#im gonna need him to be happy next season or i’ll throw hands | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

robinofinashiro · 3 years

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“look, i know we don’t know each other that well, but i’m still worried about you. no one deserves to be alone.”

characters: hoshiumi kourai x fem! reader / slight miya atsumu

request status: OPEN / please send any reqs you guys have! my inbox is currently empty and im lacking in any kind of writing inspiration...like seriously lacking lmao. there could be a part two if any of you are interested in one.

you looked at your now ex boyfriend, trying to keep your tears at bay. the two of you were standing outside the bar, not knowing what you were planning on saying the man you loved as you saw him with a girl on his lap, laughing and giggling at whatever he was saying.

“you could’ve just broken up with me, it would have saved me time and effort,” you told him with a stone cold face. you could tell Atsumu was in a straight panic, not knowing what to say or do, “honestly, I would have handled the break up a lot better than you would have assumed I would have.”

Atsumu reached out to grab your hand but you quickly snatched it back, putting it behind your back, “no, you don’t get the right to hold any part of me anymore. whatever you were doing, do it with the girl you were just with,” you exclaimed, a laugh of bitterness leaving you, “but I don’t want that girl, I want you!” he yelled.

you rolled your eyes, not believing a word he was saying, “no, you wanted a girl to fuck with on the side while I waited for you at home. you’re just angry you got caught, Miya, that’s all,” you stated. Atsumu felt stray tears falling down his face as you noticed a familiar face with snow white hair popping out of the front of the door.

“as wrong as this is to say, I was always preparing myself for this. my grandmother always said to have a envelope of cash and money as runaway money in case I ever needed to get away...” you played with you finger nails before looking up to him for one final time, “I’ll be moved out in a few days. the apartment is under your name and I don’t mind getting a new place,” you added on.

Atsumu saw you walking away, not believing that you were actually leaving him. he grabbed your ankle, practically putting on a scene for everyone who was hanging out in the front of the building, “Atsumu, this is embarrassing for you. quit it while you still have some dignity left, jesus christ,” you said not realizing the mantrum that he was throwing, “you really should’ve thought this all out before you decided to cheat. I always had one rule and you knew it. I could quickly replace you as fast as we got together and this was your one chance.”

you kicked yourself out of his grip, walking into the bar to have yourself a drink. you saw the girl who was on Atsumu’s lap not wanting to look you in the eye as she sat on her chair in shame, “enjoy him girlie because as you can tell, he’ll quickly replace you when he gets bored,” you tipped your glass of dark liquor to her in a ‘good luck’ type of way before finding an empty seat.

that familiar snow white hair you saw earlier happened to be Hoshiumi who was walking towards you. you being the former Inarizaki manager made you know the names to the most popular players from each team they played so Hoshiumi was no stranger.

“hey,” you heard his voice say over the music. you gave him a smile with a small wave, not wanting to say, “you okay? I accidentally overheard your situation with Atsumu earlier,” he asked, pulling the seat out from the other side of the table.

you shrugged knowing that all the raw emotions from the argument and what you just had saw hadn’t settled in yet, “I don’t know,” you said truthfully, “my boyfriend of three years was cheating on me and if I’m okay right now, I know I won’t be tomorrow,” you explained.

Hoshiumi nodded understandingly, “do you mind if I sit with you for the rest of the night?” he asked quietly, in a sort of shy way, which was odd considering Hoshiumi was just as hyperactive as Hinata Shoyo from Karasuno way. “look, i know we don’t know each other that well, but i’m still worried about you. no one deserves to be alone.”

you felt that pang in your heart as you saw the warmness on Hoshiumi’s smile. you tried to contain your tears as best as you could but Hoshiumi saw right through that. he tracked down the waitress and ordered the two of you another round of drinks, your choice of course as he tried to focus the conversation on anything that wasn’t Atsumu or your breakup.

from that night forward, Hoshiumi was by your side for the entirety of your breakup. he was of help when you needed an extra hand to move all your things out of your shared apartment with Atsumu.

it didn’t sit right with Atsumu at the fact that Hoshiumi was seemingly close to you all of a sudden. he had saw him that night at the bar but he didn’t think he would take advantage of the situation and so quickly. never once in the entirety of your relationship with Atsumu did you ever mention befriending Hoshiumi and so closely but seeing the way he was helping you move out and making sure you were okay threw him way the hell off.

once you were finished taking your things out of the apartment, you looked to Atsumu and wiggled the set of keys that were on your keychain out. you gave him one last look before handing them to him, “so I take it that you won’t accept the job with the Jackals?” he asked.

“I think you know that answer, Miya.”

you walked out of the apartment, leaving a teary eyed Atsumu at the door as Hoshiumi waited for you at the front of the building. your place a few minutes farther from Atsumu’s place. it wasn’t as nice of a place in comparison to how you used to live but it would do until you found a job.

“what are you plans now?” Hoshiumi asked as he helped you unpack things from the box. you shrugged again, “I really don’t know. Atsumu had gotten me a job with the Jackals and those were plans for quite a while but considering that relationship is long gone, I guess I really have to start looking for a job before I go broke.”

Hoshiumi laughed, feeling his phone buzz multiple times. he looked down to see a few texts from Ushijima and Kageyama. to your luck, the Adlers had also gotten a job opening for a few positions with a team. Hoshiumi had mentioned to the team that he knew someone that could possibly take the position of the old manager and they had been grilling him about it since.

the pre-season was about to start and they needed an experienced manager and quick. considering your qualifications with Inarizaki and the degree you got in college, he knew you would do well on the job and all you would need is a bit of polishing up in order to be great if not even better than their former manager.

“listen, I don’t know how willing you will be to accept what I’m about to say but Schweiden has an opening for a positions and one of them is to be the team’s manager and assistant. I might’ve pushed your name because I know you’ve done the managerial position before and we need a manager as soon as possible.”

your eyes doubled down in confusion as Hoshiumi showed you the hiring paper. you quickly skimmed it down seeing that you had the qualifications for the job. you saw that it was a text from Kageyama Tobio that read if you had accept the position yet before their coach killed them.

“wait, how long would I be there?” you asked, gripping his phone. you looked at you, now slightly confused himself, “what do you mean? you’d be there as long as you want or until you quit. the position is permanent.” you read the application again and smiled, “I just got this place but tell them I’ll be available for an interview at any time.”

Hoshiumi tackled you into a hug, his hyperactive attitude running rampant again, “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! the team is gonna be so happy, I know it!” he exclaimed, quickly dialing his coaches number as you sat there, taking in your all new reality.

after a run through of a few interviews, the Adler’s ultimately gave you the position as their manager and assistant. they found you the most suitable as you had experience under your belt and got along with most of the team. well...as best as you could considering Kageyama and Ushijima weren’t really the talkative type to begin with.

the move to Tokyo was a bit easier than expected. Hoshiumi quickly helping you into your new apartment as he showed you around the Adler’s gym and even the town when he wasn’t busy. you had your own office since you were assisting the team’s coach with a few office related things but most of your duties were strictly to the team.

with your new job came new team photo’s for the year as well as your organizations employee id photo. your uniform consisted of black leggings or athletic shorts if Tokyo was particularly hot that day and a Schweiden sweater/t-shirt on game day. on non-game days where you had to be in your office, the general uniform was business casual unless it was Friday’s where you could wear your game day uniform.

the team photo day was around the corner and the Adler’s even had a few professional makeup artist for anyone who wanted to have their makeup done for the photos. Hoshiumi and to your surprise, Kageyama, landed in the makeup chairs right next to you as they both wanted to be concealed so their under eye bags weren’t as prominent.

“you ready for the pics?” Hoshiumi asked with an excited smile. you nodded just as excitedly, “working in volleyball again feels so weird but I can’t wait for the season to start!” you exclaimed as Hoshiumi gave you a high-five in agreement.

unbeknownst to you but known to the entire team, Hoshiumi had fell entirely head over heels for you. his heart eyes weren’t a secret to anyone besides you and if everyone was being honest, they really wanted Hoshiumi to get a move on with asking you out so he could stop coming to practice with a lovesick puppy look on his face.

after all of you were called to the gym to take the photos, they had all the players and coaching staff take their photos first before any managers and front office staff had their turns. while you waited for your turn, you were talking with the other manager so was an ex player of the team and had recently retired due to permanent injury to his arm.

“so how do you know Hoshiumi?” he asked as he saw the wave Hoshiumi was giving you. you smiled and waved back, “he was a friend of mine through high school and we just kept in contact since. Kourai and I are basically best friends if I’m being honest,” you explained.

he gave you a look before giving out a belly laugh, “just best friends? you have to got to be kidding. there’s more to your relationship with Hoshiumi than just best friends,” he admitted. you were a bit taken back by his answer as you asked him to explain, “come on, it’s not obvious? the decoy is in love with you. he follows you everywhere and has heart eyes for you and I can sense the feeling either is mutual or it’s starting to be on your end.”

you sat in silence, debating whether or not what he was saying was true. you had never taken into account romantic feelings Hoshiumi could have for you and vice versa. you knew deep down, you did harbor feelings for Hoshiumi but up until this point, you had never put it to the forefront of your brain.

“managers! it’s your turns now!” the photographer said. you nodded, going up to the small set up they had.

they had you do a bunch of different poses. one photo of just you smiling, another of you holding a volleyball, and a few with the other manager on the team. they had informed you that this year, they would be displaying team player photos along with head manager photos in the front of building, right outside of the gym to show appreciation to the entire team.

after the photo’s were finished, your head was still playing the conversation you had earlier. the idea of dating Hoshiumi did not sound so bad in the long run and you knew that it now wouldn’t come off as a surprise if you did in fact show feelings to him.

“Kou, what are you doing tonight?” you asked as he helped you with your bag after practice. he shook his head, saying nothing, “wanna come over? I wanna pig out on food before the season officially starts,” you giggled seeing his excited face as he grabbed your wrist and practically dragged you over to his car, exclaiming you both could get food and snacks.

the night came down to you watching a few movies from both of your childhood and basically talking/snacking the night away. it eventually got to the point where you moved closer to Hoshiumi, trying to find warmth as your AC was on full blast and you both were too lazy to get the blankets you had underneath your couch to actually get warm.

“hey Kou,” you said, trying to get his attention. he looked down to you, a warm smile on his face, “would you ever...be interested in dating? I heard a few members of the team saying that you liked me and for a while, I didn’t want to believe that but I figured there was no harm in asking because I totally feel the same,” you finally confessed.

Hoshiumi sat there, mouth wide in surprise as your heart basically fell your ass. your thoughts were immediately plagued with the idea that you had ruined your entire relationship with him but that was quickly put to rest as grabbed your closer and held your face as softly as ever before placing a kiss on both your cheeks before reaching your lips.

“honestly, I was about to ask you out tonight too. I’ve been having these feelings for a while now and I’m glad you finally confessed. I’ve truthfully liked you since the night I saw you with Atsumu but I didn’t want to make it seem as though I was being pushy.”

you laughed, pushing yourself away from him a bit as he dipped you down once again and kissed you again. you ran your fingers through his hair as he kissed your neck a bit and parts of your upper chest.

“you’re the best. I literally thought the best day of my life was the day I got the job for the Adler’s but this beats it by far!” he exclaimed, hugging you now. you laughed, shaking your head at his excitement, “I could say the same,” you giggled as you kissed him again.

a few weeks finally passed as the season was in full swing now. you were working a few days a week and going out on the days you had off with Kourai. the only dreadful part in all of this was that the Adler’s were playing Msby soon and you knew that you would in fact be seeing Atsumu during, before, and after the game.

Hoshiumi could see the slight nervousness and panic on your face the day of the game against the Black Jackals. you weren’t as excited as you were usually were and you were responding to the team in snippets and very short sentences. the team could sense your shift in attitude but didn’t bother to question it.

“hey, you okay?” Hoshiumi asked, pulling you to the side a few minutes before warm ups. you gave him a questioning look, “I can see you’re nervous and I’m pretty sure it’s probably because of Atsumu being here,” he assumed as you reluctantly agreed.

he sighed, bringing you in for a hug, “you don’t have to work today. I can make up an excuse that you got sick and say you’re in your office watching the game,” he said. you shook your head, “no, it would be immature of me to miss a game because of that fucking idiot. I’ll be okay, I promise,” you whispered, giving him a kiss of reassurance before letting him go.

a few feet behind, Atsumu had saw the entire interaction happen. his heart was admittedly broken, seeing the way you were kissing and hugging Hoshiumi. he hadn’t known that you were working with Scheweiden nor did he know that you were even dating Hoshiumi.

when the team had walked into the gym, he had saw your photo in the hallway entering the gym. your smile was one he missed and he felt himself get angry all over again. it had been months since the breakup but you had yet to unblock him from any social media so all of this news at once broke him.

the game was a lot more intense than they assumed it would have been. Hoshiumi and Atsumu playing to 100% and even getting into small scuffles. you had saw the interactions and knew it was probably because of you but were arguing when it came down to plays so it didn’t look as immature on the court.

ultimately, Schweiden won the game, beating the Jackal’s by a landslide in their last set. you were smiling at Hoshiumi as the game ended, bringing him a water and giving him a kiss before handing off the waters to Ushijima and Kageyama next. you had ran out of the gym for a few seconds to refill waters for a few players when you ran into the last person you expect.

“if you can excuse me Miya, I need to refill these,” you said, not even looking at him in the eye. he moved out of the way, seeing thew way you refilled the bottles as quickly as possible. once you were done, you were about to head back into the gym when he stopped you, “how are you?” he asked shyly.

you sighed, “fine Miya,” you said curtly. Atsumu growled in annoyance, “are you together with-,” “with me!” you heard Hoshiumi’s voice scream through the hall. you smiled at the sight of him as he pushed you behind him and sizing up the much taller Atsumu.

“this had nothing to do with you, Hoshiumi.”

“oh but it does! she’s my girlfriend, our manager, and a member of the team so whatever you need to say to her, you can say to me!” you laughed at Hoshiumi’s confidence as Atsumu looked at him, rage filling his eyes, “what? what’re you gonna do? hit me? you’d get suspended and look like a complete idiot to the entire V-league!”

“do we have an issue?” Ushijima asked, looking at Atsumu and Hoshiumi as Sakusa followed him, “no issue at all,” Atsumu gritted as Hoshiumi wore a proud grin on his face.

“that’s great to hear. come on ( your name ). Hoshiumi you better be in the gym in the next minute.”

“lets go Atsumu, you don’t win anything out of creating a scene,” Sakusa said as he grabbed his friend and tried dragging him out of the hallway. Hoshiumi waved at Atsumu as cockily as possible, “remember Atsumu! not only did we win the game but I also won your girl!” he screamed.

Atsumu went to jump but was pulled back by Sakusa and Bokuto as you walked out of the gym again to grab Hoshiumi. he grabbed you by the wrist and kissed you in front everyone that was in the hallway. Atsumu could hear Bokuto telling him to calm down but he wanted nothing more than to run over to Hoshiumi and kick his ass before reclaiming you as his again.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu x reader #atsumu miya #atsumu miya imagine #atsumu miya x reader #atsumu miya x you #hoshiumi korai #hoshiumi korai imagine #hoshiumi korai x reader #hoshiumi korai x you #sports anime #sport anime

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cowboymirio · 3 years

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They Want To Get A Pet - Headcanons

Summary: Your S/O wants a pet and adorable antics ensue~

Characters: Hizashi Yamada, Taishiro Toyomitsu, Aizawa Shouta, Eijiro Kirishima, Tenya Iida, Hanta Sero, Takami Keigo

Contains: Gender neutral reader, lotsa fluff, Reader has arachnophobia in Sero’s part! Crackheadery in Aizawa’s part

Hizashi Yamada - Cockatoo

📣 You guys totally didn’t plan on getting a cockatoo, or any pet for that matter. Y’all just moved into your new place for christ’s sake!

📣 But after a visit to a lil exotic pet store downtown, your plans changed. And now you’re stuck with a bird with the intelligence of a toddler

📣 According to Yama, the bird just ‘called to him’ and by that, he means the bird literally screamed at him

📣 They’ve got the most bougie cage ever like MTV cribs hit them up.

📣But he doesn’t spend too much time in there as you guys let him roam around the house all day until it’s time for bed or if you leave for a while

📣 If they’re not attached to Yama’s shoulder, you often find them waddling around the house, picking things up off of the floor and throwing them, and squawking at you when they want attention

📣 Sounds like someone else you know huh…

📣 Yama and the bird dance together so much omg. They do the lil head bobs together, he’ll blast some music for them and they go to town he even chirps along to the lyrics omg-

📣 He doesn’t even have to teach them words, they just pick them up on their own… and then never stop saying them… ever

📣 ‘YEAHHHHH’ then from the other side of your home you hear another ‘YEAAHHHHH’

📣 Make it stop

📣 You taught them cuss words for the shits and giggles though

📣 Yama finds it funny too though because he’s got that 8-year-old sense of humor… you all do to be honest

📣 But when the bird chooses to sit on your shoulder you bet your ass Yamada’s gonna fawn over the two of you for the next hour :’)

Taishiro Toyomitsu - Pyrenean Mastiff

🍢 Really wants a pet

🍢 But also really scared of crushing them so…

🍢 You guys settle for a big ‘ol Pyrenean mastiff!

🍢 And when I say they’re big they are big like… I mean knock you over if you’re not careful big

🍢 They’re literally perfect for each other

🍢 They’re both massive units, insanely adorable, and they for sure share the same appetite

🍢 Speaking of food, he makes sure he’s feeding them the best of the best foods even if that means y’all are making it yourselves

🍢 Not as afraid to roughhouse with them as he thought he’d be

🍢 Lots of fetching, frisbee throwing, ‘wrestling’ even?? They’re so rowdy and for what? My heart, that’s what <3

🍢 The dog definitely sleeps on top of him I don’t make the rules

🍢 Mf just hops on up, curls up and they’re ready to go like--- Is that- is that not y’know,,, HEAVY??

🍢 I mean,,, you sleep on top of him too so I honestly don’t think Tai cares too much

Aizawa Shota - Cat

💤 You guys already know…

💤 If he were to get any kind of pet it’d be a cat.

💤 They’re chill, independent, and sometimes want attention. Just how he likes it.

💤 Well… that’s how he thought that things should be but-

💤 BOY was he wrong

💤 After living together for quite a while, stalking animal shelter websites for the perfect cat, and finding the right one, you bring them home!

💤 When you met them at the shelter, they were a sweet lil baby with an aloof attitude that you both fell in love with

💤 But when you brought them home… They became an absolute crackhead.

💤 Forget having ANYTHING on the tables or countertops. It’s on the floor now thanks to them. Fuck your water glass, fuck those papers you were helping Aizawa grade, they’re gone! Shredded! Positively destroyed :)

💤 Forget having free hands, they’re literally attached to his side and won’t stop rubbing against his hands while he’s grading papers and such

💤 If you’re not watching his little dude/ette will try and eat food WHILE YOU’RE COOKING oh my fuckingf god

💤 Heaven forbid this dude tries to leave the room. They’ll ‘cry’ until he comes back.

💤 ‘Go to your other parent, they’ll give you attention.’ ‘mEEEOWWW’ ‘Oh my god fine come here.’

💤 Honestly though he really appreciates when they’re down to sleep. Their purrs and their cuddles are very appreciated

💤 And literally just imagine seeing them curled up on his chest while they sleep on the couch ;; im so somft

Eijiro Kirishima - Bearded Dragon

🏮 This man wants to get THE manliest pet of all,,, a bearded dragon

🏮 He probably saw one on a movie or something and immediately came to you like

🏮 ‘Okay but we neeeeed one just look at their lil beards!! And their tongues!!!’

🏮 You tell him to put it off for a bit, do some research, and see if he still wants one later

🏮 Homeboy is DEDICATED so he puts in the time and ofc he still wants one after the fact

🏮 After a good amount of time, he comes back with a books worth of reasons as to why you guys should get one and you’re honestly shocked

🏮 You just can’t say no to those eyes </33 so you oblige and go out and get one from an owner who’s surrendering it (Because we don’t support chain pet stores in this household)

🏮 You guys can’t pick a name for them so for the longest time they’re just called ‘the lizard’ or ‘little fella’ or whatever else you guys come up with

🏮 Anyways- he’s infatuated with them it’s so funny. He spends all of his freetime watching them get used to their new habitat like,,,, all of it. It’s 1am and he’s just watching it hang out and you’re like ‘Kiri if you love it so much then why don’t you sleep with it’ (not in that way ya nasty)

🏮 HE TAKES IT SERIOUSLY

🏮 Next thing you know he hops out of bed, brings them back and puts them between your pillows.

🏮 Lil homie’s just vibin there.

🏮 You’re done tbh but if Kiri’s happy then you’re happy <33

🏮 Absolutely lets it sit on his shoulders when he’s walking around the house

🏮 He has a leash for them and he takes them out during the warmer months

🏮 Dedicates a good portion of his day to clean out their habitat when need be

🏮 Their relationship is just so cute you can’t help but melt every time you see them together

Tenya Iida - Tropical Fish

🌟 After a particularly rough finals season, you figure that Iida needs to have some sort of hobby that can help him chill out, but also has some sort of brainwork in there because that’s your boyfriend for ya

🌟 You suggest getting some fish!

🌟 He rly said ‘I’ll think about it’ then proceeded to do a shit ton of research on it because he literally does that every time you express interest in something. King behavior!!

🌟 You guys settle on getting a few tropical fish and a super nice fish tank for ‘em

🌟 He lets you name all of them and of course you have to name one ‘Iida junior’ like how could you not-

🌟 But seriously though he finds it so endearing and sweet ;;

🌟 You can’t tell me he doesn’t buy all of the nicest shit he can for their tank too.

🌟 Fresh aquatic plants, huge rocks for them to swim through, a nice ass heater, the WORKS

🌟 He’s gotta treat yall’s babies right like what did you expect

🌟 Constantly checking their water to see if it’s alright for them

🌟 He’s usually the one to feed them so whenever he comes up to the tank, they all crowd up by the top like doggies when their owner comes home omg

🌟 He finds the noises from the tank to be really good background noise when he’s reading or studying

🌟 Iida’s honestly glad that you suggested to get fish ‘cause taking care of them is such a relaxing hobby and lord knows he needs some of those

Hanta Sero - Rose Haired Tarantula

🧵 So he wants a Rose Hair Tarantula...

🧵 ‘Absolutely not’ - You, 2021 (sorry if you actually like spiders lol, if a singular person wants hcs where y’all both like spiders please @ me)

🧵 Lots and lots of begging and promises

🧵 ‘You won’t even have to clean the cage, I’ll do it!!’ ‘We can keep them in the spare room’ ‘c’mooon pretty please???’

🧵 He had to bust out the puppy eyes for you to say yes

🧵 And with that, you’re now the proud parents of a demon rose hair tarantula!

🧵 ‘We can keep them in the spare room’ your ass. He lets it climb all over him while he’s walking around the house!!

🧵 Not you actively avoiding him when you see them coming down towards you

🧵 ‘But I wanna kiss!!’ ‘Kiss your tarantula smh’

🧵 After he realizes he’s not gonna get any with his lil buddy (yes, that’s what he calls them) he tries his best to help you familiarize with em

🧵 I’m sorry but he’s trying so hard not to laugh as you freak out when they crawl up your arm

🧵 He takes things more seriously after that though. He’ll give you lil words of encouragement, back pats and such

🧵 He’s so happy that you become… tolerable after a while of you guys just hangin’ out that you can’t help but feel proud too.

🧵 You still can’t stand spiders though.

Keigo Tamaki - Bunnies

🐤 Just like Aizawa, he wants something that’s quiet and can be independent since his schedule is a bit busy but he still wants to have a lil buddy to love on

🐤 You’re actually the one to bring up the idea to get a bunny, it’s part of a long list of ideas you had come up with, but for whatever reason, the bunny idea just stuck with him

🐤 You two hop (im a comedic genius hi <33) on over to the nearest rescue you can find, and browse through the enclosures looking for the perfect bunny for you guys

🐤 Ok so like- here’s the thing,,,

🐤 You totally didn’t plan on getting two bunnies… But you guys found a pair that were literally inseparable and y’all had to have them

🐤 He’s already calling them ‘Our children’ straight off the bat like- y’all JUST got home and he’s already giving you baby fever UGH

🐤 He bunny-proofs the FUCK out of the house so they can roam freely ‘cause he didn’t just get these babies to stick them in a cage smh

🐤 Will lay on the floor and just watch them romp around cus he finds it relaxing and funny

🐤 Also please get on the floor and watch them with him. Prime cuddling hours

🐤 They burrow under his wings… I repeat- THEY BURROW UNDER HIS WINGS

🐤 They WILL flop together don’t @ me

🐤 They (and by they I mean all three of them) flop on you when they want attention can I jst--- *cries*

🐤 Have fun trying to get up, this is your life now.

🐤 But are you really complaining? You shouldn’t be smh

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naturallytom · 4 years

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Little Things (Tom Holland x reader)

a/n: this is for @rosyparkers writing challenge!! italics are flashbacks, bold is the prompt!! again i hope u enjoy this im sorry it’s been like 10 years since i’ve posted something lmao also big thank u to @sunshinehollandd for reading this over!!

warnings: a lil angst, scared of opening up/being vulnerable, other than that it’s fluffy fluff

prompt: “Do you want to know the hardest thing about having a soulmate? It’s not the separation in the beginning, not the endless nights lying awake, hoping and praying that someone was made for you. It’s…it’s the love. It’s too strong, and you can’t fight it. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried…but I’m always going to love you. And I need you to know that.”

“You ready, my love?” Tom held his hand out to you as the dj announced it was time for your first dance, his brown eyes radiating a type of warmth that brought you comfort when you needed it most. You placed your hand in his and allowed him to guide the two of you to the dance floor, his hands going to your waist while you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” He asked, his voice so soft only you could hear it.

“Only a million times.” You smiled, hiding your face in his neck. It amazed you that even after years of dating he still had that effect on you.

“I’ll tell you a million more times, then.” He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to your head. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

“Not so bad yourself.” You replied, a small smile on your lips as your mind wandered to when you first met Tom and how far you came with him.

“What are you thinking about?” Tom chuckled.

“How do you know I’m thinking about something?”

“You have that look on your face. The one you make when you’re deep in thought.” He told you, pressing another kiss to your head. “Everything okay?”

“Mhmm. Just thinking about how far we’ve come.” You told him honestly.

“We have come a long way, huh?” He smiled. “Remember when we first met?”

“How could I forget?” You chuckled, your mind replaying the day you met him as if it was yesterday.

The first snowfall of the season and you were in your room studying for an exam. Not ideal at all but you had this big exam coming up that you just couldn’t fail so you had to study as much as you could-

“y/n?” Your roommate poked her head into your room, a hopeful smile on her face. “How much studying do you have to do?”

“Ermm a lot, why?” You asked, flipping through your study guide so far.

“Was thinking we could go out in the snow, at least for a little bit?” She grinned.

“I don’t know, I still have a lot of studying to do-”

“You’ve been studying all day! Come on, you need a break.” She argued, making you sigh.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick break. But only for a little bit!” You gave in, making your roommate cheer as the two of you got ready to brace the cold winter air.

“It’s so pretty.” Your roommate said, her voice almost a whisper as the two of you took in the scene while you walked to the nearby park.

Light, fluffy snow fell from the sky, landing softly on the ground around you as well as on your faces. For a moment when you looked up at the night sky, seeing glimpses of the stars and the snow falling, all your worries and obligations washed away, bringing on a sense of peace.

The two of you arrived at the park, seeing other people there, all enjoying the snow. People were making snow angels and snow men, while others were having a snowball fight.

“Hey check this out!” You roommate called, laying down in the snow and making a snow angel, sitting up when she was done. “How’s it look?”

“Not bad.” You laughed, bending down and molding some snow into a ball. “But unfortunately this snowball is too good not to be thrown and you’re the target so..”

Your roommate stood up and fortunately for her but unfortunately for you, she moved out of your way right as you let go of the snowball, allowing it to crash into the man right behind her.

“Oh shit!” You gasped as he turned around, a look of confusion and slight amusement on his face while your roommate was hysterically laughing off to the side. “I’m so sorry!”

“That meant to be for her?” He chuckled, making you nod.

“I’m so sorry, I tried to throw it at her but she moved at the last minute and-”

“Hey don’t worry about it.” He assured you. “I’m Tom.”

“y/n.” You replied. “Really is there any way I could make it up to you?”

“Really it’s fine.” He laughed. “But I am getting cold so I was gonna go across the street and get a tea, if you’d like to join.”

“Sure, but I’m paying for yours.” You insisted, making Tom smile.

“Pretty sure I’m supposed to pay for yours.” He tried, but you shook your head.

“No, no. It’s my treat. I’m the one who hit you with a snowball, after all.”

“You looked so cute that night. The snow was falling and sticking to your eyelashes and the moonlight was hitting you just right. God, you looked like an angel. Still look like an angel.” He sighed.

“Yeah an angel who didn’t let you in for a long ass time.” You chuckled. “‘M not sure what you did but you made me open up to the idea of being vulnerable and open to someone else. I hadn’t really done that before you.”

It had been almost eight months since the snowball incident and to your surprise, Tom was your (very caring) boyfriend. It sort of came as a shock to you when he asked you to be his girlfriend. You definitely had strong feelings for him, no doubt about it. But you weren’t good about expressing them. Tom liked to talk about his and open up his heart to you while you liked to keep your heart guarded and show you cared with smaller actions.

Tom was patient, though. He was patient and caring and understanding and it made your heart swell within your chest to the point that you weren’t even sure if you could keep it to yourself. He didn’t rush you into opening up or being vulnerable, but he noticed the small smile that formed on your lips whenever you showed him a song or meme that reminded you of him. He noticed the way your eyes sparkled with pride when you successfully made his favorite meal to surprise him after a long day.

You noticed the little things Tom did too. Like how he always took off his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders if you were out on a date and you got cold. Or how he always offered to walk or drive you home before you moved in and if he couldn’t or if you drove yourself, he would tell you to drive safe and to text him when you got home.

“All those little things you did just made me fall even more in love with you.” He laughed softly. “Maybe I rubbed off on you a little bit.”

“Maybe.” You sighed, your head resting gently on his shoulder. “You told me you loved me all the time, it probably rubbed off on me little by little until I said it.”

A year and a half after a snowball resulted in you meeting the man of your dreams, you and Tom were still going strong, but you were scared. Tom had told you he loved you so many times yet you couldn’t find yourself to say those three little words back.

“I love you.” He would say. “You’re my soulmate.”

You loved him, you know you did. But despite Tom telling you all the time how much he loves you and that you were his soulmate, you were still scared. What if you said it and he rejected you? What if the two of you broke up and you were open and vulnerable for no reason?

It happened one night when you were laying in bed, your head resting on Tom’s chest, playing with hands, lost in thought.

“What’s on your pretty little mind, hm?” He murmured, pressing his lips to your forehead softly.

“Nothing.” Lie. You were actually thinking about how much you loved him and how lucky you were to have him in your life, but the thought of opening up like that terrified you. You fell in love the way you fall asleep, slowly and then all at once.

“Do you want to know the hardest thing about having a soulmate? It’s not the separation in the beginning, not the endless nights lying awake, hoping and praying that someone was made for you. It’s…it’s the love. It’s too strong, and you can’t fight it. I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried…but I’m always going to love you. And I need you to know that.” He said softly, as if he could read your mind.

“How do you know you’ll always love me, though?” You asked. “That’s a long time.”

“Darling I fall more in love with you every day.” He chuckled.

“It’s just,” you started, not thinking about the words that left your mouth next. “I do love you but I’m scared. I don’t like being vulnerable like that, you know this.”

Tom paused before he let out a soft laugh, a sense of ‘I knew it’ mixed with confusion taking over your body.

“What?” You asked, starting to get mildly defensive.

“Baby you just said you loved me.” He smiled, making your eyes widen.

“I did?”

“Mhmm. Also said you were scared and didn’t like being vulnerable.” He mumbled against your head, his thumb rubbing over your knuckles softly. “Being vulnerable is what makes us human, lovey. ‘S okay to open yourself up, especially to me.”

“What if you didn’t feel the same way?” You glanced up at him, a small smile on his lips. “What if we broke up?”

“Neither of those are even possibilities.” He assured you. “I love you too much.”

You paused before responding. “I love you too.”

As the song came to an end, you found yourself overwhelmed with love and felt tears involuntarily fill your eyes. Tom frowned lightly when he saw the tears, pausing to hold your face in his hands gently, concern in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, hm? Regret marrying me already?” He teased, making you laugh softly.

“No. ‘M just really happy. I really love you. Don’t think I’ll ever stop.” You murmured, the concern and frown on Tom’s face being replaced with pure love and adoration.

“Good, darling, because you’re stuck with me forever now.” He replied.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

_______________________________________________________________________

please rb/leave feedback!!

tagging some mutuals: @daydreamparker @angelic-holland @moonlit-void-to-the-far-unknown

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x fem!reader #tom holland x female!reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fic #tom holland fluff #oneshot: little things

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genderbinaryisforlosers · 3 years

Note

everyone on the carte blanche for the ask meme

everyone? oh boy this is gonna get long ajfhdsf

JUNO

First impression: i, like a lot of people who get into the podcast without knowing a great deal about it, was expecting at most an ambiguously bisexual angst machine with a closely-guarded heart of gold. juno being an explicitly bisexual genderqueer angst machine is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of my life. the angst machine heart of gold characters were kind of my type at the time, so i loved him right away

Impression now: every time i think about juno’s arc from depressed mess held together by bad coping mechanisms, safety pins, and a few good strong puns into someone who can talk about his feelings, feel comfortable about being happy, and recognise when he needs to change, i want to cry about it a little bit. the depth of my love for juno steel has only grown along with him

Favourite moment: juno has a lot of great one-liners and i’m still a big fan of the “on the other hand i wasn’t wearing a watch” bit and who can forget such classics as juno finally deciding to stop moping over nureyev and move on only for him to open the door to his apartment and find nureyev sitting in the dark dramatically, but honestly nothing will ever hit me harder than his sudden, pissed-off declaration of “i can’t die yet, i still have shit to do!” in promised land. god.

Idea for a story: oh i have so many and i want to write most of them so no spoilers, but juno accidentally kidnaps a baby during a carte blanche heist and shenanigans ensue

Unpopular opinion: obviously we all know he’s dummy thicc but i feel like a lot of people forget he’s an actual genius, like the stuff he notices and how he strings it together is sometimes so obscure and he’s almost always right. oh, also juno is not skinny and i will not be taking criticism on that

Favourite relationship: this is so tough because every dynamic is so good, but i think it has to be juno and rita. those two are so good! the best best friends in the world!! i’m really a sucker for any dynamic that’s ridiculously in-sync so i loved these two as soon as juno saw rita’s notes in prince of mars and went “makes perfect sense to me” (which it probably didn’t, because rita, but he trusted that she knew what she was doing which is the important part)

Favourite headcanon: this isn’t really a headcanon but i still think about how juno is (was?) deathly afraid of heights but when he heard rex glass coming he still attempted to climb out of the window. either his aversion to working with dark matters/other people in general was so strong is overrided his fear, or his office was actually on the ground floor. not sure which of these is funnier.

NUREYEV

First impression: we’ve all seen the memes about nureyev knowing juno steel for one (1) day and deciding to Risk It All by leaving him with his name, look at this Hopeless Romantic, this utter DISASTER of a homosexual. the fact the very next time we hear from nureyev (at least directly) he’s patiently waiting in juno’s dark apartment to surprise him with a heist definitely supports this image.

Impression now: even after literally being inside peter’s head, i feel like we didn’t get a real sense of who he is until man in glass, where we find out he aggressively compartmentalises everything that causes him stress. he’s also distinctly someone who’s had his heart broken before, i think, which makes those first appearances of his very strange. but it does remind me of what juno says about diamond, and how he decided to provide the trust first and wait for the trustworthiness to grow in (only to get severely hurt), and i think that’s exactly what nureyev did. i am also... very uneasy with how suspicious he’s behaving this season because obviously i want to believe he’ll sort it all out and not betray the crew but... oof

Favourite moment: the beginning of what lies beyond pt1 where he’s affectionately bullying juno into taking care of himself? cleared my crops watered my skin etc etc etc

Idea for a story: i’d love to hear more about his past as a young thief idolising buddy and vespa (i can’t actually remember if that’s canon or fanon but anyway i wanna read it!)

Unpopular opinion: i think people often cling to an image of him that more resembles his first impressions in season 1 instead of seeing the depth that we’ve been given about his character in season 3

Favourite relationship: him and juno but honestly it’s a close call between them and his budding friendship with rita. even though she learned it by accident, his name is still a point of intimacy and it’s one less secret to keep around her which has to be a weight off his shoulders, at least a little? they seem like they could be really good friends once ultrabots is out of the way. juno steel love (and also bullying) zone activates whenever they’re together

Favourite headcanon: i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again - nureyev has never done a household chore in his goddamn life. he doesn’t know the water needs to be hot when you wash dishes.

RITA

First impression: honestly i’m not sure? i don’t remember having a big awareness of her in murderous mask but i remember loving her “note-taking” in prince of mars, i thought she sounded really fun and cute

Impression now: rita is really fun and cute, she’s also an extremely hardworking and dedicated woman who had the guts to throw in with a detective fired from the force and then invest all of her time and money into helping him help people.

Favourite moment: Rita Gets A Knife. enough said

Idea for a story: i don’t know honestly! i really struggle to write rita because her thought processes are so wild and i don’t think any story i could come up with would match mega ultrabots of cyberjustice.

Unpopular opinion: this shouldn’t be unpopular because juno steel himself shares this opinion but all future-jupeter headcanons are incomplete without rita also being a huge part of their lives

Favourite relationship: rita + franny 4ever obviously.. jk it’s juno & rita have you heard rita minute 3 they’re too adorable for this world. im still Soft over their conversation at the end of soul of the people when he said he couldn’t stay in hyperion anymore but he wouldn’t leave with the carte blanche if rita wasn’t coming because he was done leaving her behind, and she threw out all her hesitations on the spot and said call the big guy. speaking of, rita & jet are a close second. instant best friends i love them.

Favourite headcanon: i think this is basically canon now but rita being literally half the height of jet is so good

JET

First impression: “haha lorge funny man puts juno in the trash”

Impression now: jet sikuliaq is one of the dearest characters to me out of anything ever. he is a huge, menacing, polite, kind, sincere man who i would very much like to give me a hug. he’s the best aro ace in outer space and while being generally very levelheaded and straightforward, also takes every opportunity to fuck with juno because it’s very easy and very hilarious to him personally. he is everything my autistic acearo ass needed and i’m so glad to have him

Favourite moment: all of them every single one. him putting juno in the trash is of course a classic and every moment jet chooses to be funny makes my heart happy, but also every piece of genuine advice he gives. i’m a particular fan though of buddy recounting her years in the lighthouse and him saying he became concerned when she didn’t come downstairs at the usual time. “you took the door off its hinges.” “i was deeply concerned.” king of understatement

Idea for a story: again no spoilers for you but..... tools of rust time loop au

Unpopular opinion: this isn’t “unpopular” as much as it is unknown but jet is buddy’s queerplatonic partner and i will keep saying it until everyone believes it

Favourite relationship: jet and buddy,,, just everything about them. the way he suspects when she’s lying, the way she makes tea for him when she expects him to drop by. the fact he comes to check on her when she is 41 seconds late to the family meeting because it’s unlike her to be late and the last time she was late for something her brain was turning to radiation soup. but most especially the way she snaps at him to stay out of her business and he said he could not because he made her promise eight years ago to never stay out of the business of her health, no matter how many times she asked. they r literally in a qpr

Favourite headcanon: i don’t think this is true but i still think it would be funny if the ruby-7 used to be painted red but when jet got it he had it painted green because he Just Really Likes Green (as evidenced by his hovercycle). it’s very funny to me.

BUDDY

First impression: it’s been a minute since i relistened to time gone by but i’m pretty sure the first thing she ever says in the podcast is sliding up to depressed accidental whiskey thief juno and say “that’ll be ten million creds,” scaring the shit out of him, so needless to say i was in love instantly.

Impression now: my love for buddy aurinko has only grown and if it sounds like i already said that in this post it’s because i did about juno and it’s appropriate because the parallels are astounding. the heart of it all gave us such depth to buddy’s internal monologue and why she always sounds like she knows exactly what to say and what that’s like and honestly will i ever be over the heart of it all as an episode? unlikely. i think i’m gonna have a little piece of it in MY heart forever.

Favourite moment: everything she’s ever said is iconic as hell i especially like “in an impressive fit of hubris i’ve decided not to prepare my words for this vow” which made me laugh out loud but once again i must give it up for her iconic “I WANT TO LIVE” moment. honourable mentions to her taking rita out for ice cream and giving juno shooting lessons while she’s in her actual wedding gown. i love her

Idea for a story: buddy and vespa as sun/moon dieties.... that’s all

Unpopular opinion: stop drawing her with a fancy high-tech eye like the theia!! it canonically looks like garbage and it’s described in detail, please, i’m dying, also don’t minimise her scars you bastards

Favourite relationship: buddy and vespa invented romantic love and the entire carte blanche crew’s relationship to her is great but you know by now i’m a slut for buddy & jet out-of-this-world queerplatonic partners. the way she checks in on him during tools of rust to make sure he’s not relapsing and he comes to find her when she is 41 seconds late in the heart of it all to make sure she’s not having a heart problem!! it’s the trust,, the devotion,, the mortifying ordeal of being known

Favourite headcanon: she can sing. absolutely tears it up at karaoke. i’m right

VESPA

First impression: knife lesbian goes STAB. she will heal your wounds but she will be threatening to give you more the whole time

Impression now: she is extremely strong, heart-rendingly tender, and despite being in the older half of the carte blanche crew somehow has unmistakable little sister energy which makes her downright hilarious. i’m so glad she got to marry buddy and they’re official space wives now they’re so good for each other

Favourite moment: both from shadows in the ship, either “GUN!!” “KNIFE?!” (iconic) or when she clocks the dark matters drone pretending to be juno because it called her crazy and juno wouldn’t call her crazy. i’m always a sucker for “shapeshifter fails to fool mark because they Know Each Other Too Well” and it was just *chefs kiss* so good

Idea for a story: i really want to write something about when she was first staying at the lighthouse with buddy post-reunion, and getting to know jet and stuff. i think it would be cute

Unpopular opinion: i know vespa doesn’t canonically have lots of scarring but people who don’t draw her with scarring? cowards.

Favourite relationship: once again, although buddy and vespa invented romantic love, i just love the dynamic between vespa and juno so much. they’ve come so far with each other and their weird sibling dynamic gives me life. at the end of what lies beyond when juno says “we’re not gonna kill her, vespa” and instead of sounding full of Rage and Suspicion she’s like “whyyy notttt?” and he’s like “because i said so!” and that’s just good enough for her even if she’s a bit grumpy about it. i love it.

this took.. a hot minute to do! jshkfjsdgsa thank you dyl ily <3

#michaelburnnham #riley replies #be gay do crimes in space #the penumbra #juniverse

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happytsukki · 4 years

Text

common sense

k. tsukishima

you were a fool. but only for tsukishima. (f! reader)

a/n: ive been reading the manga and chapters 370+ literally have me bawling, im so emotionally attached. also fun fact you cant get your drivers license in japan till you graduate high school,,big rip for (y/n) and her food.

someone with common sense would’ve ran home to avoid the predicted forecast. they would’ve enjoyed safely arriving home without getting a single drop of rain on their uniform. but you lacked common sense.

the steady beat of raindrops hitting the ground accompanied by a strong gust of wind greeted you as you exited the school. you stood waiting, a bright green umbrella painted with purple triceratops in one hand while you rocked back and forth on your heels.

“what are you still doing here?” a voice suddenly asked, snapping you out of your trance. looking up you locked eyes with tsukishima causing a champagne pink hue to creep onto your cheeks.

“oh, i-uh, knew you didn’t have an umbrella, so i figured i would wait for you and we could walk together,” you beamed. tsukishima rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses, but you swore you could see the corners of his lips curl up.

you knew tsukishima. you knew he hated the rain and deep down, he appreciated your kind gesture even if he didn’t say it.

he grabbed the umbrella in your hand and opened it outside the safety of the building. he took two steps into the rain before turning around to realize you were still frozen on the steps of karasuno high. there you were, an idiot shivering from head to toe in the cold weather, yet you still had a smile painted across your face.

“are you gonna just stand there or are you actually coming?” he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion.

“coming!!” you cooed before running down the steps and practicing colliding with him as you pressed closer to him under the tiny umbrella. maybe you should’ve packed a bigger umbrella, but you definitely weren’t complaining.

you walked in unison, small drops falling onto your sweater as you could barely fit under the umbrella with the beanpole. you took notice of one hand tucked away in the warmth of his jacket and the other clutching the umbrella for the two of you. and with your warm gloves, you placed a hand over his.

“sorry, your hand seemed a little cold” you blurted out, slightly afraid he would take his hand away in disgust. but he didn’t, he let you hold his hand. you could finally release the breath you were holding and smiled. rainy days never felt good. the sky may have been dark and gloomy, but being with him felt as if it was another spring day, the sun beaming brightly and the birds chirping.

your walk consisted of asking tsukishima about his volleyball club season and him asking about your classes. you wanted to amuse him, to hear his laugh just once, so you told him the story of how you went to school thinking you math test only to find it was actually an english test, receiving a grade no higher than your age.

and miraculously, he laughed. it was subtle and quiet, but it took away your breath and made your heart race.

tsukishima halted, finally arriving at his home. he glanced up at the sky before catching it slowly transform from a color to a baby blue.

“it stopped raining—“ you cut him off midsentence, grabbing the sides of his face and pulling him closer before you placed a quick peck on his lips.

“bye!” you shouted as you ran away. leaving poor tsukishima standing there, dumbfounded as to why his heart was beating so fast and why his knees turned into complete jelly.

you liked tsukishima. and luckily, he liked you too.

someone with common sense would’ve finished their homework and took advantage of a night free of worry. they would’ve enjoyed a full eight hours of sleep while dreams danced through their mind. but you lacked common sense.

the kitchen clock read 2:18, you were growing impatient waiting for cookies in the oven. before your crazy attempt to make lunches and treats for the entire karasuno team, you studied for your history test and finished a 10-page essay due the next day.

with your apron stained with all sorts of condiments and food, you glanced at the pile of bento boxes placed on your dining table. each decorated with a name of every player on karasuno’s mens volleyball club, of course including the cutest managers and best coaches.

the lunch box on top, reading my tsukki, my moon made with extra love and care for you boyfriend.

tomorrow was the miyagi prefectural qualifiers and as much as you wanted to be there, you had school. you longed to be in the crowds, screaming for tsukki and karasuno at the top of your lungs. so of course, you felt guilty for not being able to give your support. an alternative? food.

beep beep. the timer of the oven finally went off and you breathed a sigh of relief. you weren’t sure how long you could keep your eyelids open. your tiredness must’ve gotten to your head because without a second thought you opened the oven and reached for the scorching pan.

you spewed a variety of curses quietly in an attempt to not wake your parents, but the pain was intolerable. after taking the cookies out with the opposite hand, throwing them in a container and trying to type out ‘how to deal with burns’ with your pinky while one hand held ice (not a good idea) to the burn— you fell asleep on the couch.

not even 3 hours later, you woke up. oh the things i do for this boy. you shook your head, a smile creeping onto your face just thinking about him. you quickly throw on a hoodie and carefully place the food into a basket attached to your bike.

the sun had barely come up, just peeking from the horizon. it was way too early. riding your bike to karasuno while you rubbed your eyes constantly and yawned nonstop was a challenge. you almost tipped over several times. but once you arrived you were greeted by a horde of “hey it’s y/n!!” but the only thing you could really hear was “y/n what are you doing here?”

“well, good morning to you too, tsukki,” you chirped, taking the food out of your basket and carefully distributing it to everyone.

“wow y/n, you really didn’t have to do this.” daichi said. “but this does look amazing.” sugawara butt in, admiring the cute design. “y/n you’re the best, seriously!!” praised hinata, already shoving a small bite into his mouth for a quick ‘taste.’

when you handed tsukki his, confusion and worry came across his face. “but— look at you y/n. you look terrible.” he spat, reaching over to inspect your face. he titled your chin up and pulled your eyes wide.

“is that what you tell your girlfriend after she spent all night to make you lunch?” you pouted, slightly hurt from how he reacted.

“i think y/n looks pretty, like always.” yamaguchi gushed from afar.

“shut up yamaguchi.” “sorry tsukki!!”

“but you know thats not what i meant. i’m just worried about, you look like you haven’t sleep at all.” he shook his head.

“hey! technically i slept for 3 hours.” you argued, earning a signature tsukishima eye roll from the man himself.

“you’re an idiot, y/n. but thank you.” he muttered and placed a kiss on your forehead. suddenly, coach ukai cut in and yelled for everyone to get in the van. groaning, tsukki squeezed you into a hug.

“sorry i can’t be there, but win for me and i’ll be there next match. i promise” you pouted, adding an extra boost of encouragement for tsukishima. these days, you’d noticed how passionate he’d become about the sport and no words could describe your happiness over this.

after waving bye to the team and wishing them the best of luck, you stood alone in the parking lot. happy and excited for what was to come for the karasuno boys volleyball club. but stupid for thinking you could make it through the rest of your day on the mere 3 hours of sleep.

you were an idiot— a fool, perhaps.

someone might as well hand you a jester hat and shoes, bells included, of course. because you were a fool, for tsukishima kei only.

someone with common sense would’ve followed the sign saying “only players allowed on court.” they would’ve yelled praises of encouragement from the stands and just sent a text. but you lacked common sense.

as soon as you saw red liquid ooze from tsukishima’s hand, you hoped out of your seat and grabbed your belongings without hesitation. oh no. your heart sunk and before yachi could even try to calm you down you were already running.

past the crowds and down the stairs leading to the court. you sprinted towards the karasuno team, completely ignoring the officials yelling at you.

you gently pushed through tsukishima’s teammates and an angry expression reached your face once you met eyes with the boy.

“tsukishima kei, are you stupid?” you cursued at him. his face turns a slight pink as his teammates snicker at your typical girlfriend antics. meanwhile, several tournament officials walked over to check on tsukishima’s condition and kick you off the court since you weren’t a player. but you didn’t care. you took his hurt hand into yours, putting your face closer to examine the extent of his injury.

he winced in pain causing your anger to melt away. “you almost gave me a heart attack, you have no idea how worried i was up th-“ you blab on before tsukishima reassures you.

“y/n i’m still breathing, right? you care about me that much huh?” tsukishima smirked as he tried to hide the pain he felt in his right hand.

“okay lovebirds, why don’t you go to the medical office together and get it checked out? we’re going to need you back on the court, tsukishima.” coach ukai quickly sends the two of you away in hopes of him returning by the fifth set.

akiteru and yachi anxiously follow as you and tsukishima rush to the medical office. they wait outside and the doctor tells you two that only his pinky is discolated and the rest of his fingers are fine, so he can still return but he has to wait for the bleeding to stop. the doctor excuses himself to get more bandages, leaving the two of you alone.

you stand up from your seat to stand in front of tsukishima. his face is serious, clearly still fixated on the game still going on at the moment. you wanted to give him peace but you couldn’t hold in how proud you were.

you go on to explain how amazed you were. “and when you jumped up to block, i knew ushijima had no chance— then BOOM! his spike goes straight down into the floor. i think i broke yachi’s eardums with my screaming. not to mention how hot you looked out there like what the hell??” you gushed, making tsukishima smile amidst his pain.

he pulled you in closer and wrapped his long arms around your torso, tucking his face into the comfort of your neck. like muscle memory, your hand finds its way to his back and began to rub circles.

“you’re really sweaty, tsukki. its kinda gross.” you whisper into his hear making him click his tongue in response. but despite the perspiration dripping down his back, you honestly didn’t mind.

tsukishima pulls away, his eyes wander around your face. his breath hitching at your every feature, especially at how your eyes possessed a unique twinkle that didn’t just resemble stars but the entire galaxy. then he remembers the day he fell in love with you, that day you walked home together in the rain.

“god y/n, you’re crazy you know that, right? but i love you.” he chuckles. “i know.” you proudly state while you try to hide the fact that your heart was physically hurting from how fast it was beating. “and i-“ you sprinkle a dozen kisses all over tsukishima’s face. one for eveything you loved about him.” love you too, kei” you say before pressing your swollen lips against his.

“now go out there and beat shiratorizawa’s ass!”

and that’s exactly what he does.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu writing #haikyuu oneshot #tsukishima #tsukishima kei #tsukishima scenarios #tsukishima imagine #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima fluff #anime scenarios #anime imagines

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tomdiddlyumptious · 3 years

Text

T.H/H.O| Old Apartments

Summary: two new comers come, good and bad intentions at first, a triangle at last.

Warnings: drinking? Not proof read, a love triangle? Which is possibly gonna be terrible with the way I right

Chapters? I don’t know but I know this is a small skit

“Look mate-“ “this is where like the stoners live haz! I’m not staying here!” “Well piss off! I’m about to go have some fun” haz shrugged, taking his stuff out of the uhaul and going inside the rather old, crusty apartment.

“I’m boreeddddd!” Tom (Tom Felton/draco, but he is like is real age now so) yelled on the empty large space. “Well you won’t be! We are having some new mates!” You smiled, taking the ice cream out the freezer and grabbing a spoon. “Yeah why don’t you go hang out in the pool or something” Evan stated (Evan peters/ Tate Langdon). “I’m pretty sure Aja threw up in there” “wait when!” You ask, looking at him and sitting in the tall chair.

“Last week! Oh I forgot you have a boring job” “shut the fuck up draco” he only makes a face at you but somebody catches all of your eyes. You all turned your heads finding someone you don’t know heavy panting.

“That’s a bit much to carry all the way up the stairs if you ask me” Evan said, coming up to help the fellow guy out. “T-thank you” the stranger smiles, Evan only chuckling and telling the stranger to follow him.

“Yikes” your eyebrows cock and you dig with the spoon for more ice cream. “I hope he doesn’t make the house boring like you do” “go do some crack or something, it’ll make you happy” you shrug suggesting. “I’ll check into that actually” he nods. “Alright addict we need your help!” Evan yells from inside the room, out of breath. “That’s my que” Tom says, standing up and making his way to the strangers room. “I guess I could help to” you mutter, putting your ice cream down and grabbing your slippers and going the the elavator.

You looked around at the street and the parking lot, finding a wide open uhaul, you walk over and grab something, which was heavy. “Hey you twat! Stop stealing” you hear someone say, hearing footsteps you place to mattress down and look at him confused. “I’m actually helping someone, so your the idiot mate” you smile at the unknown person. “O-oh” he stutters “can I help you then?” “I think I’m fine, im not too idiotic” ooo that was some extreme shade, good job y/n. The stranger looked taken back a bit, cursing at himself for being so dumb. “I’m sorry” he let out, “I don’t accept sorry, sorry” you glare at him, taking in his looks.

Doughy brown eyes, skinny beat lean, slight chubby arms, teeth a bit crooked, no lips, a mopped, reddish brown hair color that dropped across his head. You rolled your eyes, picking up the mattress again and the stranger watching you as you struggle back inside, sighing you noticed how weak you actually are.

“What’s your name?” You asked the blonde with blue eyes. “Harrison” he smiled at you, lifting his hand you looked at it and thought ‘yes’ “yes what?” Harrison asked. “Oh she just has a extreme hand kink” Evan grinned. “Shut up!” You yell, grabbing a quarter in your pocket and throwing it at him, hitting him in his forehead. “Well uhm, do you still want a hand shake?” Harrison chuckled, you smiled taking his hand in yours, making eye contact with him. “Is this romance I see?” Tom dramatically gasped, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “So this is loveeeee, mhm mhmmm” Evan sung, flipping the quarter. “Would you asshole shut up!” You embarrassingly cover your eyes, Harrison laughing. “So this is what it’s like?” “Yep, were a family here, it’s nice to meet you Harrison, just keep your hands in your pockets at all times” “y/n let’s go make dinner” Tom said, you nodded following him out.

Thomas stood outside, debating if he go there or not. “Fuck it” he murmured, picking up as much stuff as he could and making his way up.

“Wine!” You smiled, grabbing it from the cabinet. “Perfect!” Tom smiled, the nice pasta in the pretty bowl. “Hi” there was a small sound, you looked over and seen stranger. “Hey idiot, might not wanna put to much stress on yourself” you say, setting down the wine and helping him with his stuff. “Thank you” he whispers, you only smile and pull him to his room with Harrison. “I’m guessing this what do you call it, twat? Is your friend?” ‘Your right” he nodded, his side of the room already set up. “I’m not a twat, I’m protective” he groaned as you both put the stuff in place, “eh your a twat” you chuckle as he rolls his eyes.

“Dinners done!” Tom yelled, grabbing plates and setting them up in the livingroom while the flavor of love played. “Let’s go” you smiled, they both smiled back and followed you out. “Aja your here? Since when?” Evan asked, plopping himself on the couch wearing his grey sweats and white shirt. “I’ve been here all day, I’m sick remember?” “Ewww” you, Evan, and Tom shouted. When Aja gets sick she gets sick terribly, “so who’s taking care of her? Because it’s not i” “not i” “not I” “did you forget I’m here dipshits?” “Oh no we are very fond of you” Tom said making everyone laugh. “Fine I will do it, Aja I’ll make you something” you said, while everyone else sat on the couch, and of course stranger had to be the odd one out, sitting in your seat. “Might not wanna sit there” Tom whispered. “Why are you whispering?” “Y/n will attack you, verbally, and you won’t like it” “he’s being very serious, don’t sit in that seat” “alright” he shrugged, standing up and sitting next to haz and Aja. You slapped some saltine crackers on a plate and room temperature sprite in a champagne class. Everyone made their plates, Evan making yours “what is this show?” Haz said, “flavor of love? Ya know-“ Evan got cut off by Tom “flavor flaveee” you laughed and came back over, giving the soup, crakers, and sprite to her. “It’s spicy” you tell her, she nodded and you sat down in your seat, Evan giving you your plate and you thanked him, the wine you poured yourself.

About a season in Aja turned off the TV, everyone groaning and looking at her. “What? I think we have to get to know each other” she shrugged. “Right, okay” Evan shrugged, you took all the plates and put them in the sink, rinsing them off and washing your hands, you sat back down and joined everyone.

“Well whos more interesting?” “Y/n” everyone said at the same time, except for stranger and haz. “I’m not that intresting, I’ll go last” “well we are all actors, or at least used to be, except y/n, we all just huddled together and said hey let’s have a shitty apartment and make it our home” “yeah pretty much, what’s your name stranger?” Aja said, looking at stranger “Tom” “no my name is Tom, what’s your name?” Tom said, “it’s Tom- well thomas but” “we are calling you Thomas then” “you sound like my mom-“ “well what would you like to be called sweet cheeks?” “Uh- Stanley?”

“Well welcome home Stanley, my names Evan, Evan peters, I’ve been active since like 2008, I’m pretty basic, I met y/n before anyone else, I like the color black, Taco Bell, and uhm, I don’t know what else?” “My name is Tom, I played draco in Harry Potter as you should already know, I like titanic, grey olive, red, the simpsons, and etc” “I’m Aja, I play in how to get away with murder, uh favorite color?” She coughs, your face scrunched “blue, I like anything really I guess” she shrugs.

You sigh as it was your turn, everyone looking at you, “uh, my name is y/n, my road to fame was a book I made-“ “best book ever” “shut up and let me speak, unlike everyone here I’m bi, I like dark green I guess, I like music a little to much, I love being alone, I paint sometimes, I have weird stages in my life and fazes and I guess yeah” you shrug. “She left out to much detail, she’s really fun and can bright up any room, she’s like the soul to this old ragged place, we wouldn’t do anything without her, she makes us clothes, she feeds us, spends money on us, talks to us, she’s our family in so many pieces, sooner or later you’ll find out for yourself” Evan smiled at you. “You do to much Evan” you rolled your eyes.

Stanley just looked at you, haz smiled and looked at you, both thinking “beautiful”.

#tom holland x reader #tom holland x black!reader #harrison osterfeild x reader #Harrison osterfield x black!reader #tom holland #tom holland fanfic #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfeild imagine

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kdenbibi · 4 years

Text

Boo

Pairing: Kaminari Denki x African American! Reader

Request: Hello! Could I make a request please? Could you write an African American! Exchange student! X Kaminari Denki?(or Hitoshi Shinsou, all my faves are problematic) If I need to be more specific, I have an idea: •The reader is normally a tough girl, but Since its spooky season™️ the two of them decide to go to a haunted house and it turns out she gets spooked pretty easily -> teasing ensues But anything would be fine because I like your writing style! If you dont have the time, that's ok, thank you!

AN: I'm sorry if it's short and or trash but I love this goofy fool sm and I'm really happy someone requested him!!! (ALSO I HATEMYSELF YOU REQUESTED THIS IN OCTOBER AND IM POSTIN IT IN JUNE END ME)

"Remind me again why I agreed to do this shit?"

"I’ve always said one day my daring charm and wit would finally getcha’- please don’t go I was just playing!" He laughed out catching my elbow before I could escape the oncoming headache.

"No, you said we were going to a pumpkin patch dickhead, this ain’t a pumpkin patch." You felt your eye twitch as you walked closer to your real destination, the scariest Halloween attraction in your town.

"I may have stretched the nature of the pumpkins, they'll still be here! Just on the heads of people trying to kill you in a corn maze.”

Almost as if to emphasize his statement shrill screams coming from within the maze finally reached your ears, and shit did it send a chill up your spine, but you weren’t about to tell him that. Huffing out a laugh you turned to face the eccentric blonde, "We're gonna have to square up after this you know that right?"

"What? I'm not a square! I picked this place after all." He boasted gesturing to the haunting atmosphere hanging over the two of you, before you could correct him on the term a particularly loud shriek had the both of you jumping in place, the sudden movement caused your hand to ever so slightly brush against his, unknown to you, but the harmless action had his heart racing faster than the zombie that chased the two of you from the ticket booth to where you now stood.

“If something grabs me i’m going to hit you.”

He laughed holding a hand to his chest in mock hurt, “Why are you gonna hit me?! I’ll only grab you if you ask- wAIT STOP LEAVING.”

“Well i’m not gonna hit the worker, they’re just doing their job.”

“You know I’m surprised.”

“What that I actually dragged my ass outta bed to be here? Me too.”

“No, well yes and no heh.” You turned to face him, overly aware of your place in line and how it slowly but surely grew closer to the dark entrance.

“Well you seem kinda..”

“Is there an end to that sentence?”

“Don’t bite my head off okay?” he anxiously toyed withe the strings of his hoodie, his eyes darting around from your face to the floor,

“You almost seem kinda, scared?”

“Boy if you don’t-”

“Next.”

Was the only word the doorman said as he ushered the two of you forward, cutting off your defense before it could begin, you’ve been in burning buildings, the bad end of a gun fight and can proudly say you’ve talked back to your mama and lived to tell the tale, statistically, you a bad bitch, things can’t shake you.

cept’ this.

The air seemed to grow colder as you wordlessly moved forward, your hands twitched at your sides, the longer nothing happened the tighter you tensed up.

“Pretty cool huh?” he whispered at your side making you jump nearly two feet in the air, your hands flying up to press against your temples.

“Whhhat the hell man? Why would you go and do some shit like that?”

He tried in vain to bite back a smile at your reaction, pausing his steps he stared down at you, “So you are scared!”

“Well no, your loud ass whispering caught me off guard is all.” He rolled his eyes, the grin on his face only growing as you suddenly picked up the pace, he had to jog to not lose you.

“Wait up a second here-”

“What good does that do anyone in horror movies ever? Exactly.” He laughed tugging at your sleeve.

“Come on! I’ve been asking you out since you transferred and you finally said yes, stay a while.” The urge to clown him for the line was strong, only outweighed by the urge to throw him a bone, to his credit, he had been asking you out since your first day in class, you gave him an elaborate excuse not to go every single time, it became sort of a game, no matter how ridiculous the lies got, he never argued, never got mean like a lot of people do when they get rejected, instead he’d laugh along and swear one day he’d get you to say yes, and somewhere, along the way, among the jokes and terrible, garbage pick up lines, you began to notice a few things about Denki Kaminari.

The first was that he had two sides, the guy who tries to be cool, the school flirt, this is the guy he usually was, but there was also this version of him that switches his Netflix to English when you come over, just to make it easier for you to enjoy, the kinda guy that sends you memes when you’ve had a bad day, the kinda guy who actually remembered how homesick you got talking about Halloween back home so he tried to surprise you with what he no doubt thought was a good idea.

Points for effort.

You sighed slowing your pace to fall beside him, once ore you continued forward in silence, you finally came to a choice in the path, left or right.

“So, where we going?” you asked subtly inching closer to him, the skin crawly feeling seemed to spread as you stared down the offending paths,knowing no matter where you went, some scurry shit was waiting for you.

“You tell me gorgeous.”

“Why the hell should I know?” he rolled his eyes, tugging you with a grin

“Fine! Lets go this way.” he began walking to the left, to his surprise you’d suddenly latched on his arm pulling him back.

“D-Don’t the screams sound louder down there?”

He tried to memorize the way you wrapped around his arm, not knowing if he’d get the chance again, he was so caught up he nearly forgot how to speak.

“Okay, no problemo, uh right it is-” a shout from that direction halted both your steps.

“Well shit.”

“Took the words right out my mouth.”

“Only way out is through babe.” he hesitantly gripped your hand in his own, his hold loose enough for you to pull away, when you didn’t, he swallowed thickly before tightening his grip.

“Come on, I got you scaredy cat .” he gently tugged your rigid form along thanking every deity he knew he found this place online

“If you let me die on our first date I’m telling god.”

“Ah-Ha! You admit this is a date?”

“Yes! whatever get me thefuckupouttahere!” your words were rushed as you tugged him forward, sidestepping a zombie on the floor, your grip was iron but he couldn’t find the heart to care, not when you were wrapped around him in a way he’d only imagined before.

The rest of the event was a blur as you dodged any and everything you seen, in fact it wasn’t until he pointed it out did you realize you'd ran all the way back to the train station.

While you leaned on your knees and desperately tried to get air back into your body, he was busy watching you with the sweetest little smile curling on his lips, because even in a moment like this you were still the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and as that thought processed, he understood just how whipped he was.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize that be so scary.”

“Okay, you wanna makes jokes huh, fine next time we’re going on the biggest roller coaster in japan and I’m gonna watch your soul leave your body.”

“Can’t wait sugar.” he said looping an arm around your shoulders.

#poc reader #poc reader insert #poc imagine #bnha kaminari #bnha #denki x reader #kaminari x reader #denki kaminari

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freddiesaysalright · 4 years

Text

The Most Dramatic Season Ever - Week 5

Summary: It’s your time now! You are ABC’s new Bachelorette and this is your journey! All these men (including our fav BoRhap boys and then some) are competing for your heart! Will you find love? Will you get engaged at the end? Or will you end up heartbroken? Find out, on the most dramatic season ever!

Word Count: 8.3k

Tag List: @psychosupernatural, @someone-get-a-medic, @bensrhapsody, @deakyclicks, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession, @minigranger, @crazyweirdocalledfriday, @the-moving-finger-writes, @assembledherethevolunteers, @rose-writes-prose, @queenlover05, @moon-stars-soul, @danadeacon, @deacyblues, @thesundrop, @cupidben, @lostlittlenerd, @delilahmay39, @timmvrphy, @queenmylovely, @loveandbeloved29, @free-pool-trash, @fairestkillerqueenofall, @local-troubled-writer, @babyalienfairy, @littlecarowrites, @allthethingsicant, @im-an-adult-ish, @mirkwoodshewolf, @squishy-gay-astronaut, @sherlollydramoine, @butlegendsneverdie, @dogmom2014, @rocketrhap917 If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: Oh, the drama continues. This chapter is emotional. omg

Warning(s): None!

Night 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Week 5 here we go!!!

“W...what are you doing here?” you stammered, shock keeping you frozen to the spot.

“Can I come in?” he asked. “So we can talk?”

“Yeah, okay,” you agreed, forcing yourself to move at last.

You stepped out of the way and allowed him into your room. You followed him to the couch and he took a seat, but you couldn’t. Now that you were moving, you didn’t want to stop. You began pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table.

“How are you?” he asked.

You stopped in your tracks and faced him. “I’m doing well. What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much and I wanted to tell you before you maybe got swept up in…”

“In what?” you pressed.

“In all this,” he said. “In someone else.”

Jamie Bell was an actor and dancer. While Peter’s season was airing, he had gotten in touch with you via social media. He was in LA, so you went out on a few dates with him. You thought things were going well, and that there was real potential there. But before he returned to England, he broke it off. He didn’t know when he would be coming back to the states, and he didn’t really believe in long distance relationships. A month later, you got the call from Chris Harrison with the offer to be the Bachelorette. Since you still wanted to find your partner, you accepted.

As you looked at Jamie now, those old feelings started to return to you. You were reminded harshly of his charm and all the fun you had together.

“That’s all you wanted to tell me?” you questioned. “That you missed me?”

Despite the good memories, he had really hurt you. You were skeptical of his being here now.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “Ever since I left.”

“Jamie, that was months ago,” you reminded him. “You had plenty of time to contact me before I started this.”

“I didn’t want to stand in your way,” he said. “You know I’ve only ever wanted for you to be happy.”

You frowned. “No, I don’t think I do. If you really wanted me to be happy, you would have given us a shot when we had one. Instead of running away.”

You wanted to add “like a coward” to the end of that, but you held your tongue. He didn’t deserve any harsh words, really, since he had done the right thing if he wasn’t feeling the relationship. You wanted to hear him out.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said. “But at the time, I really wasn’t sure about us. It took being away from you for me to realize that I’d made a huge mistake.”

You took a deep breath and looked away from him, heart aching.

“How come you didn’t reach out?” you asked.

“Like I said, I didn’t want to get in the way if doing this was what you really wanted,” he told you. “But I heard you were here in London and I just had to see you. And take my chance.”

He stood up and crossed the room to you. He placed a hands on your arms. You remembered his touch as if it were yesterday.

“You can’t deny that we had something great,” he said. “Maybe it’s still there.”

“What would you have me do?” you demanded, wrenching free of him and stepping back. “Leave all of this behind? I’ve made really strong connections. I’m falling in love, Jamie. You want me to just throw it all away?”

“No, that’s not what I want,” he said. “I want you to give me a chance too.”

You blinked, stunned.

“What, you mean come and join the house?” you asked. “With the other guys?”

He nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

You sighed, turned away, and went to the window, looking out at the city, hoping it would bring you some clarity. You liked Jamie, and you missed him too, but the guys who were here meant so much to you. To bring in another person when you were already getting down to the wire would really throw things off.

“I dunno if that’s a good idea,” you said. “This is almost over. Hometowns are next week. I don’t know if I could do this to them and then meet their families.”

You heard him huff behind you, so you turned around again, looking at him expectantly.

“Shouldn’t you follow your own heart?” he said. “This is about you, isn’t it?”

“It is,” you said. “But I also care about these men, and I don’t want to hurt them. Like I said, I’m falling in love. As great a time as we had, I didn’t get there with you before you left.”

“But we have another chance now,” he insisted. “You just have to say yes.”

“I don’t know if I want to,” you replied.

His hopeful expression broke, shifting into hurt.

“I’m sorry,” you said. “But I can’t see myself getting there with you now. Not when I’m so far along with these guys. I told them when we started I knew my husband was among them. And that’s still true. I know that one of them is my person.”

He inhaled deeply, absorbing this blow. You hated to hurt him. But you weren’t sure about him, and at this point, you needed to be sure of anyone you were going to keep around. That security was in the seven men you still had.

“I appreciate you taking a shot,” you said. “But I think you were right back then when you left. We should say goodbye.”

“That’s really how you feel?” he asked.

You met his gaze.

“That’s really how I feel,” you said. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

You went to the door, passing him and allowing him to follow you. He stopped you as you reached for the handle.

“Y/N,” he said.

You looked at him.

“I hope you have a wonderful life.”

You smiled. “Thanks, Jamie. You too.”

He hugged you for a brief moment before leaving. You closed the door behind him, feeling like that door was closing on your heart. When you and Jamie dated, you thought you could fall in love with him. But since you met the men on your season now, you realized that Jamie was not it. It was time to move on.

First, you had to clarify this to the men.

You grabbed your room key and headed out. It made you nervous to confess something like this to them, but you didn’t want them to leave here and start reading about rumors and then doubt you. It would be better to hear exactly what happened, directly from you.

The men’s suite was one floor above yours. Your hands shook a little as you approached the door. Would they really understand? Would they now doubt your reasons for coming on this journey? You just had to tell them and find out.

You knocked on the door.

Taron answered and was immediately thrilled to see you. His wide smile made you return with one, and he pulled you in for a hug before stepping aside and letting you walk in.

“What’s brought you here?” he asked sweetly.

“Something I wanted to discuss with all of you,” you said.

The rest of them were already in the sitting area of the suite. You took a seat on the couch between Rami and Joe.

“What’s up, Y/N?” Joe wondered.

“So, someone was just here,” you said. “Someone from my past.”

They all exchanged worried glances as you took another deep breath. Then you launched into the story. You told them how you met Jamie, the extent of the relationship, how it ended, and what he had asked of you just minutes ago. You watched as their faces went from surprised, to at ease, to shock again.

“I told him no,” you said, and relief took them. “Whatever was between us doesn’t compare to what I have with each of you, and I don’t think that in the time we have left that it could get there. So I sent him away.”

“You didn’t want to let him stay?” Gwilym asked. “Not even a little bit?”

“I’m gonna be honest, part of me did want to say yes,” you said. “But I know what I have here, and how I’m feeling about each of you. It wouldn’t be worth it to bring him on just to send him home at the end of the week. This - what I have with the people in this room - is where the potential is for me. I just wanted to be totally honest with you guys.”

“We appreciate it,” Rami said.

“I also didn’t want gossip magazines or anything like that getting a hold of even a scrap of this and blowing it way out of proportion,” you said. “These are the facts. And I hope you all trust me.”

“Of course we do,” said Ben. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Thank you all for being so understanding and lovely,” you said. “But now, I’ve got to get some sleep. It’s been a long, emotional day, and I’m ready to get to Ireland.”

They all agreed and got up to walk you to the door. You hugged each of them before leaving, a great weight lifted from your heart. You truly had a wonderful group of men here who were kind and genuine. This would ultimately make your decisions going forward more difficult. But for now, it made you happy.

When you landed in Ireland, your heart was beginning to sink. This was a big week. This was the week you would decide who would get hometown dates. You had to decide who’s connections were strong enough to want to meet their families. Three men - men you cared about so dearly - would be going home.

The men were equally anxious. They knew the weight of the week ahead. They also had to decide if they wanted you to meet their families. How strongly were they feeling for you? Could they really see themselves proposing at the end of this?

You were all staying at Ballyseede Castle. The guys had a few rooms to themselves and you had a separate room, on the other side of the building. You had the first date after your arrival there, and you were excited about it. But it was time to make a big decision. This date was make or break.

The first date card arrived, and Taron went to answer the door. When he returned to the guys, they were silent and waiting.

“Rami,” Taron read. “Will we sink or sail? Love, Y/N.”

“Finally,” Rami sighed, taking the card as Taron handed it to him. “I’m ready for a one on one.”

“Are you ready to take her home to your family?” Joe asked.

Rami nodded. “Yeah...yeah, I am. I’m falling for this girl, and I think bringing her home could solidify it for me.”

“Well, I hope it goes well, then,” Joe said with a smile.

They all wished him luck as he went to get ready.

Rami met you at a small dock on Lough Lane, the largest of the Killarney lakes. You beamed at Rami as he jogged up to you, wrapping you up in his arms and hugging you tight. You couldn’t help but giggle as you saw him and hold on for just a moment longer.

“So,” you said as you separated. “We are going on a little boat tour of Lough Lane today. There are tons of places to see along the shore, which are almost all part of Killarney National Park.”

“Sounds great!” he said.

“Awesome, let’s go!”

You took his hand. Together you walked to the little boat that was reserved for you and climbed in. You were in awe of Ireland and its natural beauty, so this was a great way to see some of it. Your guide was a local who knew most of the history, and he explained it to you and Rami as you rode around. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day. The water was shining like glass and the shore was a deep, lush green.

You stopped on a small island in the middle of the lake called Innisfallen. There was an old, crumbling building there. The guide told you this was Innisfallen Abbey. You and Rami clasped hands and went to explore it.

“I love doing stuff like this,” you said. “Seeing some history and all this beauty.”

“Me too,” he agreed. “I’m glad you chose me for this.”

“I’m glad too,” you replied. “I feel really good about us.”

He stepped closer so he could kiss you. You parted, grinning, before walking around some more.

“So, tell me about your family,” you said. “You know getting a rose this week means I’m going to meet them.”

“So you wanna be prepared?” he teased.

“Of course!”

“Well, there’s not much to know, really,” he said. “My parents are incredibly kind people. I’m sure they’ll love you. The trick is impressing my siblings.”

“A sister and a brother, right?” you asked.

“Yep,” he confirmed with a nod. “My sister is older and pretty protective of the both of us. She’s gonna be the tough one.”

“I see,” you said. “Well, I like that she cares about you so much.”

“She really does,” he said. “She’s the best sister in the world, honestly. She was pretty skeptical about this whole thing, but I think once she meets you, she’ll understand.”

“That’s good to hear,” you said. “I love that you’re all so close.”

“You told me that you and your family aren’t,” he said. “Can I ask why?”

You sighed. “Just...they were very conservative and religious. But they’re also really cold people. I felt like I was being controlled, not loved. So when I turned eighteen, I left. We talk every once in a while, but just for holidays and stuff. We don’t really have a relationship at all.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking your hand again. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

“It’s not easy,” you told him. “For a long time, I felt so alone. Then I met my ex - before Peter, that is - and things got worse.”

“Things got worse with your parents?”

“Just worse in general, including my parents,” you said. “The years I was with him, we didn’t speak at all.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s tough.”

A beat passed and then he looked at you.

“You’re really strong, you know that?” he said.

“You think so?” you questioned.

Your inability to maintain a relationship with your family always made you feel like there was something wrong with you.

“I know so,” he said. “To get away from your family because you know they’re not good for you, to endure what you endured from your ex, and then to still have the faith in love that you have...I’m kinda blown away right now.”

“Thanks, Rami,” you said quietly. “That really means a lot to me.”

He smiled, which made you smile too.

“I didn’t think I could fall any more in love with you, but here I am,” he said.

You beamed and leaned forward to kiss him.

Shortly after, you rode back to the mainland and disembarked. You thanked your guide before leaving the little harbor. Then you both went to prepare for the evening portion of the date.

Rami: I feel really good about our date today. Opening up with Y/N is as easy as breathing. We have a really natural connection. I do want to introduce her to my family and get a feel for how she’ll fit, but I don’t think it’s gonna be a problem. She fits in with me, anyway.

For the evening, you had the restaurant and bar of the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. It had a spectacular view of the lake, which looked much darker as the sun went down behind it. You and Rami sat down to dinner and you took a sip of wine.

“Today was a lot of fun,” you said. “I love to travel and explore, so I like that we got to see something different.”

“I’m the same way,” he told you. “I had a great time.”

“Where’s your ideal travel spot?” you asked.

“I would really like to go back to Egypt,” he said. “I’ve only been a few times, and I was pretty young, so I felt like I didn’t fully appreciate it.”

“That would be cool,” you said.

“Where would you want to go?” he asked.

“The top of my list was always London,” you said with a small laugh. “So I’m glad we went there! But after that it was always Tokyo.”

“I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it’s amazing,” he said. “Maybe we can go together sometime.”

“I’d love that,” you said. “I’d love to just travel the world with you.”

“Sounds like a dream,” he replied.

You paused for a moment before continuing.

“So, I kind of just want to check in with you since this is such a big week and I could potentially meet your family,” you said. “How are you feeling?”

He took a sip of his drink.

“Honestly, Y/N, I’m feeling good,” he said. “It’s hard to think about you and the other guys, but I feel great about us. We have a great connection. It’s definitely something I want to keep exploring because I’m falling so hard for you. Nothing would make me happier than taking you home to meet my family.”

You smiled.

“I’m feeling great about us, too,” you told him. “From day one, I feel like we’ve had something really unique and special. I want to know more about how you came to be the person you are. I want to meet your family.”

He grinned at you and you giggled back. He had the cutest, most genuine smile you’d seen in a long time. His eyes shone at you. You picked up the rose.

“Rami,” you said, letting his name linger in your mouth a moment because it felt so nice. “Will you accept this rose and take me home?”

He kissed you so enthusiastically, you laughed into his mouth. His answer was certainly clear to you. Your lips moved together deeply, with a tenderness that made you want to melt into a puddle right in your chair. When you parted to breathe, you pinned the rose to his jacket.

“I’m so happy, Y/N,” he said.

“I’m happy too, Rami,” you replied. “I can’t wait!”

You kissed again, heart soaring.

To celebrate, you went out to the balcony of the golf club and held each other as you looked out over the lake. As a small fireworks show began, you thought about how stoked you were to meet Rami’s family. To know him on a deeper level. Maybe then, you could really fall in love with him.

Back at the castle, in his room, Allen was looking out over the land pensively. Joe, who was his roommate, took notice and stopped what he was doing.

“Allen, you okay?” Joe asked.

“I think so,” Allen replied. “I dunno...being home is sort of putting a lot in perspective for me.”

“You wanna talk about it?” Joe offered.

“I’m okay,” Allen said. “Thanks, though.”

Joe left it alone, but he quickly became concerned. What did that mean?

Allen: Being home in Ireland has just got me thinking about things on a larger scale. Last time I fell in love this quickly, it ended badly. I’m not sure I am in love with Y/N at this point. And any girl I introduce to my family...I want to be in love with her. I want to be sure that she’s the one. And there’s no way to be sure right now because she’s still the Bachelorette, right? I’ve got a lot to think about right now.

Another date card arrived before Rami got home. Gwilym retrieved it and read it aloud.

“Richard,” he read. “Let’s be king and queen of the castle. Love, Y/N.”

“Alright, I can’t wait!” Richard said, taking the card as Gwilym handed it out to him. “I’m ready for that time with her.”

He looked at the card and wondered what it meant. He wasn’t familiar with Killarney at all, so he assumed there was some bit of history to what you would be doing. Maybe even within the castle you were staying in.

When Rami got home, rose on his chest, the mood shifted in the house. That meant there were only three roses left for hometowns. If Richard got one on his date, the odds were even slimmer for the guys on the group date. It hit them suddenly just how serious this was becoming.

The next day, you met Richard at Ross Castle, a fifteenth century tower fortress that overlooked Lough Leane. It was made of grey stones, which stood out among the green backdrop around it.

“Hi!” you greeted Richard as he gathered you up in a hug.

“Hello!” he returned, kissing you softly.

“I’m so glad you’re with me today,” you said. “We’re gonna explore Ross Castle together, so I hope you like history.”

“Sure I do,” he replied.

Taking his hand, you headed inside. It was amazing to see a small building with so much history.

“So, this castle was built by O’Donoghue Mor,” you said. “Legend has it, he lies in slumber deep beneath Lough Leane, and on the first morning of May, he rises out on his magnificent white horse and circles the lake. If you see him, you’re blessed with good luck for the rest of your life.”

“Spooky,” Richard said. “Does it cancel out any bad luck? Like, say you walked under a ladder or broke a mirror, are you cured?”

You laughed. “I would hope so!”

He smiled at you. “Who needs luck anyway, when I’ve got you?”

“How sweet,” you said with a blush.

As much fun as you were having with Richard, this still felt too new. You didn’t feel like you had progressed much with him. He was falling behind, and you needed more from him if he was going to get the rose from you.

The whole day was light and cheerful, despite your worries. You just knew you would have to talk to him about it that night. The castle was beautiful, the view of the lake was spectacular, and you were enjoying getting to do this with him.

For the evening, you had a room on the first floor of the castle set up for your dinner date. You walked in together and admired the coziness of it before sitting down at the table. Your stomach turned with nerves as you thought about what you wanted from Richard. What if it was something he wasn’t prepared to give?

“I had a great time today,” he said. “I always have so much fun with you.”

You sighed, setting down your wine glass.

“That’s great, Richard,” you said. “But is that all this is to you? We’re just…having fun together?”

He swallowed, brow furrowing. “Is there something wrong with that?”

That stung. You hated that your reservations were right.

“Yeah, there is,” you said. “This is getting real now. Giving you this rose means I meet your family. I don’t want to do that if you’re not serious about this.”

He took so long to reply you feared for a moment that he wouldn’t. But you needed him to respond to that.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said. “I really like you. I like where this is going. I’d like to keep seeing you.”

You released a slow, deep breath.

“It has to be more than that at this point,” you said. “We’re beyond exploring the relationship. Where do you see us at the end of this?”

His mouth turned down.

“What are you asking me, Y/N?” he asked.

“Can you see yourself committing to me?” you pressed.

“You mean, get down on one knee and propose?” he wondered.

You swallowed thickly.

“Yes,” you said. “Is that where you see this going?”

He heaved a sigh and cut his eyes away from yours. Panic made your heart rate pick up.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he said heavily. “But I can’t see it in the short amount of time we have left.” He looked at you again. “I know myself, and I’m not going to be ready to propose.”

You blinked and a tear slid down your cheek.

“I see,” you whispered. “Then...then I’m afraid I can’t give you this rose.”

Silence hung between you for a long moment, the joy of the day long gone.

“Can I walk you out?” you asked.

“Sure,” he replied.

You walked in silence to the van waiting for him. You felt a bit numb and confused. You had been feeling so strongly for him, but he wasn’t going to get there with you. It felt a bit like a waste.

“I really am sorry, Y/N,” he said as you came to a stop together.

“It’s alright,” you said. “Better to tell me now than go further into this with different ideas.”

“You’re sure we can’t keep seeing where this goes?” he wondered.

“No,” you said, shaking your head. “I didn’t come here for a boyfriend. I came for a husband. If you can’t get there, then we have to say goodbye.”

“I understand,” he said solemnly. “I wish you every happiness.”

“I wish the same for you,” you returned.

You shocked yourself at how sure you sounded when inside you were falling apart a little. You and Richard had been going strong. It made your heart ache for it to end this way.

“Goodbye, Y/N,” he said.

You hugged him one last time. “Goodbye, Richard.”

Upon parting, your eyes lingered on each other for a moment longer. Because this was your last time together, each of you were not eager for it to end. But at some point it had to. He was the one who finally conceded and opened the car door. You closed it behind him, letting more tears fall down your face.

“This sucks,” he said to the camera as the van started down the road. “I really thought we had something great. I just wish I could get where she wants. But I can’t and I don’t want to rob her of men that can give her that, you know? I’m just going to miss her a lot.”

You wiped your face, but the tears still fell slowly.

“I hate this,” you said to the camera. “I really didn’t want to say goodbye, but...I can’t just keep him if he’s not in the same place. I know I made the right decision.”

You went back to look out over the water. You had gotten clarity from Richard, and you were sure of what you did. That didn’t mean it was easy.

Back at the house, the guys were lounging around and talking over the possibilities for the group date. That’s when a producer arrived to take Richard’s things.

“No way!” Ben gasped.

The others shared his sentiment, and expressed their disbelief as well.

Gwilym: I’m shocked that Richard’s going home tonight. They seemed to have a strong connection. Although, he did confess to me that he wasn’t in love with her. Most of the rest of us are, so maybe she just knew it couldn’t get there. That does mean there are still three roses to give out.

After the producer took Richard’s luggage, there was a knock on the door for a date card. Rami went to get it and opened it.

“Gwilym, Joe, Ben, Allen, and Taron,” he read. “Join me for a long expected party. Love, Y/N.”

“Okay, I really have no idea what that means,” Ben said.

“It could mean anything, really,” Taron agreed. “But a party implies fun.”

Taron: I’m actually quite nervous about this group date. Her sending Richard home on their one on one show how serious this is getting. I mean, when there’s the possibility for her to meet your family, how could it not be? I just hope I’m able to spend a good amount of time with her and show her how badly I want to take her home.

Allen got to his feet, heart pounding. He knew he had to see you before the group date and talk about what he was feeling. He went to his producer and spoke to her about what he needed, and she told him he could go to see you. So, he headed to your room.

You were still recovering from your break up with Richard. As much as you knew it was the right thing, you were hurting. You were journaling about it to organize your feelings when you heard a knock on your door. You set your things aside, got to your feet, and stretched before going to answer it. When you looked through the peephole, you were delighted to see Allen standing there.

“Hey,” you said warmly as you opened the door.

Your brow furrowed at his anguished expression.

“What’s up?” you asked.

You stepped back to allow him across the threshold. You closed the door and faced him, expression just as questioning.

“How are you?” he asked. “I know today probably wasn’t easy. Saying goodbye and all.”

You sighed. “You’re right, it wasn’t wasn’t. I’m still working through it, but I’ll be okay. I’ve got other great relationships I can focus on.”

You tried to smile, but the look on his face made you falter.

“What’s going on?” you asked. “What did you need to see me about?”

“I needed to talk to you before going on the group date tomorrow,” he said. “I’m not sure how I’m feeling.”

You blinked. “Um...what do you mean?”

“Since coming to Ireland, I’ve been really reflecting on my feelings,” he said. “You know my history so you know I’ve really got to feel something - and be sure of it - before committing again.”

“I understand,” you said. “Are you...are you not feeling something for me?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “That’s just it...I’m not sure. I like you - I like you a lot - but I hear the way the other guys talk about you, and I’m not sure I’m there.”

Richard’s exit already felt like one blow. Now, it felt like Allen had knocked you off your feet. You sat down on the couch to feel steady.

“You haven’t said you were falling in love with me or anything,” you said. “And I understood your hesitation. But you’ve continued through this with me. What’s changed?”

“Being home has reminded me of my last relationship,” he said. “And it’s making me realize how serious this is for you and for everyone else. And I don’t feel what I should be feeling by now.”

You felt more tears welling up. God, you were sick of crying already. Two men you felt had such strong connections had both admitted they were not in love with you. Doubt crept into your heart. Were you more sure than the men? Were you mistaken in your feelings?

“So what are you saying?” you sniffled. “You want to leave?”

“I do,” he said. “I’m sorry. But you’ve always said you want us to be honest. This is my truth.”

You took a deep breath and swallowed. “Well, I gotta say, Allen, I’m really blindsided right now.”

Richard, you sort of expected. He was reserved and you could feel that he wasn’t in this. But Allen...this had taken you completely off guard.

“I thought we had something really great,” you went on. You leaned forward, elbows on your thighs, and head in your hands. “Now I’m questioning everything.”

“I don’t want you to question everything,” he said, taking your hands to make you look at him. “This is just me.”

“It’s not, though, Richard had the same problem. He wasn’t in love with me and he couldn’t see himself getting there,” you argued. “Is every man here just pretending?”

“I take a bit of offense to that,” he said. “I haven’t faked anything. My effort in getting to know you has been absolutely genuine. The other guys are as well. Those guys are falling in love with you so hard their heads are spinning.”

You tried to smile, but couldn’t. You had taken too many hits today. He sat down beside you.

“I’m sorry you feel the way you do,” you said. “Because I was really falling in love with you.”

“I’m sorry too, darlin’,” he replied. “But it’s for the best.”

With that, he pulled you into a hug. You wept quietly into him for a few moments, remembering all your great times and wonderful conversations. When he pulled away, he wiped your face with his thumbs.

“You’re a helluva woman,” he said. “One of those men is going to be a wonderful husband to you.”

“Thanks, Allen,” you replied quietly.

You got up together and you walked him to the door.

“I guess this is goodbye,” you said.

“It is,” he returned. “But I hope it’s not forever.”

Now, you did smile. “Not, not forever.”

You embraced again. He gave you a little squeeze, and then he left. As the door clicked shut, you felt more tears fall. You wiped them away.

Allen got into the car that was waiting for him outside. He looked into the camera.

“I know I’ve done the right thing,” he said. “I had to leave. I didn’t want to take time from the other guys who really do love her, it wouldn’t be fair. She’s following her heart, and I’m following mine.”

In your room, you looked at the camera.

“I just feel like all I’ve done this week is say goodbye,” you said. “I said goodbye to Jamie, then to Richard, and now Allen too...it just sucks.”

You went to bed anxious. Who else was going to shock you? Hurt you? Leave you?

The next day, you were still off from your day of goodbyes. You wanted to rally for the men you were going to see today, but you couldn’t be sure you would totally recover. But you didn’t want to be unfair to them. So, you put on your makeup and donned a happy face.

You met them at a bar/cafe in Killarney called The Shire. It was based on the famous home for Hobbits in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, a favorite series of yours. When you walked inside, your mouth dropped. It really was something straight out of Middle Earth.

The guys, without Allen, showed up a few minutes after you. You looked at the four of them and your hurt began to erode. Allen was right. These four - and Rami too - were where you were going to find your husband.

“Hi!” you greeted. “Welcome to The Shire!”

They smiled, looking around to take everything in.

“We’re a little early,” you said. “But there’s a party here today, and we’re all invited. So, I hope you’re ready for a great time!”

The party was for a local woman who was turning one hundred and eleven. She loved Tolkien, so her family and friends were throwing her a birthday party based on Bilbo Baggins’s one hundred and eleventh birthday. As they started arriving, things picked up, and before you knew it, the party was in full swing.

It was everything a party needed. Snacks provided by the cafe, drinks provided by the bar, incredibly friendly Irish hosts, and a live band. You spend most of the time dancing. You danced with each man you had there, and they were all different. Taron had the most energy, leading you all over the floor. Joe was the silliest, making you laugh more than dance. Ben was shyer, but you got him to open up. Gwilym was poised, but still fun, and surprisingly great at moving his body.

You and the guys got to speak to the woman, whose name was Katie, during a moment of quiet. She was remarkably aware. She hadn’t lost a step, mentally.

“So, Katie,” you said. “What’s the secret to living to one hundred and eleven?”

“I’ll tell you, dear,” she replied. “It’s to stay away from men!”

You giggled together and she patted your hand.

“I’ve already gone off the path, then, I’ve got four of them!” you cried, pointing to them standing behind you.

“Darling, I don’t know how you’re even standing up!” she returned. “Especially, handsome as they are. You’d make better use of the time you’ve got lying down.”

You all burst out laughing and you gave her hand a squeeze. Laughing and dancing and spending this time reminded you of why you started this journey. You were falling in love. There was always hope. You knew exactly what you wanted out of this and you had faith it would come to you.

You had fun all day. The evening portion of the date was being held at The Shire as well, only now you had it all to yourselves. You were excited to talk to these men and see how they were feeling going into hometowns.

You met them once again at the bar, and you made a toast. Then, Gwilym pulled you aside first. You beamed at him as you went into the cafe together to sit and talk.

“How are you?” you asked.

“Very well,” he said. “I’m content with where we are, and ready to keep growing with you.”

“Are you ready to take me to meet your family?” you wondered.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “I think it would go exceedingly well, and you would fit right in.”

“The way I did in your library?” you teased.

“Yes, cariad,” he said. “Exactly like that.”

You kissed him. Then you asked him about his family. From his descriptions, it sounded like they were similar to himself - bookish, smart, and very kind. You definitely had something to look forward to if Gwilym got a rose.

Ben pulled you next. Just being around him made you giddy. Ben was so sweet, and you didn’t think you could ever get enough of him. As you took a seat together on a bench, he pulled your legs onto his lap.

“How are you feeling, love?” he asked. “I know this hasn’t been an easy week for you.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” you said. “Between Jamie, Richard, and then Allen, I started feeling like all I was doing was saying goodbye. I really started questioning things.”

“Even though you had given Rami a rose?” he questioned.

“Yeah,” you admitted. “After my date with Rami, I felt like everything was fine, in spite of Jamie showing up and having to make that decision. Then Richard’s date went south, and on the same night, Allen told me he wasn’t in love with me either. I got so scared that maybe this wouldn’t actually work. Maybe it’s not enough time to fall in love and…” you trailed off.

“I’m sorry you went through all that,” Ben said, rubbing his warm palm over your knee comfortingly. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I’m still falling in love with you. I am falling in love with you every single day.”

“I’m falling in love with you too, Ben,” you assured him. Now that you had said it once, you wanted to keep telling him. And you were mostly sure about Ben’s feelings.

He kissed you.

“There’s no way you won’t find love here,” he said after. “You already have.”

You smiled and cupped his cheek. “You’re so wonderful.”

You kissed for a little longer.

After Ben, Joe came to get you. You looked forward to seeing Joe all the time. He was such a rock for you throughout all of this. And now, after your spirits were low, you felt that need to be near him again.

“Hey, baby,” he said lowly as he pulled you into a hug and kissed your forehead. “How’s it going?”

“It’s better now,” you whispered. “I’ve missed you.”

This was true. You actively missed Joe when he wasn’t around. Probably because you already felt so close to him.

“I’ve missed you too,” he replied. “I can’t wait for this part of it to be over. I really want you to meet my family.”

“Really?” you questioned.

“Really,” he told you. “I mean, they’ll love you. You’ll be more popular than I am.”

You giggled. “I dunno about that, but that definitely makes me excited. Who would I be meeting?”

“My mom, my siblings, my nieces and nephews, and probably my grandparents as well,” he said. “We’re a big group, and if there’s any reason we can all be together, we take that opportunity. Especially since my dad passed.”

“That makes sense,” you said. “I’d be so honored to meet the Mazzellos. I want to see the people who helped shape you into...well, one of the most incredible men I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.”

He smiled. “You’re so sweet, Y/N.”

You chatted for a little longer, with lots of kissing in between.

Finally, Taron got to talk to you. He gave you a huge hug before sitting in a booth beside you.

“I’m so happy to be here with you tonight,” he said. “You’ve been on my mind a lot.”

“I have?” you returned. “In what way?”

“Not anything gross, I promise,” he joked. “But I’ve just been thinking about the chance of you meeting my family and the more I pictured it, the happier I got.”

“That’s so sweet, Taron!” you replied, kissing his cheek.

“That’s not all, though,” he said. “I also thought about what I would tell them when they inevitably asked questions about us. The only thing I could think of was that...well, I love you, Y/N. It’s beyond falling at this point. I’m there. One hundred percent. I love you.”

“Oh!” you gasped. “Oh, Taron, that’s - wow. That’s lovely. Thank you for telling me.”

He smiled and took your hand.

“I just wanted to lay everything out there,” he said. “To let you know where my heart is. It’s with you.”

You returned his grin and leaned over to kiss him again. You felt how deeply he meant those words in this kiss. But, it frightened you a little bit. You had to consider now how you felt about Taron, because you weren’t completely in love with him. You could see it happening for you. But was that enough at this point?

When you parted, you returned to the other guys to hand out the rose. It was waiting for you on a table. You had already decided who you wanted to get it.

“I wanna give this rose to someone who just...made me feel really good tonight,” you said. “Especially after everything that’s happened this week. So...Ben, will you accept this rose?”

“Of course I will,” he replied, standing up to receive it.

After pinning it to his jacket, you kissed each other on the cheek. Then it was time to say goodnight. You had a rose ceremony to prepare for the following evening. At this point in the journey, there were no more cocktail parties.

Ben: I’m stoked I got the rose. I can’t wait to bring Y/N to my hometown and introduce her to my friends and family. I think that it’ll really bring us closer and I’ll be able to tell her that I am in love with her.

The rose ceremony was held in a private room off the lobby of Ballyseede Castle the following night. The men were waiting for you when you walked in. You took a deep breath, more nervous now than before any previous rose ceremony. You knew what you had to do, but you were dreading it. This was the most difficult decision you had made so far.

“Hi guys,” you said, your voice shaking.

They all said hello back to you.

“This is the most difficult rose ceremony to date,” you said. “This was an incredibly hard choice, but with families on the line, I knew I had to be careful and go with where I feel the strongest connections. I hope you understand.”

With that, you picked up the first rose. There were only two.

“Joe,” you said.

You saw him release a breath before approaching you.

“Joe, will you accept this rose?”

“Absolutely.”

You pinned it on him. As he walked back, you picked up the second rose with trembling hands. Both Gwilym and Taron were looking desperately at you. You were going to crush one of them.

Chris Harrison emerged.

“Gentlemen, Y/N,” he said. “This is the final rose tonight. Y/N, when you’re ready.”

You nodded. You weren’t really ready. How you were going to say this goodbye was beyond you. You would be crushed too. You already felt a lump forming in your throat.

“Gwilym,” you said.

Gwilym had the same reaction as Joe as he walked up. You couldn’t look at Taron. You didn’t want to see his face and witness how you’d hurt him. Especially after he told you he was in love with you.

“Gwilym, will you accept this rose?” you asked softly.

“I will,” he replied.

Hands still shaking, you pinned it to his jacket.

“Taron, I’m sorry,” Chris said. “Take a moment, say your goodbyes.”

Taron was already being embraced by Joe and Ben at the same time. Rami followed after and kissed Taron’s cheek. Gwilym hugged him. You heard them whisper words of comfort to him, but you couldn’t make out what they said. You kept your eyes fixed on the floor. You couldn’t see him yet.

Finally, you heard his footsteps coming toward you and you looked up. Your heart broke inside your chest at his expression. He was shocked and hurt, and there were already tears in his eyes. Just as there were in yours.

“Can I walk you out?” you whispered.

“Yeah,” he said numbly.

You walked with him out to the lobby and through the front door, where a car was waiting for him. But before you led him to it, you pulled him aside and stopped.

“I’m so sorry,” you choked out.

“I…” he trailed off and cleared his throat. “I dunno what to even say right now.”

“I know,” you replied. “But yesterday when you told me you love me, I just realized that I wasn’t in the same place. My connections with the others are just further along and stronger, and I have to follow that.”

“I understand,” he said with a sniffle, and he wiped away a tear that had started down his cheek.

“I care for you so deeply, Taron,” you said, sobbing as you spoke his name. “You’re such a special person, and you deserve someone who can give back to you everything you offer.”

Tears were streaming down both your faces now.

“I’m just so sorry I can’t give that to you,” you continued.

He pulled you into his arms. You remembered vividly that day at Disney, and all the times he held you. How you felt about him in that moment. It made you ache. You stood with him for several moments, just weeping together.

“I’m sorry too,” Taron said. “I was hoping...I really wanted to be your husband, Y/N.”

“I’m sorry,” you cried. “You were so brave to come here and risk your heart. I hate that I’m the one breaking it.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “You’re doing what you need to. And I just want you to be happy, Y/N. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

You sobbed harder, clutching a handful of his shirt. You weren’t quite ready to let him go. Even though you were sure of your decision. Even though he told you not to be, you told him again how sorry you were. There was nothing else to say.

Taron had the strength to finally part and start heading toward the car. You still cried as you went with him. He stopped at the door and kissed your forehead.

“So much luck,” he said gently, his voice gravelly.

“You too,” you replied. “Goodbye, Taron.”

“Goodbye, Y/N.”

He opened the door and slid into the backseat. You closed it behind him and watched him go, carried away from you forever. You looked on until the tail lights were no longer visible in the night. You were gutted.

Taron, inside the car, looked at the camera. Once he was no longer in front of you, he completely broke down. Sobs racked his body. His shoulders shook.

“I just can’t believe this,” he croaked when he had calmed down. “I was really in love with her - I am still. I just didn’t think it would end this way. I really...I really thought it would be me and her at the end of this.”

He wiped his eyes some more. He couldn’t look back now. All dreams of you had to be put aside. He just hoped he would be able to feel again what he felt for you.

Once Taron was gone, you shivered. Alone and sad, you returned to the remaining men. You noticed they were all pretty bummed too. Taron was well-loved, not just by you, but by them as well. Even though it bettered their odds for your heart, it was hard to see him go.

“Thank you all for being so patient,” you said. “That was really difficult for me and the decisions only get harder from here.”

A beat passed and you took a breath.

“That being said, I really am excited to meet your families and see where we can go from here,” you said.

You raised a glass, which Chris had given to you upon your return.

“To hometowns!” you cheered.

“Hometowns!” they echoed.

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achieveandhunt · 5 years

Text

live typing extra life 2019

part 2

warning: this was a mistake and i’m in the grapes

this starts right at Facilities vs AH. link to first post

let’s fuck some shit up babEY

oh what the fuck they’re playing a prerecorded video

last year was a fuckin doozy, nobody forget that

“legends of the under achiever” i didn’t know someone wrote my biography

why do i hear geoff screaming “FIVE FUCKIN FOUR” in my head, like in the legends of the hidden temple minecraft videos

jeremy looks. so dead inside on this fine november evening

ryan buzzing while they’re trying to explain the rules

my video quality went down so much that i thought i was watching someone playing roblox for a second

ryan “salty mother fucker” haywood has made a lovely appearance. he’s my favorite

michael and lindsay looking so domestic makes me so happy,, they’re my parents

someone donated under the name “ryan goes feral” uh??? yeah? you say that like it’s a bad thing??

oH FUCK MICHAEL GO DRIVE WIN PLEASE

jeremy HAS BROKEN OUT THE GLASSES SHIT’S SERIOUS

NO THEY’RE LOSING GOD DAMMIT

ʳʸᵃⁿ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵃᶜᵏᵍʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ, ᵠᵘᶦᵉᵗˡʸ: ʰᵉˡᵖ

JEREMY IT’S TIME TO TEST OUT THAT NONEXISTENT GAG REFLEX AND SWALLOW THE OPPONENT’S CONTROLLER

oh nvm they’re winning again lmao

OH FUCK thEYRE LOSING

oh nvm

OH FUCK

oh nvm they unplugged his contoller lol

OH FUCKING TH EY LOST MICHAEL JONES MY HEART IS BROKEN

the amount of people watching has gone up from 32k to 40k in the past fifteen minutes

michael “hurry up you dumb cunts” jones

“oh don’t worry about destroying our cabinet, it’s essentially matchsticks”

“how are you feeling john? are you ready for this?” “MM M M Mmm mM”

TEAM NICE DYNAMITE IS NEXT AND IM READY FOR PERMANENTLY RINGING EARS FROM ALL THE LEET DONATIONS

oH god here we go

“hopefully they haven’t been saving them all day” oh honey. you’ve got a big storm coming

if xavier slaps gavin i think gav might go up in a puff of smoke

i did the math, they went up 45k+ within five minutes of team nice dynamite showing up on stream

GAVIN AND MICHAEL ARE GOING TO DIE

THERE’S GONNA BE A MOONBALL SIZED HOLE IN GAVIN’S CHEST

ryan and lindsay both donating a grand during this segment... so good

the day gavin free successfully gets a tattoo is the day i drop dead

lindsay saying she didn’t want the TND tattoo on michael but she agreed because gav is michael’s boi :(((

i’m too sleep deprived for this i might cry

oh god michael’s punching the floor

i’m too sober for this

EIGHTY EIGHT LEET DONATIONS IN TWENTY MINUTES HOLY FUCJKIGN SHIT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE THROWING MOONBALLS FOR FUCKIN SIX YEARS

on a sentimental note- i love how much collective love we have for gav and michael,, they deserve it all

milk boarded has some not-so-great connotations attached to it

gavin “the bullshit bitch” free

a mark nutt reference?? in my 2019 extra life????

this just in: sarah is going to obliterate gavin

oh. oh my god. that was the sound of a wet fish smacking a wall

why is jeremy the liquor goblin walking like a crab that has a bird attached to its back??? see: flapping arms

that beer and milk concoction... gag

“drink that milk yard”

“YOU GOT MY TOES MILKY”

no. nO MICHAEL NO YOUR INTESTINES NOO

michael “the milk’s in my brain” jones

“stop pouring it on people!” “iT’S HARD DICKHEAD”

lindsay is now. taking a milk shower

*caiti brings a small roll of paper towels* *gavin gently places a single paper towel on the massive puddle of milk*

no LINDSAY NO THINK OF THE CHILDREN

gavin: this has gotten way out of hand. she’s... she’s swimming in an inch of milk! everyone knows you should swim in at least two!!

the fajita seasoning will solve everythinG everyone calm down

fiona: yeah this is my first extra life. jack: and what were you expecting? fiona: this. exactly this.

ah yes. the bunny suits have arrived and michael is ready to tackle gavin

aaaand here comes the AH fanfic. it can only get worse from here so buckle up fuckos

“holy fuckeroni”

“re-reanimated trevor”

michael is so fucking smashed and god i wish that was me

“cum-ductor”

fiona “this is a white man” nova

“bone-ating” *leet donation* *leet donation*

“ready set blow” made me genuinely bust a lung laughing

aaaand michael’s licking the floor which is to be expected

jeremy “i’m gonna actually harm you” dooley

IF ONE MORE PERSON BRINGS UP RANCH IM GOING TO WALK TO AUSTIN AND PROJECTILE VOMIT ON THE OFF TOPIC SET

no JEREMY NO YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN’T DO THIS GET OFF THE F L O O R

don’t get close ups on jeremy’s tongue. don’t do that to me. i don’t want nightmares

“fuck root” “let’s just fucking fuck”

1 2 3 CONSENT

michael has gone full gerkie

alfredo’s look when larry is reading the part about trevor choking him is how i feel about everything that’s happened in the past twenty minutes

almost 300k in less than an hour

fiona saying “i don’t want this” overlaying michael humping a trash can

“TAKE THE TACO CHAD”

aaaand michael’s in the trash can

nO why is there a triangle is this a POETRY READING ALL OF A SUDDEN

oh thank god it’s over

OH FUCK THERE’S A N EPILOGUE

aaand trevor’s dead again. poor treyco

DUSK BOYS DUSK BOYS DUSK BOYS EVERYONE PUT A CUP IN YOUR PANTS

people singing along... what goes on

why am i downloading this fuckin song asap

jeremy turning his phone flashlight on and waving it like he’s at a concert god dammit i love these people so much

those are my BOYS

oh my gosh they’re still singing the song. why is my heart so happy from this i need to get slapped

“come on you’ve never been waterboarded before gavin?”

everyone standing in a circle shining their flashlights at gavin

someone surprise them and instead of a moonball just yeet a whole gallon of milk at them

actually, on second thought, no

OH god GavIN Is GOING to Die

gavin “i forgot to breathe” free

several milk explosions

gavin “my brain is cold” free

michael has milk dripping from his ears

i’m about to pass out i don’t know what’s happening

michael is in the grapes right now man

how many moonballs? oh, only 107. :)

i’m not writing this part- you guys have to watch the moonball segment yourself, if you didn’t watch it live!

team nice dynamite finishes up with over 300k!! holy shit, that’s so cool! this community is awesome

werewolf is up next!

xavier is such a gentleman can we keep him

alfredo: *chooses to kill miles* trevor in the audience: *silently freaking out*

xavier is about ruin another man on stream

miles has no self preservation instinct

barbara is now smelling fiona

this just in: i love alfredo and 100% would have done the same thing

trevor running up to film alfredo getting smacked. what an icon

alfredo SCREAMING oh my god i felt it in my soul

the high-five of the backs in solidarity of intense pain

miles choosing alfredo is so fucking good

and also, i feel so bad

his heart might shoot out of his asshole this time guys

oh NOOO HE’s so bruised :(((( fredo nooo :((

oh my god it’s gotten to the usual point in the stream where you start to question whether someone is going to die this time

rip blaine but at least i think he can take the hit

he can but ouch it still hurts me

barbara “i’m participating in the game” dunkleman

yo miles might win this game

the crowd when someone needs to shoot barb: TREVOR TREVOR TREVOR! trevor, with the strength of a thousand suns: N O

people are now chanting about shooting an unprotected trevor. the man already died once this stream god dammit

alfredo is about to throw hands for fiona

that’s a big F in the chat for miles, but his loss is well deserved

xavier’s hands could serve as a defibrillator

alfredo showed jeremy his chest and jeremy shied away as if he was looking at the sun

--- i’m taking another break to finish an assignment---

i’m barely alive and it’s ready set show time

oh god please no more shock collars

i’m so fucking tiiiiredd please take thge res t of this post wigth a grain of salt lbecasue i can hardly type at this ponitn

“do you want to control the shock collars” “will there be repercussions” “no” “fuck yeah i’ll do it then”

“smother the children. steal the baby” “DONT STEAL THE BABY TREVOR”

lunging forward “s c a r e t h e b a b y” “OKAY I’M PASSING THIS ONE”

“you can’t bake popcorn????” jeremy hits the floor

alec and matt clearly = dream team

oh thasnk god the shock collars are on their arms now i was stressed out for chris earlier

this stream does not promote recreational nyquil usage

i don’t even know how to explain the pure insanity of what ready set show has become

alec has become this whole segment

i would write more but i have no thoughts because my brain doesn’t work

larry “makes people fuck other people besides their wife” insert last name that my brain can’t come up with

anyways. marbles

oh. no marbles

i’ve blacked out idk what happened during backwardz compatible

i mean i was awake but does that really mean anything at this point

SPPOKU PSOOKY SPPOKKKY SPOOOKY !!! FUCL YEAH

cole is so good during this segment

oh so many 1337s right away

the real scariest thing during the segment: being genuine

oH my god the scream being pitched up. i have fucking dogs outside of my house now

i don’t fuck w/ ghosts no thank you

“aba-jail” wow if u guys weren’t gonna get haunted before you will now

okay i’m about to pass out i have to take a nap

oH fucking I SLEPT until thirty minutes before the en d fuck

conclusion: this community is incredible and raised an unimaginable amount of money for charity. the fact that rooster teeth does this every year is awesome, and honestly, it makes me feel hopeful in times when things aren’t so great. so yeah! for the kids & stuff

#extra life 2019 #rooster teeth #geoff ramsey #jack pattillo #ryan haywood #michael jones #jeremy dooley #gavin free #lindsay jones #trevor collins #matt bragg #fiona nova #alfredo diaz

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mydearsaddiary · 4 years

Text

Speakeasy Tonight Neil Season 3 Fanfic

Neil Season 3- Chapter 3

Hello! For those of you who don’t know Im writing a fanfic on how I’d imagine Neil Season 3 to go! This is chapter 3, here’s a link with all the chapters: https://mydearsaddiary.tumblr.com/NeilSeason3Fanfic

Little Curiosity notes: Because this chapter is all about the high society of BAHS-ton, there’s some currency involved! I put the amount in 1926 dollars, in parenthesis I adjusted it according to inflation on how much it’s cost today!

WARNING: LOTS OF ANGST AND DRAMA. LIKE SO MUCH DRAMA.

Chapter 3- Ghosts Are Alive in a Haunted Night

1926

The way to Boston was long. The anticipation built was driving me over the edge. I’ve been around the upper crust of Chicago, but even so most of them seemed like new money. Extravagant women who just got their hands on dough and bought everything they could. The upper crusts I met in Chicago weren’t elegant, they just had money in their hands. Even so I felt like an imposter amongst them.

I had a perception Neil’s family would be different. They were the true high society. Money was in their roots and they’ve never lived without it. For generations and generations I imagined most of them never worked, but increased their riches by letting others do the work for them.

I noticed when Lucille wrote to Neil, she always signed “Lucille Dresner of Boston”. Only the wealthy referred to themselves with their hometown attached to their name like “The Dresners of Boston”. They measured each other by how prominent of a family they were. For the first time I didn’t think of Neil as just Neil. I imagined him as “Cornelius Dresner of Boston” or “Cornelius of the house Dresner from Boston” or some fancy Jane Austen society title I could never imagine myself belonging to.

I knew Neil was living in an apartment in Chicago, living the same economic life as I did right now by choice, but that didn’t change where he was from or who his family was. For the first time I also realized that you could notice the high class in Neil in his personality.

There was just something in him that distanced him from people like Cliff or Vince who’d come from nothing or even me, who came from some but not as much. I thought of the elegancy, the way he never let himself look like a fool, the fact that he was highly educated, enjoyed chess like no other, the fact that it was easy to look at him and respect him. He had the air of being classier than most. He had his troubles and he wasn’t some snob who thinks he is better than everyone, but something in me said I needed to step up to the gentry, who breathed old money and who would judge me as middle class.

I looked down at the dress I chose for the trip. It was a delicate red. I always thought it was a good color on me, but it wasn’t the best dress (or the best shoes) I could be wearing

I looked at Neil who looked so calm he could have no idea of the internal battle that was happening in my mind. However, I felt guilty for struggling so much. Neil hadn’t seen his family in years, they’d probably be talking and paying so much attention to him that they wouldn’t even have time to look at what I was wearing

Nevertheless when we stepped out of the train in Boston I felt trapped. When I first got to Chicago, it seemed like the city was bursting, it was like my world had expanded and there was no seeing its end. In Boston I got a different feeling. The elegancy, tall buildings and the cold air engulfed you in its atmosphere and urged you to climb the social ladder. It seemed to tell you if you didn’t, you were bound to fail

-Hey…-It was the first time I said something in at least half an hour- I’ve been dying to see the fashion stores in Boston. Whaddya say you take me to see one, just to look around the city for a bit before we go?-I held his arm firmly

-Is the calm and steady Miss Granger nervous to meet my parents?- He got back at me from what I said in Columbus

-Alright, alright, this point goes to you!- I giggled nervously more than playful- I am, alright. Nothing calms my nerves better than shopping for a new outfit

-There’s a store nearby Lucille loved when she was younger. Can’t make any promises it’s still open.

-Doesn’t hurt to try!-I followed him around

It took a little while for Neil to remember the exact spot of the store and kept saying “It’s somewhere along this street”. While I followed him I looked around with interest. The city was full of cars and people. Constructions happened all around and every building was glued to the next one. Two words to describe it were: Completely packed. It seemed like the whole New England lived there. People were moved fast like all of them were in a hurry and it contrasted Columbus in a way it did make me feel like I came from the middle of nowhere. Among the cars there was a policemen on horseback flying by, it struck me as one more thing engulfed by the modernization and craziness that I found myself in. Chicago’s population surpassed Boston’s by a lot, but it was funny how I felt lost in that new city in front of me. Maybe I’d gotten used to Chicago so it didn’t seem that big anymore

And I thought I was ready for Boston

-Was Boston always this full?- I walked holding him tightly, afraid I could lose him in the crowd.

-Full of buildings and people? Yeah, it always was. Although before the war there used to be less cars, floor-length dresses and high hats- He pulled me in into a building, inside it was revealed a store as huge as Menken’s- Here it is, still open

The store was cream-colored with eccentric chandeliers around. I could see at least two floors. I never managed to bring Neil shopping with me before, so I might as well enjoy it.

I took a look around at different dresses. Something had gotten to me though. Look at the price of those dresses! I could buy at least ten dresses at Menken’s for the price of some of these!

If it was Lucille’s favorite store, at least before, then of course everything would be expensive. I swear I found a dress that was $300 (~$4300)! You could buy a new car nowadays with that kind of money. However, my expression remained calm. I looked at Neil sometimes but he didn’t even mention anything about the prices. I felt myself in the obligation to act like it was all normal to me

I remembered some conversations me and Neil had in the past: “Act like you’re entitled to the world”, “You positively grow with middle-class respectability”, “You’re not gonna wear sables and diamonds and be rude to the help, are you?”, “They’ll know you’re not one of them. But you’ll never notice when they’re looking down on you, that’s how people in high society treat people like you and Charlie”. I sighed in despair

-What is it? Nothing matches your photoplay dream?-He said sarcastically behind me and I noticed I had been staring at a dress for too long, lost in my own anxiety- I thought you said shopping lifted your spirits.

-Oh, nothing!-I looked at him- I was just thinking about the Ice Box that’s all, I was worried that-

-MC, I know you’re deeply infatuated with your illegal activities, but there’s nothing you can do from Boston

-I know- I let it go, it was just an excuse anyway. I was excited about the vacation and I couldn’t let the whole pressure just make me crumble. I had to prove to Neil that I was able to deal with whatever life threw my way. We were going to work this out together

-Say, why don’t you keep shopping? I’ll wait outside, all this glitter is hurting my eyes

-Alright, yea, I shouldn’t take long- I gave him a quick peck before he went out, I could see him grabbing a cigarette before turning my attention to the dresses

Alright, MC, you need to choose something classy enough but that won’t burn your pockets. Now, where do I find something that’s doesn’t cost more than $15 (~200)? I could spare that, it’s a special occasion.

Wishing I could have some gin in me right this second I went through the embarrassment of asking if they had anything around the price range I wanted. My luck was that there was a dress that was worth $100 (~1450) that was about to be thrown away because the zipper was broken. When I looked at the dress I didn’t understand why they’d throw it in the can.

It was beautiful. It was this pale pink color with a V-neck. The sleeved has the same gold details as the dress, but otherwise it was transparent. The details on the pale pink went down in waves until right below the knees. I smiled at it, it was perfect for the event of meeting Neil’s parents, and I’ve never worn anything like that.

I asked her if I could have it and she shrugged in a manner like she didn’t understand why I was even there. I couldn’t blame her, I didn’t know either. I got the dress for $20 (~280), it was more than I could at the moment, but I was just happy to have found something I could afford and still look ritzy in

Due to the extra money spent I couldn’t really go looking for shoes or accessories, but I wasn’t worried. What I had would work for this.

-Alright!- I caught Neil outside- I’m ready, first impressions are everything! Now I just need somewhere to put this stuff on!

Yes… Like the back of a rental car in a dark alley…

-It’s so convenient nowadays, you know, they started renting cars and everything right- I said huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf in the back seat getting my dress off and the new one on- So you can change in the middle of the road too

-I thought this way we could go places without having to use one of my family’s cars- Neil waited in the driver’s seat

-What’s wrong with your family’s cars, huh? Not ritzy enough for ya?-I put on the dress to realize it didn’t close in the back. Shoot! I forgot to ask what happened to the zipper. Think, think, think!

-It’s the contrary- Neil responded- If I remember well from back then, I always felt like I was in a circus truck, doubt they changed the way they do things- He seemed to hear me struggling- Do you need help back there?

-No! Nope! I am just fine- I said putting a pin on the zipper so this way it wasn’t broken anymore. It closed all the way up! The only thing was the pin showing a little bit on the top, which looked a little tacky, but with all the details in the dress it could be overlooked

-Let’s hurry then, I told them we should be there for lunch. With your little shopping going on, we’re late

-Sorry!- I put on my rhinestone tiara and went through my bag to find my golden pair of heels that matched the details on the dress, then I hurried up to the front seat- I’m ready, let’s scram!

Neil started to drive, I could feel him a little tense as he drove. I put on my hand on his leg squeezing it- Are you excited?

-When I left Boston I was twenty-four. I haven’t been back since

-Neil- I calmed my voice- They’ll be happy to see you, they’ll be thrilled. Especially Lucille, I really can’t wait to meet her. How old is she?

-We’re about ten years apart, she’s the youngest. So she should be about twenty-two right now. Damn…-He went quiet for a few seconds- When I left she was fourteen, now she’s a woman, married and is about to have a baby.

-Oh, little Cornelia- I smiled thinking about it

-Don’t remind me, I still feel for the kid

-Can it, Neil! It’s sweet. I can’t imagine how she must have felt when she got a letter in the mail from you

-I can’t believe I let you convince me to go through with this-He shook his head

-Hey, pal, I didn’t say anything! You wrote the letter to her yourself

Neil smiled, as if there was something in his thoughts he didn’t want to say out loud- I know.

We pulled up to a narrow street full of four stories apartments- I didn’t know they lived in a flat- I said, a little confused. I expected it-

-They’re not flats-Neil responded- They’re houses

My eyes widened looking again at the row of houses with my new perspective. It was pure Boston Brahmin. The houses were glued to one another, only separated by color, each of them were massive once I understood the four stories were for each family. Rows of fancy cars were parked in front of each designated house and U.S. flags stood in front of each one.

Neil parked in front of an elegant brick house, it was full of organized windows and one big wooden door stood right in the middle of the ground floor.

-Is this where you grew up?- I opened the car door on my side

-No, this is just the city house. I’d spend a lot of time here, but usually we’d be down by the estate

-Estate?- I turned to him, wondering if my ears heard right- Your family owns a estate?

-About 15 miles out of the city- He said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I focused on my breathing not to let myself get too nervous. “Act like I’m entitled to the world” is what I kept playing in my head. I went around to meet Neil and then I noticed his look was distant

-Neil?-I shook him a little bit and he looked down at me, his face was not upset, but the usual mask wasn’t there either- What’s the matter?

He hesitated a little bit. Being back here must be hard. It’s still not easy for him to open up, so I appreciate it even more when he does- That house right there- he pointed. I looked back at the white magnificence across the road, just as beautiful as the one that belonged to Neil’s family. It had a black door instead of a wooden-colored one. No cars were in front of it, so it looked solemn, distant and different from the rest- It’s the Hasting house.

I looked back at him squeezing his hand- Alton…

-Yeah… Alton- He replied

I didn’t know what to say, I never knew what to say when Neil mentioned his past. But he said all he needed me to do was listen. I gave him a kiss on his cheek, hoping to comfort him. I was glad to see it got a smile out of him- Ready?

He breathed profoundly, turning his head back to the wooden door- Yes, I’m ready- He knocked on the door

----

It creaked as it opened, it was like seconds got transformed into hours. Once it was open a servant smiled. Some kind of butler? Gee, this is something else. However that only added to the moment. He positioned himself by the door, looking into an area in front of him I could only imagine it was the living room. He stuffed his chest like it was the most important thing he was going to say in his life to the ones who waited

-Cornelius Dresner is home

I nodded to Neil, letting him walk in first. He took his hat off as he walked, each step seemed to hold anticipation in them. I walked in right after, but staying away from him. I understood this was a precious moment, so my eyes turned to watch instead.

The silence was so expansive you could hear if cotton balls fell on the ground. When Neil stood there, a second set of steps started. My eyes turned to a very visibly pregnant woman, who could be due anytime soon. She had bright icy blue eyes, her blonde bob fell elegantly on her face. She had the posture of a porcelain doll and her face resembled Neil’s.

She stopped right in front of him looking up at his face, like she was examining every detail, her serious face was beautiful in that light. I assumed that was Lucille, the one who never gave up on him. They now held this very serious starting contest, I almost thought no one was going to say anything

-You got old- Her melodic voice let out and Neil burst into laughter at the same time she did. He hugged her carefully but tightly

-And you grew big, in more ways than one- He joked with her but then turned serious- Lucille, I’m sorry…

-Oh, forget that! You’re here now…

Others walked up to them, I counted them in my head and assumed mother, father, Maude and Warren. I let them have their moment. It was so intimate I stepped back not wanting to hear much. It was like Neil had gone off to a war, survived and now was home once more. In a way, that’s what had happened. Neil had won, or at least started to win, his internal battles and now he had made it back there. I smiled watching the scene. He didn’t reserve any smiles and his family seemed to be everything but mad at him. They relented.

I couldn’t help but think how proud I was of him

A few minutes passed, they started pulling him to the living room to “sit, relax and update them on everything that’s been going on”, then he looked at me and stopped them in their tracks

-Wait- He walked over to me and then looked at them. This was the first time they noticed I was there. I didn’t blame them, Neil had all their attention- This is Mary

The older woman, I’m assuming Neil’s mother walked over and I felt the chills down my spine. She had cold eyes but a warm face. You could watch her and feel that she was judging you and it made you wonder if she considered you worthy of her time. She was the image of classiness, the peak of the upper class. She was one of those wealthy people you see walking by and wonder how they must live. She walked like she had books piled up on top of her head. More charm than Vera Peters, that was for sure, but I felt bad that her aura reminded me of the former mayor’s wife. After all, I wanted to attribute her to someone nice

-Of course- She smiled- Miss Granger, right?

-That’s me! - I smiled- It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am- I was going to say something about how beautiful her house are and introduce myself to the others, but she turned her eyes somewhere else

-Please collect their bags, you can put Neil’s in his room-She said to the servant- And Miss Granger’s bags can take to the spare room downstairs

-Mother- Neil interrupted her- I’d like Mary to stay in the guest room upstairs- He said in an imposing a tone. If there was a guest room upstairs, I got a weird feeling about her asking for me to sleep downstairs in what I could safely assume was an underground floor.

-Fine, yes. Take hers to one of the guest rooms- She said and the servant started moving according to orders

When I turned around, Lucille was walking up to me and Neil. She in turn had kinder eyes, and I could see them a little wet. The pregnancy probably added to the emotion of her beloved brother coming home

-Miss Granger, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My brother spoke highly of you in his letter- I didn’t know whether to pay attention to her eyes or the diamonds she wore

-He must have flattered me too much- I said shyly. She wasn’t much older than me, but she spoke clearly and no slangs were in sight

-I only speak the truth- He said behind me

-I’m sure- she replied- I understand it’s you I must thank for having him write me

-I may have pushed him a little bit- I squeezed his hand- But he made the decision on his own

Neil introduced me to rest of his family. His father seemed a tad quiet just like him, his other younger siblings greeted me well, and he reintroduced me to his mother who was next to talk again

-It’s so nice of you to wear something so simple to come see us. I did hope you felt at home- She mentioned I could feel my face getting hot- Why don’t we all sit down, there’s much to talk about!

I was more nervous now than when I first walked, but I didn’t want to let on everything was getting to me.

The living room was mainly white, so white it was like staring at snow in the sun. The couches were the most comfortable seat I had ever felt. In this place where comfort was displayed all around, I felt all the eyes and social pressure of high society that made me feel like it was the most uncomfortable place in the world. What calmed me was Neil sitting next to me and his hand on my waist.

-How’s life in Chicago?- Lucille asked- I tried asking Drummond when you wouldn’t reply but he always told me you weren’t working for him anymore

-Yes, I only worked with him for a few years- He continued, and I was sure he was going to give them the clean version of the story- Turns out we didn’t get along so well. I moved to this neighborhood where I met this man called Charles Granger. He in very involved with the city’s anti-saloon league and involved in the politics and he takes care of the neighborhood he lives in, it turns out they were in need of a doctor. So he offered me a job and I accepted, worked with him ever since. He helped me get settled, I do owe him a lot

-Well, we’ll be sure to send Mr. Granger our regards for taking care of you- His mom gave a forced smile. I’m sure she had questions but it was noticeable she was trying to be on Neil’s good side, afraid he might escape again

-So my life was settled there. A few years later he announced to me and his associates that his niece was coming from Ohio to live with him. She helps him out at work and that’s how we met, through Charlie

-And now you’re seeing each other- His mother continued

He smiled softly- MC and I are engaged, mother. I mentioned in the letters

-Oh yes, Lucille told us the news- Her tone seemed like… Disappointment? No, I’m just reading too much into it

I had to do something to break the ice- We were planning for it to happen in late April, early May, wait until the cold passes by

-Yes, it’s smart to wait a while-She smiled at me- A lot can happen in those months, things might end up different

I held my breath, I couldn’t pretend to be dumb to myself. She was definitely unhappy with Neil’s choice. For the first time I felt a sting in my chest. It wasn’t embarrassment or anxiety. It was… Insecurity. I usually never lacked confidence and I was sure that I could take everything and anyone. However, being on the receiving side of the looks from Neil’s mother made me feel like a pin in a haystack. Tiny and lost.

-We weren’t planning on waiting too long- Neil said. Even he acted different around his family, but his tone was firmer. I knew it was him sticking up for me in the ritziest way there was. So I appreciated in silence.

-I hope you don’t mind that we organized a ball for your return- She said excited, changing the subject- We invited the Hastings, the neighbors, just close people to spend the night with us

-Oh mother, you know I always loved the balls you gave- He said in a sarcastic tone but she ignored it, Lucille did giggle though

-Get up and get ready-She said- Do you need me to send the valet upstairs?

-No! No... I can manage myself- He said walking towards the stairs and taking me with him

She then spoke to me before we left- Oh dear, you’ll want to wear something a little bit more elegant for tonight

Once we were in the second floor I couldn’t help but look around. There was a piano room and then a corridor of doors, I assumed they were bedrooms. It seemed kind of oddly placed, surely nobody would like to sleep while the piano is being played right outside their doors. However, everything inside was so white the black piano was a welcoming contrast.

-So… I’m guessing balls are a normal thing in the upper class

-It’s traditional, not my thing if you ask me- He lowered his voice to say the last part

-I’d imagine not

I didn’t have much time to admire the guest room, even though I did notice that its grandiosity made it hard to imagine that it was a room that didn’t belong to anyone. I sat on the bed stressed, wondering how I was going to find something in my bag that would fit the expectations of Momma Dresner. The fanciest dress I could find didn’t impress her, and now I had to step up my game for an official “welcome home Neil” ball

In the middle of my mind’s perturbations, a knock on the door got my attention. When I opened the door, Lucille was standing there smiling

-Mrs. Branford!- I started

-Lucille is fine, if I can call you Mary

-MC- I stepped out of the way to let her in- What can I do for you?

-My mother, she is… Traditional- She sat on the loveseat by the window- I’m not going to lie. People like her, they are not easily impressed by… People like you

-People like me, you mean middle-class

She nodded- Yes, it’s in her ways. The Dresners, they come from very old money. Me, Neil and our siblings, we’re more used to the ways things are nowadays. But our mother never really spent much time with people who didn’t have as much money as she did. So she always looks down on them- She looked back at me- And she always expected Neil to marry an indoor, wealthy girl if you know what I mean

I must’ve made a face, because the look of sympathy rested on her eyes- She doesn’t think I’m worthy of Neil

-Yes, MC, but you must understand it’s old thinking. She thinks that solely based on money. Besides, it’s a little tougher on Neil because he is the oldest of us. That makes him have to marry the perfect woman in her eyes.

I looked at her- The oldest… So…

-Neil is the heir of our estate. Of our parents fortune.

My eyes went wide. It must’ve been obvious, but I just realized that- I never thought of it that way.

-Listen, MC. When Neil left Boston, after Alton passed away… He was not just unhappy. He was lost, his eyes were haunted. He was cold and it seemed like all life from him was just gone. He had this hard edge, and he estranged himself from all of us- She looked at nothing, but I could see pain in her eyes- When he came back from France I convinced myself I would never see the Neil I use to know before the war again, I knew some of his troubles. Then a few years after he left I started to convince myself I’d never see him again- She turned her eyes to me- And then a few months after knowing you he writes back, and then he comes home. On top of it, although there’s still a hard edge on him, I can see it in his eyes that you make him happy. I can see the old Neil in him. That’s why I know you’re more than worthy to be with my brother, you brought him back from the darkness he lived in

Wow. I was so caught up in what she said. It was nice knowing she was on my side- Lucille, I didn’t really do much… I

-No humbleness. Just take some credit for it. I can see you care for him very much

I nodded exaggeratedly- I love Neil.

-And you can see it in his eyes he loves you-She got up this time, going to a dresser in the room- My brother will be happy with you, and I’m so excited to have you as my new sister. However, convincing my parents require a different approach- She pulled out a dress. A beautiful and obviously expensive dress

It was a salmon color, a soft V-neck that was more of an U and graceful short sleeves. While the looseness of the dress was there, it’d flatter whoever’s waist it was on with a slight inward curve, going down in a soft A-line. The dress ended right below the knees. The pattern on it was two colors. One the color of the dress, only visible if you really paid attention to it, the other was white and in the shape of leaves, like a garden going around and forming a heart around the chest area, small flower-like drawings of the same color elegantly finished the dress.

-Oh Lucille, it’s beautiful, but I couldn’t-

-Yes, you can. It doesn’t fit me anymore and it’d help you impress everybody, plus I’m sure Neil would love to see you in it. C’mon, put it on

I hesitantly did so, and once I saw myself in the mirror with it, it made it a lot easier to accept it. I loved it- Thank you, Lucille

-We’re not done. It’s not just the dress- She said pulling some accessories out. First she fixed my curls, like she watched people doing hers enough times to know how. Then she placed a white headband on my head. It had a details on the side, I didn’t dare ask if they were diamonds or something else. A pearl necklace was put around my neck, I asked myself if they were real pearls. Lastly she brought in beautiful heels. They were white as well, clasped in the middle of my feet, and closed in a salmon bow.

When I finished putting them on I looked myself in the mirror again. Oh boy, Momma would pass out if she saw me like this. Poppa would finally consider me his pride. I was all dolled-up. That sensation that I was an imposter grew in me, but then I was only human. I felt confident again- What do you think? - I asked her

-I think you’re ready to face them. Now, I have to go get dressed myself

-For sure, yes- I smiled to her- Thank you Lucille, really

-You brought my brother home back to us… It’s the least I could’ve done- She hugged me tight- Remind me to properly introduce you to Michael at the ball

I agreed laughing lowly and feeling a lot better

A little while after I heard another knock on my door, when I opened it, I was more than happy to see it was Neil. He seemed surprised at my get-up at first, then he smiled

-I see you’ve had some help

-Well, your sister came in and-

-You look beautiful- he offered me his hand and I took it. I was going to say something smart, but the look in his eyes was so sincere I didn’t want to ruin the moment

-Thanks- I said instead- Did everyone already leave?

-Well, lucky for me, I’m the reason of this party- He said it in a sarcastic tone- So I get to come in late and be the center of attention, I’m hoping their curiosity about you takes some of it away from me.

-Neil Dresner is back home, and he brought a low-class girl with him and he’s saying he’s gonna marry her?-I raised my voice to sound like upper-crust gossip- My oh my, Doctor Dresner, quite a scandal

He gave me that warm smile that went all the way up to his eyes. The one that always makes me feel the jitters in a good way

However I wasn’t done- They’ll probably think you’ve gone crazy and send you to a psych ward or think you’ve knocked me up and now you’re stuck with me- I pretended to hold a fan imitating the rich older women- Disgraceful, truly disgraceful

This time he let out a laugh, a harsh laugh, but a long one that sounded like melody to me. For a second I thought he wouldn’t stop laughing, and then I started up laughing too. We walked all the way to the car like that

-People will think I’ve gone soft if I spend too much time with you- He said

-You agreed to spend the rest of your life with me. You’ll be the biggest softie the United States has ever seen

He let out a harsh chuckle this time, as if he told me he wouldn’t ever let that happen. Then the servant from before opened the back door of a fancy car, it had a long hood and it was half black and half white, a wheel sat on its side. I could also see a chauffeur in the front

-Wow, you’re getting the whole ritzy treatment today- I said getting into the car and we were on our way

-You get used to this kind of stuff- He mentioned and then turned to me- You will…- Before I could ask what he meant, he kept going- You know, during these balls we were required to attend, me and Alton would usually spend the entire time together. He didn’t use to be a fan of it either. Having him there… It always made it feel better, it always made it fun somehow- Then he turned to look at me- Having you there, it’s going to make it feel better

I smiled, filled with emotion, but I had to say something- You’re definitely turning soft on me

He rolled his eyes-I should’ve known better than being nice with you, Granger

Our verbal sparring continued until we stopped in front of a big house, the doors were open to reveal a ball room at the bottom of the stairs. I’ve done this before. They’ll announce us and we’ll go down and I’ll act like I’m entitled to the world

So we did just that. The servant opened the car door and Neil took my hand to help me out of the car. Then, I took his arm and we walked in to the top of the stars. People there looked at Neil like he was a rare diamond, like the king of England just walked in. I could feel his tenseness with the looks, but the preparedness for it in his eyes, he whispered to the announcer and then held my arm tighter

-Mr. Cornelius Dresner of Boston and his fiancée Miss Granger

-C’mon- I said lowly and he followed, so we both went down the stairs.

At the bottom of it his family came over again, and soon I could see people looking and gossiping. It was a good hour of walking around and talking to his family and everyone Neil once used to know and introducing me. I felt like I was in one of those old periods of time when the upper crust used to announce engagements.

After a while I was talking to Lucille while Neil talked to some of the other men. Then she looked behind me and got closer to whisper something- Look, Momma just took Neil to talk to Lillie and left them alone

I looked around feeling my heart jump, at first I felt was surprised. I remember who Lillie was, Lucille’s best friend and… Neil’s ex-fiancée. I remember feeling pity for her because Neil left her, but the pangs of jealousy struck me once I saw her.

She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, for the second time that day I felt insecurity, but this made me feel much tinier. Because I knew Neil’s mother approved of her, because she was part of the high society and she grew up in it. Her pale skin, her green eyes, her dark smooth hair. She was tall and charming, she was the figure of elegancy. I also knew Neil found her attractive, that he was romantically involved with her once. If he used to love her, how can I be sure all those feelings are gone? No… It’s just the atmosphere and everything, it’s just all throwing me off.

I must’ve been so shaken up I felt paralyzed. Lucille shook me- Hey… Hey! They walked outside. We can spy on them from over in that room- She said pulling me along, I wasn’t even paying attention until I was already there. It was a dark room, looked like an office? Lucille brought us to a window, the drapes were almost closed so you couldn’t see us, but we could spy on them

-I have missed you, Neil- She looked up to him, and her eyes were shining. I knew what that look was… She was still in love with him- I haven’t courted anyone else- She showed him her hand- I’m still wearing the ring you picked out for me.

-I didn’t really pick it out, Lillie it was…

-Yeah, your grandmother’s. You told me remember? You got it when you were fourteen. It was to keep it to the woman you loved the most, to the woman you wished to spend the rest of your life with, whom you’ll always love and that woman shall always love you- She held his hands this time and I felt my stomach sink- You told me that you would always love me if I always loved you back-She got closer to him, this time placing her hand on his face- Here I am, still loving you. Can you say everything was washed away?

He took a few steps back, his confusion could be seen on his face. I wondered what he had to be confused about- Nothing is ever just washed away, Lillie. You of all people should know that.

My heart hurt, what did he mean by that, did he mean his feelings for her were still there?

She smiled softly-Neil… You never gave me closure. You never ended our engagement. One day you were just gone. People kept telling me that you were gone for good-She looked away at the stars, it was a well moonlit light. It was perfectly romantic, but that didn’t fit me one bit in that moment. I hated the romanticism of the stars and the shine that it gave on her face. I hated that it made her look more beautiful- But me and Lucille we knew you’d come back to us. That you’d come back to me. And you were so troubled when you left…

-Lillie…-He looked at the stars now too- I’m sorry for what I’ve done in the past. There’s a lot of stuff I’ve done that I can’t fix and I have to live with it. But I got a second chance to make things better. I’m not the same man who proposed to you back then

-Then how is it I look in your eyes and I see him? I see my Neil

I don’t know if I was feeling anger, sadness or disbelief. It could’ve been all of those together. Lillie knows Neil is engaged to me, she must know, we were announced together. You’d think she’d have some respect

-You see what you want to see, Lillie. You think you love me but you don’t

-I went after you! I went to Chicago-He looked at her with interest, she was caught up in her emotions, crying now- Mr. Drummond told me how you were troubled, lost in… Morphine, was it? I looked for you all around the city, and I couldn’t find you. I’m fighting for you Neil. I can’t give up on us

He breathed funny- Lillie-

Before he could say anything else she hugged him, and he hugged her back for my surprise. When was it that Neil hugged any girl like that?

-Seemed you two form quite the spies- A voice behind us said- Me and Lillie jumped. It was Neil’s mother, and she seemed satisfied from what she saw outside, seeing as she was the facilitator in the situation- You see, Miss Granger. Neil belongs back here, in Boston. And you belong is whatever infested middle-class house you came from with your people. You will never be worthy of my son, and of course it only took the right girl to pull him back into his senses.

-Mother…!- Lucille started

-I’ve had enough of it, Lucille! The little gal needs to know her place. Did you think you could ever make your way into OUR family?

I didn’t say anything. This was so far away from my reality at the Ice Box, my family or everything that I’d ever done before. I couldn’t… I can’t handle this.

-I have to go- It was the only thing I could say before flying out of there. I got back in the car asking for the driver to take me back to the town house, once I was in I couldn’t stop my racing thoughts until I was in the guest room, packing my bags.

But then I stopped. Neil… I can’t just leave him like this. I was so mad at him, I was so mad at all of this, I… I want to go back to Chicago. I looked in the mirror again, all dressed up in fancy things, this isn’t who I am. I surprised myself by ripping it all out of me, putting on my favorite green dress and hat, the ones I wore all the time. Once I was back in clothes that made me recognize myself I swore I’d never again try to be somebody I wasn’t. C’mon MC, you always knew you didn’t have to prove anything to anybody.

But I let my stupid wandering thoughts continue. Neil knelt down in front of Lillie once and asked her to marry him. He asked her to marry him, not me. She had a ring on her finger, not me.

I don’t know how much time had passed by when I heard people in the house.

-MC!- I heard Neil’s voice from downstairs- MC!- He didn’t knock on my door, just walked in- Lucille, she told me you listened to me and Lillie talk

-Yeah, I heard it, alright

-I…-He was going to say something when he saw the bag I started to pack, then he looked at me, visibly mad- You were leaving? Without me?

-No! Not without you. I was gonna wait for you- I walked until him- Let’s go back to Chicago

-We’ve only been here a day

-I can’t be here anymore, Neil. Please, let’s leave

-I haven’t been back in years. You convince me to write to my sister, convince me to come over here, we’re here less than 24 hours and you want me to leave? I just got the courage to be here

-Neil, today has been the most stressful day of my life! I have been dressing up like a paper doll, I have been trying to impress your mother and all I’ve been hearing is how much I’m not worthy, how I won’t fit in, how I’m way in over my head! I have been feeling nothing but insecure, down and I’ve been trying to do everything for you, but I can’t- I was rambling on and tears had begun falling from my eyes, but I didn’t even care- I’ve been keeping a stone face all day trying to make you happy because I know this is huge, but it’s tiring! It’s tiring feeling so out of place, and then hearing your mother say all those things, and then I walked out there to the ball and you go in a secluded area with your beautiful ex-fiancée to exchange words of love under the moonlight?!

-I didn’t say any words of love!- He raised his voice, more than I’ve ever heard him raise it before- I was feeling bad for Lillie, I left her and never came back after promising her a married life! I gave her time because I was trying to fix what I did wrong in the past, with everyone!

I didn’t know what to say or think- Neil, let’s just please, go!

-Yes, I think it’s time you went back to Chicago, if you’re going to behave like this the whole trip you should go!

I looked back at him wide-eyed- You don’t mean…!

-I thought I saw a woman, MC. But how could I, you’re nineteen! I’m thirty-two. You’re the same kid I saw the first night you came to Chicago.

I looked right at him as I wiped my tears off my face, then I grabbed my bag I had packed. Neil called Lillie a ghost back in Chicago, but he was wrong. Lillie wasn’t a ghost, nothing back in Boston or his past life had anything to go with ghosts, ghosts terrify you, but he seemed just fine where he was. Maybe this is where Neil belongs after all. But it’s sure not where I belong.

That night for me was the true ghostly aura. A memory that’d haunt me forever. I left Boston, alone, under the beautiful moonlight that would have enchanted me otherwise. I left with only one certainty: I’ll be dead before somebody ever mentions the name Neil Dresner to me ever again!

1933

-Alright, ready?- I asked and the kids all agreed. Neil wasn’t one to make a big deal out of his birthday, but after a few ones together he knew there was no point in fighting against it. I’d always want it to make it a special day, so we settled on a cake and some candles. Just me, him and the kids- One, two, three!

The kids along with me started our little choir, for that man that was so special to all of us- Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear daddy! Happy birthday to you!

-Do we really need to do this every year?-He asked, cynically, but with a little smile on his face

-Alright, mister doom and gloom! We have this discussion every year!- I kissed him in the cheek

We all had our piece of cake. After putting the kids to bed, I walked outside, the moon was shining in the sky and it was a cold January night. Neil soon joined me- One more year close to death- He said raising his glass, then proceeding to drink the bourbon inside it

-You always know how to lighten up the mood-I pulled him in for a hug and along with it a long kiss

-You’re something else, MC, you know that?

-I’ve been told-I smiled up to him, mischievously

-You can never have any idea of how much I love you- He played with my hair, moving it out of my face

-I have some

He chuckled very softly, almost inaudibly- I just ask one thing of you, MC Granger… Never change who you are

----

Little curiosities: DRAAAAAMA. I thought they deserved a little fight and angst. Well, next chapter we’ll be back in Chicago and it’s time for the Ice Box to shine again! Woo Woo, Prohibition stuuuff!

Thanks so much for reading this chapter, guys! Hope you enjoyed it!

Chapter 4 is already on its way!

-Candy, My Dear Diary (5/24/2020)

#voltage usa #speakeasy tonight #voltage inc #voltage amemix #voltage games #voltage #neil dresner #lovestruck #lovestruck voltage #vince moretti

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fart-gate · 4 years

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SG1

Season 2 episode 12

"THE TOKRA"

Notes by me

- part 2

- PREVIOUSLY- Sam found where the tokra were, they seem p nice, sams dad has cancer, a tokra worm is also dying, I'm gonna fold martouf up and put him in my pocket to keep him w me at all times

- sg1: why won't you be our friends

Tokra: to put it mildly, u are just too dumb for us

- how do the tokra expect sg1 to accept the symbiotic "blending" thing when this whole time they have been avoiding murderous goaulds who are also worms in peoples heads

- when Sam is sad I am sad

- ask martouf to help u escape I'm sure hed be all for it

- Sam seems to have changed her mind about the tokra being too violating. Shes cool with it now, she just needed some time to process I guess

- or she can offer up her dad as a host! I cant tell if this is a bad idea or not

- "what is cancer" hes getting on my fuckin uwus

- haha suggesting this to hammond should go over well

- "greasy ass goauld"

- tealc being praised for defecting against apophis ❤ its what he deserves

- jacob: *dying*

Sam: *tv commercial voice* but wait! You could live if you only accept this worm in your head! No catch!

- "holy hannah" LMAO now we know where Sam gets it

- sam: dad we have a cure for cancer but you have to have a worm talking in your head for the rest of your life

Jacob: I'll be in the car

- I'm laughing so hard she tells him he has to stay with the tokra for the rest of his life and hes 100% fine with that like lol bye earth

- "the gate seems to only go to planets that support human life" I thought so

- when tealc shakes his hand and says "it is an honor" ❤❤❤❤

- there it is!! The cold feet have arrived

- its ok jacob just talk to the alien and it'll make u feel better

- OH MY GOD this worm is a Sassy Pants

- *both coughing pitifully*

- theyre perfect for each other

- "ive had almost 200 years of laughter with selmak" AAWWWW THATS CUTE AS HELL

- HE CALLED THE TOKRA HIS "FUTURE SOULMATE" IM LOSING MY MIND

- hes so up for this. Its nuts. I was sure he would be more skeptical but nah he heard about a worm that needed a head and signed right the fuck up

- when the spy goauld leaves the host and the host commits suicide in the tunnel O.O horrifying. I'm horrified

- this tokra needs to know if jacob is a good guy before going in him. I feel like this is the weirdest speed date ive ever watched

- you might die with the blending? Well shit. I mean what have they got to lose. They are gonna die either way

- Jacob was always proud of Sam 😊 maybe show it better next time tho instead of judging her on what job she has

- Daniel suggests more cancer patients could use some tokra worms? And hes right

- what if we were both dying.....and we were laying down next to each other ....and I asked u to kiss me so I could transfer my alien worm into your mouth....haha just kidding....unless..??..

- he really just swallowed that up didnt he

- the poor tokra saying bye to his former host :(

- I am legally obligated to comment on how pretty martouf looks in this episode

- Worm vs Worm

- leader lady: thank u jack *cheek kisses*

Jack: *visible confusion*

- finally an alliance of some sorts

- martouf offering to stay and protect jacob and selmak ahdbejsns

- Sam not leaving her dad😭

- Sam and martouf DREAM TEAM

- blending successful

- "HOLY HANNAH! NO MORE ARTHRITIS!!"

- I tried to catch the iris code when she punched it in on her arm band but alas my eyes are too slow :\

- Jacob is now tokra liaison and thats REALLY cool actually

- haha at least the leader lady is impressed with their makeshift dialing device

- martoufs flirt game STRONG

- like martouf didnt have to steal my heart so goddamn fast but here we are I guess

- selmak is the oldest and wisest of tokra? Yeesh no pressure Jacob

- Daniel and his earth culture box. Ive said it before and I'll say it again. If toxic by Britney spears doesnt start playing when they open it , I'm gonna throw hands

- "dont call us....we'll call you"

- so happy Sam didnt lose her dad!! I would have thrown my phone

#stargate season 2

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hanhan156 · 5 years

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Hanhan’s short stories: Rammstein Halloween pt.#16

Well, October went already but weird short stories suit the dark season in general, despite the month. 8-)

Happy Halloween everyone!

The prompt: After the death of a friend or family member, the character (and possibly one or a few others) finds a hidden trap door in their home while cleaning out their belongings. Inside, they uncover secrets the deceased was hiding.

#16: Welcome to the Catland

Furball’s sudden death had been hard to admit for Flake. Even after months, he was still deeply in his sorrow and couldn’t have cleaned up all the cat-related stuff around the house. Everything was still like when Furball had been there - the only difference was that the food bowl was empty. Flake knew it wasn’t healthy trying desperately to hold on from the old things - those just kept reminding how lonely he was now when his pet had left this world. Till had been supportive all the way and had gently suggested that maybe it was time to get rid of the things - time to move on with tiny steps forward.

Flake laid on a sofa which had become too familiar in the last months - the kingdom of his grief, with plushie toys and a worn-out blanket that still had cat fur on it.

He blinked his watery eyes when the sweet memories of his beloved pet came back again. It can’t go on forever like this, verdammt…an adult man, weeping for a cat, how embarrassing. Till is always right, I should listen to him.

He stood up and with a sigh, decided that this was the day: he had to start cleaning the cat stuff away, even though how painful it felt. All the broken mouse toys, yarn, and catmint spread around the house - everything should go now.

Okay, this is then. He put melancholic classical music on and started his work.

After way too many hours the cleaning was finally done - Flake had broken the promise just a tiny bit and saved some of Furball’s favorite toys, including a rustling Grumpy Cat -plushie, as memories.

But, his eyes caught something unusual in the darkest corner of a wardrobe where he had hidden the cardboard box full of cat things which were meant to go to the trash. “Wait a minute, I never installed a cat door,” he muttered, “and why on earth would I even need a door here in the first place?” Or maybe this has something to do with that night when we tested Paul’s homemade moonshine and got the worst diarrhea ever and almost got blind…

But even more bizarre than just the door was a small bottle on the floor next to it.

Gott im Himmel, what is going on? Does somebody want to poison me or did Furball have a secret tavern here?

Flake took the tiny bottle in his hand and tried to read the gibberish written on it: “Ämät ouj.”

“Ämät ouj…” he kept repeating. Is this even any real language?

He left the door and the bottle there and tried to think about something else but as the evening went on, it was impossible to get the weird things in his wardrobe out of the head. Flake shut the tv down and took his laptop. Just for fun, he tried to type the text on a translator, but like he assumed, with no results.

Then, out of nowhere, he remembered how in detective novels the letters had to be arranged in a different order to solve a riddle. He tried the classic: putting the text backward.

“Heureka!” Flake yelled accidentally out loud - even though how impossible, it had worked.

It was a command. “In Finnish: Juo tämä - in English: drink this.”

No way, this must be some kind of stupid prank…maybe it’s just Reesh’s hidden flask from our last party.

Flake hesitated for a while and thought what could be the worst that could happen. He could go blind or even worse, suffer a slow and painful death. But still, curiosity was too strong - he had to give it a try.

He went back to the wardrobe and just in case, typed the emergency number ready to his phone.

“Okay, here goes for nothing…”

He gulped the whole bottle and expected to have a bitter and burning taste in his mouth but surprisingly, the drink was neutral, with a hint of sweetness in it.

At first, nothing seemed to happen and Flake was assured it had to be just a prank. He decided to go to sleep - how stupid he had been to think this might lead to something interesting. What was he expecting?

But when he started walking it ended up being difficult - he was shrinking.

The whole wardrobe looked enormous from a different angle.

“No fucking way!” Flake exclaimed in disbelief as he noticed he had suddenly paws instead of hands.

And in front of the cat door, he saw a tiny text he was unable to see before.

ENTER

~**~

Two cats were sleeping in a basket: another one was completely black, with a red ribbon in his neck and the other one, tinier, was red and striped. They were curled tightly together in a ball when the black one opened his eye - he was sure he had heard steps. That was unusual.

“Somebody’s coming here.”

“Who could it be?” the red one mumbled and didn’t even bother to open his eyes when he had been just dreaming of a sweet mouse hunting trip with his companion.

“I have no idea, but I should have a look.”

The black cat left his comfortable place, swearing himself for the pleasant moment been interrupted ruthlessly. He licked his friend’s ear. “I’ll be back soon, Paulchen.”

“Be careful, Liebling.”

The intruder got more and more visible as he approached. It seemed to be a slender and completely naked cat.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the black cat hissed.

The newcomer stopped. “You have no idea how much I’d like to have answers to those questions as well. But who are you?”

“My name is Richard,” the other cat answered proudly.

The naked cat’s pupils widened in his new yellow eyes. “No fucking way…”

“What?”

He took a step forward and scrutinized the other cat. “Holy shit, it is really you, Reesh. This is unbelievable!”

Richard started to get uneasy. “H-how do you know that name?”

“Because we are in the same band, silly.”

Okay, is this naked guy high on catmint or what is this shit he’s talking about? “What is…a band?”

The newcomer sighed - so it seemed like he had entered a world without even music. How great. “We play music together, in umm…humanforms.”

Richard now looked like he was going to throw up. “…human?” The thought of being a relative for smelling monkeys made him nauseous. It was almost like an insult to be even mentioned in the same sentence with those creatures. “Don’t say things like that or I assure you I’m gonna scratch your eyes out!”

“Yes, we both were humans in my…universe or whatever it was, believe it or not.”

Universe? What is he talking about? “But why in the hell are you here?” Richard asked and didn’t want to believe anything he had just heard.

“That’s another story.” The naked cat stared at the ground, embarrassed, and tried to change the subject. “But do you happen to know a cat named Furball? White one, with grey stripes.”

Richard licked his lips and answered vaguely: “I might know him. Why?”

“Can you lead me to him, please. I need answers for this whole mess.”

“Perhaps, perhaps…but first, it would be nice to know with whom I’ve been talking to.”

“My name is Flake,” the naked cat finally revealed and offered his paw for Richard. When the other feline kept staring at it in confusion, Flake immediately withdrew it. He could have blushed if it would have been possible.

“Sorry, I’m not just used to…your species’ culture yet.”

“It seems like we have a lot of things to teach you then,” Richard said slyly and stretched, ready to leave. “C’mon, let’s go. We have to find your Furball and also meet Till and Schneider if they could help you in…whatever it is you need.”

#rammstein #flake lorenz #richard kruspe #paul landers #31horrificdays #halloween fic #cats #weird short story #fanfiction #my fics #october challenge failed #but oh well

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ts-2020-olympics · 4 years

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EPISODE 3 - “Am I Old?” - Sarah

So far Shosha and Yujo haven’t lost any challenges, if we keep winning until the swap i fear that the other tribes will target our people because we’re all still intact. Maybe it would be a good thing to maybe lose one? I dunno

ちくしょう 😉

FUCK the hosts for this how many hours can you put in challenge this early in the game, i'm literally fucking pissed, FUMIN love! i knew we were gonna lose from early on but i still put in the time and hours to distract myself from this bitch ass boy who curved me yesterday night, whatever. i'm just so exhausted like of the constant losing, the tribal council, ugh. i haven't been on a losing tribe like this in SO long. and i'm so.. over it. i can't stand losing and i can't stand that emma is immune right now because deciding who to vote off is going to be impossible and people are going to be coming for me so i'm like, probably most definitely gone or whatever. and that means i'm going to have to do the arena challenge and NOT have a day off which... ugh....... dont get me wrong i know that ORGs are time commitments but usually i win the premerge challenges so THIS IS NEW OKAy kdhfnsdkfndkfndf. i'm just annoyed and i'm so over my tribe... and i didn't find any advantages at the olympic village i finally remembered to search in. anyway i dont even wanna THINK about tribal rn so this is just me saying fuck this challenge and ughhh i'm so TIRED just so fatigued of everything, i'll like come back tmrw and strategize or something. *throws a rock at the cameraman* fuck this shit i'm out, give me the osake RIGHT! GOD DAMN! NOW! (alcohol for all you non duolingo-ers)

i'm kinda happy that bailey was evacuated from the game, she would have been voted out regardless and this gives our tribe better odds at survival. even if we had gone to tribal i would've been comfortable, but now i feel like it's better than i try to prove my value as a player by competing in the arena! kinda excited.

tribal three times in a row check! 😍✨💋 LMAO no one is wanting to actually talk to me about it so i’m hoping that i can still sway the votes in my favor but we’ll see! i think landen would defiantly do his best to help keep me from going, but it’s all a matter of who would we send instead. so! we’ll see! at least i can say i did my best

So, for starters, the past round went pretty much as expected. Kathy was the vote off from my tribe, and she lost at the arena, as well, past round I found nothing yet again at the village. Now, right now in terms of this round, my tribe didn't win immunity, but Bailey ended up getting medically evacuated due to getting three inactivity strikes, so the tribal got cancelled for my tribe, and Beck ended up volunteering to do the arena. So basically, just awaiting to search Olympic Village again, and hoping to goodness there is a tribe swap next round, since right now my tribe is just my alliance with Ben and Beck, which will make things rough come another loss with no swap.

yep worst case scenario happened. My tribe lost with me sitting out and Will, my one main ally, not showing up to the challenge at all!! I was hoping it could be an easy vote so i didn’t have to vote and I could get the advantage but now it seems like my tribe is ready to boot Will and if I want that advantage I need two of those other three to vote against each other! God this is gonna be hard...

I’m in a tough predicament here. I could either A. play it safe, agree with everyone to vote will or B. try to save my ally and my advantage at the same time by getting Sarah and Eve to vote out Nik, risking my whole game. Godddd I don’t know!! aaaagh!

it's 10am, tribal is in 10 hours, and i've had about 10 separate heart attacks throughout the morning. i don't know what to do tonight. i'm really struggling to figure out what's right. my heart says jacob, that's definitely where i'm leaning. juls is my closest ally at this point, and after the whole debacle with Billy, voting him out, then instantly starting to bond with him and all that, and apologizing, and him sticking by me even after I voted him out first, I would feel terrible voting for him again and I want us to prove to eachother we can trust eachother. but the fact he said juls' name.. if that's who he's going to go for, i simply can't prove to him i will vote with him. i'm tight with juls, she saved me even over emma, and i just really feel a bond with her. we're both the youngest in this cast, we both have lots in common, it really do feel like we're the same person at times. at the same time, my head tells me jacob is good in challenges, and will be ok in arena, but that i really don't need a 3rd person upset at me for going to the arena, and if Emma is still coming after me, she could probably use me coming for Jacob to her advantage, but I don't even know where she's voting or what she's thinking. i'm torn about this vote, and it's all the more annoying that if emma just hadn't fucked up at the last challenge, we wouldn't be here without someone to vote right now. we'd all be able to agree on emma or jacob probably, and it would just... it would still suck complete ass, but it wouldn't be as complicated as it is now. with a tribe as tiny as 5 people, going to tribal THREE times, with all the same 5 people.. it's just not something we can afford. our tribe is being torn apart and... whew, i just need the swap. give it to me rn. as of now, i'm thinking i'm going to vote jacob, and i hope i can get billy on board for that and take his mind off juls. that's where my head is at right now... tribal is making me sick to my stomach

What the f does I stan you even mean? Am I old? And I no longer hip and down with the lingo? Bogus, man...

Our first tribal is tonight... I hate to say it, but I'm voting for Will. Nobody has heard from him in days, or for the last challenge, and tonight will be a second strike if he doesn't come back for tribal. WILL I'M SORRY. I definitely would not have voted him otherwise, he did great on the other challenges and is a great personality to have around. Come back for the next season Will..

I am the swing vote again lol Juls got blamed for messing up last vote by Emma and Billy, which considering Juls is beloved by everyone, PERFECT But now since we lost I need to pick a side, Landen and Juls or Emma and Billy. I like Emma, Billy sketches me out. Landen is the perfect meat shield for eternity. He's a bit of a blabbermouth. I watched the tapes of the live tribal, he sold me out unknowingly in front of Billy. How am I supposed to both sides these people now!? I could get sold onto a Landen vote, but that's not being sold, so WELL, who do I screw over. I feel so bad voting out Juls, but that's a reason to vote her out too, gah. GAH. Do I pick a side and lowkey goat, or do I make my control of the tribe forefront (but not evident because everyone hates each other) Time will tell. 1 Hour until tribal, and I have no idea what to do. inb4 voted out

why the FUCK does emma have immunity? she's literally so useless and does nothing in challenges... and the fact she already turned on juls, this quick, over practically nothing? im sick to my stomach, love. i know i said that already, but you know what? I must have the flu, because my nausea is neverending with this tribe and our constant spins at tribal council. as emma once said, we're basically taking turns sending people to the hellish arena. but the twist is so complex because you can't send someone you like there, because there IS always the very real chance that they lose the challenge. going there could be a good risk if you're smart with it, but it could be a risk that puts your entire game in jeopardy and i'm a KNOWN safe player when it comes to game mechanics ^_^ the only risks i take are in emotional labor! speaking of, myself and juls have both been working very hard to keep her safe from billy and emma's focused target on her, but i don't see it happening.. Billy and em seem to be tight now and it seems like they've convinced jacob to take out juls. The really horrible thing about all this, is that if i want to save juls.... i'm likely going to have to vote billy. and that is going to be aching, because i really like the guy, and i was being 100% honest and genuine with him saying i wanted to be on his side, to prove to him i have his trust and that i will be loyal to him and want to work with him til the endgame and be his ally. but if he's going to go against juls and i have to choose between the two of them..... i mean, i can't choose billy. it would be bad. so there's 30 minutes left and i don't have a clear idea of what's happening yet and any choice i make will permanently damage a tight connection that I thought I had heading into the later game. I guess in good news, Sammy, Caeleb, and a new friend, Jordan, ALL messaged me saying good luck at tribal, and talking to me a bit about it, saying they hope I'm safe. Forming those cross tribal bonds could be crucial in surviving the next stage of the game, which, god please, is happening VERY soon... *i bind myself to the cross* Give me strength to get through this, Japan. Onegaishimasu.

So far the game is makin me p sad, I’m super tired of going to tribal and having to send people to arena. And that Japanese challenge was so damn frustrating

so tribal last night.... i mean, uh, i guess my power, huh? lmao........... MESS!!! IM A MESS MY GAME IS A MESS THIS WHOLE DAMN THING IS A MESS. Someone get me a MOP rn because Sonkei-Matsing tribe is STRUGGLING and it's all EMMA'S FAULT!!!!! On the other hand, I'm very grateful Emma is an idiot, because Billy got to be safe!!! So let me explain what happened in that bonkers tribal council, from MY perspective... When I heard that my closest ally Juls had her name coming up, i was like, oh HELL. NO. So I put in the WORK to get Jacob and Billy to vote for eachother. Don't get me wrong, Juls worked hella hard on this too, she is a bad ass bitch and she deserves credit. But I do believe I was a major factor in swaying their votes as well as I'd built pretty close relationships with each of them in terms of strategy. But with Billy, that relationship wasn't a tight trusting one, more of a, please, I like you a lot, let me prove to you that I can be trusted and we can work together. Let us prove that to eachother. But here's how it happened. Even though Jacob and Billy DID vote for eachother... NEITHER OF THEM TOLD ME THEY WERE VOTING FOR EACH-OTHER. BILLY LED ME TO BELIEVE HE WAS VOTING JULS THE WHOLEEEEE TIME. And initially, I was fine with it, and i was STILL going to vote Jacob off with Juls!! Thinking there was nothing I could do and she would go 3-2. But then, 5 minutes into tribal, you'll see me furiously typing... Because Jacob FINALLY told me he was going to vote for Billy (and that's on Whispering!!! #LiveTribal!!) So from my perspective.... Billy and Emma are voting Juls. Juls is voting Jacob. Jacob is voting Billy. It's 2-1-1... and if I vote for Jacob, then Jacob and Juls can't vote, and Billy and Emma have the majority to send Juls out, saving Jacob on the revote. BUT if I vote for Billy, then Billy and Juls can't vote, and now me and Jacob have the majority over Emma. That was the thought process behind my initial vote for Billy. LITTLE DID I KNOW BILLY ACTUALLY WAS VOTING WITH ME AND NOW I FEEL HORRIBLE FOR VOTING FOR HIM AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT UP TO HIM BUT HE DIDN'T TEXT ME WHEN HE GOT OFF AND UGH, I NEED TO MAKE THIS RIGHT!!!! Emotional labor is the most annoying thing, and I'm really bad it. I'm terrible at apologizing and owning up to things, maybe that's why I just let my friendships fall apart in real life instead of doing the actual work to save them once a problem happens. because emotional labor is fucking annoying, exhausting, and stressful! I don't got time for it! But now, I need to have time for it, because our tribes are FIVE PEOPLE strong, and at the next tribal council, if I don't get my relationship with Billy in check, I WILL be gone. It is his vote that I need to help make sure Emma's psycho ass goes home, and if he, Jacob, and Emma all think they're on the bottom... Yikes. I hope Billy understands that I was absolutely disgusted it came down to him or Juls and I thought I was doing everything I could to save an ally.. I even swayed Juls to help save him with me, when she felt uncomfortable with him. He totally screwed up by like... not telling me he was voting with me, he said in tribal people just need to be real with where they're voting, and I agree! I wish he had just followed his own advice with me, because he would still be here right now. But his screw up does not at all compare to Emma... what the FUCK was she thinking, self-voting like that...? Like, HELLO? She throws out Juls' name all round, for I don't even know WHAT reason, since they were supposedly close, but it's implied she throws out Juls' name for getting 4 crowns on the challenge... Um, YOU STUPID BITCH YOU LITERALLY ONLY GOT ONE MORE CROWN THAN HER AND BEFORE THAT DID NOTHING ON THE SLIDE PUZZLE CHALLENGE OR THE TRIBE CHANT, DESPITE US KNOWING YOU CAN PUT IN THE TIME WHEN YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT IN THE ARENA :) Headass.... Then, after doing that all round, she SELF-VOTES??? WITH IMMUNITY AROUND HER NECK??? Girl you MUST be crazy, cus this is psychotic. Headass, deadass, she is gone the next time we lose tribal, which, lbr, is probably next time because we're LIT RALLY matsing. at least caeleb thinks i'm denise though. i feel like i have the same amount of wrinkles as her, after the stress of this game like 3 rounds in. imagine how tired i am.

Round 3's over! That's fun, innit? Glad we got rid of some dead weight in Bailey. As for friendships and alliances, I'm still slightly on edge about Darcy - I trust Beck over him. Got acquainted with Karen - they seem nice, but I'll keep an eye on them, too. Other than that, Nicole and Tommy are the people I'm mainly corresponding with. Seems like fun! :) Here's to a fun Round 4!

Okay so we won this round which is fun! Tommy went to the arena which gives me, Karen and Kevin a good chance to bond because Stoner just isn’t paying attention ever. I wonder if he has even made a confessional. Anyway, I’m going to be real annoyed if we lose and he whips out an idol. Also going to be mad if after this round there’s a swap and I’m swapfucked. I don’t think it really COULD happen to me though, because I’ve talked to at least one newbie on each of the tribes. Unless I’m stuck with Nik, Emma and Billy who have no interest in speaking to me, I think I’ll be fine. Speaking of newbies, I find myself talking to Ben a lot but I’m under the impression he talks to a lot of people. He reminds me of a lot of friendly pure men in this community like Joey, just very social and very nice! The only thing is sometimes he will say something in a conversation and I don’t necessarily know where to go with it. For example right now he’s having a full conversation with me in the village chat about pizza. I don’t know what to do with this and rather not be so vocal in the village chat. While the other newbies are increasingly hard to talk to, and sitting around all day waiting for the arena stuff is boring, Ben is a very nice person to talk to but I just wish we would talk like...about the game not what I’m eating. When it comes down to it I want to know I have an ally or two to bring to the end that might offset my immediate threat of being a winner, but not give them so much power that they win over jury votes. He seems to be showing his social side and not giving me any game info at the same time, which I have to look out for. All of the other newbies I’ve spoken to have talked game. He’s either playing a really good game by doing this or a really transparent one, I can’t tell yet. We will have to see!

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Last night proved something that I’ve been wondering about Landen for a while. He truly is a snake. I unintentionally made a really good move in keeping it mysterious on who I was voting. In order to make the vote go his way and to keep Juls, he instead changed the vote to ME and got Jacob to do the same. Sneaky mother fucker 😋 thank god Juls stayed the same though. I know for an absolute fact now that I won’t be able to trust him. As for Jacob, I do hope he comes back, because now that I know where the tribe stands I know I can get him on my side.

I don't know if I ever had such a frustrating round for challenges first duolingo and now the arena I was in the lead in front of everyone until the last clue and I lost it all I didn't get a medal. I'm so pissed, you really don't wanna @ me anytime soon because I'm at the point where I wanna go off on someone.

Love the tribe, so happy we 5-0d the last tribal!! it was a cute moment!! hehe, we seem to be very together as a unit

So Will’s gone, well he’s at the arena but i think he died so he’s probably out for good. Now that he’s out that leaves me on the bottom of my tribe as the next to go, my only hope is getting as close to sarah as I can and crossing my fingers for a swap! Due to that triple tribal I think it’s going to happen next... hopefully!

Ughh i keep forgetting to make confessionals until right before the round ends so im always like oh shit and then dont really know what im gonna talk about so its not good. hows things in the life of jordan pines? great thanks for asking, while i still feel on the bottom of my tirbe i definitly see a swap coming soon which i think depending on how it goes would be pretty good for me. Id ideally like to stay with most of the people ive been with plus new ones, becuse i think im seen as like an expendable numebr to caeleb and Jacob. I want them to keep thinking of me like this while I go out and start forming stronger relationships, keep bringing in those jordan pines minions, i got my sights set on billy right now, i like him but he makes me look as humble as they come and ive i could definitly turn him into a goat for me with the right coaxing. Im hoping will survives the arena cause hes for sure a number for me, but hes also a lil innactive so maybe he peaced. Im starting to build relationships with Landen who I like. I havent even looked at the all winners tribe holy shit. Karen and Stoner are gonna be my biggest obstacles as they dont necesarily love me. Im gonna try to work with Nicole for a bit if i can tbh. Thats really all im feeling right now. I think best cast scenario is people use me as a number and carry me just a little too far that I can turn shit around and fuck em over. It's definitely gonna be an uphill climb to the finish line, but the only way to do it is go step by step.

I feel like I am in a great position on my tribe! I trust Sarah and Eve a lot. Pete says he has my back so we can only hope that in the case of another tribal council, I will be safe! I’m still going to work my ass off and play my ass off to stay safe and not have to go to another tribal! This game is long and hard and I’m trying to see big picture. And within that big picture is a flashing sign that’s telling me there’s a tribe swap soon! Hopefully I’ll be able to work some magic and avoid being on a tribe with individuals that don’t like me. But overall I’m feeling pretty good after the last tribal!

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#zestypowerfuluniqueflavorfulhealthy #confessionals

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