#it is genuinely if you took a dozen people and had them hang out in a house. that's it.

[natjennie]

do yall remember that big fanfic trend a while ago that was like. peak domestic fluff. it would be like all the avengers or whatever just sitting around in a house hanging out. and everyone went crazy. that's what ghosts is. it's weird little guys hanging out in a house. for 5 seasons. and it rips. ghosts is like if you made a bottle episode a whole show. there really isnt a plot. it's genuinely just a dozen people hanging out and doing weird shit and being a family together. and it's the perfect show.

#i didnt really think about it until now but it really is just a bottle episode #but the whole time #the fact that the setting is like. the house. and that's it. #basically. #and there's not a lot of supporting cast it's just all the ghosts and alison and mike #it is genuinely if you took a dozen people and had them hang out in a house. that's it. #and it's so fucking good. #bbc ghosts

[tripthelightfandomtastic]

Rebel Yell -D.R.W

Author's Note: I am so happy to finally be able to put this out, this story took me ages but I am so very proud of it. Am I projecting here? Maybe. But hey, I too am living for the single life.

Synopsis: A shitty party gets turned around after a playful game of spin the bottle.

Word Count: 8.5k (you asked for it!)

Warnings: 18+ MINORS NEED NOT INTERACT. Alcohol, mild violence, foul language, rough sex, choking, spanking, slight domination, oral, fingering, raw doggin’ (wrap it before you tap the hottest guy at the party.) Smut but make it Danny with eyeliner. 

Pairing: Tattoo!Danny x Female Reader

Have you ever even been to a party where you had a genuinely good time? One without awkward conversations with people you hardly know, one that matches the high expectations for a night that only happens in movies, or one where you have a few drinks and don't feel like vomiting all over the friend's car that drives you home? Well, this is worse than any party you've been to so far. Mainly because you're fucking ex and his friends are here. 

You pound the rest of your drink from the plastic red solo cup of Malibu and coke, who fucking made that anyway? It'll have to do until you can get a baker's dozen of shots poured for you to even think about being in the same room as him. The music is loud and obnoxious and the tile of the kitchen is sticking to the bottom of your Docs, but, at least you're in the clear. Looking around for a familiar face you find one of your girl friends you came here with, Summer. She's walking with your other friend who looks like she's had way too much to drink and is making a b-line to the bathroom. You do not envy them in the least, you would go and help but the anxiety building inside of your chest needs to be dampened with more liquor. 

Pouring yourself a more than hefty amount of tequila in your cup, you slam the whole double (most likely double and a half) shot down. You cringe and squeeze your eyes closed as you take a breath. You groan as the alcohol burns down your throat when you meet eyes with a guy across the room, some very tall drink of water with long dark curly hair, you saw him earlier in the backyard puffing on a joint with some long haired hippie wannabe looking friend with a stoner laugh to match.

You hold his gaze a moment in the crowded room, you think you saw smudged eyeliner on him earlier and had to keep yourself from nearly falling instantly head over heels for the bad boy in the black leather jacket and Church of Rock N Roll muscle tank. The combat boots and ripped black jeans with the chain hanging off his belt wasn't helping your cause either. He sends a small nod your way along with a subtle yet confident smirk that lights you on fire. You can't help but smile back, you can feel your heart race in your chest as you look away, keeping your cool as best as you can. You've been told before that people can read your mind based on the faces you make, subtlety not being your best quality. 

At least you have positive qualities, unlike your ex, Ryan. You had been dating for about two years, your longest relationship to date and your first real boyfriend. It started out great, he was super sweet and funny, gentle and interesting. But he got distant, so distant in fact that he would almost never reply to your messages or calls until it was too late and you started seeing each other less and less. It wasn't until you were out with friends to dinner one night when you saw him there with another girl. Long story short, they had been talking for a while and hooked up a few times, poor girl had no idea you even existed. So yeah, the lying dick head was here and grinding on every girl in sight. 

Being single again after so long has been feeling so foreign to you, almost like you were doing something you shouldn't, forgetting you have no loyalties to anyone anymore. So fuck it. Tonight, you were gonna have fun and flirt your ass off. Why shouldn't you?! It's been almost seven months since your messy breakup with Ryan, might as well have some fucking fun for the first time in a while. And hey, if you end up having some stupid one night stand, who cares? You're owed at least one good orgasm that's not by your own hand. 

The music is thumping through the house and you've had enough to really feel the music and let your body talk for you. You make your way over to the makeshift dance floor and sway to beat. Closing your eyes and just allowing yourself to let go of the anxieties you were holding on to. You meet eyes again with that curly haired guy again through the crowded floor, damn he's good looking. He takes a sip of his drink, eyes not tearing away from you as you sway your hips up against some girl behind you. She laughs and begins dancing with you, she spins you around and you get lost in the song, your eyes only flitting away to the guy leaning up against the wall who keeps meeting your eyes, his conversation with the three other guys he's with be damned. 

The crowd moves to the kitchen as someone brings up the idea of playing spin the bottle. It seems like the whole party has decided to gather in the kitchen, to play or just spectate around the round dining room table. You stand at the table and your stomach drops into your shoes when your ex is almost directly across from you. You move to leave when the hot guy you've been eyeing all night stands right beside you. 

"Hey." The tall drink of water says accompanied with a smile that makes you mirror his expression. "Hi." You reply almost shyly, he's quite intimidating to be honest, maybe it's the bone structure or his clothes but something about his warm brown eyes that makes you feel safe to talk to. "Big fan of spin the bottle?" He asks. "I've never played." You answer, fiddling with your rings, your eyes take in his appearance now that he's right in front of you, his smudged eyeliner making your heart skip a beat, fuck he's hot. 

"The rules aren't very difficult, I'm sure you'll be a natural at it." He teases, a smile pulling at your lips as he gets a chuckle out of you. "Well, if anything, I think it's a great way to make friends." You counter flirtatiously that makes the man smirk. "I'm Danny, by the way." He says introducing himself, finally giving a name to the gorgeous face, you extend your own introduction when all of a sudden a voice rings out, "Alright, fuckers listen up!" A guy begins to shout, holding up an empty beer bottle. "I don't care if you're gay, straight or anything in between! A spin is a spin! So either play or don't." The guy finishes before spinning the bottle, starting the game. You exchange a look to Danny who keeps his ground, ready to play, come what may.

The bottle spins several times with no real wild kisses exchanged. You're nervous for when it will land on you. The empty Dos Equis bottle is spun and the girl on the other side of you gets a kiss, prompting your turn to spin. You take a deep breath before and your bottle is spinning rapidly, you're practically sweating as the bottle begins to slow, coming to a stop on the long haired stoner guy Danny was talking to earlier. He's cute, tall, tan, with a sweet disposition, why not? The crowd around the table "oohs" as the stoner walks over to you. 

He gives you a small but gentle kiss, his hand on your cheek, he tastes like tequila and weed, he smells like cologne and his lips are a little dry, probably cottonmouth. The kiss doesn't last long but the excitement from the kiss makes you buzz with confidence. The guy gives you a wink before walking silently back to his side of the table. You take your place back next to Danny, he whispers in your ear, "I see you've met Sam." He jokes, "Well Sam's a pretty decent kisser." You smile back, Danny gives you a chuckle before he looks back at the game unraveling ahead. 

The bottle spins and spins for a few turns, you and Danny quip back and forth, passing the time and flirting a bit as the game rolls on. Danny even gets landed on by a friend of his, some shorter long haired guy who joined him by the wall near the living room dance floor. It's short but kinda cute to see two guys kiss without making a big deal about it, but instead joking about, "Who hasn't kissed their friends before?!" The friend laughs before going back to his spot, saying something in a very drunk and very fake accent. 

The bottle takes a few more spins, you watch uncomfortably as your ex kisses some red headed girl for a little too long and gets a little too handsy, only egging on the crowd. You roll your eyes, crossing your arms and standing awkwardly. Danny gives you a look, tearing his eyes away from the scene ahead. "Will these two just get a room already?" He whispers to you. You can't help but show an uneasy expression, Danny must sense your discomfort because he asks you very gently, "Hey, you okay?" You nod quickly in silence, offering no reply. You look over at him, almost ashamed, "That's my ex." You say with a bitter taste left on your tongue. "Oh. Well he seems like a real stand up guy." Danny comments with a sneer, watching as Ryan practically sticks his entire tongue in the girl's mouth. It's like a train wreck, it's awful but you can't look away. A red solo cup is held in front of your face, "Here. You need it more than I do." He hands you the rest of his drink. From the smell of it, coke and fireball, which you happily sink the rest down, you sigh with a slight cringe as the drink slides down your throat. Danny brings his hand to your back comfortingly, "Good girl." He praises. That phrase shouldn't affect you the way it does but holy hell do you feel like a whole new woman. The pair finally disconnects and the game continues on. 

Your friend Summer appears behind you tapping your shoulder. "Oh there you are! Danny! This is my friend Summer!" You can already hear the semi drunkenness in your voice as you're introducing her to Danny. He smiles charmingly, "Hi, it's good to meet you." He introduces himself, "Oh, hi." She smiles, but you notice she's got her purse and your other drunk friend in tow. 

"We're leaving, Mari is a mess and I'm tired. Are you coming?" She asks, her keys jingling in her hand. They are your ride, but your night just got interesting. Fucking carpooling. You look back at the table and roll your eyes as you come to the realization that the party for you is probably over. "I mean, um, I guess-" "If you want, I can take you?" Danny interrupts, "If you don't wanna go, I can drive you later if you like?" His offer hangs in the air for a moment as you look at your friend, speaking practically telepathically with the other if that all sounds okay to the other. "Yeah. That would be great actually. Only if you don't mind, I don't wanna put you out-" "It's really no big deal." Danny assures you with a smile. Your friend shrugs, "Alright then. Just text me when you get home, okay?" Summer smiles at you knowingly. You widen your eyes at her turning your head so Danny doesn't see your obvious smile as she walks away. 

"You really don't have to do all that for me, I can take an uber or something later." "It's really no bother. Besides, I'd hate for you to miss out on having a good time. I think you deserve it, especially since that asshole gets to, I think it's only fair that you do too." Danny smirks as he motions to Ryan. You smile, your heart thumping in your chest with excitement at the idea of Danny driving you home. 

The game continues on and the guy next to Danny gets a kiss from some girl and it's Danny's turn to spin. You make accidental eye contact with your ex who just chugged the rest of his drink while his buddies laugh about something. It makes you practically freeze in an almost anxious fear until you hear the spinning glass begin to slow on the wooden table. The last rotations make its way around until the end of the bottle is pointed at you. 

You take a moment to even realize it's pointing at you, you look up at Danny, he wears a face of 'I'm down if you are.' A small smile pulls at your lips, this was exactly what you were hoping for when you joined the game. You step forward shyly, Danny brings a hand gently to your chin, "Let's give 'em a show, huh?" He rasps against your lips, only quiet enough for you to hear. You nod before bringing your own hands to his chest, letting him take you to his lips. His lips slot gently against your own, you move in time with his lips. His hands venture down to your waist, pulling you close to his body, he's so tall it makes you feel like swooning here in his arms. The crowd hoops and hollers loudly as you let him slip his tongue in your mouth, your nails come to his back, clawing into the back of his leather jacket. He smirks against your lips, his hands wander down toward your ass, but stays respectfully on your lower back. You bite his bottom lip, grinning as you meet his eyes again, they're darker than before and you want nothing more than to keep kissing him. 

You almost completely tuned out the woo’s of the party goers around you until now. You smirk at Danny, knowing damn well you put on a good show, and knowing even more that he's a great fucking kisser. 

"Fuckin' slut." A scoff sounds across the room. You turn your head fast to the voice the comment came from. Ryan rolls his eyes as he toys with his empty red cup. Before you can say a word, Danny stands up straight, "What the fuck did you just say?" He asks, his voice is deep, completely sincere in his question and it commands the room in a way that makes Ryan look in his direction. He scoffs again, the crowd hums with whispered excitement, "Just funny is all, a little desperate I think." Ryan says. "It's just part of the game, dude." Danny laughs. “Danny, really, it’s fine.” You say quietly, you gain his attention and he looks upset. “No, I think he’s a fuckin’ asshole.” Danny says to Ryan and the rest of the party. Ryan steps closer, his gaggle of idiot friends behind him making their way through to the side of the table by you and Danny. Sam comes up silently behind you and Danny, getting ready to jump in if the situation calls for it. 

“I just think maybe she and I broke up too soon, especially because she was never that freaky with me.” Ryan smirks at you, his friends laugh at his statement. Danny bows out his chest and looks down at Ryan who is only a few inches from meeting Danny’s eyeline. “Maybe you should learn to shut your mouth before it really gets you in trouble.” Danny threatens, his jaw is clenched as he stares Ryan down. “I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m talking to her.” Ryan says as he tries to walk past Danny and toward you, you take a step back, Sam places a hand on your shoulder to help guide you away from your ex while Danny puts an arm out, keeping you out of Ryan's reach. “I have nothing left to say to you.” You say, anger and anxiety adding a tremble to your voice. “We don’t have to talk, baby, what I have in mind doesn't require much talking.” He quips, your stomach churning at his words. “That’s enough.” Danny says firmly, putting a hand on Ryan’s chest, keeping him in his place. 

“Get your fuckin’ hands off of me.” Ryan shouts as he pushes Danny but he hardly even moves. “Then leave her alone.” Danny’s voice is deep and threateningly quieter as he steps even closer to Ryan. He smirks over Danny’s shoulder to you, "Oh come on sweetheart, just one last kiss, huh?" Ryan shouts at you. Danny shoves Ryan backward, he falls back into his friends. Ryan’s face twists into a furious scowl as he lunges towards Danny with his fist, but he’s too fast. Danny dodges the hit and swings, punching Ryan right in the nose. It spews blood as Ryan falls flat on his back onto the sticky kitchen floor, his hand comes to his face and his friends are too frozen in shock to do or say anything. A harang of people gasping and shouting and cheering echoes through the kitchen and it feels like time stands still until Ryan shouts, “You broke my nose?! You broke my goddamn nose!” 

“Then get the fuck outta here before I break your fucking legs!” Danny bellows at Ryan, his stance is intimidating and large as he leans over Ryan. Scrambling to his feet, Ryan stumbles as he gets up and to his buddies and begins heading for the front door. “Have fun with my left overs, asshole!” Ryan shouts over his shoulder. “You son of a bitch!” Danny shouts as he lunges forward, making a run for Ryan but Sam’s long arms grab a hold of his friend’s large frame first before he can even make it out of the kitchen, allowing Ryan and his posse of douchebags to run out the door. 

“Hey man, chill out okay. Just let it go.” Sam says, calming Danny down before letting go of him. Danny turns to look at you, his intense glare of anger in his eyes softening as they settle on you before him. “Are you okay?” His voice is soft as his hands hold your arms gently, bending a bit to speak to you. 

You blink rapidly as you try not to let the tears in your eyes fall. “Yeah, I’m uh, I just need some air.” Your voice cracks before you turn and walk out the back door to the backyard, letting the cool breeze of the night wind calm the heat of your embarrassed face. You look up and stare at the crescent moon in the sky, taking in a deep, yet shaky, breath and you can’t help but feel absolutely mortified by the scene that just transpired. 

Fuck Ryan. 

Fuck parties. 

Fuck this. 

“Hey.” A voice says gently, almost nervously behind you. You turn to find Danny coming out towards you. You turn back around and quickly wipe your eyes as you keep your arms crossed and your eyes trained up at the sky, dark clouds moving over the night sky and through the light of the moon. "I'm really sorry about all of that." Danny's voice is soft as he comes to your side. The thumping music from the party inside only makes you feel like curling up into a ball, never to be seen again. "It's fine. He's uh, yeah, he's not nice." Your voice is like a whisper, trying not to let it break as you hold back the tears that threaten to pull you down with them. "No, no he's not. I'm sorry." Danny apologizes again. "No I should be sorry, I feel like that was all my fault in there." You say, shaking your head. Danny's hand comes to your back, prompting you to look at him, "None of that was your fault-" "I should've just left when Summer said so. I knew he was here, him and his fucking friends. I hate that you got dragged into any of that. You don’t even fucking know me!" You say with a bewildered laugh as a tear rolls down your cheek. Your words hang in the cool autumn air for a moment before Danny speaks. "I think I know you enough to know that you're a really great kisser." He says with a smile, knowing that would make you forget about the whole Ryan thing, if only for just a second. You chuckle as you dry your eyes, "Oh my God, how could I forget." You smile at him, you can see his features perk up as you finally meet his eyes. "Besides, Ryan just seems like the kind of guy who deserves a punch in the face." He smirks pridefully as he thinks back to replay the look of shock on Ryan's face when he hit the floor. 

"It was kinda cathartic to watch the hottest guy at the party deck my ex in the nose." You smile playfully, turning to take in all of Danny's gorgeous face. He smiles charmingly, "Well, I'm just glad I got to kiss the hottest girl at the party." He muses before giving you a look that only makes you want to kiss him again, and again and again. You move to step forward but let your eyes wander to the house, a handful of prying eyes from the fight in the kitchen looking intently at you and Danny's conversation, only reminding you of how you wish you could be somewhere more private. 

"If the offer still stands, do you mind taking me home? I think I've had about enough of this party." You ask, crossing your arms to warm yourself from the evening breeze that seems to blow right through you. A smile pulls at Danny's lips, "Yeah I think I'm ready to go too, I'd say we made quite the impression though." He jokes before turning to leave, you walk along with him and head to his car. 

Your hands run up and down your arms, trying to preserve whatever heat you can keep from escaping your thin long sleeve shirt. Before you even really notice, Danny pulls his large leather jacket off and places it over your own shoulders. "There." He simply says. You smile to yourself before turning to him as you both walk, the whole thing feels like it swallows you up, the sleeves so long your hands aren't even poking through. "Fits you better than me." He jests with an endearingly sweet look, his smile is contagious and you can feel your cold cheeks warming from the blush on your face. You bury your burning face into the collar of his coat, relishing in the mix of musk and cologne of the well loved jacket. 

The ride to your place isn't too long, the conversation is easy and soon you're pulling up to your apartment. The silence in the car is heavy as you think of what to say next. "So-" "Do you wanna come inside?" You beat Danny to the punch, interrupting him. He meets your eyes with a look of subtle surprise, "I'd love to." He says, his voice low and soft in the confines of the car in a way that makes the butterflies in your chest explode. 

You show Danny up to your apartment, you close the door and take off his jacket, "Thanks for letting me wear your coat." You say before handing it to him, "What kind of man would I be if I let you freeze to death in the cold?" He jokes before taking it from you, hanging it on your coat rack as you both take off your shoes. You laugh before walking off to the living room, sitting on the couch, Danny follows suit and sits beside you. You both smile fondly and comfortably at each other, unsure of what step comes next. A familiar anxious feeling in your stomach begins to stir, one that could be described as really overactive butterflies when in such close and intimate proximity with a hot guy alone with you in your apartment. 

You cut through the silence with a scoff. "For the record, I just wanna say, you're a much better kisser than Ryan." You smirk, Danny chuckles, "I'm sure Ryan lacked in several departments." He smiles to himself, crossing his arms in pride. You stare up at the ceiling and huff a sigh. "Ugh, you have no idea." You wish you could say you had been in more of a slut era than you really were since your breakup, but honestly, it's been dry as hell. "That bad?" He cringes, bracing himself. "He was fine, just, I don't know, kinda… boring?" You reply, shrugging as you try and gently explain how your sex life for the last two years was less than satisfying.

"How bad was it?" Danny asks, you search the ceiling for a moment, Danny stirs next to you, sitting up straight, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry-" "No no it's fine! He just, uh, he just wasn't very um, creative?" You explain vaguely. Danny chuckles, "Creative?" He repeats with a smile, "Just that it was very vanilla I guess? He never really wanted to try anything new or different." "Sounds like he was pretty selfish." Danny extrapolates. "Oh absolutely. If it didn't end with him cumming first, he wasn't super interested." You explain irritatedly. 

"He's an asshole." Danny snarks, you just chuckle a knowing laugh. "Most times I had to use my vibrator later when I got home." You cringe with a chuckle as you recount the many nights you spent with a toy between your legs. "What would you think of?" Danny asks softly, "Oh." You pause a moment in anxiety at the idea of having to speak your innermost fantasies to this gorgeous man before you. 

Here.

Alone.

On your couch. 

You could feel the blush creeping in on your cheeks. "I uh, I liked to think about… ya know, getting tossed around, someone being rough with me." You confess, unable to meet Danny's eyes as you mess with the rings on your fingers. "Mmm, I see now. He was too soft? Too boring?" Danny speaks with a smirk that lights you on fire. "Y-Yeah, I uh, I'd bring up the idea but, he never really did anything new, maybe he thought it was weird?" You shift in your seat, ready to hear the judgment in Danny's voice. To hear the same put off tone like Ryan had. Instead, he places his hand on your knee, you turn to finally look at him. 

"I don't think it's weird at all. I like being rough." Danny smiles, you can feel the wave of relief washing over you. "Yeah?" You ask. "Mhm, to take control, to have a pretty little thing under me, letting me touch her all over, kiss her wherever, grab her however I want. Hear how good she feels." His voice feels like silk as he speaks, warming you all over. You can't think of a single thing that isn't a kin to 'fuck me', so you stay silent. You look over Danny's lips, he smirks at you as he moves closer. 

"Tell me what you've been dreaming of, angel, because I know I am a much better listener than that prick ever was." Danny grins, you can't help the hitch in your throat at the nickname. "Lots of things." You whisper. Danny smiles, his hand runs up your knee to your thigh, his large hand radiates warmth through your jeans to your skin beneath, fuck his hands are big. 

He leans in close, his cologne flooding your senses, his breath fanning gently over your lips as he brings his other hand to your chin, his eyes holding yours. "Did he never pull you onto his lap? Spank you over his knee? Squeeze his hand around your throat a little?" Danny asks, his finger under your chin holds you gently, your face is flushed as he tilts his head awaiting your answer. "Never." You whisper, your eyes practically begging his lips to yours, instead he runs his hand against your cheek, his thumb softly moves along your cheekbone. "Would you like that? If I did?" Danny asks softly, a rasp in his words sends a delicious chill down your neck. You nod embarrassingly quickly but it makes Danny chuckle at your eagerness. "Words, angel." He smiles. 

"Yes, I'd like that very much." You say, a slight shake in your voice, you almost don't even sound like yourself, you're so desperate. "Good. Because I think you deserve a good fuck." Danny pulls you in, a soft kiss at first, softer than the one at the party but it doesn't stay sweet. 

Your hands come to his face, to his hair, wanting to touch him where you've been dying to. Your kiss becomes more desperate, his tongue enters your mouth, your hands tug at his hair, he groans at the pull, smirking as he breaks the kiss, “Oh angel, that’s my job.” He teases before kissing you again, his hands on the small of your back brings you closer to him, bringing you on to his lap, he captures your bottom lip between his teeth making you moan. He pulls away, allowing you to grind down to feel his already hardening cock in his pants, you whimper out a pathetic sound at just the feeling of him near you. 

“You sure?” Danny asks, breaking the bad boy persona a moment as he reads your face, “Take me to my bedroom.” You sigh as you roll your hips against his. Danny sighs at the feeling of your movements before he huffs a small laugh, “Where is your bedroom?” He asks, you laugh, “Down the hall to the left.” You smile. With no hesitation, Danny stands from the couch, you wrap your legs around his waist as he carries you to your room, his hands holding you close to him as he makes his way down the hall. 

Your room is warmly lit, a gentle glow from your fairy lights and salt lamp you left on, Danny sets you down on your bed before looking around the room, “Cute.” He simply states, making you roll your eyes. 

You go to take your top off, “Wait.” Danny interrupts, you stop your hands, dropping the material of your sweater. “Come here.” He says, you smile in response as you make your way over to him, clambering off the bed and standing in front of him. Danny brings his hands to the hem of your sweater, pulling the material over your head and off to be discarded to the floor. “Pretty girl.” He smiles, a rasp to his voice makes you blush as you stand before him in your bra. He undoes the button of your jeans, pulling them down your legs until you stand before him in just your underwear. 

You stand before him, his eyes scanning your half naked figure, he gives you a ‘come hither’ motion with his finger, you walk up to him, your doe eyes looking up at him as his hands come to rest warmly on your sides. “So pretty.” He whispers, his voice bringing goosebumps to your skin. His hand trails down to your panties, his fingers running over the already dampened material. You sigh at the touch, “Mmm, already so wet for me. Aren’t you such a good girl?” Danny praises, his lips right against your ear as he speaks, your heart nearly jumps out of your rib cage at his words. “Just for you.” You breathe, Danny smiles, kissing your neck.

He pulls away, his hands come to his own shirt, pulling his church of rock ‘n roll tank top off, tossing it alongside your own discarded clothes. You watch astounded at the beauty of his body, the dark ink of the tattoos you never saw are revealed as he peels the tight black jeans from his body, leaving him clad only in a tight pair of black briefs, the outline of his dick takes your breath away. 

Danny pulls you to him in a gentle kiss, he pulls away after a moment, taking you by the hand and leading you to the bed. He sits on the edge of the bed, he pulls you on to his leg, you sigh at the contact. “Wanna watch you ride my thigh, show me how bad you want it.” He says, his hands on your hips, pulling you down onto his muscular thigh, making you whine. 

You roll your hips down against him, a moan rolls out of your throat as you grind down, you place your hands on his shoulders as you move, his hands come down to your ass, dull nails digging into the softness of your muscle. “That feel good, angel?” Danny asks teasingly, you offer a hum as you chase the feeling building up in your lower stomach, “Tell me baby, tell me how you feel.” He smirks, his grip tightening and pulling you to rock against him harder and faster, “Ah, fuck, so good.” You whine. “Yeah?” Danny asks, his hand coming down hard on your ass, you yelp out in shock, the stinging a delicious blend of pain and a euphoric sensation that only makes you wetter. “How good?” He asks, looking at the way your eyes have widened and the way your mouth hangs open, his hands gripping tightly, “So fucking good, oh god.” You cry out.

Danny brings his hand behind your back, unclipping your bra and pulling you closer to him, his lips latching around one of your nipples. You moan as you rock back and forth on his thigh, his teeth grazing your nipple, his other hand gripping the small of your back, encouraging you to move. The wetness in your panties and the friction on your clit against Danny's muscular thigh, feels like nothing you've ever felt before. He pulls away from your chest, his hands pull you to him as he flips you onto the bed and lies you on your back, manhandling you and laying between your legs. He kisses you hard before sitting back on his heels, a shining wet spot on his thigh tattoo catches your eye, making you blush. “You need it bad, huh, baby?” He teases, grinning at the wetness on his thigh. 

"God yes." You sigh. He looks so dreamy under the lights like this, like an angel with his curly hair catching the warm lighting from the salt lamp. The golden hue makes his skin look so soft and warm and you cannot wait to feel him. "Then let me give it to you." He smirks, his hands come down to your panties, he gives you one last look for permission that you immediately grant him before pulling them down.

You can’t stop the instinct of closing your legs out of shyness as Danny tosses your panties to the side, Danny laughs a moment at your coyness. “Oh, baby, don't act shy now. Spread your legs for me, sweet girl, show me what a good girl you are.” Danny’s voice makes you sigh, no one has ever talked this way to you before, you keep your eyes on him as you slowly open your legs. Danny’s eyes travel down to your glistening core and subtly palms himself over his briefs, only making you wetter at the sight. “Fuck angel, you are dripping.” His voice laced in seduction as his hands come to your thighs, spreading you wider. 

“So fucking gorgeous, all laid out for me. I want a taste.” His proposition makes your eyes widen. “Fuck yes please. I haven’t…” Your voice trails off making Danny look at you with an air of confusion, “Haven’t what?” Danny’s voice in that perfect mocking tone that makes your brain hazy. You can’t help but blush and look away before answering him. 

“I um, I’ve never really cum from… oral before.” You confess. Danny almost looks pained by your statement. “Never?” he asks as his hands softly wander up and down your thighs. “My ex didn’t do that much.” You say nervously, Danny brings his hand closer to your core making your breath hitch, he leans in close to you, his face inches away from your own, eyes boring into yours. “With a pussy as perfect as yours, I don’t see how he wasn’t between your legs all hours of the day.” Danny whispers as his hand slowly glides down to your center, you sigh as his fingers bring your wetness up and around your clit, making you moan. Danny smiles as he watches your expression change as his fingers roll slow wide circles over your clit, your mouth hanging open. 

“Let me take care of you, pretty girl.” He says softly before kissing your neck, down your chest, your stomach, kissing his way down all the while his fingers play with your clit. Danny lays down on the bed, he watches as his fingers make a mess of you. “If it ever becomes too much, just say Metallica, that’s the safeword.” He explains, you simply nod. “No angel, I need to hear it. Be a good girl and repeat it so I know you understand.” “M-Metallica, yes, I-I understand.” You stammer out, “Good girl.” Danny grins before kissing your inner thigh, heading closer until he removes his hand from your clit. You take a deep shaky breath as Danny’s breath warms over your folds, his warm tongue licking languidly up to your clit. You sigh a moan as he takes his time, licking slowly along the sensitive bud, your hands clawing at the duvet beneath you. 

Danny’s mouth moves faster, lapping up at your soaking wet pussy. He moans against your core, making your back arch, “Fuck, Danny.” You moan, Danny brings his hands to wrap tightly at your thighs, gripping you to him, holding you in place as he eats your pussy. The delicious sounds of Danny’s mouth makes you whimper at the beautiful lewdness of it all. “So fucking sweet,” it was muffled but you just barely registered it from Danny, like it was never even meant for you to hear but you did and fuck that was hot. “Oh fuck, holy fuck.” You cry out, your eyes rolling back in your head as you clutch tighter at the balled up comforter beneath your writhing body.

Watching as Danny’s mouth works over you, the way his large hands hold you open for him and the way his nose nudges against your clit as he tongue fucks your weeping pussy has you moaning and your legs shaking uncontrollably. The prideful smirk you catch on Danny’s features makes your breathing more uneven than before, because he is so fucking good at this and the way you’re moaning is making him want you to cum even more. “Oh god Danny. Fuck, I’m gonna-oh fuck I’m cumming, oh fuck.” You moan out as Danny latches his lips around your clit, sucking on the bundle of nerves that has you clawing onto anything that can hold you as your orgasm takes root in you. Your hands come to Danny’s hair as your hips attempt to buck, but the firm grip he has on your thighs, move to your hips, pinning you down as his tongue fucks you hard and fast into the most intense orgasm of your life.

Danny’s name and a string of other expletives fill the air until you’re hit with a wave of pleasure so hard you can’t make a sound. Your body goes rigid, your grip in Danny’s curls is tight and rough, only making him groan against your core which feels like it's sparking like a live wire. Then something inside of you snaps and you can breathe again, uneven and labored breaths as you try to make sense of the bliss you just felt from this man you’ve only know for a matter of hours could make you feel like this, a million times better than a guy you were dating for two years could have ever dreamed.

His tongue slows to a stop as you come down from your climax, “H-Holy shit.” You huff out, you're in awe and just staring at your ceiling. If that’s what he can do with just his mouth, then you have to know what else he can do. 

You sit up and look at him with a look of insatiable lust. He smirks as he sits up and wipes the shine of wetness from his lips and chin with the back of his hand. “Oh angel, you look like you need more.” He teases as he sits up on his knees, the very prominent outline in his briefs pulls your attention away. “Please.” Is all you’re able to say. “I saw you sizing me up earlier, baby. I know you’re not as innocent as your boy toy thought you were.” Danny grins as he moves closer to you, his hand resting on the thigh of your spread legs. He moves to take his briefs off, you’re practically drooling as he pulls them off. His cock springs up and slaps against his stomach, “Fuck.” You whisper, a thought that wasn’t meant to come out. 

Danny moves closer to you, his fingers coming to your core, you almost jump from the enhanced sensation from between your legs. His fingers dip inside you a moment, you sigh out, your breath making Danny’s curls sway against his face from your proximity. “Show me what a good girl you are.” He whispers before pulling his fingers away and bringing them up to your lips. “Taste how sweet you are.” His voice sends chills across your body. Your eyes don’t leave his as you present your open mouth to him, sucking on his slender fingers. You hum against them, tasting your own arousal from his fingers. You open your mouth again, allowing him to pull away, but he doesn’t. 

His fingers rest on your tongue, “Such a good girl.” Danny whispers, he experimentally pushes his fingers back in your mouth, further back. You don’t dare break eye contact as he slowly runs his fingers in and out of your mouth. “Pretty little slut.” He smirks as you gag around his fingers, your eyes water, but you don’t retreat. “Suck.” He commands. You do as you're told and suck on his middle and index fingers, he sighs at the feeling. You release them with a ‘pop’, Danny smiles as he watches your face when he brings his fingers back down to your pussy, teasing your clit before pressing back inside of you.

You can’t help the moan that rolls out of your throat at the feeling of him filling you up. “Mmm, you are so tight.” Danny rasps, he moves closer to you, prompting you to lay back, his fingers slowly pushing in and out of you. He envelops you into a kiss as he makes work of you. You moan against his lips, grinding down on his fingers, your eyes fluttering closed at the feeling of him grazing your g-spot. “I know baby, I know.” He teases you as he continues finger fucking you, his pace speeding up a tad. His hardened cock lays against your thigh, you whimper as his fingers move faster. “You need it so bad, huh, baby?” Danny’s voice sends a chill over you, “Mhm.” You can’t even speak it feels so good, playing your body like he’s done it so many times before, so intune with you for absolutely no reason, it makes your head spin. 

“I wanna hear you say it.” He says, your eyes look at him, almost shyly. “Yeah, I wanna hear you say it. Hear that innocent little voice of yours ask for what you want me to do to you.” He smiles devilishly, the sound of your wetness all over his fingers fills the room, making you want him even more. You move to speak, but his fingers curl up inside of you making you moan, “Oh fuck,” You whisper to yourself, trying to get yourself under control. “I-I want you.” You say, Danny just chuckles, “Oh sweet girl, you’re gonna have to ask a lot prettier than that.” He teases, he adds his thumb to the mix, rolling over your clit as he finger fucks you. 

“Mmm, fuck. I-I want you to fuck me.” 

“Not even a please?” 

“P-Please, Danny. Please, I wanna feel it. N-Need to feel it, fuck me.”

Danny thinks for a minute to himself, a smug smirk on his face, “Yeah, that’ll do.” He grins before kissing you, his fingers pulling away as he puts himself between your open legs. You hum against his kiss as you feel his hardened cock resting against your warm core, begging for more. You buck your hips against him, hoping and praying he'd understand how much you need it. He smiles against your lips, "Oh yeah? That bad, huh?" He teases. You open your mouth to protest but whimper as he slowly taps the head of his cock against your needy clit. You look at him with eyes of dismay, shocked how your body reacts with a jump with every touch like this. "Like that, baby?" Danny speaks in a way that makes you practically buzz with excitement. "So much." You whisper. 

Slowly he presses inside of you, both of you moaning at the stretch. It feels like a wave flowing through you, from your scalp down to your toes. All you need in this moment is him. "Fuuuck." Danny's voice waivers as his eyes close, "So fucking wet for me." "Fuck baby, just for you." Your voice breathy and small sounding as you rake your nails down his back, making Danny sigh in your ear. His hand comes down to your thigh, pulling it over his hip, gripping so tight you pray it leaves bruises, wanting some sort of proof that this pleasure wasn't some fleeting dream. 

The angle is so deep and you can't help the way he's making you sound. Your nails gripping into his back and pulling him closer to you. It's all so fuckin perfect, you've never felt this good, so all consumed by desire and a euphoric pleasure that takes you under like the wave of tsunami. His breath cascades over your cheek and you can't help the way you wish you were the only oxygen in his lungs. "Fuck, Danny." You moan out as he speeds up his pace, the head of his cock grazing against your g-spot in a way that has your legs spread even wider for him. "So good angel, so fuckin good." He practically growls as he moves faster. 

A moan rips through you and you're clawing at the sheets beneath you, your hands detach from the linen and take root in Danny's curly hair. He groans at the pull, the way your nails scrape through his scalp. You're so close to the edge, the way he's pounding inside of you and the way the bedframe slams against the wall of your bedroom makes your eyes roll back in ecstasy. 

Your eyes slam open as the presence of a large hand presses against your throat just right. "Look at me baby. Want you to look at me when I make you cum." Danny's voice is so raspy and commanding you can't help but say, "Yes, sir." It must have sparked something in Danny because the way his eyes glint in the golden light of your bedroom leads you to believe you must have stumbled upon something. His pace quickens and his hand on your throat closes tighter, your eyes roll back and a devilish smile pulls at your lips as you completely surrender yourself to Danny. 

The building pressure inside of you has you moaning against Danny's strong hand surrounding your throat, making only a weak and broken whimper come awkwardly tumbling from your mouth. Danny releases his grip on your throat and instead holds your wrists down to the bed as he fucks you. "Let me hear it baby. Come on, angel. Be a good girl and cum for me." He whispers, his own voice shakes as he's barely holding on to his own climax. Your moans are so loud and Danny's name falls so easily from your lips, crying out for more and for him. He watches intently in your eyes, feeling the way your pussy flutters around him, and the way you can barely keep yourself from moaning as you cum hard around him.

Your climax makes Danny practically collapse against you, letting go of your wrists and opting instead to hold you close to him, both of his arms encircling your waist, hands grasping to your back. His nose presses against your neck as he groans, your name like silk on his lips as his hips stutter and slam back inside of you, cumming so deep. 

The two of you lay this way for a moment, both panting and searching for something to say, but you're both practically fucked so stupid you can't form any notable shit to say. Your pussy flutters around him, both of you moan exhausted at the intense shock waves that course through you and to him. Slowly and gently Danny pulls out of you, you whine at the loss of him and the way you can feel his cum leaking out of you so deliciously. "Uh where's your bathroom?" He blushes as if he weren't just choking you and fucking you senseless. "Uh, yeah, uh right down there." You chuckle as you point to the door that leads to your en suite bathroom. He returns with a clean washcloth and helps clean you up, a thing your ex never once cared to do for you. Your heart swells at his tenderness with you. He returns to your bed, motioning you to come closer. 

You waste no time as you rest your head on his chest, looking at the tattoos that intricately swirl in dark ink over his body. His warm hands hold you close, your leg over his, soft fingertips run over his ribs. "That was…" You trail off, blushing as the words evade you. "Yeah, that was everything." Danny smiles, hands gently caressing your back. 

"I've never felt that good before." You confess. "Never?" Danny asks surprised, you shake your head. "I could've guessed, you really weren't lying." Danny smirks. "Can we, um, do this whole thing again sometime?" You ask looking nervously up at his big brown eyes. His eyes light up innocently, "I don't think I could make this a one time thing if I tried." He smiles, his arms subtly hold you tighter. 

"Wanna stay the night?" 

"Baby, I'll never leave if you keep holding me this way."

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[callsigndragon]

Home is where you are | Javy Machado

Summary: Javy misses you and Jake plans him a big surprise.

Pairing: Javy Machado x fem!reader

Requested: Yes!

A/N: This has been sitting on my inbox for MONTHS and I'm so sorry. It's not as long as I wanted it to be, but it's freaking cute and i love it.

warnings: all the fluffs

Homesickness is something that Javy hasn’t experienced before. With his personality, he can fit everywhere and touch everyone's hearts, earning himself a place in every single group he encounters. He is the kind of guy you want to have near, always lighting up the room with his genuine smile. It was impossible for him to feel homesick when he was surrounded by a lot of people. Sure, he missed his home and his family, but he never had a feeling of longing. Not until he met you. 

Falling for you was the easiest thing Javy Machado has ever done. How was he supposed not to? You were, and still are, the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. You were even more beautiful on the inside. Always make him feel happy and giddy all over. It was like you two were a match made in heaven—two souls waiting for years to meet each other. 

And that was what made him feel homesick. 

You weren’t a Naval aviator. You had a normal job and a normal life outside the military world. He was deployed several times during the year, and communicating with you during those times was complicated due to the lack of a proper signal and the time zones. But you two made it work because, as complicated as it was, it was also worth it.

Javy was absolutely worth it. 

He had been deployed for a few weeks before he was called back to Top Gun for a special detachment, and it was an honor to be part of an elite squad, sure, but he was supposed to come back to you once his previous deployment was over. And now he can’t. 

“Jake, is everything okay?” You ask when you answer Jake’s phone. You’ve been friends with him since you started dating Javy, both of them are inseparable. 

“Yeah, yeah, sweets, don’t worry. I’m actually calling you to tell you about our special mission.” 

“You guys are on a special mission, isn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

Jake chuckles, and you can almost hear him rolling his eyes at you. “You and me, Y/n.” 

“Oh, right. What mission?” 

“Javy misses his fiancee, which happens to be you, and I was thinking that maybe we can give him a surprise.” 

You sigh, remembering that neither you nor Javy know when he’s going to be back from Top Gun. “That surprise involves seeing him?” 

“Oh, Mrs. Machado. It involves much more.” 

“Guys, can you tell me what the fuck is happening? Well, can you tell me why Natasha is wearing a suit?” Javy begs for the hundredth time. 

Jake pulled him out of his house this morning, not explaining why he was dragging him out of bed so early, and took him to a dozen different places before going to Mav and Penny’s house, where a brand new tuxedo is hanging in the closet door. The jacket is white, with dark navy blue pants that match the bowtie and pocket square in the same color. 

“Oh my god, what’s this?” Javy walks closer to the tuxedo, his fingertips caressing the material. It’s exactly the same tuxedo he had in his closet back home, waiting for his wedding day. 

“Doesn’t it ring a bell?” Mickey teases grabbing a glass of champagne from a table. 

Well, it looks like the one I have back home.” Javy responds, his eyes never leaving the white attire. 

“Wrong. It’s that one,” mutters Natasha while grabbing the hanger and leaving the clothes on the bed. “Get changed, Coyote. Your special mission starts in twenty minutes!” 

She’s the first one to leave the room, with Rooster, Bob, Payback, and Mickey following right behind. Jake is about to leave when Javy calls him. “Is she here?” 

Jake turns, a smirk on his face. “There’s only one way of finding out, buddy.” 

It takes Javy exactly twenty minutes to get changed, make sure he looks presentable, and walk out of the building, watching how the backyard decoration has been changed to make room for all the chairs and decorations that form the aisle. 

And right at the end of the aisle, waiting for him at the altar, it’s you. 

“Shouldn’t I be waiting for her?” Javy whispers, afraid that speaking a bit louder might wake him up from this dream that he must be having. 

Because there’s no way in hell that he is marrying such an angel as you in real life. This must be a dream. 

“Well, we’ve decided to change the tradition a bit.” Payback explains, placing a hand on his shoulder. “After all, the groom waiting for the bride at the altar is a tradition that doesn’t have any romantic meaning. It was only to make sure that the poor guy didn’t run away.” 

Javy’s eyes wander all over your figure, and he knows that there’s no other place he’d rather be right now. Well, right next to you, holding your hand and kissing you. 

“Ready, buddy?” Jake asks Javy, although he knows the answer already. 

“I’ve never been more ready.” 

Hours later, when the party has calmed down a bit and Javy can take his wife away from the rest of the world for a few minutes, you two walk down the stairs that lead to the beach. Javy carries your heels in his hand, while your free hand, the one that isn’t holding Javy’s, grabs the tail of the dress to make it easier for you to walk on the sand.

“Did you like your surprise?” You say, your thumb caressing the wedding band that you bought without him knowing. 

“It’s the best surprise ever, baby. I still can’t believe we’re married.” He says, the smile never leaves his face. He’s extremely happy.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t marry at home with all your friends and family. I could only get your parents to come,” you explain, your smile faltering because of the lack of guests. 

Javy grabs your face between his hands, kissing the tip of your nose before pressing his forehead against yours. “Babe, my parents were here, and the daggers were too. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” 

“Yeah, that’s true. I guess I’ll have to start packing our things back home and sending them here. I’m now Mrs. Machado.” You joke, but there’s something real behind your words: you have to move all your things to Javy’s house at the base. It’s now your home. 

“Will you be okay moving here?” He questions, afraid that this big change might upset you. He has friends, but he knows that for you, it’s going to be a bit difficult. He can introduce you to Bob and Natasha’s partner, he knows they’re absolute sweethearts and that you’ll get along with them. 

“Yeah, of course. I’m a tough cookie. I can handle a change. But… what about you? Won’t you miss our home?”

“Honey, home is where you are. You are my home. And you make me feel like I’m at home every time. It doesn’t matter if we’re here or in a supermarket. You will always make it feel like home.” 

His words make you tear up a bit, making him chuckle and kiss your tears away. “My, my, Mrs. Machado. I never thought you were a crier.” 

“Shut up, you idiot! I’m emotional.” You whine, slapping his chest, which only makes him laugh more. 

“It’s a very emotional day, baby. Want to go back, steal a bottle of champagne, and make out in Jake’s car?” 

You raise an eyebrow after hearing his offer. “Jake is gonna kill us.” 

“He fucked a random girl in my car back in the academy days. He owes me one.” 

“He’s gonna sanitize the entire car after tonight.” You laugh, turning back to the path that takes you back to the house. 

“That’s Jake’s problem, not mine.” 

@purplevortexx

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[space-blue]

Hi, I love a lot of your meta and analyses. Especially for Arcane. One thing that's bothering me is what exactly was Silco's reputation among the Lanes in act 1? It's odd how Vander seems to say he's worse than enforcers, and Benzo even calls him an animal and immediately tries to charge at Silco after Grayson's death. But we know that Silco only became this ruthless AFTER his attempted murder by Vander. So during the old times when Vander and Benzo knew him, Silco was apparently a "weak man" who wasn't nearly as violent as Vander. So what gives?

Sure, the "animal" line could just be because of the brutal way he killed Grayson and the enforcers, but idk, the way he immediately charges Silco no questions asked seems to indicate something deeper. It's funny too, because Silco murdered only the enforcers that were arresting Vander, and didn't even want to kill Vander until he rejected Silco's plan and refused to join him. So if Benzo just stayed calm and kept his hands to himself Silco would've probably kidnapped them both. Hell, without Benzo's murder hanging over Vander's head, maybe he could've even be persuaded to rejoin Silco for another try at revolution? But the story needs him to refuse, so ofc Benzo had to die.

I'm just wondering why exactly, if Silco was known as the less violent one before Vander tried to kill him, then why do Benzo and Vander in act 1 treat him like he's been a devil the whole time. Did they maybe catch wind of his unpleasant activities while he was underground and building his revolution plans?

Hi Anon! What a great ask! And thank you, you make me blush. It's nice that my horrendous Arcane brain rot actually serves some purpose somehow x'D

This is a very good question and a difficult one—because of the writers. I'm not sure if they really know or care to make sense of Silco and Vander's past. The timeline is shaky and vague. I think they were happy to leave things quite mysterious. Some of us desperately try to unravel it, but the bulk of viewers took it all at face value and concluded that Silco is a horrible man who did horrible things.

This is not me bashing other fans, all theories are valid, but I must admit sometimes I wonder if the Arcane writers managed to convey their point across. Because I've seen quite a few people theorise that Silco did something truly horrible and 'deserved' to be killed by Vander, despite the lack of evidence or accusation, or the show going to great length to harp about Vander's potential for change, of his "monster within" who caves in skulls with his fists.

(Not to mention the casual fans who thought the sun shone out of Vander's ass because they couldn't see past Vi's pov and didn't do dozens of obsessive rewatches like yours truly).

My point is that their relationship is pretty complicated and there are plenty of dissenting theories. And I think a lot of people go one way or the other precisely around those moments you mention. I'm going to give you my theory, but it's very fanon. I'm genuinely a lot less certain about this than some of my other meta. It's just what gels for me considering how I interpret the rest of the show.

I'm going to put this under a cut, because there's a lot!

What exactly was Silco's reputation among the Lanes in act 1?

I don't think Silco was weak. That's him reframing his trauma. Not just weak physically (like obviously he could never fight Vander off fairly), but for having trusted him. Weak for not seeing the betrayal coming, and not coming on top of that conflict. He calls his old self weak because he must believe in his own progress, his own resurrection into a being who can enact his plans at last. 

I think Silco was a beacon of hope and zealotry. I think he was a propaganda machine. Young Silco united a lot of Zaun under the banner of his dream. He probably worked hard, and led the movement. From the way their dialogue goes, the accusation of betrayal, saying "I trusted you", and the manner of Silco's attitude around Vander, I'm of the (generally not that popular) sentiment that Silco was the leader of the early rebellion, and that Vander was his follower. Most likely his right hand man.

In fic I've theorised that Vander, who tells Vi he used to always be so angry and violent, didn't have a channel for said violence until Silco gave him structure and a purpose. Directed that violence at Piltover, at creating (read, carving out) the Lanes.

Which, FYI, are NEVER clarified. We don't know if it's a business model or a territory or both. Writers truly don't care to explain it.

Anyway, Silco speaks of "our dream" and then uses "brother" with a LOT of irony laced in, in reply to Vander's own use of the term. They used to be brothers in arms and Vander believed in that dream. We also know that Vander used to fight for the cause and claims he's "not that man anymore".

He basically was fighting for team Silco—team Zaun—right until the day of the betrayal.

Then we're told by Vander that Silco had his respect, the Lanes' respect, "but that... was never enough for you". We're also told by Sevika that Vander created the Lanes.

This suggests to me that Silco and Vander created the Lanes together. 

I assume that over time Vander started seeing Silco's plans as too greedy, while leading the Lanes seemed ideal. 'Good enough', if you will. Vander is small minded where Silco is aiming for the sun. One wants too little and the other too much. Silco says they 'shared a vision, dreams of freedom, not just for the Lanes but for the whole of the Underground, united as One'. They used to dream of Zaun together... And then Vander realised Silco would tear the Lanes apart if it would serve his purpose (to attack Piltover). 

I think he didn't believe it'd work (and given what we see of Piltover vs. Zaun before shimmer, it might not have), and realised he wanted to rule the Lanes. Vander would now see Silco's dreams as too dangerous.

I know some people in the Zaundads community who theorised that Vander was influenced in turning on Silco by Benzo or others. It's not my prefered theory.

I think Vander wanted the Lanes for himself, and knew that Silco was too zealous to ever stop. We don't know why he got so (intimately) violent. Why they were in the Pilt. We see Vander first very cold, slowly drowning Silco, then very hot and brutal, once he's been hurt. I think he was very different indeed from the genial Vander we know in arc 1. Young Vander is the guy who carved the Lanes with his fists. The guy who built the reputation old Vander still coasts on. A guy known by foreigners! In short, it doesn't really help to look at him through the old Vander lens. He did what he did..

And THEN, he hid the (most likely black and contaminated) wound from Silco's knife. While Silco wears his scar unashamed for what must be a decade or two, Vander has his arm constantly covered. This speaks of shame to me. We know he had regrets too :

Truly a young, impulsive, violent man, who rushed into a bad decision and has regretted it since. I can picture a young Vander missing his best friend, his guiding light, and yet finally becoming the leader he wanted to be. Curtailing Silco's uprising entirely and settling, at least until his own revolt. 

We know there was only one time where the rebellion went ahead, and that was well after Silco left. Vander, to the assembled Lanes people, says "we crossed that bridge once before". It's the era where he still had Silco's respect, but was immediately followed by his pact with Grayson. Which Silco knew of.

Sorry... I'm rambling to try and get all the details in... Almost there.

Finally we come to Vander holding his (shamefully hidden) wound and saying "there's worse things than enforcers out there, we both know that."

And I'm not sure WHAT HE MEANS!! Like, this is not proof he knows Silco is alive. My personal feeling is that Vander believes there's a chance Silco might be alive, but he's not actively taking precautions like that's a possibility. Silco's attack wouldn't have come out of left field and taken them so completely by surprise otherwise.

There are plenty of things worse than enforcers. Including himself!! He could mean competing chembarons. He could mean someone wanting his seat. He could mean anything, it's infuriating. 

Anyway, I think Vander came back from the Pilt with a bad stab wound and a story. I think he told everyone that Silco attacked him and died. That he turned traitor. Or any other bullshit story. But I believe he did what any new illegitimate ruler does, and shat all over Silco's reputation. Or else cried some crocodile tears over him and called him dead. But Silco never stepped back into the open, so Vander making him persona non grata is more likely. 

Whatever the case, Vander had completely taken over the Lanes by the time Silco was in good enough health to show up.

Did they run into each other? Did Vander scare him off again? I'm not sure, but I don't think so. Vander looks way too shocked when he realises who's showing up at the murder party. This isn't the expression of someone who is used to thwarting schemes. This isn't the Batman's face when the Joker appears with mischief around a street corner.

Meanwhile, why would Benzo react so negatively to Silco? The well respected man who was betrayed (a fact Vander owns up to and APOLOGISES for), who was half drowned and mutilated by Vander's hand... Yet Benzo immediately calls him an animal (which, you're right, could be in reaction to stepping into a mass killing—which, fair), and tells him to "crawl back into whatever hole he came out of."

I feel like this is the reaction of someone who thinks "wow, it's the cunt who harmed my bestie 20 years ago and (insert Vander's lies about him). Who knew he was still alive?"

Meanwhile, Vander looks like it's judgement day. I think he has excellent reasons to be afraid. He stole the Lanes, destroyed Silco's dreams, ruined his rep, drove him out of the Underground... and somehow Silco stayed under the radar all this time? And now he's got killer monsters? Of course he'd be scared. Vander knows how intense Silco used to be, and knows how guilty he himself is. I think he believes all bets are off. Precisely because Silco never had a reputation as a weak man. 

I mean, consider! If Vander was mega violent under Silco's guidance... If they built the Lanes together... If Silco was the leader who helped Vander redirect his rage... Then Silco clearly didn't mind being extremely violent. He didn't mind unleashing "the Hound" on the people who stood in the way of Zaun. 

((I think Silco's "weak" narrative is a self soothing framing device. That he's recontextualising himself, making a philosophy of life. After all, he tries to use these same terms to speak to Jinx about her own trauma, while failing to grasp that while he was at his weakest, Powder was at her strongest. His personal motto of letting the weak die doesn't work for Jinx.))

It's very revealing that Vander says "Benzo stay back!" and Silco says "you never did know when to walk away." Like if he'd stayed back and then walked away, he'd have been fine. I fully agree that this tells us that Vander thinks Silco is only after him. That he wouldn't kill Benzo needlessly. Needless deaths were probably never Silco's style, as someone wanting to 'unite' the Underground. And after all, he's not even here to kill Vander, but to recruit him.

So, yeah... In conclusion (at last lol) 

Silco was never weak, simply too big a dreamer, someone who wouldn't surrender his lofty ideals for the reality of being one of the most powerful men in the Undercity. Ultimately he got in young Vander's way. Vander impulsively sacrificed Silco for his own desire to rule the Lanes. Then he turned around, shameful and regretful, and lied to everyone about it as he usurped Silco's place and became the Lanes' sole leader. 

(I personally theorised in several fics that the last Drop was actually Silco's, and that Vander took over it after the betrayal, partially explaining why Silco never leaves the place after his own takeover. Complicated feelings + it was his and fuck Vander lol)

I don't believe Benzo or Vander have any clue about Silco's plans, and simply react based on what they know and imagine (Benzo based on whatever Vander told him, and Vander based on how fucked he has to be and how insanely dedicated Silco must still be). I believe Vander has a lot of double agents in his midst (Sevika, Syd), and people who've been keeping tabs on him for years. 

Counter-argument : Marcus says he spoke to one of Vander's "old friends" and that he "wasn't always so peaceful". You could think this may have tipped Vander off... But how many people did he leave behind or crush when creating the Lanes? How many people hate him for leading the failed uprising? I think it's still plausible that Vander doesn't suspect Silco's involvement. 

Vander just lacks cunning. Another final argument for him being totally clueless is that he had a direct line to Grayson, and a quick, 'Hey, okay I'll tell you who stole your stuff' pointing fingers towards Silco would have entirely solved the situation for him.

Yet he never is shown to consider it. 

PHEW. I think that covers it?? I think I covered every point? At least that's how I interpret this situation, even though it relies heavily on my own fanon readings of the timeline and a lot of other details. 

If anyone disagrees with this, or wants to double down, as always go crazy. I love me a meta pile on. 

#arcane #arcane netflix #arcane meta #meta #silco #vander #vanco #zaundads #benzo #arcane silco #arcane vander #arcane benzo #arcane marcus #grayson #jinx #anon ask #meta ask #thanks for the ask anon

[marveloustimestwo]

Sick (Part 1/?)

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while now, but all of one (1) person asked if there was going to be a sequel to the original, so here you go. Hope you enjoy :)

*Also, I should mention that everyone is college-aged/above 18.

Warnings: Yandere themes, Peter being a creep and a stalker, kidnapping at the end.

Summary: In a world where everyone had forgotten him, Peter Parker has to deal with the aftereffects of losing you.

Pairing: Yandere! Peter Parker x Reader.

Prologue

It was Christmas morning when you first noticed you had a stalker.

At the time, you hadn't really thought much about it. Walking out of your apartment first thing in the morning, you barely managed to avoid stepping on the neatly wrapped box that sat on your welcome mat.

You had assumed it was from a family member or friend, even when it had no name on it other than your own. When asked, though, MJ, Ned, and everyone else you were even semi-close to all seemed genuinely confused about where it came from.

Once again, you shrugged it off. It was something you had wanted for a while now, so even if it was a bit strange, you weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It had clearly been addressed to you on a sparkly red and green tag, so it wasn't like you were opening someone else's gift.

But when Christmas ended, you began to notice other strange occurrences. Certain possessions of yours had gone missing, though you couldn't find any sign of a break-in. Several of your most-worn shirts had gone missing, as well as the body scrub you knew was only half-full.

None of your jewelry had gone missing, nor any of the electronics or the cash you kept stored around. Any of the obvious things someone would take from you remained. Considering nothing of actual value had been taken, it seemed ridiculous to assume someone was trying to rob you, but it was the only explanation you had. You were single, lived alone, and any friends you brought over never had the time to steal that many shirts. You swear you would've caught them at this point.

It's a month after that when you start to think you have a stalker. At first, you think you're being stupid again. It sounds stupid to even think that Spider-man of all people would be following you. He helps people, and you know this because, despite the video of him and Mysterio, he saved you.

It had been three times at this point. Once when you had gotten caught up in a fight at the Statue of Liberty; you couldn't even remember what reason you had for being up there, but you were sure it wasn't a good one. He had gotten you out of the way of a strange villain on a glider, and after that, all you remembered was waking up in your apartment the next morning.

A second when a villain had shown up right next to your work; Spider-man had been the one to show up, and had saved you from an incoming piece of debris.

The third seemed so minor compared to the rest but had solidified your opinion of him. You had been walking home late from work when a group of guys had attempted to rob you. Despite the late hour, Spiderman had been out and ready to save you. He even stuck around to walk you home, and you were surprised by how young he sounded while cracking jokes.

Which is why you were so confused now. You had seen him far too often now. You had tried to reason that he was a street hero, so it wasn't uncommon to see him swinging around the city, yet in the past four weeks, he's swung past your apartment over a dozen times and gone past your work even more. Sometimes you'll even swear you can even hear someone hanging around your fire escape late at night, despite you being on the sixteenth floor.

You had asked yourself countless times now why he would be following you of all people. You're just one civilian in a city full of people.

So why did you find yourself with a rag of chloroform over your mouth one night, only to look back and see a familiar red mask before unconsciousness took over?

#yandere #yandere peter parker #yandere spiderman #yandere marvel

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Disabled reader x jason angst?

You were used to feeling invisible. You and your cane and your dog against the world. For a long time, you'd even prefer it that way. It felt better. Safer.

No expectations. No disappointments.

And then Jason noticed.

It was impossible to hide from him. He was there. At every turn. Seeing things most people over looked. He wanted to protect you. Aware of you, hearing the things that you didn't say. He made you believe you deserved the things you'd quietly put away. As secret little longings, pulled out to torment yourself on the nights you were in too much pain to sleep.

With Jason you were never invisible. Until now.

From the minute you'd arrived at the Gala, he'd hardly had time to look at you. Pulled in different directions. People demanding his attention. Pretty women; women who didn't have to wear flats with custom orthotics and lean on canes, were flirting with him.

And you were relegated to the background.

No one noticed you- Or Cola, being the best boy. As you did your best impersonation of a potted plant, watching another woman hang on him, you felt stupid. "Time to go home, Cola?" you murmur, reaching down to pat his head.

A pathetic little tail switch and a whine made you smile a little and you let Cola lead you towards a door. It didn't, evidently, matter if you were there or not. So why be there?

It felt like Prom. And a dozen other parties and dances and Galas before. And all you wanted to do was cry. You hadn't even wanted to go. You'd wanted to stay home and get work done. But Jason insisted. If he had to go he wanted to go with you.

____

Alfred looked up from the letter he was writing and frowned. No one was supposed to be home for hours- but when he heard the telltale clicking of claws on the floor and the clack of a cane- and no accompanying heavier steps, his frown deepened.

"Everything alright, my dear?" he asked, standing, ready to offer assisstance.

"Fine, Alfred," you murmur, not looking at him. "I was just-"

"You've been crying," he said sternly, folding his arms.

"Just a headache," you sigh, wiping your nose on the sleeve of your coat before bending slightly to unclip the dog's leash. "I didn't want anyone to worry."

He made a soft disbelieving noise, but didn't press. He'd seen a headache make you cry. But this reeks of something far less medical in nature. "Master Jason didn't see you home?"

"He was busy," you answer shrugging, "It's aright-"

"It certainly is not," Alfred said, making a note to have words with him about it. While you were perfectly capable of getting around, he'd feel better knowing you had more than your faithful hound to protect you.

"Please," you sigh, "I just want to go to bed."

Alfred nodded, frowning. And watched as Cola trailed after you, keeping close to your side. His back against your hip.

_____

The slap caught him off guard when he walked through the door. To be perfectly honest, it caught them all off guard.

Silencing the chatter and complaining as they all walked through the door.

"Alfred what the-"

"I'm doing it because Miss Y/N is too upset to do it herself," he said sternly.

"She had a headache!" he protested.

"If you really believe that you're an idiot," Alfred scolded. "It's not like it isn't all over social media."

Bruce folded his arms, watching several pieces fall into place and suppressed and sigh with effort. He'd watched you leave. Slinking out like you usually did, as soon as everyone was distracted. Looking hurt. Looking tired. And like it usually did, it made his chest hurt. But this time it made him angry.

"Fuck." Jason groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is she still awake?"

Alfred shrugged elegantly, "If she is, she declined to answer the door when I went to inquire if she wanted anything from the kitchen. And as is his custom, Cola kept his own council."

Jason nodded slowly and took off his jacket, rubbing the side of his face as he walked down the hall. He was genuinely surprised Alfred hadn't punched him. He would have punched him.

#Jason Todd #Jason Todd x reader #anon ask #ask answered #disabled!reader #minors dni

[barbiegirldream]

Lying in bed with a tummy ache tell me about your werewolf boys situationship

so the benvolio and nori situationship requires some sim lore context. And this I'm going going to shove it all under a cut

along with the werewolf update came fated mates. basically if you have romantic interactions as a werewolf the game is like ahh fated mates. there are mods to tone this down and make it genuinely random but it also means Any occult type can become a fated mate with a werewolf not Just a werewolf.

Werewolves are also incredibly aggressive. Their rage meter means they are prone to getting angry and arguing with other sims. When they wolf out they piss everywhere and break things and will on occasion attack people. Romeo never attacked Summer and she was genuinely super chill about the werewolf thing to a large degree. Romeo's spellcaster children were okay with him and his werewolf children never challenged him. But each other? It's active work to maintain a relationship with normal werewolves I've learned. And I think it's cause Romeo ended up the alpha of the pack? That is a thing the sims coded in like the hierarchy is there.

in any case long story short Benvolio is the 3rd of the werewolf children and the 5th child. He met a girl in high school named Nori. They attended prom together.

The game declared them fated mates. they got married at the love festival. they had a baby girl named Mika. Mika's werewolf side is dormant and even though he's a werewolf Benvolio still has spellcaster lineage so Mika got that too.

But then Nori froze to death literally immediately after coming home I don't know what she was doing.

annoying but not Actually a problem. see Summer is a full spell maxxed out witch. All Benvolio had to do was call up mom say wife died help. Summer pops over ghost summoning spell + resurrection spell and bob's your uncle.

Except this is Benvolio Romeo's life. His uncles are werewolves and witches. Nori is a normal sim woman. and for whatever reason their romance and friendship bars were totally depleted upon resurrection. and Nori didn't live in the house anymore. so story wise I took this as her being too freaked by this all and running. cause all attempts to restablish the relationship are met with Nori freaking out about werewolf stuff and their bond failing

Benvolio raised Mika into childhood alone. (Actually pictured is Mika's oldest uncle Mercutio holding her)

Grandmother Summer with Mika while Benvolio finishes making sandwiches.

And Nori is around to hang out with Mika. this time she wants to flirt for some reason. and we get her good enough. she comes back. then risky woohoo on they bang Nori is pregnant. All of that not pictured as I just... don't have pictures for it for some reason but I remember it.

Yeah I don't really know what caused such a large picture gap. But here is Mika hugging her little brother Yuji (yes named after Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen). Yuji also got sentiments for his older sister constantly like he loved her soooo much.

Here is teenage Mika playing with Yuji. She is way older than him as you can see.

amidst this Nori gets pregnant again so Benvolio proposes to his wife... you know so they can remarry after her death. It's not pictured here but it is impossible to maintain a relationship with these two. All they do is argue because Benvolio has the Big Bad Wolf temperament. So he gets mad she gets mad they get grudges their mad around each other. Benvolio's rage meter grows Quickly when enraged because of his temperament. He rampages and Nori freaks out on him making him feel guilty for upsetting her. And Benvolio is full wolf and bathes himself with his tongue pisses on the ground scratches furniture eats raw meat and Nori Hates it.

Anyways Nori has little baby Jae and she only wishes to be held. And the rage is so bad I've had to bring in Carmen a simbot made by the 5th generation heir to watch his kid and she's been a mother to dozens of kids. She can make sure the kids are being taken care of while Nori and Benvolio yell at each other in the corner.

Remarried !!

To note in the background of this wedding photo is outside was a bunch of werewolves howling. It frightened Mika who picked up little Jae and booked it. Benvolio I don't even know why he was in the apology animation but Nori was frightened by all the howling so I sent her home early. Benvolio went outside and howled with his family.

Here is Yuji's birthday. Benvolio is glowing red he's pissed he and Nori had just gotten into it.

Benvolio in wolf form has actually brawled with Nori so I've in cas added some werewolf scars to her body cause I think it's fitting. Still debating what to do with them. Benvolio has bad affinity with everyone he meets and Nori is his soulmate. But Nori has great affinity with everyone she meets and I think should get to divorce him and move out again. Thoughts anybody?

#sims screenshots

[keicordelle]

The Daily Inconveniences of an Au Ra: Dancing

The unfamiliar melody slinked through Keshet's ears. Dozens of bodies spun on the open floor before him, skirts twirling and jewels flashing as the nobility of Ishgard showed off their finest dancing skills in one of their ever ubiquitous and eternally frustrating balls.

Frustrating because someone always wanted to dance with Keshet. Usually several someones these days, now that he'd been here a little while and people had started to take notice of him. He was an oddity if nothing else, and his placement in the Fortemps household attracted attention even if he wasn't universally beloved as the Warrior of Light here. So he spent most of his time fending off invitation after invitation to dance, hanging as close as he possibly could to the glass-lined walls and ensuring he had a drink or some little duck-liver-adorned cracker in his hand at all times so he had an excuse to wave them off.

It wasn't that he couldn't dance. He wasn't the best at it, but neither was he known to make a fool of himself when the occasion called for it. It was just that this, this slow twirling and sweeping gestures and impossibly coordinated exchanges... This wasn't dancing. This was... Well, he wasn't sure what it was, exactly. War, insofar as he could tell, based on the terse smiles and thinly veiled barbs he'd seen tossed around the ballroom tonight.

He supposed there was some grace to the flowing motions that seemed fairly commonplace on the dance floor. It was elegant, in the way that Ishgardians liked to pretend to be. Some of the couples had even genuinely impressed him. Aymeric seemed to float across the ground when he danced, large, sweeping steps carrying him through the twisting bodies around him without ever breaking his posture. Even Keshet would be hard-pressed to match those strides, and he had another half fulm of leg on the man.

But for the most part, it was insufferably boring. The black suited servants drifting around with trays of tiny food were by far the highlight of these evenings, even if their snacks were scarcely more than half a mouthful. And there was alcohol, which made the evening both more bearable and less, because it had the unfortunate tendency to leave his head split open and throbbing come morning.

And yet somehow he kept finding himself at these things, visible reluctance or no. Alphinaud was supposed to be chaperoning him, but the boy had twice as many invitations to dance as Keshet did, and he didn't seem to be able to turn them down. Keshet hadn't seen him since some shorter-eared woman had invited him onto the dance floor some two bells prior.

"Come now, my friend! Don't look so put out!" Keshet managed to wipe the grimace off his face before he looked up to meet Haurchefant's gaze. The implacable Elezen was alone, and nary a drink in his hand. That boded ill. "What say you to a dance? I know 'tis not your favorite pastime, but if you spend all your time making friends with the walls, then people are going to start thinking you antisocial."

Honestly Keshet didn't see what the problem was with being seen as antisocial, but experience told him he wasn't likely to get away from Haurchefant's prodding until he gave in. Better get it over with sooner rather than later. "One dance," he declared sternly.

Haurchefant wasn't fazed. "I wouldn't dream of imposing on you further."

They both knew that was a lie, but Keshet took his hand anyway and let him lead him out onto the dance floor. Excitable whispers followed them, and Keshet did his best to tune them out. Better he just focus on the placement of his feet anyway.

The music started, and their dance started with it. It was a livelier piece, thank Nhaama — even if that meant Haurchefant's steps moved quicker than Keshet could comfortably keep up with. But for the first time all night, he could feel the pulse of the music beating through his chest, and his body itched to move with it. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was alone on the Steppe, just him and the music under Nhaama's brilliant moon.

When he was asked about it later (and he would be asked about it later, frequently and at length) Keshet could only say that his body moved on its own. It wasn't his decision to stray from the elegant home that Haurchefant had on him. It certainly wasn't his decision to shift from the sweeping steps of a fumbling Ishgardian waltz into the curt motions of a traditional Steppe lunar dance. And it most absolutely was not his intention to crash into the couple dancing three yalms back from them, knocking the woman to the floor and spilling champagne all over her dress.

But on the plus side, no one asked him to attend any balls after that.

-

Read the rest of the series on Ao3!

FIRST | PREV | NEXT

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #au ra wol #haurchefant greystone #ffxiv fanfiction #keshet dotharl #daily inconveniences #my writing #~k #woo first time I've ever been caught up with the daily inconveniences posts!

[haupkmn]

Copypasted from my conversation with Jolee.

Mostly me having a breakdown while ranting

I get that me saying this much probably isn't helping anything at all but ever since this callout shit started its gotten worse. I was actually out as my family, the whole situation is complicated as fuck but basically my parents don't like other gay people and don't like that I'm "committed" to being trans. I didn't want most of my IRL friends knowing I'm a system because it's fucking embarrassing and it's a fact about me I really don't like.

People have edited my skin white knowing I'm black, people have put my face on the pictures of monkeys people have posted pictures my groomer took of me that basically count as CSEM. At one point there was an kink dating account roleplaying as me and a fucking Chris Chan ass wiki.

I get that would happen in the past was wrong and I can't change that I'm trying my best to afford from it and let everyone involve who I've actually hurt heal but literally every single day I feel like they are watching me in some sort of capacity because they are friends with one of the people who groomed me.

I'm not a liar, I'm genuinely not. I just want to be left alone so I can spend one fucking day without having a paranoid episode thinking they're watching me through some camera or somehow bugging wires in my apartment which I know probably isn't real but it's terrifying because I've had people involved with this go to my parents house and throw trash around the yard or spray paint shit on the house or go to my fucking old high school and take pictures of it at night. and I just want this to end.

There was some fucking thing I got in my submit box on my 18th birthday of someone posting a a picture of them in front of my house dabbing in front of my fucking bedroom window with my parents and I weren't home.

It's been almost five years since the shift starts I've had to move twice and change my number three or four times because some people on here keep posting and there's several blogs on here with my fucking dead name on it and I just want to be left alone.

I've explained the situation with my dog dozens upon dozens of times and I understand that no one would want to believe me because I'm apparently a liar for having shit memory or bad system communication issues or generally was a shitty person in the past.

I'm so paranoid about this because I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to hurt children and I never have and I'm just so scared of this continuing and some people in the mod team have spoken to them before, one or two have had callouts from them.

I'm not trying to ask for pity or anything like that because I don't deserve it but please no I'm not trying to turn you against or anything, I genuinely think that you try to apologize they harass you because they've been harassing me for trying to apologize.

I've been so fucking nervous because every day I keep getting phone calls from different places where people just scream into the phone and hang up. I'm honestly at the point where if there's a fucking kiwi Farms page about me I don't want to know it and I don't want to see it because all of this has been terrifying.

I don't like adult baby shit or baby first shit I think it's all fucking disgusting because age regression as a whole is a huge fucking trigger for me that I don't want to get into with DMS with you that you're probably going to send them. My friend who calls himself a baby for just put the two words together as a term cuz it's the best definition he has at the moment and I'm sorry I can't stop shaking and crying I literally just want to be a left alone.

We'll keep saying I want to do pity but I don't. I never wanted pity. I did do bad things

I am so scared of my family finding out that I'm allegedly a pedophile or have abused my fucking dog when I haven't. I fucking haven't I will drop everything and leave work to show you the printed out texts and vet bills uncensored and a note from the police saying my mom dragged me down to the police station and made me do a lie detector test or else she was going to bash my dog's fucking skull in with a rock knowing the exact police at that station broke my fucking spine.

I want to stop thinking that they're constantly watching me somehow or that they have something going on or they're talking to literally everyone I know to the point where I can't talk to my friends anymore, I've been avoiding my boyfriend and working away from people at work because of this.

Every fucking time the phone rings at either one of my jobs I immediately freeze thinking that they got me, they're going to tell my boss about me they're going to tell my boss that I did something even though I didn't. I literally just want to fucking rest I want to be left alone so badly to the point that I dropped every single fucking convention I ever worked for and I'm coming close just asking them to blacklist me and reject all of my applications.

At any thought that moment they could be following me, they could be watching me, I don't know what they're doing or what they're planning but they're doing something that's so scary because apparently everyone I've ever known or care about might be in contact with them if they've ever used fucking Tumblr or maybe not even just used Tumblr.

Honestly if I got a fucking text from my abusive ass mother telling me that Sunny messaged her I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if someone came into my job or came to my apartment or saw me on the street did literally fucking anything like recognizing my name or my face or my voice or I don't even fucking know I want to be left alone.

It has been five fucking years and I have lost a dozens of friends because of my paranoia and my PTSD episodes and literally got diagnosed with pocd because of this, I mean I had it before but I got the diagnosis probably 2 years ago when they started talking about me supporting ddlg shit which I fucking don't. I don't want to support something that literally made me a goddamn system I don't want to support that sort of thing, I support my friend because I care about them and don't like the shit that they do I literally just want to be left alone. That's all I've wanted this entire time. I'm pissed at the mods have some sort of stupid beef with them that they can't drop but I just want to be left alone.

Day in and day out I have a mutual come to me on a non message me and say something like hey they're talking about you again and then suddenly I got a fucking screenshot on Discord which I never wanted

I don't like hearing this, I don't like seeing this or thinking about it because what unquote drama like this really freaks me the fuck out.

That's probably sounds like some sort of I don't fucking no schizo rambling or something but it's the office fucking truth I just want to be left alone because I don't know what's going to happen next.

It wasn't great waking up on my 18th birthday and seeing that someone who's really close with my groomer found out I had a not safe at work blog as a kid and was we reblogging every single weird post on it that I made with my obscure fucking trigger as the header making fun of me for being 14. The age I made when I made that blog. The fact that these people knew about that blog for possibly years where I posted pictures of myself because my groomer made me it's so fucking scary, and that they saved them apparently and they may still have them. I don't know.

Something's word genuine mistakes. I didn't know about that one Nazi newgrounds cartoon I never on a new grounds as a kid and never saw the actual animation. A mutual made fan are a long time ago when I reblogged it and not knowing what it was.

Even the big mouth shit isn't fucking true. I was drunk on call a long time ago with some ex friends when they pointed out I used to dress like one of the characters from the show and we all started joking about kinning from the show assigned each other characters. I haven't fucking seen it I don't have a fjckkng Netflix account.

This isn't fun. I never enjoyed this. I don't want this. Literally all I want is to be left alone and be some fucking guy on the internet and not have people constantly tracking my whereabouts on my jobs or what fucking ever I don't care. I was never run off I remade because people kept posting my old phone number

I just want to be left alone

#a wild situation appeared! #not pokemon

[mishibashimori]

Two Of Us || Cecil Stedman x Reader || Chapter 5

Synopsis: You are an alien who crash landed onto Earth. You have no name, and no more home to go back to. The Guardians of the Globe have rescued you and brought you to get intensive care under the great Cecil Stedman. In helping out your new home, Earth, will you develop a relationship with the coldest man you know?

General Info: AFAB Gender Neutral Reader, Cecil is Younger in the Beginning and it Will Lead to Current Events, Reader is a Bubbly Optimist, Reader Description is Intentionally Vague so You can Imagine the Alien Species They Are However You’d Like

TW: Verbal and Physical Past Abuse, Failed Pregnancy Mentions, Depression, Self Depreciation, Eventual Sexual Content.

—————————

It had been a few days since you and Cecil had your drunken night. It wasn’t intentional that you hadn’t spoken since then, at least not on your end, but it grew worrisome in your mind. You learned Cecil wasn’t the most fluent in conveying— well, anything he was thinking, in the six months you’ve known him. Whether he did it on purpose or not you really hadn’t figured out yet. But that night was the most genuine you’d ever seen him. You’d be lying if you said it hadn’t been on your mind, and that it definitely did not give you a giddy feeling. Yet it seemed that something changed that night as well, and not for the better. Regardless, you decided to settle your troublesome torrent of thoughts this morning.

After walking around for a bit longer than you’d like to admit, you finally found the cafeteria in this maze of a place and grabbed a dozen donuts. You weren’t entirely sure what flavor he liked- they all seemed so good- so you just got as much as you could. On your wander you had even stopped by to check on Alana. She was still unconscious but doing much better after your help. Holly had been there, too. After giving her your regards, you set off again.

Finally, you spotted Cecil. It had taken a few questions to lingering agents in the halls about his whereabouts, but you found him. He was standing in the middle of a room full of people on computers, his hands in his pockets and his posture tall, commanding. His back was turned to you as he busily gave orders, so you decided to hang back and wait. Taking a seat, you set the box of donuts on the table in front of you and turned to an agent busily typing away.

“Hello.” You greeted, giving a smile.

The agent, a young man of maybe nineteen, gave a startled noise and turned to you for a brief moment. “Oh, hello. Um, did you need something?”

“Not particularly,” you cocked your head, “just wanted to say hello.”

The man gave you an inquisitive look behind his sunglasses but responded politely. “Oh, well, my name is Donald. Nice to meet you.”

Before you could respond, you sensed a presence walking up to your other side. Turning, you were met with the steely blue eyes of Cecil. Your happy expression immediately faltered at the look on his face.

“Can I talk to you in private?” He asked lowly, throwing a warning glance at Donald. Immediately taking the hint, Donald spun back around and busied himself once more.

“Of course.” You grabbed the box of donuts and followed Cecil out of the room. An uncomfortable squirm in your stomach grew as he took you a good few feet away from the door and turned to face you.

“I can’t be irresponsible anymore,” he started, emotion void in his voice. “From now on, you and I will remain professional. We aren't friends, and we don’t have a relationship other than being colleagues.” The expression on your face must’ve been absolutely miserable, because Cecil’s own face shifted quickly to something painful for a brief moment before he steeled himself again.

“Why?” You asked, your voice wavering a bit.

Cecil took a deep breath before responding. “This job is dangerous, and time consuming. I can’t let emotions cloud my judgment on anything. I got too involved with you.” There was a long silence that followed his words as you took them in. Cecil drew himself up, seemingly steadfast in his belief as he squared his shoulders. You bowed your head.

“I see.” Without further prompting, you gently set the box of donuts into his hands and gave a small nod. Grief grew like gnarled vines in your chest, making your throat tight. It took everything in you to choke out words. “Thank you for all you’ve done. I’ll leave you be.”

Cecil looked almost shocked, as if he didn’t expect you to react so amiably, though he recovered quickly. “I hope you understand that this is for the best.” He said softly. His tone and face were as cold and emotionless as ever, almost how it was when you had first met him. You just simply walked away, numbly gazing at the floor. Something in you was screaming to look back, but you fought it. Cecil had been transparent and firm on his word, there was no reason to challenge him.

It wasn’t clear where you were planning to go, so you just resided yourself to wander once more around the halls of the GDA. Eventually your feet led you to the hospital wing of the building. Mustering up what little optimism was left in you today, you made your way to Alana’s room. Upon entering you found Holly sat beside your friend, gently stroking her forehead. “Hey Holly.”

Holly jerked her head up, obviously startled by your sudden presence. “Oh, it’s just you.” She sounded relieved. “Hello.” She gestured to a chair on the opposite side of Alana’s hospital bed where you took a seat. “How’re you this morning? Your body feeling better?”

“My body?” You echoed, momentarily confused. Realization slowly crept back to you. How could you have forgotten the accident that landed you here in the first place? Your mind was really roaming away from you. “Oh, yes. It’s doing much better. I feel a lot stronger.”

Holly gazed at you for a while in silence. “How’s your mind? You seem out of it.”

“I’m okay.” You responded almost immediately. The events were still pretty fresh in your mind, having happened only a short time ago. Your brain was still reeling from the emotions you felt. It would be hard to put them into words.

“You can talk to me, if you’d want to.” Holly prompted gently.

Your eyes lingered on Alana, still unconscious in her hospital bed. “You have more than enough to deal with at the moment. I’ll be okay.” There was another long lapse into silence as you both sat. The beeping and whir of medical machines was the only noise, and you slowly relaxed into your chair at the rhythmic sound. Letting your mind wander, your gaze traveled around the room in an almost dazed state until it somehow landed on your wrist. The teleportation device was still strapped onto it. “Hey Holly, how long have you known Cecil?”

“Ah,” she gave a slight chuckle, “so that’s what’s wrong.”

A flush of embarrassment hit your cheeks, “what does that mean?” The words came out a little louder than you meant them to.

“We could all see you two getting close. He seems to care for you a great deal. And you always had that love-struck puppy look in your eyes.” She gazed down at Alana fondly, as if remembering something. “I look at Alana the same way.” Then she turned to you, a bit more of a somber expression on her face. “But he’s a closed off man. You have to be, if you do what he does. I can only guess he’s made that apparent to you.”

“He has.” You said meekly. “I respect his decision, however much I’d like it to be different.”

“Cecil has a lot of responsibility. He protects a great many people. To be that much of an omniscient force, you can’t let your judgment get clouded.” As Holly spoke, you bowed your head. You knew what she was saying was true, but it didn’t make it hurt less. “But,” she began again, “when you care for someone, it doesn’t just go away. He may not have a choice whether to let you go or not.”

You looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Holly sat up straight, her eyes clear and intense. Her words were passionate as she spoke. “The Guardians of the Globe have a similar responsibility in protecting the city. We are in constant danger.” She gave a sad glance towards Alana. “When I fell in love with Alana, I tried my best to ignore it. Situations like this are unpredictable. Any one of us could die any day.” She looked back to you, now holding your gaze steadily. “But I realized that I was going to love her either way. If we were together, or if we decided to distance ourselves, it didn’t matter. I would rather fight alongside her knowing that we shared memories and love, than to have her die and not of shared anything.”

“That’s beautiful.” You responded, smiling softly.

Holly wiped a stray tear from her eye before continuing, “I know it might be a little too early for love between you and Cecil. But if you want your relationship to grow, and he does as well, there’s nothing that should stop you.” She reached her hand towards you, and you grasped it gently. “Give him time. He’s a stuffy government agent with a lot on his mind. Let him come to terms with whatever he may be feeling. Your emotions should be taken into account too. I know it’s hard but, well, you didn’t exactly choose the easiest man to fall for.”

You gave a laugh at that, and Holly smiled at you. “Thank you. I’ll think on it.” You rose to your feet. “Will you be alright here on your own? I could grab you something to eat if you’d like.”

“I’ll be alright.” Holly responded, giving your hand a squeeze before letting go. “Go get your mind off of things.”

With a goodbye you headed off, your optimism reignited. Perhaps it wasn’t all too bad. You didn’t plan on stomping on Cecil’s wishes, but you wanted to give one last chance to rekindle your relationship. Feeling invigorated, you decided to stop by the Guardian’s training grounds.

Rounding up on the entrance, you sprinted through, feeling your muscles work wonderfully under your skin. After being confined in the hospital for so long, it felt good to stretch your endurance. You hadn’t had the chance to in a while. The training grounds opened into a wide, long space of pure white. A few pieces of exercise equipment were lined up neatly against the walls, but for the most part it was an empty room with an opportunity to test your abilities.

Like a firecracker you whistled through the perimeter of the room, occasionally taking bounds and leaps for fun. Your heart was pumping, the adrenaline of joy spurring you on. It wasn’t until you saw Josef and Immortal standing at the entrance that you screeched to a halt. The pair exchanged looks with each other along with money.

“What’s that about?” You panted, gesturing towards the twenty dollar bill in Josef’s hand.

“We made a bet that your species would get ‘zoomies’ when you were happy.” Immortal replied, an amused expression on his face.

“It’s more common than you think. Even I get them.” Josef added, shoving the money in his pocket.

“You’re the Red Rush, you always have them.” Immortal jeered, playfully jabbing Josef with his elbow. He turned his attention back to you. “So, what’s got you so excited?”

“Did Cecil finally confess his feelings for you, zabavnaya veshch’?” Josef waggled his eyebrows at you. You gave him a sour expression, and he immediately reeled back. “What, really? Was only a joke.”

“No, not exactly,” you responded, still out of breath, “it’s complicated.”

Immortal leaned back, a thoughtful look on his face. “We knew you two were getting close but— Cecil? Really? That man has feelings?” He gave a hearty laugh. “It’s not that we think you’re hard to like but Cecil is- well, Cecil. We only joked about romance between you two. Didn’t think it was actually real.”

“Well I don’t know, like I said, it's complicated.” You gave him an exasperated sigh.

“What are you guys, high schoolers?” A new voice piped up behind the pair of superheros. You lean up on your tiptoes, peering over their heads to see Darkwing strolling up. “Gossiping about crushes.”

“You’re just mad because you can’t get a boyfriend.” Josef chided him as he walked by. “Adults are allowed to indulge in romance gossip every now and then. Not everyone has to brood.” The only response he got from Darkwing was an annoyed snort.

Laughter broke out down the hall as a few more of the Guardians walked up. Samson was at the head of it. “Never argue with Josef, Darkwing, you know that.” As the rest of the Guardians behind him dispersed into the room, he rounded up to your side with an excited look. “Are we gossiping?”

You laughed and nudged him playfully before looking around, confused. “What are you all doing here?”

“It’s training day.” Immortal put in, breaking away from your group and starting to stretch. “Wanna join?”

“Yeah, we can show you some cool moves from the big leagues.” Samson struck a few comically manly poses, which earned a chuckle from you.

“That sounds—“ you began to say, before you were cut off.

“No.” You turned to meet Cecil’s steely face. His long, blond hair was tussled, and you hadn’t noticed it this morning but he looked a mess. Purple bags clung under his eyes, and his tie was loose and wrinkled.

You gave a confused look. “Why not?”

“These are professionally trained superheroes under my jurisdiction. You could get seriously hurt.”

“Well,” you start, crossing your arms and holding yourself up straight, “I have to make a decision, right? Of what I want to do on Earth, by the end of the year.”

Cecil’s eyes narrowed. “…yes.”

“And one of those decisions was joining the Guardians of the Globe.” You continued. “Let me see if I can keep up. I don’t think I’m as fragile as you think.”

He regarded you with a look of absolute annoyance, but what you said was true. With obvious reluctance he gave you a nod. “Fine. Just be careful.”

Josef gave a snarky chuckle, “big bad Cecil taken down by the rookie.”

Cecil threw him a smoldering glare. Josef using the nickname he gave you really seemed to strike a cord with him. “Remember who gives you your paycheck.” With that he turned and walked down the hall, later reappearing in a room overlooking the training grounds through a glass window. His voice crackled back to life over an intercom. “Alright, let’s get started.”

—————

Disclaimer:

I try to be as accurate as possible to the source material for this fan fiction, but at times I’ll get it wrong. The timelines for the Guardians of the Globe as well as Cecil are not as accurate as they should be but for the sake of wanting to have all the characters in here I fudged it. Just know that I understand not everything is accurate but let’s just try to have a good time regardless!

#cecil stedman fanfiction #cecil stedman invincible #cecil stedman x reader #cecil x reader #invincible fanfiction #invincible show #cecil stedman #invincible #green ghost #immortal invincible #dark wing #darkwing invincible #red rush #red rush invincible #war woman #war woman and green ghost are gay #war woman invincible

[ichisama]

1317 words | rating: t | high school au

Ichiro didn't love saying no to people; he liked to be helpful and obliging when he could. But he wasn't a pushover either. If there was a favor he couldn't do, a wish he couldn't grant, he would say that.

He just preferred to avoid being asked for things he couldn't give.

Which was why he was practically giddy with relief when the biggest gossip in his class leaned over to his desk one day, just a few days before graduation, and asked, "Hey, hey, Yamada-kun. Is there anyone you're thinking about giving your second button to?"

Ichiro had to fight back the urge to beam at her. He knew, as soon as he gave her an answer, she would spread it through the whole school. And that would save him a hell of a lot of trouble on graduation day.

"Ah, sorry, I won't be doing that," Ichiro said, answering with a more measured smile, trying to look at least a bit genuinely mournful. "Jiro's getting my jacket next year, so I gotta keep it in one piece."

The girl looked a tad crestfallen, but nodded and seemed to understand.

Now, Ichiro wasn't any sort of egomaniac. But he knew at least a dozen of his classmates and underclassmen had been planning to ask him for his button when he graduated, and that would be at least a dozen conversations he'd rather avoid.

It was actually true that Jiro would be getting his uniform when he graduated. It was just… also true that Ichiro didn't want to give his button to anyone.

Anyone but Samatoki.

No one needed to know that latter part, though.

When graduation day rolled around, Ichiro was left blissfully unbothered. No one asked for his button at all, though Ichiro could feel longing gazes fixed on him—on the second button of his jacket, specifically—pretty much all day.

He at least took pictures with anyone who asked him for one, figuring that was the least he could do.

It was while he was posing for one of those pictures, with a couple of the younger guys from the basketball team, that he overheard something that made his smile freeze on his face. That shattered his bliss and bothered him immensely.

"Are you sure?" one girl whispered to her friend, as they passed behind Ichiro. "You saw his jacket? It was gone?"

The other girl gave a sniffle. "Mhm. I think on some level I knew he wouldn't give it to me, but after I spent so long working up the nerve to ask… I wish I'd at least gotten to ask."

"I can't believe it," the first girl breathed. "Aohitsugi-senpai really gave his button to someone?"

Aohitsugi-senpai.

Samatoki.

Samatoki… Samatoki's button was gone?

Ichiro's thoughts all ground to a screeching halt. He didn't need to wonder what button they were talking about; it was graduation day, there was only one thing it could be. The second button of his jacket, the button closest to his heart. The one traditionally given to an important person as a memento, a declaration.

A confession.

"Captain?"

Ichiro jumped when one of the guys next to him called out. Had the photo already been taken? Ichiro gave his head a firm shake and turned to tousle his kouhai's hair. "All good."

Of course, all was not fucking good. All was not fucking good at all.

Who the hell could Samatoki possibly have given his button to?

They told each other everything, him and Samatoki. There was just no way Samatoki had a girl he liked, enough to give her his second button. Ichiro would have known.

He would have, right?

Ichiro swallowed around the fierce, stinging jealousy that had risen in his throat like bile. He and Samatoki were close, close enough that several of their classmates had mistaken them for a couple in the past, but they weren't… actually going out. So maybe Ichiro didn't have any right to be jealous.

He looked across the courtyard, where most of their freshly graduated class were still hanging around for photos with friends and family, to where Samatoki was chatting with some of the guys from the baseball team. Samatoki's back was to him, making it impossible for Ichiro to tell if he was really missing a button from his jacket.

But it wasn't like there was another 'Aohitsugi-senpai' in their school.

Ichiro shook his head again. He would find out soon enough. He and Samatoki had made plans to grab food together after the ceremony, after all.

"Hey, handsome." Samatoki's voice was warm with a grin when he finished all his talking and came over to find Ichiro. He practically crashed into Ichiro's back, throwing an arm around Ichiro's shoulders and pulling Ichiro into his side, where Ichiro had always felt he fit so well. "Ready to go?"

Ichiro nodded as he turned, to check out Samatoki's jacket, to find the button he hoped against hope was still there—

Only to find Samatoki had taken off his jacket entirely. He had it slung over one shoulder now, collar hooked on two fingers of his other hand. With the way it was draped over his back, the buttons weren't visible at all.

Was it there?

Was it not?

"Can I take your jacket for you?" Ichiro offered.

Samatoki laughed, brows jumping up with an amused sort of surprise. "What are you, my butler?"

Ichiro gave a little huff as they started to walk, away from the buildings where they'd spent so much of the past three years. "No…"

"My chauffeur?" Samatoki teased. His arm was still wrapped around Ichiro's shoulders, his body still warm and solid against Ichiro's side.

"No," Ichiro huffed a second time.

"My boyfriend?"

"N—"

Ichiro stopped then. Or maybe Samatoki did. Or maybe they stopped moving at the exact same time, underneath a cherry tree in bloom.

A single petal, disturbed by a passing breeze, descended as though in slow motion, touching down on Ichiro's shoulder as Samatoki turned to stand before him. When their eyes met, Samatoki's had lost none of their warmth, their affection. But his expression was… heavier, in a way.

More serious.

Like he…

Like he was serious.

Ichiro could only watch as Samatoki slid his jacket from his shoulders, draping it over one arm instead. With his hands freed up, Samatoki reached one into his own pants pocket, and took one of Ichiro's hands with the other.

"If you are," Samatoki continued, like there'd been no pause at all.

"If I am…?" Ichiro echoed.

"My boyfriend," Samatoki repeated. He turned Ichiro's hand to face up and stroked a hand down Ichiro's palm, making Ichiro shiver. "If you are, I've got something better than my jacket for you."

Ichiro could only stare, wide-eyed and breathless, as Samatoki lifted his other hand to drop something into the center of his open palm. A small, circular something.

A button.

A button that Samatoki had taken from his own jacket, hidden away in his own pocket, for… for this moment?

For Ichiro?

Ichiro's breath hitched in his throat. "Samatoki—"

"I know you can't give me yours," Samatoki said. "Can't have Jiro starting his third year with a missing button, yeah? So I won't ask for that. All I'll ask…"

"Yes," Ichiro breathed.

Samatoki laughed and pinched the side of Ichiro's hand. "Oi, at least let me ask."

"Then hurry—"

"You wanna be my boyfriend, Ichi?"

"Yes."

Ichiro would always remember the way that button felt in his hand, digging into his palm, almost painfully so, with how tight he held it as they kissed. He would always remember the curve of Samatoki's smile against his lips, the weight of Samatoki's arms around his waist, even the distant hoots and cheers from their classmates who happened to look over at just that moment—that perfect moment.

He would always remember that graduation day.

#crab writes #hypmic #ichisama #high school au #day 24!

[evilwickedme]

[image description:

reply from @its-bread-bitch saying

I love murderdock and spider-Gwen! I don’t know if it’s possible for your fic since it kind of feels like a prompt itself but I absolutely adore fics where protagonist and antagonist meet somewhere casual on accident (like the grocery store or laundromat something) and just mutually agree not to start shit since their both “off duty” and just have a surreal oddly polite/casual conversation/interaction

/end image description]

so, uh, I wrote it

also on ao3

relationship: Matt Murdock & Gwen Stacy

tags: minor Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson, earth-65, Matt Murderdock, vaguely canon compliant

human after all

Gwen had agreed to the movie night mostly so her dad would stop worrying after her as much. She didn't realize that it would be such a hassle.

"Dad," she said, trapping the phone between her shoulder and her cheek, "don't worry, okay? I'll be there in half an hour, max. I'm just getting some snacks because I know you - no, Dad, I do, and there's no way you have anything remotely sweet in the kitchen, and I'm not watching anything without my fix of popcorn and chocolate mix. Do you need milk? No, I won't ask you - yeah, I've got it covered, okay? Just - oh my God."

New York City is a lot smaller than people think. Sure, millions of people live here, and you're not going to get to know all of them. Often you'll never even learn the names of your downstairs neighbors. You share a living space and a school campus and a grocery store with dozens, hundreds, thousands of perfect strangers. But still, sometimes, coincidences happen. You run into a childhood friend at the bookstore. You rush to class and find out your second cousin just started going here too. You go to the closest supermarket to get some snacks for your father-daughter movie night and run into your deadly assassin nemesis.

Murderdock had the audacity to look calm and completely unsurprised. But then again, he could probably smell her from two blocks away. 

Or he just heard her babbling on the phone from the other aisle.

"Hey, Dad, I'll call you back, okay? Love you," she said, easing the phone from its precarious position and hanging up. She had her symbiote at the ready, waiting for any provocation. Murderdock lived nowhere near her and the shitty apartment she shared with most of the rest of the Mary Janes; what's he doing here?

"Hello there, Gwen," Murderdock said calmly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Murdock," Gwen said through gritted teeth.

Before anything could escalate, however, DA Nelson appeared from around a corner and said, "Hey, Matt, do you prefer black olives or - oh, hello."

"Hello," Gwen said. She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever met the DA out of costume. Maybe once, a couple of years ago? She never took an interest in Dad's Cop Things before she became Spider Woman, and afterwards she was very careful to avoid Dad's Cop Things out of the mask. Or at least she tried to be.

"Oh, Gwen!" Nelson said, smiling brightly, putting the olives in a cart that she hadn't noticed was placed just behind Murdock. "It's been a while. Is your dad doing okay?"

Apparently they had met before, then. When her dad was in the hospital, maybe?

"Um," she said, trying to look only at Nelson and failing. "Yeah. I'm actually heading to his place after this."

"It's important to spend time with family," Nelson said. "It's been a while since I saw Captain Stacy, so make sure to say hi for me."

"Okay," Gwen said slowly. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind me asking, do you live in the area?"

"Oh, no," Foggy said vaguely. "Just stopping by."

"Right." Gwen was so very weirded out by this. Why was DA Nelson acting so chummy with the literal Kingpin? What were the two of them doing in this particular store? She had gotten ready for a confrontation with Murdock, but it seems like they genuinely were just... Shopping here.

She didn't understand why they're here together, but she was suddenly confronted with the fact that Murdock truly was a person. Like, yes, he was a deadly assassin and probably a psychopath, but also he needed to eat to survive.

Gwen carefully walked past the two of them, then, and rounded the corner herself, stopping only when she thought she was a decent enough distance away that it seemed as though she was simply continuing her shopping, and definitely not eavesdropping, or peaking at them through a gap between cans of six different kinds of olives.

"Everything okay?" Nelson said in a worried tone. "You seem - "

"Everything's fine, Foggy," Murdock says curtly. "Let's just finish here and go home. I'm tired."

Home, Gwen mouthed. The word sounded so strange coming from Murdock, who she couldn't have imagined ever using a word like that in such a... warm tone. Foggy. So familiar. Like... She didn't know. Were they friends?

"Alright," Nelson said skeptically, but apparently deciding to drop it. "But we need some frozen pizza first."

"I'm not putting that in my body," Murdock said.

"You can pretend all you want," Nelson said, voice starting to fade as he pushed their cart further down the aisle and away from her, "but I know you're gonna steal a bite when I'm not looking."

"Lies," Murdock replied. "Lies and slander. I'm going to sue the district over this."

Was that... a joke?

Apparently yes, because Nelson's hearty laugh echoed through the store, so clearly genuine, so clearly affectionate.

They were out of eyesight now, although not out of earshot, especially not with her enhanced settings. Still, she'd heard enough.

She didn't understand. She didn't know how to feel about this.

But she also didn't think that this was the time to confront Murdock over this.

So she filed this information away, and took her groceries to the register.

*

"Sorry for hanging up earlier," she said, placing the groceries on the ground at the station. She didn't feel like swinging to her dad's right now, so she was going to use the subway for the first time in... A while. And yeah it was a little disgusting but she was tired and she needed to think about what she'd seen for a moment. "Yeah, just... Ran into someone unexpected. I'll be there as soon as possible. Love you too. Will update on ETA as soon as I'm on - yeah, exactly. Bye. Yep. Bye. Okay. Bye, Dad." She sighed as the call disconnected. Sometimes her Dad could be way too worried. She was Spider Woman, for God's sake. She'd be fine taking the damn subway.

"Funny running into you here," said a voice from behind her.

She didn't jump. She didn't. It was just... surprising, that her spidey-sense didn't warn her that Matt Murderdock had followed her into the subway.

"Same to you," she said, careful to keep calm. If her spidey-sense wasn't reacting, it probably meant that he wasn't looking for a fight.

"I didn't realize you shopped around Hell's Kitchen," Murdock said.

"Oh, um," Gwen said lamely. "I live only a couple of blocks over. And that supermarket carries a couple of my favorite brands, so - "

Why was she explaining herself to this man?

So she pivoted. "What were you doing there, anyway? And since when are you all chummy-chummy with the DA?"

"We were college roommates," Murdock said. What a... mundane explanation.

"Oh."

"That's actually." Murdock swallowed, as if uncomfortable with the topic. Then his expression hardened, and she knew that this was important, even if she didn't understand it. "He stays out of this. Do you understand?"

"I," Gwen stuttered.

His entire body radiated danger in that moment. This was important to him. She knew there was a sword in that cane of his. She knew he could slice her to pieces if she wasn't careful, if she wasn't quick. And yet, still, her spidey-sense was completely silent. Not a peep.

"Okay," she said. "I won't bother him. I swear. But..."

"But what?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Never mind."

He knew that she was lying, and she knew that right back. But this was a moment of understanding, too: Foggy Nelson was off limits. She wouldn't use him against Murdock. She didn't know exactly what their relationship was. Maybe he didn't either, from the way he said roommates, like it meant something else, like it was his lifeline. But she knew that even if Murdock was a terrible person, she wasn't. She'd respect this one line, for now.

"I guess I'll see you around," she said sarcastically.

He nodded once. "Until we meet again, Spider Woman."

The train roared as it pulled into the station, and Murdock was gone.

Next time they'd meet, they'll be on opposing sides. She'll do her best to defeat him, and he'll do his best to subdue her. But for now, she thought she might understand him just a little better.

Human after all.

#matt murderdock #spider gwen #gwen stacy #fanfic #prompt fic #this my fic #mattfoggy #foggy nelson #matt murdock #earth 65 #marvel #marvel comics #mine #y'all I'm screaming if you see this this is my last post for the day cause I've hit post limit

[totallyuseless-ugh]

Across the Campus

Chapter Five: Some Rainy Thoughts To-Go

With each passing day continued fall to approach, announcing itself in the form of colored leaves and grey skies. From the other side of the glass balcony door came an unusual lack of light as dark clouds poured out rain onto the campus. It was far from actual stormy weather. And yet, it did not surprise Darnell in the slightest to see barely anyone spending that morning out on the green. Only a few people were making their way along the slippery stone paths with umbrellas in hand, probably to get to the library or an appointment before classes began.

“I damn hope you don’t plan on going on the balcony in that weather,” Pico warned as he returned from his daily errand run to the kitchen. He gestured at the weather with his mug while handing Darnell the other.

Darnell shook his head as he took hold of his own drink and took a slow sip of it. “Got no reason to catch myself a cold.”

“Good to know we see eye to eye on that. I really don’t feel like missing any classes.”

The two settled on either of their beds, silently watching the rain go on without an end in sight. It was oddly beautiful to have this change in weather and scenery, having the chance to let their eyes rest on the green in front of them without the daily busyness trying to distract. Starting the day this quietly felt like a rare treat to the two friends.

The lack of conversation had Darnell finishing up his drink faster than usual. He put the empty mug aside to get dressed in some warmer clothes. Digging through the back of his closet felt oddly comforting, to finally bring back the clothes Darnell had put away for other, colder days.

“What the fuck,” Pico uttered just as Darnell put on his blue sweater.

“Ey, no need to cuss at me for my outfit. That ain’t cool of you.” He scoffed. It was normal for both to roast each other on their outfits, though it still was a bit too early for Darnell to go along with Pico's comments. But for once, this had not been the intention of the redhead.

“Nah, look!”

Darnell furrowed his brows in confusion as he turned and looked outside onto campus to where Pico was pointing. Completely unbothered by the miserable weather stood CJ by the usual corner, looking up at the balcony as if they were waiting for something to happen.

“That motherfucker-“ Darnell cussed to himself and his expression changed from annoyance to disbelief. He did not hesitate to storm out onto the balcony and yell down at the blonde, “CJ, are you insane?!” He could not hear their response through the amount of background sounds drowning out their voice in the distance.

“Get your ass inside, right now!!” Darnell continued to yell and waved with both of his hands towards himself to make sure the message would get across. And it seemed to have worked, seeing how CJ slouched their shoulders and trotted back down the path towards the dormitory.

Pico watched his friend jump back inside and frantically search through his closet. “The fuck are you now up to?” He asked with a raised brow and a smirk on his lips. The question was more to confirm his thoughts than answer genuine confusion.

“Making sure CJ also doesn’t get a cold!” Darnell answered quickly, either purposely dismissing Pico's teasing or not having heard the laughing tone of the question. With a large towel in hand ran Darnell out of the room to the stairs. Knowing how slow the elevator was, he did not even bother wasting a single second considering it as an option.

Darnell skipped down the steps as fast as he could in a selfmade sense of urgency. And just when he had reached the ground floor came the tall blonde walking in through the front door. All of their clothes were soaking wet and clinging to their skin, they were leaving a trail of small puddles with every step, and the usually neat hairbun had fallen apart into dozens of dark strands hanging from their head like sad curtains.

“You idiot,” Darnell let out an airy laugh as he tried catching his breath. “You got me sprinting down here like a maniac!” He bunched the towel into a ball and threw it at CJ, making them laugh as well.

CJ shrugged and began drying off their hair and face without a care in the world. “Or maybe this was my plan all along. Some exercise surely wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I would hate you so damn much for this, I could kill you.”

CJ snickered at the harmless threat. They put the towel over their shoulders for a bit more warmth as the water slowly began to cool them down. “I wouldn’t do that, don’t worry. I don’t have a deathwish,” CJ explained as they followed Darnell, who was heading back upstairs.

“Well, what genius idea was it then that got you running in the rain?” He asked purely out of curiosity. Darnell was not the type to go out doing sports every day. He already could not relate to sportsy people, let alone anyone who went out jogging during rainy weather.

“I wanted to see you and say good morning. Or, well, greet you. We don’t yell ‘good morning’ to each other after all.”

Darnell stopped in his tracks and stared at CJ in disbelief. In his head, their nonchalant tone did not match with their words. “Please tell me you’re joking,” he asked and hoped their answer would not make his heart jump a second time.

CJ began to grin at the shocked face in front of them. “No, seriously! Seeing you every morning sorta became part of my routine, so it feels wrong not to do that.” As if words had not been enough, CJ’s big-eyed, gentle expression was proof that they were not joking around.

Knowing he was even a part of the reason they had gone out running in the rain made Darnell feel fuzzy inside. For one, it would make him feel guilty if CJ ended up with a harsh cold because of this. But oddly enough, Darnell also found the whole situation somewhat endearing. This minor role he played in CJ’s daily life was still important enough to them to keep it as part of their routine.

Darnell chortled weakly for a lack of a better response and continued the walk upstairs in silence. When they both finally reached the second floor waited Pico in the hall already, holding out a bathrobe to the tall blonde. “Might as well go in the showers, dry yourself off there before you turn the place into an aquarium.”

“Aye aye,” CJ gave him a two-finger salute, replacing the towel over their shoulders with the bathrobe. Before they could ask for it pointed Darnell already down the hall for direction. “I’ll bring you some clothes to borrow in a sec.” He watched for a moment as CJ nodded and made their way over to the shower rooms.

Back in his room, Darnell searched for any oversized clothes he owned. The height difference him and CJ had was not too great, at most a couple inches. But after having wet clothes clinging to one’s skin, it was probably best to have something loose and comfy on for a change.

Pico leaned against his desk while Darnell was once more with his head in the closet. “You’re down bad, huh?” He began to grin when he received an unamused look in return.

“Wow, you’re a bright one. Your parents must be proud,” Darnell scoffed, not bothering to let Pico distract him much longer.

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who took so long to accept that fact.”

“Does it get your dick hard when you’re right, or why d’you keep pestering me with this?”

Pico shrugged his shoulders, the grin on his lips growing ever so slightly, “Just enjoy pulling you back down in the crab bucket.”

“I bet five bucks you’re the first crab of the bucket to get eaten.”

“Yeah, sure.” Pico dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand. “Don’t keep CJ waiting too long. They’re already waiting for their loyal simp.”

Darnell tutted to himself as he grabbed the clothes and left. He did not want to feed into Pico’s teasing any further.

He headed down the hall to the communal washrooms where CJ was waiting with a soft smile. “I hope they won’t be too tight on you,” Darnell said and handed over his clothes.

“I’m sure it’ll do. Anything is better than going back to my dorm like this.” CJ gestured down on themselves to point out the drenched outfit under the bathrobe. The already dark blue colour of the sports outfit was even deeper from the rain. But at least it had stopped dripping water all over the place and creating a slipping hazard, for the most part.

Darnell cleared his throat as he pulled his eyes off CJ’s body to look at their face again. "Yeah, you're right," he tried laughing off the feeling of self-consciousness that was slowly brewing in his guts. He received another warm smile before the other disappeared with his clothes in hand, giving Darnell enough time to quickly pick up his things for going to class.

It did not take long for CJ to get changed into the new clothes, and once the damp outfit was bagged up went Darnell and CJ outside on their way back across the campus.

The rain had become less heavy over time, but it was still enough to have them both share Darnell’s umbrella for the short walk. Neither of them said a word, only when their eyes happened to meet exchanged both a few gentle smiles. It was already enough to make it worth for Darnell how he had to hold the umbrella up higher than usual for CJ to comfortably walk under it.

They both came to stop by the main entrance of the other dormitory, still smiling at each other in silence for another moment.

"Well.. thanks for the kind help," CJ eventually spoke up softly. Their hand was quietly fiddling with the plastic bag loops as if they wanted Darnell not notice it.

Meanwhile Darnell felt himself gripping more onto the umbrella handle, oblivious to the small rustling sounds. Of course CJ would thank him, and yet he still got surprised by their words and left speechless for a moment. It was a struggle for him to even get a coherent sentence out. "Ah- I mean, I.. that's just..." He groaned to himself and threw his other hand up dismissively, "No big deal. As long as you don't get sick, I'm happy."

CJ's smile grew from gentle to big and amused, accompanied with a small laugh. "Alright, might as well quarantine myself for a few days to stay healthy for you."

For you

The words echoed in Darnell's mind, repeatedly dribbling into his thoughts like the rain around him. No matter how much he would try, Darnell could not remember how the conversation ended, what happened in his classes that day, nor was he able to notice the weather change on his way back to his room. All that his mind would focus on for all that time were these two words and the voice which had said them.

Though, Darnell got no further than a couple steps into his dorm before Pico practically jumped in front of him with a wide grin, making him finally break from his trance. “Hey! I got news!”

He blinked as he took a moment to recognise his friend again. “Good ones I assume?”

“Duh!”

“If I can still relax in the meantime, go ‘head and tell me,” Darnell gave Pico a somewhat tired smile. He dropped his bag in its usual spot by his desk, wanting to change into more comfortable clothes before he would sit down for some work.

Pico leaned against the wall near the desk as he talked, “So I was in class, and we were all waitin’ for the prof to show up. And some people were talking near me, so I joined in ‘n stuff. We talked about assignments and all that, and-“

“You gonna get to the point?”

“I was about to, jeez!” Pico threw his hands in the air as he complained. “Anyway, one of them then mentioned a party for the weekend! Not like a closed circle one, anyone on campus can join. So, what do you think?”

Darnell hesitated with his answer. He finally sat by the desk, avoiding eye contact with Pico until he finally had words for him, “I’m not sure, man. Still got my essay to work on.”

“Oh come on! You got time still, and it’s just one night!”

“One night I could spend with work and getting some proper sleep.”

“As if you were the type to need a real sleep schedule to function,” Pico scoffed as if he were trying to do an impression of his little sister. The Flintson siblings really liked to copy behaviours from each other.

Darnell already knew Pico would not let him off the hook that easily. If nearly ten years of friendship had taught Darnell something, it was that the redhead would probably continue to pester him about this party every free minute they got around each other. Maybe even over text too.

“Man, you know I gotta write my essay, ‘nd I don't even have all the books I need yet! I’ll try to be productive and get as much done as I can here. If, and I’m saying if, I get more than 75 percent done until Saturday, I will join ya. That good?”

Pico's smile grew wide and toothy. And in that moment, Darnell was not sure how good of an idea this decision was. But as long as he had Pico off his back, he would not waste much more time thinking about this than necessary.

And although Darnell finally had the mental capacity and time for focusing on his course work, it was not exactly easy to get a lot done with half the material needed not being around for him to reference and research with. Of course, he was aware of the internet's existence. But to him, it was far easier (and frankly more satisfying) to have a book in his hands to flip through and find the answers he was looking for than typing in some keywords into a search engine and pray that it would spit out some decent and reliable sources.

Reluctantly, Darnell had to surrender after getting no further than the essay's title and opening. He headed out to the library to find at least one or two books to take with him.

Although the walk was not far, he still gladly acknowledged the end of the rainy weather. The sky was still dimmed by the grey clouds overhead, but they were not intimidating enough to make him take an umbrella along that time. He knew what he would be looking for, so he was sure the trip would be short enough to not get surprised with a sudden rain shower. And indeed, it was a quick run around the science section. Though, it was partially due to a handful of books on his list having been rented out already. But his findings were still good enough for a start.

As Darnell reached the counter, however, the library assistant was gone. They were nowhere to be seen, but that was not really surprising, considering the size of the building. He had no choice but to simply wait for their return. Darnell needed the books, and if he did not check them out today, they might be gone soon for who knows how long, just like the others he could not find.

He placed the heavy books on the counter, ready for scanning and took out his phone to kill some time. Darnell was reading back the messages between him and his mother, discussing the latest happenings in his hometown when two students queued up behind him. The fact that they were in a library did not seem to keep either of them from giggling and chatting with each other in an outside-level voice.

“And, oh my gawd, I swear they must be getting desperate for real.”

- “What did they do?”

“Remember how bad it was raining this morning? Hailey told me they went out jogging anyway. Like, their clothes stuck to them, messy hair and all that shit.”

Darnell tried not to make it obvious as he began to listen in on the conversation happening behind his back.

- “Jeez. Aren’t their outfits enough anymore to get a good fuck around here?”

“Apparently not. But really, who wants to bang the campus slut?”

The laughter was incredibly distracting. Darnell had a hard time focusing on any of the thoughts starting to race in his head. He had completely forgotten about the chat he was reading before, he did not even remember why he was in the library anymore. That was until finally, the assistant returned with an exhausted laugh, “Sorry for the wait!”

“Ah, all good.” Darnell offered a small smile as reassurance. He would have to push the matter aside for a later time. For now, his priorities were to get out of the library and finally get some proper work done on his essay. There was no time to waste on some stupid gossip about the person he had lent his clothes to this morning. It was not worth it to involve himself in what most likely was just the usual type of drama hunters who made mountains out of any molehill they could find.

*

The next day was not pouring down as badly as the one before. But Darnell and Pico decided it was best to spend their morning routine inside again regardless. Neither felt it was worth getting dressed just for them to tolerate the cold winds. Especially when this would in turn also make their coffee cool down even quicker.

And although it was no problem for them to not engage in conversation, Pico still felt as if something was off. The way that Darnell frowned at his mug was not normal. "You good?"

"Huh?-" Darnell's expression softened rather quickly as he switched to look at Pico. "Yeah, just a bit surprised CJ ain't showing up today."

Pico raised a brow, part teasing, part genuine wonder. "Are you really that desperate to see them soaked again?"

"Oh shut it," Darnell groaned. "I even told them myself to stay the fuck inside 'nd not get sick." He was not even realising how his mind had mixed up his thoughts and actual memory.

Pico in turn began to frown himself. "I don't see the issue then."

"That's the thing, there is none."

"Nells, you're being cryptic."

"I.. guess it just feels weird to not see them this morning. I've gotten used to it."

Pico seemed to accept the answer. It was still too early for him to challenge all of Darnell's words or bully him endearingly for his crush. And it did not even need the redhead to make one of his usual snark comments to get his friend speak up again just shortly after.

"I heard some.. weird shit yesterday."

"Like what?"

"In the library, while I waited to check out my books. No clue who, but some students were shitting on CJ. Called 'em desperate and the 'campus slut'. No clue where that title came from."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Neither of them was sure what to say, how to not be disrespectful and dismissive or form strong opinions based on barely any information.

Pico tapped his nails on the mug in his hands. His mind was full of thoughts which left him staring into nothingness. He broke out of the trance shortly after and released a small tired groan before taking a long sip of his coffee. "That's.. shit."

Darnell agreed with a low hum.

"Are you gonna tell them about it?" Pico asked curiously.

Hesitantly, Darnell answered with a shrug, "I mean, should I? 'm not gonna go to their dorm 'nd say 'hey dude, what's the deal with people calling you the campus slut?' Not my style. Or, what if they're already aware of it, if I'd just bring up some shit they try livin' with for I dunno how long?"

"Ah, shit.."

The room fell silent once more, only being broken up by the small noises of Pico and Darnell eventually getting ready for either of their day’s classes. Oddly enough, Darnell's mind was not flooded with worries, or arguments going back and forth on whether he should keep his knowledge a secret to CJ.

No, his head felt almost empty. Unable to really form and hold onto any thoughts for an extended period of time. He could manage to follow his lectures throughout the day, take notes and stay on time with his schedule, be productive during his short off time. But only because these things did not require him to really think on his own. The almost mindless activities served as somewhat of a distraction.

It almost felt like some sort of amnesia to the issue. Knowing there was something, but not being able to figure out what that thing was.

Until the end of his final lecture.

Until he stopped by the other dorm.

Until he got to a particular room on the fourth floor.

Darnell stood in front of the door, hand raised in a fist and ready to knock. The sounds of laughter and bits of conversation poured through. It had become a familiar mix of noise to him from his regular visits.

All of the sounds stopped when he knocked. It took no longer than a few seconds, and the door swung open.

"Nells!" CJ greeted their friend with a wide grin.

Without a warning, Darnell was reminded of what he had 'forgotten' during the day. He could not help but look at the tall blonde, the kind face standing in front of him and wonder what they must have done to deserve such a demeaning title. Though, deserve was probably not the right word to use.

"How ye'r doing, Jay?" Darnell gave CJ a big smile in return.

"Good, good! So far, I'm still fit."

"Fit enough to work on the essays?"

CJ's grin grew slightly and they brought a hand down on Darnell's shoulder. "You're really taking this seriously, huh?" They laughed softly.

Darnell shrugged in response and took up on the nonverbal invitation inside. For now, he was here to work with CJ. Anything that would keep him from being productive would stay outside the room for the time being.

He could worry about the meaning of it all on a less rainy day.

#cj #darnell #pico #across the campus #chapter five #alternate universe #non trauma au #oh boi time for gossip #took me long enough to finish this #enjoy while i disappear for another three months

[incarnateirony]

I think there's an innate misunderstanding all around of who/what I mean/did/whatever in this fandom or under the skin for certain messengers.

Let it be clear. I am not a Friend(TM) to Supernatural. I was a Friend(TM) to the queer battle going on inside the show, but not to Supernatural(TM).

Supernatural was the beginning of the last end for Atlanta. It started before CW became CW, but was the first show to move to Vancouver, and became the model by which Pedowitz wholesale screwed the vestiges of Ted's entertainment crew in the gulf by bulk ordering all the superhero shows out to Vancouver, and then hanging one black character out there and convincing the world it's woke and diverse after nuking a dozen black shows off the planet for their airspace.

I made it clear for many years that my hate of CW went well beyond SPN or Destiel. These were separate issues to me, even if related. Sometimes I also knew other shit in Supernatural. Like racist casting decisions internally as far back as season 4 with Anna. Like people breaking t heir heels clean off on other shows and just getting brushed under the rug by production insurance. Things.

So yeah, nobody cared when it was black entertainers. But an army of angry gays showed up and I'd been grinding an ax REAL SHARP for about a decade. I knew they lost the Netflix deal and were vulnerable. I had the codeex on how to break down their infrastructure that made them the corporate monster they were while seeming untouchable. And nobody thought to ask like. Why? I knew how to do that?

So yeah I got between the cracks in SPN in ways even TPTB probably doesn't totally have a thumb on when half of it runs by a few dozen messengers. Yeah, we pulled stunts. But there's very, very few members of TPTB I consider myself friendly with. The few that made that list I would like to think I've been clear enough about, to those who can read between the lines.

Vancouver was basically enemy territory and you know what, I operated like that the whole time, and it's what made this shit work in a fandom full of vicious dishonest gremlins.

So yeah, i got done what I wanted to do. I ain't owe shit to anyone else. And that includes any real emotional vestment in this fandom and its petty wars and inflationary rhetoric and misinfo blogs spreading rumors they're gonna get clowned on anyway. Like who tf cares guys. There's TV outside of SPN, I have a life outside of this place, and unless anyone wants to give me a salary for my old work, like, what do I genuinely give a fuck, i got what I wanted. we took it.

So yeah enjoy a personal blog of muddled shitposts and the occasional leak or ~spec or meta or whatever, because that's what it is at this point man. There's a new crowmaster. Theyre hot as hell, in your business, and you'll never see them them coming. It ain't my circus and you ain't my monkeys anymore.

#Youtube

[shanniiine]

flowery love

the first short story to introduce the greater hoccosin region.

genre: romantic fiction

word count: 7058

you can also find it on my wattpad and on my writing portfolio

“Violet,” her father smiled. “You’re going to do amazing things with this little shop–for this, I pray.”

“Thank you, father, I couldn’t have gotten here without you” the young woman beamed, grabbing her father, and bringing him into a hug. “I just hope that the locals will accept me despite who I am.”

“This town is lucky to have you,” he said into her shoulder. “Never forget that.”

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

Violet’s Violets opened its doors well over fifty years ago and in that time, it had cemented itself as one of the societal foundations of Hoccosin, the small town that was fortunate enough to be the home of such a cozy little flower shop. Over the years, as new people moved to town and became acquainted with all the intricacies of the small town that seemed like it was in a world separate unto its own, it became a commonplace rite of passage that in order to become a true Hoccosin citizen–native or not, one must purchase a bouquet of flowers from the double-V and gift it to another resident. Then, the gifter would be quietly welcomed as a genuine Hoccosinian, and they would be permitted to call this quaint, little town their true home. 

The humble shop was practically smack dab in the center of Verona Avenue, the town’s main street, and was known to be welcoming and homey beyond what words could describe. All sorts of hydrangeas, orchids, roses, daffodils, daisies, and a dozen other types of flowers spilled out the door and lined the shopfront, all in pristine shape and in the most admirable sorts of pots. Anytime an unsuspecting pedestrian would pass by, they would feel themself beckoned inside by the sweet aromas and beautiful blossoms, unable to resist the temptation to enter the cozy shop. Some might joke that it was witchcraft or sorcery, but any long-time resident could tell you that it was all-natural and that Violet really was just that good at tending to her flowers. She cared for them as if they were her children–which she had none of her own unless you counted the fluffy white cat that lazed around her shop or the local teens from the nearby boarding school who took such a liking to her quiet and kind demeanor, that they effectively made the double-V their after-school hangout spot.

There was a large, square wooden table in front of the front windows, which she used as a workbench to pot and re-pot flowers, but when it wasn’t coated in soil and plant trimmings, those teens could sit around it and do homework, or just chat–which happened to be what they ended up doing most of the time. Ivy, sword ferns, and other vined plants resided in hanging pots that lined the sides of the shop, while the walls were fitted with wooden shelves that proudly displayed plants for sale. Violet’s register was in the back of the shop, from there she could overlook her works of art, customers coming in to browse or find a quiet spot to relax, and she relished in all of it–for this, owning a successful business, had been her childhood dream, and she was pulling it off–extremely well, in fact.

“Hello?” an older woman feigned, peeking her head through the glass front door. “Could I ask for some help if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother?”

The woman had a curly grey bob haircut and wore browline oval-shaped glasses. Her face was covered in wrinkles, especially around the corners of her mouth and eyes–smile lines. Her eyes were a soft shade of green and her nose was as small as a button. She wore a cream blouse beneath a sage green trenchcoat and a long, pastel pink skirt that cut off just before her black loafers.

Violet jumped at the sound of the bell ringing and made her way to meet the woman who looked to be somewhat near her in age. “‘Course!” she declared with a smile, meeting her by the doorway. “And what would be the occasion?”

“For a loss...”

“Oh,” Violet’s smile dropped. “I’m terribly sorry that this has become of you, may I offer you a hug?”

The woman didn’t even respond, instead, she took the shopkeeper into an embrace. “This has been a long time coming,” she muttered into Violet’s shoulder. “But I’d be a damned fool if I turned down a hug.”

“Oh-ho-ho,” Violet laughed a little, draping her arms around the stranger and completing the hug. “A woman who knows what she wants, I love it.”

“Thank you for your kindness, stranger,” she croaked, pulling away, a tiny tear forming the corner of her eye. “Now,” she collected herself. “Where might I have to go off to in this delightful shop to get my hands on a bouquet of chamomile flowers?”

“Chamomile…” an interesting flower choice for mourning, she thought to herself, but who am I to judge!

“Well, that will be just right this way!” Violet chirped, heading to the far wall that was practically overflowing with all the different types of flowers on display.

“Oh,” the lady’s voice dropped. “Well, those are them, I–I suppose I’ll be ready to go in no time.”

Violet’s heart sank at the sight of this woman, she wanted to hug her again, to soothe her worries and remind her that whoever she lost lived a long life–well she couldn’t guarantee that, then a life full of love–or that either, drats! Well then, she could always count on ol’ reliable: this woman loved her late friend, spouse, child, second cousin, whomever it was that she so tragically lost–and that was enough in itself.

As Violet opened her mouth to offer some more words of condolences, the woman piped up.

“I know we just met, but I don’t have any friends or family in town so I’m going to the resting place all by my lonesome, but if it’s no skin off your back, would you consider accompanying me as I say goodbye?”

“Why–”

“Oh, what am I saying–I haven't even introduced myself; my name is Theodosia, my friends call me Theo–although I suppose no one’s really called me that in years, at any rate, if it’s not an intrusion–”

“Of course, I’ll accompany you, I’d be honored to. Anyone who gives a hug as good as that deserves some compassion,” Violet laughed. “I’m Violet, by the way, as the store’s name implies.”

“Oh, wondrous day, wondrous day! Thank you, Violet, you've made a friend in me today!”

Any sight of tears in Theo’s eyes was long gone, instead, the sadness had been replaced by a jubilant radiance–it was almost blinding.

“I can close up shop early today and we can make our journey to the final resting place in a jiffy,” Violet declared.

The teens gathered around the wooden table had been eavesdropping on the conversation–it was a rare sight to see Violet so invested in a customer. The oldest of the kids nodded to their friends after Violet’s declaration, signaling that it was time for them to scram. Books were closed and papers shoved into backpacks, and just like that, Violet and Theo were left standing all by themselves in the colorful store. “Well that was much easier to get those teens out than I thought it was going to be,” Theo said in genuine surprise.

“Oh them? They love me!” Violet half-joked. “But yes, they’re a good bunch, it’s always a treat to have them in here…” her voice trailed off. “At any rate!” Violet perked back up to attention. “Let’s get this show on the road! Let me just grab my coat.” “Oh but, I need to pay for the flowers–”

“No, you don’t! The manager says they’re on the house, and what she says goes, so I wouldn’t want to argue with her,” Violet smiled as she returned with her black, fluffy coat in hand.

“Oh no, I insist, please let me pay–” “Oh no, I insist. C’mon! Let’s skedaddle before someone else comes in with another story about a lost loved one and tries to steal me away from you.”

Theo shuffled her feet back and forth, fiddling with a single, white petal of the flowers she was now the declared owner of, “Well, I–”

Violet turned to face her new friend and met her gaze with a cockeyed smile. Just say okay, she mouthed. “Hmm, okay. Okay! Let’s go!” “That’s the spirit!” Violet cheered. “Lily, we’ll be back in a bit, you’re in charge!”

A white cat emerged from underneath the register in the back of the store, stretched her front legs, let out a massive yawn, and flopped on her side on the stone floor.

“Thank you for the flowers, Lily!” Theo said.

Violet cocked an eyebrow at Theo.

“Well, you said she’s in charge, I assume she must be the manager.”

Violet smiled at the humorous notion, “We should get out of her hair before she demands her bi-hourly cuddles.”

Violet reached for Theo’s empty hand as the pair chuckled, Theo accepted her grasp, and they were off to the races like two horses bred to run, Violet’s shoulder-length white hair bobbing up and down. Violet rushed out the front door with Theo in tow, both laughing from the sudden rush of adrenaline. Violet flowed through the sequence of motions to lock the front door as soon as they stepped outside into the chilly, late-winter air. Violet brushed her hands down her denim overalls and turned to her new friend. “Alright,” Violet turned to grab Theo’s hand again. “This time, you’re leading; where to?”

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

Violet followed Theo along the sidewalks of Hoccosin, heading toward the western outskirts of town–the way Theo double-guessed every turn, constantly performing double-takes at every street sign, she definitely wasn’t a native, that much Violet could clearly tell.

“If my asking isn’t an intrusion,” Violet spoke up. “Why is it that you’re performing the burial here?”

“I grew up in Drexwood City, but ever since I was but a young girl, I’ve yearned to live in a small town. Then, after the loss, I decided that it was time for a fresh start and that this would be the perfect place to achieve just that.”

“I’m from Drexwood, too,” Violet smiled.

“How did you end up here?” Theo asked.

“Well, I was a boarding student at The Hoccosin Academy for Young Emerging Scholars–but everyone around here calls it THAYES, just on the outskirts of town,” Violet said, pointing toward a castle-esque building on the north side of town. “Anyhow, I was a boarding student there from the time I was eleven to seventeen, and I fell in love with the cozy little town, so once I had saved up enough money to support myself, I moved back here when I was just a few years over twenty and opened up the flower shop.”

“Oh, what a beautiful little story,” Theo mused.

Violet smiled to herself, thinking back to her younger years. In the time that Violet had lived in Hoccosin, she had familiarized herself with newcomers, the long-time residents, and every type in between. When someone would first move here, they tended to follow one of two types: the bluff, which faked exuberant confidence; and the tentative, the type that embodied the likes of a young child, lost in a grocery store, searching for a parent to no avail. Both types of newcomers would eventually fall into a sort of groove, eventually becoming comfortable enough to declare ignorance or to ask for help. It was always a pleasant sight to witness someone grow comfortable with the uncomfortableness that comes with moving somewhere new. When Violet moved back to Hoccosin during her early adult years, she wasn’t so lucky as to receive a helping hand from a local. The spirit of Hoccosin had greatly shifted in recent decades; when Violet first opened her shop, she was viewed as a spinster–shameful that she wasn’t married and instead opening a business on her own. But, as the social tides shifted, her single-ness came to be viewed in more of a positive light, eventually even being admired by some of the townsfolk.

Violet was lost in thought, thinking back on all the people she had had the pleasure of meeting during her life, as the pair strolled up to a poplar tree that looked as if it could tell stories of days long forgotten if one took the time to sit and listen. She snapped back to attention, and with a quick glance over her shoulder, noticed that they had just taken a turn off Huckleberry Lane and had found themselves in the Avon Cemetery.

“Here we are…he’s buried just over yonder,” Theo croaked.

‘He,’ Violet promptly noted the gender of the deceased, nodding to herself.

Violet took note of how Theo’s brisk pace slowed as they neared the gravesite. Violet hastened her speed for just a moment to catch up to her walking partner, she met her gaze and offered a supporting smile. Theo smiled back and reached for Violet’s hand, taking it into her own soft grasp.

“Here,” Theo pointed to a small tombstone on the outskirts of the cemetery that was only a few steps in front of them.

Violet released her grip on Theo’s hand to move closer to the headstone.

Chamomile, it read, “to my longest-standing companion; Je ta’aime”

“And who was Chamomile to you-?” Violet started to ask.

“He was my cat. The little bugger held on to life for some twenty-odd years, I hardly know what it’s like to live without putting someone else’s needs before my own anymore.”

Theo crouched down, her long, pastel pink skirt brushing against the grass and dirt. She mumbled something of a prayer to herself and then neatly placed the flowers by the gravestone.

“Thank you for being here with me,” a few tears streamed down her petite, wrinkled face.

“No, thank you for allowing me to be here,” Violet grabbed her new friend into another hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re–you’re welcome,” she sniffled.

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

The following days were something of a blur.

Theo was in the process of securing an apartment in town, in the meanwhile, she was lodging at the Poshley Inn and spending the vast majority of her days in the double-V, assisting Vy–she had come to call her that, with whatever duties Vy asked of her. Sweeping, mopping, trimming, vacuuming, watering plants–although Vy quickly came to realize that Theo was a culprit of over-watering, so she found herself peeking over her shoulder, directing her as to when to start and stop.

“I’ll pay you a generous wage,” Violet offered the first night. “With all that you’re doing, you deserve a sizable one.” “Oh, pish,” Theo retorted. “I’ve long retired; this is an extracurricular and I wouldn’t be putting in the effort if I didn’t want to.”

That came to be a normal conversation between them for the first couple of evenings until Vy rolled over and chose to take Theo’s remarks at face value–something she did not tend to do.

Vy found herself mesmerized by the energy that Theo created by being in the shop with her. Her welcoming nature matched that of Vy’s, and her captivating presence brought a new type of intimacy to the shop; they quickly discovered that they were a wonderfully well-suited pair–in the work environment.

After Violet unlocked the front doors every day, Theo wasn’t long after her. She followed the same sequence of actions each time she entered the shop; skipping toward Vy’s cat, Lily, and rubbing her belly, cooing over her, decreeing that she must be the best cat in the whole wide world!

“Today’s the day, right?” Violet asked.

“Oh, well I suppose it is!” Theo said, popping her head up to look away from the cat and into Violet’s blue eyes.

“Alright, the first appointment is at noon, so we can close up for an extra-long lunch a little before then,” Violet said.

“Sounds perfect! Just perfect! I can’t wait to be able to call myself a Hoccosinian!”

“Well, to be able to really do that–” Violet was cut off by a young man, probably somewhere in his early twenties, sweating profusely, wearing a tweed suit and brown loafers, bursting through the door.

“I need– I need a bouquet,” he panted.

Theo’s eyes lit up at the sight of the customer. Violet was much more accustomed to helping the slow, thoughtful patrons–the customers who came in, demanding flowers in a hurry and rushing Violet’s process were never her cup of tea, but a necessary evil as part of being a business owner. Theo on the other hand was most welcoming to these hectic customers, she just had a magic touch–she knew exactly what to say and when to say it, something that Violet was never the best at herself.

“What’s the occasion, sweetie?” Theo asked, walking toward the young gentleman.

His hair was gelled, and he emanated an aura of suaveness–but not if you were to look into his eyes. His facial expression was that of someone in immense pain–not physical pain, but emotional pain, Violet had seen many people wear that same expression over the years.

“Anni–Anniversary,” he said.

“Oh, how wonderful!” Theo said, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. “Are you interested in an assortment of flowers or a mono-bouquet?”

“Whatever’s quickest, I’m supposed to meet her–oh no, now,” the man said, his face dropping.

“This calls for roses!” Theo declared, marching toward the back of the shop that contained shelves upon shelves of pre-prepared bouquets, the man’s head hanging low as he followed her.

“Here you are!” Theo said, handing him a bouquet of a dozen roses, varying in shades, a few pink, a couple white, but the majority red.

The distraught man handed Theo a twenty-dollar bill, nodded, and sprinted back the way he came.

“Oh shoot, does the twenty cover a rose bouquet?” Theo asked.

Violet smiled, nodding in response, “You know just how to work with ‘em.”

“Well, what can I say? I speak hopeless romantic.”

The two women laughed as they carried on with their usual morning duties.

As noontime drew near, Violet closed the register and grabbed her coat and clipboard that had all her notes, while Theo patted Lily and told her to not burn the place down while they were out.

With the brisk wind blowing through their grey and white hairdos, Violet locked the glass doors and smiled at Theo.

“If we cut across that way,” Violet said, pointing at the through-street right in front of the shop.

“Wait, don’t tell me, that’s Rush Street?” Theo asked hopefully.

“Very good! You’re memorizing the street names rather quickly.”

Theo smiled victoriously, “Sorry, you were saying?”

“Yes, well, we can head directly to the first apartment complex if we go across this way, then you can get a feel for the building, and see how you feel about the complex.”

“Well then, let’s hop right to it!”

The first few apartments were a bust, Theo wanted something larger, something smaller, something with a better view, something more private. Violet couldn’t blame her for being picky, in all likelihood, this was to be the last place Theo would ever live, she might as well get everything she wanted in her new home.

“Okay, this next one is pretty expensive,” Violet said.

“I make enough money, I sell flowers at a little shop in town, Violet’s Violets, ever heard of it?” Theo said.

“I thought that was an extracurricular?” Violet asked, cocking her head.

Theo’s eyes squinched as she grabbed onto Violet’s shoulders, “Oh, you.” She laughed.

As the pair approached the monochromatically colored townhouses, Violet pointed to the left.

“And there is that aforementioned flower shop,” Violet said.

“Oh, how wonderful! I could live right here, next to the shop?” Theo asked.

The townhouses at Landing Creek were the cream of the crop in Hoccosin. Forty townhouses with a decadent Victorian facade, each colored a different shade of wine red, beige, forest green, and a dozen other colors. The back row was the most coveted, as they came with a beautiful view of the Hoccosin River. Given the close proximity to the double-V, Violet had always dreamt of one day calling Landing Creek her home.

“The unit available is…” Violet paused, glancing at the notes on her clipboard. “Ooo, lucky you! It’s got a great view.”

Theo’s eyes lit up at the notion of a view, “You know exactly what a woman wants to hear.”

“It’s time to reacquaint yourself with nature and slow living,” Violet said.

“Lead the way!” Theo said.

Standing on the fourth-floor balcony, overlooking the river, Theo took a deep breath, “This is it,” she said. “I’m going to put in an offer.”

Vy stepped out next to her, taking in the view. “It isn’t too spacious? There aren’t too many stories?”

“No, it’s perfect,” Theo said. “I suppose, I could benefit from a housemate?”

Vy blinked, taken aback by the proposition. The two had become quite the duo as of late, but they still hadn’t even known each other for an entire calendar month.

Vy stood there in shock for a moment before Theo reached out to her new friend. “Oh no, I don’t mean that– or well, I suppose I don’t not mean that, but– I meant a pet. I could very much benefit from having a furry companion around.”

“Oh–oh of course!” Violet laughed. “Oh, of course, you meant a pet. The closest cat shelter is in Drexwood, I’m sure we could take a bus over there sometime this weekend and pick out another perfect little bugger for you.”

“Sounds perfect! It’s a date,” Theo said.

Violet blinked a few times and then smiled.

“I can’t believe we were able to find you an apartment, I thought we were going to have to resort to building one from scratch in the forests of Hickory Grove!” Violet laughed as she unlocked the front door to the double-V.

“I can’t believe you had that diamond at your disposal and waited until the end of our hunt to show it to me!” Theo said.

“You never want to reveal that you have a winning hand too early,” Violet said as she opened the door, motioning for Theo to enter.

“Oh, where’s the little precious gremlin,” Theo said, making her way through the front of the store.

“Mrooow,” Lily moaned, having been woken up from her afternoon nap.

“There she is!” Theo said, skipping towards the white fluff who had plopped in front of the register. “You didn’t set the store ablaze! I’m so proud of you.”

Violet exhaled a little laugh to herself and moved behind the counter, grabbing a loaf of bread, a butter knife, and jars of peanut butter and strawberry jam from under the counter.

“Tonight,” Violet began, “we feast like kings!” She said as she triumphantly placed the items on the counter.

“Oh?” Theo said, standing up. “Oh! Oh, PB and J’s–”

“This is always my go-to meal after an exhilarating activity like today’s.”

Theo slowly rubbed her fingers together and looked down at her shoes.

“But, if you’d prefer another option, we could always go to the Fresh from Scratch Bakery just down the street–” Violet said, unsure if she had done something wrong.

“No, no. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they remind me of a different time in my life, before I had come into my own. I haven’t had one since then.”

Violet, unsure of how to proceed, walked around to meet Theo and took her into a hug. While she wanted to ask her what time in her life she was referencing, Violet thought back to all the times when her curiosity, instead of connecting her with others, actually ended up pushing those closest to her away.

“When–” Theo stammered, her head draped over Violet’s shoulder, “whenever we would have a hard day, we would make PB and J’s. If he had a hard time at work or if I had a hard time in the classroom, that was our tradition.”

‘He,’ Violet promptly noted the gender of the presumed deceased.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Violet said, stepping back from the embrace. Violet noted how flushed Theo’s face had become, her eyes now pinkish red.

“Thank you for listening,” Theo smiled. “Now let’s make some PB and J’s and make a new tradition, hm?”

“Yes, yes indeed,” Violet said.

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

That weekend, Vy and Theo took the hour-long bus from Hoccosin to Drexwood City.

“It’s been so long since I was last here,” Vy said as the pair stepped off the bus and onto the sidewalk outside a high-rise building. “You’ll be the navigator today!”

A few other people got off at the same stop, joining the herd of people on the sidewalk being shepherded toward their varying destinations.

“Well, lucky for you,” Theo smiled. “The Cat Cove is just across the street.”

The cat shelter was surprisingly small for being in a bustling city. The kittens were separated in one room, running around and playing with each other, and the adult cats were secluded in another room. About a dozen or so kittens bounded towards Theo as soon as she sat on the bench in front of them, while Vy stood off to the side, just taking in the moment.

“Oh, look at this one!” Theo said as a tabby kitten crawled up her dusty pink shawl and nuzzled into her face.

“That’s Dom,” the young cat shelter volunteer said. “He loves being as close to you as possible at all times.”

Dom curled up on Theo’s shoulder and nuzzled into her ear which made Theo laugh. Vy’s nose crinkled at the sight of Theo enjoying herself so much, Vy admired how much of herself Theo was willing to let others see without restraint. Vy had always felt such a strong need to be careful and calculating, so to see Theo so unafraid to be herself all the time, regardless of who was watching, was something of a wonder to Vy.

“Oh, I love him, but let’s go check out the adult cats,” Theo said, putting Dom back down on the bench beside her.

The volunteer led them into the next room where well over a dozen adult cats were lounging in cat trees, on the floor, and by windowsills.

Upon entering, a small tortoiseshell cat pranced up to Theo and rubbed against her legs.

“That’s Minerva, all of her litter was adopted recently but she’s still a kitten herself,” the volunteer said.

“So young and precious,” Vy said.

“And what’s that one’s name?” Theo asked, pointing to a grey and white cat with a stubby tail laying on a bench by the door.

“That’s Remy, he’s a real sweetie. I don’t know what it is about our grey cats right now, but they all love laps.”

Vy watched as Theo slowly reached out her hand to Remy to let him sniff her, and then as she sat down beside him and began petting him.

“What happened to his tail?” Vy asked as Remy got into her lap.

“When the trap-neuter-release team found him, his tail was cck,” the volunteer motioned a harsh curve with her pointer finger. “So, they had to amputate it, but he’s as happy as a clam now. Aren’t you buddy?”

Minerva strolled towards Violet, making eye contact with her, and then rubbing up against her legs.

“I’ll leave you guys to it, if you have any more questions or need any help just give me a holler!” The volunteer said as they walked back through the door to the kitten room.

“Are you leaning towards any cat?” Vy asked.

“I don’t know what it was,” Theo said as the pair crossed the street back towards the bus stop. “They were all so sweet but none of them were it–if that makes any sense?”

“It does,” Vy said, the wind rushing through her hair.

“None of them were Lily…none of them were Chamomile,” Theo said.

“We’ll find you the perfect companion, we will,” Vy said.

Despite their unsuccessful pilgrimage into Drexwood, the pair hopped off the bus back in Hoccosin with wide smiles.

“So you were in Skógur house, is that how it’s pronounced? Theo asked, stepping onto the sidewalk.

“Yep, you got it! Aside from the Himinnur house, we were the most prestigious house one could hope to get into at THAYES,” Vy explained, following closely behind her.

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Just the…nature of the house. Anyone could get into Sólgulur, but to get into Skógur or Himinnur one had to either possess certain abilities or pass a grueling set of exams.”

“And what kind of abilities would one have to possess–” Theo began to ask, but Vy cut her off.

“May’s Diner is right over there if you’d like to stop there for lunch.”

“Oh! Is this the place with the famous cucumber soup that you mentioned on the bus ride?” Theo asked.

“That’s the one! C’mon, this way.”

“Howdy, Violet!” A woman around the same age as Violet and Theo said as the pair entered the homey diner.

May’s Diner had opened just a couple of years before Violet’s Violets and being just a few storefronts down, May and Violet had always had an amicable friendship. Just like May, the diner was incredibly warm and welcoming. May’s always smelled of freshly brewed coffee, no matter the time of day, and just like the double-V, was another common hangout spot for teens attending the academy. It was a Mom and Pop style restaurant, so there were only about twenty wooden tabletops around the diner. The restaurant was at about half capacity, with a few couples, young families, and groups of teens spread out throughout the establishment. A loud ding emanated from the back where an older man wearing an all-white outfit that was covered in grease stains stuck his head out through a window from the kitchen as he placed a platter of fries and a hamburger onto a ledge. A young Asian woman with long black hair wearing a pink apron who had been talking to a customer at a nearby table perked up at the sound of the bell, stopped her conversation, and strolled over to pick up the order.

“And who is this with you?” May asked, smiling coyly.

“This is Theodosia,” Violet said.

“Hello, I’m Theo,” she said, reaching out to shake May’s hand

May was wearing a white button-down with short sleeves, black slacks, and a half-length pink apron covered in brown stains of varying shades. She had tightly knit grey curls that reached just above her chin and elegant facial features.

Vy watched as May took Theo’s hand in her own and shook it gingerly. “Where have you been hiding this one?”

“I only just recently moved to Hoccosin from Drexwood,” Theo said. “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”

“Well, I’m overjoyed that you decided to stop by my diner today! Let me sit you at a booth and then I’ll get your orders.”

After perusing the menus for a few minutes, Violet ordered a small seafood platter and Theo ordered cucumber soup.

“So what was your time at THAYES like?” Theo asked, leaning toward Vy from across the booth. “What were you like as a student then?”

Vy blushed as Theo closed some of the distance between them. “Well, I was quite…rowdy…in my younger years.”

“You? Rowdy? I simply find that hard to believe.” Theo said.

“It’s the truth. I had a hard time going a week without causing some kind of a ruckus in class–there was one time during ch–” She paused, “During chemistry class, that I accidentally set a classmate’s hair on fire because she was flipping her head around near a lit bunsen burner.”

“Oh! Well, that hardly sounds like your fault. She shouldn’t have been acting so recklessly near a lit flame.”

“I suppose…I was still reprimanded by the teacher and my housemaster that day. That was just one instance out of many, so they always seemed to assume the worst in me.”

Vy saw Theo’s eyes turn sorrowful for a moment, a small, sympathetic smirk forming on her face.

“My time in high school was very different I suppose,” Theo said. “I was something of a homebody until I attended college.”

“Oh?” Vy asked. “What changed?”

“A good friend. She and I met during our first weeks there and did everything together. She was much more adventurous than I ever could’ve hoped to be.”

‘She,’ Violet promptly noted the gender.

“There was one night during midterms when we spent hours on a midnight stroll. Eventually, we found ourselves by train tracks, we followed them until we realized we had walked to the next town over.”

“Whatever happened to her?” Vy asked.

“We drifted apart, I couldn’t tell you why, but not a single day goes by that I don’t think of her and reminisce on how much our friendship meant to me.”

Vy thought back on her own life. How many of her friendships had seemingly ended out of the blue for reasons unapparent to her? She had the urge to reach out, to take Theo’s hand and commiserate, but just as she was about to do so, their waitress came over with their lunches.

“Oh, thank you Rai, darling,” Theo said, making space on the table for her to set their food down.

“Of course, and if there’s anything else that I can do for you, just raise a hand,” Rai, the waitress, said as she did a small curtsy and walked away.

“This smells divine! Let’s dig in before it gets cold,” Theo said.

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

The following Friday, Theo only came to the shop for just a few hours. She stepped out early as there were to be a few furniture deliveries arriving at her new townhouse. As the evening drew near, Violet closed up shop a few minutes early.

“I’ll see you later tonight, Lily, love you!” Violet said as she stepped outside.

She headed straight to Netta Grocery which was just a few storefronts down on Verona Avenue.

Upon entering the local grocery store, Violet was met with the scents of freshly baked bread and aromatic fruits.

“Hey, Violet!” A gentleman in his forties wearing a sage green apron said over his shoulder while bagging a young woman’s groceries.

“Hi there, Nate, nice to see you,” Violet said, walking towards the bakery section at the front of the store and perusing the different loaves of bread.

After dancing her fingers over the various different types of loaves–white, pumpernickel, sourdough, rye, multigrain, gluten-free, she settled on the old faithful: whole wheat. Violet placed the loaf of bread into her baby blue knitted bag and turned away from the bread. She had never asked Theo what her favorite type of bread was, but she didn’t seem to have any complaints over the type of bread when they had been eating the PB and J’s the other day, so she brushed the worry aside.

Next, Violet moved towards the various fruits and vegetables, her eyes glazing over each crate until she reached the tomatoes. She picked out a vine of six plump tomatoes, each that were as big as the palm of her hand. Next, she eyed the onions that were in a nearby crate and picked out three yellow onions, and carefully placed them into her bag beside the tomatoes.

Then, she headed for the deli section on the side of the grocery store, eyeing each of the different types of freshly sliced cheeses. Violet selected a dozen slices of Monterey Jack wrapped in cellophane paper and smiled to herself.

The final items on her grocery list were butter and heavy cream, which she found nestled in the back left-hand corner of the store, next to the milk and other dairy products.

Standing in line, she eyed the various items resting in her bag and hoped that this surprise would be welcomed.

“Whatcha got for me tonight, Violet?” Nate asked as she moved to the front of the line.

“Just a few items,” she said, placing the bag onto the conveyor belt.

“Ooo, making your world-famous tomato soup?” Nate asked, scanning each item.

“How’d you guess?” Violet said, reaching for her coin purse.

“Well,” Nate said, accepting the cash from Violet. “I hope that whoever the lucky person is, they know that they’re gonna be eating liquid gold tonight!”

Knocking on the door to Theo’s townhouse, Violet heard a small crash and a distant “coming!” Moments later, Theo opened the door, her hair tied up in a bun, wearing a white blouse and a long flowing mint green skirt.

“Vy! What a lovely surprise, come in, come in! What do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I thought that you might be in need of a fresh home-cooked meal?” Vy asked.

“You know the way to a woman’s heart,” Theo smiled.

The living room was full of life; a burgundy couch in the center of the room facing the cobblestone fireplace, boxes strewn here and there, and paintings and portraits in decadent frames lining the walls where they will eventually be hung.

“You don’t stop what you’re doing,” Vy said, heading straight for the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour!”

After eating the liquid gold tomato soup and grilled cheeses atop a cardboard box coffee table, Vy and Theo leaned back against the couch.

“I haven’t had a meal that good in ages!” Theo said. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Vy said.

Theo yawned, reaching her arms out in front of her, and then nestled into Vy’s chest.

Vy’s eyes shot wide open, not having expected Theo to have moved so close to her. She wasn't uncomfortable with the sudden closeness, rather, she just hadn’t expected Theo to have initiated it.

“I haven’t had a night like this since he–my late husband, Nygel, passed on,” Theo said.

‘Nygel,’ Vy promptly noted the name to herself.

“He was a lovely man and a wonderful husband, the marriage was full of mutual respect and love just not–love-love, if that means anything,” Theo said, gesturing her hand upwards.

“I was never lucky enough to find a partner suitable enough for marriage,” Vy began, before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I had a lovely girlfriend during my time in the Academy, but our lives were on two different paths, and I refused to let my guard down.” Vy’s voice trailed off. “But ultimately, I’m okay with that, I’ve filled my life with plants and Lily and other types of love instead.”

“Love is such a fickle thing, I hope that one day we can both find it again,” Theo said, craning her neck up to look into Vy’s eyes.

“I hope so, too,” Vy said, maintaining eye contact.

~ ✿ ✿ ✿ ~

That night, as Violet lay down in bed, she thought about the last few weeks that she had spent with her new friend. Staring up at the popcorn ceiling, she considered all the years she had spent living alone in the small town. Yes, she had her faithful cat who went with her from home to work every day, but as far as human companionship, Violet had all but overlooked that department. Maybe it was time to reconsider her current arrangement. Maybe it was time to give love another try.

The following day, Violet arrived at the shop extra early, Lily right at her ankles. She wanted to prepare the store for Theo’s arrival–a homecoming, as it may. Opening the glass doors, Lily bounded inside, heading straight to her favorite morning nap spot under the counter. Violet dusted the shelves, wiped the soil off the sides of pots, and tinkered with the mechanics of the grow lights. Glancing down at her watch, Violet realized that Theo should have arrived a few minutes ago. In their short time knowing each other, Theo was certainly known to be punctual. Violet cocked her head, looking toward Lily as she yawned and slinked her way out of her nook.

“Sorry, she isn’t here yet, Lily,” Violet said.

Lily meowed hoarsely in response.

Violet chuckled to herself; a cat freshly woken from a nap was one of her favorite sights to behold–for it was one of the most vulnerable and precious sights.

“I suppose I can brew some tea for her,” Violet thought aloud.

Violet snipped a few sprigs of fresh mint from the windowsill, nabbed some spare chamomile blossoms off the shelf, and moved to the counter. She pulled a tea kettle out of the lower cabinet, filled it with water from the farmhouse-style sink, and plugged it into the socket at the countertop. She then retrieved two teacups from the top drawer and placed a few chamomile petals and some mint in each glass. Admiring her work, Violet continued to wonder what her friend must be off doing.

Half an hour later, one teacup now empty and the other room temperature, Violet was sat at the workbench, biting her nails. Lily meowed at her feet, brushing her fluffy tail against her legs.

Then, the door jingled open as Theodosia stepped inside, carrying the grandest bouquet of violets.

“I’m so sorry for my tardiness,” Theo said, sitting across from Vy at the workbench.

“Well, you’re clearly excused, you obviously were out on a very important errand,” Vy laughed.

“Oh, yes! These are for you,” Theo said, handing her the bouquet. “I’ve heard through the grapevine that in order to be a ‘true Hoccosinian’ one must gift a bouquet of flowers to a current resident, and I also learned that to date, no one has ever given you, the bouquet queen, a bouquet, so, I wanted to change that.”

With tears filling the corners of Vy’s eyes, she placed the bouquet on the table and maneuvered around the other side of the table to take Theo into a hug.

“Thank you for thinking of me,” Vy said.

“It was the least I could do, after everything you’ve done for me, helping me get accustomed to a new town, for being my first friend here,” Theo said, hugging Vy back.

“I’ve done some thinking,” Vy said, pulling away from the hug but remaining closely beside Theo, their knees brushing. “And I know you said that you want a furry companion, and I think Lily would be the perfect fit for you.”

“Oh–I could never take her from you, that’s preposterous!”

“Don’t be dismayed, Lily would stay with me, I am insinuating that instead of gaining solely a pet as a housemate, I would move in with you as well. I know it may be brash, but we’re not young anymore, we don’t have the need to mince words anymore.”

A smile spread across Theo’s face as she took Violet back into another hug. “Oh, wondrous day! I would be honored!”

Vy pulled back from the hug, staring into Theo’s eyes, admiring her beautiful face, and felt herself soften as her heart begged for her to fall into her emotions fully, deeply, and without restraint. Just as Theo would do.

Vy opened her mouth to speak but was caught off guard by Theo gently grasping her face with both hands.

“May we not mince words? Theo asked.

Violet nodded her head slowly, a small part of herself still unsure.

But as Theo’s soft lips took Vy’s into her own, she felt that everything was suddenly right in the world. She felt herself fall into love, for the first time, without restraint.

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[shirleywritesonthemoon]

Cacophony of Chirps;

Jay laughed as his friends attacked him with hugs and cheers. Today was the day that he turned eight. He knew his sister had something unique and fun planned tonight, but she wanted to keep it a surprise. He suspected that she had rented out a few movies for them to watch long after his father and Jennifer had yet again gotten wasted on his birthday. 

“April twenty-first, today is my birthday,” Jay whispered to himself in a sing-song voice. Today he and Mary picked out a stylish outfit for him to wear. A red and white t-shirt was neatly tucked into dark wash jeans along with his new blue shoes. To look as neat as his outfit did, Mary gently brushed his messy black hair and styled it with some of her hairspray. Jay would’ve hated to ruin his sister’s hard work, so carefully biked to school and made sure no one touched his hair.  

Mary let smoke from her cigarette billow around her, not caring that it made her smell like a house fire. She was worried about Jay’s birthday. Would Jennifer ruin it? Would Peter? She wasn't sure which would try to ruin her brother's birthday first, but she tried to prepare for every single way they could ruin this for him. The dozens of possibilities swirled in her mind like the cloud of smoke she breathed out, the two like a synonym as they hurt her mentally and physically. She sat on the short brick wall just outside the school, glancing around for teachers (not that they’d care). She blew out the smoke once again, only to be met with coughing. She stared in repulsion at the boy in front of her, recognizing his awkward smile. 

“What do you want?” Mary demanded, extinguishing her cigarette on the red bricks. Lo and behold, Christopher “Chris” Brown  was awkwardly waving to her. 

“I-” he stammered, as if he was on loop, “You were all alone so I thought I’d say hi.” 

Mary raised her eyebrow at this. “Why would you wanna say hi to the girl that gave you a black eye last year?” he meekly shrugged in response, his full lips (full for a guy, anyways) curled into a genuine smile. 

He responded, this time with a lifetime's more confidence,“Water under the bridge!” The blonde rolled her eyes, and stuck on her hand. 

“Should we start over then?” she suggested, offering a half smile. Chris nodded and shook her hand. 

“I’m Chris Brown, nice to meetcha,” he reintroduced himself, hope in his mossy eyes. 

She exhaled smoke from her freshly lit cigarette and responded,“Mary-Kathrine Kane, but call me Mary.” Chris took in her appearance, which was far cry from her usual. Her wavy blonde hair was down, hanging in front of her face like a veil. Her bright makeup was replaced by lipgloss and mascara, not that Chris minded. Mary held an unlit cigarette between her fingers and placed it in his hand. 

“Consider that a peace offering,” She explained, holding a lighter to the tip as he placed it in his mouth. 

“So what’re you doing tonight?” He asked, looking at Mary and taking a drag of the cigarette before blowing the smoke on her playfully. 

She rolled her eyes at the action. “Today’s my little brother's birthday, so I’m having a small one for him,” she paused, “You can come if you want, Jay loves new people.” his face grew warm, but he hid it behind a thick cloud of smoke. 

“Sure,” he hummed. He pushed his brown hair back, though he let it fall in front of his face again. 

“We can take my bike to my house, you’ll just have to hold on tight,” The girl said, having a slight joking tone towards the end. The smoke she exhaled twisted and floated around her, making her look a bit like a dragon. Or at least she did to a nerd like Chris. Sitting next to each other, they looked quite contrary. Chris sat straight, with his movie T-shirt, dark wash jeans, dingy sneakers, and glasses. Mary sat in a more lax way, leaning on the wall of the school. Her shorts were light, her shirt was a plain pink, and a leather jacket older than both of them hung off her shoulders. Their only similarity was a cigarette hanging from both of their lips and their smoke mixed together, polluting the air with their worries. 

As discussed, Mary and Chris biked to her house (Chris having a similar reaction to Jay and held on tightly to her waist). They arrived at the house, which was painted a light yellow with a pale green door. She unlocked it, and held it open for the boy. 

“Ladies first,” Mary snickered, a grin on her face. Chris rolled his green eyes, and stepped into the two story house. The shorter teen stepped into the house behind her friend and locked the door behind her. The nerd observes his surroundings and his eyes fell on the tiny boy stretched out on the leather couch. 

“Hey!” He greets the raven haired kid, “You must be the birthday boy, right?” 

Jay looked up at Chris, a large smile on his face. “Yeah! I’m turning 8!” Jay jumped up from the couch and walked up to the pair. “Cool beans, right?” Mary and Chris nodded, and Mary picked up her brother and rested him on her. The brunet raised his eyebrows in surprise at her strength, though he did suppose Jay was on the lighter side. Not a stick, but not pudgy either. Jay pressed his cheek to his sisters as he hugged her. 

“You didn’t forget!” the now eight year old gushed, overjoyed by basic familial decency. 

“I got us cake mix, strawberry, as your majesty requested,” His sister informed, smiling down at him. 

Jay cheered and turned to Chris, who melted a bit inside at the smile Jay showed him. “Do you want to help us make my cake?” Chris nodded as Jay slipped down from Mary’s hug and half-ran half-walked to the kitchen, where he practically dove into the pantry to get the cake mix. He popped up, and held the cake mix above his head like a trophy. Mary shrugged off her leather jacket and joined Jay in the kitchen, and Chris followed, looking a bit like a lost puppy. The three spent the hour mixing the ingredients for the strawberry cake, which would later be shaped into a heart by Mary. After the cake had cooled significantly, she applied pink and yellow marbled frosting (Jay’s favorite colors, but nobody ever knew about the pink part), and tried her best to pipe ‘Happy Birthday Jaybird!’ on the double layer cake. Chris focused on adding piped roses to the sides and on the top of the cake, determined to make this the best cake Jay had seen or eaten. After 30 minutes of meticulous decorating, the cake was set in front of the birthday boy, with eight striped candles placed around the text. Jay blew out the candles and squeezed his eyes shut to make a wish.

“What did you wish for, Jay?” The blonde teen asked. I wish that we could run away and be happy, maybe Chris could visit or even go with us, the raven haired boy thought. But he never got to say that aloud, instead he avoided the question. “If I tell you, it won’t come true!” His sister and her friend looked at each other and smiled. Mary then whispered something in the brunets ear, and went to grab something from her room. She returned with not only a replica of Jay’s stuffed animal, Azul, but the movie Jay had been begging to see. 

“Do you like it?” she anxiously asked. He nodded and trapped her in a tight hug.  Jay peeked his head out from behind his sister and smiled at Chris who smiled back, just as brightly. 

“I’m so glad you like Azul Jr,” Mary smiled. Jay nodded hyis head enthusiastically before bounding bcak to his seat and devouring his slice of pink cake. Mary took this opportunity to start setting up the living room. 

#creative writing #writing project #1980s #supernatural #fairytales #please read #writing #original piece #please reblog #mystery #original content #original character #Almost there #Enjoy