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#im not sad about it or anything in fact i'm like thrilled to not be in my 20s anymore
blacknifealecto · 3 months
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can't believe i'm gonna be 30 in a month like what the fuck
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stealingyourbones · 1 year
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Hey Bones, I saw your thing about a Bat family member becoming a ghost and it reminded me of a very heart breaking au a friend and I came up with a while back that I don't remember if I submitted or not. Either way, be prepared to have your heart broken.
Tim is dead. He's been dead for a while actually. But No one seems to have noticed. He looks and feels just as solid as he did before he died, even if he's got a lower body temperature and doesn't seem to get hurt on patrol beyond bumps and bruises. Never anything that would land him in med Bay, never anything that would make his family check on him.
No one has noticed the way he doesn't eat anymore, or the fact he doesn't sleep. He's extended his patrol hours and cut back on time at Wayne Enterprises. He's pretty sure not even Alfred noticed. He knows the Kryptonians aren't worried about him not having a heart beat and they have no reason to tell anyone. They know he has a special device that can hide him from their senses and tests it on Kon a lot to make him focus on spacial awareness beyond his hearing. He used it a lot before he died. They just think he hasn't turned it off in a while.
Tim remembers how he died. Not fully, but there are pieces. He remembers he was fighting someone on a bridge and he didn't call for back up because he thought he could handle it. He doesn't remember who he thought he could handle. He remembers something stinging his arm. A bug? No a bug couldn't bite through Kevlar, it was a needle. Then everything started going dark and he was stumbling back. His back hit something hard and he tiped over it. He thought he could land on the other side. He remembers wondering why his suit felt so damp and heavy as the world went black around him.
Tim's body is still at the bottom of the bay where it will likely stay forever with so, so many other bodies. It makes Tim wonder, why him? Why not everyone else who ended up down there? Why not everyone who has died in Gothem? Did he come back like Jason did, is it something to do with being a vigilante? Tim checks his own pulse again while he's alone. Yep. Still dead. He continues on his patrol and tries to shove those thoughts away.
So what if Tim's dead? He's still here and he still has work to do. His family is full of detectives. If they can't figure out that something as important as death has happened to one of their own? Well then Tim thinks they need to pay more attention. He ignores the pain that curls in the back of his mind at that thought.
It's been 6 months. Why hasn't anyone noticed? Tim can't help but wonder if they ever will.
Howdy its me @bonebrokebuddy answering. I'm Twone's (twin bones) twin who is helping answer asks because this fucker has like, over 100 of them in her ask box and I help her with making prompt ideas frequently so she trusts me to not horribly fuck up her account.
This is my first answer for her I've written because I had my screen on low brightness and on darkmode, so your profile jump scared the shit out of me when I scrolled past it. Therefore im answering this one first.
Anywho, from my chronic inability to write angst here goes: Tim died, came back and none of the Bats seemed to care. So what? It's not like his best friends hadn't done the same thing. And he was tired and sick of the Bats thinking his entire life revolved around them.
So he packed up his bags and headed to Kansas.
The Bats might not be worried but neither was Kon or Bart. They're actually thrilled after getting over their initial grief that Tim now has also personally experienced death and came back. The funeral was a rather small, breif, and quiet afar. Kon made sure to help locate Tim's corpse and Bart helped with the eulogy (surprisingly heartfelt and moved them all to tears.)
Sure, they're sad that Tim died but he's right in front of them, it's a little more difficult to morn when you've been laughing at said dead guy who got stuck halfway through phasing out of the wall. And now Tim can keep track with them!
Kon is a little pissed that Tim can now go intangible and escape his TTK so he can't take away Tim's coffee anymore. But it's kinda worth it. The first time he took Rob on his favorite flight path, he's never wanted anything else than to hear Tim's breathless laugh and see his frighteningly perfect smile again. They now often go on flights together, high above the clouds with no-one else but them for thousands of miles around. (it almost felt like a date)
Bart knew this would happen one day. He was from the future, of course he knew that Tim Drake, formerly Red Robin, died at age 19 and changed his alias to The Grey Ghost. It doesn't mean that Bart doesn't morn the passing of his friend. Tim means a lot to him and the brief guilt that he did not stop Tim's death also quickly passes. He can finally show Tim that hiding space in the walls that no one else can get to without phasing through the wall! One other thing. Bart is unsure if Kon has noticed yet, which he knows Kon isn't the most observant of the old young justice crew but he has to have noticed it by now. Ever since Tim left Gotham he's developed an insane appetite despite claiming that he didn't need to eat while in Gotham and also being dead so why does he need to eat? (Unknown to Bart, Kansas doesn't have as much ambient ectoplasm as Gotham and Tim is starting to experience the withdraw symptoms. If the trio don't realize how to fix Tim's worsening symptoms soon, Tim might actually die for good this time.)
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sugdenlovesdingle · 28 days
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Seven Sentence Sunday (times two!)
thanks for the tag @sznofthesticks @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @welcometololaland
As usual I have way too many fics on the go and i need motivation and inspiration to actually finish some of them sometime this century... so here's two snippets from two fics
---
Nancy/Marjan
"Come home with me after shift."
"What? Are you sure?"
Marjan nodded, looking down at their joint hands for a moment before meeting Nancy's eyes again.
"Never been more sure. I just... I want to be with you... I want to wake up next to you tomorrow, I want to find out what you're like first thing in the morning, I want to know what you like for breakfast... I just want you."
"You have me." Nancy promised. "I've kind of had a thing for you since the first time you walked through those doors downstairs and announced you were here to see Owen Strand. I'm not letting you go now."
"Really?" Marjan asked. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes but at the same time it thrilled her to know Nancy had liked her for that long.
"Yeah. You were all confident and badass... and beautiful." Nancy leaned down to kiss her.
They were usually more careful when they were at work, and maybe it was the nice weather they'd been having, the fact that Marjan had pulled off another ridiculously risky stunt but was fine, the two days off they had coming up, or maybe it was just that they were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship and just wanted to kiss each other every chance they got, but they let themselves get lost in the kiss and completely forgot where they were.
Until the door opened and someone walked in.
"Woah, shit, sorry! I didn't see anything!" Paul announced loudly, covering his eyes as the two women jumped apart.
"Paul! What are you doing here?!" Marjan hissed.
"I just wanted to gather my stuff so I won't have to do it when shift is over. But clearly you're busy in here so I'll just..." he trailed off and felt around for the door handle.
----
Buck/Tommy
(technically Buck & his firefam but - details)
“Morning. What are we talking about, mister... Kinard…” Eddie trailed off. “Are you two becoming one of those couples now? Is Tommy walking around with Buckley on his back?”
Buck grinned and raised an eyebrow at his best friend.
“No. Nope. Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” Eddie warned him quickly, holding up his hand as if that would stop Buck from talking. 
“I mean… he’s probably still in bed… so he’s not wearing much of anything right now.” Buck grinned and sat down at the table next to Hen while Eddie groaned and muttered something under his breath about never being friends with couples.
“Did you know?” Hen asked Eddie when he joined them at the table.
“Know what?”
Hen grabbed Buck’s left hand and showed Eddie his ring.
“You asked him? I thought you wanted to wait until the party?”
“Yeah… but then I picked him up from work last week… and I just couldn’t wait.” Buck smiled. “When you know, you know, right?”
“Hmm.” Eddie agreed as he focused on his coffee.
“So you knew?” Hen asked again.
“Yeah. I helped him pick out the ring.” Eddie shrugged. “And when I say helped I mean apologised to the woman in the store who had to show him every ring they had at least twice, before he eventually bought the first one she'd shown him. He's banned from the place for life now." he joked. "I didn’t know he was going to propose now though.”
---
tagging @carlos-in-glasses @bonheur-cafe @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @oldfangirl81 @your-catfish-friend
@chicgeekgirl89 @lemonlyman-dotcom @sanjuwrites + open tag for whoever wants to share something
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suddenly-stickmin · 1 month
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I read Of Thunder and Lightning and it’s so good but so sad. I wish I could read more of their story and universe they’re in but I’ll just have fun reading it again. I’m glad I decided to check it out when you talked about it!
YESSSS IM SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU ENJOYED IT!!!! [And saaammmeee I'd love to read more about the main characters lives throughout--and maybe even before--the war]
Ehrrmmm rambles about "Of Thunder and Lightning" below! [cause it might be long and it'll contain spoilers for those who are interested in reading it!]
Just rambling in no particular order BUTTTTTTT:
Magni and Dimo have super interesting n tragic lives to me. The fact they've been patched up and rebuilt over and over again for who knows how long, all for the sake of fighting a war and fueling their empire/republic's propaganda. They were MADE to keep fighting each other.
And the fact they're so normal about it, the fact they're so numb about it because it's just a part of their lives, interests me too. The two of them look forward to seeing and ripping each other to shreds, they love the thrill of the battles, Magni's heart races and she smiles so brightly when Dimo finally comes back from the 'dead'.
And a part of me wonders if they're AWARE that they're happy to see each other? Neither of them outright say anything positive towards each other nor their experiences until their very last fight, when Magni says she missed the thrill of the pain their fights gave them. But that's what's fascinating to me as well, even when she's finally had another fight with Dimo again, she doesn't really think of anything positive [joy, happiness, n whatnot], she thinks of pain, and I suppose to her, that IS 'positive'.
I suppose because these two have fought each other for so long and they probably understand what one another goes through, they probably associate the pain of the fights as something positive. Fights brings them together and connects them. They get to see each other, they get to have fun, and getting hurt is just a part of that process.
Their relationship was written greatly. There's an unspoken care between them [Magni reaching for Dimo when she falls, her staring down at Dimo in shock and silence as she processes all of it, the smiles they give each other as they fight, and of course near the end where Dimo tries to reach for Magni's hand, the only instance where there's a tender intention behind her action], but they still want to kill each other.
But when either of them DID kill the other, they had no other purpose. Dimo was Magni's goal, and Magni was Dimo's. Magni felt unfulfilled and kept putting herself into fights against those robot soldiers, even when she didn't have to [was it because she wanted to feel something? Or was she hoping there was a chance Dimo would be there? Mayhaps both?], and when DIMO won, she went past enemy lines and rummaged through hundreds of Magni clones in hopes of finding her again.
Interestingly, and I didn't fully realize this until my second read, but Dimo was never going to find Magni. She had truly killed Magni, but what weight does the word 'killed' and 'dead' hold to a being that has been constantly broken and rebuilt again and again? Magni never cared for nor thought of death, it was simply 'the end', and any horrible injuries she received could easily be patched up. If Dimo was able to come back better than ever after being 'taken down', why couldn't Magni?
Sure, Dimo DID take heavy damage, but her heart was untouched. Magni wasn't so lucky.
Adding onto that, it's interesting to see and learn that the main characters' hearts [and I'm assuming their brains?] are ORGANIC. They're actual human hearts. These two were most likely fully human in the past, and they sacrificed their flesh bodies for the sake of their republic/empire, OOORRRR the scientists who made them had created their hearts? [I'm only uncertain because one of the gardeners' tells Magni "You COULD be a normal girl soon.", not "You could be a normal girl AGAIN." Or anything of that sort.]
Continuing on from the previous point, I'm sure it's much easier to constantly transfer their hearts and brains from one robotic body to the next whenever they get too badly damaged, and keep all those memories, orders, and their 'purposes', as opposed to constantly creating new code over and over again.
Sif giving Magni the nickname 'Dandelion' was cute, but the fact that she accidentally calls her 'Bluebell' in that one panel made me curious. How many times has Magni been rebuilt? Does Magni remember being rebuilt? Or just the fights she's gone through? Does Sif give different nicknames for every new model of Magni that's built? Is it for the sake of differentiating them? Or is there another reason?
The world building, even though we only see glimpses, really made me ponder. It seems the republic & the empire have been fighting for a long time, and it's clearly taken an effect on the people [constantly upgrading Magni/Dimo, sending out robotic troops, people needing rations, scientists working on weapons all the time, so on], but as soon as Magni WINS, the news goes "Yayyyy Magni thanks for your help yayyyyyyy anyways onto economic problems :^)"
Like they just won a WAR and it's mentioned +brushed aside so quickly. Then the republic keeps churning out merchandise and movies about Magni. They use her face to motivate people to help their cause, Magni INSPIRES people to defend the republic. They were probably profiting off of Magni's existence long before the war was 'won' too.
The page where Magni and Dimo smile at each other while Dimo's laying on the floor battered HAS to be my favorite page. Their smiles are awesome. The silence is awesome. There's so many possible reasons as to why they're smiling, and all of them would fit the story perfectly.
The panel near the end where Dimo reaches for Magni's hand is very very sweet.
OVERALLLLLLLLL AWESOME STORY WITH AWESOME ART Thanks for checking out as well!! Again I'm super happy to hear you enjoyed it!
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0azrae7 · 1 month
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@absensia asked: " so much for the element of surprise. "
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luxurious car had rolled from the garage, an abundance of spare cars occupying the space there. like a sad old woman's doll collection, or useless, dust-laden crockery set — for men. he'd never understood the hobby of car collecting. of empty vehicles isolated to an enclosed area. even if he were bloody minted, he couldn't fathom wasting the money on something so pointless and superficial. that's not to say he doesn't appreciate how some cars can be easy on the eyes, however.
how thrilling it is to reduce them to crumpled metal and torn leather. which means raj might just miss his stunning, custom-painted burgundy mercedes, soon enough. such is the cost of assigning ghost business he holds little interest in. an errand, as far as he was concerned. thus, dirtied boots were merciless to pristine foot pedals as he'd freed the car from its den. reaching the end of the driveway, he'd noted charlotte's approach and genuinely, wholeheartedly, had considered driving off before she'd reached him. he hadn't. watched closely as she'd perched elbows at his open passenger window, peering in like a modern hag selling poisoned apples. his lips had quirked upwards at the thought.
a brief interaction followed. what is he doing? [ he's been tasked with obtaining paperwork relating to competition from a collective deemed as a problem. sticking their noses into places they don't belong. making trouble for raj. essentially, it's information they're threatening to leak. as security — it's simon's job to get it back, safe and sound. and leak it himself, straight to the cia. ] and can she join him? " sure. " regrettable. once in, fingers had twisted the radio knob to up the volume and he'd made direct eye contact with her. " long as you're good with me singin' along. " a joke, despite his monotone delivery.
and the drive there had been relatively tame, with simon indulging in her company despite his screaming senses. maybe he's drawn to the contained chaos she carries. the chaos anyone carries, for that matter. she'd seen him kill. seen him amid his own chaos. a morbid curiosity in him seeks to keep pushing her, testing the waters. maybe he gets a twisted satisfaction from subjecting women to witnessing terrible things. upon arrival, skeletal fingers had tightly clutched at spotless wheel. charlotte is under the impression that this will be a stealthy task — in and out. " hold on, " is the only warning he gives as the car is forcefully driven into the front of the building to block the entrance. so much for the element of surprise. with airbags already disabled, he turns to her and gives a firm, " out, " in response. steps out of the crashed vehicle and onto concrete, removing his pistol from its holster. keeping it close, he pushes around and up to the back and second, now-only, exit.
doesn't pay attention to whether his colleague keeps up. the door is kicked open and he enters, proceeding to clear the residence. this isn't the entirety of the collective they're up against, but a small crew assigned to this location. fact is, they're all scum. bullet after bullet, ghost eliminates every potential threat until one remains. he's sure charlotte won't mind — after all, she seems to be a fan of sending messages. the final target is knocked over the head with the butt of his gun, sending them tumbling to the floor. " look about, " he tells his companion. " computers, papers... boss failed t' mention the form it'd come in. tossers could'a made copies, too. i 'ave some questions f' this fella. "
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please, please, i don't know anything! disinterested, he rolls his eyes. " haven't asked you anythin' yet. how could you possibly know what i'm gonna say? " kalloway, right!? a brow arches. " well, you know 'im. i'd say that means you know somethin'. " if you kill me, you won't find it! a huff of meagre amusement, followed by a shake of his head. " fuckin' 'ell. you're not very good at this, are you mate? " he decides he needn't use unnecessary force for this one, raising his gun and aiming at his target's head, instead. " reckon you ought'a say somethin' useful, " nods in charlotte's direction, " if she has t' find it on 'er own, i won't be best pleased. yeh? " / meme.
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themermaidpirate · 7 months
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whaddup gayboy it's time for another daydream
I fantasize a lot about being a fae
or like, being fae-like enough to confuse people from back in the olden days, you know?
I have false fangs, I have pretty dresses (with pockets) and lots of shiny jewelry. makeup that isn't made with lead and that matches my complexion lmao
I might want kids one day
I like to imagine meeting some kid while I'm hanging out in the woods (idk, picking flowers or singing or something I guess), and it's very clear that this child is hungry and sad, maybe even in an unsafe household, and I pick him up and twirl him around and he's thrilled and laughing and his happiness is the best thing I've ever seen and I immediately decide that this is my son now and I love him more than anything
I don't know whether time has passed and the boy visits me first, or if I meet the father right away, but he's clearly not a very nice man.
more importantly, he's not a very brave one.
a stupid man can still be dangerous, but a coward can be manipulated, you see.
Im holding the boy, and his father wants to know who the hell I am, but he won't come closer because I'm in the faerie ring and he Knows Better than to cross the ring of tiny mushrooms in the ground, the grass itself greener inside than out
I smile, close-lipped, red lipstick a statement against my tan complexion. I have a strange accent compared to his, he's never heard it before. Never heard my language before. (I like to imagine 1800s Britain, somewhere, and while I'm sure Mexicans had been invented by then, we're a world and a half away.)
I tell him a sort of truth, words chosen carefully to hide my fangs for now. This is my home, and I don't like that he's here. I'm not mean or rude about it, just stating facts. "This is my home. You shouldn't be here." That's true enough. I actually live far away, and don't plan to stay longer than this adoption takes, or maybe I'll magically whisk my new baby boy into the faerie realm with me, where he'll be safe and happy forever and ever.
He looks furious, and demands his child back.
The boy, arms wrapped tight around my neck, hides his face. I can tell he's scared, but he's mine now, and I won't let anyone hurt him anymore.
I pat his back, or run a hand through his hair, and I smile up at his old father. "What would it take for you to take him back? What would it take to let me have him? What's worth the risk?"
He doesn't know who I am.
He doesn't know what I'll do.
If he insists on arguing, I'll bare my fangs to pull one of my rings off my finger and toss it to him. It's opal, set in topaz and silver. I name it as opal, but I admit out loud that I find it silly for humans to call it a faerie gem. Not mockingly, just to highlight that I am clearly Not What He Thought.
I am clearly Not One Of Him.
I twirl around again, dress flowing up with the motion, and the boy laughs, if quietly. I laugh too, and come to a stop facing the man. I am still smiling, teeth flashing.
"It is time to go now." I say. "For both of us. And for your patience and your generosity, I will grant you this one kindness: we will not meet again."
He seems satisfyingly spooked.
I am satisfied with his nod as he backs away.
I sing a lullaby to my sweet boy while I bring him home. "Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi sol..."
Why do you haunt me in this way
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comfort
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Peter just wants to lay down with you but there's something that kinda makes him uncomfortable and you try to confront him about it...
Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader
Status: dating
Warning: mentions of bra's
Y/n's POV
I was laying on peters bed liking the tiktoks that I thought were funny and saving the ones I wanna do for later when Peter suddenly opens the door mumbling a few incoherent words then I can tell he sensed me since he looked up so quickly, eyes wide open and a small smile, getting bigger by the second, appeared on his lips.
"Babyyyyyy" he quickly took his shoes and jacket off and flopped on the bed his head resting on my stomach while his arms hugged my lower belly.
"Oof" I laughed since he basically jumped on me, he looked up resting his chin on my stomach
"I'm sorry did I hurt you y/n/n?" He whispered voice as soft as butter
"No it didn't hurt, it was just unexpected" I smiled playing with his soft hair "come closer, I wanna hug you" I made grabby hands and he just laughed, resting his head on my chest now, hugging my waist his legs were between mine so I crossed them around his middle and wrapped my arms around his neck kissing his head once in a while
He shifted a couple of times, making me think he's just trying to get comfortable so I ignored it, but he shifted again and silently huffed. He gave in for a few minutes then lifted his head up again to peck my lips and lay next to me.
I got very confused coz usually I'd have to make him move but he's never done this before, it made me kinda sad to be honest. Did I do something wrong? Omg do I smell bad? Does my shirt smell bad?
At first I didn't say anything since he looked unbothered and I was anything but that, I mean if you think about it, would you like your boyfriend to randomly stop cuddling you for no reason and just lay beside you? Is he mad at me?
Our cuddles would last for hours! And this one didn't even last for 10 minutes! I turned around seeing him looking at his phone with his left hand and his other is draped around my waist
"So what do you wanna order, babe?" He looked up his brown eyes hopeful for food
"Oh uh" so he's not mad at me? "W-Whatever you w-want" I silently cursed at myself for being nervous, now he'll get suspicious. And in fact he did.
"Oookay? You okay bubba?" He tilted his head? Caressing my cheek for a moment before setting his gaze on his phone again to order some food
"Yeah yeah I'm fine, it's jus- nothing no I'm fine" He nodded slowly not really convinced but let it go, for now. He laid on his side, his right hand supporting his body, leaned in and kissed me. As a way to make sure that I'm not mad at him or anything. I obviously kissed back not wanting to seem more suspicious than I already was.
He pulled away smiling, his eyes adoring my face. I would be a psycho if I didn't smile from that look.
"Ok well I'll go set up the ingredients so we can make brownies after, sounds good?" I only nodded still smiling. But that didn't convince him so he started kissing my forehead down to my nose to my lips a couple times making me laugh.
"Ok ok! We're gonna make brownies" i verbally agreed this time. He nodded happily and left the room, all the doubt I had were long gone.
The food arrived to our luck and we stuffed our face with the delicious hot meal, Peter also got my favorite drink AND were about to make brownies so to say I was happy was an understatement.
"OOOH GIRL YOU'RE SHINING" I was mixing the brownie batter swaying my hips to the song 'classic' by MKTO, while Peter took my spatula and used it as a microphone running around the kitchen singing his heart out
"LIKE THE FIFTH AVENUE DIAMONDDD" he pointed at me and I laughed "AND THEY DONT MAKE YOU LIKE THEY USED TO, YOURE NEVER GOING OUT OF STYLEEE" he shook his head as if he's confirming the lyrics and we continued on well, I continued on finishing the brownies
but Peter did make an effort, he sprayed the pan and sprinkled the chocolate chips. And he said and I quote he did "the most important parts for making a brownie"
"I WANNA THRILL YOU LIKE MICHEAL" he made the thriller dance moves while sprinkling the chocolate chips "I WANNA KISS YOU LIKE PRINCE" he turned around trapping me between him and the counter behind me, grabbed me by the back of my neck and kissed me until the chorus came in. And i couldn't contain my laughter by the sudden energy my boyfriend got from the food.
"YOURE OVER MY HEAD, IM OUTTA MY MIND. THINKIN' I WAS BORN AT THE WRONG TIME" he suddenly pulled away belting the rest of the song "BABY YOURE SO CLASSIC" we both sung together after he stopped me from putting the pan in the oven claiming its 'too dangerous' and he doesn't want me to get hurt, i mean can you blame him? I'm a totally clutz.
"Ok so why don't we watch something while we're waiting for the brownies?" He suggested putting on the timer.
"Sure" I suddenly jumped on his back (but he still caught me) waiting for him to go to the living room. He laughed at the sudden clinginess (he lovedddd it) and walked out of the kitchen. "TO INFINITY AND BEYONDDDD" he shouted sprinting to the living room. And I squealed from the sudden movement.
"Take the remote, babe" he turned so I can take the remote from the shelf.
"Got it" then flopped us on the couch, causing us to laughed. The jump made me cuddle him as the big spoon while his back rested in my front as the little spoon. At first everything was okay, the first 10 minutes of our favorite show was watched at peace but then the shifting began again. Am I making him uncomfortable?
"Babe, what's wrong? You've been doing this everytime we're cuddling today?" I asked him, so done with the feeling I'm getting.
"Uhhh" but to my luck...
*dinggg*
the oven dinged alerting us that the brownies' finished "oh looks like our brownies are done I-I-I'll go get them!" He rushed to the kitchen and I huffed in annoyance.
The rest of the night went smoothly, but I still had the pang of guilt in my heart. I wanted to know what wrong. so enough is enough, I turned my attention away from series to my boyfriend.
"Pete?" He somehow sensed the hurt in my voice and immediately turned to my side cupping my cheeks
"Baby what wrong?" His eyes scanned my face
"N-Nothing it's just- am I uncomfortable?" I didn't know what to say but hopefully he got the message
"W-what? Why would you say that?" The tv was long gone now he caressed my checks with his thumb trying to soothe the tension
"Well, everytime we've been cuddling you'd shift away, I don't wanna sound clingy or anything but y-you've never done that before" suddenly feeling ashamed and embarrassed by question, I couldn't even look at him in the eye. His eyes widened in shock and his face was full of guilt
"Baby it's nothing I swear, you did nothing wrong. He pulled me in so I could sit on his lap, his hands caressed my jaw slightly admiring my features.
"Then what happened?" My voice croaked not believing him by the second.
"Well it's jus-" his cheeks suddenly became darker, the heat risen to the tip of his ears and on his neck. I was confused to why he suddenly got all flustered.
"Pete it's fine, you can tell me" I rested my forearm on his shoulders slightly touching the small hairs that are on the nape of his neck.
"N-no it's just uh ur b-bra is uncomfortable so I just decided to sleep next to y-you inste-ad" he squeaked out, eyes closing from embarrassment. Wait- what?
"What?" A small smile crept on my face, and my mind suddenly pieced everything together, the material of my shirt is rather thin, he hugged my stomach first then I told him to come closer, he shifted a couple times due to the wiring! Oh my god how could I be so stupid?
"Y-Your b-bra, there's nothing wrong with it and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything it's just, I didn't know they put metal on a piece of clothing?" He tilted his head confused.
"Yeah" I nodded laughing "well there's like a wiring around my chest like under my boobs" I showed him the area from his shirt. And I could tell he got even more flustered when I said 'boobs' coz his posture immediately stiffened again.
"We can talk about it pete it's fine, it's normal to communicate in what make you uncomfortable, in fact it's important!" I assured him
"Well I just thought you'd get more comfortable if you were wearing it and if I say something you'd have to take it off or something" he looked down at his lap, I could not believe this boy, he'd think I'd purposely wear a bra even if I didn't have to?
"Believe me, if I didn't have to wear this 'thing' I wouldn't, it's hurts so much at the end of the day since the wiring basically suffocates you" his eyes shot up immediately when he heard 'hurt' and tilted his head.
"Then why would you wear it if it hurts you?" Now it was my turn to get flustered
"Uhh well I just thought maybe you'd get uncomfortable" I nervously laughed
"No no Baby I want you to be nothing but comfortable around me, you don't have to wear you're bra infront of me or when we're hanging out. I looked at him lovingly, proud of how he handled the situation, respectfully and kindly. I leaned in so our lips could briefly touch and mumbled a
"Thanks Pete"
"You're welcome" he replied "now please kiss me" I laughed at his eagerness but Peter didn't have any of it and smashed our lips together.
"Wanna get ready for bed?" He slowly pulled away but right after the words left his mouth he kissed me again
"Yes" we finally pulled away, for real this time. And went or his bedroom. I was already wearing sweats and the thin t-shirt so I was ready to go. Peter came out of the bathroom now in his flannel sweats and a grey t-shirt flopping on the bed and taking me with him. I squealed trying to stop the fall but obviously failing. I stood up again trying to find my bag causing Peter to whine.
"Baaaaabe where are you going?" He whined
"Taking off my bra so we can cuddle, I missed our cuddles since you couldn't give me any today" I fake pouted, taking the bra off and putting it in my backpack. Peter cheeks turned red again turning his head immediately after looking at my laced black bra.
"You okay there hun?" I smirked at his flustered state
"Y-yeah everything's great" he shook his head and grabbed me again, turning us around so he can lay on my stomach
"Better?" I whispered my hands immediately going to his luscious curls.
"Much" he kissed the exposed part of my stomach and covered both of our bodies with his duvet. "I love you" he closed his eyes sighing in content
"I love you too" I replied although I'm not sure he listened since immediately after he talked I heard little snores from him. Finally closing my eyes feeling nothing, but pure happiness.
Idk what this is but I thought of it yesterday and decided to try and make it come to life 😂 tell me ur thoughts! And if u have any requests my inbox is always open :)
Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night!
-quacksonlover
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kinkmaster3000 · 3 years
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oh wow if you can do more character a and character b things that'd be so cool!! maybe with an office setting, some secretary spread? >:9 im down for anything tho I'm still sad that other imagines blog is on hiatus :,(
This ask has been in my inbox for like two fucking years, very sorry to whichever beautiful person sent it 🙏 I mixed the genders up a bit just for funsies but they’re pretty much interchangeable with whoever you want to be in that role.
- A tends to be a comfort eater, and it’s been a very stressful day at work. He takes his lunch break and finds himself eating in the breakroom alone. He clears out everything he brought in about 5 minutes, and opens the fridge to get his drink, only to be tantalized by everyone else’s meals. He goes on a messy binge, devouring everything in record time and getting crumbs and condiments on his expensive button-down shirt. By the time he’s finished, the fridge and cabinets are completely empty and his shirt buttons are digging into his flesh. He feels too heavy and lethargic to move, and sits there in a daze. As the stupor clears, not only does he feel incredibly guilty about eating everyone’s food, but he remembers that he has a video conference in 15 minutes with some very important clients. The problem is, he cannot stop hiccupping and burping, so this would be a disaster. As he’s freaking out about his situation, his cute secretary, B, walks in to get a cup of coffee. He tries to apologize, feeling awful about eating her lunch, but she just smiles at him sympathetically, knowing the stress he’s been under. She just gives him a firm pat on the belly (bringing up a sizable burp) and goes off to call the clients and reschedule his meeting.
-Same as the one above, except character B is A’s client instead of his secretary. Even though B could be getting a better deal somewhere else, he continues to do business with A’s company because he finds A to be very attractive and likes dealing with him. He also happens to be a feeder. He’s excited for the video conference with A, and doubly so when he sees A miserably trying to stifle hiccups. He even awkwardly shifts his eyes downwards at one point, hoping to catch a glimpse of A’s stomach, before remembering that it’s a video call. A is looking increasingly more anxious by the minute, as he continues to hiccup and burp very softly behind his hand as he explains the figures, while B is just getting more and more giddy. Eventually, the tension in his stomach gets to be too much, and he can’t hold in a guttural belch that clips the microphone a bit. He’s mortified, apologizing profusely and trying to make an excuse to continue the meeting later, but B insists, lying and saying that he doesn’t fully understand the pricing yet. A reluctantly continues talking, accidentally burping a few more times, before he realizes that B doesn’t care at all. In fact, he seems very pleased. A begins letting out closed-mouth burps in-between sentences, regaining a bit more of his confidence with each bit of pressure that is eased out. B gives him a better offer than he began with, and (almost too) enthusiastically asks him to “talk about it over lunch” next week. A is thrilled about making a good sale, and has no clue about B’s devious intentions.
-A, a classy, serious woman who is in upper-level management at a prominent company, gets terrible indigestion from anything with even the smallest amount of spice. The problem is, she loves spicy food, the hotter the better. One day, during lunch, her bubbly, motor-mouth assistant manager, B, insists on the two of them going out to eat at a restaurant she just has to try. A reluctantly agrees to leave her work because B won’t take no for an answer). When they get there, she perks up a bit when she sees Phaal curry on the menu. It’s deliciously flavorful, and also packed with habanero peppers. She’s in heaven as she eats it, and then hell 10 minutes later as her chest starts to burn intensely and her stomach starts to roil. She tries to hide how bad she feels from B to maintain her image, but long, queasy belches that burn her throat start to come up involuntarily on the ride back. Her stomach is gurgling like thunder the entire time. She even has to pull to the side at one point and let the concerned and unusually quiet B, who is a notoriously bad driver, commandeer her precious BMW on the way back because she can’t focus at all on the road. A is completely undone, groaning, hiccupping and belching with increasing length and violence as they work their way back to the office
She manages to hold everything in as B ushers her up the stairs (wanting to avoid seeing someone else in the elevator), until she gets back to her private office. She’s horribly embarrassed and gives B a rare apology, saying that this often happens to her and she shouldn’t have gotten the curry knowing that. But before B can even reply, A’s notoriously strict higher-up gives them a call, wanting to speak with the two of them about some important matters. They know better than to decline the call.
The more they talk, the less A is maintaining. She’s having trouble keeping up with the conversation, and the pressure in her belly is becoming unbearable. Unable to take it anymore, she turns away from the machine and risks letting out a soft burp, but it keeps going and becomes loud and gravelly, tearing up her throat as it comes out. The entire room goes quiet, but before she can start apologizing profusely, B does it for her, taking the blame and saying that she ate too much at lunch. Desperate to save face, A scolds her and has her leave the room, apologizing on “her behalf” when the higher-up is displeased at her “unprofessionalism”.
After the call thankfully wraps up with no more outbursts, she rushes to find B, who is sitting at her desk and filling out paperwork, somewhat sullen. A apologizes for her actions, thanking B and saying she didn’t know what else to do. B simply stands up and knocks A harshly on the back, dislodging an even larger belch before. She asks if A “got it all out” and A just nods, a bit sheepishly. “That’s good and all, but I’m never letting you order spicy stuff ever again.”
- A and B are both receptionists for the same company, and work at the same desk answering calls. The two of them are close, and A has a bit of a crush on B, but she has a boyfriend and A is very shy, soft-spoken and dorky. B is kind of a glutton, which A thinks is adorable, and A loves to cook, which B thinks is adorable. So everyday, A brings B Tupperware of increasing sizes filled with delectable homemade meals. B can’t get enough of A’s cooking, and A can’t get enough of watching B chew and swallow and sighs in satisfaction. He finds himself listening very closely for little burps and hiccups, and when she wears blouses that are tight or sheer, he has a hard time keeping his eyes off of her belly. They do this every shift for a couple months, and B starts to get a bit of a stomach pooch. It drives A wild, but one day, B comes in looking distraught, and won’t talk to A. When she refuses his lunch, he presses her on what’s wrong, and she says that her boyfriend made an unsavory comment on her weight as she was getting ready that morning, blaming A for always pushing so much food onto her. A is hurt but apologizes, saying that it wasn’t his intention but that he thinks that she looks amazing with the extra pounds. B is touched and accepts A’s food, enjoying it as always, and finally starting to see him as maybe more than just a friend.
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Imagine being Azula’s unofficial drinking buddy at parties and her getting jealous when Ty Lee takes you away from her.
It wasnt often fire nation teenagers celebrated anything. There wasn't always much reason to celebrate and parties were frowned upon for being “frivilrous” so when they did occur it was a big deal. They were usually excuses for the youth of the fire nation to get out all their pent up energy meaning they weren't just chilled dances but big shows of ego fuelled by bucket loads of alcohol with atleast five fights breaking out. All the teenagers were filthy rich so money was no object meaning the parties were extravagant, the alcohol imported, the location classy and the event itself always memorable. The fire nation knew how to throw an event.
When parties did happen it was even rarer that your friends would all be in attendance. Ty lee was always down for any party but Mai and Azula were harder to convince. Azula could be enticed sometimes, she liked people watching so with the right timing you could convince her. Mai was harder, it had to practically be the right cycle of the moon for Mai to agree to come, that or Zuko had to be going which was even rarer than the right moon cycle. But maybe it was because your school years were running out drastically but when a party was announced Ty lee, Azula, Mai and Zuko all agreed to go and you were thrilled. The four of you were good friends, five including Zuko, and you loved seeing them in situations that didn't involve brains or brawn.
The very first fire nation party you attended with Ty lee and so you copied her lead. You followed Ty lee around, nodding and smiling at her friends, talking to them all with as much energy as she did but it was soon exhausting! At the end of it all you found you didn’t care about all the acquaintances you wasted time talking to. So you weren’t looking forward to the next party but there was one major difference...Azula came and that changed things significantly. Azula did not care about some guy from english class and so she distanced herself from everyone and you decided to join her. After having one of the best times of you life isolating with Azula you started a tradition. Every party from then on the two of you would find some place where you could watch but be out of the way of the party. You’d gather a large supply of alcohol and nurse it all evening just in each others company. Ty lee would flick in and out when guys bothered her. Mai would join you when she came or if Zuko was here she'd disappear with him. Zuko would sometimes appear if he' d lost Mai and you'd point him in her direction but mainly it was just you and Azula, relaxing and drinking. You and Azula could be sat in silence or laughing loudly. One of the things you liked most about Azula was that she didn't do anything without a reason, she didn’t partake in small talk just because she felt awkward or wanted to look like she was having fun. If she didn’t have anything to say she didn’t speak and it was as simple as that. You could sit in comfortable silences together for ages, or sometimes you’d think of something and both be laughing, the alcohol making it seem even funnier, and you’d forget there was anyone else in the whole world let alone room.
When you and Azula did this nobody dared approach you apart from Ty lee, Mai or Zuko. You remember in one of the earlier parties a guy had approached Azula and tried to hit on her using a back handed compliment. In response she'd burnt his eyebrows off and since then nobody dared approach her. It didn’t bother either of you, it was nice to be in the company of others but not have to worry about interacting with them. Another time some guys had noticed the amount of alcohol you were gathering from the main table and questioned it before realising who you were. They challenged girls couldn’t drink that much before pailing realising Azula was beside you. Azula challenged them to a drinking competition in response and they (without a choice) accepted. You won of course and since then the whole youth population of the fire nation had regarded the two of you with respect and courtesy. Nobody dared to bother you if Azula was around and even if she wasn’t, they knew who you were and didn’t dare mess with Azula’s best friend. 
You were thinking about this as you walked next to Azula on the way to the party and contemplated how tonight would go. Considering your company you figured there would definitely be a intensified version and sure enough when your group walked in most of the party stopped what they were doing to look. Azula and Zuko were royal but you, Mai and Ty lee all had reputations too. Your friends were the smartest most skilled people in the entire academy, not to mention the richest teenagers with the best prospects and it showed. They just seemed to demand fear and respect and you got why, you were in just as much awe of them as the rest of the fire nation. 
Of course your friends knew they were wildly impressive and they owned it. "Im going to miss this" Mai smiled as she asked for the best whisky and the kid went into his dad’s study to get it her. "Miss it?" Azula asked "this will always be our lives, you could show up on anyones doorstep and tell them who you know and they’d do what you asked". Mai nodded her head "i suppose i could". Ty lee frowned "but you won’t right?". Mai smirked and Azula laughed, you’d never seen azula and Mai get along better than through a mutual hatred of humans.
You gathered your alcohol and Azula gestured for you to follow her spotting  a good table. The five of you flocked to it and started dishing out the alcohol. You were soon having a good time and could tell Azula was too. Zuko seemed content and Mai was enjoying her whisky but oddly the most happy member of your group was not enjoying herself. "So whats the plan for tonight?" Ty lee asked and Azula raised an eyebrow "plan? You’re looking at it". "This is what you want to do all night?" Ty lee frowned and Azula nodded. "But this is boring i'm bored" Ty lee frowned "don’t any of you want to dance? Mai? Zuko?". Mai shot Ty lee a glare so powerful even Azula looked away and Zuko turned up his lip in disgust. "Okay fine, y/n? Azula?" she asked. Azula laughed in response "what about the many times me and y/n sit here drinking makes you think we’d want to dance?". Ty lee sighed "i...i don’t know" and lowered her head. She looked so sad you frowned "i don’t want to but because you want to so badly....". Ty lee’s head shot up and she grinned "you mean it?". "Seriously?" Zuko and Mai asked both shocked and slightly horrified. You nodded "why not?" and downed your drink. Ty lee grinned "youre the best y/n!" and dragged you away.
You didn’t enjoy the dancing but seeing Ty lee so happy made it worth it. She was the kindest person you’d ever met so you didn’t care if you felt awkward or looked very weird trying to copy her movements, your friend was happy and so were you. After a while Ty lee took pity on you, asking if you wanted to get a drink and relieved you left the floor to go grab one. You made your way back to your table to find Mai and Zuko gone and Azula sat alone. "Hey" Ty lee said brightly but Azula just looked at her. Ty lee grabbed her drink and barely put her lips to it when someone called out to her and she rushed away leaving you and Azula alone again. "So where did Mai and Zuko go" you asked. Azula shrugged in response and you frowned. She was angry at you. "I didn’t know they’d gone" you said trying to stop a full blown argument "you shouldve caught my eye and  got me to come back". Azula tutted "what makes you think i’d prefer your presence to my own company?". "Well the fact you’re mad i left you?". "I’m not mad you left me" Azula glared "i don’t need you y/n, least of all to sit beside me" she rolled her eyes. "So what’s got you all bitter?" you asked. "Nothing" Azula shrugged "i just never thought you were on of those basic girls y/n, i mean dancing like Ty lee, copying her to fit in... it’s just disappointing frankly". You narrowed your eyes "Ty lee wanted to dance so i went with her, end of story". "If you say so" Azula smirked and you felt your temper peak. "Your seriously this mad at me for having fun with Ty lee?" you asked "i don’t have to stay by your side or ask permission to do things! Our arrangement isnt like that, we never even made it official". Azula blushed and went the most flustered you’d ever seen her "what are you talking about! I know we’re not official!" she cried. "Our plans... I meant we never made our plans offical" you clarified "that we would stick together in parties" you trailed off and saw Azula turn even redder. She'd misunderstood what you meant and that seemed to make her even angrier. "Yes well i shouldn’t have to clarify everything with you y/n, i’m too busy for that". "Well i’m not a mind reader if you don’t tell me what you want me to do i won’t do it, maybe just say what you want next time". Azula rolled her eyes and you sighed "whatever Azula" and walked away.
As you got outside you realised it was never a smart idea to yell at Azula or storm away from her and you'd done both. Part of you was worried what she’d do to retaliate but another part of you was more worried by the concept of the argument itself. Azula had always been your closest friend, you’d seen her be harsh to other people but she wasn’t like that with you. No she wasn't all honey and sweetness but your years of friendship has earned a more raw version of Azula and from that your friendship had blossomed into...well you weren’t sure what it was. You knew you liked Azula a lot and you suspected it was similar to how Mai and Zuko liked each other or how every boy seemed to like Ty lee. You even suspected Azula migh feel that way too due to the way she acted around you. She'd do things like invite just you to places even Zuko wasn’t allowed to go or she’d show you small acts of kindness...securing the drink you liked best or switching lockers with you because she was taller. Nobody saw the small things Azula did, only the big awful ones and you were pretty sure you were the only person Azula allowed to see her like that. But now she seemed to have curled back up in on herself and you hated how that felt.
You were outside pouting when Mai caught sight of you and came over. “What are you doing way out here, it’s freezing!” Mai commented and you shrugged “I had to get some air”. "Why aren’t you with Azula" Mai asked and you sighed "we had a fight". "Ow no trouble in paradise" she said sarcastically smirking but she dropped it when she saw your face. Mai was the most perceptive of all your friends and you were pretty sure she suspected you had a crush on Azula. "Was it bad?". You nodded "i don’t even know where we stand anymore...if we're even friends". "You'll always be friends" Mai reassured you "Azula can stay mad at anyone but you? I’m certain she won’t stay mad at you for long". You frowned "don’t be too sure". Mai didn’t like seeing you gloomy, that was her thing, so she grabbed your arm and tugged you back inside. "Where are we going?" you asked and Mai smiled "to go find Ty lee, she has a way of cheering people up and you are in major need of that".
Sure enough when Ty lee caught sight of your sad face she made it her mission to make you happy again. From jokes to hugs to twirling around of her hands Ty lee tried it all and it was slowly working. Mai got you a comfortable seat hidden away from Azula’s sight and your good mood came racing back.
You were enjoying spending time with Mai and Ty lee but it was your turn to get the drink so you made your way to the main table and started loading up a tray. You stretched to grab the wine Ty lee liked when some guy appeared, leaning across you to grab it first. You looked at him and he smirked "here" holding it out to you. You raised an eyebrow but took it "thanks, i think". The boy smiled "no problem, you know i haven't seen you smile so much, you’re y/n right?". "Can't say i’ve ever noticed you" you replied and he laughed "i didn’t mean it as an insult just you look pretty when you were dancing and smiling...compared to when you just sit in a dark corner drinking". "Thanks for the feedback" you replied and turned to walk away when the boy grabbed your arm. "Hey whats the rush? I was thinking we could get to know each other". "I'm good" you said dryly but the boy was persistent. "Ow come on you don’t even know me! I bet i could make you change your mind just give me 5 minutes". "Look i’m flattered but i came here with my friends and they're the only people i want to spend tonight with". "But you're always surrounded by girls it’s like you scared or boys or something...wait are you scared of men?”. You raised an eyebrow and put the tray down. You opened your mouth ready to lay into this idiot when someone cut you off.
"Youre the one who’s going to be afraid if you don’t step away from her right now" a voice called. The guy smirked and turned around cockily but all that confidence fell away when he saw the princess Azula stood behind him. "Azula....". "Princess Azula to you" she snapped "now take your hands off her before i break them in 3...2..". The boy bolted and you couldn’t help a small smile at Azula. You were pleased the boy was gone but you were more pleased Azula was here. That could only be a good sign. "You didn’t have to do that i could handle it" you smiled "the boys going to be having nightmares for months". "Good" Azula nodded her head "if he can’t take a simple hint then he needs teaching". You nodded watching Azula carefully. You wanted to make up with her but you refused to apologise, thankfully Azula skipped over it. "Want to get some fresh air with me?" she asked and you nodded "okay". You passed the drinks to Zuko who was helpfully passing by and followed Azula outside.
There were some other kids out there but Azula led you past them to a quieter corner. "So about earlier....". "Azula it’s...you dont have to" you winced waiting to skip over it but Azula didnt want to. "No you’re right, if i want you to do something i have to tell you and i'm nothing if not open to efficiency tips" she smiled and you laughed. Azula looked back down and was quiet for a while. You watched her worriedly but smiled as soon as she spoke. "I like being with you" Azula said awkwardly. "Me too, which is lucky considering how much we're together" you smiled and Azula nodded "yes but at school Mai and Ty lee are there or at the palace Zuko’s around...at these parties it’s just me and you and it’s...nice, i like our time together at parties, i’m surrounded by people but it feels like it’s just you and me" Azula blushed "and i felt like Ty lee took that away from me tonight...you took it away from me" Azula sighed. You frowned, you had no idea Azula was so protective over you or that she valued your company this much. "Well i’m here now" you offered grabbing her hand. Azula nodded her head "yes you are" and smiled before looking away her cheeks red. She rubbed the top of your hand with her thumb before speaking again "and you told me to tell you what i want so, to make sure there’s no future confusion, i...when we go to parties i want you to go with me, as in attend with me, we go to them together as an exclusive duo". "Azula friends aren’t exclusive" you blushed and Azula nodded "i know i’m not asking to be your friend y/n". You paused and Azula kept her eyes on you "i want you to be my...more than friend". You smiled and nodded your head "i’d like that very much". Azula smiled blushing too "that is good" and you both stood awkwardly holding hands while grinning from ear to ear. 
Later
Everyone ended up at your table as the night rounded down and you wondered if Azula would mind but she seemed content. Really content. She even laughed at Zuko’s joke which was unprecedented. You were sat pretty close anyway but Azula decided to be comfier and put her arm around the back of your chair. You saw the others notice your and Azula together even though they pretended not to. Mai was smiling, Ty lee was suddenly really affectionate with you two and Zuko kept trying not to look but was being very obvious until Mai nudged him. You and Azula noticed but she didn’t care so neither did you. You glanced at Azula and she smiled at you. You blushed in response and smiled back at her. Azula shifted closer and you leant into her, leaning on one another. You fitted together well and felt so safe and protected with her arm around you. You’d always known your place was by Azula’s side but this was the proof. Now you were never going to be parted from her. 
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musedblues · 3 years
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A Taste Of Honey (Part 2)
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summary: A 1920's Deacy au! In which the reader, who comes from a family heavily involved in the American temperance movement, meets John, a bootlegger from overseas.
a/n: Well here it is. I'm fully aware interest may be completely lost in this fic but I'm very proud to have finished it. Im not sure where my writing journey will go from here. All I know is that this has been a very long time comin'... enjoy if you dare!
part 1 - 2
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"If anything happens, Deacy, I'll have your head!"
Ivan shook his fist from the front porch, illuminated by the light flooding from the opened front door. 
"I'll be fine!" You dismissed, skipping toward the car, still getting used to the sway of the heavy golden dress you borrowed from Alice. 
"I'm talking about my car!" Ivan shouted, correcting you. John let out a laugh at the remark, and gave your brother a nod, while he opened the passenger door, nudging you toward it.
Your brother and his wife had loaned the essentials to send you and John away for the party a man you never met was throwing. It was a small thrill, the prospect of such fun to be had, in comparison to the sickening exhilaration that coursed through you at the thought of spending any kind of evening at John's side. And the fact he'd asked you to. 
The ride was quiet and short, but dragged on with each new glance you dared to steal at the man driving. Both of John's hands relaxed on the wheel. A hint of that deadly smile on his lips. 
By the time you got to where you were going, you'd been so preoccupied with thoughts of the man by your side, that you'd nearly forgotten your plans for the evening.
If you had any expectations, they were blown clear away. Before you was an estate made up of too many windows to count, draped in vines and hanging lights. 
Even the crunch of the gravel that decorated the winding path you entered into sounded oddly elegant.
Inside was a fever dream of all the things you'd imagined on your short journey into the threshold. Across a giant winding staircase and below the shimmering chandelier were people from all walks of life, crammed together to have one grand time. Different music came from different corners and wild laughter filled the gaps, if there were any. 
And before you, John led the way. You couldn't recall the moment your hand found the bend of his arm, or if he cared that you'd reached out to him as he weaved through the crowd. But the grin on his face when he turned back to catch your eye had to be a good sign; despite the way your heart nearly burst at his look. 
John led you past hoards of people and trays of half full glasses. There was only one way to go, further inside the home, but John seemed to move as if he had an idea of where he was headed. Sure enough when the pair of you met the landing of the staircase, the host of the party was there to greet you. 
The host's initial booming hello was focused mostly on John. And without more than a glance your way, the party thrower shuffled John away from your side, insistent on sharing a chat with him on the top landing of the stairs.
You were left to linger, stalling at the base of the stairs and studying the crowd around you. Girls in beaded skirts and men with slicked back hair passed you by flashing well meaning but entirely distracted smiles. 
You'd felt mesmerized enough by the scene to slowly start to drift into it yourself. Reaching to brush your finger across meticulously carved bookcases and daring to take a glass from the extended hand of the first person to smile directly at you. 
You reached for the stem of the blue stained flute, and managed to make your talk small enough for the interested lad to wander far off. But offers kept coming. Glasses of this and that shoved in your face. You accepted the offers more out of respectful politeness than any eagerness to lose your wits. 
By the time you lost track of everyone's kind gestures, and a man was leading you closer to a table decorated with cards and chips, another hand intervened.
John was back, letting his fingers curl around your shoulder and nudging you in another direction of his choosing. Thrilling as it was for you, to have been handled just so by him, you were a little taken aback. 
Funny how after the sips of this and that, you felt steady as ever. But one look from John and your knees threatened to give out and all your cares too.
In the middle of the packed house, with John looking at you that way, you felt like the only person alive. And somehow this all added up to equal your new found courage to speak a little bolder than usual.
"Are you on strict orders from Ivan to steer me clear of any strange attention or do you maybe fancy me a little, John?" You dared wonder. You almost didn't care of the answer. So long as he kept guiding you through this evening with a strong steady hand.
"Both." John seemed to decide, continuing to guide you along. The pair of you had reached the patio doors by now, and the cool night breeze rushed through in perfect time to ease the heat that had rushed to your cheeks at John's response. 
"Let's go see the gardens!" You decided at first glance of the sprawling greenery that surrounded the estate. 
John let you tug him along, darting between couples and groups who'd come to ruin the fresh air with all their smoke.
He followed along, a very good sport, smiling as you pointed out flowers and trees you didn't realize could bloom in this part of the country. As you turned from marveling over a certain rose's colour, John seemed almost enraptured. Maybe not by your subject but certainly by some part of you. His gaze was fixed, and he seemed to bite back a wider grin. And your already lightened spirits seemed all the more weightless as your eye's met his. 
"If you keep looking at me like that, John, I'm going to have to kiss you." You let a small laugh escape, as the foreigners' expressions remained steadfast. 
He'd kissed you only the night before, on your brother's staircase. It was the only reason you felt free of regret enough to lean in and brush your lips against his again. John reciprocated fondly, letting one of his hands creep around the bend of your waist. You never realized it was possible to feel so happy. 
"Did you do that because you've been drinking? Or do you perhaps fancy me a little?"  John mocked your earlier statement, when the kiss died and your eyes locked. 
"Both." You smiled, charmed enough to try it a second time. But this kiss was broken much sooner than you reckoned any kiss ought to be.
"You know I'll be leaving soon. Just a week's more time." John killed the mood with a few words. You glanced to your feet and muttered understanding, noticing his hand still clutched your waist. 
"I just don't want to see you disappointed." John spoke up after a beat of heavy silence, and the words seemed hard for him to piece together, but he spoke them all the while. 
"Then don't disappoint me." You shrugged, glancing back up to the perfectly handsome man, who's smile seemed sad now.
"Come on, then." John said, moving his hand to find your own. "Not even I get to enjoy parties like this too often."
And you let him guide you back inside. You let the sun set on all the pretty flowers. And you let yourself feel grateful for the rest of the evening at John's side. 
///
He rode the train home with you the next day, sitting across the bench from you, and not saying very much. 
You felt the need to chatter at the pass of every few minutes. You got John to ramble a little about the other places he was due to visit in the states. The guy only one more stop at some.fancy hotel after your town, in the big city, next week. Then he'd head home. 
After explaining as much, the man went quiet again. But you couldn't let the silence last. It was as if you didn't work to hold his attention, it would be lost the next time you looked up. Maybe that wasn't true. But you couldn't risk letting John slip away so easily. Not when your heart practically lept from your chest each time his eyes met yours. If it wasn't meant to be, then so be it. But you were going to fight for the chance that you had, while it was still within reach. 
So when the train pulled into your neighborhood, and John stepped onto the platform, you stopped him waving goodbye. 
"Will you be back? To our shop, I mean?" 
John took a step closer toward you with a very serious expression that softened just before he spoke. 
"I wouldn't dare leave before telling you goodbye." He promised, in a low, sweet manner. 
John pressed his lips to your temple for one brief heavenly moment. And then he turned away to hail a cab. 
At least now, in your terrible mix of emotions, something very bright and warm burned within you. And you got to believe, for a moment, that the same reigned true for John.
///
But all was not well at home. How could it ever be? 
Your mother was horrified that you'd up and left for the night without so much as a word about it to her, and to your brother's home no less. 
Her disdain for her first born left you sick to your stomach more and more each day. 
But this was nothing new. You knew to give the woman a showy apology and to stay silent as she confined you to the kitchen table as she lectured about morality. Tomorrow things would be back to her regular sort of unhappiness. 
What really stopped you cold in your tracks that night, though, was the sight of your father stood in the doorway of your room with his arms crossed.
To bring a frown to his face was your greatest fear. For he'd loved you and shown it. And you dreamed of doing good by him every chance you got. As you stalled in the hall and waited for him to speak his mind, you hoped this would only be a reprimand for causing your mother unnecessary grief, for her madness made you all ten fold more miserable. 
"I know you've been with your brother..." Your father nodded with understanding, not looking right at you as he spoke calmly. "But that also means you've been with John. And I don't like that."
Oh. Ivan had warned you this might be your fathers mood. But you'd ignored his warning in hopes it wouldn't have been true. 
"You know John!" You countered, "You work with him! You're telling me you get to work with a man you don't like but I can't see him?"
"He's a fine man. But all wrong for you." 
"You're supposed to be the one who lets me find these things out on my own." You reminded. Your mother did plenty of directing you from day to day. Your father knew of what you spoke and nodded reluctantly, uncrossing his arms and looking you square in the eye. 
"Well not this time. Stay away from John, you hear me? He'll be gone before you know it anyhow." 
Your father rested a hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze as if to ease the blow of his demands. But as he walked back down the hall, the uncertainty that had stormed within you since John left you at the train station, raged wilder than before. 
What a jam... 
///
There was nothing stopping you from returning back to the depths of the coffee shop, the next time Ivan started up his business. 
Your mother was sound asleep, and your father was already there, serving the last of the coffee up top. Once you arrived you knew he'd be cross but unable to march you away. 
So you slipped on your finest dress and twirled down the rickety staircase that led to the party your brother charged for. 
There were already a good deal of friends jam packed into the small basement; dancing to swells coming from the gramophone and lining up to grab a glass from Ivan's makeshift bar. Your brother flashed a grin when he saw you sauntering in, but his smile turned somewhat more into a worried grimace when he saw you march up the man near the end of those overturned book shelves.
So was everyone concerned over your connection with John? Even the man who'd held your interest sort of frowned at the sight of you demanding his attention. 
John had his fingers curled around a glass. You took it from his grasp and the action made the bootlegger grin oh so slightly. But his frown returned after you slammed back the swallow of liquor in his glass- unsure yourself by what had come over you.
"Hey, come on, don't be that girl." Ivan called to you from behind the bar. You couldn't be sure if he was commenting on the way you'd claimed Deacy's drink for your own, or on the way you seemed too eager to get the stuff in your system. 
Before you could snap back at your brother's comment, though, John spoke up.
"Don't worry about it," He insisted in the charming draw of his. "Just pour me another." And as the man who you adored stepped past you to hold your brothers attention, John sort of let his hand brush across your waist. And he left his fingers to linger along your sides as Ivan, disgruntled, poured another for John. 
"Is that all you cut in line for?" Ivan sighed, nodding toward the few people, impatiently waiting to fill their glasses, stood in a row behind John. 
And you hadn't really considered this before your brothers prompting. But at his asking, you were moved to pull out a twenty dollar bill from your coin purse, and demand he give you your money's worth.
Ivan was reluctant, going on for a bit how once your father spotted you here, like this, that he'd surely be disappointed. And you didn't want that, did you? But little did Ivan know, you'd already disappointed your father. And you were determined to get something you wanted tonight, one way or another.
So with a sigh, Ivan poured you a tall drink and informed you were good to come back for a few more, to match your payment. 
So began your evening of ignoring John's worried remarks about slowing down. And as you kept the drinks coming you weren't even sure why. Perhaps it was to test your very own limits. To somehow prove you were more in control of your path than all the others who seemed to have something to say about the direction of your life. 
And damn John, for the way he kept his eyes locked on yours between the distance he silently kept insisting upon. And damn him for helping you find your balance, despite the steps he kept taking away from you. For letting his hands stay secure around your waist, long after you'd straightened up from stumbling.
And damn your father. He had to have been behind John's change in attitude. From the moment you'd met, John had been a flirt. And steadily, his quips kept getting bolder, until the last party you attended. Ivan's rambling about your fathers dislike of your fondness of John had to be what caused him to step back.
And damn your father, for finding you all dizzy in John's well meaning clutch, now. Your dad pointed to the door and demanded you find your way out of this scene. 
"I know you're not taking her back to your hole in the wall you've been staying at, in the state she's in." You father grumbled in a low curse, his eyes searing into John's. You tightened your hold on the fellow, shooting your father a glare all the same. He couldn't tell you where to go or with who. 
"Take her upstairs if ya like. But don't step foot past the alley. I'll be up in a minute."
After a shared look, John moved, pulling you alongside him. You moved,  happily leaning into him, disgruntled by the course of the evening all the while. Even Ivan seemed to shoot you a sorry grin when he noticed you being marched away, from across the room.
The alley was a little cold. But John's figure was warm. And as you followed his lead pausing just beyond the backdoor, you could feel this chance waiting to slip away. 
"You like me, don't you?" You wondered, turning to face the man you'd been so taken with since the moment he showed up at your door.
"Of course." John nodded, and answered so softly and with such care truly felt as though it were melting. 
"Then kiss me, John." 
"You're drunk."
"But we may never get the chance again. One or both of us are about to be beheaded. Either way, that'll make kissing hard to do from now on." You implored, letting your head fall to rest precariously on his shoulder as you finished your plea. You heard John let out a somber little chuckle as he dared to tighten his arm around you. 
And then you heard a shuffle beyond the backdoor, and let out a sigh at the timing of your father coming to ruin everything. 
But instead, the door bursts open to reveal Rita in a fluster. Her usually perfect makeup streaking down her cheeks. At the sight of the girl you'd always admired, a pang shot through your chest. But not immediately for her upset, whatever it was, but because you realized you'd failed to see your friend here all night, until now.
Before you could apologize, or ask what the matter was, Rita sucked in a breath and let out a string of words for you. 
"He was a snitch. He-he told my parents everything." She stammered, wild eye'd. 
"Who?" You begged to know, having turned away from John, but not having totally turned your attention away from his hand still rested on the small of your back. 
"The pastor's son. Cole. He- he said he was alright with this whole thing. But he... He told your mother. She's on her way here, she's-" 
Sound of a car roared closer, and the engine died away, drowning out the last of Rita's warning. For a second, you thought of making a break for it. But then the click of heels on the pavement seemed to count down your fate.
And then she stood there before you. Your mother, dressed to the nines, complete with her usual scowl.
You couldn't let go of John. Your nails seemed to dig into his side on their own accord. The pair of you stared ahead to the woman who gave you life, and kept you from living it all the same. She stood and stared too, almost like she was giving you a chance. And that was the scariest bit of it all. 
As time seemed to pause, John let your name escape him in a nervous breath, like a warning. Trying to alert you that your hanging off him wouldn't help. But there was no way you were gonna let him go now. 
It was then your mother decidedly sauntered up to the two of you, letting her eyes search your from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and back up again. 
When she let out a scof, you realized you'd been holding your own breath. And when you opened your mouth, willing oxygen in, or words of mitigation out, your mother decided what was next. 
Before you could blink, one of her strong hands was digging into your arm, and she was tearing you away from John's gentle hold.
And despite his caution earlier, you could feel John's hand still trying to keep hold of you, as you were yanked away. The sensation of being taken from the man's clutch was horrid, but what was more painful was the feeling of his fingers trying and failing to keep hold.
So when your mother tossed you aside, toward the brick of the coffee house wall, you were hardly affected; not like you'd only just been.
And when you looked up, after steadying yourself and dusting your stone imprinted hands of dust, John was stepping closer toward your mother. He shouted something at her, about how she didn't have the right to treat you just so. But before he could finish defending you, he was shut down.
Your mothers hand flew across his cheek, and the sound of the slap and John's shocked hiss echoed through the alley and caused something vile to rise in your gut. 
You pushed yourself from the wall then, indifferent to the dizziness you felt, desperate to reach out to the man you'd been so fond of; calling his name.
But your mother was there, more sober and more angry. And she halted your mission to make it to your man, digging her nails into your sides and forcing you in the other direction. 
"John I'm sorry, John..." You called past the lump in your throat. That was when Ivan came upon the scene. He darted from the doorway and did his damnedest to block your mothers storming off. 
"You're a monster. Let her go!" Your brother fummed, as your mother managed to storm around her first born, pushing you along. 
"I'm her mother. And I'll do as I see fit to keep my child out of harm's way." Your mother stated, almost calmly.
"You're no mother. You're a walking nightmare. She's not your plaything-"
"Word's won't fix this, Ivan." You said, reminding him that his defying of the woman only ever made her ten times more evil.
"I'll pray for your children, son." Your mother nodded, opening the passenger door of her car, and flinging you toward the bench. "They're going to need it."
You didn't look to Ivan, as your mother drove off. You didn't dare look to John. You only hung your head and cried silent tears while your mother peeled down the road. And the whole way home, she spat vile things about you and Ivan. Her own children. About your father, her beloved husband. And aout John, a man who, since his arrival, had only tried to help out.
You let your tears dry when the car pulled up to the house you'd never really felt at home in. And went willingly from the ride to the door, knowing you would get very far in the countryside if you dashed away now. You'd need a wiser plan. Still, your mother dug her claws into your arm and marched you up the staircase to your room, like you were a girl no oler to know better. 
"Stay here." She demanded after pushing your further into your bedroom, her fist around the doorknob, establishing total control. 
You expected to be banished here. What you didn't expect, however, was the return of your mother with boards to nail against your windows. You might've laughed if you weren't the one being all locked up. Wasn't this sort of thing only supposed to happen in twisted fairy tales? You're life was twisted enough, you supposed.
She left you there, trapped in the space that was meant to be your own, meant to be safe. As you sulked in silence, the memory of your mothers assault on John haunted you. The horrid sound her action resulted in. His gut wrenching reaction, the small hiss, his stalling in the place she put him in. 
And the way he watched you being dragged off, helpless and sorry for you. It was pathetic, the situation you found yourself in. So you let your tears bubble up again and you cried and cried; until exhaustion set in. Tomorrow was a new day....
///
There was a pounding at your door, loud enough to jolt you from slumber.
"Open up!" The sound of your father calling from beyond the hall stirred you fully conscious. In one swift dash you were stood before your door, jiggling the handle, feeling silly for hoping that would work. 
"She's locked it." You groaned. "Do you have a key?" Your wonder was nearly frantic, and so were you- trying still to twist the knob. At the sound of your fathers grumbled cursing, you began to bustle about for some hair pins, but quickly realized you wouldn'tve had a clue to how to finess the tools into working like another. 
Then you heard your mother. She  shouted down the hall, telling your father to get out of her sight, to leave you be. Shouting that you were better off confined. That you'd be locked away until she found the right reformatory to ship you off to. You knew she meant it. You knew she'd send you away without a care of your consent. 
"She's not a child anymore. You can't just treat her like a bad pet who needs training."
"I'm her mother. And I'll be damned if I don't do what's best for my child. I failed the first time. God knows you never cared about either of them like I care." Your mother spat, breaking your heart and your fathers too no doubt. 
Their bickering lasted a while longer, and you spun away from listening in to force yourself to think. There had to be a way out of here, out of this life. There had to be a way to a better world. 
And the best you could do was wait.  Until dinner. Wait until your mother brought you a tray of soup and bread, trading a few put downs before she twirled from your room. And then you checked the time, and counted down the hours to her always predictable nightly routine.
And you waited still, until your bedside clock ticked well passed after midnight.
And then you used a lamp to pry the nails away from windows. You could tell her bedroom light was out by leaning against the sill.
With no time to spare, you tossed a change of clothes in your purse, and the envelope stashed with tips you'd been saving for over a year. 
It wasn't a very long way down. With the help of a lattice panel and the dark of night, you found grassy freedom in no time. Your heart beat heavy as you crept toward the road. It wouldn't be safe, not until the city lights were in view. But your shoes were flat and your hopes were high.
Miraculously, no one stopped you. Not the truck who zoomed by somewhere still deep along the dark country road. Not the school kids on the edge of town, tossing bottles off the bridge. And not the sleepy clerk at the desk of the hotel you raced into. 
"Be here, be here, be here..." You prayed under your breath, hurrying to the room you remembered John booking. And right as you rounded the hall, the door of the room you'd been in search of opened. 
But the squeak of wheels gave away the presence of a maid, pushing her cart of cleaning supplies out into the hall.
"He's gone?" You sighed, stopping at the end of the hall, your feet aching after moving so ceaselessly through the night. 
"Whoever was here left a while ago." The maid stopped for a moment, looking to you with a sorry expression. "Around dinner time."
"Right. Is there a phone at the desk?" 
The maid nodded and wished you luck, and you thanked her for it. You'd need as much as you could get. 
The clerk who was still kicked back, sleeping, startled at your ringing the bell on the desk. And though they didn't seem pleased at your begging to use the phone, they let you.
It only rang twice. 
"Hello?" Your fathers voice was a pleasant surprise. Of course he'd gone to stay with Ivan, in the midst of all this chaos. 
"Dad, Im-"
"Where are you? Does she know you've gone? I'll come fetch you."
"No." You implored, holding up a hand as if he could have seen your insistence.  "No I've phoned to let you know I'm taking the train to the city. I've got to find John before he leaves. And I'm sure of where he is. I've got to try." 
John had told you where he was headed next, on your last train ride together. And you'd felt silly for keeping the details at the front of your memory... until now.
The other line went quiet for a beat. And you'd fully prepared yourself for your fathers disapproval. But then he just said,
"Okay." Your father seemed to realize the weight of your feelings, you thought, by his tone of voice. "I knew you'd get out of there, eventually." And once more, you could tell by his tone he wasn't just referring to the room you'd been locked in for the last couple nights. "Phone us again, when you're safe and sound. I know you will be."
At his blessing, tears sprung in your eyes. You were going to go no matter what. But to have your father on your side made you even more determined to fly out of this hotel, and to the next one you knew John was meant to be staying at. 
///
Booking a train ticket was nearly impossible. And if you had spent much longer pleading with the station, you would have missed the bus pulling up down the block, offering rides in the right direction. 
The couple hour journey was maddening, and thrilling, and terrifying all at once. You were on your way to change your life. No matter what John said, or how he greeted you; no matter if he fell into your embrace or left you in the hotel lobby, you'd never go back the way you'd come from. 
And luckily, you managed to find the hotel John had briefly spoken of, without much trouble. It was the grandest of the business booming on this side of the city. Folks flooded in and out of the revolving doors, as you considered the past set of days that had led you to standing before here with such an erratic heartbeat.
But you only stayed paused for a moment. Your feet were darting inside before your mind caught up with how close you were to the mission at hand. 
The lobby was just as full of people as the revolving doors had been, lines forming near the desk, groups fighting to fit their luggage into golden elevators. 
And though you hated to be the person you'd decided to be, you dashed to the end of the front desk, hoping the clerk would spare you a minute at most. 
"I just need to know if someone's booked a room." You begged to know, shooting sorry looks to the people you'd cut in front of. The clerk seemed to have no patients for you, but miraculously, another set of hands swooped in to help. Some nice older woman flipped through the bookings to find John's name, after you gave it, and came up short.
"What about Deacy?" You hoped all of a sudden, quickly beginning to lose your ambition the longer she shook her head.
You'd done what you could, rudely so. And scurried away so your unwelcome presence would no longer be in the way of things.
And as you sauntered away, giving one last pathetic glance about the crowded lobby, you reminded yourself that it was all alright. You might not have found John. But you were finally free.
And then you pushed through the revolving door. And past your ghostly reflection, you spotted a familiar set of grey eyes. 
John seemed to wait until your gaze registered his own, before spinning around to make it indoors. You ignored the chilly night air and pushed on until you were right back where you'd just started to leave from. 
There he was, before you as real and sure as the sun and moon.
"You never gave me a proper goodbye." You reprimanded through a growing smile. He'd promised to give you a farewell, once. 
"How about a rain check? I've got lot's more important things to tell you, as a matter of fact." The man you'd come to adore smiled then, and offered his arm. You held on without hesitation and managed to follow his lead through the crowd, to the room he'd been staying in.
It was a humble little space, his suitcase opened on the coffee table and a yellow lamp left on by the window. John shut the door behind you with a soft click, loosening the pale blue tie round his neck, as you glanced about the room.
"I came by. Your place, I mean." John admitted, leaning against the closed door, as you turned from admiring the wall art to face him.
"You did?"
And then John said your father had dragged the Brit along, that night he'd knocked at your door. John was outside with high hopes. But your mother had caught your father before you'd even known there was a plan. 
"So you did try to come and tell me goodbye." You laughed a little, kind of glad he wasn't able to. This reality where you'd run to him was much more befitting to the situation, you thought. 
"Well, no." John pointed, not laughing along with you. "I never really wanted to say goodbye."
You stood there, taking in the sight of him. Watching John's brows oh so slightly furrow upward, hope pouring from his expression. You considered the gleam in his eye and the way he slowly seemed to shift his posture a little closer to you. 
"So we haven't got to part ways in a hurry then?" You wondered. Asking more than if you could linger a while longer in his rented room.
John seemed to know what you were asking. He seemed relieved, too. His shoulders loosened as the man crossed the space between you, in no big hurry. It seemed the two of you had all the time in the world at your disposal, now. John took his time, reaching out to tuck away some loose hairs near your ear. And his smile grew steadily too. By the time the guy pressed a kiss to your lips, you'd been wondering if the dawn would be breaking any time soon.
But the longer John went on kissing you, the less you thought of the sunrise. As John enclosed you in his arms, all your thoughts were of the man you'd come to adore. 
And as laid next to him and closed your eyes to the rising sun, you couldn't recall ever having experienced such a bright morning. 
"So you're not too eager to head back home, yeah?" John asked, once you'd both stirred from a restful slumber.
"I think I found a much more suitable place to be." You smiled, referring to the spot you'd settled under John's arm. 
And it didn't take much convincing on his end for you to agree on catching the next boat across the pond. 
///
The other line rang so long you'd almost decided to hang up. Then your brother answered. 
"Helllooooo!" He sang in a chipper timbre, making you wonder if he'd been expecting you at exactly this time, or if he answered everyone that way.
"Well I was going to ask how you were but it seems you're so well I don't have to wonder." You laughed into the receiver. 
The morning was early, and a breeze blew back a sheer curtain, obscuring your view of the grey English morning. 
Ivan spent the next few minutes yaking about how glad he was to hear from you. And you were glad to listen. On your rather spontaneous journey overseas, you were bogged down for a brief moment, at the thought of being so far from your dear brother. But as he rambled in your ear now, you'd never felt closer to him.
Ivan asked how things were. He asked after John, and that mattered so much more to you than his concerns for your well being. And when you had had your fill of the attention being on you, you begged your brother to give you all the details of what happened after you ditched home.
He said your mother was as furious as expected. Said she tried to blame your brother and her husband for your running off. Said she tried to get the police to shut down the coffee house for hosting such an undignified business after hours.
"You should'a seen her face when she found out officer Willard was our most loyal customer." Ivan chuckled. 
"We did have to pay a fine, in the end, so she'd quit her raving. It was almost everything we'd saved away for the baby." 
Your brother sighed. And you cooed his name in commiseration. 
"But my friend who owns that estate, the one who threw that party John took you to," Ivan explained. "He was good enough to loan us a bit of cash to stash away." Your brother said the man tried to give the money away outright, as a thank you to Ivan for helping start up his own speakeasy of sorts. But Ivan was dead set on paying him back, one day.
"Now we can't decide to name the babe after him, or John." Ivan chuckled. 
"And what if it's a girl?" You mused. 
"That'll just have to be a surprise." Ivan said, and just then the line went dead. You called your brother's name with a little hope he'd come back to tell you more. 
But you didn't worry when the line went on buzzing. You'd see him and his darling wife and his child to be, one day. You'd see your father too, if he was still hiding out at your brothers place. Hell, maybe they'd all come over here. 
Maybe you'd build a life with John, in his humble little English flat. You certain felt at home, watching the guy of your fancy stay dreaming as the sun rose. 
John had been kind to you. He'd been your friend when he didn't have to be. He'd let you lean into him, and he laughed at your jokes. He invited you into his world and smiled wide the closer your ship rolled toward London. 
And he'd treated your shoes as if they'd always been stored in the middle of the welcome mat. John opened his space up to you, and asked every night for the first few weeks, if you were happy, if you needed anything more. Your answers were always yes and no. 
And he didn't need to ask for honey in his coffee anymore. You just knew to add a little in the warm cup you'd have ready near the place he liked to sit in the morning. 
It was familiar and it was sweet, and so was John. Maybe he liked honey in his tea, too. And dear God, how you prayed every year from here on out; got to be spent guessing at life alongside the man who'd thrilled you by wondering all your answers all along.
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hello-yue-here · 3 years
Note
About your atla ship songs, I have a couple of questions (sorry if my phrasing comes out wrong, english isn't my first language and I worry it might across as accidentally defensive): how did you end up with the choices for zukka, jetko and yuekka (note: I haven't seen the great comet, so feel free to obsess over it, I'm intrigued now and the hype is appreciated!)? Sidenote: I think the mailee choice is HILARIOUS and the tokka one just make me sad, I didn't expect to be attacked like this😭
kdjfha;s i love you im gonna obsess SO HARD over great comet now. you may regret this
this is gonna be so long so the rest is under the cut whoops
yuekka: no one else from great comet
where do i even begin. WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN
okay so background information on this show: it's based off of a 76 oages excerpt from war and peace and its centered around a woman named natasha (and this guy pierre but he's irrelevant to this song so we wont worry about him) and natasha's bethrothed is off fighting in the war right now. she hasn't seen him in a while but she is in love with him.
every single lyrics of this song SCREAMS yuekka to me. the innocence and purity of their love. the love at first sight. and even the melancholy ending just- i go apeshit for this song. i love this song so much. and denee benton's voice??? kljsdhflwksugf please listen to this song if you haven't already. listen to the whole show. your life will be changed forever.
onto the lyrics (i stg this is ab to be the whole song whoops)
"the moon"
THOSE ARE THE FIRST WORDS ON THE SONG. natasha and andre (her bethrothed) met underneath the moonlight. Sokka and Yue first spoke to eachother at night and always met each other for their most intimate moments under the moonlight. also yue is LITERALLY the moon so like: right of the bat with those two words it's yuekka.
"and i saw your eyes / and i saw your smile / and the world opened wide"
sokka fell in love with yue the moment he saw her in the canal. she literally enchanted this motherfucker. everything about her made his heart go crazy. and 'the world opened wide' to me is from yue's perspective. Yue had never left the north pole and sokka had seen a good chuck of the world at the point. He took her on appa, he told her about his adventures. he saw the world yue wished to see and you know damn well that Sokka would have done anything to give it to her.
"oh the moon /oh the snow in the moonlight / and your childlike eyes and your distant smile / ill never be this happy again / you and i and no one else"
natasha sings fondly about the moon and the snow, seeing as it was where she fell in love with andre. yue and sokka LITERALLY fell in love in the same place: in the snowy nothern water tribe under the light of the moon. childlike eyes: THEYRE CHILDREN!!! distant smile: this is where it gets a little sad. theyre both children with way too many duties during a world that has known nothing but war for the past century. they want to be happy but yeah, theyre smiles are distant and far away because happiness seems out of reach for them most of the time. i'll never be this happy again: the moments yue and sokka shared together were probably the happiest either of them ever were. they were able to ignore the war and the world in the moments they shared together. and with no one else. no one else would be able to give each other this sense of peace and happiness and love.
"joy and life inside our souls / and no body knows just you and me / it's our secret"
Yue and Sokka had to sneak out in secret at night to go and see each other. Yue and Sokka couldn't be together for real because Yue was already engaged, but they were literally in love so she decided to see him anyways in secret. kasdjfhklasjd im losing my mind over them at this point.
"this winer sky / how can anyone sleep / there was never such a night before / i feel like putting my arms around my knees / and squeezing tight as possible / and flying away"
these are my FAVORITE lines in the entire song. yue and sokka had never felt this strongly about anyone before and that's why they are so drawn to each other. they had never experienced love before and they wanted to hold onto it for as long as they could even though they knew they couldnt. Sokka takes yue up on appa and she is wistful and wishes she could live like he does every day: ie flying away. oh my god these two deserved so much better. so much fucking better.
now for the saddes part. the saddest fucking part.
"maybe he'll come today / maybe he came already / and he's sitting in the drawing room / and i simply forgot"
natasha misses andre so intensely at this point. when i first listened to this show and heard this song i was like "wait a min... is andre like... dead?" and im sure i wasnt the only person who assumed that this was why natasha felt so sad by the end of such a beautiful song. (spoiler alert andre is fine)
but this line really exemplifies how sad natasha is, and hints at the fact that andre may never come back. it implies that their relationship is doomed (at least in my opinion) and that's all yuekka. Sokka misses yue intensely when shes gone. Yue accepted her fate almost immediately but sokka was in denial. he thought there had to be another way. but in the end it wasn't meant to be. and sokka will go on, loving yue, wishing for her back, even though it's not possible.
fuck im gonna cry.
zukka: all i've ever known- hadestown
"i was alone so long / i didn't even know that i was lonely / out in the cold so long / i didnt even know that i was cold"
sokka is from the swt so theres where the cold comes in. also in the gaang (initially) it was just him katara and aang. and katara and aang were much closer to each other than sokka was with aang and the two of them were benders so sokka was kind of an outsider with the two of them. He also represses a lot of his emotions and feels the need to do everything himself so i do see a lot of loneliness in sokka. and the fact that so many people in his life have left him (his mom, yue, his dad, suki briefly, etc...) he is known to keep people at an arms length. i see a lot of loneliness in sokka.
zuko's loneliness is a lot more obvious: he has literally been cast out and abandoned by everyone except iroh. and even then he still feels the need to be alone (remember zuko alone? thought so) these boys look after themselves and push others away and revel in their loneliness in order to keep themselves from getting hurt. at least in my opinion on canon and also some fanon because id be a liar if i said fanon didnt influence how i view ALL my ships (not just zukka)
"all ive ever known is how to hold my own / but now I wanna hold you too"
COME ONE MANNNN, they just wanna hold each other. theyre both very big protectors as well and kljhflkasdhg they wanna protect eachother like kljdhfl im gonna lose it rn.
"You take me in your arms / And suddenly there's sunlight all around me / Everything bright and warm / And shining like it never did before / And for a moment I forget / Just how dark and cold it gets"
SUNLIGHT SYMBOLISM. zuko is literally powered by the sun. i don't think i even NEED to elaborate on this one anymore lol. They find comfort in each other away from all of their trauma. when they're together nothing else matters and i personally love that for them. they both deserve love.
"I knew you before we met / And I don't even know you yet / All I know is your someone I have always known"
these two are extremely similar in canon. many parallels. older brothers overshadowed by their prodigy little sisters. longing to make their fathers proud (granted one dad is good and one is fuckin evil), both are pretty bad with emotions. both are seen protecting others before themselves (sokka protecting suki during the serpant's pass, sokka protecting toph on like multiple occassions, zuko protecting katara in the final agni kai), the list goes on. they know who the other is because they see themselves in the other person. they already know each other because they are each other (in a way, not entirely, but the similarities are strong in my opinion)
"I'm gonna hold you forever / The wind will never change on us / Long as we stay with each other / Then it will always be like this"
i just think this line is so cute and sweet (ignoring all the symbolism and foreshadowing that comes with the last line in the musical itself. im gonna pretend this is nothing but happy) and i think these boys deserve happiness so yeah. this song is zukka to me lol.
jetko: thrill of first love- falsettoes
if you've never listened to this song go an do it now. you will know INSTANTLY that it is jetko because of the dynamics alone. marvin and whizzer are pure jetko and i take no crticisms.
marvin and whizzer are both extremely stubborn, and they don't always get along, and they fight a lot, and they get mad at each other a lot, and they are both passionate as hell, and they will bring this passion into everything. they love each other that is without a doubt, but they arent perfect and they are once again stubborn and determined as fuck.
sound familiar? it's literally jetko.
the lyrics aren't what remind me of jetko, but the dynamic itself. the lyrics are too on the nose for a gay couple in 1970's america so that rlly cant apply to jetko all that much. but the way these two characters bounce off of each other and get annoyed with each other and argue with eachother reminds me of jetko. because let's be honest: these two are the most stubborn characters in the whole show. they will fight for what they believe and it will take literally everything to change their minds.
i love jetko but i think they would have petty arguments all the time and get aggravated by one another so easily. and this is even seen in canon: they work so fucking well together but they did not even HESITATE to fight one another after neither of them would give in and let the fight about whether jet was right or wrong about zuko being a firebender. like i cannot say it enough they are stubborn as fuck.
but underneath all that stubborn pettiness and bickering: marvin and whizzer still love each other. and jet and zuko would still love each other. because even though they are stubborn when it comes to arguments, they are even more stubborn and determined when it comes to each other. these two passionate motherfuckers are in love.
(now when i chose this song i decided to ignore the fact that this song literally spells out the fact that marvin and whizzer's relatinoship is doomed because they literally say passion dies. thats the difference between jetko and whizzer and marvin because i dont think passion dies. i chose this song strictly for the bickering lmao)
and i know you didnt ask about tokka but,,,,
i rlly wanna talk about the tokka one
so im going to
tokka: on my own- les mis
look. i KNOW this song is about unrequited love and i love tokka as a couple but,,, the unrequited love in this song just SCREAMS unrequited tokka to me so thats what i went with.
eponine is a girl who has neglectful parents who lives life by her own rules: toph. eponine is shown to be tough and confident and spunky to others but behind all of that she has emotions, she feels love, she hides her vulnerability so much: toph. she is in love with a guy she cant be with because he loves someone else: TOPH
eponine is toph to a t and toph is eponine to a t. this is not up for debate lmao
"without him i feel his arms around me"
toph is always seen grabbing onto someone (and its almost ALWAYS sokka) when she's somewhere where she can't use her feet to see. FEEL and ARMS cmon. look at it.
"and i know / i know that he is blind"
COME ON. IMAGINE TOPH SINGING THIS LINE. this line is already powerful enough in les mis but having toph, a blind character, sing it just makes the symbolism even deeper. toph sees the potential relationship they could have together. toph sees that sokka is oblivious to this. toph is not blind to the truth or the potention, but sokka is blind to her feelings. im about to lose my mind over this line.
"I love him / But every day I'm learning / All my life / I've only been pretending / Without me / His world will go on turning / A world that's full of happiness / That I have never known"
i need to sit down for a moment. toph grew up in a household where her parents did not understand her. she has learned to hide her true emotions and vulnerabilities from everyone. and its the fact that toph knows that she and sokka will never be together and the fact that she still loves him in spite of that is what makes this even more heartbreaking.
"but only on my own"
TOPH AND EPONINE SWEETIES I LOVE YOU
thank you for indulging my theatre kid nonsense. you are very sweet and kind and lovely and awesome and i hope you have a lovely day bestie :) <3
ask me why i think these songs go with these ships
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lovecolibri · 3 years
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I have a few things I want to say about the season 3 premiere! 💜
1. I feel Alex is going to join Deep Sky and one of the reasons is to protect Michael.
2. I think Alex didn't go with Forrest because he didn't want to leave Michael.
3. I am mad that Malex didn't have an actual scene but im not really surprised because Carina wrote the episode with a few minor changes from Chris.
4. I love Alex and Kyle friendship and hope to see more of it!
5. Isobel, Max, Maria, Greg and Kyle all know that Michael and Alex want to be together and are endgame and yet they arent together yet! 😭
6. Can we even call that a Forlex break up if they weren't even exclusive?! And why weren't they exclusive?! Was it because Alex was on the road? I mean if it were Michael and Alex we know that even if one had to leave for a bit they would still be exclusive and wait for one another. I just don't know why they were together for a year but not exclusive?! Was it because Alex wants to really be with Michael and maybe Forrest knew it! I'm so confused?!
7. I know Christian was last on set around episode 3 so I honestly feel like Forlex is really over.
8. I did not believe Carina when she said that Forrest will not be a big or long obstacle for Malex! But after this episode it is clear that Forrest was bot going to be a big obstacle. Although Carina did say she didn't want to make Forrest evil but with him being apart of dark sky lile I thought he would be originally makes me think Chris changed that up when going over episode 1 and making rewrites and decided to make him evil or at least sketchy.
9. The fact that Forrest and Alex were never officially exclusive and a couple but Forrest was going after Alex and made him like him makes me feel like maybe he was using him thins whole time to recruit him into deep sky! 🖤
10. The fact Michael was so excited to see Alex and was heartbroken when he saw Alex with Forrest. Like I feel bad for Michael but what did he expect?! He literally walked out when Alex wanted to get back together. Like I feel bad but its kinda his fault.
11. Also to reiterate it pisses me off that Forlex have been together (kinda) for a year and Forrest barley tells Alex about big sky! Super sketchy!!!!!!!!!!
12. ALSO GREG AND MARIA! 🖤
ALSO WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL EPISODE 3 FOR MALEX FIRST INTERACTION?! 😭
1) I think Alex has lots of reasons but I think wanting to get a jump on anything that could put Michael in danger is absolutely on that list.
2) I think Alex didn't go because he wants to see what is up with Deep Sky, but also he felt betrayed and wasn't committed to working it out with him. Also, Michael.
3) Sad Malex wasn't on my screen for yet another week, but thrilled c*rina never gets to write another Malex scene
4) Give me ALL of the Kylex brotp!!
5) hopefully soon, and hopefully the people who know how they feel about each other will stop invalidating their importance to each other
6) I feel like Alex wasn't around and it seems like he left pretty quickly after the finale so he probably didn't want to start something serious with someone new that he doesn't know. If him and Michael are together for awhile and Alex has to leave again, I'm sure they would maintain their relationship but they have known each other and had something together for much longer.
7) We are still at least somewhat guessing on what episodes people are in, but it's entirely possible Forrest will make another appearance but I do think f*rlex is over.
8) I think c*rina always planned to drag f*rlex out because she already did it by not wrapping up that storyline in season 2 when it should have ended and I'm thrilled it's over now and we can all move forward and away from whatever she had planned. I don't know if Forrest will be evil or not, but I don't think he's going to be an obstacle for Malex anymore
9) Entirely possible (also what I think is happening with Heath/Liz) but I guess we'll find out!
10) I'm putting the blame for most of last season on c*rina's shoulders until proven otherwise and that includes the way Michael's story was handled last season. I did feel bad because Vlamis got me with the glassy eyes! But I'm hopeful we will get a really good scene of Alex and Michael talking things out to address some stuff from last season so they can move on and stop keeping score.
11) Well, to be fair, Alex is keeping secrets about the fact that Forrest's cousin didn't die in a car crash but was murdered so 🤷‍♀️ They barely know each other, given that Alex has been gone this whole time and they aren't even exclusively dating. I'm not surprised Forrest didn't say anything about that super shady group he works with that could probably disappear him if they thought he was saying things he shouldn't. But he told Alex when he thought there was a chance for them to get serious because he didn't want to be serious with that hanging over them, and also he knows they are recruiting Alex. He could still be sketchy, but he could not be and it would still fit with what we've seen.
12) you seem excited so that's all I'm going to say about that.
It's been 84 years! When will Malex come back from the war? 😭😭😭
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fairycosmos · 5 years
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sometimes I feel so guilty for being depressed!! I'm financially stable, get good grades, have a supportive family, i'm fit and healthy, like wtf is wrong with you bitch!! I think i'm a lil ugly but see people on streets with disorders and stuff and i'm like @myself you could never handle that! you can barely handle a slightly larger nose! someone needs to beat me up asap
hi nooo bro this kind of thinking is very symptomatic of depression in and of itself, it's just another tactic your mind is using to try and leverage unnecessary guilt and self hatred onto your shoulders. this prevents you from reaching out for help because you don't feel deserving of it, and so the cycle continues, and the illness gets to fester. it's a fuckin scam and it's not based in rationality. of course, you can't control whether or not you feel shame but you can try to analyse where it's coming from and why it's not valid. you can work on beginning not to act on it, even if it takes a while to get to that point. like yeah it's good to have some perspective but once you start competing with other people's hardships, you lose all agency over your own past experiences/pain. even though it's still a big part of your life, regardless of what others are dealing with. another thing is that when you adapt the 'trauma olympics' mindset, you kind of subconsciously begin to use what others have been through as nothing more than an unhealthy coping mechanism. you see it conceptually, only relative to your own life. which can minimize the seriousness of it even if that's not your intention at all. anyway point is, say you got hit by a car and someone else got hit by a truck, you'd still be bleeding on the pavement and you'd still need an ambulance, and no amount of self blame would change those facts. it's v convenient and easy to tell yourself to just get a grip, and maybe sometimes that works in the short term, but we all lose it eventually if we don't prioritize our mental well-being in a substantial way. the mind can only take much i guess, and chemical imbalances don't exactly discriminate when it comes to who they impact. there will always be people better off than you and there will always be people worse off than you, and none of that has anything to do with whether or not you get to be sad. there's no quota you need to fulfil, ok? it sounds like you're in a stable environment with people who care for you which will certainly be helpful in regards to having a support system. this doesn't mean you won't have bad days, it means you won't be alone during them if you choose to open up. have you talked to anyone about what you're going through? whether it's a friend or family member, or something more formal like a hotline or your doctor/a counselor/a support group - you have options, and you're not trapped no matter how much it feels like you are. i understand that it's a completely daunting idea and you don't have to be thrilled about it. fear of vulnerability is completely normal. but if this is seriously effecting your overall happiness, then you need to seek professional advice, just as you would about any physical ailment. there is so much that can be done in regards to understanding the main causes of your mental discomfort, and learning how to implement healthy coping techniques into your daily routine. where you're at right now isn't permanent if you don't want it to be. you just have to take the initial step of forgiving yourself enough to do what's right for you. i feel like it always comes back to that, honestly. anyway like i said, i get that it's scary so please just consider it for now n keep it in the back of your mind. you deserve support. your brain trying to trivialise your struggle is an even bigger indicator that something needs to change. anyway sorry this got long.....i think a lot of people experience this and you're definitely not alone. im rooting for you n i hope you know i'll be here if you need to rant about anything ! god knows im losing my mind over the way my skin looks on a daily basis. 😶
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