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pensat-i-fet · 1 year

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An unexpected guest (Pablo Gavi x Reader)

**Little request made by a friend (love you, V ❤️). I hope you all enjoy it ☺️**

Word count: 2225

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The Christmas season was over but not really. At least not for your family. You always travelled to the Alps for a couple of days of skiing, where you reunited with the side of your family that didn't live in Spain. It was always one of the highlights of your year.

One of your favourite things about this time was getting to cook with your auntie Abby. She was a chef and had been asking you to help her since you were a curious kid who just wanted to know how the weird looking ingredients on the table could turn into a dish that looked nothing like them.

So there you both were, in the kitchen ready to cook for a lot of people. More than usual, since there were three guests invited to tonight's dinner.

"Who's coming tonight, then?", you asked your aunt while you kept on kneading the pizza base to make sure it was perfect.

"I don't know. Some people your brother met".

But there was something about her tone that made you feel she did know. What would be the point of hiding it, though?

"This is done. Should I start mixing the ingredients for the cake?"

"Yes, darling. Please do that. Go to the pantry for more sugar if there isn't enough. I used a lot of it yesterday".

So you busied yourself with that while sharing more anecdotes with your aunt about your uni classmates. They were a funny bunch.

Then your aunt took over to build the cake on the oven mould and told you to put the pizzas and the fish pies in the ovens.

"A cloth isn't enough. You'll burn your fingers again. Get that oven glove".

You hated using the oven glove because of how big and stiff it was but she was right. You had burnt yourself too many times.

"Done".

"Perfect. Go grab some more butter for me, please".

The pantry was almost on the other side of the house. How that made sense, you didn't know.

You needed to walk past the living room and there you noticed your brother was chatting with three guys. You could only see one of them, since the others had their back to you but you didn't know him. So you probably didn't know the others. Were they the guests?

Your brother was your twin and you shared some classes in uni but not all. And always tried to have different friend groups so it only made sense to guess those other boys belonged to his group. You just hoped they wouldn't be as douchey as some other friends he had introduced you to.

Dinner was almost ready and you had nothing else to do anymore. This was usually when you left and your aunt gave the finishing touches to all the dishes.

"Your uncle will help me serve this. Go enjoy the evening and…go meet our guests".

"Ok?"

It wasn't odd for uncle Mark to help but your auntie's tone when mentioning the guests was a bit odd…again.

"Hi. Dinner will be served soon. Time to work, Marky".

"On it!"

You smiled looking at your goofy uncle's reaction but then your smile turned into a shocked face when you saw who the guests were.

The boy you saw before was still there and next to him was another guy you didn't know either. But the third one…was that Gavi? The Barça footballer? It couldn't be. Why would he be there?

But then it made sense. Of course, your aunt knew he was there and that you were going to freak out because he was your favourite player.

"Hey, sis! Come here. I'll introduce you to my friends".

He was friends with Gavi and never told you? Time to murder a brother.

Your brother introduced you to Roger and Miguel first. And you swore those were the names of the two guys he mentioned a lot when talking about his uni friends.

"And this is Gavi, but you knew that already".

"Yeah", you said looking down, already embarrassed by your sibling.

"I feel honoured that she knows me", said Gavi and kept getting closer to you. "Do I not get two kisses?"

What? Oh right, two kisses on the cheek like you did with the others.

But he didn't move and let you be the one who motioned as if to kiss his left cheek first and then the right. His not moving meant you had to move back when going from left to right, so your noses wouldn't collide. That would be even more embarrassing.

"Nice to meet you", you said.

"Nice to meet you".

After the introductions, everyone went back to watching TV. You sat next to your dad, who was a huge Barça fan and gave you the perfect excuse to just stare at Gavi. If dad did the same, it didn't look so bad.

Everyone was trying to make conversation with the football star they didn't expect to show up at their dinner. And whenever Gavi turned to look at whoever was speaking to him and his eyes locked with yours, you tried to signal to him that the seat next to yours on the sofa was empty. But either he didn't get it or didn't care.

"Dinner is almost here", said your uncle while going into the big dining room, carrying plates and glasses.

"I'll be right back", you said to no one in particular.

"Where are you going?", asked your dad.

"It's too hot. I'll change into something more comfortable".

When you got to the room, you took off the thick jumper you had had on all day and put on a long-sleeved blouse. Looking in the mirror, you noticed your hair was a bit of a mess from being in a messy bun while cooking. So you brushed it quickly and let it down.

The moment you closed the door to your room, the door to the bathroom that was next to it opened.

"Hey", said Gavi.

"Hi. We should go eat before it gets cold".

"Wait".

"Do you need anything?"

"No. I just wanted to let you know your hair looks really good like that".

"Oh", you said, touching the ends of it without realising. "Thanks".

"So…you like football?"

"I don't know if like is the right word. People call it an obsession".

That made him laugh. "It’s the same for me. And do you get to go to the matches?"

"Yes, the entire family has season tickets".

"Huh. Well that's annoying".

You going to the matches was annoying? "Why?"

"I was planning on giving you some tickets to impress you but now I'll have to think of something else".

"Why would you want to impress…".

Your question was interrupted by him getting close, too close, to you. "Sit next to me at dinner. Please".

You could only nod. And then you both went back to join everyone for dinner.

Dinner was as great as always. And even with some new people there you were all still getting used to, the mood didn't suffer at all.

"So, should we call you Gavi or Pablo? It's a bit confusing", asked your mum, who had been staring at all your interactions with Gavi ever since you sat next to each other.

"I'll answer to both, so whichever is your favourite".

Did that apply to you too? But you didn't have to wonder for too long, since he leaned slightly towards you to whisper. "Call me Pablo, please".

You nodded, lifting your head to look at him. Then you went back to finish the last bites of food on your plate and put your hands on your legs, so you could lean back a bit and rest. It had been a long day.

Gavi finished his dinner just a couple of minutes after you did and while he kept his left arm on the table, he moved the right so he could find one of your hands and hold it.

You didn't really know how to react but also knew your body already had on your behalf. How red was your face exactly? The tomatoes on the table probably looked pale next to you.

"I'll go grab the cakes!!", sang auntie Abby, rising from her seat now that everyone was done eating.

"Tell them you don't want dessert, please", told you Gavi, whispering again so no one would hear him.

"Why?"

"So I can take you somewhere else to have some".

Between his offer and the way his thumb was caressing your wrist, you didn't even know how to form words. So you just nodded. And his answer was also nonverbal. He just smiled and squeezed your hand.

You two really thought whispers and hands under the tablecloth were fooling everyone around you. But they could all see what was happening and were highly entertained by it.

Before you left to go find a place to eat, you went back to your room to change again. It was freezing cold outside, so you changed the blouse for a hoodie and put some boots on and a little beanie to warm up your head.

"Where are you going?", asked your cousin when she got inside the room.

"Out for a little walk".

"Now? It's really dark outside. I'm not sure it's safe".

She was so cute worrying about you. "I won't be going out alone. See you later!"

You loved your cousin but she was bound to ask too many questions and you were too nervous already.

When you got out, you found Gavi waiting for you. He was also wearing a beanie and he looked adorable.

"Ready?"

"Ready".

You took the hand he offered and started to walk towards the area where all the restaurants were.

"Anything you fancy eating?"

"Something warm", you laughed, pretending to shiver.

"Are you cold?"

"No, it's fine. I'm well protected by all these clothes. But my face is half frozen, probably".

Gavi stopped and made you turn to look at him. He let go of your hand but only to lift both hands to your face.

"I can't tell if it's cold because of the gloves".

Funny, you didn't feel cold at all anymore.

"But there are ways to check".

After saying that, he kept leaning down until his lips brushed yours. He looked up to see your reaction. To see if you were going to run away or not.

"Cold?", you asked, not knowing what else to say.

"A bit. Do you want me to fix it?"

And when you nodded, he continued what he had started, also encouraged by how your hands went beneath his coat so you could hold onto his waist.

After a couple of minutes, you finally separated and stared at each other with silly grins on your faces.

"Let's go find some food".

Warm waffles sounded like the best plan for both of you, so that's where you went. You didn't know how you could still be so hungry after the feast you had had for dinner, but as always, you devoured your waffle quickly.

"Sorry. I really like waffles".

"Don't be", he said, laughing.

"Where are the napkins? I probably have chocolate syrup all over my face. I swear I'm not always this messy".

"You got a bit over here", he said, pointing at the side of his mouth.

"I might have some tissues in my bag…".

"No need for them", he said, stopping you from grabbing the bag and moving you closer to him.

He kissed one side of your mouth softly, before moving to the other. And it was you who grabbed the back of his head this time to kiss him properly. He could save his teasing for another time.

A cough from a man sitting on the table next to yours made you stop. And while you tried to hide your blush, Gavi just laughed.

"Just so you know, there was no need for napkins but I couldn't waste that opportunity to steal another kiss".

You shook your head, smiling. He could steal as many as he wanted.

The way back to the house was slow. Very slow. Because you two couldn't stop talking and stopping to kiss again. It really was the best way to fight the minus degrees temperature.

But sadly, you eventually made it to your family's house.

"They invited us to stay the night here".

"That's nice. Do you want to be a gentleman and walk me to my room?"

"Lead the way".

You reached your room and turned to see if anyone was around. But it was quite late so they were all probably sleeping.

"Do I have to go to the guest room? You're better company than my friends".

That made you laugh. "I'm sharing the room with my cousin so yes, you do".

"A shame".

Still, you didn't separate because even though you were incredibly tired, kissing him was a lot better than sleeping.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. Tell me I can see you again when you're back in Barcelona".

"You aren't getting rid of me so easily, Pablito".

"Good. Maybe we can have breakfast together tomorrow before I leave too?"

"It's a date".

A couple of kisses later, you finally got inside your room with a huge grin on your face.

"Tell me everything, little cousin".

#pablo gavi #gavi #pablo gavi x reader #pablo gavi x y/n #pablo gavi imagine #pablo gavi one shot #pablo gavi fluff #footballer x reader #footballer x y/n #footballer imagine #footballer one shot #footballer fluff

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riderofblackdragons · 17 days

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Day 21: Role Reversal

We're almost fully caught up! I was going to switch Elijah and Freya, but then I realised that it'd be pretty much the same as canon, given that they both have very similar characteristics. So, a little swapping of Elijah and Finn, encouraged by @crimsonlyinglilly <3

This is a little standalone fic, because I don't particularly feel like expanding on it in any way. Maybe at some point in the future I might continue in this au, but it's ubnlikely at the moment.

Hope you enjoy!

Elijah was born into a happy family. It was him, and his mother, and his father, and his older sister. And they were happy, together. Sure, there was a clear preference for Freya, but he didn’t mind. He’d been only a little older than a child, it was only in hindsight that he could recognise how biased his parents had been towards their sunshine-haired child.

He was still young, only 3 years old, when his sister was taken. The lady, his aunt, claimed her as her child, as her prize, for a deal made with Elijah’s mother years beforehand.

Well, Elijah knew deals. He made deals all the time. Little ones, like an acorn for a pretty flower, or a fish’s eye for its tail in midwinter. So, he gathered up his courage, and marched up to his aunt before she left. She was grabbing his sister, holding Freya so tightly by the arm that it had to be hurting her.

“I want to make a deal,” Elijah announced to her, his voice wobbling a bit. He’d only started talking a few months ago, but he was speaking in full sentences already.

“Oh? And what deal does a child have, to make with me?” Dahlia asked, her voice mocking.

Clearly, she didn’t think much of him. Well, Elijah had learned some things. He’d heard the terms of the bargain, his mother gained the ability to have children, and Dahlia gained her sister’s firstborn, and all the firstborns after that.

“My magic,” Elijah announced proudly, ignoring the gasps of horror from his mother and sister. “You look after my sister and make sure she’s happy and stuff, and you can have all my magic!”

Dahlia looked to be considering it, although Esther and Freya both immediately started protesting. Elijah’s magic still had potential, after all, and more magic was why she was doing this. For the price of treating her niece well? It wasn’t exactly like she was going to treat her like dirt anyways.

“I agree,” Dahlia decided.

“The rules of the bargain are: You treat my sister well, and let her live a happy and healthy life, and in return, you get my magic, aside from my bargaining powers,” Elijah recited happily, holding out his hand.

Dahlia raised an eyebrow at the add-ons, but shook her nephew’s hand anyways. It was a fair deal, and it wasn’t like his “bargaining powers” would be all that much of his magic anyways. She was still getting the better deal out of this.

The magic she received through the transaction was powerful, Dahlia had to admit. Nowhere near as much as a firstborn child would have, but it wasn’t something to sniff at, either. And the child, Elijah, looked happy with the deal too, with the knowledge that his sister would be safe.

As well as the little bits of his hair he’d slipped into Dahlia’s palm with their handshake. She didn’t know what she would do with it, for now, but she decided to hang onto it until she did know. And if she never used it? Then she never used it, and it would be fine either way. Hair was a powerful tool in magic, and she wasn’t sure her nephew even knew how much power over him he’d just given her.

“Don’t try to come for her, Esther,” Dahlia warned her sister before she left. “Or I’ll come back, and I’ll take Elijah too, and little Finnbjørn as well”

“It is a boy,” Elijah whispered, although Dahlia didn’t think she’d been meant to hear it.

Had he truly not known the gender of his own sibling? True, it was unborn, but Dahlia had known Esther’s gender when their own mother was pregnant. Well, it wasn’t Dahlia’s problem. She took Freya with her, back to her home, far from her sister’s. Whatever Esther chose to tell her husband (Dahlia sneered at the thought of the man her sister had chosen over her), it wasn’t Dahlia’s problem.

Years later, Dahlia would give in to Freya’s begging, and they would create a device, a mirror, so Freya could talk to Elijah, regardless of the distance. They’d use his hair, that he’d slipped to his aunt so many years ago, to send it to him, and the two children were chattering together soon like time had not parted them.

Freya loved her aunt as her mother, definitely more than she loved Esther, and she was delighted whenever Elijah would come to the mirror to talk. He’d usually have at least one of their siblings with him, Esther having made him in charge of them, and Freya adored seeing her brothers and sister as well, even if they didn’t know her as their sister.

It was to the mirror Elijah ran, the night Henrik died, crying to Freya of what had happened. And it was them he told first, when he was turned into a vampire, of how they’d discovered their brother Niklaus’ heritage, and the ritual that would be required to break the curse Esther had him under.

And after that, once every hundred years, Freya would tap on the mirror, gaining Elijah’s attention, and he would come and find his sister and his aunt, and show them around the world for a year. What new things had happened, any updates on the world, the latest news with their family.

And at the end of it, when Elijah asked Dahlia to please not take Niklaus’ child Hope, Dahlia caved. She agreed to another deal with her nephew, this time to save his own niece, and let the child return to her family.

And when Hope was older, Dahlia died peacefully in her old age, surrounded by her family. She’d watched her niece, practically her daughter, get married, she’d watched her nephew settle down with his two werewolves, and she’d watched her grandniece enjoy life to the fullest.

And throughout it all, Dahlia found that she really couldn’t regret having taken that young boy’s deal that day.

#tvd #the vampire diaries #to #the originals #elijah mikaelson #dahlia #to dahlia #freya mikaelson #esther mikaelson #whumpay

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keep-the-wolves-close · 9 months

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Steady Heart

Chapter 3: Me and the Devil

Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton × OFC Stella Daniels

Rating: M? (Still figuring out the rating system) (might eventually be M anyhow)

Warnings: violence, language, I’m not even sure what to add, I think this chapter is pretty tame?

Word count: 4,892ish

I would love to give credits to @dameronscopilot for being a sounding board for me during this whole process, giving outsider insight, a cheerleader, and allowing me to screech at her about things that have happened during the writing process. I seriously couldn't have gotten this far.

Author’s note: I hope everyone is enjoying so far! I hope you love this chapter as well! 💛🤓

After Stella had jumped out Abigail’s stall window, she raced to the bunkhouse. She was pretty sure she had left her keys on the kitchen table. Swinging the door open, she saw the orange wrist strap on the table in front of her. She bounded forward and snatched them off the table then raced off to her car. Her brother and Colby had perplexed looks on their faces, but they shook it off as she drove away.

Pulling up to Monica and Kayce’s portion of the reservation, she got a few weird looks before people realized who it was. She placed the car in park behind Kayce’s truck. Hopping out she heard Tate holler from across the yard.

“Aunt Stella!”

“Hey lil dude!” She let out a small oomph as he ran into her legs and gave her a quick hug.

“Me and dad found a dinosaur! Come look!” He grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of a giant crater.

“A dinosaur?! What? That’s so cool!” She exclaimed. Most people would probably just be placating him, but Stella actually thought it was pretty neat. She gave Kayce a glance and a smile as his son dragged her past him. Stella slid her glasses back up her nose. Tate hopped down into the hole and explained everything he could about the fossil at lightning speed.

Kayce strolled up to the edge of the crater he had made in his yard. He focused on Stella and watched her show genuine interest in what his son talked about. He thought it was sweet.

“So you wanted to talk about a horse?”

Stella nodded and backed up from the hole. “Yeah, about Tank.”

“That horse, which you’ve apparently named,” he gave her a pointed look, knowing how she was once she named something, “was a gift to my father. That’s his problem now.”

“And by default it’s a problem child that I also have to work with.”

“Well that’s part of your job, Stell.”

“Thank you, smart ass. I know that. However, that horse is very much yours.” Stella gave him a sharp look of her own. “His demeanor and deliberate, planned movement says it all.” She giggled at the memory of this morning. “Not to mention his high distaste for your father. He barely listens to me, let alone anyone else that isn’t you.” Kayce snorted in amusement. “Hell, he almost wrecked your dad this morning before I got to them. He flipped on him.”

“I feel like it’s an even trade then.”

“Kayce…” Stella chided him. “There was also something else I wanted to tell you —,” before she could get any further, the sound of a truck caught their attention. Stella’s heart dropped as she saw that it was John. She wasn’t sure what exactly the conversation she overheard was about, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She also wasn’t entirely positive they didn’t hear her trying to leave.

She bit her lip as she tried to convince herself that John hadn’t heard her. He had bigger fish to fry it seemed. Surely he wouldn’t be concerned with some random noises in a barn.

John walked up to the twosome. “Stella, what are you doing here?”

“I was talkin’ about that horse like you asked, sir.” He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she came here just for that.

He looked at Kayce. “I’m gonna go see my grandson.” He then walked over to the fossil and Tate.

Stella turned to her best friend. “Hey, I got Monica some flowers. Is it okay if I go to the house?”

Kayce shrugged. “Yeah, just knock first.”

Grabbing them out of her passenger seat, she made her way to the front door. She thumped the door a few times before she heard light footsteps make their way to the door. She was greeted with Kayce’s wife looking confused.

“Hey, Stella. What are you doing here?”

“I had to talk to Kayce about that horse he gave his dad. John asked me to this mornin’. I had asked Kayce if I could meet him here and he said it was okay with you guys. I hope you don’t mind?” Stella brought the flowers close to her stomach.

“No, no. It’s okay. Come in.” Monica ushered her inside.

“I brought these for you. That’s also why I wanted to stop by here. I’m really sorry about your brother.” Stella couldn't even begin to fully understand the feeling. If she went far enough into the thought, it made her want to shut down at the thought of losing Ryan. She might not have been the biggest fan of Robert herself, but she wouldn’t have wished death on him.

It was quiet as Monica studied Stella. Almost as if she was feeling out her intentions. “Yeah, me too.” Monica stepped forward to take the flowers and the condolences. She gave Stella a quiet thank you and placed them in the center of the dining table. Stella let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“So what about that horse?” Monica busied herself in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast before her shower.

“Oh it’s a thousand times your husband's horse. I told Kayce that I understood it was a present to his dad, but he’s not the one that works with the horses every day. So that means that mustang is my problem as well. If his dad lets me keep the position, that is. I’m good at my job. I mean as good as Kayce and Lee got me to be, but that stud ain’t gonna completely listen to anyone who isn’t Kayce.”

Monica huffed out a laugh as she placed the dish towel on the counter. “That sounds about right for him.” Stella joined her with a laugh of her own. Monica motioned to the couch. “Let’s sit.” Monica seated herself on the plush couch but the window. “So how are you holding up? You seem fine, but you’re just like Kayce. You hide it well.”

Stella shrugged with a flat chuckle. “I wouldn’t say we hide it well. I like to call it compartmentalizing.” She made eye contact with Monica. Both women knew the best friends held things in, dealt with them alone, and eventually reached a boiling point. Stella was blowing smoke. “I dunno.” She reached down to fiddle with a loose string from the couch. “I suppose I’m alright. I’m more worried about Kayce because it was his brother. You know?”

“I do.” Monica paused. “But Lee was also your coworker. Your friend. The Duttons aren’t the only ones who lost someone. All of the employees did too.” Monica was being logical. Stella struggled with feeling selfish, even though her grief was just as appropriate as the Duttons’ was.

Monica chimed in again. “You’re allowed to miss him. You’re allowed to be sad, Stella. I’m almost certain Kayce would tell you the same thing.”

Lee had been around for the very formative years of her life. And just like Kayce, Lee had been a constant. Stella pushed her glasses back up and looked at Monica. “I know.”

Monica sighed. “I can hear your “but” forming already.” The one thing she wished Stella wouldn’t do, was ignore herself to take care of everyone else she cared about.

Stella groaned. “I just don’t want anyone to worry about me. Plus, do you know how hard it is to talk to a bunch of cowboys about feelings?”

Monica nodded. “Yeah I do. I have one who’s clammed up tight, remember?” She looked out the window at her husband and father in law. “Has he said anything to you? At all?”

“No. He usually goes to you before me, which I would expect.” Stella crossed her leg over the other at the knee. “Enough about me. How are you? Like truly? Because you lost someone too.”

There was a sigh and a long pause from Monica. The dark haired woman looked longingly out the window again at her husband. “I’m alright. Taking it day by day. Trying to work through the feelings as they come. I’m just confused as to why he won’t talk to me about what happened out there.”

“I know it’s not my place, but can I offer my opinion?” Stella looked between the window and Monica.

Monica shrugged. “Sure. It couldn’t hurt. You knew him before I did.”

“Coming from someone who, like we determined earlier, also clams up when things get heavy, he probably doesn’t want you to have to carry the burden. He wants to make sure you and Tate are good and safe. He wants to worry about himself last. I don’t think it’s out of distrust or anything like that.” Stella pursed her lips in contemplation. “Just like I do with the horses, let him come to you. Drop little reminders that you’re here to talk when he’s ready. He will definitely take his time, but he’ll break, and make his way to you.”

“I hope you’re right.” They both heard John’s truck pull away.

“I think that’s my cue. I’ll talk to Kayce again about Tank some other day.” Both women stood. Stella asked, “can I give you a hug?” Monica nodded and they embraced just long enough for the sentiment to be passed between them.

“Thank you. Be safe on your way home, yeah?”

Stella giggled. “I always try, but I make no promises.” Stella winked and headed out the door. She almost tripped over Kayce, who was now seated on the steps that led up to the porch. “Shit!”

“Sorry, Stell. Dad just left.”

“Yeah I heard. What did he have to say?”

Kayce didn’t look at her. “Ah, just his usual bullshit. You know him.”

Stella scrunched her face up at his back. Something felt off. She noticed he was quieter than normal. He wasn’t lying, but to Stella, it felt like he was glazing over something. She placed a pin in that for later, deciding to choose her battles today.

Stella hopped down to the bottom of the stairs. “I’m gonna head out too. I’ll talk to you more about Tank man later on, okay?”

“Yeah.”

She turned and peered intently at him. “You sure you’re okay?” It was a loaded question, but she had to ask. She couldn’t bring herself to leave without doing so.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You be safe on the way home.”

She laughed. “Why does everybody think I’m gonna drive off the road?” She walked over to her car and Kayce followed.

“I know you, that’s why.”

“Pfft. Yeah. Sure you do, cowboy.” She stood up on the sidebar of the car to see over top in Tate’s direction. “See ya later lil dude!”

They heard a faint response of, “Bye Aunt Stella!”

She turned her gaze back to Kayce as she swung into her car. “See ya later, cowboy.” She smiled at her best friend’s wife still standing in the doorway. “Monica.” Kayce shut her door behind her.

Stella had gotten back to the ranch in one piece. She decided to hang out with her brother for a little bit. She missed him. The craziness of the last few days had taken over and she needed her safety net. The siblings sat in the same position on Ryan’s top bunk. Their backs were against the wall, their legs drawn up not quite to their chest, but high enough to have their feet on the bed.

They looked like they did when they were younger. There were many nights spent like this before they got to the Yellowstone, and even after. Some nights they were planning their next steps, others Ryan was comforting Stella; letting her know everything was going to be alright and he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. Other nights they were just happy being.

Stella had her arms crossed against her lap. She let out a big breath as her eyes closed. Things in the house were quieter tonight. For that, she was thankful. She might be able to sneak in a nap before she headed home.

Ryan visibly watched Stella decompress. He was happy she still felt safe with him and the other guys. He always wanted to be her safe space. He nudged her shoulder lightly with his own.

“What, Ry?” Stella cracked open her eyes. He raised his eyebrows and nodded at her. She acknowledged him back with her own sleepy nod.

He leaned fully against the wall and slid close to her. He whispered. “You know you can talk to me about it, right?”

Stella’s head thudded back against the wall and she sighed. “Yeah, I know.” She started picking at the side of her nails. “I just don’t… know. What do you expect me to say?”

“I mean are you sad? Angry? Devastated? Hurt?” He suggested.

“I’m all of those things, Ryan. He wasn’t just my coworker, or my boss. He was a friend, too.” She thought about what Monica had said to her this morning. She placed her hands on her knees, bracing herself back against the wall. “There’s legitimately nothing I can do to change the fact that he’s gone. Hell, I wasn’t here when it happened. Even me being here wouldn’t have stopped anything.”

“It might have given you some closure though.”

Stella audibly groaned with annoyance. “That’s the thing. Even if I had closure,” she put air quotes around the word, “it still wouldn’t have stopped it from happening. You get what I’m saying?”

Ryan’s voice became stern. “I do, but you haven’t said anything to anyone about it. I don’t want you to internalize it, Stella.”

“I just, I don’t know what to say. I have no words. Yes, I’m sad. Yes, I’m experiencing the hole left behind. I’m going through the same shit y’all are. I just don’t want to talk about it.” Stella huffed and started to hop off the bunk.

Ryan grabbed her arm. Her head snapped back in his direction. “Ryan Stephen, let me go.” She ordered him with a low voice.

“Look, just come to me if you need to. Please?” He gave her his best version of puppy dog eyes.

Her tone softened. “Okay okay. I will if, if, I need to.”

He decided to go shower, leaving her to her own devices. Her gaze panned around the room. Jake and Ethan played the arcade game in the corner. Lloyd was at the table. Colby and Fred sat off to the side, and Jimmy was laid out on his top bunk. Stella could tell he was in a lot of pain from however long they had him on Tank. She felt for him.

Everything was business as usual. There was still a somber tone amongst the bunkhouse, but it wasn’t as heavy as it had been.

Lloyd called out to her. “Hey little bit.” She grinned at him and shuffled over.

“Yessir?”

“Care to keep an old cowboy company?”

“I would love to, my good sir.” She happily plopped down in the chair next to him. Ecstatic to be distracted from the thoughts brought on by the conversation with her brother. They started to play silent two man poker. They were just honing their skills, no real betting going on.

Ryan came out of the shower. He called out to the other guys. “Okay showers up.”

Stella looked up at the movement. She dramatically covered her eyes, as Ryan was only in a towel. “Oh my god, put your shirt on! My eyes!”

“Oh shut the fuck up, Stella!” Ryan threw the aforementioned shirt at her. She caught it and let out a cackle. She tossed it back to him. Stella started to respond to him, but Colby and Fred started to get loud with Jimmy.

“Would you two shit heads leave him be?” Stella rose from her seat. Lloyd put a hand on her arm gently to keep her in her spot. She and Fred never got along. She tolerated him a good portion of the time, but more often than not, she wanted to smack the shit out of him.

Ryan sighed, but walked closer to his sister. “Don’t start,” he whispered to her. As soon as she heard those words, she wanted to set fire to the whole place.

“And what are you gonna do princess?” Fred patronized her, adding fuel and striking the match.

“Princess?!” She snapped with lightning speed around Lloyd and leapt across the room. “I’ll show you princess you son of a bitch!” Ryan raced forward and grabbed her around the waist causing her to snap like a rubber band forward and back. Ryan heard the air leave her as she connected with his chest and started swinging.

“Fuck you Fred!” Stella shouted. Ryan wrestled her for the upper hand. Stella pushed and shoved at Ryan’s hands and arms. She pushed his head. She tried to step on his toes. Anything to get him to let her go. Colby tried to keep Fred back with the same amount of dedication. They didn’t want either of them to get their hands on the other.

“Stella!” He struggled against her pull. “Stella! Stop!” Ryan yelled at his little sister.

“No Ryan! Let her get her ass handed to her! Your bitch of a sister needs to be taken down a peg or two!” Fred screamed.

Stella pulled forward hard and heavy. Ryan’s hold on her slipped. She launched her body as fast and hard as she could at Fred. Fred wasn’t expecting her to make contact with her fist, but the crack of his jaw as it snapped shut was heard around the whole house. It was deathly silent as he staggered back.

“You dirty whore!” Fred screamed as he lunged at Stella. He grabbed for Stella’s neck, but Ryan stepped in his way. Ryan shoved his sister backward to Lloyd. He squared his jaw and stood to his full height.

His voice was deadly. “If you’re feelin’ froggy, Fred. Leap.” His eyebrows jumped upward as he said leap. “But the second you touch my sister?” He stepped closer to Fred to get in his face and make his point clear. “I will cut your fuckin’ head off and not feel any remorse.”

“I’ll help him feed you to the fuckin’ bears!” Stella screamed while she fought against Lloyd.

Lloyd hollered, wrestling Stella back. “Knock it the fuck off! All of you!” They all stopped and looked at him. It was rare that Lloyd would raise his voice.

He practically handed Stella to her brother. “Ryan take her outside.” He pointed to Fred. “You simmer down.”

Ryan dragged her back toward the door. She finally stopped fighting against it and went outside. She let out a snarl and kicked at the dirt. Her knuckles let her know they were angry from the hit. She shook her hand. ‘That’s gonna suck in the mornin.’

“You should have let me punch him in the throat. Give him something to choke on.”

“Listen, I know we all don’t like him, but you can’t be doing that.” Fred would have most likely beaten the absolute hell out of her. He had no control over his anger.

“He fuckin’ deserves it though.” She shouted.

They heard the gravel crunching off to the side. “Who deserves what?” John asked.

“Fred deserves to have his ass beat within an inch of his life.” Stella explained hotly.

Ryan scolded her. “Stella!”

She glared at her brother and fixed her glasses. She held her hands out to the side. “What? Fred is a bully and I’m just saying what we’ve all been thinking.” Ryan remained silent because he knew she was right.

John let them settle out then interrupted. “Stella, I actually came down here to ask if I could talk to you for a minute.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“It’s about that mustang. Come to the barn with me so I can show you.”

“What did y’all do to him??” She rushed to the barn.

She got in there and hurried her way over to Tank. Both Tank and Abigail made happy noises at her approach. She pet the mare quickly, and moved to Tank to look him over.

John followed behind her at a slow pace. He took his time and observed her doing what she did best, what he paid her for, but also in general. He needed to decide if she was taking Lee’s place. It depended on how the next few minutes went.

He knew she was hot headed, exemplified by the previous conversation about Fred; but she was focused when she actually put her mind to whatever she was doing. Quiet, but could be boisterous with the right people. Smart and mean, a dangerous combination. Kayce wouldn’t have chosen to be her friend if there wasn’t some level of trust there. Lee wouldn’t have worked with her if he didn’t think she was trustworthy. He shut the small door behind him with a thud.

Stella stood and looked at the door and then to him with her brows crinkled. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. The expression on John’s face was impassive. That bothered her. She hated that he was one of the few people she couldn’t figure out. Even Rip seemed to have more expressions than John did some days.

“He looks fine, sir. What did you need to show me about him?”

“I didn’t bring you in here to talk about the horse, Stella.” Dread ran through her.

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrows in question as she tried to keep her face flat. Her heart jumped wildly in her chest as she hoped he wasn’t about to interrogate her. Her mouth fell open to take in more air. She started to feel like the walls were closing in.

“Why were you at Kayce’s today?”

She leaned against the outside wall of the stalls. “I told you sir. I was talkin’ to him about Tank because not only has he become your responsibility, mood swings and all, he also became mine.”

“Is that so?” John leaned a shoulder against the wall.

She shrugged. “I mean, yeah. It’s part of my job. It’s what you pay me for. I also hadn’t seen him since —,” she cut herself off. She didn’t want to think about the loss more than she had to, but also didn’t want to put salt in John’s wounds either. “— well, you know. So I wanted to check up on him. Monica too.”

“When Jamie showed up this morning, where’d you run off to?” He grilled her.

“I got a text from Kayce that it was cool to stop by. So I went to my car to head out.” He stared at her in contemplation.

“I just find it very convenient that you ended up there after Jamie talked to me. Here. In the barn.”

“I mean, I left before you did?” Stella tilted her head confused and adjusted the frames on her face. “What did he talk to you about?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter, is why you feel so comfortable lying to my face.” Her mouth dropped open, opening and closing, but she couldn’t seem to find words. “That’s right. I saw you sneak around the broad side.”

Stella’s mind grasped for anything she could muster. There was absolutely nothing she could find.

He questioned. “What did you hear?”

“N-not much, sir.” She fought to get the words out.

“What did you hear, Stella?”

She swallowed hard, stood up straight, and came to her full height. She squared her shoulders, prepared for whatever storm was brewing. “I was originally gonna call Kayce. That’s why I stepped away, to find somewhere quiet. I chose to leave the barn at the point I did because it wasn’t my place to know what was being spoken about. I had heard more than I should have, and I didn’t want this to happen.” She motioned between them. “I was gonna leave and ignore it.”

She continued. Her voice got stronger as she went. “I don’t even know the context of what you were talking about. So I’m just as much in the dark now as I was before.”

“Damnit, Stella. Don’t make me ask you again.” John’s voice was harsh.

“Jesus, Mr. Dutton.” Calling him that was a habit that she hadn’t ever really broken out of. “I overheard you ask if they, whoever they are, had identified Kayce. For what? I don’t know. Then something about who the investigators were and something about Lee. That’s it. I promise. I don’t even really remember what I heard because I didn’t wanna hear it in the first place.” She slapped her hands down on her thighs in frustration.

It was deathly quiet in the space between them. Stella glared at him trying to catch her breath. The fact that she tried, and failed, to give Kayce a heads up about whatever his dad was bringing his way would stay with her until she was six feet under. She cocked her jaw to the side and ran her tongue along the side of her teeth. Being put on the spot by not only her best friend’s father, but also her boss, really killed her vibe.

John studied her closely. In the 12 years he had known her, she had never toed too far over the line. That was a feat in and of itself, especially being his youngest son’s best friend. There had been moments when she had needed some coaching to get back to the straight side of things. It was the normal rebellion of a teenager that John expected. Ryan and the wranglers had reined her in well during those times. John had expected that.

As she grew older, the fire inside her grew as well, but she put it to good use. She was a damn hard worker. She could put his men to shame most days. She also fiercely protected his son. His ranch. He respected that in her. She also wasn’t afraid to stand her ground. ‘Must come from dealing with all those stubborn horses.’ His thoughts broke in between. ‘Or dealing with your hard headed children.’

She had been around for a lot of things. She hadn’t ever mentioned anything about the affairs of the ranch to anyone that he was aware of. John didn’t know if she had actually picked up on the events that happened around her, but he wanted to give her intelligence more credit than that.

“Sir,” she fixed her glasses while she cleared her throat and continued, “I understand you’re worried about discretion here. I’m not gonna say anything to anyone. Why would I? Especially when I don’t know what it was about in the first place?” It didn’t make sense to Stella. Logically or otherwise. I mean to give Kayce a heads up that his father was on his way to spew some of his regular bullshit? Yeah, but she wouldn’t just go tell Joan at the local grocery market.

She had seen John angry at other people, but now his ire was directed at her, and her foundation felt shaken. She was reminded of when she stood up for Kayce when she was 18. That day and the following weeks were a doozie.

This job was her livelihood. Her brother’s. This place had become home. John kept quiet while she pleaded her case.

“That’s why I left and was gonna ignore it. I didn’t hear anything, I didn’t see anything.” Stella admitted. “I’ve never told anyone anything I may have ever caught. And if you think I would say something that would potentially jeopardize Kayce?” She shook her head. “You’re dead wrong.” Her voice hardened with the last sentence as she looked him directly in the eyes. She was banking that she had that working for her.

The fact that Rip trusted her, that Lee and Kayce trusted her, said a lot. Even though she had been around for so many years, for John, her lying to him made it a little harder to give his trust to her.

John’s lips pursed together. “You’re on thin ice, little girl. Tread carefully.” He left through the door behind him.

She sagged back against Abigail’s stall door. The mare walked up and stuck her head through the door and nuzzled at Stella’s back. Tank gazed at her from the side. They both knew she was stressed at this point. She had no idea where that left her in John's eyes. She didn’t know if she was fired, or kicked off the ranch, or anything.

After Stella had gotten herself calmed down some, she returned to the bunkhouse. She knew she couldn’t let herself go in front of Ryan, or Lloyd, shaken. They would immediately know something was wrong and grill her to the third degree.

“Hey, Ry?”

The man in question glanced up from the cards in front of him. “Yeah Stellee, what’s up?”

“I’m gonna head home for the night. I’ve gotta work more with Tank tomorrow, so I’ll see you then. Okay?”

He nodded and stood. “Yeah I’ll see you then, sis.” He wrapped her in a hug and she breathed for the first time since the barn. He rubbed her back quickly and released her. “You text me when you get home. And be careful.” He gave her a stern gaze. She faked a giggle and acknowledged him with a nod. She waved to Lloyd and made her exit swift. She had a lot to think about on her way home.

Comments, thoughts, commentary, and asks are welcome! Just please be gentle lol. 🤓

#yellowstone #kayce dutton #luke grimes #yellowstonetv #ian bohen #ryan #ian bohen : ryan #yellowstone fanfiction #yellowstone fanfic #kayce dutton fan fiction #kayce dutton fanfic

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the-larxist-manifesto · 19 days

Text

GameGirl31 ~ Dr. Mario

It's Dr. Mario time. We all know it. We've all played it (even if you don't remember how or why). We all are a little more than confused by its existence.

Let me briefly tell my story with Dr. Mario. When I was just a girl—at a time where my only video games were whatever random N64 and PS1 games my parents owned—I really looked forward to the occasional visit to my gamer aunt and uncle's house. Having extended family who are into video games is just the coolest feeling as a child, when all other grown-ups do only boring stuff like reading and fishing trips. During one fateful day out with my aunt, I was gifted my very own Nintendo DS Lite—the first console I felt was truly mine. An amazing feature of my silver DS, I would come to find, was backwards compatibility with GameBoy Advance games! And one of the first games I received to test it out was a little combo cartridge called Dr. Mario & Puzzle League

My actual childhood Dr. Mario & Puzzle League cartridge! (alongside my physical copy of GB Dr. Mario :p)

I'll be blunt here: I hated Dr. Mario. Its companion, Puzzle League, was (excuse my pun) leagues better, offering tons of single player puzzles, customization options, and a catchy as hell soundtrack—in addition to its multiplayer connectivity! Dr. Mario, sadly, only contained a couple of variations on endless mode; not much fun to be had for a child with no link cable to play with friends. Dr. Mario seemed too... simple. Only 3 colors? All you do is clear viruses? Nah, I was above this game.

And that was the last time I ever played Dr. Mario.

UNTIL NOW.

~Earning my PhD~

I began playing this game with the standard GameGirl procedure; playing a few rounds to get accustomed to the new environment, checking out the manual, conducting a small amount of personal research, and then setting goals to beat the game. The manual offered the usual gallery of fun official art and basic tutorial, but it didn't contain anything I didn't already know. That is, except one interesting detail that caught my attention.

Let me ask you a question that was at the forefront of my mind at this time: how do I "beat" Dr. Mario? An endless, arcade-style puzzle game with no story? The manual, Dr. Mario himself, had the answer.

Pay special attention to the second bullet point. I'll see "something special?" It's so ambiguous yet so enticing, and with such a difficult condition to discover whatever it was, I couldn't hold myself back. I knew that my destiny was to complete the game on the highest difficulty on the highest speed setting.

To do this, I put about 10 hours of work into practicing this game; matching colors, creating combos, managing junk pills, refining my reflexes, always looking at the next piece coming up, and then the one after that. I learned some very valuable techniques for getting far in this game. Always having at least one column available with each of the three colors is extremely helpful when you're given a pill (or, when you're unlucky, three or four in a row) of a color that simply does not match the current trouble virus. You must put care into placing each and every pill. You must be cunning to attack viruses from above, below, from the sides, or even a falling combo. You must be dexterous on the higher speeds, shifting pills across the bottle and rotating it twice in less than a second.

When I finally accomplished my first milestone, I was met with a scene I'd never witnessed before. A tranquil, wide open ocean floor...

The viruses sit there, watching the occasional sea life drift by. The sea appears so lonely...

~Dr. Mario master~

Yes, my goals for this game primarily entailed clearing levels at the highest difficulty. Specifically, I considered the game "beaten" if I cleared MED speed levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, and I considered it "100% completed" if I cleared HI speed levels 5, 10, 15, and 20. But what about the actual game? Was it fun? Worth becoming so competent at playing?

Unsurprisingly, this is the simplest and shortest GB title yet. I placed it here in the challenge as sort of a break from larger adventures, after all. The visuals are quite simple; beyond the initial gag of Mario dressed up in a lab coat, there isn't much to look at. The viruses do a funny little dance at the bottom of the screen, then get knocked over and blipped out of existence as you clear them. The game has a total of 6 unique songs: one for mode select, the iconic Fever and Chill that you may choose for gameplay, jingles for winning in multiplayer or setting up a combo of four or more, and then a special song for the special something after clearing one of the four MED or HI speed levels. The songs will easily get stuck in your head, and the special song was well worth earning each time I arrived at the bottom of the infested sea. The blips and bloops of gameplay will sometimes match up PERFECTLY with the gameplay themes; its like the composition is playing together with you, as well as being solid tunes that have been hummed by fans and remade by Nintendo for decades to come. They did a good job with the sound design, overall!

I guess my biggest gripe is... the overall concept of Dr. Mario? I still find it a bit too simple, even after all this time. There aren't many reasons to come back to it, if you aren't attempting the insane feat of 100% completion. The main draw of this game is the multiplayer and hoping that the satisfying falling-block match-4 formula keeps players hooked long enough to keep coming back when bored. But sadly, there isn't much versatility with the mechanics. Where other puzzle games contain a higher variety of pieces (Tetris), or greater combo opportunity (Puyo Puyo), or slicker visuals (Meteos), or some other wacky gimmick to keep you continuously exploring (Meteos again)... Dr. Mario falls short of a cure-all for boredom.

For the sake of this challenge, I did try out the multiplayer with a friend! A very cool feature of the NSO retro games is being able to connect with friends online, and play as if you were sitting across from each other with a link cable! In this game, you and your competitor (did you know that's what COM stands for? Competitor? Not "computer," as I always thought) race to clear the bottle of viruses before the other. The multiplayer does contain some unique visuals, including an indicator for how many remaining viruses your competitor needs to clear or how many wins you've accumulated (best three out of five).

Shoutouts to @br00f for playing with me! She beat me in a best of five that went all the way to game 5... and I have to call her Dr. Broof from now on...

~Conclusion~

In a vacuum, Dr. Mario is a well-made, fun, fast-paced puzzle game with some cool cutscenes and music to discover if you become skilled enough. Compared to other puzzle games, I find it a bit lacking in single-player content. I also think that the concept is a bit bare-bones, especially in this first iteration. Not much to accomplish beyond basic combos and managing three colors; it's almost too simple even for a casual player (as we witnessed in the Dr. Mario & Puzzle League anecdote).

Granted, I've never played the newer iterations of Dr. Mario. Maybe they've come up with more ways to shake up the formula? I won't be pursuing it anytime soon, I'm afraid; Dr. Mario just isn't for me. I can acknowledge it as a very important and solid GB title, worthy of being a member of the NSO library. That's about it.

Recommend? Sure, try it. It's probably as good as any other version of Dr. Mario

Oh, and I did manage to 100% complete the game! Check it out!

Look! All the viruses have been cleared away, the ocean flows freely with life once again~

#nintendo #gameboy #gamegirlchallenge #dr mario

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tenjikubaby · 2 years

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KAEL PLS PLS I NEED YOUR TAKE ON TENJIKU ATTENDING A FILO PROM ‼‼

I LOVE THIS!!! THANK YOU

(self-indulgent Filipino AU Tenjiku ahead. Filipino terms are explained for non-Filos who want to read this)

Thanks to @milkkicoffee for helping

TENJIKU AT A FILIPINO PROM

Izana has his own band and Inupi and Shion are his bandmates (bassist and drummer, respectively). Teachers asked him to perform a few songs for the night. If you want a voice reference, listen to “Come Inside of My Heart” and imagine Izana singing.

Imagine him in an all-black suit with his hair looking like this. (Let’s pretend Filipino schools allow boys to have long hair).

His band would also perform “Jopay” and the crowd goes crazy with people singing along for the chorus. Please also imagine him singing Buko by Jireh Lim or Misteryoso by Autotelic. People say he holds eye contact with some who stare at him and it almost feels like a Harana (serenade; part of old Filipino courting traditions.)

Izana at school has this quiet, artistic indie boy image so he would likely be a campus crush. This boy is desired. When the band is done, his admirers will be watching him, waiting for him to dance with someone. Most people were too shy to ask him to dance, though there were a few brave souls.

Shion’s mom spritzed (more like showered) him with his dad’s perfume so he smells like an older man. She and his grandma expressed their concern about him putting too much Gatsby Wax in his hair, but he insisted that he knew what he was doing. His mom wanted to take pictures of him too but he hurried to leave.

Being in Izana’s band, he automatically thinks he's going to receive the attention that Izana and Inupi get from the ladies. That wasn't true. He confidently marches up to girls and asks them to dance, even acting like it’s such a privilege for them to be able to do so. The girls didn’t want to dance with a siga (a show-off, braggy person). This leaves him with no partner, so he ends up joke-dancing with Mocchi instead, who was too chicken to ask anyone to dance. At some point, they get tired of the prom atmosphere (what with all the lovey-dovey couples around!), so they hoard a bunch of food from the buffet and sneak into a classroom. There, they eat and play Mobile Legends.

You can hear stressed student council member Kokonoi Hajime cursing from afar. “Tangina! Bakit ubos na agad yung fish fillet!” (”Son of a bitch! Why are we already out of fish fillet?”)

It’s not long before the two of them are caught by the principal and thrown out. To make things even worse, two older female teachers take them as partners. So there they were, dancing with old ladies to Gloria Gaynor’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. Yeah... they got filmed and laughed at.

Now unlike Shion, Mocchi actually let his mom take a bunch of pictures of him. His mom later posted them on Facebook, saying “bilis nga nmn ng panahon. ky poging binata na ng anak q.” (Time flies. My son has grown into a fine young man.) The pic she chose is Mocchi doing the pogi sign. His aunts, grandparents, and grand-aunts are commenting on how handsome he is too, and how big he’s grown, and asking if he already has a girlfriend. His mom replies that he has a crush on someone and reveals their name.

When they arrive to the venue, his mom makes him take a picture with each S62 boy and one last one with all of them to also post on Facebook.

Caption: “mocchi with his friends :)”

It gets even worse when Mocchi's crush walks by and his mom calls them over to take a picture with him.

Ran went on a whole spa trip before the day of the prom. On the very night, his stylist and his yaya (nanny) are circling him, making the finishing touches on his hair and makeup. , who has already finished getting ready an hour ago, is just sitting there waiting for Ran to finish.

You see, Ran wanted to be the emcee, but the role went to Mitsuya instead. The teachers thought that Mitsuya's humor matched the students’ better so they would probably connect better to him. Ran was offended at the very idea that someone could be seen as more charimsatic than him.

He doesn’t let that get him down, though. He takes pictures EVERYWHERE. Rindou’s kinda just his unwilling personal photographer. He needs pictures with different angles, different poses, and different types of lighting. He needs a new Facebook DP (which he’ll probably caption with some unrelated quote from a famous person) and none of the pics turn out good enough for him.

After Izana’s band finishes their set, DJ Rindou would be up next. He got in trouble for playing an inappropriate Tagalog song (something like BMW) but he thinks it was worth it because everyone cheered him on. The teachers even found it funny until the principal came in looking pissed, so they had to be responsible teachers and step in.

Despite being one of the richer students, he doesn’t do clique-y behavior. (note: all i can say is that those cliques of mean, rich, classist people you see in fiction are real. sorry. ) He’s friends with everybody and is generally well-liked. So on prom night, Rin is jumping from table to table talking to everyone. He just knows how to vibe with different kinds of people! While Ran is more popular and admired, he feels less “accessible” to people outside his circle. People feel it’s easier to befriend Rindou.

If Rindou has a date, I think it would be someone unexpected. Like, since he’s popular, he doesn’t take another popular person. It’s probably going to be some quiet person from his class that nobody has heard of (well, now they have). Like I said, he’s friends with everybody.

Not prom-related but I wanted to add: Ran and Rindou are both conyos, but Rindou’s better at Tagalog than Ran. Ran understands Tagalog but can’t express himself well enough in it. Both their Tagalogs have accents and Ran’s is really thick. He can’t roll his Rs and often stresses the wrong syllables. You find it either cute or annoying depending on how you feel about them.

*Ran probably doesn’t know what kinse (fifteen) means so he would just give the vendor a hundred-peso bill and leave.

(Conyo: People who code-switch between English and Tagalog in their speech. Rich kids are stereotyped to speak like this. Knowing conyo’s original Spanish meaning, I think you can already see why they’re called this lol )

Kakucho groans at the idea of prom. He’s kinda dreading it until the actual night where you can see him having fun. He’s hyping up Izana and Rindou when they play music for the crowd. He also dances around no matter how awkward his movements are. At some point, he ends up getting bored and starts rough-housing with other boys. They end up destroying a table. Somehow, they also did something to make the disco ball crash down?

What if he’s asked to dance? Though he’s a bit shy, he does try his best to socialize with his partner and make them comfortable. The same goes for if he had a date. I do see him asking a close friend to be his date instead of someone he barely knows though.

When Rindou’s off to somewhere, the role of Ran’s Photographer goes to Kakucho.

*Kakucho also translates for Ran and Rindou when they have Filipino homework, assuming that they do their homework.

I think Mucho arrives really early so the teachers task him with arranging tables and taking care of technical stuff. (Even in regular school days, teachers love to send him on errands i.e. fetching a projector from another classroom, carrying books into the faculty room).

Would he get asked to dance? He’s so intimidating that it might never happen. Because of this, he’s another victim of dancing with the older female teachers. Unlike Mocchi and Shion, no one is brave enough to make fun of him.

Soon enough, he’d feel bored all by himself because Sanzu’s getting attention left and right (The guy has long hair, quiet, mysterious, pretty, always wears a masks. I just know Filo school girls would go crazy over him if he were real) and the other S62 boys are off doing their own things. He goes to a quiet area of the school, maybe the roof, and just... ponders life there or something.

#answered #tenjikubaby #tokyo revengers au #izana kurokawa #shion madarame #kanji mochizuki #ran haitani #rindou haitani #kakucho #yasuhiro muto #tenjiku

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the-real-tc · 1 year

Text

Bad Business: A Heartland Murder Mystery EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

One Month Later

A Certain Private Fishing Cabin

The fire over which they had cooked the fish Jack caught was mellowing. A cool breeze drifted through the valley from the mountains and the river waters babbled softly in the hush of the advancing evening.

Jack and Lisa sat together on the porch, enjoying the surrounding scenery while they sipped some French wine sent by Aunt Evelyn.

This getaway had been a long time coming, and both were simply happy to be in each other's presence without any distractions or worries.

"What a beautiful evening," Lisa said, leaning her head against Jack's shoulder. "I'm so glad we came out here together."

"Me, too," Jack said. Neither wanted to rehash what happened the last time he ventured out to the cabin alone.

"When you brought me out here that first time, I thought I'd found a piece of heaven," Lisa remarked.

"I remember," Jack said with a smile. "And here we are again, all these years later."

"And it's still a piece of heaven," she said. "I don't think we could get any closer if we tried. My happiness is complete."

"Well, now that you mention complete happiness..." Jack said enigmatically. "There's something I want to show you."

Lisa raised her head from his shoulder. Jack reached into his jeans pocket to pull something from it. A memory stirred in Lisa's mind from the winter evening when a similar motion took place. Back then, Jack had withdrawn a padded pink velvet-covered box to reveal an antique ring that once belonged to his grandmother. Lisa looked now to see a small, square leather pouch resting in his palm.

"What is it?" she asked when he did not utter anything further.

Instead of answering verbally, Jack fished inside the pouch to reveal a shiny, solid gold band—too big for her to wear, she knew right away from its size.

"Take it," Jack said simply.

Gingerly, Lisa reached for it, however puzzled she was, and asked: "What's this for?" He certainly could not be making another marriage proposal; that would be redundant at this point.

Jack stretched out his left hand towards her, splaying his calloused fingers. "Lis, I know you were disappointed when we got married that I didn't want to wear a wedding ring..."

Instant tears sprang to her eyes in understanding of what this meant. "Jack..." A tiny sniffle escaped and a large smile broke out onto her face as she slipped the band onto his ring finger.

"I love you, and I love being married to you," Jack said. "I'm sorry I was too stuck in my ways to add this little piece to our life together."

"And I have something for you, too," Lisa said, brushing aside a tear that had escaped.

"Oh, do you?" Jack asked. "Would this have anything to do with your visit with your legal counsel a little while ago?"

Lisa's lips twitched into a smile. "Why yes, it would, Mr. Bartlett," she answered. "I spoke with my lawyer about some very important things during that visit, which included updating my will and business affairs, but that's another topic for another time."

"Hmm..." Jack hummed, knowing Dan's involvement in her business life was now a thing of the past, thank goodness.

"Jack, I've proudly carried the Stillman name my whole life. I love my name and my family heritage. But you are my family, Jack. You, Lou, Amy, Tim, Ty, Peter, Georgie, Katie and Lyndy—all of you have welcomed me into your home and into your hearts. I don't want to be 'Lisa Stillman' anymore, so I've made a little change."

"You have?" Jack said, elation bubbling up within, sensing, but not quite believing what Lisa was hinting at.

"I wanted to save this surprise for a little later in our vacation, but now is as good a time as any. I want to announce I am now officially 'Lisa Bartlett'," she said, reaching into her shoulder bag to pull out a manila business envelope. She withdrew a document declaring that legal change. "How does that sound to you?"

"I think... I think it sounds like the best thing I have heard in a very, very long time," a beaming Jack replied, looking at the document. "Mrs. Bartlett."

He gathered her into his arms and their lips met in a deep, perfect kiss.

"I love you, Mrs. Bartlett," he whispered when they at last parted.

"I love you more, Mr. Bartlett," she whispered back with her customary response, leaning in for another kiss.

Jack did not argue the point, as he was fairly certain their love for each other burned with equal intensities, and would for the rest of their lives together as husband and wife.

Addendum:

It would come out during Chief Parker's team's investigation that the tiny Raven MP-25 Jesse fired at Lisa, recovered in the barn after Jesse tried to shoot Ty, had been registered to Val Stanton. It was a weapon she had purchased following the death of her husband for the purpose of personal protection while at Briar Ridge.

Thanks to the eyewitness account of "the man in Cabin Two" burning something in the firepit the night of the second attempt on Lisa's life, the forensics team found traces of fabric among the ashes and debris which matched the cotton-polyester blend commonly used in some hospital scrubs.

Prior to re-opening the Dude Ranch for business, Lou permitted the Chief's team to conduct a final sweep of the area, as one piece of the puzzle remained elusive. It took nearly four hours of searching, but the investigators finally found what they were seeking: the motorcycle Earl McCann fled on when eluding capture at the hospital. After his failed attempt at killing Lisa, the cops surmised McCann rode back to the vicinity of the Dude Ranch, secreted the bike in some bushes, and walked on foot to the firepit by the pier. There, he immediately disrobed and burned the disguise he had used to blend in among the medical staff. While he had indeed been hired to bring about Lisa's death by any means necessary, McCann's own death was mere hours away, as his foolhardy pursuit of the wandering bear would seal his fate.

Heartland neighbour and dairy farmer Gerrit Van der Heyden would eventually sight the roving bear on his property a few weeks later. It was confirmed to be the one that attacked Herring and killed Earl McCann. Fish and Wildlife authorities euthanized it, though some would be sad about its fate, given what was known of the beast's role in discovering the culprits responsible for a few unsolved murders and the attempts on Lisa's life.

All Herring's wounds physical, psychological, and emotional, fully healed thanks to the teamwork of Ty, Amy and a recovered Remi.

Adam Parker continued to write his blog and would report on the court proceedings involving Jesse Stanton, Theresa Haywood, Stanley Belmont, and Tanner Gunn. The cases are still being tried at this time, though with the overwhelming evidence against the accused, guilty verdicts are expected.

#Heartland #heartland fanfiction #my fanfiction #Jack Bartlett #Lisa Stillman #Bad Business #A Heartland Murder Mystery #EPILOGUE #Chief Jim Parker #Jesse Stanton #Tanner Gunn #fishing cabin

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blessedshortcake · 2 years

Note

doing the ask thing again

madeleine 🏳️‍⚧️🧡🗡

affogato 🏳️‍⚧️🧡🗡

latte 🏳️‍⚧️🧡🗡

When I tell you I SCREAMED when I saw Madeleine's name. I can talk about the cookie ever eeeeeeee

Madeleine

I am transing his gender. Gender has been transed. He realized he was trans when he was young and came out to his mom first and foremost (i hc him as a mommy's boy so he has a great relationship with her) and she helped him come out to his aunts because he was scared how they would react. The aunts adored that because they always knew Madeleine was their special sweetheart.

I feel like he used to have some level of internalized transphobia when he was small, like at the Paladin Academy (i think thats what his school was called but i forgot) since he was "not a real man" like the rest of the boys in his class. Training was harder because young afab people have a harder time building muscle biologically which frustrated him to no end but he got over it with time. He has a specific training schedule to keep up with his body by now.

I am getting off track hdjdjd

I ship him with Espresso the most. Their stupid banter and friendly rivalry caught my heart at day one. I would pay to see them hate kiss at one point. I ship him with Dark Choco to some extent but only with very specific situations.

I can see the appeal with people shipping him with Raspberry too. I don't ship them since I hc Raspberry as a lesbian but I support.

I think he has very quick reaction time and huge arm strenght. Like, he does look strong in general but his arm strenght is like 10 times more than people would think. He flails around that huge ass sword like a paper tube ffs.

Affogato

My personal frienemy. I need to read more about him.

Affogato is either genderqueer, genderfluid or a cis man so comfortable with his sexuality he wears whatever the fuck he wants. All 3 can fly with me

I don't have any ships on him yet myself but I don't mind any that people show me. If the content is appealing to my brain then I will interact

I think he has an excessive knowledge with botany and chemistry as someone who does stuff with poison. He knows So Many Plants and what they do. I feel like he knows how to cook more from the science parts of cooking than the actual process.

Latte

I feel like Latte is one of those cis people who actually went ahead and experimented with their identity before confirming that they are cis to be sure.

I am not crazy about Latte ships, kinda like with Espresso since she is also a blorbo for me just less projecting is going on. I ship her with Raspberry, Kumiho (fish if you see this, me shipping her with Kumiho is entirely your fault /lh), Financier, Pomegranate and to a small extend Almond. I ship them with Almond as divorced (/hj)

Latte is the type of teacher who actually realizes that she is statistically a parental figure in students' life, especially the younger ones so she shows support and good examples to them. She is the type to protect her kids (students) even against their parents when they talk shit in parent teacher meetings.

She is a skilled mage with critical thinking skills and amazing crowd control skills. She can diffuse situations in seconds and she is one of the best cookies at reading the room.

#ask game #cake asks #cake rambles #cookie run #madeleine cookie #latte cookie #affogato cookie #kumiho cookie #kumilatte #pomegrante cookie #financier cookie #rasplatte #raspberry cookie #espresso cookie #espresseline #dark choco cookie #almond cookie #almondlatte

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hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong · 2 years

Text

Codex Familia: spoiled birthday

September 24th was the day when Eduardo and Maria Hernandez were born. And as children of the lively and exciting goddess Quetzalcoatl, of course the celebration would be something to remember!

"You ready Mijitos?! Your aunt is here with the jet!" Quetz yelled out to her kids, so they can start the day's celebrations! "We have to go early so we can do everything you asked for!"

The twins were then seen running down the stairs, looking ready to go. "We're here! We're ready!" Ed said as they stopped in front of their mother.

"AYE! You two look so adorable! Oh how I missed seeing you two!" Said a new voice. It was the twins' Tia Nota! She was dressed in such fancy clothing, you'd think she was visiting royalty, tho in her eyes this day is far more important then visiting any royal. "Are you two ready for your trip?!" She asked them, enthusiastically.

Both the twins' responded to their tia with an excited "SI!" Before actually both hugging her.

"Aaawww! How I missed your hugs!" Nota said, so happy to be hugged.

"Prima, you act like you didn't see them just last week." Rex said, as he came inside the house.

"It's not my fault I cherish seeing them so much!" She said in response to her cousin.

"Ok, ok! We're wasting time! We need to go!" Quetz said so they could start moving.

"Right!" Nota said after letting go of the kids. "We ought to get going!"

The family left out of the house to see Nota's own private jet not far off. "Was this really necessary?" Rex asked her.

"Well birthdays only happen once a year!" Nota responded.

Rex then responded with "But you bring that out for their birthday, my birthday, your birthday, mi amor's bi-"

"Ok you made your point! Now let's go!" Nota said back to him.

The family sat in the jet, in what felt better than even first class flying. "Hope you don't mind it just being me! Mi amor and mis bebes have to be elsewhere! But they send love and gifts!" Nota told the family as they sat down.

"That's fine! This is already so nice! Gracias Tia!" Ed responded to Nota.

"Would rather not deal with his annoying ass" Mari said under her breath.

"What was that, mijita?" Nota asked.

"OH! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Mari answered.

The jet speeded through the skies before reaching their destination: Cancun. The previous year, they decided to visit Mexico city, this time Cancun was their pick.

Once they reached their destination, their first objective was an aquarium in the area!

"They sure put a lot of attention on the dolphins" Nota noted.

"People are still ignorant to their crimes." Mari responded.

"Aw look at the penguins!" Ed pointed out

"Aw, so cute!" Quetz exclaimed when she saw!

"Oh hey! They let you go into some of the tanks with a diving helmet!" Rex pointed out.

Excitedly, Ed ran to do just that! Before long, he was in his swim trunks with a diving helmet on in the tank with fish and rays!

Nota and Quetz snapped many photos of him with the fish swimming around. "Aw you look so happy, Mijo!" Quetz exclaimed!

"The fish seem to really like him too." Mari says, as the fish seem to school around him.

After the aquarium, they then headed towards the underground springs known as the Cenotes.

As they went down deep into the caverns, near the water they talked a bit about the Cenotes.

"These were used for ritual sacrifice, y'know!" Quetz explained to everyone. "Many skeletons have been found in the waters of these! Tho this one is clear of any thankfully"

"I heard this is because the Maya believed these were entrances to Xibalba!" Nota added.

Suddenly a long and sharp grin grew across Mari's face.

Ed noticed this and immediately knew what she was planning. "No! Don't you dar-"

"Hey there Demons! It's me! Ya girl!" She suddenly yelled out.

"Mija, I don't think you should do that." Rex tried to tell her.

"HEY GHOULS! WHY DONTCHA COME OUT ALREADY!" She taunted.

"Mija! That's not necessary!" Quetz said.

"MICTLANTECUHTLI, YOU PUNK BITCH! COME ON OUT!" Mari yelled next.

"I don't think there's any stopping her now." Nota said.

"If you don't come out! This will be my cave!" Mari yelled.

The rest of the family resigned to just letting her continue as they continued towards the water at the bottom.

"Convenient that it's just us in this particular Cenote" Rex remarked.

Eventually they reached the water, and went in for a dip. "Oh the water is really nice!" Mari remarked.

"Feels fitting she of all people would enjoy water that might lead to Xibalba" Ed said.

Eventually after the Cenote, the family went to a shopping center, Nota having the intent to buy many many many gifts for the twins!

"Just ask for whatever Mijitos! I'll buy it for you!" She said with a big smile on her face.

The twins went to many a store with their aunt, getting so many souvenirs and gifts. Nothing was too expensive for her to buy for them.

At some point Ed noticed a ball, the same kind used for the game pok-A-tok. He walked up to it and realized how nice it'd be to give it to Valentina.

Then behind him, Nota was there. "Wanna get it for your lil girlfriend?" She asked him. "That's very sweet of you!"

Ed blushed a bit, before answering. "Y-yes! I'm hoping she'd like a new ball."

"Oh I'm sure she would! So let's pick it up for her!" Nota replied to him.

Eventually the trip was over with, and it was time to head back home! Once they had reached home, a small party was set up in the yard! With food, music, some visitors and the birthday cake!

"Ah hell yeah! Bigass cake!" Mari yelled.

The two sat at the table, eating some cake slices. Eventually Ed got a text from his girlfriend. It read: "sorry I couldn't make it to the party. I'll give you your gift next time we see each other!"

Ed still smiled as he looked at it, before suddenly his eyes were covered by two hands. "Guess who" came from the owner of said hands.

"Amor?!" Ed said when he recognized Valentina's voice!

She then removed her hands before turning him completely around. "You got it! It was me!" Valentina said.

"You made it!" Ed exclaimed!

"Of course I'm gonna make it to my love's birthday! And happy birthday to you too Maria!" She then said towards Mari, who was still eating cake.

Ed hugged and kissed Valentina immediately after that. He was happy to see her there!

The small party was a blast! Plenty of great food was eaten, gifts were given and the twins were very happy!

"Probably one of the best birthdays!" Mari said as she laid down.

"I'm happy you enjoyed it so much, mija!" Quetz said.

"Now we just need to see how to match it next year" said Rex.

"I'll think of something!" Nota added

"Well we'll be looking forward to it!" Ed finished.

Bam! Birthday fic completed! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Had a struggle thinking it up, but eventually managed something I really like!

Tags!

@hasbbdoneanythingwrong @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong @haskiaradoneanythingwrong @akampana @littleminxthings @chaldeamage-neo @exmeowstic @violette-dreams

#fate grand order #quetzalcoatl #wife #mastersona #rex #rexcoatl #maria #nota #eduardo #codex familia

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sketch-mer-6195 · 2 years

Text

Cut to the Chase: Chapter 4 (Bayverse! Donatello x Roxanne Chazen)

Word Count: 1939

A/N: This Chapter got away from me, but I couldn’t stop. It was just that good!

If you wish to be added or removed, please let me know.

It had been three weeks since her encounter with Donatello and Roxanne could only sigh at the newly fixed wall and French doors that were installed. Thank god their tenant owner was more than glad to fix the wall and install new doors. But she was already in a heap of trouble with her mom and aunt. Roxanne explained that she had a friend over for a science project which ended up being a mini bomb that blew the large whole in the wall. Of course, it was a full blown lie. But they wouldn't have believed her if she said it was a mutant turtle that crashed in the apartment. Who would!? Sitting in her room with her laptop on her small table and working on her English assignment, Roxanne was restricted to going to school, work at the zoo, home and anywhere her aunt and mother deemed alright such as the library or the vet clinic for training. And no friends allowed. Not that Roxanne cared about her so-called friends. The kind of friends who always looked to you with those sad cow eyes when they asked you to write their papers to pass English and Human Geography. Yeah, those people.

But her thoughts were interrupted when she looked at her hands out of boredom. Then in a flashback, she remembered seeing her gloved hands covered in Donatello's blood after fishing out a particularly large piece of glass. Running saline water into the wound to flush it clean.

Tap Tap

The sudden sound made her gasp and spin in her gamer chair before letting her jaw drop and cover her mouth with her hand to silence another, much louder gasp. Standing on the fire escape, the purple clad turtle stood there waving at her with a bashful grin. Roxanne looked at her bedroom door and then to Donatello before carefully walking to her window and grabbing her tablet. Pulling up the drawing app that she hardly used, she swiped her fingers across the screen and held it up to his level as best as she could.

What are you doing here!?

Donnie pointed to the latch in her window and mouthed. 'Can I come in?'

Looking back at her door and then glancing around Donnie, Roxanne unlocked her windows and took a few steps back to allow the terrapin to enter. Lucky for her, the windows were just tall enough and wide enough for him to slip in. With a little assistance from her as his tech pack got snagged on the corner. But once inside, Roxanne shut the window and closed her curtains before looking straight up at him. He was tall. No doubt about that, and built muscular, but slender. More like a basketball player or an Olympic swimmer. The two stared at one another, almost analyzing each other’s body language before she chose to walk around him and sit in her gamer chair. Gesturing to her bed, Donnie let out a little 'oh' before taking a seat on the edge of her bed. He shifted slightly, almost in a nervous manner before clearing his throat.

"I uhm… I saw your lights on and uh… My brothers and I were on patrol. What I'm trying to say is… I'msosorryforcrashingintoyourwindow!" He said, like a whirlwind.

Roxanne furrowed her brows as she tried to process his blunder before rolling her eyes and scoffing. Not out of annoyance, but amusement. Donnie though was embarrassed and hearing her scoff just made it worse. What he failed to notice was her smirk and how she was trying not to giggle. Who knew this guy could be easily flustered? Taking a quiet breath to calm her thoughts, Roxanne leaned back in her chair and smiled a rather sweet smile towards Donatello.

“Apology accepted.”

Donnie finally looked up at her in surprise. He was not expecting that as he calculated that her accepting his apology would have been 0.000003%. Apparently it worked in his favor. And he just won a month's worth of pop tarts. Clearing his throat once again, Donnie began to drum his six digits on his knees nervously. He wasn't expecting the girl to be so… calm. Then again, what are the chances to see a 6'8, teenage mutant turtle?

"So, Donatello. Do you always meet people by crashing into windows?" Roxanne asked with a small smirk.

This prompted Donnie to return the smirk and let out a nervous chuckle before rubbing the back of his neck. "To be quite honest. No, ma'am. And again, I do apologize for all the damage and any trouble you were dragged into."

Letting out a scoff and waving her hands to dismiss his apology, Roxanne crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "Please, you did me a favor. It's not every day you get to work on a hybrid body that is both human and turtle."

"Hmm, you are right about that." He nodded and rubbed his chin in mock thought and heard a small laugh come from the girl.

Donnie never really considered himself to be the funny one. So, to actually hear her laugh even just a little was a confidence booster. As he smiled at the sound of her laughing he noticed her staring at his bandaged side as if asking what he had been doing to keep it clean and covered.

"Basic antibiotics, routine cleaning, and changing the bandages at least twice a day. Three times when we go on patrol." He explained as he ran his hand over his side that was still on the mend.

"Impressive. Mind if I take a look?" She asked. Her eyes flickering up to meet his own.

Donnie stared back at her for just a moment. Something about her just made his heart leap into his throat before swallowing it back down. Nodding at her request, he moved his arm up as she rolled her chair closer to him. Slotting her legs between his larger one, she looked at the immediate bandage itself before looking at his skin around the bandage to locate any discoloration or anything abnormal. Rolling back to her desk, she reached under the table and pulled out her trusty black medical bag that Donnie was now all too familiar with. Pulling out her gloves and clean supplies for the bandages, she rolled back to his side and turned on her desk lamp on her bedside table.

“I’m going to take a look at the wound, is that alright?” Roxanne asked.

Donnie nodded once more and turned his body to give her better access which proved to be difficult at first. It didn’t take long for her to suggest for him to lay down and prop him up with her pillows while she observed the healing wound. Being able to see her in action was something that Donnie had mixed feelings about. Sure, she was brilliant with what she was capable of doing. He just didn’t like the feeling of being vulnerable. He could easily take her down, but he didn’t want to frighten her any further.

Roxanne was impressed at how well it had healed. Far better than she anticipated. Minimal scarring, but all things considered he was doing just great. As she applied fresh ointment and laid on a more flexible bandage, Roxanne glanced down at Donnie who had rested his head on his arm and nervously looked back at her.

“You know I won’t hurt you. Tickle maybe but not hurt you, Donatello.” She reassured him as she smirked slightly and took her gloves off.

With a small snort and giggle, Donnie glanced up at her and smiled. “Noted for future reference.”

Offering her hand to him, Roxanne helped him sit back up, albeit a rather comical sight in his eyes. As she closed her bag back up and slid it back under her desk, Donnie rested his elbows on his knees as he began to feel a little more comfortable with the girl. It didn’t take long for them to strike up small talk, asking how she learned how to clean and flush out his wound. Hearing that she was working at the clinic at the Bronx Zoo as an intern while still in high school along with taking basic nursing classes to gain her LPN License. It soon grew into a full blown conversation on the theory how he was able to heal at a much faster rate than she would.

“So, let me get this straight, you have a mutagen, creating…well, you! And with this, it has altered your genetics and biological structure which, in theory, gives you a faster healing rate than my own?” Roxanne explained, more for herself.

“Exactly, though I haven’t really delved into the genetics of my brothers or myself.” Donnie replied.

But before he could ask any questions, he got a call from his walkie on his shoulder and raised a finger before answering. “Leo, what’s wrong?”

“Donnie, where are you? We’ve been looking all over for you.” Leo exclaimed, making Roxanne take a sharp breath in, almost like a hiss and look at Donnie with a sympathetic look.

Donnie waived his hand to reassure her that it was okay. “Sorry, I got a little side tracked. I’ll find your location and meet up with you in five.”

As he closed the line, he glanced at Roxanne who was standing already and opened the window for him before facing him. “Sorry for tying you up. Not everyday you get to talk to someone on the same wavelength, or relatively close.”

Donnie understood where she was coming from. It wasn’t always the easiest to talk to his other brothers as it would sometimes go over all their heads and all they would be able to do is nod at his words. Unless it was Raph who was always vocal on him simplifying his responses. Standing, Donnie walked over to her and cleared his throat which made her crane her head up and tuck some stray hair behind her ear. Damn it, why did she have to look up at him like that?

“It’s nothing. In fact, I enjoyed our time.” Donnie explained before poking his tongue quickly between his lips to moisten them. “If you ever need anything, you can uh… you can give me a call?”

Roxanne raised a brow at his uncertain question which brought a smile to her face. She grabbed her phone from her desk and handed it to him which he took. Raising a non-existent brow, Donnie finally realized what she was implying and quickly punched in his number and handed her phone back to Roxanne. Smiling, Roxanne pocketed her phone and bit her lip out of nerves before clearing her throat.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you around, Donatello.” She said before stuffing her hands into her pockets.

With a small smile, Donnie slipped out to the fire escape and turned to face her as she was leaning out the window some. “See you around. Oh, and my friends call me Donnie.”

Roxanne smiled and let out a small snort. “Awesome. Have a good night, and be safe. Don’t need to hear you getting hurt again, Donnie.”

Flashing a rather simple but charming smile, Donnie nodded before flipping off the fire escape and landing on the building across from her’s and running off into the shadows with a whoop. Roxanne watched for a moment as he retreated into the city and for a moment, she felt her heart flutter just a little. Maybe having him crash into her apartment really wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

TMNT Taglist: @asmosshampoo @mysticboombox

#tmnt #tmnt bayverse #tmnt donatello #tmnt donatello x oc #Cut to the Chase Series #Roxanne Chazen #tmnt donnie #bayverse tmnt #bayverse donnie #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #donnie #donatello

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ratralsis · 2 years

Text

Twelve

(Table of Contents)

"Did you ever wish you'd had a son instead of a daughter?" She asked, as they sat in their little boat and stared at their fishing rods.

"No," He said, not turning his head.

There was a long silence. Eventually, she had to break it. "Just no? Is that it?"

"It was not an open-ended question, was it? A simple yes or a no should have been enough."

"Well, before I was born, didn't you ever think of what it'd be like to have a son?" She asked, frustrated.

"Of course," He said, "But that was because it was one of the two most likely possibilities."

"I mean, didn't you want an heir?" She asked. "A son to carry on your legacy someday?"

"Now that," he began, "is something I have thought about quite a lot. All men in this world have a father, and their fathers have fathers, and so on, back for countless generations. Thousands, at least. So, logically, must I. There are thousands of men behind me, all of whom managed to have a son, and yet, here I sit, fishing with my daughter, having been unable or unwilling to do the same."

He laughed, as though he'd shared a great joke with her. She didn't get it. "What happens next is up to you," He said, pointing one finger at her. "If you have children, you can pass on your knowledge to them, or you can choose not to. Or maybe you will not have children at all, and my teachings die with you. I will have done my duty and given you what gifts I can, but they are gifts, and you may do whatever you wish with them. Throw them out, as you did the dress your aunt gave you for your birthday last year."

She flushed slightly. "You're teaching me swordfighting. You're teaching me how to kill people. On top of that, how to sneak around and commit crimes. How to lie. You're telling me you never thought these things would be easier to teach to a son?" She asked.

"You are an excellent student," He said. "Never think otherwise. Though I would point out that it was largely your idea I teach you most of those things. I had originally only wanted to teach you the sword."

"But come on, look at you compared to me," She said. She was taller than her mother now, taller than many adults she knew, but still the top of her head barely came up to her father's chin. "I'll never be as big as you are. I'll never be able to throw a punch or swing a sword as hard as you, or take a punch as well. I probably won't be big enough to use your sword properly."

He shook his head. "How hard do you think you need to punch?" He asked. "And if you want a smaller sword, feel free to melt mine down and reuse it as part of whatever size sword you want. I have done so myself after breaking it in the past. It used to be shorter. My father did not think I would be this tall when he bought it for me."

She ignored that last part. "If someone swings a club and hits you in the ribs with it, you'd be a lot better at shrugging it off than I would be," She said. "I just feel so... I worry I'm never going to be as good as you are."

He blew air out his nose in a long sigh that told her that she had struck a nerve. "No," He said. "You will never be able to take as many hits as I can, or hit someone else as hard as I can. That is true." He idly touched the scars on his shoulder with one gloved hand.

"See?" She asked.

"That kind of strength is overrated," He said. "I was trained in a style of fighting that required brute force to overpower opponents. It is showy and simple and it wins tournaments and gets people killed in real battles. If you want to win your fights, you should focus on striking weak points without being struck yourself. A good sword can cut through a human bone as easily as our knives will cut through the bones of the fish we catch today. Do not worry about learning how to use a staff or a flail, except as much as you need to learn to avoid being hit by them."

He turned away from his fishing rod and looked at her, leaning forward so that his wide hat nearly collided with her head. He pointed at his face. "With a properly aimed punch, you can break my nose here and now. Get a hand on my ear, and you can rip it off. Get a finger in one of my eyes, and you can claim it for yourself with little effort. There is no amount of push-ups I can do, no heavy weight I can lift, that will strengthen my eyes. The human body is covered in such weak spots."

"Yeah, I know," She said. "Or I could go for the groin, if I'm fighting a guy."

"You could," he said, "but you'll be disappointed if you think men who know they're going to get into a fight walk into one without armoring their groin."

She laughed. "Sure, but still, in a real fight, it's not like someone's going to just let me go for their throat or their eyes or whatever."

She could tell that he was smiling behind his mask. "That is exactly the reason I am teaching you," He said. "So you can do it whether they let you or not."

#text post #ratralsis writing #ratralsis short story

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casspurrjoybell-25 · 3 months

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The Healer of Shakkara - Book One

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 5 - Unwelcome - Part 2

"Shit. That was fucked-up. Are you okay?" Triss asked and Galen nodded but the strange feeling hadn't faded and more than anything, the woman's words left him confused.

"Do I really look like them?" he asked, directing his words at Triss.

"Like a Pyrran, I mean?"

Pyrr was one of the most distant regions of the Empire...at least if one traveled from Thryn and the Pyrran goods that came to Dern did so by Edraxi trade ship.

If Galen had ever seen a Pyrran, he didn't know it but Triss had been to the capital at Tal P'Nir and there were all kinds of people there.

Triss shrugged.

"I guess. Most have warm brown skin and dark hair, like you and they're known for their beauty."

"Two out of three, then," Galen said.

Behn made a face.

"Gale, you're prettier than most Thrynian girls."

"Most, huh?" Triss asked and Behn turned the color of a beet.

"Well, not you, obviously, I just mean... in general... you know."

He flapped his hand and Triss narrowed her eyes at him but the corners of her lips twitched.

Galen knew Behn had a crush on Triss.

Triss knew, too and Behn knew they knew but by unspoken agreement none of them ever acknowledged it.

"Anyway," Triss continued, her expression sobering.

"Behn's right. Pyrrans are... prized for their looks. In the capital, at least, if they're not mages, they tend to be..."

"Pillow-slaves?" Galen guessed and Triss grimaced.

"No. Slavery's been illegal in Pyrr since it joined the Empire... on the surface, anyway. But yeah," she added, her voice dropping almost to a whisper.

"That's the idea. More importantly, if people are looking at you and thinking 'Pyrran,' they're also thinking 'magic,' Gale. That's not good."

"So I've heard," he sighed.

"Maybe you should dye your hair," Behn suggested, brightening.

"I could help. My aunt dyes her own wool. I could ask her."

"Is that the same aunt who turned herself blue for a month?"

Triss shoved his shoulder as she pushed herself away from the wall.

"Anyway, I'm hungry. What do you guys say to fried fish kebabs? I saw an Edraxi ship pull in this morning and they always put up a stand."

"Edraxi?" Behn hedged doubtfully.

"Don't they fry things in meal-worm oil?"

Triss winked.

"You'll only know if you ask. Coming, Gale?"

Galen drew a breath and forced a smile.

What he really wanted was to go home but he knew his friends would worry if he did... besides Triss had stood up for him while he'd sat there like a pile of 'turd-biscuits,' as Behn would say.

The least he could do was go along.

"Sure. Edraxi fried vegetables always hit the spot. Probably the worm oil."

He and Triss took turns teasing Behn all the way down to the docks and by the time they arrived, the strange feeling had all but faded.

Still, he couldn't help but notice how much quieter the docks were than usual.

No children ran back and forth along the stone walkways between the water's edge and Dern's high walls and almost no Thrynians traded with the vendors in the market stands lining the narrow space.

The vendors, too, cast wary glances at Triss and Behn, as if unsure whether their appearance meant profit or trouble.

Triss marched up to the dark-skinned Edraxi man tending a food cart and plunked a handful of coins on the table.

"Two fish-kebabs and one fried veggie plate," she said in Sakkaran.

The man blinked coal-black eyes at her and nodded once, before turning away to prepare the order.

While they waited, Galen and Behn sat with their legs hanging off the side of the quay, watching the ships arrive and depart.

The murky water, muddied by the constant river traffic, lapped at the smooth wall of stone, five or six feet below.

It smelled vaguely of lamp oil and fish and the daily morning fog always left a thin, slippery patina of grease on everything.

"Oh, wow. Look at that..." Behn pointed excitedly at a sleek vessel just rounding the bend.

It had a long, pointed bow, narrow sides and triangular sails, the foremost of which was red.

"That's a Sakkaran ship. I wonder what they want in Dern?" he frowned and Galen followed his reasoning.

Sakkara... the heart of the empire... was a two-month journey by the fastest route and Dern was far from the most important town in Thryn.

In fact, it didn't even make the list.

As the vessel drifted nearer, Galen could make out figures on the deck, tossing ropes and other gear as they prepared to dock.

Only one figure stood still, leaning at ease on the gunwale at the bow, as if he had nothing at all better to do.

"Lazy bastard," Behn remarked, spotting the man as well.

"Must be rich. Wonder what he'd come to Dern for?"

Galen could guess.

Even at that distance, he could see the man's shiny black braid over his shoulder and his pale skin glinting like snow in the sun... just as it had in the woods.

Scrambling to his feet, Galen backed away from the water's edge and into the shadows beneath the walls of Dern.

"Gale?" Behn twisted to look at him.

"Are you all right?"

Galen kept his eyes on the ship.

The man hadn't moved and there was no way he'd spotted him from so far off.

Still, he seemed almost to be looking right at him.

"Actually... I'm not feeling so well," he said.

"I think I'd better go home. Tell Triss I'm sorry, okay?"

He turned and slipped away up the path towards the nearest gate, not waiting for Behn to collect himself enough to make a reply.

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liptonsbabe · 2 years

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Time pt3.2 [J.B]

Summary: Your mother's will was about to be opened and you decided to travel to hear it. Jacob thinks he's lost you forever, but a call from Edward brings you back to Forks. A sacred promise will bind you to Bella beyond death.

Word count: idk lol

Warnings: angst. Pure angst. Angst series. I love angst lol

A/N: . If you have some wolfpack request you can drop it in my box! :D Same note as ever english not my mother language so tell me if something is wrong. Enjoy!

The pain of the imprinting continued as the weeks went by, but you got used to it. It was already a constant feeling in your day-to-day life, so you could bear it better and live with it. You talked to Charlie almost every night, when he came home from work til you both had to go to bed. You told your father how much your aunt cared for you and how nice your new neighborhood was. You had managed to clear your mind and even though your heart still ached you could handle it. Charlie had a hard time being without you, but he would eventually get used to it. You heard that something was coming up between him and Sue so you were happy for him and that he wouldn't be so lonely at home anymore. Plus Billy took care of him and helped distract him by taking him fishing every weekend and watching the games together. You had lost track of Jacob and you knew it was for the best. You didn't speak again since that night and you were grateful for it. He was serious about giving you some time to clear your head so you could sort things out when you were ready and return to Forks. What he didn't know was that you weren't coming back, you had already made the decision and told your father that very night when he called you to ask how your day was. Charlie was surprised by the news. "Oh" he said "You seem happy over there, don't you?" "Well, that was the whole point, wasn't it?" "Right." You bit your lip as you fiddled with the little antenna on the phone. "I miss you, Dad, but this is for the best, I guess. I've talked it over with my aunt and together we've been reading some brochures, you know? I'll do what you asked, I'll get into college." "Really, that's great! You should have told me earlier, I could have gone through those brochures too". "I haven't made up my mind yet. If you're willing to help me then I'll send you the information from each school and we'll pick one between the three of us, okay?" "It's a deal." "I'd like your opinion on that, Dad, because all the schools look good, but Bobby says i have to check the syllabus thoroughly. The school he attends is the best by far or at least he thinks." "Wait, Bobby?, the same Bobby you've been telling me about for the last month and a half?, the neighbor?" You smiled, thinking Charlie didn't remember him anymore.

Bobby was the guy who lived across the sidewalk and who mowed the yard at your grandparents' house. The first time you saw him was during the second week of your arrival. He was working on the vines in the garden when you went out there so you could read a book under the shade of the apple tree. Bobby was wearing these big gray overalls stained with mud because he had just planted some roses and the hose had ripped wetting his clothes. He saw you and apologized for the mess with an awkward smile. His copper hair glistened in the sunlight and his cheeks adorned with mud freckles made him look very cute. You accepted his apology and asked him to leave work and take a break because the heat was sweltering. Bobby sheepishly accepted, sat down next to you under the tree and noticed you were reading the book he had finished earlier that morning. "You'll love the ending" He told you. You frowned "Don't spoil it."

"Oh, I didn't mean to tell you what happens. Just...if you're a fan of the story like me then you'll love how it ends. I waited a long time for this book to come out because I love the author's work, did you know that the last summer she came to a book signing at my school library?"

You seemed interested

"Really?" Bobby nodded smiling. His muddy cheeks were funny. "Really. He signed my copy and I have it on the top floor of my bookshelf so no one can touch it." "That's too bad, I would have loved to see it." "Well, I can make an exception" He told you. You smiled "Only if you promise not to tell your aunt about this" he said, pointing to the muddy mess in the middle of the garden "That will cut into my month payment." You laughed. "No problem."

From then on Bobby's visits were constant and while he arranged the flowers you went out to meet him and talked about the book and your favorite parts. You would discuss the characters you loved and the ones you hated. That became a routine and over the months you started going out. It wasn't a romantic relationship, that's what you had told Charlie when you first told him about Bobby. You weren't ready to trust again and being permanently tied to Jacob it was hard to be around another guy. Besides Bobby never tried anything more than that, he always gave you your space and respected his place as a friend, nothing more. You didn't deny that he was a lovely guy and that you felt less pain being with him, but that didn't mean that thinking about Jacob wasn't still a problem. You closed your eyes. Charlie was still waiting for an answer. "That one. He told me wonderful things about his school and I think I want to choose that one. He's already a college student and he thinks if I decide now he can talk to the principal and grant me a spot, what do you think?" "I think that Bobby guy is trying something with you." "Dad." "Don't you think so?" "It doesn't matter if those are his intentions. I've made it clear to him the way I see him and he hasn't tried anything weird, so I like to think his friendship is sincere, could you back me up on this?" "Just saying." After that the conversation went on like any other. Charlie didn't mention Bobby again and in return he let you know his concern for Bella. He told you that he hadn't managed to talk to her lately and the last time he did she seemed distressed. "I'm worried, (Y/N)." "Why?, isn't this a normal thing? Bella is a married woman now, I think it's normal for her to want to spend some time alone with Edward. After all it’s her honeymoon." "That's not what I'm saying to. The last time she took one of my calls I heard her differently. I can be paranoid sometimes but I can recognize when something isn't right with my daughters and I know there is something wrong with Bella. Maybe she's sick or had an accident, I don't know. You know your sister is very prone to getting hurt in some way or another."

"I don't think that's the case. She probably caught something during her trip, i can understand that, but I know Edward takes care of her as much as he can." "Yeah, that may be it." "Don't worry too much, okay? Bella is fine, I assure you" "Okay." Yo chatted for a few minutes, then Charlie felt tired and decided to go to sleep. You said your goodbyes and as you were about to go to sleep too a call alerted you. You stood still as you heard his voice. A voice so icy that it sent shivers down your spine. It had been two months since you had listened to him so closely and the funereal tone in which he spoke robbed you of sleep. You clenched the phone tightly and frowned as if he could see your annoyance on the other end of the speaker. "Edward? What the hell, are you out of your mind? You scared me half to death!" "(Y/N), I need you to come back." "What?" "I need you here in Forks. We need you." "In Forks? I thought you were on your honeymoon with Bella?" "There was a problem and we had to come back." "So Charlie's concerns were right? Bella's sick? is he hurt? You didn't take care of her like you should have, did you? What did she broke this time?" "Bella's not sick." "Then what-?" "She's pregnant." You felt the blood leave your body for a second. Then your stomach twisted in a feeling of panic that morphed into one of disbelief. "Yeah, right." "I'm serious. She-" "How is that fucking possible?" "I don't know, I swear I don't know. We had to go back and Carlisle can't explain how it could happen either. I mean...it's not normal." "That word stopped making sense a long time ago. Edward, what the hell-?" "I just...I need you to come over,Bella...she...decided to go through with this and it's too dangerous. That thing is hurting her, it's destroying her from the inside." Suddenly your head spun. You understood that Edward was serious and that this pregnancy was really happening. "Does Charlie know?" "We haven't wanted to tell him yet. If something goes wrong..." "Don't treat it like a reality. She can still be saved. Don't want to treat this like her funeral arrangements, I won't let you." You hung up the call. You were upset and the room began to spin. Something was wrong with Bella, Charlie's assumptions turned out to be true and it was very likely that your sister couldn't handle that pregnancy. You ran out of bed to the bathroom and threw back your dinner. Your stomach felt sick at the news and because your life seemed to want to tie you to Forks. You sat on the bathroom floor and rested your head against the wall, what were you going to do? You couldn't just walk away and pretend everything was fine, you couldn't tell your aunt the truth either because then she would talk to Charlie and everything would go to hell. So you knew your only option was to get out of Tennessee as soon as possible, lie to your aunt about your whereabouts and be cautious so Charlie wouldn't see you hanging around Forks.

God, everything was so complicated that you started to cry. Bella was pregnant, you were going to be an aunt and your sister probably wouldn't survive the birth. Not when what was inside her seemed to want to kill her at every second. You got up and shakily made your way to the phone and dialed Bobby's number. He answered almost immediately and was alarmed by the way your voice trembled. "Help me" you whispered. You heard Bobby get out of bed "I have to get back to my sister's, but my aunt must not know, could you do something for me?" Bobby grunted an affirmation. "Count me in."

The next day you were already riding on a plane, your eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and your stomach growling from nausea. Bobby had done an amazing job with your aunt. Later that evening Bobby called her and explained that his family was going on a trip and that he would like you to go with them so he could get you better acquainted with the place. Your aunt seemed puzzled by the idea, but agreed because she trusted Bobby completely and his family was honest and had known each other for a long time. Plus your aunt thought you needed to make new friends and feel more comfortable with your new life. So she agreed to let you go away for a week, but asked you to let Charlie know so he wouldn't worry. You did and convincing Charlie was easier than you imagined. For him if that trip helped you heal then he would accept it. He didn't know Bobby, but if your aunt did then there was no problem. The next morning you got into Bobby's car, his parents were in the back and together they went to drop you off at the airport (Bobby's parents knew nothing about the lie and to them it was you who would make the trip back to Forks while they went on a cruise together. Bobby would be staying at a friend's house in the meantime). When the plane landed the Cullen's jeep was already waiting for you. Edward met you and with his brother Emmett you got into the car and drove off as fast as possible. You looked out the window, it all seemed like a nightmare. "I thought you were going to change her after the wedding" you said. Edward looked at you fleetingly "Bella and I talked about it, we would let some time pass before that happened." "You decided that for her. Bella wanted to change even before she became your wife" "I couldn't do that to her" "Maybe if you had been brave this wouldn't have happened." "No one could have known this was going to happen." "Not even Alice?" Edward tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Emmett jumped out as they parked behind the house. "Not even her." Without wasting any time you got out of the Jepp and walked inside the house. Your heart was beating fast and you began to looking for Bella with your eyes. You crossed the living room in three strides and followed Rosalie who had seen you coming and came out to meet you. You went upstairs and sitting on the couch covered with the blanket Renee had made for her was Bella, looking like death and her belly about to burst. She looked up at you. Her sunken eyes glistened with tears. "We'll let you talk."

Rosalie came out of the room and with her disappeared Alice, Jasper and Carlisle who greeted you with a lopsided smile. You approached slowly thinking that this was crazy. Bella smiled at you. "Hello." "Hi." "I thought you were in Tennessee, what are you doing here?" "I came to see you." You walked over to her and sat down next to her stealing part of her blanket. Bella snuggled up next to you and your hand touched Bella's belly. It felt hard, cold and doughy. Your mouth went dry. "I always liked Renee's t-shirts. They're so beautiful." "They are. Mom did a great job with the quilt. I actually thought that it wouldn't be very useful in the winter cause the shirts are thin, but Mom managed to put a little extra cotton in between the seams. It's warm, when I sleep I feel like it hugs me." "I’m jealous." "She didn't use all of them on me. She saved a few to make you a quilt too. Mom knows you like her t-shirts as much as I do, so it was a surprise she had in store for you when you got married, so try to act surprised when that happens." "There's still plenty of time." "Charlie told me you traveled to hear your mother's will." "I did." "Was there anything interesting?" "She inherited me grandparents' house" Bella looked at you in surprise. You stroked her belly "The one we always went to, remember?" "Of course, I loved that place" "I was living there. It's... just like before, hardly anything has changed and Grandpa kept our drawings after all this time, can you believe it?" "He was a good man" "He was." "Are you happy there?" he asked you. A lump closed your throat "I think so." Bella kept silent and looked at you sideways. Your heart ached because your sister had never shown herself to be this fragile. You were afraid to move and have her hurt or have the baby try to kill her right then. You didn't know what to do. Bella pressed herself tighter against you "Why?" "Why what?" "If you're happy in Tennessee, why did you come back?" "I wanted to see you." "Even after what happened? After Jacob...?" "No matter what happens between us, I'll always want to see you." You lifted your legs and hid them in the blanket. Bella swooped down on you "I know you fought with Jacob. That was my fault." "We all make choices, Bella. Maybe good or bad but they are still choices after all and that's our responsibility, no one else's. My decision was to stay with him even though I knew he loved you and the consequence of that was getting hurt. I don't blame you, you and Edward are happy together and he was the one you chose." "And now he seems to hate me." "Why do you say that?" "Cause I decided to keep it" she said referring to the baby "The reason we came back was because Edward wanted Carlisle to try to take it out but I wouldn't let him. Rosalie was a big help, but Edward has been upset ever since. He thinks I won't be able to make it, that my baby will end up killing me and that's why he brought you here." "Edward didn't bring me, I decided to come." "Because he told you what happened" "He's worried." "He's trying to get you to change my mind" You looked at her, Bella looked very tired "That's why he asked you to come" "I would never persuade you to stop doing what you think is right. This is your decision, Bella. I didn't object to you going back to Edward after he ditched you, nor did I try to change your mind when you traveled to Italy to save him or when you came back and said you wanted to marry him. They have been your decisions, Bells and I never interfered with them. I didn't do it before I won't do it now." With that Bella seemed to let her guard down and rest on your shoulder. That had been too tiring for her and all she needed was someone to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that her decisions were not wrong but risky. You were silent for a while until Bella raised her head and looked at you. "When was it that we stopped being like this?, when did we stop being so close?" "Since you came to Forks, I think. At first everything was fine, we hung out together and took lots of pictures with dad's old camera" You smiled wistfully "But then you found Edward and everything changed. Your world centered around him and... I don't know, Bella. My aunt told me that maybe i was jealous of Edward for taking you away from me and til now I didn't think about that possibility but I think she's right. I... I just wanted to have you to myself after all this time, that's all."

"I'm sorry." "Don't be. It's silly. It was logical that at some point we would both go our separate ways. And look at us now. I'm going to be an aunt and that's all that matters." "Don't you hate me?, don't you hate me for what happened with Jacob?" "I couldn't. But if you name your little one after me I'll feel a little better." Bella smiled as she caressed her belly. "I've actually thought about that. If it's a girl I'd like her to have your name and mom and Esme's name intertwined..." "That would be nice." "If it's a boy then Edward and Jacob's names." "That's not so much." Bella laughed. "I'll make it work" “I know you will." Bella smiled, this time with less encouragement. "I would’ve liked to see my child growing up." "Who says you won't?" "Apparently everyone" she replied "Edward's pessimistic about it even if he doesn't say so." "I thought he'd change you after you got married." "He's worried about my soul and Carlisle doesn't think it’s possible he can inject me with the poison without killing me. I’m scared, (Y/N) of dying and that in Edward grow a feeling of hatred about our son. I couldn't... I couldn't bear it. At night I think that Charlie could do it, that he would take care of the baby if necessary but if it’s born a vampire or something dangerous to dad then I would be condemning him. I don't know, (Y/N), I don't know." Bella started to cry and your heart ached "I could do it" you whispered. Bella looked at you "Take care of the baby. Edward can change me" "He would never do it" "Why?, he shouldn’t care for my soul. It's my decision, I want to" "I couldn't ask you to do that" "Don't do it, then. And it doesn't matter if Edward doesn't want to change me. I'll ask Emmett, or Jasper, or the Vulturi, it doesn't matter who it is, but that baby will have me by it’s side, Bella, I promise you." Her eyes sparkled with tears. "You would do that for me?" "You're my sister, Bella. I can give you my life and your baby...to your child I will give my eternity, it’s okay, sister, i’m right here ." You embraced. Emotions got the better of you and you cried inconsolably. That was more than a farewell, it was a promise that would unite you beyond death. You were scared, you had never considered living forever, but if Bella needed that to have some peace then you would do it no matter the conditions. The afternoon passed and the Cullens relaxed to see Bella so calm in your arms. Edward was still worried and your conversation had done nothing but get on his nerves. Suddenly you spoke. "I must think about what I'm going to tell my aunt, why I'm not coming back. I think it's best to tell Bobby the truth, ask him to lie about it and tell my aunt that I died during the trip. Maybe I got eaten by a bear or something. Dad will be sad but-" "Bobby?" asked Bella "Who is it?" Your cheeks burned "A boy I met." "Oh." An awkward silence emerge "What about Jacob?" "What about him?" "Now that you and this new guy are dating..." "Oh, no, no, we're not dating. I mean, yes we are but as a friends only." "That's what I meant but you got nervous." "No, I didn't." "Yes you did." "Do you like him?" "Should I?" Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe." "And what would happen to the bond? Wouldn't that be the same as breaking it? "Not necessarily. Jake once told me that imprinting didn't mean a loving relationship in all cases. You can have that same bond but be friends. You know, friends who hang out together and do fun things. That would keep you from feeling pain being away." "Oh." "Yeah."

Your thoughts wandered on that possibility. Was it a good idea to propose such a thing to Jacob? Maybe it was. It would be extremely difficult but it was better that than to be enduring a pain that wouldn't go away with anything. You were about to suggest Bella to eat something when the Quileute man entered the room and stared at you. His jaw was clenched and his fists were tense. Bella waved at him but he didn't replied. "Charlie didn't tell me you were coming." "I didn't tell him." "He doesn't know you're here?" "No and you won't be the one to tell him" Bella glared at you. You didn't want to give her any more worries so you grabbed Jacob by the arm and dragged him outside "Come here" "I overheard your conversation" he said. You sighed "Are you really going to do it?, are you going to let that bloodsucker change you?" "Yes, I'm going to let him do it" "Why?" "Because it's the right thing to do" you lowered your voice not wanting your sister to hear "I want Bella to feel support and gather strength to get through this. Maybe she won't make it, maybe she can't handle it, but at least she'll have the assurance that I'll be there" "You don't mean that" "I'm dead serious" Jacob was desperate "And what will you tell your father?" "I have to think about that. I'll think of something" "Don't" he pleaded and took your hands. He moved closer to you and you felt his warmth embrace you. You tried to pull away but your body was still weak against the bond "Please don't give this up. Stay with me." "Jacob-" "I love you and I understand that you are upset with me for everything that happened. I accept that you need time and I'm willing to stay away as long as it takes, but please..." "Jacob, I don't want you to wait for me anymore" you said releasing yourself from his grip "I already made a decision and even if it doesn't work out...if Bella survives and I don't have to become a vampire...I met someone and I want to know how far that can go." "(Y/N)..." "I know that imprinting works in different ways. That it is not necessary to be in a relationship to avoid the pain of being apart. Soul mates come in many different ways, Jacob and I want to believe that ours are intertwined as friends. Maybe if I had understood that earlier all of this wouldn't have happened." "I can change things, make amends" he asked. His eyes glistening with tears pierced your heart. It was going to be hard for both of you, but you needed to set the record straight before you took the next step. You were doing it for you, for Bella, for your nephew and for Jacob. You stroked his arm showing that even if you had hurt each other badly in the past now everything would be different. "Don't. Forget what happened and... accept my decision. Please." Jacob nodded, wiped away his tears and avoided looking at you. "If you become one of them we'll be enemies." You smiled. "Then there will be a stronger bond that will bind us forever."

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I’m sorry, i couldn’t tag some of u guys :(

#jacob black #jacob black imagine #jacob black imagines #jacob black x reader #twilight saga #quileute wolfpack #quileute wolfpack imagines #sam uley #Quil Ateara #sam uley imagine #paul lahote #paul lahote imagines #twilight cast #wolfpack imagines #wolfpack x reader

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noctumbra · 3 years

Text

𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍

summary ─ “i’m so glad that we came across to each other,” bucky said. “it really felt nice to catch up with you, to talk to you.”

pairing ─ fuckboy!teacher!bucky barnes x reader

warnings ─ fluff, seeing each other after yeeeears later, coffee shop conversations, catching up, EPILOGUE

a/n ─ i said i wasn’t sure about writing this but i couldn’t stop myself because i want this soft and sweet closure for them without tears lol. thank you for all the love you’ve given me throughout this trilogy series. i’m really thankful. also i’m sorry for making y’all cry a lot djhfdjhf. this is the epilogue. hope you like it. please leave a comment if you do! thank you! i love you all <3

previous part ─ series masterlist

TEN YEARS LATER

You exhaled a sigh of relief as you threw yourself into your favorite coffee shop, finally getting the chance to escape from the scorching heat of the sun. Stepping away from the door, you closed your eyes for a second. The cool breeze of the air conditioning was hitting your face so nicely, you felt like you could cry.

Shivering lightly, you opened your eyes and walked towards the short line in front of the register. You deserved a grande coffee after the very busy day you had. Your eyes were hurting slightly because you’ve been looking at the computer screen for hours now.

“Thank fuck the weekend is here,” you murmured to yourself as you fished your wallet out. You heard the guy in front of you humming in an approving way, and you froze for a second. “I should have whispered,” you said, and the guy chuckled this time. Grimacing to yourself, you decided to shut up.

As you waited for your turn, you started to watch people around you. Everyone was either tired-looking or way-too-jittery-looking because of all the caffeine and sweets. Most of them had come here with a friend, you realized and frowned lightly. Inhaling the freshly brewed coffee smell deeply, you moved your eyes to the guy in front of you.

He was tall. He had dark brown, mid-length hair, it was a bit longer than mid-length, though, you noted. He had whites peppered in it, and it looked good. He had a navy colored suit on him. The suit jacket was hugging his broad shoulders very nicely, and the suit pants he had on was complimenting his thick thighs. You hummed silently to yourself. You moved two steps forward, eyes still on the guy, as the people on the register was done with their order. It was the guy’s turn.

“Hello,” he murmured, and you felt a lick of familiarity. “Can I get a black coffee, grande?” You frowned. The guy’s voice was familiar. You watched him grabbing a small protein bar. “And this.” The boy at the register nodded as he punched in the order, and the guy in front of you pulled his wallet to pay.

You saw the hand tattoo. Your eyes widened.

“Name?” The boy asked. The guy looked up briefly.

“James.” You watched his hand as he pulled out some money and gave them to the boy. He was wearing the rings from─

“Bucky?” You asked, surprise audible in your voice. Bucky startled, his shoulders went stiff and he turned around. His baby blue eyes bored into yours as they widened with surprised.

“Y/N?” He breathed. “Oh my God.” You let out a chuckle.

“There you go,” the boy said, handing out the extra money. Bucky cursed lightly as he took the money and stepped aside. Just as he opened his mouth, his name was called. You saw him clenching his jaw. Your smile widened. “What can I get you?” You blinked, returning to the real world.

“Cappuccino, grande. Non-lactose milk, please. No foam,” you said your order and handed out the money. The boy nodded. “Y/N,” you gave him your name without him asking for it. The boy worked quick; he told your order and gave your cup to the barista and handed some of your money back. You bid him good day before you walked towards where Bucky was still standing.

Goddamn, you thought. He looked good.

The whites in his hair were also in his stubble, covering his chin slightly. He looked grown, albeit a bit older, and the crinkles around his eyes made him look more handsome than he normally was.

“Holy crap, Y/N,” Bucky said, his eyes moving up and down on your body. “I can’t believe you still look as gorgeous as before.” You chuckled, feeling the heat rushing to your cheeks after literal years. “Not that I expected you to look bad, by the way,” he said, rolling his eyes. You smiled. You grabbed your coffee when barista called out for you and turned to Bucky.

“Wanna recharge together in one of those tables?” You asked, pointing at the coffees. Bucky chuckled and nodded.

“Of course!” He said. “I would love to.”

Both of you walked towards an empty table near the café windows. After you settled, you looked at him. He looked happy, you realized. He didn’t look haunted or sad anymore. He looked healthy and happy if not a little tired.

“You look great,” you said softly. “You don’t look so… sad anymore.” Bucky smiled. Taking a sip from his coffee, he nodded lightly.

“I’m… good,” he decided to say. “I swore not to lie to you again and I’m not gonna start that now,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t so good after our last talk, but time helped.” Bucky shrugged, his fingers were playing with his coffee cup. “I had time to focus on myself, and then my job. It kept me busy but also gave me some time to heal. So, I’m good.”

You smiled fondly at him. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” you murmured. “You deserve to be good, Bucky. I’m glad you’re now. I just hope you’ll be better soon.” You watched him blush, your smile widened and turned soft.

Bucky shook himself and straightened up on his seat. “Tell me what you’ve been up to,” he said, excitement shining in his eyes. “I haven’t seen you for ten years. Are you a cat mom or dog mom or a real one?” You let out a surprised laugh.

“Bold of you to assume I want to be a mother, Buchanan,” you deadpanned. Bucky grinned toothily. “…I have a cat,” then you added. Bucky chuckled.

“Knew it,” he said, snapping his fingers. You rolled your eyes. “’s fine. I have an asshole for myself waiting me at home.” He rolled his eyes like you. “I swear he hates me and wants to kill me, but he doesn’t because I feed him.” You laughed, almost snorting out your cappuccino. Bucky grimaced at himself and then chuckled.

“Murderous cats,” you muttered. “I had an encounter with them once or twice.” You nodded seriously. “She tried to trip me and scared me to the death, so.” Bucky giggled. “She’s the cutest, though.” Bucky smiled. He knew that feeling all too well. You sighed.

“How’s teaching? I see that you kept your tattoos, but goodbye piercings?” You asked, eyebrows high on your forehead. Bucky grunted. It wasn’t a happy sound.

“Apparently, me having piercings might provoke the students to get the same look? They told that I cover my tattoos with my clothing but can’t hide my piercings, so they had to go. ‘s bullshit.”

“…It is,” you agreed because it was. “Your hand and neck tattoos are visible, and they were troubled with your piercings? Yup, bullshit.” He grunted again and sipped his coffee.

“Love the students, though,” he added without you asking. “They’re dumb sometimes and goofy almost all the time, but I love them.” He smiled. You could see that he really did love his students. He was great with children ─shocking, yes─ and seeing him being happy with his work was making you happy.

“I’m glad to hear that. You were weirdly good with kids,” you said, looking at him over your coffee. Bucky narrowed his eyes. “It was cute, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t expect from someone who looked the way you did back in college and be good with kids. I was shocked when I learned that you were going to be a teacher.” Bucky snorted.

“I love teaching,” he defended himself with a faux-offended face. You grinned. “I enjoy telling them things that make them go ‘wow’ and love seeing them use what I taught.” He shrugged. “How is editing?”

“Ughhhh,” you groaned. “Don’t get me started.” He looked at you, eyes wide and half-grin visible on his face.

“Oh, okay,” he said and then giggled. “I feel like you have a lot of feelings bottled up in there.” He pointed your head, and you grunted like he did a couple minutes ago.

“People who don’t even know punctuation are sending me their works, and they are brave enough to tell me that they wanted it published.” Grunting even more, you sipped your coffee. “It’s a pain to read all the cringy, too fast moving works and editing. It feels like I’m re-writing their whole work.” Bucky frowned slightly, tilting his head to his side.

“Why do you work there, then?” He asked. “You could go back to school and do something extra? Or become a professor there?” You eyed him.

“I’ve been thinking about that for some time, now, to be honest,” you admitted. It wasn’t a lie; you were thinking about going back to school and maybe spend a couple years there and start teaching. “Been looking up my options. I’m still not quite sure, but the idea is there.”

“Well,” Bucky said, draining his coffee. “Let me know. I might be able to help in some way, maybe.” You smiled.

“Thank you, Bucky,” you murmured. He sent you a cheeky wink. “Tell me more!” You exclaimed. “You told me you’re a cat dad, what else?”

“I’m an uncle,” he said and then wiggled on his seat because it still made him giddy. “I have like two nieces now, my sisters like to procreate.” You chuckled. “Oh, do you know Sam Wilson?” You frowned.

“From Psychology Department?” He nodded. “Yeah, I saw him a couple times.” Putting your cup aside, you leaned forward. “What about him?”

“He got married to Natasha, the Russian Literature girl? The one that we both found scarily hot?” Giggling, you nodded. He grinned. “Well, they’re married now, and have a daughter.”

“No shit,” you said.

“Yes shit,” Bucky kept grinning. “Steve’s gonna get married in two months. Someone called Sharon Carter─”

“Wait, is her aunt Peggy Carter?” Bucky frowned, but nodded. “Holy shit, I work at Carter Publishing. She’s my boss.” Bucky laughed.

“Okay, nice coincidence,” he murmured.

“Damn,” you whispered, making him laugh again. “Give me more gossip, please. I’m obviously hiding under a rock.” Smiling, Bucky leaned forward on the table, too.

“Alright, hear me out.”

─

You talked about everything and anything for hours.

Bucky talked about his job, about his students and his plans for future which included going back to school and becoming a professor or something, so that he could teach at a university. He also said that he was going to miss his ‘high school dumbasses’, but he wanted to become better at what he was doing. He also talked about his siblings, he had three sisters, and his parents a little. He showed you a couple pictures of his cat, a very pretty white cat named Alpine, and his parent’s dogs, two German Shepherds.

“They’re so handsome,” you exclaimed when you saw them. Bucky chuckled.

“They are,” he agreed. “They’re also old.”

“Bleh,” you blurted, making him laugh. You felt a satisfying, warm bubble building up in your chest as you bit your lip and watched him laugh. Your feelings for him were still there, still present. You never stopped loving him, and you knew you were always going to love him. He was the one for you, but your story wasn’t meant to be end together. You knew and accepted that now.

You told him about your life, your job and future plans, too. You talked about your doubts about going back to school, and Bucky somehow helped you soothe them. He encouraged you, told you that you were going to be amazing and it wasn’t late for you to go back to school. You thanked him as you moved onto talk about your cat. You showed him a picture like he did to you.

“You have a Siamese!” He cried out. “Damn, he is handsome.” You chuckled.

“He is, but he’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever known,” you grumbled. Bucky giggled.

“Hey, cats are cats. They meant to be assholes,” he said.

“Hear, hear.” Both of you chuckled.

The silence fell between you was a happy and content one. You talked about things, made each other laugh and smile, and both of you saw that how much the other had grown. It was nice. Seeing him was nice.

“I know I apologized before, but I want to apologize again,” Bucky murmured softly after a while of silence. “I’m sorry for making you cry and for hurting you. You didn’t deserve any of the shit I put you through. I was an asshole, I know and see that now,” he added. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.” You smiled. Reaching out, you held his warm and large hand. The sense of familiarity consumed you.

“I have forgiven you years ago, James,” you murmured as softly as he did. He squeezed your hand. “Things happened, but both of us were still children.” Your smile became a little sad. “Obviously, we weren’t meant to be. I wish we were, though. I wish we were meant to be, but we are not. It’s okay. You’ve apologized before and owned up your mistakes. Thank you. I forgive you.” Bucky’s hold in your hand tightened just a bit more. You squeezed it right back. “I forgive you. It’s alright. We’re alright.”

Bucky took a deep breath. You could see that he felt lighter. His guilt must have been eating him alive, you realized, and your heart gave a painful thud at the thought.

“You have no idea how good it feels to hear that,” he said, slightly breathless. You just held his hand tighter and smiled wider. “I wish we were meant to be, too, Y/N. I─” He paused briefly. “I still love you. I have never stopped loving you, and I probably will never stop loving you. No one was you, and I doubt that someone will ever be you. I know now that we’ve grown out of each other. We might still love, yes, but…”

“It’s not enough anymore because even though we still love each other, that train took off,” you finished. He nodded. “So much has happened, and it changed us. Yes, Bucky, I get it. I still love you, too, and will always love you, but it’s not enough now.” He nodded again. Both of you sighed, feeling lighter and happier out of a sudden.

“I’m so glad that we came across to each other,” Bucky said. “It really felt nice to catch up with you, to talk to you.”

“Me too,” you agreed immediately. “I─” You held his other hand. “I’ve missed you, Bucky. It was very nice talking to you.” You looked at each other for a couple minutes before pulling back. You ignored how cold and empty your hands felt after he pulled his back. Standing up quietly, you grabbed your things. You walked out of the café together.

“I would like to see you sometimes,” Bucky said. “As friends. I would love to be your friend, Y/N.” You agreed. You didn’t want to deny him anymore. You wanted him in your life.

“I would love that,” you murmured and gave him your number. Bucky added you in his contacts and sent you a text.

“I will see you later, then,” Bucky murmured. It felt so good to say that, he realized. After saying goodbye to you many times, it felt amazing to say that he’d see you later. You smiled fondly.

“I will see you later,” you murmured back. Bucky gave you a nod and a large smile. Both of you bid good night to each other and walked opposite directions on the sidewalk.

This time, it wasn’t a goodbye.

This time, it was a promise to see the other again.

It was a nice, blossoming friendship.

─

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #fuckboy!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes smut #teacher!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #angel

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Note

For your prompts: Mingjue is ace or demi, and somehow between taking over the sect at a very young age and never displaying interest in it, no one ever gave him The Sex Talk. All the aunts and uncles assumed someone else took care of it. Then Huaisang gets to that age. He seems to be very interested in sex. He needs The Sex Talk. Mingjue feels like that should come from him (he's taken care of all the rest pf raising him after all), but he doesn't have the info to do that.

How does Mingjue give him The Sex Talk? Or alternatively, does Huaisang end up already knowing and giving The Talk to his big brother instead?

ao3

“All right,” Nie Mingjue said, sitting down and gesturing for Nie Huaisang to sit down across from him. “I guess we’re going to have to talk about this.”

“I knew this day would come,” Nie Huaisang said, looking unbearably tragic. “I’m going to die of embarrassment before the day is through, da-ge. Won’t you have pity?”

Nie Mingjue knew him too well, though.

“Okay,” he said.

Nie Huaisang frowned at him.

“If it’s too embarrassing to talk about sex, you’re not ready to talk about sex,” Nie Mingjue said with a casual shrug. “We can postpone the conversation to –”

“No! I want to hear about it!” Nie Huaisang scowled at him. “Da-ge, everyone else got the sex talk! You wouldn’t want me to fall behind, would you?”

Nie Mingjue blinked innocently at him. “But Huaisang, you said…”

“Never mind what I said!”

Nie Mingjue tried to maintain his façade of innocent neutrality but quickly cracked in the face of Nie Huaisang’s exasperation; he started laughing.

Nie Huaisang grumbled.

“There’s not much to say,” Nie Mingjue said, wiping his eyes. “And it’s not as if you can’t get by without it, you know. I mean, no one ever gave me the talk.”

Nie Huaisang frowned. “No one? What about A-die? I mean, before…”

“He was busy, and kept postponing it,” Nie Mingjue said, shrugging. “And then he died, and everyone assumed he’d done it already. It’s fine. Everything I needed to learn, I learned from books, and you’re going to do the same.”

“…books.”

“Yep, books.”

Nie Huaisang heaved a sigh. “You’re going to make me learn this incredibly important subject from textbooks? Really, da-ge?”

“I am,” Nie Mingjue said.

“You’re robbing me of a valuable life experience here.”

“I’m so sad for you,” Nie Mingjue said dryly, pulling out a box and spreading out the books he’d obtained just for this purpose. “Now, I know you hate studying, I know you think it’s boring and a waste of time, but I really think in this instance –”

“It’s fine,” Nie Huaisang said quickly. His eyes were fixated on the books in front of him, and for some reason he’d flushed bright red, even though it wasn’t all that hot in the room. “I don’t mind. I’ll study hard, da-ge.”

“I feel like I’ve heard that before once or twice,” Nie Mingjue remarked, then shook his head. “Anyway, I think just one or two –”

“I need all of them.”

Nie Mingjue blinked, sincerely this time. “All of them?” he said, and looked down at the books. “Huaisang, I don’t think you understand. I got a selection so that you could have your pick, but they’re by and large very repetitive; each one more or less describes the same basic acts –”

“I need all of them. For reasons.”

“…all right,” Nie Mingjue said, bemused but generally pleased by Nie Huaisang’s highly unusual enthusiasm for study. “I thought I was robbing you of a valuable life experience?”

“That was before! I didn’t realize the books were going to be spring books,” Nie Huaisang said. He’d grabbed one and flipped it open, staring wide-eyed at one of the illustrations.

“What type of textbook would there be for this subject other than a spring book?” Nie Mingjue asked, wondering – as ever – if he’d missed something. Raising children was hard, and raising Nie Huaisang was harder; everyone agreed. “Anyway, I’m given to understand that the art is a bit exaggerated, especially in terms of proportion, and the accompanying text can use some rather strange metaphors, but fundamentally the acts described appear generally consistent throughout the various sources. For example, if you look at this one, you can see that the woman has –”

“Yes, da-ge, I can see.”

“I’m just pointing it out,” Nie Mingjue said defensively. Nie Huaisang was being especially impossible to understand today. “Anyway, it’s all a bit weird, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Nie Huaisang said. “Very weird. Incredibly weird. You know what, I think I need to think about this privately for a while.”

“I…are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

“If you insist.” Nie Mingjue stood up. “If you have any questions –”

“Yes I’ll be sure to ask you please leave now thank you good-bye.”

Nie Mingjue found himself outside the door to Nie Huaisang’s room, not entirely sure how his much smaller younger brother had managed to push him out so effectively. Maybe some of that saber training was actually having an impact, however spaced out and half-hearted Nie Huaisang’s efforts were.

Cheered by the thought, Nie Mingjue headed back to his office, feeling very good about himself: that wasn’t nearly as awkward as all the other people had made it sound. It’d been no problem at all!

Of course, a few months later, he found out that Nie Huaisang had started buying up spring books like he’d developed a mania for it.

“That seems fine,” he said to the disciple who’d reported it. “I mean, it’s a bit strange, yes, but he’s always been fond of hobbies that involve collecting things. Birds, weird rocks…that sort of thing.”

“I’m not sure it’s…exactly the same,” the disciple said carefully. “But if you’re not concerned, Sect Leader, we’ll just leave it be.”

“…I’ll talk with him,” Nie Mingjue decided, mostly because of the weird expression on the disciple’s face, and the disciple looked relieved.

Later that evening, he followed up on his word.

“Huaisang, I heard you’re buying spring books,” he said, and Nie Huaisang nearly choked on his soup.

“You can’t just bring that up over dinner!” he hissed.

“…why not?”

“You just – can’t!”

“I can, and did,” Nie Mingjue said. “Some of the disciples have expressed some concern about it.”

Nie Huaisang’s shoulders went up by his ears defensively. “Is it because I’m buying cutsleeve books as well as regular books?”

“They sell cutsleeve books? Really?” Nie Mingjue said blankly, temporarily distracted. “I wouldn’t have thought there’d be enough of a market to make the printing worthwhile. Aren't they supposed to be relatively uncommon? …anyway, no, it’s not about that.”

“…you don’t mind?”

“Why would I mind?” Nie Mingjue said, puzzled. “I’m glad you’re expanding your horizons.”

“You…are?” Nie Huaisang was blinking rapidly.

“I mean, you’re reading? Reading is good. I’m always happy when you advance your scholarly pursuits,” Nie Mingjue said. “I mean, I’d still like it if you spent a bit more time on your saber…”

“Wait,” Nie Huaisang said hastily, clearly wanting to avoid the subject of his saber training. “If you don’t mind the fact that I’m buying them, or the content, what is the concern?”

“Mostly quantity, I think?” Nie Mingjue hadn’t been able to figure it out either. “You’ve exceeded your allowance twice already, and really, how many books recounting the same exact content can you really need?”

“It’s not quite the same content,” Nie Huaisang said. “There are different…scenarios.”

“Yes, but it all leads to the same place in the end, doesn’t it? Hand, mouth, front, back, inside or outside; you read one, you’ve read them all. Though I guess the cutsleeve ones are different?”

“Not really,” Nie Huaisang admitted. “But maybe take a look anyway? Maybe you’ll like those better…here, come up to my room.”

Nie Huaisang had, apparently, started in on making quite a collection, and from the way he puttered around trying to find the right ones to share, seemed to be in the process of becoming a little connoisseur. It was pretty adorable, actually; Nie Mingjue couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Nie Huaisang so enthusiastic.

“Having two spears involved does seem to make it a bit more awkward,” he concluded after paging through a few. “And obviously you can’t do it from the front in the same way, but other than that the mechanics generally seem the same. I suppose there’s really only so many ways you can twist the human body…”

“How about this one, then?” Nie Huaisang said, offering up a book about mirror grinders sharing a toy between them. “Twice the young ladies involved!”

“That seems even less efficient. If they wanted to be penetrated, why be a mirror grinder instead of finding a man?”

Nie Huaisang seemed somewhat taken aback by the question. “Maybe they just fell in love with another woman first?” he eventually suggested.

That seemed reasonable enough, so Nie Mingjue nodded agreeably. “Makes sense that they’d use a toy, then. Otherwise wouldn't they be stuck with using just mouths and hands? Though I suppose there’s always the eponymous grinding motion, too.”

Nie Huaisang reached over and put his hand in Nie Mingjue’s lap.

“Huaisang! What are you doing?”

“Just checking,” Nie Huaisang said, rubbing the back of his head. “You’re really not…Wait, let me find you some others. Maybe you’ll like these better – they have more scenario involved.”

Truly Nie Huaisang had a wide collection. There were solo stories, coupled stories, stories involved groups of three or more, stories involving people being tied up or doing the tying, one story involving whips and pinching nails that Nie Mingjue initially thought was a torture manual that had gotten mixed in by mistake except for how the receiving party seemed extremely enthusiastic about it. There was even one involving –

“Fish?”

“Tentacles.”

“People want to fuck fish?”

“It’s not – you know what, I don’t know, maybe they do,” Nie Huaisang said, throwing up his hands. “Octopi are a surprisingly popular subject along the coast, and some of the artwork from Dongying features it.”

“You have works from Dongying?” Nie Mingjue asked, impressed. It wasn’t every young man’s hobby that involved international commerce. “You’re really turning into a collector, Huaisang.”

“I’m not – it’s not –” Nie Huaisang grimaced. “You know what, maybe the disciples are right and I should cut down on purchasing so many.”

“Why? If you’re enjoying your new hobby –”

“There’s a difference between being known as the guy who has some good spring books and being known as the guy who collects spring books as a hobby. The latter just sounds pathetic.”

Nie Mingjue wasn’t entirely sure about that.

“Well, it’s up to you,” he said, and started to get up to leave, only to have Nie Huaisang tug on his hand.

“Da-ge, I have a question.”

Nie Mingjue sat back down.

“Have you ever…?” Nie Huaisang nodded at the books.

“No,” Nie Mingjue said, wrinkling his nose a bit at the thought. “It seems like more trouble than it’s worth, really.”

“What about…uh…” He gestured at one in particular. Nie Mingjue leaned over and checked; it was one of the ones featuring a single man touching himself. “Do you…?”

“Oh, sure,” Nie Mingjue said. “Every once in a while. Don't most people? But there’s rather a difference between doing that and having to get up close and personal with someone else’s genitals, isn’t there? We all wipe our own asses after we shit, but that doesn’t mean we do it for other people.” He gave Nie Huaisang a pointed look. “Present company excluded.”

“I was a baby, it doesn’t count,” Nie Huaisang hissed at him. “Never bring it up again.”

Nie Mingjue smirked at him.

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes dramatically. “Da-ge, you’re hopeless. One day you’ll find someone you like enough to try it with!”

“Maybe,” Nie Mingjue said. “Maybe not. It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“Uh, yes it does! You’re going to have kids, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Nie Mingjue said, hesitating a little. “Huaisang, you’re my heir.”

“I know that! I’m in line until you have kids of your own to inherit…why are you shaking your head?”

“You’re going to inherit after me,” Nie Mingjue said, as gently as he could. “I’m probably not going to have kids, but even if I did, I’d arrange it so that they’d be part of the branch family, not the main line. I want you to inherit.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes were going wide.

No, it was too early to tell him about the saber spirits, Nie Mingjue thought to himself. About their family's horrible temper and his private suspicion that the temper and the qi deviations fed into each other; his conviction that Nie Huaisang would be a better sect leader than him, a better continuation for their line than him, and his determination to make sure that the next generation of Nie sect leaders didn't have to fear a shortened life the way he did. He’d tell him that later, sometime. Today was a good day, there was no point in spoiling it.

“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked instead. “I mean, you have such a wide variety here; don’t tell me you’re solely interested in cut-sleeves…?”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said. “No, I like – everything.”

“Well, then,” Nie Mingjue said. “There should be no problem, then. If you end up with a woman, have some kids; if you end up with a man, take a concubine. Either way, you’ll get an heir.” He frowned. “Assuming you don’t mind –”

“No, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said, and he sounded incredibly long-suffering. “I think I’ll manage to have sex, somehow.”

“Well, I mean, if you’re thinking about actually going ahead and trying it out, that’s a whole different conversation we need to have, as opposed to the talk about what it is. You need to be careful about it –”

“Ugh, da-ge, please, no –”

“I’m not going to lecture! Just don’t overdo it or anything. You don’t want to end up with a thousand bastards like Sect Leader Jin –”

“Gross! No!”

“– or with all sorts of diseases –”

“Da-ge!”

“– or with a reputation for being a dissolute or a –”

“I will only have sex with someone I love,” Nie Huaisang announced. “Or at least mildly care for. A nice clean person who likes me back. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“More or less,” Nie Mingjue said, and glanced down at the books. “Say, Huaisang. You know so much about this. Have you ever…”

“Do you have a question?” Nie Huaisang scooted forward. “Ask away, da-ge!”

Nie Mingjue flicked his forehead. “Not a substantive one. But have you ever thought about making your own? You’re a perfectly good artist, and you’re very imaginative; I’m sure you could come up with some scenarios of your own that might be very interesting.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes were wide. “I could, couldn’t I?” he said, marveling, and then suddenly jumped up and dashed over to grab some paper. “Oh, I could! I could – and that – and – and..!”

Nie Mingjue decided to retreat, smiling proudly to himself.

Reading and writing, he thought happily. They’d probably never get a warrior out of Nie Huaisang, but there might be a scholar in him yet!

#mdzs #nie huaisang #nie mingjue #my fic #my fics #the talk

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the-broken-truth · 3 years

Note

Alcina headcanon / male reader, please! on how the reader treats his sweet wife and his adorable princess daughters. 👨/🐾 (WOLF)/👑

Broken Truth: WOLF ROYAL!!! I've been waiting for the chance to write about a royal and I have the perfect words for this, so let them weave together!!!

[Location: The Unknown Kingdom in Romania]

The loud but slow creak of the grand doors of the castle rung out as they were pushed inward by two massive hands that were covered in first with claws for fingers and pads on the bottom of each finger and thumb. The creaking came to a stop when the doors opened completely and a large figure stepped foot in the grand place with a wide smile upon his face.

"I am home!" He howled out with a smile on his face, that smile widened when the two large triangular ears on top of his head locked on to the sounds of 3 sets of feet running to his location from 3 different directions but they all reached him at the same time which made his tail wag with happiness.

"PAPA!" The voices of 3 females called out as the young women leaped in the arms of the large humanoid wolf dressed in royal garments.

"My Girls!" He barked as he wrapped his arms around the 3 smaller figures, "I am happy to see you all." He smiled at the girls in his arms.

"You're late, Papa!" The Blonde-Haired Girl said as she glared at her father with a pout on her face.

"I know. Please forgive me, Bela; the council meeting was longer than I thought it was going to be and the Grand Elder needed to speak with the other Royal Alphas about something important." He said to his eldest.

"Grandpa was at the Council Meeting, too?" The brown-haired daughter asked.

"He was, Cassandra. He is the Grand Elder, thus he needs to be there to make sure there is no fighting at the council meetings." He explained.

"What was the situation this time? Did Uncle Alastor cause trouble again?" asked the red-haired daughter.

"That he did, Dani. You know your uncle is always known for causing trouble. Speaking of which - did your uncles Salvatore or Karl come by while I was away? Or Aunt Donna?" The large wolf asked as he sat his daughter upon their feet.

"No, sir. Our Aunts and Uncles are still dealing with the village repairs; they did send a letter that the preparations are almost done and any traces of the Cadou are almost completely gone." Bela explained as she adjusted the golden ring crown around her forehead - it was bear with the exception of a large red gem in the center of the crown.

"That's good. By the way, where is your mother? I have something special for her." The large wolf smiled.

"She's in her wine room." Cassandra said as she pointed down the hall that leads to the room in question.

"Thank you. And before you ask - yes, I did come back with gifts but I need to give your mother's her first." He said to the girls.

"We understand, Papa. We'll see you at dinner." Dani said as she and her sisters began walking away to do their own things. He smiled at his daughters before starting on his way.

At this point, you're probably wondering: Who is this Wolf-Man? Why are the girls calling him 'papa'? Why does he live in a castle?

Well - it all started after the Fall of the High Priestess, The Destruction of the Village, & a simple purchase from a very fat and happy merchant.

[Flashback to the Past]

A cloaked figure approached the Carriage of the Duke and the Wolfish Muzzle that peered from the muzzle made the fat man smile.

"It's been years, Lord Wolfson. What can I procure for you this day?" Duke asked with a wide smile on his face.

"I believe you already have to items I desire, Duke. The items I need are different but they are all the same in a way." The cloaked beast said with a sternness in his voice.

"And what way is that, Lord Wolfson?" The fat man smiled.

"I need those that belonged to self - was altered by a trusted serpent - but ripped away by a dying creature." The Wolf Lord said, the Duke smiled at him before turning to his carriage and withdrew 7 Boxes - some larger than others, the sight of the boxes made the wolfman smile like a Cheshire Cat.

Golden coins with ruby centerpieces were dropped into the chubby hand of the Duke before the cloaked creature took the boxes and turned tail to return to his dwelling.

After 4 weeks of the purchase - 7 sets of eyes opened and shoot up in the soft beds of the unknown room of the unknown place where they rested. The tallest of the bunch ran over to the 3 girls who shared a face and used them as if they would disappear again while a large but fit silver-haired man looked at his reflection in a nearby vanity - unbelieving what he was seeing. The people gathered together and began to speak to each other - remembering their ends and curious as to where they were and how they got there. When the door of the room opened and a wolf that stood on 2 legs, dressed in fine garments that were tailored to him, walked in the room and looked upon the group before he cleared his voice to speak.

"I am Lord [Y/N] Wolfson - Alpha of the Crimson District of the Lycan Royal Court. You are very confused and probably wondering where you all are, allow me to explain. The Village you once knew & the leader who once served are no longer in existence - your crystal remains were soul to an old friend of mine and I brought them in order to restore you." Lord Wolfson said.

"You brought our remains and brought us back to life?! So what?! You think you own us?!" The Former 4th Lord yelled at the taller beast.

"No, Karl Heisenberg. I brought you back because you were robbed of the lives you once had or the lives you were promised. What you choose to do with your lives is for you to decide but I do have an offer I would like you to listen to before you leave." He explained.

"What is this offer?" asked the Former 2nd Lord as she held her lifeless doll in her arms.

"I am the Alpha or King of this region but I have some...matters that can overshadow even the strongest of kings. I would like you to take control of the Extinct Royal Houses, as well as the lands that fall under them. You'd be in charge of the people who reside there but still have to report to me each month. You will obtain all the riches they possessed before death and any titles they held, the names: Dimitrescu, Beneviento, Moreau, and Heisenberg will be documented as Royal Names and shall never be removed. Do we have a deal?" The tall wolf asked as he looked at the group before him.

They all looked at each other before accepting his offer - they all got dressed and followed the wolfman to an elegant meeting room.

Donna Beneviento became Baroness Donna Beneviento - Ruler of the Eastern District where the shops were located.

Salvatore Moreau became Baron Salvatore Moreau - Ruler of the Western District, also known as the Fishing District/Fishing Village.

Karl Heisenberg became Baron Karl Heisenberg - Ruler of the Southern District - the Soldiers and Weapons District.

"And what of my daughters & I?" Alcina asked as she looked a the Wolf Lord, who grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I would be ever so grateful if you and your daughters remained here with me and ruled the Central and Northern Districts with me." He asked as he bowed his head and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, which she smiled at.

After a few months - Baroness Alcina Dimitrescu became Queen/Luna Dimitrescu, The Wife of the King while the Dimitrescu Daughters were made princesses.

[Back to the Present]

"Alcina, My Sun & Sky. I have returned." [Y/N] said as he walked into the wine room to see his wife relaxing in her chair with a glass of wine in her hand and a book in her lap. She looked at her husband with a smile before closing the book, setting down the wine, moved them both aside before rising to her feet, and walked over to his husband who wrapped his arms around her to give her a kiss.

"My love, I am so happy you're home. When did you return?" Alcina asked.

"Just a moment ago - our little bugs swarmed me at the door when I called out but I wanted to spend time with the light of my life first." He said as he smiled at her.

"I am glad, My Wolf." She hugged him close and the two of them just stood there - wrapped in each others' embrace.

There was no place they'd rather be.

[End]

#resident evil 8 #alcina dimitrescu x male reader #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #donna beneviento #salvatore moreau #karl heisenberg

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