The Magic 8 | Ralvez x Fem! Reader
This was another request for my milestone celebration from @andiebeaword which just turned into a crazy, smutty beast. This is so loosely tied to the song and I’m sorry. I had to throw weird magic 8 ball references into it that might seem out of place but it made me feel better for going so far off track with this. This is super NSFW Minors DNI.
Summary - Spencer and Luke’s relationship is on rocky ground as Spencer starts to regret never getting to be with a woman. When Luke suggests inviting Spencer’s favourite barista to join them in the bedroom, all signs point to yes.
CW - this is just utter filth, proceed with caution. Oof where to begin - talk of sexuality, Spencer has never been with a woman, sexually fluid Luke, PWP, very brief mention of drinking and past drug addiction, making out, sub! Reader, Dom! Luke, switch! Spencer (Dom with reader, sub with Luke), handjobs, swearing, slight masturbation (male), oral sex (f and m receiving), face sitting, multiple orgasms, fingering, overstimulation, coming untouched, penetrative, protected sex.
WC - 6.7k
Uncertainties were a tragic and unfair symptom of living, something Spencer Reid had learnt all too many times in his years on earth. Life was inherently unforeseeable, unpredictable by nature.
For someone who hated the unknown like Spencer, it was a hard pill to swallow but one he’d had to swallow time and time again. Life was no less random than the answers on a magic 8 ball, and he’d had to come to terms with that.
If there was one thing Spencer had always been able to be certain of it was his sexuality. For as long as he could remember he’d always known he was gay and it was a small definitive in his world that he’d been able to count on for many years.
He’d never looked at girls the way other boys his age had, Spencer had been too busy looking at the boys themselves. He didn’t really understand what that meant until he reached his teens and for a long time it was a part of himself he tried to deny.
He was already an outcast with being younger and smarter than all of his peers and he didn’t want to add any fuel to the bullies fire. He kept it to himself, his own little secret.
It was only once he was in his twenties he became ready to act upon it and once he did he never looked back.
In an uncertain world, his sexuality was the only thing he was certain of.
Until he wasn’t.
When Spencer first met Luke Alvez he thought all his birthdays and Christmases had come at once. Spencer had fallen head over heels for him and much to his surprise, Luke had felt the same.
He’d never been happier than he was with Luke, but then he met you and you changed everything.
Spencer had never found himself looking at a woman the way he looked at you. There was something so magnetic about you that he gravitated towards you without even meaning to do so.
You were the new barista at his favourite coffee shop and you were effervescent, ethereal in your beauty. Spencer found himself often getting tongue tied around you, tripping over his words and sometimes even his own feet.
And without intentionally doing so, he pulled away from Luke. It was little by little at first until there seemed to be a chasm between them.
Was his happiness simply a trend for Spencer? Tomorrow now seemed misunderstood, because it was reading outlook not so good. If only the signs would point to “yes” and you could maybe feel the same for him.
But that wasn’t what he wanted right? He loved Luke, he was just going through a phase. It was nothing more than a harmless crush.
Wasn’t it?
Wasn’t it?
Luke had noticed the way Spencer was acting but he didn’t understand what was happening other than the fact his boyfriend of three years was shutting him out. Every time he tried to talk to the younger man about it he changed the subject. And every time he tried to initiate contact, Spencer shied away.
Eventually he’d had enough and he had to confront Spencer or risk losing him for good. It had taken some pursuing from Luke and a lot of resistance from Spencer but Luke managed to get to the bottom of his boyfriend's little crush.
And thus had ensued a long and arduous conversation.
Luke was, to Spencer’s surprise, extremely understanding. He understood Spencer’s curiosity even if Spencer didn’t.
Luke had always been a lot more fluid with his sexuality, he’d been with both women and men in the past whereas Spencer had never been with a woman before.
It confused Spencer and Luke also understood that. Spencer had been so sure about this one aspect of his life from a young age and it didn’t make sense to him how, in his forties, he was now questioning that.
Luke didn’t begrudge Spencer’s interest and tried to tell the younger man it was perfectly understandable that one day he might find himself curious about these things he’d never experienced before.
And somehow the conversation had culminated in Luke suggesting a threesome.
Spencer initially vehemently shut that idea down. He wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of sharing his boyfriend and the thought of being with a woman quite frankly terrified him.
But the more Luke talked about it, the more Spencer started to open up to it. Although it was terrifying it was also incredibly exciting. And it would only be one night, one night in which he could explore a side of himself he never had before and then everything could go back to normal.
So he found himself waiting at the coffee shop one day until your shift ended, closing his eyes and ready to take a leap of faith.
He was prepared for you to say no, to probably call him a creep and he would subsequently need to find a new coffee shop.
But after explaining everything to you, and showing you pictures of Luke, you’d been surprisingly interested.
And that was how he’d found himself in a hotel room with his boyfriend and his barista, staring dumbly from across the room and ringing his hands together in his lap.
There’d been some casual conversation, a drink in the bar to loosen them up, at least for the two of you who didn’t have a past with addiction. But soon enough Luke was suggesting they head upstairs and Spencer’s heart had been beating erratically ever since.
He sat in the chair in the corner of the room while Luke, who had always been the more confident of the two, wasted no time in moving in on you.
He held your face in his hands as he kissed you ferociously, bodies flush against each other and small gratified moans leaving both of your lips.
The first thing Spencer felt was jealousy and not because you were kissing his boyfriend. He was jealous because since the moment he’d laid eyes on you he’d wanted to do what Luke was doing now.
Your hands wandered Luke’s back while he kissed you, and Spencer felt like a spare part. For a moment or two he felt as though you’d both simply forgotten him and that he was in for a night of watching you and Luke together.
But then Luke pulled back from your lips and stepped out of your grasp, turning and looking over at the shy man cowering in the corner.
“Spence, you just gonna watch all night?” Luke chuckled, heading over to him and pulling the younger man to his feet. “You’re the reason we’re doing this, cariño.”
Spencer felt his stomach coiling into knots as Luke led him closer to you. You were smiling sweetly at him, your lips already slightly puffy from Luke’s kiss.
When Luke let go of him you quickly stepped closer to him, placing your hands on his shoulders.
“You've never even kissed a woman?” You tilted your head to the side as you looked at him.
“N-no.” He stuttered with a shake of his head.
“You do want this right, Spencer? You seem…uncomfortable.” You regarded him curiously.
“I’m always uncomfortable, that’s normal. I, uh, I really want this. I’m just incredibly nervous.” He kept his hands at his side, acutely aware of Luke watching him.
“That’s ok, we can go slow.” You moved closer to him, your breasts pushing up against his chest and he hissed slightly. “You can touch me, Spencer.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Oh, ok.”
His hands trembled a little as he raised his arms and placed them cautiously on your hips. You offered him an encouraging smile as you inched your face slowly closer to his, giving him a chance to change his mind if he wanted to.
But he didn’t want to.
Your lips gently brushed against his own and that tiny action was all he needed and suddenly it was like a light had switched on. One his hands flew to the back of your head, holding you in place as he somewhat roughly slammed his lips against yours.
You moaned at the sudden forcefulness and Spencer was quick to slide his tongue in your mouth. He gripped the back of your hair and kissed you so deeply the air vanished from your lungs.
Luke’s eyes widened at the quick change in his boyfriend who was kissing you more frantically than Luke had ever seen.
And when Spencer used his grip on your hair to lead you back to the bed and push you down to the mattress, Luke felt himself growing hard in an instant.
He shoved you back to the bed and he remained standing, looking down at you with dark eyes. His previous nerves had disappeared, it was like looking at a completely different person.
Truthfully the moment he tasted your lips everything seemed to click into place for him. He needed this more than he’d ever realised and now he had the chance he didn’t plan on squandering it.
Spencer had spent his whole life as a submissive in every aspect of his life. But one kiss from you brought out his dominant side and he adored the way it made him feel.
He glanced at Luke and the visible tenting in his jeans. Looking into the older man’s eyes, his dominance slipped for a moment and he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth.
“Is this…is this ok?” He swallowed.
“Spencer, it is more than ok. I want you to enjoy this, this is your night.” Luke encouraged him.
Spencer nodded and turned back to you and your ragdoll form on the mattress. His lip twitched up into a slightly dangerous smirk.
“Get undressed.” He commanded, his voice so stern you knew not to argue it.
You were eager to do as you were told, scrabbling to get out of your clothes while the two men stood side by side watching as your articles of clothing got fewer and fewer.
Once your bra was removed, Spencer’s jaw fell slack as he stared at your chest, the first pair of breasts he’d ever seen in real life.
You puffed out your chest proudly and worked on getting off your jeans. Spencer couldn’t take his eyes off of you, off of every dip and curve in your body.
If the tightening in his pants was any indication, he wasn’t nearly as gay as he’d always thought he was.
He was so busy staring at you as you shimmied off your jeans, leaving you in nothing but a silk thong, he didn’t notice Luke moving behind him until he felt the older man’s strong arms wrap around his waist.
Luke’s lips glided over the shell of his ear and one of his hands palmed Spencer through his slacks.
“Enjoying this, Spence?” Luke whispered as he nibbled on Spencer’s ear lobe.
“Very much so.” Spencer nodded dumbly.
“He told you to get undressed, sweetheart.” Luke spoke to you while he worked on the buttons of Spencer’s slacks, grinding against him from behind. “Panties off.”
As if being told what to do by one man wasn’t already hot, having them both command you made your head spin.
You quickly did as you were told and lowered your underwear down your legs as Luke’s hand was slipping inside of Spencer’s pants and freeing his erect cock.
Spencer made an animalistic hissing sound at the sight of you fully nude. That combined with Luke’s hand which was now languidly stroking him made his knees buckle.
“What do you want to do to her, baby?” Luke nuzzled against his ear.
Spencer moaned lightly at the mere thought. His options were wide open, he could do anything he wanted to you but where did he begin?
Where was the magic 8 ball when he needed it?
You watched him curiously, standing by the side of the bed in all your glory while Luke worked Spencer’s cock in his hand.
His pumps were lazy and slow, not intending to bring his boyfriend to orgasm but more just to tide him over.
“Fuck,” Spencer mumbled as all the sordid thoughts spun around his head. “I wanna…fuck…I think I want to eat her out.”
You whined and pressed your thighs together at the thought. You knew the situation, you knew Spencer had never been with a woman before but you had no doubt he would be good at whatever he had planned.
Luke bucked himself against Spencer’s ass and tightened his hold on the other man’s shaft.
“Jesus I’d really like to see that.” Luke moaned, breath hitting the side of Spencer’s face. “I’ve got an idea.”
Luke let go of Spencer’s dick and stepped around him until he was face to face with his partner, his back to you. Spencer whined a little now Luke was blocking his view of you but Luke was smiling.
He brought his hands to the top button of Spencer’s shirt and started popping them open. Spencer didn’t question it and simply let Luke free him from his shirt.
Once it was undone, Luke tossed the garment on the floor before helping Spencer out of his pants and boxers with zero protest from Spencer.
With Spencer now naked too, his hard member standing to attention against his stomach, Luke led him towards the bed by the wrist.
Spencer didn’t complain when Luke laid him down on the bed, head resting against the pillows. He was a little confused but he trusted Luke.
Having Spencer in position, Luke turned to you with an almost wicked smile. He curled his finger, motioning you towards him and you happily complied.
Luke quickly slammed his lips against yours again and his hands started wandering down your body while his tongue explored your mouth.
Soon enough his large hand was between your thighs, spreading them a little before his middle and index finger suddenly swiped through through folds, causing you to yelp.
“Fuck,” he mumbled into your mouth. “Spence, she’s so wet already. You’re gonna love this.”
Spencer whined, his hand wandering of its own volition, finding his shaft and firmly squeezing the base.
Luke collected your arousal on his fingers before brushing over your clit a few times but all too soon he was withdrawing his fingers entirely.
His pupils were blown out wide as he pulled back from you, a smirk adorned on his lips.
“You want him to eat your pussy, angel?” He tucked your hair behind your ear.
You mewled in response, but Luke was looking at you, demanding a verbal answer.
“Yes, yes! Fuck, please?” You whimpered.
Luke nodded in satisfaction, turning your body by the shoulders to face Spencer who was still holding his cock in his hand.
“Sit on his face.” Luke commanded, tone so stern that even if that didn’t sound incredibly hot you would have done it anyway.
Spencer’s eyes widened as you crawled on the bed, his nerves returning in an instant.
“What if I’m not…what if I’m not any good?” His cheeks burned with embarrassment but he directed his question at Luke and not you.
“Baby, you’ll be just fine. You’re a genius after all, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Luke winked at him and it provided Spencer with encouragement.
You kneeled over his chest, a little hesitant to go any further. But then suddenly Spencer was grabbing you by the hips and pulling you closer.
He met no resistance from you and was able to pull you like a rag doll until you were hovering over his face. He exhaled a shaky breath and you felt it between your legs.
“It’s ok cariño, you can do it.” Luke gave Spencer’s leg a reassuring squeeze.
Spencer growled as he inhaled your scent and suddenly like a man possessed, he tugged you down so you were sitting on his face and his tongue brushed over your most sensitive area.
You whined loudly at the contact and Spencer’s arm came to rest heavily across your thighs to keep you in place. His tongue glided through you, gathering your arousal and hissing at the taste of you.
When his tongue settled back on your clit and he started lapping and sucking on your bud you couldn’t help but wiggle on his face, feeling the glorious friction from his stubble between your legs.
He didn’t go easy on you, he wasn’t tentative like a man who had never done this before. He was immediately eating you out with the desperation of a man devouring his final meal.
His arm was heavy against your thighs, keeping you steadily in place. You leant your palms on the headboard of the bed to keep you upright.
Luke was moaning to himself as he listened to the glorious and slightly messy sounds Spencer was making between your legs.
He watched the way his boyfriends eyes fluttered closed and he buried his face into you while his tongue worked your clit.
Your body was already trembling above him, and the moans leaving your parted lips were the sweetest song Luke had ever heard.
He undressed himself, his eyes never leaving Spencer for a second. As soon as he was naked like the two of you he climbed onto the bed.
You barely registered the weight of the bed shift beneath you, too focused on Spencer’s work with his mouth. It seemed impossible that he hadn’t done this before because he knew exactly what he was doing.
He flattened his tongue and ran it through your folds to collect more of your arousal before he settled back on his ministrations on your clit.
He held you down with force, you wouldn’t be surprised if he left a bruise across your thighs with the pressure he was exerting.
Spencer didn’t care. He was obsessed with the way you tasted and couldn’t believe he’d gotten to this age and never tried this.
He could feel you soaking his face, as his nose buried against you while his tongue continued to lap and suck greedily at you.
His cock was throbbing painfully, in desperate need of stimulation. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if he came untouched simply from the taste of you.
He was certain this would not be his last time doing this.
You suddenly felt a warm, hard body encompassing you from behind at the same time Spencer felt a pressure on his chest.
Luke knelt either side of Spencer’s torso and pressed himself against your back.
“Jesus Christ you have no idea how hot this is.” He panted against your ear. “How does she taste, Spence?”
“Hmm.” The younger man simply hummed against you, sending a vibration through your entire body.
Your eyes were rolling back in your head at Spencer’s deft tongue but that wasn’t even the half of it.
You felt something ghosting between your legs from behind and then suddenly two thick digits were plunging inside of you.
“Holy shit.” You mumbled incoherently as your head fell to your chest.
Luke smirked as he placed a kiss against your neck and started working his fingers inside of you.
“Fuck, Spence she’s tight. Your gonna want to fuck her.”
Spencer hummed against your clit again and tightened his hold on your thighs. He nuzzled his face entirely between your legs, desperate to taste more of you but the idea of being inside you made his cock pulse achingly.
Luke thrust his fingers deeply inside of you, feeling you fluttering and clenching around him. The moans and whimpers leaving your lips were feral and he could tell you wouldn’t last much longer.
“Are you close, pretty girl?” He mumbled against your neck.
“Mmm hmm.” You pathetically replied.
Luke grinded his hips against your back whilst his fingers moved in and out of you rapidly, pounding into you with bruising force.
Spencer never let up even for a second and the sounds of his tongue between your legs filled the room alongside three sets of moans.
Your body startled to tremble furiously and you felt your orgasm pooling in the pit of your stomach. Suddenly your back went rigid and your eyes shot open as you reached your peak.
“F-fuck!” You screamed so loud the walls shook, clenching around Luke’s fingers as Spencer swallowed every drop of your orgasm.
Soon you were going limp again and Luke held you upright with his body as he slowly slipped his fingers out from between your legs.
But Spencer didn’t seem perturbed.
His arm on your thigh tightened even more so and he continued circling your sweet spot with his tongue.
Luke wrapped his arms around you to steady you, your body shaking.
“S-Spencer,” you whined. “S’too much!”
But Spencer still didn’t stop.
His tongue traversed through your legs and back again to your clit where he pressed the flat of the muscle against you.
You whimpered, quaking on top of him and trying to squeeze your thighs together but his head was in the way. It seemed to spur him on and his tongue moved faster.
“Spencer?” Luke tried to get his attention but Spencer didn’t listen.
His own orgasm was building and he was so close he couldn’t stop now.
He kept up his work, seemingly not noticing your whines or the tears rolling down your cheeks from the overstimulation. You felt him moan between your legs and then out of nowhere his body started to convulse beneath you.
His grip on you loosened and you fell back into Luke’s waiting arms. Spencer was panting and moaning furiously.
Luke helped you to lay down next to Spencer but he couldn’t take his eyes off of his boyfriend and the slickness coating his mouth and chin.
When his eyes cast further down the younger man’s body he noticed his slowly softening cock and his come all over his stomach.
Luke couldn’t help but smile at the idea of Spencer coming simply from pleasuring you.
Luke laid down between you, two worn out and lifeless bodies either side of him. But he wasn’t done with either of you, he hadn’t gotten off yet.
He gripped Spencer by the jaw and turned his head to face him before smashing his lips against his boyfriends.
The taste of you on Spencer’s lips was phenomenal and he made a gut wrenching moan erupt from Luke’s lungs.
“You liked that huh?” Luke smirked into the kiss. “I guess you must have done if you can come just from eating pussy.”
Spencer simply mewled, his body shuddering at the thought and Luke chuckled as he slowly manoeuvred himself down the bed.
He bowed his head to Spencer’s stomach and started lapping his tongue over his flesh, cleaning his boyfriend of his arousal.
Spencer whined a little at the sensation, wriggling on the bed but allowing Luke to clean him up.
“Come on guys, what about me?” Luke sat back on his haunches and looked at the two of you, already complete wrecks.
He chuckled with a roll of his eyes and got up from the bed, tugging Spencer by the wrist until he was sitting up.
“Since you have such an oral fixation, it’s my turn, cariño.” Luke nodded to his hard cock which was begging to be touched.
Spencer whimpered again but nodded all the same and forced himself onto his knees in front of Luke.
He would get a second wind, no doubt. One of his favourite things in the world was giving his boyfriend head and he would never turn down the opportunity,
He placed his hands on Luke’s hips as he bowed his head closer to his length, blowing cool air over the tip and making Luke groan.
Soon he was parting his lips and wrapping them around Luke, quickly taking the older man all the way in his mouth until he hit the back of his throat.
But Spencer didn’t even seem to notice. He had the most impressive gag reflex that even when Luke got carried away and fucked Spencer’s mouth, Spencer never batted an eyelid.
The sloppy sounds of saliva and Luke’s moans caught your attention and you rolled onto your side to see Spencer now taking the other man’s length like it was his job.
You’d given plenty of blowjobs in your life but you’d never gotten the chance to witness one in real life.
It was a dizzying sight, the way Luke’s entire cock disappeared inside of Spencer’s mouth, the same mouth that had been pleasuring you just moments before.
The way Spencer’s tongue glided up the vein on Luke’s shaft and then danced teasingly over his swollen head was intoxicating. The way Luke’s abs tightened each time Spencer took him all the way to the back of his throat was glorious.
Luke’s eyes snapped up from where they’d been watching Spencer and onto you, that dangerous smirk on his lips again.
“Come and give him a hand, angel.” He winked at you and his tone told you exactly what he meant.
You still felt weak as you clambered to the edge of the bed, your skin so sensitive. You dropped down to the floor kneeling behind Spencer and wrapped your arms around his waist.
He was already half hard again as you wrapped your hand around his shaft and a muffled scream left his lips at the sudden contact. You felt his body jerk forward at your touch, thrusting his face into Luke’s pubic hair.
Luke chuckled and moved his hand to the back of Spencer’s head, balling up his locks and using his grip to control the pace.
Spencer was standing at full attention in no time at all as you stroked him and you felt yourself getting turned on again too.
Luke stared down at the two of you on the floor as he bucked back and forth in Spencer’s mouth. Luke had always been the more dominant of the two men and having both of you on your knees, so subservient to him was the most incredible feeling in the world.
He wanted to freeze time, to capture this delicious image in his mind. He wanted this to last forever.
But he also wanted more.
He knew this was supposed to be for Spencer’s benefit but it had been a long time since he’d had the opportunity to be with a woman and Luke didn’t want to let it pass him by.
He already felt his precum leaking down Spencer’s throat but that wasn’t how he wanted to come.
Suddenly he let go of Spencer’s hair and stepped back from the younger man’s mouth. If there was ever a sight to reduce a grown man to a fucking puddle it was the one Luke was witnessing now.
A trail of salvia joined the head of his cock to Spencer’s chin, dripping down from his pouty lips. His eyes were large and doe like, staring up at Luke like he hung the moon, messy hair falling in his face.
And you were behind him, chest pushed up against his back while you continued to stroke his cock.
The love he felt for this man was incomprehensible, the kind that defied all laws of nature.
But he would put a pin in that, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
“Both of you up.” He commanded and you both scurried to your feet without question.
Luke’s hungry eyes took you all in, focusing on you while Spencer stood dumbly at your side.
“On the bed, spread your legs.” He told you sternly and yet again you were quick to comply.
Luke located the condoms, ripped one open and rolled it over his length. It was a little odd at first, he hadn’t used condoms since he and Spencer first started dating but at least it might mean he could last a little longer.
Although given how turned on he was, even a condom might not help.
Spencer looked at him a little sadly, a pathetic whine leaving his lips.
“What about me? I thought I was going to fuck her?”
“And you will, baby,” Luke cooed, brushing his fingers along Spencer’s jaw. “But it’s my turn first, you already got to come. It’s only fair that I do too.”
“O-ok.” Spencer nodded. “W-what do I do?”
“You get to watch, cariño.” Luke shot him a wink before climbing onto the bed where you laid out in front of him.
He regarded you curiously for a moment or two before he pulled you up by your biceps.
“I want you to ride me, angel. Can you do that for me?” He whispered so lovingly and you nodded which seemed to please him.
He let go of your arms and positioned himself so he was sitting up against the headboard. You climbed into his lap, a knee either side of his hips and hovered over his length.
Luke glanced at Spencer who was still standing dumbly at the side of the bed like a spare part. He patted the mattress next to him.
“Come here,” he nodded his head, motioning Spencer over.
Spencer did as he was told yet again and came and sat next to Luke just as you started lowering yourself onto him.
From this angle Spencer had the most incredible view of Luke’s cock as it disappeared inch by inch inside your cunt.
You and Luke moaned simultaneously as he pushed inside of you. He was thick and heavy but maybe not as long as Spencer but he stretched you out as he entered you.
“Fucking Christ,” Luke moaned as he bottomed out inside you. “I forgot how good that feels.”
It was different than having Spencer around him. Not better, not worse; just different. He wouldn’t trade sex with Spencer for anything in the world but you felt so spectacular that for a brief moment or two he forgot about Spencer’s existence.
It was only when the younger man let out a guttural moan that Luke remembered him sitting next to him. As you started bouncing up and down on his cock, he gave Spencer a sideways glance.
“Touch yourself for me.” He whispered to his boyfriend.
Spencer’s hand immediately found his own member and he started stroking himself languidly.
Your eyes flit between where Luke was repeatedly slamming inside of you and to where Spencer was jerking himself slowly.
Luke grabbed your hips and used his grip to help move you up and down. His own hips were bucking to meet you, his orgasm dangerously close after the night's previous events.
His head was a complete mess, he wasn’t sure he’d ever been so turned on in his entire life. He didn’t want this moment to end so soon but he knew his release was imminent.
“Fucking hell I’m sorry, I’m so close.” Luke whined, his thrusts becoming more frantic.
You tried to meet his pace and each time he pounded inside of you his blunt head slammed right against your bundle of nerves.
“S-Spence,” he panted, eyes hooded and full of lust. “Get a c-condom. You can f-finish her off.”
Spencer squeezed the base of his cock at the thought, a cacophony of nerves and excitement bubbling in his chest.
He reached over to the side table and retrieved a condom, his hand shaking a little as he tried to tear the foil package.
Of course he’d helped men with them before but he’d never had the need to wear one himself. Rolling the rubber over his length was a new and strange experience but that would only be the half of it.
It started to dawn on him that in just a few moments he would be buried inside of you, an encounter he never expected to be having.
But he couldn’t fucking wait.
Luke’s face contorted and his fingers dug into your hips as he bucked one last time and came with a strangled moan, spilling his seed inside of the condom.
Spencer watched on in eager anticipation as Luke continued to lazily thrust in and out of you, growing slightly impatient.
“My turn?” He whimpered pathetically. “Please?”
Luke glanced over at him again, eyes barely open and a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He reached a lazy hand out to stroke Spencer’s cheek.
“Of course baby.” He whispered, helping you off of him and hearing you whine as he slid out of you.
You looked at Spencer while rolling your bottom lip between your teeth, unsure of what you were meant to do.
“Where do you…how do you…?” You asked softly.
Spencer’s eyes widened at the question, and he quickly became overwhelmed. Luke could tell by the slight panic in his boyfriend's eyes that his mind was over saturating, over-thinking this moment like he did every other moment.
“Take a breath, Spence.” Luke mumbled. “Close your eyes, I know you’ve pictured this moment. Close your eyes and imagine it.”
Spencer once again did as he was told he closed his eyes. Luke was right, he had pictured this, a huge amount as of late.
With Luke, Spencer gave over all his control, letting Luke have the dominance. He’d never minded, always happy in his role as the submissive but right now he craved that power.
He wanted a position in which he could have full authority over you, in which he would hold all the cards.
He opened his eyes suddenly and surprised you both when he stood up. He curled his finger for you to do the same which you did in an instant.
As soon as you were on your feet he grabbed you somewhat roughly by the wrist and led you to the corner of the room where the armchair sat.
He brought you to the back of it, turning you around so you were bent over it, your back to him. He shoved the back of your head down and parted your legs with his other hand.
“Just like this,” his voice was breathy. “Fucking perfect.”
Two fingers ran between your folds and you hummed against the fabric of the chair. But they soon disappeared so he could wrap his hand around his cock and guide it to where he needed it to be.
He lined himself up and looked over at Luke who hadn’t moved. Spencer’s eyes were questioning, unsure as he looked at his partner.
“If you don’t want to do this, Spence, no one is going to force you.” Luke spoke quietly, reassuringly.
“I very much want to, trust me.” Spencer replied.
“Then what are you waiting for, cariño?” Luke smirked and it was all the impetus Spencer needed.
He took a shaky breath before he cautiously pushed his head past your threshold. His eyes instantly doubled in size and Luke noticed his entire body stiffening.
Spencer was still looking at Luke as his mouth fell open and he dared to push another inch inside of you.
You moaned as he did so, feeling that familiar stretch you’d experienced with Luke. Neither man was small, you would undoubtedly be sore tomorrow.
“Keep going, baby.” Luke encouraged with a smile.
Spencer swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing deliciously as he did so. Inch by inch, excruciatingly slowly he vanished inside of you, hands holding you steady by your hips.
Once he was fully sheathed inside of you his whole body stilled as he adjusted to the way it felt. Nothing could have prepared him for it, the way he could feel your walls stretching to accommodate him; how warm and wet you were wrapped around him.
“How is it, Spence?” Luke breathed.
“I…I…no words.” Spencer panted his reply.
There truly were no words to describe it and Spencer usually had a word for everything. But this was so beyond his wildest comprehension that even his giant brain couldn’t find the necessary prose that would do this justice.
He took another deep breath, finally looking away from Luke and down between your bodies. He gasped loudly at the sight awaiting him as he pulled his hips back, seeing the condom coated in your slick.
And when he pushed back in his head spun at the way he disappeared inside of you, taking his entire length.
“Fucking hell.” He panted breathily.
His animalistic side took over then and he started suddenly pounding into you, hard and fast jabs of his cock as it filled you up again and again.
You gripped the armchair and your moans muffled against the material. Your legs were shaking but Spencer was holding you up with a firm grip on your waist.
Each time he slammed against you, he seemed to hit you in a new spot and his hips slapped against your ass probably leaving bruises.
Luke was moaning from his position on the bed, his cock starting to grow hard again at the sight of his boyfriend pounding you.
Spencer’s face was contorted into an expression of pure ecstasy, like nothing Luke had ever seen before.
He looked delirious, his eyes half rolled back in his head and his hair sticking to the sweat on his forehead.
He fucked you into the armchair, his thrusts unyielding as he worked his way to his orgasm.
Luke moved without the forethought to do so, on his feet and moving across the room. He came up behind Spencer and wrapped his arms around the other man’s chest, pressing his lips against the soft flesh of his neck.
“How good does it feel, Spence?” Luke mumbled against his neck.
“Fucking…so good, so fucking good.” Spencer whined, hips snapping back and forth frantically.
Luke nibbled on his boyfriend's neck, fingers brushing over his nipples before tweaking them a little. His dick pressed against one of Spencer’s ass cheeks and the friction caused by Spencer’s thrusts was dizzying.
Spencer felt the telltale tightening in his stomach, the coil wound so tight it would imminently snap. He somehow pounded you harder and you could feel your own orgasm sneaking up on you.
As if he could read your mind, Spencer spoke in a ragged voice, “are you close?”
“Hmm.” You replied, nodding your head.
“Fuck, me too.” Spencer agreed.
Luke could feel Spencer’s impending release in the way his body tightened in his arms and his legs started to wobble furiously.
“Oh fuck…oh fuck…oh fuck!” He bellowed, burying so deep inside of you as he came in the condom, at the same time he felt you clenching and pulsing around him as your own orgasm joined him.
His hips kept slowly bucking and he closed his eyes, leaning the weight of his body back against Luke’s chest.
Luke held him while he came down from his high, while he tried to compensate in his cloudy mind how anything could feel that good.
Eventually his movements stilled completely and reluctantly he withdrew from you, causing you both to whimper at the emptiness you both suddenly felt.
His arms still around Spencer, Luke first helped his partner to the bed where he collapsed like a doll, before he returned and aided you to the bed as well with an arm around your waist.
Luke stood at the foot of the bed and watched the two fucked out bodies as you and Spencer fought to catch your breaths.
Spencer was on his back with his eyes closed and his fingers ran lazily up and down his own rib cage as though trying to bring himself back down to Earth.
You were curled up on your side, eyes also closed as you nuzzled against the pillow.
Luke smiled to himself, hand involuntarily wrapping around the base of his shaft as he regarded you both.
He started leisurely stroking himself as his eyes flicked between the two of you, dark eyes with blown out pupils.
In his wildest dreams he never could have predicted how magnificent this night could be. What could have been his and Spencer’s downfall he knew would now only bring them closer.
The magic 8 ball might have forecast a less than favourable outcome but right now all signs were pointing to yes. And Luke was by no means finished with the fun.
He stepped a little closer, still stroking himself as he watched you both with a large smile on his face.
“I’ll give you a moment to catch your breaths,” he spoke almost callously, forcing you both to open your eyes. “But don’t think we’re done here. We’re gonna keep shaking this magic 8 until it breaks.”
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I love Din Djarin for so many reasons. But I really love the fact that he isn't just an unequivocally good guy. Despite the level of care we see he has for Grogu, including breaking his Creed, and the multiple times he risks his life for various strangers.... you know there's still a dark past there.
Din's response to the various traumas he suffered is precisely what makes him such a complex, engaging character to me. In my opinion, it's refreshing to see a realistic portrayal of how suffering terrible loss at an early age can fundamentally alter a person's outlook on life. Deep down, I think he has always been the caring person we begin to see that he is after he encounters Grogu. But the horrific way he lost his parents and was torn from his homeworld and taken in by a secretive, secluded group, who must have seemed impossibly strange to him due to the way they hid their faces. That, combined with Din having to hide his face from such an early age, I think, buried all of that goodness within him somewhere deep inside.
Characters that endure terrible things but come out as human sunshine that treat everyone with kindness and patience, I don't find as engaging because I don't think it's realistic. Any trauma, at any age, fundamentally alters you... whether you realise it at the time or not.
I don't think Din has ever stopped to really process what happened to him. It seems he spent much of his adult life running around the galaxy from job to job for various nefarious entities to distract himself from those difficult emotions.
But everything changes with Grogu, who I think could sense the goodness in him right away. This tiny child who was so terrified and traumatised, who had to hide his powers for so many years was so keen to physically heal Din pretty much immediately. Yet Grogu goes on to heal Din in unseen ways, too.
With Grogu, I think we see Din beginning to process his past as he cares for the child and protects him from threats in the galaxy. The only time we ever hear Din laugh is the last time they're in the Razor Crest together, right before Grogu was taken on Tython. Din didn't just lose Grogu's physical presence in his life that day on Gideon's light cruiser, he something intangible that was helping him to process his past.
After he stood there that day on the bridge with tears in his eyes, the next time we see Din, he's regressed to his old ways. A nameless, faceless bounty hunter: "I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold."
So, I cannot even imagine how much it meant to Din that Grogu chose to come back to him. I truly hope that fact was communicated to him, or maybe Din could just sense it, given their bond. That was the final push Din needed, giving him the self esteem to continue to allow others in and get close to people again, like we see in season 3.
With any kind of trauma, there is so much work to be done to address it and heal. It's a long, difficult and often lonely process. But Din is now going through that, thanks to Grogu.
There is no doubt that Din Djarin has done terrible things, but there is also no doubt that he wants to be a better person. For his son... but also, hopefully, for himself.
Now, Din deserves to rest. Now, he's no longer outrunning his past and distracting himself by hunting bounties for criminals. Now, he can find some peace as he watches his son outside the cabin they share together on Nevarro.
It will never take the trauma away... but it will give him a brighter tomorrow.
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the sea around us; chapter thirteen
In which Rafe Cameron has to choose between his dad and a pogue who's changing his outlook on life more and more every day.
(rafe cameron x f!oc)
(eventual!jj maybank x f!oc)
warnings/tags: violence, drug/alcohol use, smoking, sexual content (if you squint), slowburn, older brother’s best friend, (these tags are obv not exhaustive but regardless it’s pretty PG13)
wc: 1.6k
my masterlist
series masterlist
requests
*:・゚✧*:・
~Rafe's POV~
"Rafe, bro, I am so god damn serious right now if that wasn't my sister I would've thrown one your way, man." Kegs says to me, lighting up a j as we stand in the parking lot of the theatre, leaning against my bike and watching the screen burn and smoke and ash fly into the sky.
"Yeah, I get that." I respond, holding my hand out for him to pass it to me.
"What's up with her now, anyways?" He asks, taking a hit before passing the joint over. I take a drag as well before answering.
"She's staying at John B's." I answer, blowing the smoke out of my lungs.
"I figured that much." Kegs chuckles. "I meant more what's happening between you guys."
"Oh, yeah, uh.." I take another hit and hand it back. "Not fully sure, man, to be honest." I lie, avoiding eye contact as I hand him his weed back. It's not completely a lie. I mean, I know in my gut that I want to be with her. She's all I've been able to think about for a while now, even before I offered her a ride home on the night of the storm, but Snowy had never looked twice at me before then, I just don't know what she wants. Or how she feels. I just know that it took everything in me to leave her standing behind the burning screen as she cried over what we did to her friends. Fuck- it makes me sick remembering how she watched me walk away, the way her long, red hair hung down in front of her, and her cute little shorts. I need to stop. I just need this high to kick in so I don't think about it anymore.
"Really? 'Cause that's not what that video of you guys making out at Kelce's made it seem like." Fuck.. Someone filmed that? I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I don't think I need to mention what I'll do to you if you hurt her."
"Yeah, man, of course. I wouldn't do that." I mumble.
"Dude, I'm serious. You haven't had a serious girlfriend the whole time I've known you." Kegs laughs and I shrug.
"I've just never had a nice girl." I chuckle.
"Snowy is nice." Kegs says, nudging me. "Listen, I'm not trying to scare you. You know that. I just don't want her to be another chick you hit and quit. She deserves better." I know that. She deserves better than me at my best, honestly.
"I agree." I tell him. "I don't know what she's doing hanging out with those pogues anyways." I say, in attempt to change the subject.
"Yeah, I mean, she thinks they make her happy." He shrugs. "She doesn't get that in the long run, like, she won't want to live on the cut forever. She'll marry that JJ kid and stay at her three jobs until the day she dies, funding his drug addiction." I feel my teeth grinding just at the thought of that. She deserves everything. I want to give her everything. I'm being crazy- I hardly know her, yet.
"Listen, I better dip. I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask, grabbing my helmet and straddling my bike.
"Yeah, of course man." Kegs nods, handing me the j for one last hit before I leave. I take it, then pull my helmet down and start my bike. Snowy wouldn't want me to drive high. I find myself pushing those kind of thoughts out of my head more and more.
*:・゚✧*:・
I get home, and my dad has this great idea, more like demand, that I invite Snowy to Midsummers this weekend as my date, obviously to keep up appearances. I love that idea, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, but I didn't want to put her out of her way, and I couldn't imagine she would want to come. Especially after she just hardly forgave me for what we didI don't have much of a choice now anyways.
I'm on my way home from the gym, and I see her old, beat up car parked outside the coffee shop she works at. Now is a better time than ever, I suppose. I park outside and sit on my bike for a minute after I take off my helmet, looking inside through the window. I don't see her, but I don't see anyone else either. It's perfect.
I take a deep breath before I get off, putting my helmet on the back and approaching the door. My hands already feel sweaty. Gross. I wipe them on my shorts and then look at my reflection in the glass, quickly making sure my hair looks okay before I open the door and walk in.
"Good morning, what can I get for you?" Snowy asks as she walks out from the back, customer service voice in full swing. She has her hair up in a ponytail that looks like it could fall out at any minute, and wearing these leggings that hug her curves perfectly. She is so pretty. She wipes her hands on her apron, since they're dripping wet. She was probably doing dishes- I feel guilty for interrupting.
"Iced Caramel Macchiato please." I say, trying to mimic her from when she ordered those for us the other day. She looks up, her face relaxing into a more genuine smile. It is so contagious.
"Oh, hey." She says, reaching down and clicking a few buttons on the register. "Just get back from the gym?"
I laugh slightly, gesturing down to my clothes. "How could you tell?"
"Just a guess." She shrugs, walking over to the espresso machine.
"So, uh, I needed to talk to you about something." I say, and she hums back in hesitant acknowledgment as I rub the back of my neck. I'm sweating like crazy- it's hot in here for it being before 8 am. "There's this thing this weekend, kind of a big deal apparently, and I was wondering if you would be okay with going with me?" I internally cringe at the way I said that. God- that probably made no sense.
"Midsummers?" She asks, pausing making the drink to look up at me. I'm getting butterflies in my stomach, just looking at her brown eyes.
"Yeah, that. My dad is getting some sort of award or something." I explain. "So? What do you think?"
"Uhm.." She pauses, clearly thinking. Great. I screwed this up with her already. Of course, I saw this coming- she should still be mad at me. "I would love to, I really would, but I don't think I'd be welcome there. Besides, I don't own anything even remotely appropriate to wear." She replies, with a nervous-sounding laugh.
"If you're my date, you'll be welcomed. Besides, my dad wants you there." I tell her, smiling despite how anxious I'm feeling.
"Ward? He specifically requested that I come?" Snowy raises her eyebrow at me, getting back to working.
"As a matter of fact he did- I can tell you don't believe me, but he loves Kegs, and he wanted me to bring someone to keep up appearances, since he's the guest of honour or whatever." I say, immediately hearing how bad that sounded. "Not like- fuck, that sounded bad. Not like I don't want you there." I laugh nervously. "I do want you there, and so does my dad. There. That's what I meant to say." This is humiliating. I'm waiting for her to laugh in my face- even though I know she would never do that. She's too kind.
"Okay.." She nods, placing my drink up on the counter in front of me. "I still don't have anything I could wear. I just don't want to embarrass you. I'm sorry. Maybe ask one of Sarah's friends? I'm sure they would be all over you." She jokes.
"That's the easiest problem to solve." I dismiss her comment. "I've got it. Here.." I say, pulling out my wallet and digging around for the bills I'm looking for.
"Oh my god, Rafe, no. I seriously can't let you give me any money. I can borrow something from Kie, maybe. I'll sort it out. I'd love to go." Snowy says quickly, shaking her head at me. She is so cute.
"Okay fine, then this for my drink." I say, placing eight hundred's on the counter. She just looks at me, as if to say 'come on, seriously?' and that makes me laugh.
"Your drink is free." She replies, crossing her arms. "On me."
"Oh, thank you. How sweet. Then that's a tip." I grin, pointing at the cash and she rolls her eyes.
"I'll pay you back, Rafe." She sighs, picking up the money and folding it before putting it in her pocket. "Thank you." Snowy says honestly, looking back up at me.
"Don't worry about it. I really want you to come." I say as I pick up my drink. "Can I pick you up from John B's at 3 and you can get ready with Sarah? That's a thing girls do, right?" I laugh, totally unsure. I've just seen that in movies.
"Yeah, totally." Snowy laughs, leaning her elbows on the counter. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too." I smile, taking a sip of my drink. "This is good, I need to come while you're working more often, Juliette." I tease her, reaching down and flick her name tag.
"Oh my god, ew. If you keep calling me that I'll get you banned!" Snowy laughs, swatting my hand away.
"I gotta run, but I'll talk to you later?" I suggest and she nods.
"Of course. Thanks again, Rafe." She says as I wave and start to head for the door.
"Oh, and one condition on me paying for your dress," I say, turning as I walk back toward the door. "Send me pictures of everything you try on." I wink, seeing her roll her eyes.
"Bye, Rafe." She giggles, waving me off. I don't know when I stopped feeling nervous, but I leave feeling much better than I did when I walked in.
*:・゚✧*:・
A/N;
Bet y'all didn't see his POV coming lol
I hope you liked it though! I tried my best but as always feedback is appreciated :)
-R
taglist: @boo22sstuff @madelynie (you mentioned you liked this series so i added you but lmk if you want to be removed!!)
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Better: Sam Abrams x Reader
Tagging: @annieradcliff @@avillagesperson @irishavengersassemble
Time is different outside of the city and Sam isn’t sure that he likes it. Being sequestered out here in the woods gives him the space to think and right now he’s not sure if he wants to be alone with his own thoughts. He finds himself staring into the fire, his hands tucked into the pockets of his expensive fleece jacket as he stares at the charcoal, watching it discolour as the heat disintegrates it. He’s been working too much recently, he knows it. He puts on an enigmatic front but he’s a bleeding heart deep inside. He’s had a few tricky cases. He usually plays to the odds but this last one…
Damn it, if he didn’t want to do something for the poor woman.
He thinks that she reminded him of you, her positivity, her outlook. The drive to live her life despite the brain tumour that was pressing against her brain stem. It was a complex case, if he chose to do the surgery she would most likely end up paralysed from it, she’d live longer but the life she would have would be nothing like the one she was leading. If he didn’t operate, she would die, probably at some point over the next twelve months.
He still can’t choose, he weights up both of the options over and over and over again and still can’t come up with an answer. That’s what he thinks about tonight instead of making love to you in a hot tub underneath the stars like he originally planned.
He’s jerked out of his thoughts by the nudge of your shoulder. He’s been so pre-occupied that he hasn’t even realised that you’d dropped down into the seat next to him, skewers and marshmallows in your hand. You set them on your lap before you spear a marshmallow with one of the wooden sticks and hand it to him. He stares at it blankly for a moment before you roll your eyes and plunge yours into the flames.
“I shouldn’t have brought you up here.” You say quietly, your gaze on the marshmallow as it starts with the crisp around the edges. “I can see it wasn’t the right thing to do. We can drive back tomorrow morning.”
It wounds him hearing you say that because he knows you’re trying to help, that you are doing your best in a situation that you can’t possibly understand because he won’t talk to you about it. He doesn’t like feeling vulnerable, he doesn’t know how to vocalise his feelings and emotions because sometimes they aren’t rational. He feels this knot deep down inside, this fear, he has ever since he reviewed this case.
“There’s a patient that reminds me of you.” He says finally as he pokes his marshmallow into the flames. “When you stepped into my life, it felt like I was feeling the sun for the first time and the thought of that being extinguished...” He trails off before he pulls his marshmallow out of the fire and tilts his head towards you. “Logically I know she’s not you, but my brain, it’s forcing me to imagine my life without you in it and it hurts.”
You sigh and he’s not sure if it’s at his words or because you’ve just realised your marshmallow is completely black and is starting to melt under the heat. Somehow that makes him feel sadder, the fact you’ve been deprived of something. He offers you the marshmallow off his stick and you take it carefully, popping it into your mouth. He removes another from the bag on your lap before impaling it onto his skewer.
“I know I’m not a good partner.” He tells you as jabs it into the flames. “But I want to be. I’ll try harder…”
“Sam, that’s not true.” You tell him, your hand coming to rest on his knee, smoothing over the denim of his jeans. It’s a small touch but he savours it, he savours everything you give him because he knows just how lucky he is to have you in his life. “You are a good partner. You’re loyal, you’re dedicated, and you would do anything to make me smile. You need to stop being so hard on yourself.”
“I worry that I’m not around enough, that I’m not present enough.” He says as he rotates the marshmallow. “You mean the world to me and I’m not sure that I show it.”
He pulls the marshmallow from the fire and offers it to you. You blow on it, your lips pursing together before you pluck it from the stick.
“A few months ago, I was in a really bad space, and you were there for me.” You say quietly. “When I couldn’t look after myself, you looked after me. You were so compassionate and kind and even though I was sure that I wasn’t good enough for you, that you needed someone stronger, you assured me that I was.”
“You are.” He states frankly, shrugging his shoulders. “My life is inherently better with you in it.”
“And I need you to believe that it’s the same for you,” You tell him, your fingers entwining with his. “You make me feel so loved, so wanted and if I needed anymore from you, I would tell you.”
“Do you promise?” He asks you, bringing your hand to his mouth, his lips ghosting over the knuckles as he speaks. “That you won’t just leave, that you’ll tell me if there’s a problem.”
You know what this stems from. He’s always been honest about everything and that includes his first marriage. He wasn’t a good husband, he worked too much, he wasn’t around and when he was, he wasn’t present. It had ended with him coming home to an empty house and a set of divorce papers, citing full custody of the kids. To say the rug had been pulled from underneath him was an understatement.
“Sam, I would never do that to you.” You reassure him, your forehead coming to rest upon his. Your thumb chases over the curve of his cheek and he exhales under the sensation because it’s a relief.
“I know.” He murmurs, his lips brushing over the pulse point on your wrist. “I just needed to hear it. Sometimes I get in my own head…”
“Well, I know a thing or two about that.” You tell him, the edges of your mouth tipping up into a small smile. “So long as we’ve got each other, I think we’ll be ok.”
“Yea.” Sam says, his lips brushing over yours. “The two of us, we’re gonna be great.”
Love Sam? Get added to his tag list!
Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee
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Songs from our Last Twilight Playlists...
We all really loved the music from this show right? Talking to Mirela and Kess I thought it might be fun for us to pick a non-soundtrack song that gave us mega Last Twilight feels and got us through the Show.
I fall deep into music when I become obsessed with something and everything just reminds me of that one thing.
I'm going to cheat like normal I have so many songs on my current playlist that remind me of Last Twilight and Mork specifically.
My Recommendations:
This song just gave me so many Mork feels, the themes of unwavering love and selflessness in the face of darkness just embody his feelings for Day. Half Life with the lyrics "I'll give you my half life so you'll see tomorrow" and "You know I said it, I'd never let you fade away" reminds me of the lengths we see Mork go for Day, even if it meant sacrificing his own feelings to ensure that the person he loved was okay. - Z
"But when all is said and done, you're only thing I see, my love
So tell me what you're lookin' for
You're written in the stories, a livin' masterpiece
So when all is said and done, why you standin' next to me, my love?
So tell me what you're lookin' for"
I feel like I shades of both Day and Mork in these lyrics, they are both so broken, and don't believe anyone would choose them. - Z
"I knew this day would come
I know I should be ready for it but I'm not
Instead I just feel stupid
Part of me is losing
Something that I never had
It wasn't mine
I'm done, I'm done
I won't reach out
Swear I'll keep out
I'll move on, move on
And let you be happy
Without me
At least I won't be wondering
How it goes
I knew it had to end
Count down started from the moment that we met
But I chose to ignore it
I thought I was better for it
I didn't know I'd feel right now
What I felt then"
Episode 11 vibes so strong with this song. Breaking my Mork heart with the idea that maybe he was waiting for it all to end because he felt so undeserving of Day's love and the opportunity to walk by his side. - Z
This song flips between Day and Mork for me but the lyrics:
"Won't you put a knife right thru my heart
Leave without a word into the dark
Cause I don't deserve to know your love
And the thought of losing us tears me apart"
Crush my heart just like the end of Episode 11 - This bit is so Mork, he just needs Day here and instead he's rejected. - Z
"A moment is worthless no meaning, purpose
Every breath is just wasted
If you are not the center of my world
I'm just drifting, barely existing
Cause every minute without you is worthless
Without you is worthless
And you know the state of my condition
Yet you hold me anyway and
I won't a step unless it's your direction
Where was I, before I finally realized"
This song just resonates in me how Mork made Day his every reason and purpose and how he shaped his identity and outlook on life through Day's 'eyes' and built it on what he thought Day needed from him and how his sense of fulfillment was built on being by Day's side. - Z
Mirela's Picks:
This song reminds me of Mork's heartbreak and loneliness. It's about him missing his sister, yearning for Day struggling to move on, and wanting to get back to a time where he can be with the people he loves, a place that feels like home. - M
This one is one of my favorite songs ever. I added it to the LT playlist a long time ago, watching them being brave and overcoming their conditions together. Their journey was just as inspiring as this song is to me. It's a song about starting over, never giving up, and carrying on with hope. It's about living your life to the fullest, having perseverance, and not letting the fire inside of you die out. It also reminds me of the poster from episode one "Too fast to live, too young to die". - M
Kess' Choice:
“If I knew I’d only get one more sunset with you … I’d hold you closer, kiss you slow while the world’s on fire” — This song embodies how much Mork loves Day; how he wants to give him all the time he can; cherish every moment with him. - K
I know Kess and I both really loved Jay Garche's 'Last Twilight (William Jakrapatr | Last Twilight (ภาพสุดท้าย) Ost. | English Cover)' it's AMAZING!!!!
Thank you all so much for joining us on our Last Twilight journey!
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How can you keep everything together?
For @zuuz-dot-chr-exe promt: Giftless members of the family reflect and try to make sence of the whole thing
Things weren't supposed to go this way. In a split second the candle just flickered and something strange happened.
The fact that some people don't have gifts doesn't mean they weren't affected
She remembered that day as if it were a nightmare.
Mirabel didn't mean the words, "The miracle is dying because of you!" They just went out of her throat before she could even realize it. For a moment, there was a sound of breaking, as if the biggest crack was about to destroy them. The floor shook, the old stonework of the floor was running over each other, and Mirabel was wholly sure that Casita would just fall apart within a second.
It stopped as suddenly as it began. Mirabel stared up into the window where the magic candle stood proudly, and a black, impenetrable smoke was coming up from it.
And there was yelling. Mirabel winced in panic and looked around. The first thing she realized is that her mom hunched over, leaning on Agustin with the blood running down her face; her arms were covered in red cuts, tears, and slashes. And Mirabel could see how the bruises appeared out of nowhere.
"Mama!" She screamed in horror, but as she ran to Julieta, the latter suddenly felt better, injuries had quickly healed, just like they always had with the magic food.
"Mi Amor?" Agustin breathed out in panic, supporting his wife as Mirabel peeked, scared over what just happened. It wasn't normal. And on her eyes, her mom's skin got irritated as if from the injury, and the blood ran down again. Just out of nowhere. And Mirabel could see how Mama's azure dress was getting wet and strained with blood.
"What the hell?" Mirabel winced, her hands trembling as she touched Mama's dress at this moment, before looking away, now staring at her older sister. Agustin looked like he wanted to scold her for a moment, but the words got stuck inside of him. Isabela grabbed the vine that was growing exactly from her palm, as if she were the ground. In a split movement, a young woman ripped off the plant, and fresh blood dripped down her cut. The whole cold family stared at this with visible worry and horror.
The wind around was so strong that Mirabel got really scared that instead of breaking, Casita would just fly away in Tía's hurricane, who was shaking from cold, and small flashes of lightning were running all over her like a peel. Felix tried to take her arm but immediately winced in pain, reflexively pulling away.
Mirabel's gaze was jumping from one family member to another, not making any sense of what was going on right now. She saw how Isabela ripped off another sprout, and Luisa rubbed her face and stared down at herself worriedly. Tío Felix rushed to Dolores, who seemed to fall unconscious on the floor, while Bruno, with the face of Señora Pezmuerto (Camilo?) fell after his sister because he couldn't balance properly without a second leg.
After a moment, a teenager turned to see Abuela. Her grandma clenched her hands together; for the first time in Mirabel's life, she could see fear, pure terror, in her strong and resilient Abuela's eyes. Her face twisted from horror, brows arched in panic.
The candle continued to smoke.
***
Days were passing pretty slowly, at least in Felix's opinion. He couldn't tell that he didn't wish to get everything back to how it was before, but his motto in life was to keep going forward, despite the life obstacles, not losing faith that tomorrow will be even better. He would call himself a glue person who was smoothing the corners. His positive outlook on life was probably the reason why he didn't seem to fall into as much despair as everyone else. Still, he wasn't naive. Their condition really seemed desperate, and his usual optimism could never do anything to fix it.
He was pretty used to bearing through Pepa's storms. When you spend more than twenty years sharing the same bedroom, you get used to all those temperature changes or hurricanes. But even Felix had to admit that it was nothing compared to what was. going on near his wife now. Just walking from the door of their room to bed would take a good two hours with all those crazy gusts of hurricane wind all around. Don't get him wrong; he loved it when Pepita was allowing all her feelings out, causing the weather around her to go crazy. But Felix also hated it when she was upset, which was usually the cause of 'troubling' weather. And, according to the constant storm that threatened to just break down the door, Pepa was upset literally all the time. But what concerned Felix the most was how hard it was now to get Pepa's mood in a lighter condition. Everyone knew that she was quick to rage, but people often forgot that she was quick to calm down and even switch to happiness. But now getting Pepa into even a neutral condition felt like the eighth wonder of the world; leaving alone actually made her get any positive feelings no matter how hard Felix tried. It was like Pepa's ability to feel happiness dissipated in the smoke of a twisted candle.
Not only hers, actually. Felix hadn't told anyone, but it just seemed like all gifted Madrigals now were way more snappish or depressed than before. He could blame curses for it; he wouldn't keep his optimism if he was affected either, but with how impossible it was to make Pepa stop thundering, Felix really thought that gifted members just couldn't feel anything but rage or despair. And it hurt way more than he wanted to admit. In this way, Felix was just like Camilo, wishing nothing more than to keep everyone happy.
The mentioned boy wasn't any better than his mother or sister, who currently isolates herself from any sound. When Felix first saw how Shapeshifter was jumping between random people, mixing some really incompatible traits, he got really worried. But it was really nothing compared to when Camilo took a form with his skin inside out, showing his organs.
But it wasn't like Felix could actually do anything to fix this. The only thing he was able to do was run from his wife to his son, trying to give them at least a tiny shred of happiness.
***
Alma had no idea what to do now. Everything was out of control when most of the family suffered, and those little amount without gifts tried to help everyone. Crying howls could be heard from every room at night. Pain and despair hung over the whole Casita, as nothing seemed to help stop the suffering. The candle dripped with wax, and the once beautiful pattern has blurred. Alma couldn't say she wasn't afraid of what might come next out of this now-twisted in some dark way miracle, but she didn't know how to stop this. Agustin's idea of putting out the candle might be good at first sight, but there was no way to actually know if it would stop the devilry in this house.
Alma walked down the stairs, mentally marking blood stains to clean them later. Who's blood was it? Maybe Isabela destroyed the plants in her body again, tearing her own skin for the sake of freedom. Maybe Camilo shapeshifted into something abnormal again. Alma could never know. The fact that her mind reacted so calmly made her guts twist.
It was nothing like Pedro. If he disappeared in a slit of a second without letting Alma even understand what was happening properly, then her descendants stayed like this for a long time to become something not so strange. Everyone just wanted for this to stop.
While other giftless members tried to comfort the exhausted tortured Madrigals, Alma was way more focused on keeping the village in line, leaving problem feelings inside Casita.
And, oh boy, she never realized how much everyone used the magic gifts. For a couple of weeks, the whole village got into chaos. In those forty-five years, Alma had forgotten how wild the weather was without control. Donkeys were walking all over the village, and no one actually knew how to deal with injuries.
This heavy smoke exposed the worst parts of the family, piercing through the skin with the sharp fangs, and Alma did her best to keep everything in order, just like always. Except for the fact that this time there was no way to say that everything was fine, pretending that all the cracks were a part of imagination. No matter how hard Alma tried to pretend that everything was fine, her family kept suffering.
Her eldest, Julieta, could barely move from bed with all those injuries that were appearing as fast as they were disappearing. No one actually could see Pepa properly because coming into her room was dangerous with the endless hurricane she caused, and Alma could only admire Felix, who kept coming to his wife despite how dangerous it was. And Bruno, her poor boy, who just disappeared one night without a trace, was now surrounded by spinning sand all the time. Grains painfully hit her skin when Alma tried to come closer, just like those lights all over Pepa's body. There were nights—many nights—when Alma imagined how her missing son returned home, even if she was completely sure that he was dead. This reunion wasn't as sweet as she had hoped it to be, no. It was painful and heartbreaking. She'd rather never see him again instead of this madness that took over him.
Then there were her grandchildren. Primary four oldest of them. For some heavenly grace, Antonio didn't suffer like the others; even if Alma could see some disappointment in his eyes when he lost his gift that he got just a day ago, it was better than seeing him crying in pain without anyone around to comfort him properly. And Mirabel... Well, she looked completely fine. But, again, the curse seemed to affect only gifted Madrigals, so Alma left her be; there were enough problems already. The other grandkids, however, weren't so good. Starting with Isabela, who kept having plants growing inside of her, the red blood was running down her arms so often when she kept ripping the flowers off her. Dolores just stayed in her room, just like her mother, not for everyone's safety but for her own. For a couple of days, she had an extremely large number of heart attacks, until Mirabel connected the dots and said that her prima's heart usually gives out when there are loud noises. So Dolores went into her room to never come out. Luisa even looked fine for some time, only saying about some strange itching under her skin, that's until the first gray spots came on the surface, slowly growing, replacing her body with rock, just like plants replaced Isabela's. Camilo kept shapeshifting rapidly, seemingly not having any control over it; his body didn't care if his limbs were switched, not even taking into concern anything else.
Agustin greatly blamed her for this entire situation. And Alma just couldn't get it. She didn't try, she never wanted for something like this to happen. Dios, she wouldn't wish this even for her enemy. There was no way she actually did something to cause this; she was only protecting the family, and she didn't know how she would live with herself if she was to blame.
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Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow - Design, Effects, and Extra Notes.
Design
Designed and Modeled by Maydayfireball, with some touch ups from jjinomu ! I distinctly remember sending him to her and going "yeah i dunno what to do for his shoes" and her sending him back with "no shoes."
so free feet pics i guess.
ANYWAY.. Some people caught it, but he was loosely inspired by the vocaloids in the "Empty" sekai of project sekai. He's intentionally fairly monochrome, so that the wings towards the end seem even more vivid. He's meant to appear a bit hopeless and messy, like he's really down on his luck. I imagine a Piko like this would be gentle, but a little sad most of the time.
Effects
There's two Big effect points for this one, so I'll go into both.
The first is the night sky. It has an intentionally painted, flat look. It's suppose to feel like the backdrop of a stage, not like a real night sky. Like he's performing, but his heart isn't in it quite yet. I added a light dust particle effect in as well to make a contrast between it and the still background to really hammer in it's falseness.
And then of course, the climax.
Using a flat black plane behind him, i abused mmd's transparency bug to display the artwork behind him through the wings.
The wings are also directly shaped from the wings shown in the MV.
This moment wasn't just a climax for this song, but a climax for the concert as a whole. Like Piko gaining hope and a better outlook for the future thanks to those who reached out to him honestly.
Extra Notes
BOY. I apologize in advance, i have SO MANY THOUGHTS about these lyrics. If you're an english speaker, I highly recommend watching it with the closed captions on. They're a bit on the nose, even without me digging into them.
「I'm a boy who picks his battles depending on whatever suits his mood」
「No hopes for the future, I wanted to be drawn in a dream.」
「and yet I fear the future- hating tomorrow, wishing for the past.」
These are the opening lines for the song. Coming off the back of our angry streaming heart piko who longed for the past, this version of him has given up. Like there is nothing left for him to do.
「Leaving the old me behind,」
「but that night was different from all the others.」
「You took my hand...」
I like to believe, in a way, Piko would be referring to the first Piko Live Party here. Like a moment of light in a dark future, You reached out your hand and supported him.
「If this is to end as a dream, at least allow me to change yesterday...」
「I won't say anything like that, so let me keep smiling together with you, tomorrow as well.」
I've said it before, but we made the first Piko Live Party assuming it wouldn't get attention. We worked hard, but with the expectation that it wouldn't be seen by many. That's why, during this chorus, the backdrop is flat. Like a kid's play. Or, like not-quite-discovered potential.
「Even if I think that the world truly changed,」
「and even if I tried to hope or change, the future was cruel.」
The screen goes darker, and the colors become fully monochrome. It's a bit like a reality check - We're supporting Piko, but aside from us, there's not much he can do to change his fate as a discontinued vocaloid.
「Even so, the world I always watched with you was truly beautiful.」
「I still haven't forgotten that, I've placed it in my heart so I can remember.」
This is a Piko who's speaking to us from the present. I interoperate it as if he's referring to the rush of support he got, and how he'll always cherish it even if his future is bleak.
Of course, this is followed by what feelings and emotions you've given him. The colors burst forward, creating wings like the summer sky. They're a physical representation of your support and the future it's given him.
「I want to be together with you in the future, however short our time may be」
「so I'll shout "Remember this day someday in the future, whoever we are then..."」
Again, I highly recommend watching this song in particular with the closed captions turned on. It really adds to it.
I was extremely happy when Mio picked this song to cover, because I knew immediately what direction I should take this concert in at that point. I knew what I wanted to do with it from the very beginning, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
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Arms Wide Open, Catch Me If I Fall:
Chapter 4: Birdie’s Eye View
Word Count: 5k+
🚨Warnings: inaccurate Naval descriptions, angst and floof.
A/N: dividers by @sligheach-sidhe , cover by me ( @callmemana ). Thank you @bayisdying for proofreading!
A/N: There will be a change, each chapter will be at least 3k word count. Also, this will be my main focus on writing.
After the big blow up with Bo, Bird walked to the Garcia’s with Ozzy following close behind.
Tears stained her cheeks as she made her way to her bedroom and cuddled with her dog.
She would go in tomorrow and talk with Cyclone about redacting the offer to join the team, if it wasn’t too late.
If Robert didn’t want her here, then she’s not gonna stick around to take anymore of his awful behavior.
He’s acting like he did the last week he was in Lemoore right before he broke her heart.
Bird was a forgiving person, but she didn’t know if she could forgive him for this.
She got up and started to pack everything but the essentials back up into the boxes, she’d ask for tape and help loading her truck tomorrow.
Ozzy kept trying to nip at her legs, telling her to stop.
But Bird’s mind was already set, as soon as she could she’d talk to the Air Boss and ask to be stationed back in Lemoore.
She was just finishing up her last box when Baylie and Mickey came home.
“Why are you packed? What happened between you and Bob?”questioned Lucky.
“He was an asshole and pretty much told me he didn’t want me here. I’m going to talk to Cyclone tomorrow about being transferred back to Flordia. I’m not staying somewhere where the only person I really know doesn’t want me to be.”
“Maybe he was just surprised to see you is all,” offered Mickey.
Bird laughed humorlessly, “Trust me Mickey, what he said wasn’t because of that. I mean, seriously! How stupid am I to come here thinking that he’d be happy to see me? He was right, I ruin everything.”
Tears prickled at her eyes as she fixes her glasses.
“Birdie, what do you mean?” insisted Lucky, teeth slightly grinding together.
“Hey, you haven’t ruined anything.” reassured Mickey.
“He said that the whole week before he left, said I ruined his life and everything I touch. I can’t do that to you guys too.”
“Bird, you haven’t ruined anything for us, if anything you’ve made our lives better.”
“How? I’ve done nothing but cause trouble since I got here!” she cried, taking her glasses off to clean them of tears.
Baylie pulls her into a hug and Mickey joins soon afterwards.
“Because you have made our grey outlook on Bob turn to color. We only knew him as the shy man he is, and now, we might be able to see an outgoing, sarcastic, and whatever else he’s hidden from us, man.”
“You just don’t know him well enough yet. He was shy when we first met at bootcamp.”
“Oh, we need to know all of the stories about the young Robert Floyd.” declared Lucky.
Ozzy ran over and decided to also join the group hug, giving everyone sloppy puppy-kisses all over their faces.
“Oz, Ozzy, ok, ok, thank you bubs!” laughed Birdie as she lightly pushed him away, fixing her glasses on her nose.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes, standing up in the process to head to her room.
“I best be gettin’ to bed, I gotta be up early to see Cyclone anyhow. Thank you both for everything.”
The couple gave smiles and bids her goodnight.
The next morning Bird does her morning routine, walks Ozzy, and drives to base earlier than necessary.
She’s trying to navigate her way to the Air Boss’s office when she accidentally bumps into someone.
“Oh I’m so sorry! Here lemme help you,” blurted Bird as she immediately gets to the ground and starts to pick up the scattered papers and folders.
The woman was olived skinned and dark brown curly haired.
“It’s not a problem, I can pick them up myself, I wasn’t watching where I was going anyway.” the woman laughed, holding her hand out towards Amanda.
“I’m Alana Metcalf, most people here call me Cinco or Cin. Are you new? I saw that you were looking a little lost.”
She took the woman’s outstretched hand and shook.
“I’m Amanda Hallett, callsign Birdie, but I also go by Bird. I’m not gonna lie, I am incredibly lost.” Bird laughed, cheeks burning a bright pink.
“Well maybe I can help, who are you looking for?”
“The Air Boss, Beau Simpson. I need to talk with him about transferring back to my old base.”
“Oh, did something happen? Not enjoying San Diego?” she asked.
“You could say that. I just don’t think it’s a good fit for me.”
“Ah, I see. An ex is here huh?”
Birdie’s eyes widen and jaw slacked, “How did you know that?”
“I’m kinda friends with Bob and the dagger squad. Actually, my boyfriend is on the team too.”
“Oh…” said Bird before she put on a fake smile, “what’s his name?”
Cinco could see through the smile, but decided to table that for later when she could speak to Bob.
“Jake Seresin, but his callsign is Hangman.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“He is sometimes,” nodded Cin, “It’s because he always hangs his wingmen out to dry.”
“And he’s on a team? He sounds like he’s an ass. No offense!”
Cin laughs, “None taken, I know he can be one. He’s shown it many of times.”
The two women stopped infront of a wooden door with a name plate that read, ‘Simpson.’
“Anyway, here’s Cyclone’s office. I hope that you reconsider going back, I can tell that you will be a big part of our lives already.”
“And how can you tell, you just met me Cin.” Bird questioned jokingly.
“Because that man’s eyes still sparkle when you come up in conversation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bob like this and I can’t wait to see how it ends.”
“So, you know?” she asked, eyes casted down.
“No, but I don’t think I need to know more than that he loves you.”
“He might’ve before, but he doesn’t now. Thanks for being my guide, I appreciate it.”
Bird gave the woman a little wave as she knocked on the thick door, waiting for the ‘Come in.’
Once the command was given, she entered and saluted the Air Boss.
“You are relieved, Leutenant,” he declared, looking up briefly to see who was there.
“Hello Vice Admiral Simpson, I was wondering if it was too late to ask if the contract could be void and I could be stationed back in Lemoore?”
“Not liking the company Hallett? I believe at one point in your first time here, you were very close to Leutenant Floyd.”
“Yes sir, we were, but recently ended our relationship.”
“How sad. Unfortunately, Hallett, it’s already been cleared and recorded. You’re stuck here until farther notice.”
“But Sir-”
“I didn’t ask for excuses, Leutenant. Just be glad it’s only for six months. Now if your done,” He shifted his eyes to the door.
That was not the news Bird thought she would be getting, Cyclone never liked her anyway.
So why does he have to be so determined to keep her here?
Unless he thinks this will be torture for her being near Robert, which it most likely will be.
She exited the room, leaving his door open just to piss him off more.
Bird went down the hallway a little and braced her back on the wall, groaning loud.
“Well who do we have here?” a woman with a British accent asked.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted you ma’am, I’m Leutenant Hallett.”
“No harm done here, I was just having breakfast at my desk with my friend. I’m Rachael Kazansky.”
Bird looked at her phone screen, checking the time. The meeting with Cyclone went on longer than she initially thought.
“I am so sorry but, I have to get to the hanger. It was nice meeting you though!”
Dragon smiled as the blonde woman scurried off.
She arrived late, the high ranks already in the room and stood off to the side.
“Nice of you to finally join us Leutenant Hallett,” announced Cyclone.
“I’m so sorry, Cyclone! Someone told me to go to Hell, I couldn’t find it at first, but guess what? I finally found it! And I just knew I’d see you here too!”
“Everyone, this is Leutentant Amanda ‘Birdie’ Hallett, graduated second at Top Gun in her class.” stated Maverick, a wide smirk on his features.
Robert muttered a displeased, “Birdie.”
Laughter poorly covered up could be heard around the hanger, mostly by the students. When Bird looked over at Warlock, he winked at her with an amused smirk on his face too.
“Back on the agenda, Maverick.”
“We will be doing an exercise to start training for an upcoming mission. The hard deck is at ten thousand feet and will not be broken this time. We’ll take Hangman, Rooster, Coyote, and Birdie first. Get suited up.”
With that, we all filed out of the door and headed to the locker room.
“You must have a big pair of balls on you if you can sass Cyclone without hesitation.” said a tall, blond haired man with sea green eyes.
“Cyclone’s had it out for me since my first time at Top Gun. Bob and I got yelled at all the time by him.” Birdie said as she rolled her eyes.
“Wrong, you and Thena got yelled at and Smiley and me tried to get you out of it.” smiled Bob.
“Yeah right, like I don’t remember the reason you got your callsign. You are just as much of a troublemaker Bo.”
She didn’t see the smirks and looks exchanged by the others.
“Since y’all know my name, I think it’s only fair I know your’s.” stated Bird.
A dark skinned man with a mustache spoke first, “I’m Reuben Fitch, Payback and Fanboy’s pilot.”
The next was another dark skinned man, a little lighter in shade, “Javy Machado, Coyote.”
“I’m pretty well known everywhere I go. Jake Seresin, callsign; Hangman.”
“Wow, maybe you should take the dick outta your personality. Your ego isn’t as big as you think.”
“So what I’m hearing is that you think-”
“Finish that sentence, and I’ll sack you so hard that your grandkids will feel your pain.”
“Damn, she doesn't play.” said a man with a 70’s porn-stache.
“Damn straight, and you are?”
“Bradley Bradshaw, Rooster.” he held out his hand, which she gladly took.
“It’s nice to meet you Rooster.”
They all came to the doors that separated the locker rooms.
The women went into the one on the left, the guys on the right.
Bird was halfway out of her civilian clothes when a small, shy woman came up to her.
“Hi, I’m Raven Mouse Fischer. I haven’t been on the team very long, but if you need any help with anything, I’d be more than glad to help!” chirped Mouse with a wide smile.
“Thank you Mouse, I might have to take you up on that offer,”
“I’m Bob’s pilot, Natasha Phoenix Trace. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Natasha. Thank you for keeping him safe when I couldn’t, I appreciate it more than you know.”
Phoenix was a little surprised when Bird brought her into a tight hug.
After the little meet and greet in the locker room, everyone was outside in the hanger getting ready to get in the jets.
Bird had her sky blue helmet on with the bird silhouette on the front with her callsign under and her squadron on the sides.
She wanted to have someone pat the top to ‘see if it works’ but didn’t want to ask anyone yet.
Bird saw Bo and looked away, there was no way she’d ask the man who had made a new crack in her heart not too long ago to do the preflight ritual with her.
“What’s wrong Bird?” asked Rooster as he stood by her plane.
“Nothin’, just missing old traditions we used to do before flying.”
“What did you do before?” he smiled, looking down at her.
“Used to smack the top of our helmets so we could ‘see if it was good’ and now I don’t have anyone to do that with.”
Without second thought, Rooster slapped his hand against the top of her helmet and whispered, “Good luck Bird. You don’t have to be scared to ask us to continue the traditions you did back in Lemoore, if they make you feel comfortable or a superstition you have we will help make you calm.”
Bird’s cheeks burned slightly, “Thank you Roos, I appreciate that.”
Bradley lightly pounds his fist on the top of her helmet again, “Anytime Bird. We’re all family now.”
She nods, looking away from him briefly before the other two men join them.
“Ready to fly Bird and Chicken?” asked Hangman, a smirk on his face.
“Yeah, Bagman, let’s get in the sky.”
It took a while but soon all were in the air with the oxygen masks on and communication was silent.
Bird was flanked by the men, all looking around for Maverick and seeing nothing.
“So what’s your story Birdie?”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t wanna, Bird.”
“It’s fine. Grew up in the midwest, went to bootcamp and then after I graduated I went to Top Gun.”
“What about when you met Baby On Board?”
Rooster’s voice cracked through the radios, “Leave her alone, Bagman.
“Woah man, we’re just trying to get to know our fellow aviator Rooster.”
Bird rolled her eyes at the men, typical.
“I’ll leave that to Robert when the time comes and HE wants to tell you.”
“Ooooh, she’s super mad if she’s using your name and not your callsign huh Baby On Board?”
“Why do you always have to be a dickhead, Bagman?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘always,’ I did save your life Chicken.”
“He did,” echoed Coyote.
Rooster was quiet after that and started to go a little farther ahead of them.
They flew for a little longer in silence before Coyote voiced everyone’s concern, “Where’s Mav?”
All four of us looked around, not seeing anything. “Oh fuck, he’s under our noses.”
After that was said, Maverick came up from out of nowhere. “Good Afternoon Aviators.”
Bird was the first to move out of the way, Rooster following her and Hangman and Coyote breaking off to the left.
The fight was on.
It took twenty six minutes for Maverick to shoot all of us down.
If we were supposed to be the best of the best, how come it took so little time for him to beat us in a dog fight?
Bird got out of her jet, took off her helmet and then gripped it in her fist angrily. She knew she could be better than she performed today, otherwise she wouldn’t be back at Top Gun.
“Don’t let this bring you down, we all got our asses handed to us and I bet you everyone will today too.” Rooster shook her shoulders lightly and a smile on his face.
Hangman and Coyote came over to her plane again and praised her flying as they all made their way to the rec room where everyone else is.
Once inside the room and out of the blazing sun, she saw that Bob was still sitting right infront of the radio with eyebrows furrowed and bitting him lip.
What was he so worried about, he had no right to be for me. He lost it the day he broke my heart.
It was later in the day when everyone had failed and walking back to the locker rooms that everyone was talking and laughing together again.
“So Bird, would you like to go to the Hard Deck later?” asked Mickey, a smile on his face.
“No thank you, Mickey. I should unpack, I’m going to be here for a while.”
“Oh that’s great to hear, how long?” chirped Mouse.
“I’m here for six months, then wherever they send me afterwards.”
Lucky glares at Bob, angry at that he almost made her go away.
“We can help if you need?”
Bird smiled, “Thanks for the offer, but it won’t take too long.”
“Well if you end up needing help, don’t be afraid to call any of us.”
“She wouldn’t need you Bagman, Birdie has Mickey and me to help. Also stay away from my house or I’ll kick your ass.”
Jake put his arms up in mock surrender, eyes wide and a smirk on his lips.
The three of them went back inside the Hard Deck and grabbed the others and went out back to talk on the deck.
Once all of the aviators had sat down, Bob took a deep breath.
“I think I might owe y’all an explanation on why I’ve been acting so short tempered lately.”
“I’d say.”
“Shut up, let him speak!”
“Yeah, I wanna hear why.”
“Well, before we left for the mission, I was engaged,” he took his dogtags out of his shirt and showed the ring.
A dainty little gold ring that looked as if it was sticks with small diamonds decorating it was on the chain.
“To an aviator named Birdie. I broke off the engagement and then moved to San Diego a week later.”
Bob ran his hands in his already messed up hair, “So when Lucky was giving hints as to who the new member was, she was just reminding me of her. I didn’t want to think about Bird, so instead I got angry and shut everyone out. I’m sorry.”
“Why? Why break up with her, she’s a pilot too. She’d understand.”
Bob laughed sadly, “Because I’m in idiot. I don’t really want to get into it tonight.”
“Hate to break it to you Baby On Board, but I already kinda knew. Seriously, I mean, did you forget that I have access to personal and personnel records?” sassed Cinco.
“I’m so glad that you found your forever Bob and I can’t wait to meet her! What’s she like? Chirped Mouse.
Baylie took point in answering this, “She’s amazing, beautiful, fantastic, lovely, smart, funny, sweet…”
“Okay, we get it Bay, if we weren’t married you’d marry bird and make her one of your sister wives.”
“Damn right I would, too bad I’m stuck with your ugly ass.”
“Ouch.”
“Can we please get back to the matter at hand?”
Bay shrugged while Mickey put his hands up in mock surrender.
“As you were saying Bob?”
“I messed up and broke up with her the harshed way possible so she wouldn’t think about me when I was on the mission. And with her back in my life I can’t help but have those feelings again.”
“So you never got over her?” questioned Phoenix, eyebrows furrowed.
Bob shook his head, “No. She’s my everything. I’ve known her since I was eighteen, we met on the first day of bootcamp. I knew by the end of our first date that I was gonna marry her.”
Dragon and Whiskey just screamed in happiness at the confession, they had never really heard Bob speak so passionately about love before and wanted nothing more than to hear everything he had to say.
Mouse was the first to speak, “That’s really sweet and I’m happy you found someone who makes you feel like that, but…” she took a deep breath, trying to find the right words that wouldn’t offend him, “If that’s true, why did you end things with her?”
Lucky stood behind Mouse, arms crossed and head nodding to the words that the shy woman had said and added. “You really are a dumb motherfucker aren’t you Robert?”
Tom and Ron exchanged glances before nodding in agreement with their pseudo daughters, only to get smacked by their wives in the back of the head.
The other guys had awkwardly chugged their drinks and avoided eye contact with Bob, not wanting to be caught and having to defend the man.
Rooster, that sap, was the one to speak first, “Do you still want to marry her? Just hearing what you have to say about Bird tells me that you aren’t over her yet.”
Bob answered immediately, “Of course I still want to be with her and marry Bird. I have no doubt in my mind that’s always been her in my heart and always will be.”
“Then we’ll do everything we can do to help you get her back. I don’t speak for everyone, just for me, but I want to see you happy and I get the feeling that the only person who can make you happy, is Birdie.”
Bob smiles, a sight the Dagger Squad hadn’t seen for a while, “She does, she really, really does make me happy.”
Hangman slaps a hand over Bob’s shoulders, “I’ll help you Baby On Board.”
One by one they come up and touch Bob’s shoulders or the top of his head, all agreeing with Jake.
He gave a half smile now that he knew his friends were going to help, he felt his chances of getting his Bird back rise.
Not too long after that the crowd became too much for his wandering mind, so he went home.
The next day on base was awkward to say the least. He knew she was in San Diego, but what he didn’t know was when she would show up at Top Gun.
Maverick had already started the lesson with all of the high ups behind him and to the side.
There was a door being abruptly opened and everyone looked back as Vice Admiral Simpson spoke, “Nice of you to finally join us Lieutenant Hallett.”
She walked her way down the middle of the desks in the many rows that the other aviators sat at before she opened her mouth to no doubt sass the man.
“Birdie.” he whispered breathlessly, head casted down.
She sat down and the lesson went on while the others giggled or laughed behind hands or coughs.
Maverick picked four of us to go into the air for the first flight test and after a weird interaction in the hall to the locker rooms, everyone else crossed the tarmac and made their way in the break room.
Bob kept his sights on Bird the whole way, she glanced at him as she walked to her jet. He couldn’t get the thought out of his head. The happy memories that the two shared while back in Lemoore.
He missed the preflight ritual that they did, along with smiley and Athena. Bob gave a half-assed smile, but that didn’t last too long when he saw Bradley pat her on the head while she wore her helmet.
He can still remember the day that she got her helmet and designed it. Bird was so proud of herself, she hadn’t painted in years and was worried that it wouldn’t come out how she wanted.
Another great memory that he had made with her. Bob wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation from the radio, more on watching the sky and his Birdie fly like she belonged there.
When the exercise was over and the four pilots entered the recreation room, Bob’s focus came back into the world.
He was worried for her, he knew how taxing mentally it was to be called the best of the best, only to be shot down so quickly.
He knew that he had no right to be anxious about her. First this wasn’t a real mission, just a practice.
Secondly, she wasn’t his fiancee anymore, he held no claim to her. Especially after the way he acted the last week in Flordia.
Mickey patted his back as both got up and headed to the tarmac, pilots following their WSO’s, today was just going to be hard for him it seems.
After everyone had gone twice and shot down, both times, the day was over and everyone went to the locker room to change into civvies.
“So Bird, would you like to go to the Hard Deck later?” asked Mickey with a smile on his face as the group walked down the halls and to the parking lot.
“No thank you Mickey. I should unpack, I’m going to be here for a while.”
“Oh, that’s great to hear, how long?” chirped Mouse.
Bob was happy that she’d be staying, he really wanted to take the time and win her heart and trust back.
He felt Lucky’s anger through the glare she was giving him as they walked. Bob knew he deserved it ten times over.
Robert knew that once they heard the whole story, they’d hate him, Hell he hates himself still.
“We can help if you need?”
Bird smiled, “Thanks for the offer, but it won’t take too long.”
“Well if you end up needing help, don’t be afraid to call any of us.”
“She wouldn’t need you Bagman, Birdie has Mickey and me to help. Also stay away from my house or I’ll kick your ass.”
Jake put his arms up in mock surrender, eyes wide and a smirk on his lips. Bob rolled his eyes, he hates when Hangman’s ego acts up.
They all go their separate ways and plan to meet up a little later at The Hard Deck for drinks.
When Bob got home he immediately collected clean clothes from his bedroom and then got into the shower to wash away the day.
He didn’t feel like wearing his Khakis today at the bar so he opted out for an old Carhartt shirt, jeans, and that trucker hat he loves so much but never really wears anymore.
Bob grabbed his keys to the old Chevy truck and drove to the local Navy bar. After he parked, he didn’t really want to go inside, he knew by the cars that everyone is here again.
With a large sigh, he turned off the truck and went through the doorway of the building.
Immediately Bob spotted his found family and threw himself on the cushioned booth seat, surrounded by the group and handed a cup of water that had already been on the table.
Silence wasn’t something that the Dagger Squad did often, but when it was, it's because they were thinking.
It brought warmth to his heart that they actually wanted to help him, but also worried him for when they realized just what type of man he was.
Even if he only did what he did to not break her heart more if he didn’t make it from the Uranium mission alive.
He knew it was only a matter of time before they either kicked his ass or never talked to him again.
Which he deserves, no doubt in his mind about that.
Lucky being the biggest threat if the story got out, she already saw Birdie as a little sister and is protective of her.
He’s seen Baylie’s rage and never wants to be on the receiving end of it, but that might just be what happens.
Dragon was the first to speak after the silence had stopped, “So, what are you thinking about doing to get her back?”
Bob shakes his head chuckling nervously, “Honestly Dragon, I don’t have a Goddamn clue, Amanda won’t even look at me for longer than a second and barely talked to me today.”
“Oh yeah ‘Bo,’ she barely talked to you.”
His head snaps to Lucky, anger in his eyes. “You can’t call me that.”
Bob knows that Baylie won’t back down and he wouldn’t be surprised if she probably already knows the story or at least a little bit of it.
“How bout Bam? Can I call you Bam?” she questions sarcastically, Bird obviously told Mickey and her something about his childhood.
“No and you never call me anything but Robert or Bobby so stop using Birdie to get under my skin.”
“Why when it clearly works so well.” she smirked, the others around him smirking too.
They were all very entertained by this and he didn’t like that just bringing up something about his past could get him so angry.
“Children.” demanded Cinco, done with the fighting.
“Anyway,” said Dragon, getting them back on topic, “we need to start small, so she doesn’t get suspicious of what we’re doing.”
They all nodded, agreeing with her. Now they just have to brain storm ideas until they find the best one for Bob to start gaining Bird’s trust and friendship again.
Some ideas that were thrown out didn’t sound like something that Bob would do, more of a Jake thing.
Big gestures and an exclamation of how sorry he is, Bob is more of the quiet type, small gestures and slowly gaining the relationship back the right way.
It took many hours and many rounds of beer and water (for himself) before the group decided on a plan and paid their tabs before going home.
Bob stopped Mickey as they exited the bar, his friend slowly turned around, a smile on his face.
“How is she doing? Is she settingly in nicely?”
The other wizzo lightly slaps his back,“She’s doing good Bob and I’m not gonna lie to you, because you're my friend, she seems sad. She’s putting on a happy act for us, but we can see it in her eyes. Bird keeps busy around the house when we get home from base. If she can’t find anything to clean, she’s either in her room or walking Ozzy.”
Bob smiles, “Birdie has two brothers so she was the only sibling to actually clean when asked and her room was her get away from her brothers who pestered her a lot. I’m worried about her, Mickey. I hate to see her like this, this girl has been nothing but smiles and rainbows and I don’t think I’ve seen her this way except the last night I was in Lemoore.”
“Hey man, like I said yesterday, we’re gonna help you get her back. This is the first time I’ve seen you smile since the wedding and if she can do that by just being in the same room as you or even just being mentioned, I think what you have is worth the it.”
Bob gave Mickey a little side hug before they went to their cars. Lucky was in the front seat of the Garcia’s Jeep, blasting music and headbanging to the lyrics, making the men laugh.
He took off towards his house, listening to her favorite song and smiling like a total idiot.
Birdie’s Basket🧺: @dragon-kazansky @mrsjaderogers @bayisdying @starlit-epiphany @gracespicybradshaw
🏷️ list: @luckyladycreator2 @interstellarloneliness
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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch1 Arrival (Plus Story Summery)
Part 2 of the Galar Soulmate series.
You used to love playing Pokemon as a kid! But sadly all things must comes to an end. Hobbies come and go. Or do they? The day before you're supposed to leave for college, you instead wake up in the very game you last played. Well great. But you're in luck! If Gloria or Victor manages to play through the game and win then you might get to go home once the game ends! But what happens when the strongest character in the game ends up taking a liking towards you?
*******************************************************************
You had always thought you had it good. ...Until the incident that is.
You had it all good in normal. Small town with little to none crime rates. Nice schools. Plenty of friends and a loving pair of parents. You were a bright young gal so your folks didn't have to worry too much about playing your games too much growing up and having you fall behind on your grades. Which you were pretty thankful for because it just meant you got to play your favorite game series with your friends more and have a blast! Your absolute favorite games was ironically the pokemon games. Ever since you were little you would think fondly back on how you'd always binge watch the entire series and movies back from it's first few episodes online, following the famous trainer and his sidekick pokemon in all their adventures and beautiful moments together with new challenges and new rivals. Call you a nerd all you want, but you loved the series as a kid. The only thing rivaling your love for pokemon was your love for baking! Your passion for baking was evident, but you never had any luck with anything you tried to convince you parents. Which is why when you managed to obtain a part time job in high school at your local bakery you felt content. You felt right at home sitting back and blasting the oven while studying for your exams or doing homework. Sometimes you'd even listen to your favorite battle themes or season intros from the pokemon franchise while waiting for the cupcakes to finish. Sadly things don't always stay the same and the job was needed for something much more than just a get away for your food making passion.
It all started when high school began, your parents took you aside one day and told you about the divorce. You weren't even able to process it at first with how hard the news had hit you for a long while after, no matter how much your parents assured you it wasn't your fault, and things like this happen, and nothing would change the fact they still loved and cared about you. Well that wasn't true, and within a month your father was gone and contact by him was soon lost. Which left you feeling lonely..almost empty. Your mother trying her best to smile through it and trying to keep a positive outlook for you. You dove deeper into your games and music. You remember the last pokemon game you ever played. Pokemon Sword and Shield. By far your favorite with the unique dynamaxing additions and story line. But that joy was also short lived as school demanded more study time and your mother constantly pushing you more to do better in school, and eventually taking a part time job you could enjoy too but it was mostly to help out with the bills that needed to be paid. Eventually over time the games were forgotten along with everything else and you spent your new time filled with studying or working. The games and gaming system eventually moved into the closet. Until one fateful day, everything you would know would change forever. And it all started one year after graduating high school. The day before you were supposed to leave for college at your mother's assistance.
You had no idea what would be awaiting for you-
"Y/N!? ARE YOU STILL UP!?," a woman's voice called up the stairs as the footsteps made their way up.
The sun had set a while ago, but you were still up. Tomorrow you'd be going off to the local community college for the next four years. ...For a business degree and hopefully one day be able to open your own bakery...Not really what you were hoping for your life, but there really wasn't a lot of other options you had thought of that you'd want to do with your life, but a bakery didn't sound too bad. You'd still get to enjoy your passion for cooking wouldn't you? But you still felt...unsure. You had never been away from home or around strangers. Were you even ready for such a big change? You had been absent mindedly just going through your closet and taking out a few clothes or belongings from the depths, most of which you hadn't seen for a long time, and deciding whether to put it into the almost filled giant suitcase. But most things ended up on a giant pile near the closet door as you went through everything. You hadn't even noticed your mother's approaching footsteps until your bedroom door swung open making you jump and drop a dress you had been looking at as the older woman poked her head in.
"Y/n? Why aren't you in bed already? You have to get to the dorms and class orientation tomorrow," she asked looking down and raising a brow as her eyes wondered over the ever steadily growing pile of stuff and the still open suitcase on your bed, before she released a sigh. "You had all week and you're still deciding at last minute?" She turned to you with her famous pose of the hand on the hip all mothers seemed to achieve.
You stared back blankly for a moment before smiling nervously and bending back down to pick up the dress. "W-Well, I thought maybe I should just see what I still had. Never know what I'd want to take with me." Your eyes rescanned the dress again, before narrowing at the old tacky pattern and decided it would belong better in the pile rather than your suitcase or on you.
"Well you should've done this earlier in the week when I asked you, but you said you'd do it sooner." Your mother watched as the dress fluttered down from your hands and into the pile before sighing again. "You already have five boxes in your car outside and that looks good to go already." Her other hand gesturing to the almost full suitcase. "I really think you should get some sleep or else you're going to be late."
Still with your head inside the closet never minding the mess outside with everything already out, you had already lost how much time you had spent clearing almost everything out anyways, you kneeled down to grab the last thing inside that was in there. A medium sized dusty box that looked big enough to store two microwaves inside of it. With a grunt you pulled it up and stood up with it in your arms. It was a decent weight too, before looking back at your mother with a smile.
"I promise I will, Mom!," you promised before holding up the box in your hands, "This is the last thing anyways."
With a sigh and head shake your mother turned her body away from the room. "Fine. But make sure you PLEASE go to sleep. I can already see I have some cleaning up to do in the morning." With that said she walked away.
You sighed and turned back towards the bed with the box, briefly wondering what could possibly be in here that was so heavy. And like in a cliche sitcom comedy show, your foot collided and entangled with one of the discarded clothes you had long since thrown randomly on the floor, and over you went. You gave off a noise that was between a gasp and yelp, the box flying forward from your hands and landing on it's side a little ways from you as your body collided with a floor. The contents of the box spilling all over the floor in front of your face. Everything paused for a moment...before you groaned and pushed yourself off the cold floor with a soft 'ow' of pain. At least it wasn't a really painful fall thank goodness, but now there was even more of a mess to clean up. Blinking your eyes open you looked down to the tangled mess of black wires and small cases with it and for a moment you paused. ...In front of your eyes was at least three game systems, one of it was your old Nintendo switch you hadn't touched since you were fifthteen, and with them was a few controllers and a few games you know realized...It-...Your old game set ups. You..You hadn't seen these in years! It was like eternity as you stared at them before your hand slowly came out to touch one of the games and your jolted lightly from the feeling of cold plastic from the game case, but still proceeded to pick it up and look at it and the strange two dog like creatures on it....and you smiled. Pokemon Sword and Shield. The very last game you fully played through before you became wrapped up in school and work after-....A frown came back to your face. You spent so much time discovering all the secret endings, all the achievements no matter how long it took, looking online for all the secrets and many things you could do doing every single one you could find to pass the time and even somehow managed to buy the dlcs. ...But it was forever ago and you doubted you could remember even if you tried. Among the pile was some other older pokemon titles and a few other games you'd play but long forgotten by now. Too tired to deal with this and all the messes for now, you just gently put the game back down in the pile of new mess and stood up to turn to your suitcase. A zipping noise echoed in the room as you zipped it shut but left it on the floor as you stood up and yawned. Stretching out your back. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. You were already so exhausted you hardly even noticed you going through the routine of taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and getting into your favorite pair of fuzzy pjs before just collapsing into your bed. Eyelids heavy and darkness consuming you as you fell into a fast deep sleep.
The darkness of your dream was interrupted however in the most strangest ways-
Loud cheers and claps interrupted as a flash of bright white appeared and suddenly you were dreaming of being inside a gigantic stadium with HUNDREDS of screaming and cheering people. It was exactly like the time you went to one of those professional baseball games with your family once. Up above fireworks whistled and boomed with bright lights lighting up the night sky as if reminding you you were still asleep. This stadium had everything a typical stadium would. Bright giant lights lighting up a green field with white lines painted on it in a strange way, and a giant TV screen was attatched to one side of the giant stadium as it turned on and a man appeared on it. The whole thing was almost as big as your standard football field. The loud noises around you somehow didn't drown out the man's voice as he spoke into a microphone as then speakers blared his voice around for everyone to hear.
"Welcome one and all!," a man's voice blared out. The man on the giant screen had a dark skin tone with black hair and a grey suit to match his red tie. His green eyes smiled up to everyone in the audience. " Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon!" He extended his arms out as he said so.....Wait. Poke- what? The screen changed to show a regional like map next. "Our beloved Galar region is a wonderful place with thriving nature, beautiful cities, and many Pokemon with which we share our lives! As you know our society is able to thrive-" He suddenly shifted his hand and in it was a small ball, the top red, bottom white, and with a black line between them. He suddenly threw it up a little ways as some as you would call an-elephant-looking-thing came out to stand next to him in a bright light and a few trumpet noises from the creature. "-thanks to help from these mysterious creatures that we call Pokemon! Yes. Pokemon are all around us!" He suddenly gestured to some bird looking creatures flying past above him. "In the sea, in the sky, and even with us in our towns!" He held up the ball again while his other hand extended. "And those of us who chose to raise and train Pokemon to do battle and compete we call Pokemon Trainers!" THE. CROWD. ROARED!! You never did like loud crowds but still continued to dream on as if you couldn't move as the man continued talking loud for the crowd to hear him. "Oh! But I'm getting carried away. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rose and it is a pleasure to be here! Now turn your gaze to the Galar region's greatest pokemon trainer, your undefeated champion! It's time for Leon's exhibition match!" He threw a fist in the air as the crowd roared again.
Suddenly from somewhere behind him a series of sparklers and dark grey smoke appeared heading right towards the middle of the field, the 'Rose' guy and his elephant thing quickly making a jogging exit towards the other far side of the field. Presumably to make way for the smoke and sparklers. The sparkling smoke ended in one last explosion as it went everywhere...and suddenly a man appeared from the depths. The crowd roared even louder for this man. Out came a pair of golden-brown eyes, long purple hair, and a fluttering cape. He suddenly struck a pose similar to that of a rock star as a giant dragon like creature followed out from the smoke behind him. The crowd holding up their hands and doing the symbol he was doing with his hand back. Across from him was yet another darker skin toned man next to some giant white creature with bright green eyes.
"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine is about to end when I beat you here today!," he shouted to the purple haired man with a determined look.
"You know I don't lose battles, Raihan," he spoke back calmly flipping his cape back. His hand suddenly pointed at the dragon creature beside him. "Charizard! Dynamax!"
A BRIGHT red aura suddenly surrounded the dragon creature as it gave a mighty roared as it's body absorbed the red energy. The crowd awed as it grew to be AS BIG AS A SKY SCRAPER!! Flames enveloped the horns, wings and most of the tail as it's orange body deepened a red as the energy. The sky above the stadium suddenly being surrounded by purple-red storm clouds blocking the once calm night sky. As it gave one last loud roar to the heavens.
You awakened with a gasp, bolting up and panting as you pushed yourself up from the bed you laid upon. The room feeling chilly as your hands came up to your face as you groaned and rubbed it. Man...What a weird dream. That giant dragon looked too real and frightful. Mom was right. You had to stop staying up so late. Judging by how dark it was, it must've only been a few hours into the night. Well at least you could go back to sleep now-...You paused when your weight shifted and the soft bed was suddenly rough and-....stick like?? Like you were laying upon a bunch of branches and twigs. Opening your eyes, you strained to adjust to the dark surrounding you and suddenly realized with a jolt, you were feeling cold because you WERE OUTSIDE!!! You stared as moonlight seeped through from the giant moon above you lighting up what looked like to be a forest, and you were at the very top of a tree on something flat and made of sticks. ...This was NOT your bedroom. As your mind tried to figure out how you could've possibly ended up in a tree in the middle of no where, your luck instantly got WORSE when something BIG blocked the moon as it's shadow loomed over you. You're blood went cold and body froze as whatever it was shifted above you. As if you were in a horror movie, your body acted on it's own as you turned around and looked up the black body of the feathered beat that somehow didn't break the tree top with how BIG it was. And your eyes went small.
A. GIANT. BLACK. BIRD. WAS. STARING. AT. YOU!!!
It didn't seem too happy either as it suddenly snapped it's wings out and delivered what could only be described as a mix between a crow call and a lion roar. You screamed, both voices echoing out throughout the forest and scrambled back-
"AAAHHHH!!"
Your arms flailed out as you suddenly went backwards and down you went over the edge. Your screams of tumbling down from a tree were cut short as it felt like you hit every single branch on your way down. Pain exploded everywhere your body made contact with the branches until finally with a final thud, your body fell hard onto soft grass. Knocking the air out of your lungs and you gasping for air on your side. Your body was in pain from everywhere your body hit the tree and you were sure it would leave bruises and scratches later. You coughed and gasped for air, lungs burning but you nearly stopped breathing again when the same call came from the thing above making your body feel like it was dipped in ice as your heartbeats sore. Adrenaline kicked in know as your body wobbled and felt so light, not to mention hurt, as you forced yourself to stand and start walk-running away, swaying as you still gasped for air but your panicked state didn't care about the pain or anything as you somehow quickly got your balance back and started running through the dark. The sounds and darkness of the forest blocked almost all moonlight as you blindly ran to try and get away from the giant demon bird, to keep from being eaten. You ran...and ran...and ran blindly in the dark with your hands in front of you barefoot. Branches and other plants hitting your legs and face as you did, the sounds of the bird thing behind you disappearing as you kept running. At one point you had the brilliant idea to look behind you to see if anything was following you-
"AH!"
Your foot once again got caught on something. You screamed as your body went tumbling head over heels down a hill in the dark. Your already sore and hurt body becoming even more so as you rolled and rolled and rolled until you finally came to a stop at the bottom of it onto your back, with your body facing the sky. Your vision swam and your head spun as you stared up dizzily at the sky as your vision slowly went black. And you again passed out.
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🎵 Scarlet’s Milestone Concert Celebration 🎵
To celebrate reaching another milestone I am inviting you all to Scarlet’s Concert 🎵
As most of my fics are named after songs, I have complied a list of some of my favourite songs. Send me a pairing and a song lyric and I will gift you a little fic. Lyrics with gender specific pronouns can be changed at request. Come join the concert! 🎵
🎵 Pairings 🎵
Spencer x Reader
Spencer x Luke
Luke x Reader
🎵 Song lyric prompts below the cut! 🎵
🎵 I’ll admit I’m impressed by your vanishing act. Place your bets on your best guess of when you’re coming back - Swan Song by Set It Off
🎵 “Just give me a chance,” she said as I packed my things. “But I already did four times, don’t you remember?” “I won’t blow it again,” she said, with her fingers crossed. But she forgot about the mirror behind her - Plastic Promises by Set It Off
🎵 Pick up the phone, I know I’m drunk again. And you know my intentions ‘cause it’s 2am - Ancient History by Set It Off
🎵 And tomorrows now misunderstood, ‘cause it’s reading “outlook not so good”. If these signs would point to “yes” she could maybe feel the same - Magic 8 by Set It Off
🎵 I got your letter and the poetry you sent me, postmarked in December of last year. I really hope you’re doing better, all your friends close by your side, one step closer to recovery - My Reply by The Ataris
🎵 Out of every girl I meet, no other can compete. I’d ditch them all for a night with you. I know you don’t believe you mean this much to me, but I promise you that you do - I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone by The Ataris
🎵 But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all? And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you’ve been here before? - Pompeii by Bastille
🎵 I wish that we could save today, but I know we can’t stay the same. And I keep pushing you away, don’t wait for me - Home is Such a Lonely Place by Blink 182
🎵 A little drunk, waiting on your phone call. A little numb, maybe I can’t feel at all - I Really Wish I Hated You by Blink 182
🎵 Isn’t it messed up how I’m just dying to be him? I’m just a notch in your bedpost but you’re just a line in a song - Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy
🎵 But you didn’t have to cut me off, make out like it never happened and that we were nothing. And I don’t even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough - Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye
🎵 I’ve got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck than any boy you’ll ever meet sweetie, you had me - Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off by Panic at the Disco
🎵 Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk? I didn’t mean to call you that. I can’t remember what was said or what you threw at me, please tell me - My Own Worst Enemy by Lit
🎵 I’ve been trying to call, I’ve been on my own for long enough. Maybe you can show me how to love, maybe - Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
🎵 If I go crazy, then will you still call me superman? If I’m alive and well will you be there and holding my hand? - Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
🎵 I’ve found a reason for me to change who I used to be. A reason to start over new, and the reason is you - The Reason by Hoobastank
🎵 Tried to be so strong, but you see through the cracks. My defence is gone, come take me home tonight - Home by Goo Goo Dolls
🎵 I don’t mind spending every day out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay a while - She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
🎵 You kiss me like an over dramatic actor who’s starving for work, with one last shot to make it happen - Slow Down by The Academy Is
🎵 You’ve been broken into fifty pieces, today is gone, I’m the only light that you see. You need someone, I know all you needed was me - Sunshine by All American Rejects
🎵 You’re the cure, and your eyes have dug me out of my grave more times than I could ever count. You’ve always been the one to breathe me back to life - The Cure by The Movielife
🎵 Why don’t you find someone who will love you the way you deserve? The way you deserve, never puts you down and comforts you when it hurts - The Way You Deserve by New Found Glory
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NoNaNo Day 1:
Phew. I have been on my feet exerting myself for over 6 hours. And I still need to take a shower (I neeeeed a shower).
Am I going to dive into scrivener one more time today to write some fanfic (for the first time in ages) or am I calling this a productive day with what I did accomplish?
Accomplished:
1. Wrote myself a prompt for a scene for an orig fic project
2. Watched my scene get side tracked into a 700+ word flashback that establishes character’s psychological/sociological outlook.
3. Did some research while writing to enable writing — it is actually a really good scene (flashback) as is.
4. Made more notes on what I should have been writing so I can come back to it later. ;)
5. Listened to an audiobook while on a walk and working out — audiobook gave me some more ideas into the psycho-social theme I am attempting to play with. Whoot! Occasionally stopped to make notes on my phone.
Also:
Self care: ground spices for a really tasty spice mix and made a damn tasty lentil and butter-bean soup (with a tea spoon of spice mix). Enough soup for a few days! It’s gonna taste even better tomorrow nomnom! (Also baked fish seasoned with paprika and thought about our dear friend Jonathan Harker)
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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch1 Arrival
You used to love playing Pokemon as a kid! But sadly all things must comes to an end. Hobbies come and go. Or do they? The day before you're supposed to leave for college, you instead wake up in the very game you last played. Well great. But you're in luck! If Gloria or Victor manages to play through the game and win then you might get to go home once the game ends! But what happens when the strongest character in the game ends up taking a liking towards you?
You had always thought you had it good. ...Until the incident that is.
You had it all good in normal. Small town with little to none crime rates. Nice schools. Plenty of friends and a loving pair of parents. You were a bright young gal so your folks didn't have to worry too much about playing your games too much growing up and having you fall behind on your grades. Which you were pretty thankful for because it just meant you got to play your favorite game series with your friends more and have a blast! Your absolute favorite games was ironically the pokemon games. Ever since you were little you would think fondly back on how you'd always binge watch the entire series and movies back from it's first few episodes online, following the famous trainer and his sidekick pokemon in all their adventures and beautiful moments together with new challenges and new rivals. Call you a nerd all you want, but you loved the series as a kid. The only thing rivaling your love for pokemon was your love for baking! Your passion for baking was evident, but you never had any luck with anything you tried to convince you parents. Which is why when you managed to obtain a part time job in high school at your local bakery you felt content. You felt right at home sitting back and blasting the oven while studying for your exams or doing homework. Sometimes you'd even listen to your favorite battle themes or season intros from the pokemon franchise while waiting for the cupcakes to finish. Sadly things don't always stay the same and the job was needed for something much more than just a get away for your food making passion.
It all started when highschool began, your parents took you aside one day and told you about the divorce. You weren't even able to process it at first with how hard the news had hit you for a long while after, no matter how much your parents assured you it wasn't your fault, and things like this happen, and nothing would change the fact they still loved and cared about you. Well that wasn't true, and within a month your father was gone and contact by him was soon lost. Which left you feeling lonely..almost empty. Your mother trying her best to smile through it and trying to keep a positive outlook for you. You dove deeper into your games and music. You remember the last pokemon game you ever played. Pokemon Sword and Shield. By far your favorite with the unique dynamaxing additions and story line. But that joy was also short lived as school demanded more study time and your mother constantly pushing you more to do better in school, and eventually taking a part time job you could enjoy too but it was mostly to help out with the bills that needed to be paid. Eventually over time the games were forgotten along with everything else and you spent your new time filled with studying or working. The games and gaming system eventually moved into the closet. Until one fateful day, everything you would know would change forever. And it all started one year after graduating high school. The day before you were supposed to leave for college at your mother's assistance.
You had no idea what would be awaiting for you-
"Y/N!? ARE YOU STILL UP!?," a woman's voice called up the stairs as the footsteps made their way up.
The sun had set a while ago, but you were still up. Tomorrow you'd be going off to the local community college for the next four years. ...For a business degree and hopefully one day be able to open your own bakery...Not really what you were hoping for your life, but there really wasn't a lot of other options you had thought of that you'd want to do with your life, but a bakery didn't sound too bad. You'd still get to enjoy your passion for cooking wouldn't you? But you still felt...unsure. You had never been away from home or around strangers. Were you even ready for such a big change? You had been absent mindedly just going through your closet and taking out a few clothes or belongings from the depths, most of which you hadn't seen for a long time, and deciding whether to put it into the almost filled giant suitcase. But most things ended up on a giant pile near the closet door as you went through everything. You hadn't even noticed your mother's approaching footsteps until your bedroom door swung open making you jump and drop a dress you had been looking at as the older woman poked her head in.
"Y/n? Why aren't you in bed already? You have to get to the dorms and class orientation tomorrow," she asked looking down and raising a brow as her eyes wondered over the ever steadily growing pile of stuff and the still open suitcase on your bed, before she released a sigh. "You had all week and you're still deciding at last minute?" She turned to you with her famous pose of the hand on the hip all mothers seemed to achieve.
You stared back blankly for a moment before smiling nervously and bending back down to pick up the dress. "W-Well, I thought maybe I should just see what I still had. Never know what I'd want to take with me." Your eyes rescanned the dress again, before narrowing at the old tacky pattern and decided it would belong better in the pile rather than your suitcase or on you.
"Well you should've done this earlier in the week when I asked you, but you said you'd do it sooner." Your mother watched as the dress fluttered down from your hands and into the pile before sighing again. "You already have five boxes in your car outside and that looks good to go already." Her other hand gesturing to the almost full suitcase. "I really think you should get some sleep or else you're going to be late."
Still with your head inside the closet never minding the mess outside with everything already out, you had already lost how much time you had spent clearing almost everything out anyways, you kneeled down to grab the last thing inside that was in there. A medium sized dusty box that looked big enough to store two microwaves inside of it. With a grunt you pulled it up and stood up with it in your arms. It was a decent weight too, before looking back at your mother with a smile.
"I promise I will, Mom!," you promised before holding up the box in your hands, "This is the last thing anyways."
With a sigh and head shake your mother turned her body away from the room. "Fine. But make sure you PLEASE go to sleep. I can already see I have some cleaning up to do in the morning." With that said she walked away.
You sighed and turned back towards the bed with the box, briefly wondering what could possibly be in here that was so heavy. And like in a cliche sitcom comedy show, your foot collided and entangled with one of the discarded clothes you had long since thrown randomly on the floor, and over you went. You gave off a noise that was between a gasp and yelp, the box flying forward from your hands and landing on it's side a little ways from you as your body collided with a floor. The contents of the box spilling all over the floor in front of your face. Everything paused for a moment...before you groaned and pushed yourself off the cold floor with a soft 'ow' of pain. At least it wasn't a really painful fall thank goodness, but now there was even more of a mess to clean up. Blinking your eyes open you looked down to the tangled mess of black wires and small cases with it and for a moment you paused. ...In front of your eyes was at least three game systems, one of it was your old Nintendo switch you hadn't touched since you were fifthteen, and with them was a few controllers and a few games you know realized...It-...Your old game set ups. You..You hadn't seen these in years! It was like eternity as you stared at them before your hand slowly came out to touch one of the games and your jolted lightly from the feeling of cold plastic from the game case, but still proceeded to pick it up and look at it and the strange two dog like creatures on it....and you smiled. Pokemon Sword and Shield. The very last game you fully played through before you became wrapped up in school and work after-....A frown came back to your face. You spent so much time discovering all the secret endings, all the achievements no matter how long it took, looking online for all the secrets and many things you could do doing every single one you could find to pass the time and even somehow managed to buy the dlcs. ...But it was forever ago and you doubted you could remember even if you tried. Among the pile was some other older pokemon titles and a few other games you'd play but long forgotten by now. Too tired to deal with this and all the messes for now, you just gently put the game back down in the pile of new mess and stood up to turn to your suitcase. A zipping noise echoed in the room as you zipped it shut but left it on the floor as you stood up and yawned. Stretching out your back. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. You were already so exhausted you hardly even noticed you going through the routine of taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and getting into your favorite pair of fuzzy pjs before just collapsing into your bed. Eyelids heavy and darkness consuming you as you fell into a fast deep sleep.
The darkness of your dream was interrupted however in the most strangest ways-
Loud cheers and claps interrupted as a flash of bright white appeared and suddenly you were dreaming of being inside a gigantic stadium with HUNDREDS of screaming and cheering people. It was exactly like the time you went to one of those professional baseball games with your family once. Up above fireworks whistled and boomed with bright lights lighting up the night sky as if reminding you you were still asleep. This stadium had everything a typical stadium would. Bright giant lights lighting up a green field with white lines painted on it in a strange way, and a giant TV screen was attatched to one side of the giant stadium as it turned on and a man appeared on it. The whole thing was almost as big as your standard football field. The loud noises around you somehow didn't drown out the man's voice as he spoke into a microphone as then speakers blared his voice around for everyone to hear.
"Welcome one and all!," a man's voice blared out. The man on the giant screen had a dark skin tone with black hair and a grey suit to match his red tie. His green eyes smiled up to everyone in the audience. " Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon!" He extended his arms out as he said so.....Wait. Poke- what? The screen changed to show a regional like map next. "Our beloved Galar region is a wonderful place with thriving nature, beautiful cities, and many Pokemon with which we share our lives! As you know our society is able to thrive-" He suddenly shifted his hand and in it was a small ball, the top red, bottom white, and with a black line between them. He suddenly threw it up a little ways as some as you would call an-elephant-looking-thing came out to stand next to him in a bright light and a few trumpet noises from the creature. "-thanks to help from these mysterious creatures that we call Pokemon! Yes. Pokemon are all around us!" He suddenly gestured to some bird looking creatures flying past above him. "In the sea, in the sky, and even with us in our towns!" He held up the ball again while his other hand extended. "And those of us who chose to raise and train Pokemon to do battle and compete we call Pokemon Trainers!" THE. CROWD. ROARED!! You never did like loud crowds but still continued to dream on as if you couldn't move as the man continued talking loud for the crowd to hear him. "Oh! But I'm getting carried away. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rose and it is a pleasure to be here! Now turn your gaze to the Galar region's greatest pokemon trainer, your undefeated champion! It's time for Leon's exhibition match!" He threw a fist in the air as the crowd roared again.
Suddenly from somewhere behind him a series of sparklers and dark grey smoke appeared heading right towards the middle of the field, the 'Rose' guy and his elephant thing quickly making a jogging exit towards the other far side of the field. Presumably to make way for the smoke and sparklers. The sparkling smoke ended in one last explosion as it went everywhere...and suddenly a man appeared from the depths. The crowd roared even louder for this man. Out came a pair of golden-brown eyes, long purple hair, and a fluttering cape. He suddenly struck a pose similar to that of a rock star as a giant dragon like creature followed out from the smoke behind him. The crowd holding up their hands and doing the symbol he was doing with his hand back. Across from him was yet another darker skin toned man next to some giant white creature with bright green eyes.
"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine is about to end when I beat you here today!," he shouted to the purple haired man with a determined look.
"You know I don't lose battles, Raihan," he spoke back calmly flipping his cape back. His hand suddenly pointed at the dragon creature beside him. "Charizard! Dynamax!"
A BRIGHT red aura suddenly surrounded the dragon creature as it gave a mighty roared as it's body absorbed the red energy. The crowd awed as it grew to be AS BIG AS A SKY SCRAPER!! Flames enveloped the horns, wings and most of the tail as it's orange body deepened a red as the energy. The sky above the stadium suddenly being surrounded by purple-red storm clouds blocking the once calm night sky. As it gave one last loud roar to the heavens.
You awakened with a gasp, bolting up and panting as you pushed yourself up from the bed you laid upon. The room feeling chilly as your hands came up to your face as you groaned and rubbed it. Man...What a weird dream. That giant dragon looked too real and frightful. Mom was right. You had to stop staying up so late. Judging by how dark it was, it must've only been a few hours into the night. Well at least you could go back to sleep now-...You paused when your weight shifted and the soft bed was suddenly rough and-....stick like?? Like you were laying upon a bunch of branches and twigs. Opening your eyes, you strained to adjust to the dark surrounding you and suddenly realized with a jolt, you were feeling cold because you WERE OUTSIDE!!! You stared as moonlight seeped through from the giant moon above you lighting up what looked like to be a forest, and you were at the very top of a tree on something flat and made of sticks. ...This was NOT your bedroom. As your mind tried to figure out how you could've possibly ended up in a tree in the middle of no where, your luck instantly got WORSE when something BIG blocked the moon as it's shadow loomed over you. You're blood went cold and body froze as whatever it was shifted above you. As if you were in a horror movie, your body acted on it's own as you turned around and looked up the black body of the feathered beat that somehow didn't break the tree top with how BIG it was. And your eyes went small.
A. GIANT. BLACK. BIRD. WAS. STARING. AT. YOU!!!
It didn't seem too happy either as it suddenly snapped it's wings out and delivered what could only be described as a mix between a crow call and a lion roar. You screamed, both voices echoing out throughout the forest and scrambled back-
"AAAHHHH!!"
Your arms flailed out as you suddenly went backwards and down you went over the edge. Your screams of tumbling down from a tree were cut short as it felt like you hit every single branch on your way down. Pain exploded everywhere your body made contact with the branches until finally with a final thud, your body fell hard onto soft grass. Knocking the air out of your lungs and you gasping for air on your side. Your body was in pain from everywhere your body hit the tree and you were sure it would leave bruises and scratches later. You coughed and gasped for air, lungs burning but you nearly stopped breathing again when the same call came from the thing above making your body feel like it was dipped in ice as your heartbeats sore. Adrenaline kicked in know as your body wobbled and felt so light, not to mention hurt, as you forced yourself to stand and start walk-running away, swaying as you still gasped for air but your panicked state didn't care about the pain or anything as you somehow quickly got your balance back and started running through the dark. The sounds and darkness of the forest blocked almost all moonlight as you blindly ran to try and get away from the giant demon bird, to keep from being eaten. You ran...and ran...and ran blindly in the dark with your hands in front of you barefoot. Branches and other plants hitting your legs and face as you did, the sounds of the bird thing behind you disappearing as you kept running. At one point you had the brilliant idea to look behind you to see if anything was following you-
"AH!"
Your foot once again got caught on something. You screamed as your body went tumbling head over heels down a hill in the dark. Your already sore and hurt body becoming even more so as you rolled and rolled and rolled until you finally came to a stop at the bottom of it onto your back, with your body facing the sky. Your vision swam and your head spun as you stared up dizzily at the sky as your vision slowly went black. And you again passed out.
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@thicketville: meta: how does john feel about his punk-rock days? did he ever delude himself into thinking the band would go anywhere? does he regret spending so much time on it? how'd he start it up, anyway? — META TOPICS
it's mostly head-shaking fondness and warm nostalgia! he loves the concept of those days, the memories of everyone in the band packed into the back of chas's van or whatever couch they were crashing on / one-room flat they were only half-paying rent for at the time, the fights and the fun and the stupid shit you can only get away with in your early 20s. it was one of the few times in his life where he was precisely where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do, suspended from ultimate consequence.
but there's always going to be a twinge of bitter anger at himself in there, too, because fuck did he take it all for granted. the friends, the freedom, the normalcy of it all; running to feel alive instead of running to stay alive. he burnt all of that with his own hands when he kept fucking around in the occult, when they opened that basement door in newcastle and he made a plan instead of running away screaming like they all should have. he didn't know it then, but the punk rock days were the last time he was truly secure in the world — not just temporarily stable, but secure.
as for going anywhere, i think, abstractly, he hoped they might, but he wasn't ever thinking that far ahead. a lot of john's outlook on life all the way up until newcastle was about living one day at a time and making the most of that day; i can't emphasize enough that he didn't expect to make it to adulthood, and nobody else expected him to either, so just making it to tomorrow was already the best possible outcome for him. everything before astra, including the band, was about living as hard and fast as possible and having the maximum amount of fun along the way. didn't matter if they made the big time or not as long as he was out playing music with his mates and earning the love — or hate, they were the same thing to him back then — of the crowds, and that was it. that was all he ever needed.
he doesn't regret it in the slightest. he regrets how it ended, he regrets what came after, but like i said, that was the first time in his life where he was exactly where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do, and he wouldn't have changed that part for the world. if anything, he'd say it was better that he spent all that energy nobbing around with his dickhead friends instead of actually trying to contribute to the world, because the way he was back then, irresponsible and futureless, he probably would have ended up causing more harm than good in the long run.
it started pretty simply: it was 1977, he and gary lester had just gone to see the sex pistols play live at the roxy, they were walking home piss-drunk and hopped up on the music, and one turned to the other and said "bet we could do that bollocks." when they got back to their friend beano's flat, the three of them stayed up well into the next morning coming up with names, with art-school-dropout gary scribbling up logos and posters and symbols until they all fell asleep. when they woke up later with hangovers and bleary eyes, it didn't seem any worse an idea than it had six hours ago, so they said fuck it and started a band. constantine doesn't even remember why they called it mucous membrane, but he remembers someone calling someone else a slimy git that night, so that's the reason he usually gives whenever anyone asks.
and while i'm talking about the punk days, there's a spiderlegs cover of their single, venus of the hardsell! it's not particularly good, but that's the point!
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For @weirdburketeer I hope you get better soon ::so many hugs::
Many thanks to @godsliltippy for reading and putting up with me this evening, particularly my whining about not being able to finish this tonight :( I really wanted to, but sleep is needed and stupid work is tomorrow as always ::pouts:: I will do my best to write more tomorrow.
Warnings: Mild Virgil whump
I hope you enjoy it.
-o-o-o-
He really should have seen it coming. He was the medic after all.
But it had been one of those days and one more bruise was just another to add to his list, so it was ignored.
It was with only a general ache, not uncommon, that he flew Two home and headed for the shower.
There was the usual sting from the occasional scratch his uniform just could not protect him from. Though if it wasn’t for the tough material of that uniform, they would be much more than just scratches.
But other than that, it was just an overall ache that accompanied him into his flannel and jeans and down into the comms room for debrief.
Looking back, it was probably then when he should have realised not everything was working at one hundred percent.
But, yeah, the usual.
Gordon was in the process of laying down the outline of their job. The fish always beat him out of the showers. It was a water thing, Virgil swore it.
Either that or a brother thing.
Virgil sat down next to his little brother and listened as he ran through all the hit points in the mission while both Scott on the other side of the lounge and John hovering in the centre absorbed the information attentively. Virgil was quietly thankful Gordon was so good at reporting verbally – not so much in the written word, but his spoken reports were exemplary.
And a little hypnotic. Virgil let himself sink into the lounge as gravity finally had its way with him.
“Virgil?”
He blinked. All three brothers were staring at him. Scott was frowning.
“Huh?”
Scott’s frown deepened. “Gordon said you couldn’t go through the south entrance of the building due to structural stress? Jack’s were not recommended?”
Another blink and he forced his tired mind to work. “Yeah, there was no support point available that wouldn’t destabilise the structure further. A major load bearing pylon had been taken out. It was far too unsafe to enter.”
Gordon sighed. “We took the long way around.”
And they had paid for that in lives lost. Scott caught his eyes and shared the pain behind Virgil’s decision.
It had been a shit day.
“If we hadn’t done it that way, we would have lost everyone.” Gordon’s voice cut across the harsh thoughts spinning around in Virgil’s head.
Scott held Virgil’s eyes long enough to nod once.
Despite everything, big brother approval was still a thing and that small movement combined with the confidence in Gordon’s voice…his stomach settled into an uneasy rightness.
John’s voice was the balm it always was. “We saved thirty-eight out of forty-two. Six are critical, but outlooks are optimistic.”
Gordon snorted, breaking the tension. “You been hacking hospitals again, Johnny?”
“You know the answer to that, and if you call me Johnny one more time today, I’m infesting your music library with multiple copies of my ABBA collection.” He smiled at their fish brother. “I know how much you love their music.”
Gordon glared, but obviously knew enough to shut up immediately.
Scott’s smirk didn’t help Virgil hide the smile creeping onto his own face.
“Good job.” The approval in Scott’s eyes said everything. “Write up due tomorrow, 17.00.” As Gordon groaned, Scott’s eyes again frowned at Virgil. “You need sleep.”
Virgil arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not going to argue with that.” And pushed up off the couch to stand up.
He made it to his feet, but the world around him kept going until it was spinning.
“Oh god.” He clenched his eyes shut, hand to his face, but nothing was stopping the world from slapping him to the ground.
Except a very fast-moving brother or two.
Strong arms caught him as he fell, before the sound of his name could even reach him.
Scott was so fast.
Faster than sound.
Sound.
He was being asked for something. Gentle hands were holding him, touching vital points, assessing with worried words.
“I’m…I’m okay…”
But it was obvious he was not.
-o-o-o-
TBC
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Week 2, The Seventh Seal
For this week, I chose The Seventh Seal. Set in medieval Sweden during the black plague, the premise of the protagonist Antonius Block challenging the personification of Death to a chess game, with his life as the prize, I was immediately drawn to it. Considering the dark setting and historical context, existential crisis seems to be the main theme of the film, and Antonius represents it well. Despite the gloomy setting, the film has moments of cheerfulness and humor. These moments not only create contrast, but highlight the importance and power of hope even among the worst conditions. Given the last few years under a new pandemic, I guess the film spoke to me a little louder than it otherwise would have.
Doubling its $150,000 budget, and generally favorable reception, the film can certainly be considered a success today. With the film still being favorably reviewed today, with reviews like
"The Seventh Seal possesses some of the world's most recognizable filmic imagery, beginning with the knight's fateful game of chess with Death, and continuing to the eerily joyful dance in the final frames,"
It makes me wonder how it would do if it were released today.
Going back to the film's contrast and to illustrate that point I'll focus on the juggler, Jof, and the crusader, Antonius, being on opposite sides of faith. Though once devoted to the idea of fighting for the glory of god does not believe in god himself. At the very least, he's not convinced he exists especially after the last ten years he wasted on his mission along with his squire (Jöns). Set along the backdrop of a medieval Sweden, Antonius', coupled with the disappointment of his ten year long failed crusade, returns home to find the spread of the black plague. The doom and gloom surrounding Antonius has him questioning his faith and yearning for logical answers to make sense of why the almighty being he served for so long is allowing the world to deteriorate and leaving people to suffer. Antonius spends much of the film searching for answers through others but comes up short. Early in the film, he confesses at church "I want knowledge! Not faith, not assumptions, but knowledge." This sentence felt very powerful to me, especially with how deadly atheist thoughts could be; how taboo they were considered. It also sets up his character and motivation perfectly. With this declaration driving him for most of the film, he comes up short with answers until he comes across Jof and his family.
Jof, being the exact opposite, is a juggler and firm believer in god. By making a living as a performer, Jof travels and provides entertainment for anyone watching. Jof's strong faith seems to give him the ability to see spiritual visions, resulting in his more positive outlook on life. From the moment he's introduced, even though he's not thrilled about the way he makes his living, he's thankful for the family he has and fully embraces his performance skills as part of his everyday life. Rather than only for work, in the same way someone would sing a song to keep themselves entertained simply because they can, Jof rolls and juggles for fun when after waking in the morning. Similarly Jön sings to himself for the fun of it, though usually pessimistic, as a way to pass the time. Considering the plague filled world the characters are in, Jof's outlook on the world isn't just the result of his means for survival (being a juggler), but also because it keeps him focused on pushing through it for the sake of his son. This genuine hope for a better tomorrow ultimately places Jof on the complete opposite of where Antonius finds himself.
One similarity between Antonius and Jof, though for different reasons and with different outcomes, is both characters suffer. Antonius' suffering is rooted in the disappointment of his failed crusade and lasts for most of the film. Jof's suffering, however, is something the viewer witnesses in real time, physically. From humiliation to beatings, Jof seems used to it. Once past the pain, he regains his cheeriness and looks forward. This can't be said about Antonius. His existential crisis and suffering felt more painful to see than anything else in the film. Antonius has practically accepted defeat, only fighting to live for the sake of finding an answer for the faith he lacks, only breaking out of this after seeing Jof's faith and hope in action. The resolution he finally comes to is shown in the final moments of his game with Death. Even if Antonius' end is inevitable and the answers he sought remain missing, he realizes the world isn't completely lost with people like Jof pushing it forward. In helping the family through the forest safely and keeping Death from harming them, Antonius at least found some purpose to his life by securing some of the hope that aided him to live on for the rest of the world.
Shifting focus to the rest of the film, watching from start to finish, there were moments I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Was I supposed to feel scared throughout, or were the few moments with music intentionally made that way to emphasize the moment's importance? The only time I felt strongly, fear, anxiety, or both, was when Death appeared or sometimes when Antonius' fear was shown. Maybe that was Bergman's intent. Showing moments of people living their lives, sharing in these medieval re-enactments of the mundane only to be reminded that Death is right around the corner (for Antonius, literally).
Either way, although the film was easy to follow, having more knowledge on the Crusades and time period in general, as well having more Biblical knowledge, would have made the film more fun to watch. Next time!
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the guard | part 1
summary: A lonely elven border guard struggles to get through the day
Aelar was happy to be a border guard, he really was.
But putting on heavy metal armor-plated in gold was doing critical damage to his back. And not helping with the heat either. In fact, earlier that morning, he nearly passed out from heat exhaustion. Despite all the teasing he received from the royal guards of not having an important job, a border guard was a respectable occupation. He believed in his importance to the city. Partly. To be on the outlook for charlatans and criminals without a moral code, looking to break into the extraordinary and exquisite city that was Urgshire. Not on his watch. He came to work each day, filled with hope, and a skip to his step.
Unfortunately, this has caused quite a few problems. One of them being pelted with magical charms that could make him sing ‘I’m a little teapot’ for hours on end, cast by his mage coworkers. But he looked past that, always trying to revel in his job, seeking happiness in what little there was to be found. The royal guard looked for more qualified individuals of class? Well, there was always the option of castle guard. Aelar wasn't good enough for castle guard, arena guard, knight, or gladiator? Not even a prison or jail guard? Nighttime patrol?
Well fine. While off, breaking bones, dealing with serious crimes, murderers, all the while living an anxiety-filled life, Aelar was here, living his best one. Enjoying his day, watching butterflies flit around on the field surrounding the wall, dying of heatstroke, and once in a while snacking on some candied peels he managed to sneak in. And during lunch break, he would enjoy sitting next to his friends, laughing at conversation, and enjoying his brief meal. Well, he was short of friends, his fellow guards only ever seemed to tolerate him, BUT the guard dogs seemed to like him, past the biting and the growling. Why else would they bite him, and only him?
Every day he woke up, telling himself, this was going to be the best day ever. Then he was, of course, pelted with some form of a charm from one of the mages. It meant they liked him, of course. It was a short little tease between friends to get his attention, of course. Aw, how sweet of them. Of course, they could stand to stop dropping water over his head every day. Perhaps Aelar could see the joy in that too. Free shower, no?
Yes, Aelar was happy, at his job, with his friends, dogs, and the butterflies out on the field. Yes, Aelar was happy, within his cramped apartment, with things strewed around his room like a hurricane had gone through it. Yes, Aelar was happy, undeterred by the hole in the wall and the leaking pipe that never failed to drip on his head at night. He could say the gap was ventilation revolutionized, yes? Yes, Aelar was happy, despite being two months late in paying rent, because he spent all his money gambling and drinking away his sorrows. What sorrows? Aelar couldn't see any within a thousand-mile radius. He always had hope for a better tomorrow.
Just not today.
Despite that hope, he definitely drank too much last night.
While enjoying his birdwatching, and butterflies flitting, he spotted a hobgoblin, a bird person, and two bears waving at some random object in the distance.
Blinking hard, Aelar glanced at the scene once more in disbelief. The hobgoblin stood on top of the bear, the bird thing popping in a red object in their mouth. Maybe they were a circus act? Who were they waving to? Were they even real?
He shook his head. He really needed to stop coming to work hungover. The sun was beating down on him. It was like being cooked alive within the armor, not to mention the thick layer of cloth he wore underneath the metal plates on top.
“Hey,” He coughed out hoarsely after standing still in silence for quite a bit. “Do you see that? Or is it just me?” He glanced towards his partner, Valna, another border guard.
Without even looking, Valna just rolled her eyes, “I’m sure it’s just you,” She fanned her face with her hand. “This heat is killing me.” Valna went back to fiddling with her armor.
“Ah.” Aelar decided it was definitely the alcohol.
But then, a few minutes passed by when two large caravans nearly crashed into the wall. Stiffening up, Aelar peeked once more to see what was going on. Ever since the lockdown, things have gone very slow at the border. Not like it was always fast. Usually, people came from the east side. He was always sent to the west. It was a wonder to Aelar as to why that happened.
Valna looked over as well. The mages on top of the watchtowers peered down.
From what he could see, it was a big reunion between a traveling band of adventurers. Fun. Aelar has always wanted to meet with a real adventurer. Usually, it was just charlatans lying through their teeth or newbies unused to legitimate adventuring.
He was too far away to see who was in the group individually. Eventually, two of them, Ghak of Rorc and Eryn of Nightflower, came to the gate, asking to be let in.
Aelar was already pretty intimidated. For one, he actually never came face to face with strangers outside the city borders before. Quite an intriguing predicament for a border guard of all things.
Although, Aelar couldn't help but bubble up in excitement. The prospect of delivering his first Gold ribbon message made him ecstatic beyond words. Only the most important messages came in a gold ribbon. Usually, mundane stuff like reports and statistics came through copper ribbons, with disturbances and unruly cadets stepping out of line came in the form of silver ribbon messages. But gold ribbon ones went straight to the palace, to the king himself.
Watching the rest of the adventurers come into the gates of the city, he suddenly saw something that didn’t seem right.
“Sir! Uh, Ghak!?”
Whipping around, Ghak raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“I apologize sir, but the rules state that only livestock, horses, and pets under two hundred pounds be let into the city. The rest of you may go, but the bears cannot be let in.” Aelar flinched and inched away from the bears as they growled slightly at him.
Suddenly, one of the bears opened its mouth and began to speak in a deep growl.
“You dare insult me, categorizing me as a wee pet?”
What is going on?! Aelar chuckled nervously. It’s not every day that a bear starts speaking out of nowhere. Behind him, the other guards jumped as well, at the sight of this crime against nature.
“Uhh,” He managed to stutter out, shocked.
“Well I wouldn’t expect you of all creatures to be so understanding. I am a sentient being, eons above your simple mind. I simply will not tolerate being talked down to. Wild animal,” The bear somehow managed to scoff at Aelar. “Pathetic. Well get this through your thick skull. Under the laws of nature, with humanoid interaction, sentient creatures are protected from such discrimination and ignorance. We have a right to go into the city. I would recommend you let us do so.”
The second bear right next to the one speaking grunted in agreement.
“What he said.” Ghak grinned widely.
There was a long pause, as it took a while for the guards to even process what had just happened.
Aelar was terrified, staring wildly at the other guards, trying to get an explanation for this. He was only met with blank stares and uneasy glances.
“Um, okay. I guess..” Aelar laughed nervously, taking a couple steps away from the bear. “Ah, welcome to Urgshire!”
The heat really was killing Aelar. It was like a sauna underneath all of that armor. The very ground seemed to shift and change in his vision. Did he really just see that bear talk?
He stood there in disbelief, whilst the rest of the guests made their way through the gates, and spilled out into the courtyard, including the disgruntled bears. The gates closed behind them with a loud creak, and the veil of magic shielding over it once more.
The other guards went back to their posts, despite the fascinating turn of events.
“Are we… are we not going to address that?” Aelar turned to Valna helplessly.
Valna shot a grim look at Aelar. “No.” She deadpanned.
“Oh,” Aelar shifted in his armor. “Okay.”
And the two stood there in awkward silence.
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