedinosaurs, @asocialpessimist, @palimpsessed, @alleycat0306, @ninemagicks, @bookish-bogwitch, and @hertragedyconnoisseur 😘

#six sentence sunday #wip #snowbaz #simon snow #baz pitch #crucible au #married by the crucible au #crucible marriage au #arranged marriage #sort of #tree graffiti

[cheesus-doodles]

The Flag We Serve Under: Chapter 2

Yandere Azur Lane

Masterlist

‎‎

<< Chapter 1

thank you all for your interest and patience in this little series! I hope you enjoy!

The loud blare of your phone ringing nearly gave you a heart attack as it shocked you straight back into reality from what was an unusually restful sleep. Hands automatically shooting out in a blind attempt to grab at the offending object -  the same way you did every morning - though instead of finding yourself in the warm embrace of your comfortable bed, you tumbled out of your chair with a loud thud, a whirlwind of disturbed papers flying up from your desk and falling gracefully to the ground. “H-huh? What?” The warm wooden surfaces and neat shelves of books and files that surrounded you looked foreign to groggy eyes; where were you? Who were you?

For a moment, the world seemed restless, uneasy, before the next blare of your phone shook you from your trance-like state, and the memories came flooding back. Yes - you remembered now. The previous day's shenanigans at Naval HQ, sailing with Alabama across the deep blue open ocean for the first time in forever, watching the sun set below the horizon from the port window right above your desk; it seemed like you had once more managed to walk away from another counter with your commanding officer, though you had to admit you were definitely worse for the wear this time. 

Your phone protested again, the third insistent ring nudging you into finally picking up, the reluctance all the more clear when you noted it was that asshat of an officer you reported to whose name was plastered across your screen. “Hello?”

There was no greeting from the barking voice on the other end, instead just more orders, more work, handed down from the top and relayed through the small black phone. As expected. You automatically tuned most of the harsh words out as you usually do, focusing on the actual actions that you needed to take; yet as the voice kept coming, the sleepiness instantly drained from your mind, your eyebrows furrowing more and more with every word conveyed. None of this was good news, not at all. “Yes, sir.” Your voice was clear and firm even as your thoughts whirled. More girls being shifted under your command? The Sakura Empire asking to deal directly with you?

What on earth was going on?

“Make sure you don’t mess this up,” Your superior warned, but you could tell this was far more dire situation than any superficial paperwork disaster - the Sakura Empire had broken off from Azur Lane to pursue Siren technology by themselves after all, and neither you nor Naval HQ could tell what they wanted with you. One wrong step could bring the infighting to a whole new level. All you could do was bite your tongue - this wasn’t the right time nor the right person to ask the multitude of questions rushing through your thoughts. 

Yet there was one that you couldn’t resist asking, that no matter how much you tried to hold it down, it still managed to slip out almost unconsciously. “But sir, why now?” Why transfer more to your fleet when it was clear that the top dogs at HQ had not been particularly happy with your performance? Why did the Sakura Empire want to speak with you now? Why you? 

Your commanding officer went silent for a heartbeat, then two, with just the sound of his heavy breathing being picked up and transmitted; from a lack of a better answer or from the loaded question, you didn’t know. But before you could get your answer, your ears picked up the sound of footsteps - numerous sets, if you had to guess - thundering down the deck and growing louder as they approached your makeshift office. The thick bomb-proof steel door flew open with a bang, a toss of white hair swept back in her tailwind as Alabama rushed into the room, usually sleepy crimson eyes frantically scanning the small room, landing on you where you were still seated on the ground. “Commander! Are you okay? What happened?”

There was an instant blast of fresh salty air to your face that rushed through the open door. It was a shame that all the man on the other side of the ocean muttered was that he would ‘get you the information you needed’ before hanging up in a jiffy. Even if he was your superior and wasn’t afraid to treat you like dirt, you knew that most of the members of the staff at Naval HQ feared having to deal directly with the shipgirls, especially with Alabama in particular; the youngest of the Dakota-class sisters was notorious for her mood swings when it came to you after all. Tucking your work phone back into the pocket of your skirt, you gratefully accepted Alabama’s help to stand, straightening out your uniform once you were back on your own two feet right as Helena stepped cautiously through the doorway. “I’m fine. Thank you, Alabama, Helena. Just some morning grogginess.” 

Instead of settling your jumpy subordinates, it only seemed to arouse more suspicion in your tanned friend, red eyes narrowing at you. “Grogginess?” She repeated skeptically, her hand, twitching as if it was trying to resist grabbing you, instead disappearing inside her coat. “Like pregnancy grogginess?”

“No, no. Just awoken at the wrong time I suppose.” You patted your skirt where your phone was. “Duty calls.” You made a mental note to your future self to never find out how those under your charge would react if you actually got pregnant. Or if you ever had a boyfriend. Absolutely not.

Helena bent over to gingerly retrieve your cap, lightly dusting it off before handing it back to you. “Was it him?” She asked quietly, her blue hair still shimmering from salt crystals still clinging to individual strands - remnants of her time spent skating across the ocean. If you recall the schedule correctly, the Brooklyn-class cruiser must have rushed over right as her patrol ended.

“Unfortunately. On the bright side, I do have some updates. Could you gather everyone on the bridge in an hour please, Alabama?”

Said girl gave a curt nod, and you smiled in thanks. “Well in that case, I shall excuse myself back to my quarters.” But the crinkle of paper from the ground caught your attention once more, and you grimaced. You had completely forgotten about those; seems like your steaming shower and fresh uniform would have to wait a little longer.

‎‎

‎‎

“I wonder who is joining our fleet?” Aylwin wondered out loud as she lifted another spoonful of rice and vegetables to her mouth. Despite not having to eat food like you did, you had always insisted that the girls stick to a regular schedule and take a break during lunch time; whether they wanted to have something to munch on was something you left up to their decision, but you had always made food available for them. 

“Maybe we’ll meet some from other factions?” Baltimore suggested, which got a few nods from the eight shipgirls gathered around the table. “The Royal Navy and Dragon Empery are part of the Azur Lane too.” 

The mess hall aboard Alabama’s manifested ship was as worn as the rest of the ship, metal surfaces decorated with a generous litter of surface scratches from being thoroughly scrubbed clean countless numbers of times. Several pictures - of land and home and the vast ocean - decorated the walls, frames nailed firmly to keep them from moving as the ship cut through calm and rough waves alike. Several plates of food lined the center of the cloth-covered bench, a small luxury she knew that was allowed to them only while under your command; Alabama had heard enough of the horror stories from others suffering under less competent Commanders.

“I’m hoping it's the Grey Ghost,” Ranger leaned over the table, her volume dropping like she was . “Went on a mission with her previously before I was redeployed here, but never had a chance to sit and chat with her. She’s always so busy.”

But Alabama remained quiet, staring down at her cup of undrunk and rapidly cooling coffee and allowing the chatter to flow around and over her; she knew you better than the back of her own hand, and it was obvious that whatever that shithead of a commanding officer said to you, it wasn’t just to announce the expansion of your fleet. 

‎‎

Just thirty minutes prior, the eight of them hadn’t been seated casually around a dining table, instead having gathered on the bridge as per instructed. “Thank you all for gathering.” Standing at the head of the bridge, the endless sea glittered under the afternoon sun far below you outside the window, stretching out past the horizon like an enormous sequin blanket. “There’s been some news with regards to our fleet. Because of the increasing Siren threat in our sector and hence the expanding workload, word from Naval HQ is that we will have some new ships that will be joining our fleet.” You announced.

Excited whispers were instantly abound among the rest, but the tanned battleship’s slightly narrowed eyes were fixed on you and that soft smile you wore. It was just as it sounded: a mask that you put on in front of them. She could see it as clear as neon lights in the middle of the night on the empty ocean surface, even if you were trying your best to hide in the shadows that the sunlight cast. You always tried to physically hide when you had something to hide from there, from her; it was just the way you were after all.

“Do we know who’s joining?” Helena queried softly amidst the chaos, yet you still caught it regardless, smiling back at the blue-haired girl. 

“No information has been given on that, but I’ll give an update once Naval HQ comes back with more.”

Then you opened your mouth, as if to say more, only to snap it shut, your eyebrows furrowing - all quietly observed by Alabama. In a split second, it was gone, and taking a deep breath to compose yourself, she watched as your lips quirked up once more, your gaze lifting to meet theirs once more. The Commander mask was back on. “That’s all for now. You’re dismissed, please go have your break.”

You adjusted your cap, turning away to continue to pour over a map as your small fleet filed out, the thick steel door closing with a light thud behind them.

‎‎

And that was all. Were fresh faces really important enough to worth rudely waking you from your sleep and a personal call from that monkey brain of a commanding officer? Sure, with an expanding fleet meant new things to worry about, new people to keep at a distance from you, but… There was something else - more important, more urgent, more secretive - that you didn’t want to tell them, or that you couldn’t tell them about, and Alabama wasn’t having it. What if it was a threat to your safety? What if it got between you and her? What if it threatened her getting oathed to you? What if -

“Helloooo. Earth to Alabama.”

The white-haired battleship blinked, looking up from her cup, seven pairs of varied colored eyes looking curiously back at her. “...You alright?” Indianapolis piped up, blue and yellow heterochromatic eyes glancing her way. What if there was another person in the picture?

Her reply was curt, as it always was. “Yes, I’m fine.” Red eyes glanced out the nearest round window, and the conversation was over. But the others were used to the battleship’s sullen attitude especially when it came to you, and the chatter resumed as if it didn’t stop. She would speak when she was ready.

‎‎

‎‎

An ocean away, yellow eyes looked longingly out across the same blue seas, the horizon hidden behind the shutters of the blinds that hung in front of her pavilion, though the twitch of a brown fox ear returned her attention back to the two girls prostrated in front of her. “Raise your heads, Akagi, Kaga. Please go ahead with your report.”

“We have…made contact with Naval Headquarters, Nagato-sama, and conveyed our requests. They have agreed that only she will be sent for the negotiations.”

Commander…Nagato couldn’t hide the excited swish of her ears at the thought of seeing you - of meeting you - again after so many years apart, and it was obvious that Akagi had similar sentiments even as Kaga remained oblivious: the younger fox sister had never met you before, let alone had the chance to serve under your command. Were you still the same person she remembered? Or had you changed? Had they already ripped and damaged that soft heart of yours? “And?”

The white-haired aircraft carrier spoke up as the older of the two sisters fell silent, crystal blue eyes respectfully raising to land on her. “But they wouldn’t let her come without an escort present throughout. It was something they insisted on.”

Not all good news then it seems. “Who is the escort?” Nagato’s voice, though childlike, carried with it the might and authority of the Sakura Empire, strong and decisive.

“It has not yet been decided.”

A moment of silence as the petite black-haired battleship mulled over the new information, small fists gripping the silky red fabric of her dress. The gold ornaments that decorated her hair glittered in the little sunlight that filtered through. Should they insist again on you coming alone? Or perhaps they should compromise on a neutral-grounds meeting so that you would come alone? It was too early to make the decision right now, not with the gaps that they still had. “Any movement from the Iron Blood?”

“No. At least not in the seas around us.”

Nagato nodded. “Then we shall wait until Naval Headquarters returns with the escort details before we make our decision.”

“Understood, Nagato-sama.”

“Dismissed.”

Watching Akagi and Kaga’s silhouettes disappear down the steps, the leaves rustled softly in the light afternoon breeze; another peaceful afternoon.  After all, in the grand scheme of things, what was a few more days to wait?  She sighed, elegantly lifting the steaming cup of green tea to her lips and taking a sip. Still, she couldn’t quite find enough patience at the thought of returning to you. 

‎‎

‎‎

It took another week for the small fleet with you onboard to steam back to base; despite the shipgirls being able to travel far greater distances in much shorter times by skating across the surface of the ocean, their manifested ships were much slower in comparison. You spend most of the time locked away in your office, reading and re-reading through reports and training exercises and documents - there were still a great many things you didn’t know, and you were determined to find out, to hell if Naval HQ allowed it or not. It was your girls’ lives on the line every time they sailed out to meet the Sirens after all, and you would not let them go face first into the unknown. The few times you left were to catch a breath of fresh air on the deck of Alabama’s ship and for a quick rest in your quarters; and before you realized, your small fleet was back home, pulling into a familiar port. 

But all was not as you had left it, with the once-sparse docks now occupied with a mix of known and unknown ships of all types and builds; destroyers, cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers that spanned the various nations making up the Azur Lane. You had to admit that the percentage of ships present that you didn’t know was far greater than the ones you did, and it blew your mind that headquarters would send so many in one go. Weren’t they the ones that constantly complained of your lack of aptitude for the job?

As Alabama’s battleship came to a groaning halt, there was nothing more you could do but to steel your resolve. It didn’t matter if you could or could not do this, you simply had to. Pulling and straightening your skirt down and adjusting your hat in the mirror again, you took a deep breath, wrenching open your office door and stepping out into the gentle morning sun.

‎

tags: @lexthetiredstudent, @bbbexee

#azur lane #yandere azur lane #azur lane x reader #azur lane x commander #azur lane imagines #alabama #battleship girls #azur lane alabama #baltimore #azur lane baltimore #female commander #azur lane nagato #azur lane ranger #azur lane aylwin #azur lane kaga #azur lane akagi #yandere azur lane x reader #yandere azur lane x commander #azure lane #yandere azure lane #cheesus drabbles

[odinsblog]

So I took an unexpected trip down memory lane today. Something I haven’t thought about for almost two decades…

After work, I decided to avail myself of the nearest happy hour with some acquaintances, and me being me, ofc the conversation eventually turned to politics (generally a no no for me, but what can I say - blame it on the alcohol, right?)

Someone I’ve known for some years now, a white person, abruptly asked me if I had ever seen an actual burning cross before. If I’m being honest here, my initial instinct was to be angry at them because we don’t know each other like that. We were in a large group, and while I know he didn’t intend to, it’s “innocent” questions like that that put Black people on the spot. Kinda like asking the only Black student in a classroom full of white people what their thoughts are on slavery. Don’t get me wrong, some exceptionally gifted Black people would knock that question outta the ballpark. But many of us, caught unawares, might struggle to find all the right words. Even though I’ve taken many such public speaking classes to prepare me for just such an eventuality (extemporaneous public speaking is part of my job, currently), not everyone is prepared to be an on-demand public speaker. And definitely not on such personal subjects.

Anyway, I was actually kinda vibing with the mood in the bar and I didn’t really feel like making a scene, so decided to pull my “friend” aside to answer him.

And here’s where I got dragged down memory lane.

I was in high school. I don’t remember the exact year, but it was before I graduated, so that puts it somewhere (maybe a year or two) before 2002.

I went to the great (racist) state of Alabama, and the city of Shorter, for a week long visit with my then-girlfriend and her folks. Absolutely NOTHING could have prepared me for the abject poverty I had read about but only then witnessed firsthand.

I was born in Florida. I literally have memories of walking blocks and blocks barefoot on hot asphalt to go to the nearest corner store. BUT … Imma city boy at heart. Because of my father’s job, we were constantly moving all up and down the West coast of the country. I’ve lived and gone to schools for at least a year in major metropolitan hubs like NYC, Boston, Raleigh, DC, Hartford, Philly, Atlanta, and Nawlins*, etc. When I arrived in Shorter, it was the first time I had ever seen dirt roads that were the major routes between (Black) inner cities. The very first night when I got there, THE FUCKING SHERIFF (literally the only white person I saw in my week long visit) made it a point to stop by my gf’s moms house because, “I heard we were getting a fancy out of towner here today,” and even though I wasn’t a full grown man yet, I can still remember the feeling of incredulity and utter disbelief I had in those few minutes of being interrogated by the mf sheriff, who btw, arrived at my gf’s moms house with his lights on and sirens blaring. If you’re wondering, yes, he was white, and if I had to do a sketch of him today, it would look EXACTLY like the sheriff from that old tv show with Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke. “Dukes of Hazard,” I think.

And later that evening, the first time I had to go to relieve myself, I asked my hosts where the bathroom was, half asleep , the youngest brother, a kid of about 9 or 10, took me by the hand, led me to the back door, and pointed into the darkness at some weird looking treehouse a few yards from the house’s back door—except there was no tree and whatever it was that I was looking at was on the ground. I said, “No, where is your BATHROOM?,” and still half asleep, again he pointed at the weird looking tree house and said, “That’s it.”

I walked out, still not knowing exactly what to expect when I got closer to whatever it was in their backyard, and when I got close enough to recognize the smell, I stopped dead in my tracks … was this … waitaminute … is this an OUTHOUSE??!! I held my nose and cautiously opened the door, and sure enough, yes: it really was an outhouse. Like for real. In real life. I didn’t want to be rude, but there was no fucking way in hell I was going to take a dump in an outhouse. I went back to the house and awkwardly asked if there was another bathroom, and I was a little bit amused when he said, “Yeah, if you want, I can walk you over to the neighbor’s house and you can use their outhouse.” It turned out that everyone in the hood had outhouses.

I’m not sharing this to dunk on Alabama, it’s just what happened and it was all incredibly jarring for me. Shorter, Alabama was incredibly poor at the time, and there was no possible way for me to be prepared for all of the abject poverty I witnessed firsthand. And, lol, it’s not like I grew up wealthy or anything. But this was the norm for where I was visiting. I would later learn that my gf’s mom sent her daughter to Florida literally for a better life that she couldn’t provide her. My gf lived in Florida with her (comparatively) “very wealthy” aunt and uncle, who lived in what was essentially one step up from the projects. Truly some heartbreaking shit. I was humbled, but this experience gave me perspective like no history book could ever do.

AND YET …… I was a young teenaged boy, who was far away from home with his girlfriend, who I believed I would one day marry, so I somehow managed to brush almost all of that aside, because while my gf’s mom had to work double shifts at the dog track, we were assigned a chaperone—and he was literally thee coolest older cuz’n everrrr. He went out of his way to make sure my gf and I had enough time alone to make out pretty much whenever the mood struck us! Things were a little rougher than I had anticipated, but the time I had alone with my gf made it worth everything.

And then one night, Cuz’n Feaster (yes, that was his real name) took us to a hole in the wall bar. Don’t worry, he didn’t take us inside or give us liquor or anything, he just went inside for about an hour and left two teenaged virgins COMPLETELY alone in the backseat of his Chevy. FOR AN HOUR!!!

And when I tell you that we went all the way, I mean we went ALL the way—to third base!! Hands everywhere exploring everything, heavy kissing and making out! WITHOUT ANY SEX. (We were both two good little Pentecostal kids who had taken a stupid “purity” pledge, what did you expect?)

HA! But I will never forget that night though. I can still hear “Do Me Baby,” by Prince playing on the radio. Good times, man.

But I was telling you about the first time I saw a burning KKK cross, right??

So when cuz’n Feaster finally came out of the “club,” it was super late and dark outside. I remember him and my gf laughing at me because my neck was craned up looking out the window like a dog with the window rolled down. There were absolutely no lights outside on the road. No streetlights, no road lights, no house lights, no nothing except for the headlights and the stars above. I couldn’t believe all the stars I could see. I even recognized part of the Milky Way. It was an amazing sight. An amazing ride home. And an amazing way to top off an amazing night.

I was young, I was in love, I was happy and holding my girl’s hand, the stars were out, and just… Everything was perfect. Perfect.

And that’s when we started getting closer and closer to …. something?? Burning in the middle of an open field? As we got closer and closer, for the second time on my trip, my eyes and my brain recognized what I must be seeing, but my mind couldn’t comprehend or accept what it was: an enormous burning cross in a field, with men in white pointy hoods. It was the Klan!! I couldn’t fucking believe it. This was something that I knew and understood existed, but that was supposed to be history book stuff, right? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Feaster, is that…”

-The Klan? Yup, that’s them. Leave them alone, and they’ll leave you alone.

Pfft! I scoffed. Messing with Black people who aren’t fucking with them is pretty much their job description.

And he and my gf were sO fucking calm about it. They acted like they saw that shit every day and twice on the weekend. BUT MY BLACK ASS WAS FREAKING THE FUCK OUT.

“Feaster, we’re all Black! What if-”

-Calm down. They do that all the time. And even if they wanted to, nobody can catch me in this car.

And my only thought was, we’re all gonna get lynched and die because this fool thinks his car is faster than bullets. We had to drive RIGHT BY that cross. I know it was probably my imagination working triple time, but it looked like it was 100 feet tall. It was less than a football field away, and that cross was burning so bright that it turned nighttime into daylight, disappeared all the stars, and I could very clearly see men in white robes holding guns. I was fucking terrified. Talk about sights you won’t ever forget. And Idk why, but the fact that Feaster and my gf were so damn calm about it just really added that extra something to my freaking out. It was unnerving af.

Me and my gf caught the bus back home to Florida the next day, but yeah, that was the first (but not the last) time I had ever seen a KKK cross before. Such a mix of emotions, that night was.

#a post about me #kkk #klu klux klan