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horseshoe-bay-ledger · 2 years

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Bleeding Hearts — II

Part 2: The Importance of Moths

(Part 1 | The Whole Thing)

The squeak from the floorboards as she re-adjusted her chair brought a warm, familiar feeling to Nancy.

It had been some time since all of them found themselves together in a corner of The Claw working on a case. Their lives had deviated away from this place but it was always what had brought them together not what held them together.

Bess had asked them all to come and, so, they had come.

It was going to be impossible for Nancy to avoid Ace forever anyway, no matter how hard she tried.

She thought the crushing blow she had delivered the other week had landed but, with Ace, you could never really be sure. She was worried he knew her too well—that he would see straight through her anyway and end up jeopardizing his own life. He almost had.

She wouldn’t let him.

The sound of glass breaking cut through the depths of her mind and served as a reminder of what was at stake—what was required.

She was still trying to figure out why Temperance’s curse had a built-in warning system at all. Was it just to torment her or was it something else?

In the end, it probably didn’t matter. Probably.

Ace was sat in the booth, tucked against the wall. The seat beside him had been left deliberately empty, like a few feet of distance would be their salvation. Nancy watched him quietly anyway, finding comfort in the sound of his fingers gliding across the keyboard and the focused set of his brow. It was like nothing had changed.

But the sunlight coming from the window was broken up by the slats of the blinds and banded across his face in stripes of light and shadow.

It was that image that pulled at her heart. All of the pain of this past month, lived twice, opened up within her again. Another reminder of a happiness she could never truly possess.

When Ace’s eyes flicked up and caught her own she had to look away quickly lest her resolve erode entirely.

She’d seen the tiredness in his eyes and knew she was partially to blame.

Nancy hadn’t slept much recently either. When she did her dreams tantalised and tormented her with the soft smile on Ace’s face as he slept. Or the hatchet in Temperance’s back. Always taking too much for her to achieve any proper rest. Sometimes she thought she’d be better off not sleeping but that was hardly sustainable.

It ran deeper than that, though. It was a kind of tiredness in her soul that made her feel like she was fading away, losing herself to it entirely.

She didn’t know what else to do other than what she always did: bury herself into whatever mystery she could find with the hope that the void never truly caught up with her.

So, in a way, she was kind of thankful Bess had brought them all here this morning.

A flow of cold air and the sound of brass ringing came with Nick’s arrival. George’s face hardened when she looked to the door but Nancy knew her well enough to recognise it for what it was: vulnerability.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Nick apologised. “Took me longer than usual to get up Acre Road. Mr. Nelson called out something about frogs? I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much,” Nancy said. “Just Bess’ long speech about the importance of indexing.”

“Hey!” Bess said, feigning offense.

Nancy raised her eyebrows in challenge, asking her to deny the veracity of her statement.

“Okay, okay, well,” Bess said, “it is important but that’s not why I brought you guys here.”

“Really?” Ace deadpanned. “It’s why I came.”

Nancy couldn’t help a small smile as she lifted her mug to take a sip of coffee.

“I hate to interrupt this charming banter,” George cut in, “but now we’re all here can we keep this train rolling? I do have to open this place at some point today, you know, as a restaurant.”

“Since when do you keep consistent hours?” Nancy goaded.

“Ha-ha, Drew. Very funny,” George said, her right eyebrow and crossed arms doing most of the talking. “Bess, why don’t you just tell us what’s going on?”

“Okay, so. It might be nothing but there’s been a lot of activity along the town border that suggests something probably supernatural—”

“Something supernatural going on in Horseshoe Bay, who would’ve thought?” George interrupted.

“What kinds of activity?” Nick asked, trying to diffuse a situation before it became one.

“Well, Marisita told me she was trying to cross the Seafarers Bridge on her way out of town but it was covered in beetles,” Bess explained. “I think the way she described it was ‘something out of a horror movie’. I’ve been hearing similar things all around town. And I mean literally around town, the borders of Horseshoe Bay—reports of wildlife acting strangely.”

“Jackson said he saw an eclipse of Hercules moths the other day when he dropped by to consult with Connor,” Ace contributed.

Everyone looked at Ace confused.

“An eclipse is the collective noun for moths,” Ace explained.

“Of course you would know that,” George said. “So all we’ve got so far is some bugs doing bug-y things. Why do we care about a bunch of moths?”

“Because that particular moth is only found in, like, Australia,” Ace replied not missing a beat. “Jackson thought that maybe they’d escaped from a zoo or something but he didn’t seem convinced. Closest zoo is pretty far away. Unless they hopped on a 26 hour flight to see the famous Horseshoe Bay Maritime Museum, my bets are on something supernatural.”

“Yeah, okay, point taken,” said George. “And there is definitely nobody visiting there. Not since that popcorn incident in ’09—didn’t realise it was even still open.”

“What?” Bess and Nick both asked, intrigued and confused respectively.

“Long and boring story, don’t worry about it,” George said with a wave of her hand. “Ace, when did you become such an expert on these moths?”

“Like two hours ago when Bess texted,” Ace answered. “But I’ve been looking into moths and winged insects lately anyway. Especially mystical ones.”

George nodded like that added up.

Nancy wasn’t convinced by the explanation. Why would Ace be looking into winged insects specifically? It was a strange detail for him to add.

“Fun fact about the Hercules moth,” Ace said way too cheerily, “They don’t eat at all as adults, but their larvae eat the leaves of the ‘bleeding heart’ tree.”

“In my experience, Ace,” Nick said, “‘fun’ and ‘bleeding heart’ shouldn’t be put in the same sentence.”

“It’s just a name,” Ace shrugged.

Nick made a doubtful noise.

Nothing was ever ‘just’ anything in their lives. Maybe this time it was though—all of them had had enough metaphorical and literal bleeding hearts to last a lifetime.

“Might be something, might be nothing,” Bess chimed in, writing furiously in her notebook. “I’ll look into it today when I get back to the Historical Society, see if anything useful comes up.”

“And these strange, ah, phenomena are happening around the borders of Horseshoe Bay?” Nick asked to clarify.

“All the unusual activity, yeah, seems like it,” Bess replied.

“That has to be important right? Could it be a kind of Temperance situation where there’s something keeping someone out of Horseshoe Bay?” Nick postulated.

“Or in,” George suggested ominously and wisely. “Might need to check which side of the town line they’re appearing.”

Nick and George shared a charged look that had nothing to do with what either of them had just said.

There was a moment of quiet Nancy realised she would ordinarily fill. Take charge and come up with a plan of attack. She was feeling less herself lately so it didn’t come instinctively.

“There’s something else too,” Bess added instead, trying to appear as if it were an unimportant afterthought.

She let the anticipatory silence ruminate for longer than Nancy currently had the tolerance for.

“You going to tell us what it is?” Nancy prompted.

“Yes,” Bess replied, terse. “I was just thinking of how best to explain it.”

She threaded her hands together restlessly and then spoke.

“This last week or so it’s been kind of like the energy flows around Na—um… ‘town’ are off. Using magic has been more complicated than usual. At first I thought it was just me being a bit of a novice with it but it was only when… uh, I just don’t think it’s that. It just feels like it might be related maybe or at least something that should be on our radar.”

Nancy narrowed her eyes at Bess’ cagey explanation.

“Like a disturbance in the Force?” Ace suggested.

“I mean sure, like a magical disturbance in the force,” Bess replied, trying to do most of the explaining with her hand gestures now. “Spells just… aren’t quite working as they should.”

“That’s not vaguely cryptic at all,” Nancy said, eyeing Bess still. She was very, very clearly not telling them everything.

“I told you I didn’t know how to describe it properly,” Bess said. “I just wanted you guys to know. Keep an eye out is all I’m saying—something is off.”

“Consider our eyes peeled,” Ace replied. “What else can we do to help?”

“Well if you could keep doing what you’re doing finding those reports and news articles. Maybe check social media too. I can handle that as well and I need to check in with a few people too.”

Ace did a half salute in acknowledgment.

“I thought Nick could handle tapping into that small town gossip, see if anybody knows anything or has seen anything unusual lately.”

“Of course,” Nick said. “Easy.”

“George, maybe you can…”

“Continue to live my life including working here and studying at the same time while looking after my three sisters?” George suggested.

Bess gave her a tepid smile.

“I was going to say could you get Jessie to get one of those fold-out maps of Horseshoe Bay they give to tourists down by the marina—the giant ones that are weirdly detailed?” Bess asked, with an edge of extra politeness.

“Boss Jessie around? That I can do,” George said.

Bess scrunched her nose up at her playfully.

“And Nancy I know you’ve been busy with your new business and everything but if you get any time to look into it? We can always use that Nancy Drew touch.”

Nancy felt like Bess had more faith in her than she should have.

She was almost back to square one, having to do everything on her own. She used to be so good at that—and she still was—but she found she was always better with her friends. They had proven that to her time and time again. So not being able to lean on them, having to actually distance herself from them, had been a significant readjustment. This was her life now she supposed.

“I will do my best,” Nancy promised.

She had plenty of plates spinning already, what was another?

“Well, like she said, George’s has got to open this place sometime,” Nick declared. “And I’ve got to get to the Youth Centre to organise a few things but I’ll ask around town see if anyone knows anything. I’ll check in about those frogs too—see what the story is.”

“And, I,” Bess said delighted and wanting to be included, “will do some more research and see if anything turns up like I said.”

“You also might want to check if there’s any type of supernatural alarm system like that paperweight with the roses for Temperance,” Ace suggested, just as Nancy opened her mouth to say the same thing (or something very similar).

“I have but I will definitely double check,” Bess replied. “I’ve got a special box for all things Temperance-related now just in case. Like her letters and stuff.”

“You managed to get them out of Icarus Hall without them catching fire?” George asked.

“Yeah, Bess figured it out,” Nancy said.

“Wasn’t easy either,” Bess added.

“Turns out Temperance’s curses didn’t die with her,” Nancy said before thinking.

She was in dangerous territory and she knew it, even if the others didn’t.

“Okay, well, Jessie has some marine biology thing down by the marina today before she starts her shift here, I’ll text her and get her to bring the map,” George said.

Nancy thought that all of this really could have just been a text message too.

It was clear Bess had used this as an excuse to get them all together again. Nancy didn’t blame her. They hadn’t had game night in almost months now. This was mainly her fault—she was always the first to turn down the invite.

There might be something more in it though, she supposed, especially with this town. She still hadn’t been able to figure out who—or what—had taken all the bodies from the local cemetery. If they had been taken at all. She had a stack of burial records on her desk ready to be sifted through today. Not knowing where her mother was and if she was still at rest didn’t sit well with her at all but she hadn’t been able to make any real progress on the case despite her best efforts.

“Excellent,” said Bess. “Alright, we should get going so George can do her thing.”

They began to collect themselves to leave.

“You guys want to re-group here tonight?” George proposed.

Everyone paused for a moment because it was George of all people who had suggested it. After everything she’d complained about today. They all nodded or made noises of agreement.

“If you’re offering and there’s pie,” Ace answered.

George scoffed at the addendum but Nancy knew she would cave. She always did with Ace.

“Great, see you all then,” she said simply, disappearing out back.

Nick, too, left without much fanfare—a simple wave and a goodbye.

Ace closed his laptop, grabbing it as he and Bess stood up in sync.

“Catch you later, Nancy,” Bess said.

“Yeah, bye guys,” Nancy replied, directing her words to the both of them. “Good luck with your research.”

Ace gave her a short nod and a tight smile, not meeting her eye. He tucked his hair behind his left ear uncertainly.

Good. That was a good thing, she reminded herself.

How warped her world had become.

She gave him a single nod in return, unable to properly meet his eye either.

“I promise I’ll keep looking into it, Bess,” Ace said seriously, as they walked past either side of Nancy’s chair. And then, not so seriously, “I’ll take an extra-long lunch. Do you need a ride? I’ve got enough time—late start today.”

“Yeah, that would be great actually, thank you,” Bess replied. “Addy’s car is getting it’s suspension fixed or something. You’d know better than me…”

Bess kept chattering away as her and Ace left. The door swinging shut cut their voices off and left Nancy in the dining room by herself.

She didn’t have anywhere to be urgently, so she took a minute, sliding into the corner of the now vacant booth.

She was lost in thought, reflecting when she heard her phone buzz. She couldn’t bring herself to look at it just yet. It was probably Lachlan checking to see where she was at with his phantom letter writer. She did not have the energy to deal with him right now so she sat there for a little while longer.

Eventually George came over with a take-away bag.

“C’mon, Nancy, I know you don’t miss the place that much,” she said, putting the bag in front of her. “There’s a tuna melt in there for you. Do not forget to eat it or the spirits of my ancestors will wreak vengeance upon you.”

She paused before adding, “Oh, and a slice of pie they’re mostly ambivalent about.”

Nancy smiled, letting out a breath of laughter.

“Don’t worry it’s pumpkin, not blueberry. I promise,” George assured.

“Thanks, George,” she said, grabbing the bag and sliding out from the booth. “Really.”

George knew how to love better than any of them, it’s just sometimes that took the form of a tuna melt and slice of pumpkin pie.

“Alright, Drew, get out of here,” George replied, brushing off the thanks and shooing her away with her hands. “We need these tables for paying customers.”

With that not-so-gentle command Nancy took her leave, heading out the door of the Claw.

...

(Part 3: The Pretence of Pie)

#nd #nace fic #nancy drew fic #fic #bleeding hearts

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alyjojo · 1 year

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Love Reading 💙 - January 2023 - Aries

Singles:

Overall energy: Justice rev

How you will meet: King of Pentacles

How they will treat you: Knight of Pentacles

Long-term Potential: The Empress rev

The reading pretty much blames you for any issues going on with you and this person, you come up as King & Queen of Pentacles. You’re being unfair to this person by holding on to some toxic bs that needs to be released. You could be a bit of a partier, that may be how you meet in the first place, you like to go out together and have fun. But like…THAT’S the priority, not stability, not a future, just getting drunk possibly and having a good time. Every time. It turns into toxic, there could be some level of addiction with The Devil here. Many possibilities of what that is. How they treat you is moving slow as molasses to plan a future between you, or that could be you. There doesn’t seem to be much interest in the long term, and for that area there is no growth, no potential, and a devastated person that feels stabbed in the back and betrayed because of an inevitable ending. Which may also be unfair. Shadow Self comes up on your side, I would assume the demons that need work are on your side. Your person comes up as damaged, they’ve been through enough already. You’ve got a Sid & Nancy type of dynamic here. Someone is going to get hurt. Probably them.

Messages -

Their side:

- I am damaged 😵

- I don’t want anyone else.

Your side:

- Let it go.

- Shadow Self 😈

Signs you may be dealing with:

Capricorn 💯 Libra & Taurus

Couples:

Overall energy: Ace of Cups

Current: 3 Wands

Challenge: Page of Wands

Potential: 10 Cups

The relationship is off, but it’s not totally off, you’re wanting a redo, or you’re at the very beginning of a new start with Ace of Cups. There’s been apologies, you’re working on healing from whatever went on between you the last time. You’re just waiting for the ick vibes to pass, thinking that they don’t have to be discussed or dealt with. They’re just going to *poof* disappear and everything is fine. Oi. That’s the challenge, when that doesn’t work. Your person probably feels this whole avoidant dynamic is unfair to them, they’re not cooperating with you unless you speak up. And you do, enough to appease them, but not enough to actually solve the issues between you. Like it’s alright today, but the same thing is just gonna repeat until you two get on each other’s pages. Potential is 10 Cups, on the outside you’re both very happy. Underneath, no one talks about the heavy burdens between you and I guess they’re just going to disappear. Your will IS that strong after all, by focusing on the positive, what negative?

Messages -

Their side:

- XXX

- I just want to be alone.

Your side:

- I still think of you.

- I love to surprise you 🥳

Oracles -

Their side: Never allow bigotry of sex, race, religion, creed or politics to enter your life.

Your side: Be proud of the body you’re in. After all, the outside is not you.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius & Libra

#aries tarot reading #love reading #singles reading #couples reading #january 2023 #Aries #tarot

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scarletslippers · 2 years

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congrats on a 100 followers!!! If it's not too much trouble,, and you haven't done it yet, 12? from the prompt list? 🥰

You ask for possessive Ace, May? That is what you shall receive.

Listen. Could I have ended this fic at several points? Sure I could have. But is it really a possessive Ace fic if he doesn't face off with Gil Bobbsey?

Hence, its 2k, rest under the cut or Read on AO3

Hand-holding #12 - Possessive hand-holding

As a general rule, Ace doesn’t much go in for the possessive boyfriend act. Nancy Drew is not a woman to be owned and he refuses to treat her as such. It’s a partnership, a meeting of equals.

He’s more than happy to tell some jerk to get lost, but Nancy is also more than capable of doing that herself. She’s held her own against the paranormal and mundane alike, she doesn’t need him swooping in to save the day. And if for some reason she does, he knows, he hopes she’ll let him know.

He always keeps an eye out, of course. Watches her neatly handle every creepy Claw customer that comes her way with a sarcastic smile and a firm hand and nimble step out of reach. He hates it. It makes his stomach turn to watch, and even more to watch how practiced she is.

She catches his eye once when she returns to the kitchen for another bowl of chowder, instantly noting his discomfort and concern, a new more fiercely protective edge just below the surface.

“I’m fine, Ace. Just the life of a waitress. Nothing that Bess or George or I haven’t dealt with a hundred times over.”

“So you all keep telling me.” His jaw clenches as he regards her. “I just - Promise me that if you do need me, you’ll let me know? Don’t be a hero? I know you can hold your own, but that doesn’t mean you have to.” He flashes her a quick smile, ducks his head shyly as he tugs on the brim of his backwards snapback. “I uh, I wouldn’t mind occasionally playing the possessive, protective boyfriend.”

The smile she rewards him with is wide and bright. “Well, maybe, occasionally, I wouldn’t mind playing the damsel in distress.”

She tests it out almost immediately, when some beefy jock he vaguely recognizes from high school starts hitting on her in the produce department during a grocery run for George. Some not so veiled comment about juicy tomatoes.

Nancy looks over at him as he gathers celery and her smile is a challenge. You gonna handle this?

Ace grins wickedly back, preparing a tailor-made response for the perpetrator in question. He stalks over and slings a heavy arm over Nancy’s shoulder. “Hey babe. This guy bothering you?”

The jock eyes him up for a moment, and Ace pushes his hair back so his earring glints under the fluorescents, tightens his arm around Nancy. Nancy for her part curls in, looks up, blushing prettily. Damn she’s good.

The guy quickly flees and Nancy cackles a loud laugh before looking Ace up and down appraisingly. “Not bad. I’ll rate that rescue a 7/10.”

“A seven?!” He’s monumentally offended. “I got rid of him so fast!”

“It was good. For a first attempt. Keep up the good work and maybe I’ll improve your score.”

The second time requires a little more finesse, both of them in black tie at a Hudson gala. Nancy is caught in the corner by an ancient hilltopper, who is leering rather obviously at her low neckline. Ace can practically hear the sugar daddy offer from here. He’s already on his way over when she raises a beckoning eyebrow. You’re up.

Ace sidles up smoothly, placing a warm hand to the small of her back where the dress dips low, rubbing his thumb against her spine. “There you are, darling,” he says, speaking directly over the man. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He spares the man a withering glance before settling all his attention on Nancy. Making it very clear that she’s already the sun in someone else’s orbit.

Nancy completes the charade, smiling at him brilliantly before looking almost pityingly back at the older man. “It was nice talking with you, Mr. …?” She trails off and Ace almost blows it with a laugh at the idea that Nancy Drew would have forgotten a name.

Ace tugs her away before the man can reply, staring him down as he takes Nancy’s hand and pulls it up to his lips, staking his claim.

“So?” He whispers in her ear as they walk away.

“I’ll give you an 8.5.”

The next time is at work, and she widens her eyes as he emerges to bus a table in a silent plea. All it takes is a possessive hand dropped to the back of her neck as she takes an order and the customer seems to shrink into himself, nods at Ace in respect. What an asshole.

Nancy’s waiting for him in the kitchen when he returns. “Seriously, this is great, I don’t know why we didn't start doing this sooner. I know I should be offended and all, and I am offended, really, because feminism. But damn, it is just way easier to have you do it for me.” She grins, delighted. “You know how I love efficiency.”

“I do.” He kisses her forehead, laughingly. “Always happy to offer my services.”

And she takes him up on it, seriously, one night. It's 90’s night at some bar Bess has dragged them to, and Ace is content to watch their drinks, enjoying seeing the girls dance and belt out lyrics to the music. Carefree, for once.

Some guy attempts to join their group, leaning in close to Nancy, presumably to drop a terrible pick up line or try to get her name. Her smile is small and tight as she very clearly steps away from him to situate herself closer to Bess and George. Ace is on high alert, practically rising from the table already, but he waits. That’s their deal. He’ll wait until she needs him.

The guy can’t take a hint though. Moving again after Nancy and trying to dance with her. He’s far too close and creepy but so far it’s not… there it is. An arm wrapped around her waist, trying to tug her in even as she pulls away. Ace is already on his feet when her slightly panicked eyes meet his.

He pushes firmly through the crowd, reaching her side just as George is about to step in. One hand grips hers tightly, while the other peels the offending fingers from her hip.

“Woah man, what are you doing? We were having a great time!”

“If forcing yourself on a woman who is clearly telling you she’s not interested is your idea of a ‘good time’. Get lost.”

The guy looks at Nancy like he’s expecting her to refute this, but she just holds Ace’s hand in both of hers, sliding one up to grip his bicep and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Once the offender has left, Nancy turns into him, linking her fingers behind his neck as his hands settle on her waist. He questions her with his eyes, grips his fingers tighter into her hips, are you okay?

Nancy smiles sweetly up in response. “My hero. Thank you,” she says more seriously. “George and I could have handled it but, I must admit, it’s pretty hot to see you in action.” One hand tugs up into his hair to pull him down for a kiss, and Ace finds himself smiling as she pulls away.

“Do I get extra points for looking sexy?”

She cocks her head, pretending to consider it. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

Ace gets so caught up in the fun flirtation of it all that he almost forgets just how terrible this whole thing is. Forgets exactly what level of crap Nancy deals with that requires rescuing. But it doesn’t take much to bring him crashing back down to reality.

“Well, if it isn’t Nancy Drew.”

The sarcastic drawl makes him freeze, fingers of frost stopping his breath and crawling through his veins. It’s been just long enough that he’d almost forgotten about this particular asshole.

Gil Bobbsey.

And of course Nancy is halfway down the street, alone, playing Hudson heiress at the latest family sponsored event. Ace moves toward them but hangs back, situating himself in her line of vision so that she can see him for support; ask for help if she needs it.

She looks stricken, as frozen as he feels and he has to force himself not to run to her.

He waits. That’s the deal.

Except more and more fear is building in her eyes and she’s not looking at him. In a slow moment of horror, Ace realizes that she’s too caught by it all to even process, to think of a way out.

Sorry, Nancy, he thinks as he half walks, half jogs over. You can be mad at me later if you want.

Ace frantically plans his interference in his head as he heads down the street. Every inch of him wants to punch Gil’s lights out, grab Nancy and run, but that would make a scene. Which would be particularly damning at a Hudson event.

No, what he has to do is make sure that Nancy emerges the victor.

“Look at you, Nancy Hudson now. The girl sleuth shtick wasn’t enough, just had to get your hand in every pot, huh? Didn’t want to be slumming it anymore. How many people did you have to sleep with to get that title? I bet every hilltopper was just dying to get a piece of the pie.”

“Gil,” she starts, just as Ace is reaching her. He takes her hand firmly to lend his support. Inserts himself in a way that tells Gil to back the hell up but doesn’t make Nancy look weak. This is not the time for their damsel in distress charade.

“Oh,” Gil spares a disdainful glance for Ace, “but you are slumming it. I should have known it’d be him. Nancy Hudson sleeps around to get what she wants, then comes down here to get well and truly fu -“

“Gil -“, every inch of Nancy’s voice is colored with shock and hurt, anger and vulnerability.

“That’s enough.”

“And you, her little lapdog. She calls and you come running.” Ace has to stop himself from laughing in his face. Words from a man who knows nothing about loyalty.

“I said, that’s enough. Walk away Gil.”

Gil has barely looked away from Nancy though, eyes sharp and dangerous, and Ace realizes it’s going to take her word to put an end to this. He squeezes her hand reassuringly.

“I think I’ve made it very clear, Gil. That I never want to speak to you again.”

Gil takes one threatening step forward and this time Ace can’t help it. He uses his grip on Nancy’s hand to tug her halfway behind him protectively. Her shoulder rests behind his arm and her shaking vibrates through him.

Finally, Gil turns, and as soon as he’s far enough Ace pulls her hand again, leading them firmly through the crowd in the opposite direction. He ducks into the first alleyway he finds, next to the ice cream shop, and whirls on her, pulling her in.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispers in her hair, over and over.

Nancy pulls back to look at him in confusion, face still white and at this point, a little tear stained. “What are you sorry for?”

“I know you didn’t ask me to step in. And it was probably important for you to handle that one on your own. But I’ve seen that look on your face before, when you’ve had flashbacks about the wraith and -“ His words are cut off by Nancy’s arms around him, face buried in his neck.

“No. No, I needed you. I did. Thank you for knowing that and stepping in when you did.” She tilts her head back to smile at him a little sadly. “That was a perfect 10.”

Ace just tugs her back in at that, gripping tightly as if the weight of his arms around her will stop her trembling. “If that’s what it takes to get a 10, I don’t want it. I don’t ever want you to go through that again.”

#protective Ace is sexy #the established nace agenda #nace #nace fanfiction #nancy and ace #nancy drew cw #my fic #fic rec #100 followers celebration #help me celebrate #touch prompts #fanfiction

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winterlovesong1 · 2 years

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Winter’s Nancy Drew Rewatch

Welcome to my first rewatch of my current favorite comfort show ❤️ Under the cut are my thoughts and a few insights I hope you enjoy - I’ll be going through each episode and posting these periodically with the tag winter rewatched Nancy Drew.

Episode 1x10 - The Mark of the Poisoner’s Pearl

Super intriguing episode title, first epic Nace episode - no coincidences here!

Overall MVP

Probably the whole crew, minus Bess. Sorry Bess but as Ace said “because that’s what friends do - we show up. Except for Bess.”

Most Heartfelt Moment

There were honestly so many - but probably the end when Nancy finally accepts the call from her Dad.

Also, just some poetic mentions here - I like how it was Nick and George that saved Nancy in the end - it illustrates they both really care about her and it’s not about any official we are together or not or we’re labeling ourselves as BFF’s or not, it’s more profound than that - it’s we’ll always be there for you - no matter what our relationship status is.

Also poetic is the fact that Ace is the one to hand over Nancy’s “threat” to the authorities, that he’s also aiding in saving her, even if its not directly her at this point, it’s the cause of her harm and that speaks volumes to how much he cares about her and foretells how his feelings will later grow to saving her directly in later seasons.

Most Comedic Moment

Hands down “y’all put my face on a cake” - but it’s not so much “comedic” as it is endlessly endearing and gosh, how I love my precious boy.

Best Overall Line

Again, this is no contest with:

Nancy: Ace did you learn anything from the obits?

Ace: Yeah, life’s short.

Don’t tell me Nancy wasn’t impressed by her husband’s witty comeback.

Scare Rating

I get there was tension, but it wasn’t really a “scary” episode per say - so maybe a one or a two here at most.

Nace Slow Burn Rating

So prior to this episode, I kept all the ratings at a five or below, but with this, they crossed the threshold into six territory. It’s like Ace got out of a coma and said “I’m impressing my future wife and I’m doing it with a sling - in style.”

First, let me mention up front, Laura - you know, Ace’s girlfriend (I suppose that’s what we are terming her, even though that doesn’t feel right...), the one who he was in a near fatal accident with, yeah, her - NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. Besides a brief mention from Celia of all people, not even Ace mentions her name. Why? Because again, boy is trying to impress his future wife - he’s not thinking about anything else this episode.

Second, Nancy was in charge of getting flowers for Ace and it just makes me think of what flowers she would have gotten him if she had actually remembered...*drabble in here somewhere*

Ok, now onto the first big scene -

I clocked how Ace, after he notices the amazing cake and does a couple of hugs, does a very obvious double take with Nancy, swallowing and almost had a not so subtle lovestruck look, like oh gosh this girl I tried to prove myself to prior to crashing out, I really have to talk to her. And even as George dismisses that she’s happy he’s alive, he still is trying to just gravitate himself towards her, drifting his eyes over to her and tracking her the whole time George is trying to converse with him. Boy has his priorities straight now. Yeah recovery from coma has its challenges (only two weeks though apparently in the ND universe...) but he’s probably had flickers of memories during that two week period of not being able to tell her he loves her *cough* I mean that he’s sorry - call it coma epiphany.

However, in a surprise turn, Nancy is the first to say I’m sorry because she’s been holding those words in and thinking of them over and over just as much as Ace. They both dance skittishly around each other and its endlessly adorable and then Ace asks how she is and her phone rings which leads me to observe Nick asked Nancy how she was moments ago and she responded with “everyone asks me that.” In Ace asking her that same question and getting interrupted meaning she technically didn’t respond I’m taking that as she would have been honest given the chance and we would have gotten some truth out of one Nancy Drew.

Just one subtle difference that I’m choosing to view as intentional between the two relationships.

Second big scene -

The meet the parents vibes all over the scene is something I’m in LOVE with.

This episode should be framed and put in a gallery.

Note that Thom calls Nancy the hero of horseshoe bay and Ace replies with yes the one and only and dips his eyes toward the ground all bashful. Boy fell hard during coma didn’t he?

Yeah, he’s loved her for a long time...But honestly, I’m going to clock this as perhaps his crush senses for Nancy just got elevated this episode and he’s starting to catch a flicker of feels. How can you not see it all over his precious face? It’s also telling as Ace tracks the entirety of Nancy’s interactions with his Dad - the one person he’s probably genuinely intimated by and if this whole “meet and greet” operation fails he doesn’t really know what side he’s going to take - my bet is it would have probably been Nancy’s - but the way his eyes clock over to her when she suggests decode the cypher together - there’s nothing but impressed etched in his features.

Then when Nancy needs Ace to record her - it’s the first iteration of Ace’s protection energy on display and how he doesn’t like it when she places herself in danger. It’s the first iteration of “I don’t like this and I need her safe.”

Third scene -

I continued to fall in love with this episode, but this scene solidified it - the domestic energy when Nancy says Ace where are the obits - I can just picture her saying something like in that exact annoyed, but loving tone when they are married - like sometimes that man...affection laced in every word despite the mild irritation in her words.

Yeah, she’s falling too...

And then domesticity continues with when she proceeds back the Claw to find said obits and Ace’s now we can get started - PRICELESS husband energy.

Also, Ace is keeping up with Nancy this episode, but it’s especially illustrated in this scene when he’s literally on the heels of everything she’s saying - the same brain vibe is painted in every gesture and wide eye and relenting sigh - all the way through the cherished and underrated line of Bridget and Pam - so DOMESTIC.

Then we get to the high school and the tone shifts and the pacing starts to pick up as the mystery unfolds - but don’t think I didn’t notice that smile Nancy gave Ace - I mean the crew - when they arrived. Special mentions of lines during this sequence include Ace’s stay alive - which has the same tone as Ace’s later just be careful around your mystical relatives - and during the conversation with his Dad - which mind you, must have been incredibly hard for him to make that call, but he did it FOR NANCY - and he mentions Nancy and his friends - now I get it, Thom probably has only met Nancy and not the rest of the crew, so that could be the reason for the exclusion, but it could also be...well, you know where I’m going with that...

Lastly, when Nancy is talking about her dad and mentions I’ve been too scared to talk to the one person I care most about because I feel like I failed him - wow, I mean you could place that line directly into season three or the impending season four and that would work perfectly - it would be sort of an odd call back, but look Nancy is obviously very hard on herself when it comes to relationships - romantic, platonic, or paternal, and so having her say a version of that as a way to say she really hasn’t grown all that much in that aspect of herself might be nice.

And then the final moment - I always find it interesting in big group scenes how the writers decide to break it apart afterwards, like how are they going to untangle this and disperse the group - in this case, they ultimately give the “big” moment to Nick and Nancy - which I think is appropriate because they need to be given the spotlight in transitioning from being together to being friends. But they also gave the “second spot” so to speak to Nancy and Ace - which again, is foreshadowing where they’re relationship will lead...

Fashion Moment

ACE’S BALLCAP IS BACK!! But also Nancy’s sweater this episode - so much...lower...than any of her previous sweaters - coincidence in the first big Nace episode? I think not....

And it’s not a fashion moment so much as an aesthetic one - the gnomes in Ace’s front yard <3 we love to see it.

Missing Moment Drabble

This was born out of the idea that Nancy ended up getting those flowers she was supposed to...

She meanders around the corner store in two, three revolutions before she hears a comforting, but inquisitive, “Nancy, dear, is there something I can help you with?”

Abruptly looking up at Lily herself, the owner she’s known since she was five, but had gotten to know especially well when she ended up supplying the majority of the arrangements for a certain funeral at half price.

She really shouldn’t be surprised to see her for she was here most days and hardly left the store, hesitant to let her husband do any of the business upkeep duties that came with owning such a proprietorship, yet she found herself standing wide eyed in front of her none the less, mouth slightly agape, cheeks blushing in embarrassment until she eventually stutters out the obvious, “I need some flowers.”

“That I could have guessed,” again, warmly spoken despite the sarcastic word choice.

She shuffles her sneakers on the title floor and tips her eyes toward the ground, rambling on in an ask of, “what would you get a friend who just woke up from coma that wasn’t directly your fault, but it feels like your fault and you feel incredibly guilting about the whole situation?”

Rather than try and answer an impossible question, she feels a palm placed upon her shoulder and a kind suggestion of, “how about some daisies?”

She would have never thought of it herself, but she goes with the simple idea and as she’s about to head out the door with the bouquet wrapped in a parchment paper cone, she finally asks, “why daisies, Lily?”

She smiles from behind the register and remarks, “your friend has a new start in life. Sometimes new starts lead to different paths. And what’s more beautiful to fill that new path than some white linen daisies? Have a good day Nancy!” waving as she heads out the door, the echo of the bell on the door resounding at her back.

New start…

Different paths…

She really hopes he liked them.

#this episode should be framed and hung in a gallery #it was perfect <3 #nace was perfect <3 #anyways enjoy my rambling #and a short little drabble #nace drabble #nace fluff #nace fluff drabble #winter rewatched nancy drew #writing: winter's

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plotting-against-you · 3 years

Text

Will It Ever Be the Same (Part 1)

Fandom: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)

Characters: Ryan Hudson, Nancy Drew, Ace, Bess Marvin, George Fan, Ned 'Nick' Nickerson

Prompt(s): This is based on two prompts. One of those prompts is from Alicia, who asked: "Could you do one where Nancy is 13 instead, has blonde hair like Lucy, and blue eyes like Ryan? She goes to his place like in 1x17 to get help for the ritual and on the way out she gets dizzy because she's been working herself to exhaustion. In that moment Ryan notices how similar she looks to Lucy and himself but decides not to say anything but also knows Nancy is his. She eventually tells him before doing the ritual. They go back to his place and he just says 'I know it's you'. She gets overwhelmed, almost passes out, and he just sits with her and tells her to rest."

This is also for @nancydrewcentral's week 2 hiatus prompt: Time Period AU.

Warnings: Panic/Anxiety attacks, mentions of anxiety and coping mechanisms, mentions of character deaths (past and present), mentions of suicide

Nancy wrapped her arms around herself as she bent over, heaving shallow breaths into the air. The sky grew lighter now, as she’d been running for most of the night, and she found herself unsure what to do or where to go next.

“You’re DNA wasn’t a match for the female hair.”

“It’s a mother-daughter match for Lucy Sable.”

“She’s me. The baby is me.”

She couldn’t believe the information she had just found out, and she wished she were older. She thought that if she were older, she might have had more experience in life to handle this sort of life-shattering revelation, but being only fourteen years old, all she felt was betrayal.

And heartbreak.

And panic.

So maybe she felt a lot of things, Nancy admitted to herself, but she felt she had the right to do so. Her whole life had been turned upside-down in a matter of a few hours, and she wasn’t sure what to do now.

She’d been told stories of how hard freshman year in high school could be, but she was positive her friends hadn’t meant this.

She saw headlights approaching and ducked behind a tree, holding her breath as they passed. Though she knew it could be dangerous for someone as young as her to be out alone all night, she was in no mood to face her father. Besides, it wasn’t like she was inexperienced.

She was Nancy Drew, after all.

Or was she?

She let herself plop onto her butt in the grass as she contemplated what to do next. She couldn’t face Carson—for calling him ‘Dad’ now was too hard—but she couldn’t stay out there for too much longer. She’d left her jacket as she climbed out her bedroom window and had started to shiver as soon as she had stopped running.

Her heart ached for the only woman she’d ever known as mother, Kate Drew, and her feelings were mixed there. She didn’t want to be bad at her…whatever she was to her now. Kate had died only a year earlier, and coming to terms with the fact that she’d lied to her hurt more than she wanted to admit.

Then she shivered again and realized she had to find somewhere to take shelter.

She could go to The Claw, she knew. She and her friends had picked up summer jobs working there for cash—under the table of course and no pun intended—and Dawn had always said they could go there whenever they needed. But her friends wouldn’t be there for a few hours yet, and Nancy wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to explain her new parentage to them yet.

As the rush of memories from the night prior filled her head, she picked out one statement that kept replaying itself.

“Ryan Hudson is my biological father.”

She’d seen Ryan Hudson in many different ways over the last few months. For fourteen years, she’d known him as the rich, arrogant hill topper who only graced their town when it was convenient for him or his business dealings.

Then his wife had died during her shift at The Claw, and they’d all been thrown into what she thought would be the weirdest time in her life. Being a murder suspect at fourteen wasn’t what any of her friends had expected for their lives, but it had happened. It was while she was trying to solve that case that she started to see a different side to the man.

Then she’d found out everything regarding his painful loss of Lucy Sable, and her heart broke for him.

Though she’d wanted to help him and Lucy’s ghost in some way, she was forced to put her feelings on pause as even crazier things came to pass—it would be just their luck to call to a sea spirit that wanted them dead—and she’d had to change her list of priorities.

Now all she could think about was how she knew the difficulty in trying to reconcile something in your brain that you had no control over and no knowledge of, no matter how hard you tried.

Standing from her spot in the damp grass, she took a deep breath and started walking again.

This time she knew exactly where she was going.

…

Her phone rang just as she was approaching Ryan’s house.

Groaning as she assumed it was her…Carson, again, she lifted it to hang up but stopped when she saw that it was Ace instead.

He’d been at The Claw with her the night before when she’d read the DNA match on John Sanders’ laptop. So far, he was the only one to know her secret outside of herself and Carson, and she’d only let him stay because he refused to leave her side.

Though he was usually more ‘chill’ than that, he could be a very protective boyfriend when he wanted to be.

She knew that he would be worried about her, especially considering he knew her better than anyone else in her life. So, deciding it would be a good idea to at least tell him she was alive and not eaten by a bear or killed by the Aglaeca, she answered and lifted it to her ear.

“Ace.” She breathed his name out like he was the life raft she needed to save her from drowning.

“Nancy.” She could hear the concern in his voice. “Where are you? Are you okay? Your dad called my parents and said that you ran away.”

She bit her lip. “Carson told me the truth after I confronted him.”

“Oh, Nance…” He used her nickname, and it squeezed at her heart.

“I’m sorry I made you worry.” Her voice was thick with tears as she felt them rush to her eyes. “I can’t be around him right now.”

Ace’s voice was soft as if he were calming a scared animal. “You could have come to me.”

She shook her head, though she knew rationally that he couldn’t see her. She had the brief thought that maybe he had hacked a satellite and could possibly see her. When they’d started dating, he promised he would do anything he could to keep her happy and safe.

“I’m sorry. If I had come there, your parents would have told Carson, and I just….”

“I get it.” His voice was equal parts comforting and protective. “Just tell me if you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” She sniffed.

“Good. Because I know you’re dealing with a lot, but uh, George’s mom says the Aglaeca’s coming after us.” He said it quickly as if ripping off a band-aid.

This stopped her in her tracks, and she paid no mind to the fact that she stood on the side of a dangerously curved road in the middle of nowhere.

In her silence, he continued. “Nick, Bess, George…we’ve all gotten these really weird visions. Portents. Have you?”

She sighed and closed her eyes in defeat. “I vomited up a seaweed wreath yesterday morning.”

“I would say that qualifies.” He said lightly.

“When I went to look for it later, it had turned to sand. Are you saying the Aglaeca did that?” She hadn’t believed in the supernatural before Tiffany Hudson’s murder, but she wholeheartedly believed in it now.

“Yeah.” Ace hesitated. “Apparently, it’s like a bloodhound. And because the Aglaeca responded to your call for Lucy’s bones, you’re acting as its gateway.”

“What, Ace? What aren’t you telling me?” Nancy knew her boyfriend well, and he was holding something back from her.

“Uh…well, that also means you’re the one that’s capable of stopping it.”

“You don’t sound hopeful about that.” Her heart lurched in sudden anxiety. “Do you not trust me to do it?”

“No!” He said quickly before correcting himself. “I mean, yes. Obviously, I trust you. It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

It was his turn to sigh. “Well, George’s mom says that you can throw it off your trail by mixing your blood with somebody else’s. Disguising yourself so that, you know, the curse can’t find you, because if it can’t find you, it can’t find any of us.

“Uh, but…the ritual has to be done with a relative. Your blood relative.”

There was the catch and the reason for his earlier hesitation. “Well, that’s a problem, because…you saw the test results last night. My closest relative is not my blood relative.”

“But Ryan Hudson is.” He sighed again. “Listen, I know that poses certain challenges, and don’t worry. You know your secret is safe with me. But…”

“I, uh…” She started walking again and let the gears in her head turn. “I think I have a plan.”

“Nancy, babe, what are you going to do?” His voice held concern again, but also admiration.

He constantly made sure she knew how in awe he was at her detective skills and her ability to make the best of even the worst situations.

“I’ll meet you guys at Bess’ aunt’s party, okay?”

“Can you at least tell me the plan?” Ace was quick with his words, knowing full well that she could hang up at any moment.

“I have to talk to my father.”

…

Ryan crouched on the ground, frozen in place as he looked at the papers scattered in front of him. He’d been up nearly all night searching for any clue as to why Lucy hadn’t talked to him before taking her own life.

Then he’d picked up on the clues she’d written in her journal, and his mind had stopped.

Stroking his finger over Lucy’s baby picture he’d found in her yearbook, he allowed his mind to wander to every what-if scenario that came at him

What if Lucy had been pregnant? Were either of them ready to be parents at eighteen?

What if she’d told him about the baby? Would it have made a difference?

What if she’d lived? Could they have raised their baby together?

What if his parents found out? Is that why they threatened her?

Ryan was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed his front door opening and whipped his head up to make sure it wasn’t either of the elder Hudsons coming in. He couldn’t have them knowing what he knew—they could react any number of ways. If he did have a child out there, he didn’t want them anywhere near his parents.

Then he caught sight of Nancy and sighed. “What, did you break-in? Figured you and your dad would be celebrating by now.”

Nancy remembered how Ryan had thanked them after the hearing had adjourned. He’d been upset by everything that happened but also grateful that they’d found out the truth of what happened with Lucy.

She felt horrible for having to go back on those things and hurt him again.

She wondered how she was supposed to once again break the heart of this man who had been through so much. He was only thirty-two and had lost the love of his life and his wife. Now, after twenty-four hours of thinking he knew exactly what had happened, Nancy was supposed to add more to his plate? It was causing her heart rate to spike, and she knew a panic attack was coming.

She saw the hopeful look in his eye and couldn’t do it. She wasn’t going to be the one to deal another blow to his fragile mental health.

“I need your help.”

“Uh, sorry, I can’t today. I have to get over to the free clinic in Trenton.” He was still crouched on the ground as he spoke.

Her face scrunched in confusion, and something shifted in his brain that he couldn’t quite place.

“Don’t you have rich people health insurance?” She questioned him as she moved over to the counter.

He rolled his eyes at her teenage sarcasm. “It’s not for me, okay? I’m trying to get answers on Lucy. The court clerk gave me a copy of her journal.”

Her already accelerated heart rate sped up as she turned to him. “Why?”

“Why?” He sounded appalled by the question and stood. “Because my dad threatened her! I wanted to make sure he wasn’t being physically violent. I didn’t see anything in her journal about that, but I did find some other helpful things.”

Every time he spoke, he made her anxiety worse, not that he was aware of it. “Like what?”

“I mean, you’re still young, so I don’t want to read some of it to you, but in early spring of 2000, she was writing stuff that makes me think….” He trailed off, unsure if he should tell her what he found.

She was only fourteen, after all. He didn’t know what she knew or if she was even comfortable with the subject.

“Go on.” She looked at the back of the papers in his hand, not being able to meet his eye. “I’m not a child.”

Ryan sighed. “I think she might have been pregnant.”

Nancy fought to keep the gray from edging into her eyesight as she swallowed down the rising panic within her. She knew if she didn’t give into the feelings soon, or at least do some techniques that she’d been taught, she’d pass out or worse. But she didn’t want to give away her secret to him just yet—if ever—so she shook her head.

“And you think the baby was yours?”

He scoffed. “Of course, it would have been mine! Lucy and I were…dating…around New Year’s, and so yeah. Mine.”

“You mean you were sleeping together around then.” She corrected for him and rolled her eyes at the shocked and slightly horrified look on his face. “Oh, stop that. I’m in high school now. I know these things.”

Then she caught the new look on his face and froze. He no longer looked shocked or horrified by her words but stared at her as if he was looking right through her. She felt her throat tighten and took a step back.

Ryan stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. Whatever had shifted in his head minutes earlier when she’d scrunched her face had returned the moment she rolled her eyes at him, and all the puzzle pieces had come together.

Both of those faces were exact replicas of his and Lucy’s expressions respectfully, and suddenly he was seeing what he hadn’t through their entire “working” relationship.

Besides the fact that Lucy had been haunting both of them, the young detective had told him she was allergic to wasps’ stings, and so was he. In addition to that, he remembered seeing her bite her lip when she was nervous, a trait that Lucy had right up until the day she died.

Then there were her looks. Her blonde hair may have been turning redder every day, but it was undoubtedly Lucy’s, as were her blue eyes his. She was the perfect combination of them, and he knew the truth in his heart.

Lucy had been pregnant. And Nancy was their daughter.

Then his surroundings came back to him, and he saw how she looked at that moment.

Her usually snarky yet confident expression had turned to fear, eyes wide and pale skin merging together to make her look gaunt. Ryan saw her throat moving quickly and knew she was trying to either swallow down tears or suck in air. Her hand, which now gripped the papers he’d handed her, shook enough to be visible, and she looked utterly exhausted.

He knew a panic attack when he saw one and knew that she also knew the truth.

Not wanting to push her, he told himself he wouldn’t bring it up to her. But, still, he had to make sure she was okay. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hospitalized because she was panicking over this added thing in her life.

“Nancy?” He kept his voice even, though he could hear the worry in it. “Are you okay?”

As he said the words in the same way Ace had said earlier, she told her brain that it was her boyfriend’s voice she was hearing and forced herself to relax. “I…”

“Can I get you some water?” Ryan moved away from her, walking to the sink. “You look pale.”

“Yeah, I, uh…didn’t get any sleep last night.” She forced herself to take some deep breaths while his back was turned and felt a bit more stable when he brought her the glass. “Counteroffer…I’ll help you find out if Lucy was pregnant if you do me a favor after.”

He’d do anything she asked of him, he realized, even if it meant doing her favors or playing along with something she clearly didn’t know he knew. “Deal. Do you need to call your dad?”

He saw the way she cringed at the word ‘dad’ and confirmed his theory that she wasn’t doing as well with the news as he was.

“Uh, nope. I’m good. He’s probably at work anyway.”

He didn’t call her out on the lie, instead holding the front door open to follow her to his car. He’d find out more about that situation later.

…

She’d lied to him. She’d looked him right in the face and lied to him.

They’d taken the trip to Trenton, and acting like a spoiled, entitled rich guy had made Ryan realize just how shitty of a person he probably was in everyone’s eyes. After Nancy had insisted on speaking to the doctor herself, he stood in the waiting room and thought about it.

He knew that he was different from everyone else in Horseshoe Bay, but until he was pretending to threaten to shut down the clinic, he had never realized how those people might see him. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that you had been an asshole for thirty-two years of your life, but Ryan had decided at that moment there wouldn’t be another.

He was going to change for Nancy, even if she never knew it was for her. He never wanted to see the look on her face as he had when she’d shut him up or told him a flat-out lie after leaving the clinic.

Sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, he thought about the story she’d spun for him, telling him that Lucy had been pregnant but had died with her child still inside her womb. He had done the math and had figured out that Nancy had been born weeks earlier than her due date, and she must have too.

Her knowledge of life and her ability to spin a tale baffled him.

“So, are you going to like…tell me why we’re going to Diana Marvin’s house?” He questioned, not wanting to sit in silence any more than they had.

Nancy huffed. “It’s Bess and her cousin Owen’s house, too.”

Owen Marvin was quite unlike the rest of his family. Being their age and having so few family members that were, he sometimes joined Bess at The Claw during her shift to hang out with their group. Of course, they all knew that he primarily came to flirt with Nancy but had been sweet enough to stop once her relationship with Ace had come out.

“I know, but still. You know that I’m like persona non grata, so you want to tell me what this favor is or what?”

“Yeah, in a minute. Can I ask you something?” Nancy had shifted her head lazily on the headrest so that she could look at him.

She still looked slightly pale, something the doctor had also noticed when they walked in, but her breathing seemed to be better, and she looked less like crying.

“Yeah, sure.”

She opened and closed her mouth only once before speaking. “What would it have meant, if-if you’d had the…the baby? Do you think you were ready to be a dad at eighteen?”

He should have known this question was coming. Even so, he answered honestly as he figured she’d be able to tell if he was lying. Besides, she looked too vulnerable as she stared at him.

“At eighteen? No…” He chuckled slightly. “No, hell no. A kid like me, I was dumb and spoiled, and I had horrible parental role models, as you know, so no. That would have been a disaster.”

He thought of his parents again and internally cringed, promising himself he’d do everything in his power to keep them away from Nancy.

“Do you think…do you think that you would have tried to…?” He saw her tuck a strand of hair out of the corner of his eye before she froze and started pulling at her hair. “Oh my God.”

“Hey, you okay?” He glanced at her now, then nearly hit the breaks as she started choking. “Hey. Hey, h-hold on.”

He swerved dangerously to the side of the road and brought the car to a park. Nancy was throwing herself out of the car the second they were stopped, and he followed her actions, panic welling up inside of him.

He wasn’t sure if she was having a panic attack again, but it looked different than it had before back at his house. When he finally got around to her side of the car, she was breathing again. He reached her side the second she slammed the door shut and watched in confusion as she stared at her reflection in the tinted windows.

“Hey, what…what, are you having a panic attack?” He knew he wasn’t supposed to ask, but it scared him.

Then he saw her look at her hand and the pile of sand that sat in it that had definitely not been there a moment prior. “No, no, uh…it was a portent.”

“A portent?” How did she even know what that word meant? He sure didn’t at fourteen. “What, you mean from Lucy?”

“No. From something completely different.” She looked scared now, but differently from before.

This had nothing to do with their familial relationship, and that seemed to worry him even more. He wondered if her whole life would worry him, as she seemed always to be ingrained in some dangerous happenstance.

“This is the favor that I had to ask you, actually.” She sounded upset, tears threatening to fall. “A few days ago, I did something unusual to get the evidence to exonerate my…to exonerate Carson. Uh, my friends and I did this ritual to call to this sea spirit.”

He was completely confused but tried to keep up. “Sea spirit. Like…like dolphins?”

She shook her head as she sat on the ledge overlooking the sea. “Stay with me. It’s a local legend. Uh, and it worked. The Aglaeca answered my call. But the problem is…is I couldn’t hold up my end of the bargain.

“The…the Aglaeca wanted Owen Marvin’s blood. All of it. So we couldn’t go through with it, and now we triggered this, uh, curse, and I have to fix it. And in order to do that, I need to do another ritual to make sure that the spirit doesn’t lock onto its target, and…and that’s where you come in.”

She hated having to get someone else involved, but she was desperate for anything that might save the lives of her and her friends.

Though he wanted to wrap his arms around her and whisk her away to be somewhere safe from all this nonsense, he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. He’d seen enough of Lucy’s ghost to know that supernatural creatures existed, and if his daughter was tangled up with one, he couldn’t let her down.

“Why me?” He was genuinely curious and hoped it didn’t come off as a refusal. “I mean, unless this Aglaeca takes cash, then I’m….”

“It’s not about your money this time, Ryan.” She snapped at him now, and he could see the panic setting back in. “It’s about you specifically, because….”

He froze, watching her face carefully, and wondered if this was the moment she would reveal that she knew she was his daughter.

Then he watched as she hesitated and shook her head. “It’s a long story, uh, and one of which you don’t need to know all the details. But if you just come with me….”

He nodded immediately. “Yeah, no, of course. I mean, it sounds urgent.”

They stared at each other for a second, and he watched as Nancy tried to blink away the tears that had pooled in her eyes. He felt his resolve breaking before taking a deep breath and deciding to take a leap of faith.

“Do you need me because I’m your father?”

Part 2

#cw nancy drew #nancy drew fanfiction #nancy drew #ndcentral #nancy x ace #nancy drew & ryan hudson #younger nancy drew #teenage nancy drew au #time period au #part 1

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cockasinthebird · 3 years

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Something old, as in July 1st old, that I’ve technically never finished, so rather than letting 7 pages rot, I’m posting 4 of them here, and if I ever finish it, I’ll post the rest as a part 2!

Also since this is so old, there’s probably gonna be more errors than usual because as creators we constantly improve!

But I am still very very happy with this, like... yes... good...

Anyways, enjoy a bit of Poolboy Billy and Rich Brat Steve

The sun sits atop of the sky in another unbearably boiling hot summer day in Hawkins, Indiana, and, unfortunately for one rich kid Steve Harrington, not even the AC unit can cool down his house enough for it to be livable.

Ice cream and cold beers by the poolside seem to be his only refuge, hiding underneath a large parasol from the unforgiving gaze of the sun above, Ray-bans pushed far up to shield him from the bright light of day, whilst also disguising how longingly he truly stares at the new pool boy.

Sun-kissed skin, curls of gold, muscles carved by a lustful sculptor, sweat shining like diamonds that glide down over his bare chest, his taut abs, all the way to where his shorts definitely sit too low on strong hips.

It's hard to know if it's really the sun or the view that makes it feel like Steve's body is about to burst into flames; if it's the dry summer air or the way Billy grins that makes him so thirsty.

They don't really talk past the usual niceties whenever Billy comes by to clear the pool of leafs, ensuring that the chemical levels are as they should be, and that the surrounding area is clean and nice to look at. Even in school it's barely more than bumping shoulders and talking trash on the court, although Billy always do seem to make it a daily task to get in the way somehow.

Yet when they're alone like this, a week or so into summer vacation, all that delicious fire and animosity just sorta runs dry. Could be that Billy keeps cool as to not lose his job at one of the only pools around, or maybe all the bravado was just a show of macho to assert himself as some kind of alpha male at school.

He had knocked Steve off of his throne as Keg King, which hadn't been that hard to do, because thanks to Nancy Wheeler's influence and Tommy's betrayal, Steve had gotten far too soft to even fight for that title, but maybe he didn't mind giving it all to Billy. There was some peace in letting go, and excitement in having it taken.

And as he lounges here, daydreaming about having everything taken by Billy, he doesn't notice that that same guy approaches him with a sly grin going up one side.

“You know, you're not gonna catch a tan lying in the shade like that,” he says, skipping by any form of hi or hello.

Even though Billy's wearing sunglasses, Steve knows he's looking up and down his half naked body stretched out here, long legs that goes under all too short swimming trunks, the trail of hair leading up from the waistband, undoubtedly counting every single mole in view. He can practically feel the eyes burn through him like he's a centerfold girl of a dear magazine.

“I'd turn lobster red in minutes,” Steve responds with and rests his head against the pool chair, maybe he flexes a bit, but mentioning that would be to admit Billy was watching.

Then he goes to grab Steve's beer, who doesn't object to it as he follows the motion.

“Maybe you should try wearing sunscreen like normal people.” Billy flashes teeth in an oddly teasing grin, and brings the can up to take a big gulp of it.

Once he's satiated, let's out a refreshed “ahh”, licks his lips slowly – along the curve of his upper lip, then slams down the can again.

Steve looks at his empty beverage, up at Billy who's got this wide shit-eating grin, then back at the can. To where he extends his arm in a lackadaisical fashion, and pushes it off the table with the flick of his index finger. It sings out hollow as it clatters to the tiles.

“Pick that up.” He smiles.

Billy cocks a brow, grinning still as if he's not about to do as demanded by the son of his employer.

“As you wish, princess,” his tone barely dipping into something venomous and challenging, as he bends forward to pick up the empty beer.

When he stands again he runs his hand through sweaty curls to push them away, and wipes his brow with the back of his hand.

“Anything else?” he asks with clear feigned obedience. The can crumbles inside his fist as he closes his hand like it's no big deal at all, as if it isn't telling of his thoughts.

“Yeah why don't you go get me a new one?” Steve asks all nonchalant, yet shifts a bit in his seat at that unnecessary show of aggression. He half expects Billy to throw the can right at him.

It crinkles further between his strong fingers.

“Go get it yourself,” stern and now with more of a snarl.

Steve sighs and looks away to contemplate on just how far he'd dare to push Billy, but the guy is all too easy to agitate it seems, and Steve doesn't feel like throwing a party with a bruised up face. So he stands up, notices the little jerk of Billy's lips as if he's won something, and walks up to stand next to him.

“Think you can clean up all of this shit before tonight?” he asks and gestures with his hand dangerously close to the other's face; close enough to feel the hitch of his breath. “I'm throwing a pool party tonight and want it to look nice. Maybe I'll see you there?”

Billy turns his head to stare at Steve's far more expensive sunglasses. He doesn't answer.

When it's clear that he's never going to, Steve keeps walking. “I'm gonna go take a shower... your money is on the kitchen table.”

And although Billy fights it- struggles against the urge that's begging for him to turn around, he gives in to watch Steve walk away. His plump ass looks so fucking good in anything, especially those too small trunks, and it is infuriating to him the way it carves itself into his memory; joining countless of other times he has looked where he shouldn't, gaze fallen too far down.

A sight that he remembers far more vividly than any bouncing set of tits, and the beer can he's still strangling whines again from within his frustration.

A sight that still sits there as he pours all the sloppy leafs into a black bag and carries it to the trashcan.

A sight that he can't stop thinking about as he rolls up the hose, gathers his net and goes to the storage closet of the pool house.

A sight that he has seen several times in the boys locker room. Naked. Wet. Soaped up.

“I'm gonna go take a shower,” Steve had said all casually, as if he isn't aware of how it goes hand in hand with all those fucking images that Billy sees every time he blinks or dreams. It keeps him up at night. Keeps him hard.

Gently he closes the door to the cramped storage room, filled with cleaning supplies and inflatable pool toys. He breathes with forced calmness, hand still on the handle as he struggles some more against those images. When eyes open to look down, his angered gaze is met with tented shorts. And he takes a deep breath. Fingers unfurl from the door handle. Unties the string of his red shorts, which then falls to the floor.

“Fuck,” he groans out as his half chub hangs free. “Fucking Harrington.”

Billy places his hand against the door and leans on it with all his weight, just in case Steve found a reason to come here, which he doubts that shitty rich kid ever would, but the door doesn't have a lock, so better safe than sorry. He presses his head against it as well, eyes peering down, his right hand moving to where it is so painfully needed.

A harsh exhale escapes as he grabs his cock; runs his thumb along the line of a bulging vein, and he closes his eyes. He barely has to even try before Steve's there with those long legs, round ass, pink lips, doe eyes.

And he finds himself thinking of just minutes ago, his mind recollecting where each and every mole is that he has spent almost a year mapping out. On his cheeks, down his throat, over his arms, across his chest, high up his thighs.

Steve then turns to look at him, pushes up those expensive Ray-bans into his dark hair so that Billy can see how intently those almond eyes stare directly at him.

Billy licks his lips before they fall open to allow out a grunt as he feels himself grow in his hand.

Squeezes his eyes tighter, and in his mind he walks closer to where Steve now sits on the edge of that yellow sun lounger. Billy brings a hand up to the side of Steve's face; runs his thumb across that pretty little mouth, pulls down at his lower lip till he opens up.

Jerks faster around his throbbing erection and feels pre cum trickle down over his fingers.

He can almost imagine the slight sigh that would escape Steve as Billy then presses his thumb into his warm mouth, hard onto his slippery tongue, only to have those lips close around his digit and suck.

“Shit- ah-” Billy moans as heat forms a whirlpool between his thighs.

Watches as Steve pops off of his thumb, lips now shiny with spit, and he keeps them open and inviting, eyes staring up and blinking slowly with heavy lids. Billy doesn't have to move or say a thing before Steve leans forward to sink all the way down Billy's impressive, girthy cock.

Billy spits into his hand before continuing fisting at himself with furor, hoping to reach some semblance of how he imagines Steve's wet mouth taking all of him would feel like.

How he'd gag and groan at the base, lips pulled tightly around teeth, drool running down his chin, and Billy grabs him by the hair; keeps Steve's head still. Pulls out slowly just to slam right back inside and hears how he complains, sees tears run down his cheeks, and does it all again. Starts fucking himself into Steve's face with a pace matching his hand, quick and sloppy, hears all the moans that echoes from within the throat he shoves his prick into, the grotesque and obscene squelching of spit and choking around his head.

“Oh fuck, Steve...” he gasps; his ragged breathing and the slick sounds of his hand moving over hardened flesh the only thing to be truly heard here.

As the first jolt of pleasure daring him closer to climax shoots through his spine, he bends further till the top of his head is pressed against the door, his hand there curling together to a fist against the wood.

Steve, Steve, Steve.

The way his swimming trunks clings to him when he climbs out of the pool. The way he groans and pants on the court during training. The way he looks at Billy, sometimes glaring, sometimes not. The way Hargrove sounds in his voice. The way his punches feel on Billy's cheek.

It's all so heavily ingrained in his memory, suffocating, everything else so dull and muted in comparison. And it brings him over the edge, the thought of cumming down hot into Steve's throat as he chokes on Billy's climax, heat rolling through him as he moans far too loud, hips stuttering into his closed hand that pulls up his length with a harsh stroke to milk out every single drop he can.

Feels it run down his hand. Watches Steve swallow and lick his lips.

Then Billy opens his eyes.

He's still standing alone in the closet, his cum sliding down the wooden door, dripping slightly from his fingers to the floor, pooling between his feet. And he's the one to clean it all up now.

#Harringrove #My Writing #Lemon #I'm... too scared of my own failings to re-read it #errors?? sure go ahead and live!

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dweetwise · 3 years

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presenting the weirdest and crackiest but also fluffiest shit i’ve ever written, i bring you nearly 5k words of riconti snail au snippets. if you haven’t seen @skllyr‘s adorable art about them, you should!

ship: felix x ace warnings: none word count: 4850

Felix X Ace: Love is stored in the snail

Ace Visconti thought he’d seen it all; from lavish spectacles of prestigious poker tournaments to the dangerous underworld he inevitably ended up involved with, and finally to a realm where the laws of nature meant nothing and death wasn’t permanent. But what eventually takes the cake for Weirdest Shit Ace Has Ever Seen isn’t one of the otherworldly monsters hunting him or seeing one of his numerous wounds heal up right before his eyes; it’s a snail. A goddamn snail. It just appears at the campfire one day, sitting on top of a medkit Dwight reaches for and causing the boy to yelp in surprise once he sees the small stowaway. Ace doesn’t quite understand why everyone is suddenly so eager to take a closer look at a random slug instead of hearing one of his exciting and totally-not-embellished stories, but he joins the small commotion forming around the snail nonetheless. And then he suddenly sees why. The snail not only has an eye-catching light blue shell with a gaudy flamingo pattern on it, it’s also dressed up in tiny sunglasses and a baseball cap between its antennas. Ace looks down at his own pastel blue flamingo sweater and fidgets self-consciously with his shades, wondering whether he should bring up the uncanny likeness— “Is it just me, or does the snail look Ace?” Laurie asks, glancing between Ace and the bug with furrowed eyebrows. “No, I… definitely see a resemblance,” Dwight says. “What should we name it?” Claudette asks. “I mean it's a snail that looks like Ace, so… Snace?” Nea suggests. “Snace it is!” Meg decides, snickering at Ace’s misfortune. “I'm glad you're having fun,” Ace snorts, glaring at the snail for stealing his spotlight. The girls hurry to make a home for the snail in the medkit, which Ace finds all kinds of ridiculous. They give it some bandages and twigs to hide and "play" in, whatever the fuck that means for a snail, and Claud gives it edible flowers to nibble on.

Ace tries his best to ignore the snail, but when he gets back from a trial and sees some of the group passing it between their hands and taking turns to hold it, he can’t help watching them. It’s Dwight’s turn now, their leader cradling the snail in his hands and looking way too happy with the situation. “Do you want to try?” Dwight asks, noticing Ace's staring. “Uhh… sure," Ace says, not having the heart to ruin everyone’s good mood. He goes to grab the snail from Dwight's hand, lifting it by the obnoxiously colored shell— “Not like that, you absolute moron!” Jake snaps, slapping Ace's hand away. “You're going to hurt him. You need to slide him off, not lift upwards,” Jake explains, showing how to do it, plopping the snail down on Ace's hand. It's… slimy and kind of gross. The snail seems confused, feeling around with its antennas. And then, it slowly starts to slither forward. “It's kinda cute,” Ace realizes, watching the little snail face with its little shades. It's the coolest snail he's ever seen for sure, but he wouldn't expect anything less from his doppelgänger. “You go, little guy,” Ace encourages the snail, poking it gently on its shell in encouragement. The snail wobbles a bit, and then its tiny face turns to look at Ace, and— “Ew, it pooped on me!” Ace realizes and Dwight chokes on a laugh while Jake smirks smugly and removes Snace from his hand. Ace could just be imagining it, but the snail looks way too pleased with himself.

Other survivors join and, sooner or later, everyone except Ace seems to fall in love with Snace. “He's just like Ace,” their newest teammate, Kate, comments. “What's that supposed to mean, Sunshine?” Ace challenges playfully. “He's a little slimey but everyone still loves him!” Kate smiles brightly and Ace’s witty comeback dies on his tongue at the unexpected heartfelt remark.

And eventually, when their small group has expanded to over twenty people, there's Felix. And no matter how hard he tries, Ace can’t help sneaking glances at the serious German. He’s tall. Blond. Handsome. Rich. Smart. Did he say handsome? Oh, and Felix hates Snace. “This is our pet snail, Snace!” Steve introduces with an excited grin while giving Felix the tour of their modest campgrounds. “A… snail?” Felix frowns. “Yeah! Do you wanna hold him?” Steve asks, already reaching his hand into the medkit. “No!” Felix recoils away, before seeming to collect himself. “I'm, um… not a pet person.” Ace tries (and fails) not to take it personally that Felix finds Snace to be repulsive and will just scoff and roll his eyes whenever the others discuss him. What the hell is his problem, anyway?

And then, something never before seen happens; they get another snail. “Guys!” Cheryl runs into camp, looking out of breath and cradling something in her hands. “Look what I found!” Ace goes to look right along with the others, and in the girl’s hands is a pale snail with a dark blue shell and a pattern resembling a suit collar on its neck. It doesn't have fashionable accessories like Snace, but there’s a tiny briefcase next to it. “Oh my god! He's so cute!” Meg squeals, making the snail retract into its shell in fear. “Aww, he's shy!” Kate coos. “Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?” Nea suddenly says with a grin, glancing between Felix and the snail. Several heads turn in the German's direction, taking in his dark blue suit and pale complexion. “…What?” Felix asks, just as standoffish as ever. “Snelix!” Nea exclaims proudly. When several others join in to cheer and chant Snelix’s name, Felix just sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose in a gesture that screams "end me".

Everyone is eager to introduce Snelix to Snace, gathering around the medkit, even forcing Felix to watch. “Look, Snace! A new friend!” Cheryl says, gently plopping Snelix down into the medkit. Snace immediately starts slithering toward him, while Snelix just seems confused, rooted in place. “Aww! He's excited!” Dwight smiles. Snace reaches out his snail whiskers in a greeting, and Snelix recoils, slinking a little into his shell. “Oh, he's nervous!�� Kate coos. “Don't worry doll, Snace is nice.” As if sensing the woman's words, Snelix cautiously comes out of his shell, hesitantly reaching out an antenna. “There you go, bud!” Ace encourages his snailself. “Take it slow, don't scare him away.” He glances at Felix, standing at the edge of the group with his arms crossed. If only people had it as easy as snails— “Oh, god!” Nancy exclaims in disgust, making Ace look back at the snails. And seeing Snace groping Snelix with his antennas while backing him into a corner. “Hey!” Ace chastices. “What did I just say!?” “Someone save him!” Laurie urges, but it seems Snelix can take care of himself, turning around and slinking up the medkit’s wall. “Aww, he's running away,” Steve pouts. “Good,” Felix huffs quietly from behind the group, and Ace pretends not to hear him. He also pretends that the comment doesn't sting, after trying and failing to get through the German's cold exterior for weeks.

Quentin tries to give Snelix one of his medkits to give him a place to live, but Snelix refuses to go in until it's cleaned up. “What a little snob,” Quentin snorts. “Yeah, how weird is that,” Yui smirks and glances at Felix in a way that’s definitely not subtle. Felix just scoffs and crosses his arms but, thankfully, doesn’t take the bait.

“Guys, I think Snace is depressed,” Meg says one day, looking into the medkit with a frown. “He's not even eating!” Claudette adds worriedly. “Maybe he's dying of old age,” Feng snarks. “I heard that,” Ace shoots back without any real heat. The snail isn't the only one who is feeling under the weather, Felix ignoring him for the last few days taking a toll on his confidence. “What if he misses Snelix?” Cheryl frowns. “Maybe we should try to introduce them again!” Steve exclaims. “No way,” Yui says. “Just because they're both snails doesn't mean they have to be friends.” “Yeah, let's at least give Snelix some time to settle in first,” Jeff suggests.

“Oh shit! Help!” Nea shouts not long after their previous conversation. “What's wrong?” Jane asks worriedly, immediately going into mom-mode. “Snelix is gone!” Nea says, showing them the empty med-kit. Is only takes those three words for the entire camp to erupt into panic. “NOBODY STEP ANYWHERE!” Jane commands. Thus commences the search for Snelix, with everyone participating and even Felix looking surprisingly worried. They eventually find Snelix is Snace's medkit, where they're just sitting next to each other munching on some leaves. “Aww! He walked all the way to his friend!” Kate beams. “Look how cute they are together!” Cheryl smiles. Ace feels his face heating up upon seeing the snails' close proximity. It almost looks like they're sitting next to each other cuddling while sharing a meal. He can't believe Snelix would actually come around, not to mention go through all that trouble to be with Snace. Someone probably put him there, but nobody fesses up. “Are they k-kissing?” Dwight squeaks in surprise when the snails seem to interrupt their meal just long enough to move their tiny whiskers together. “They're snails,” Zarina deadpans. “Most likely just conversing,” Adam adds. “I'm so glad they're getting along now!” Claudette sighs in relief. “Bro… what if we kissed? And we're both snails?” Feng says, propping her elbows up on a tree stump to watch the snails together. “Best snails forever,” Meg grins, joining the gamer. Ace discreetly clears his throat and mentally kicks himself for being jealous of goddamn snails. Even if him and Felix are getting along better day for day, Ace doesn't have any illusions that he’ll ever get to kiss the handsome architect. Still, a man can dream.

The snails seem happy to share a living space together and the next day, Ace even catches Felix observing them curiously. “It's funny how well our snails get along now,” Ace says conversationally, coming up beside Felix. “I'm not that surprised,” Felix says, looking at the snails climbing over each other and seeming to play together. “Looks like he just needed a little push,” Felix says bashfully. And something in Ace's head clicks at the comment. “Were you the one who put him there?” Ace asks, and Felix immediately clears his throat self-consciously. “I just wanted to try it,” Felix explains. “Maybe it would go better, since everything wasn't so new and people weren't staring. And it worked out.” Are… are they still talking about the snails? Or their own, slowly blossoming friendship? “He's been alone for so long,” Felix continues, looking back to the snails now sharing a piece of cucumber. “He deserves to be happy.” Felix smiles an adorable little smile and Ace realizes in just how deep shit he is with his stupid crush on the man. “I've never seen Snace so happy,” Ace agrees. “Just look at his smug little face.” “I thought he always looked happy,” Felix remarks. Ace fights himself for a moment, debating on whether he should be honest or not, or if he's read the situation completely wrong. “Maybe he's never had a real friend before,” Ace says, and out of the corner of his eye he can see Felix glancing at him, but doesn't dare look away from the snails.

And then one day… “Woah—what's wrong with the snails?” Steve calls from the medkit, Claudette immediately rushing closer to check. And then the botanist gasps in shock and everyone else hurries there too. “What happened—oh. Oh,” Quentin says, face flushing red, and Ace peers over the teen's shoulder to… See the snails in the middle of snail sex. “They're fucking,” Nea states matter-of-factly. “Yes Nea we can see that,” Laurie hisses, face pink from embarrassment. “Wot the—they're both blokes, innit?!” David seems confused. “Snails are hermaphrodites,” Adam points out. “Gay snails!” Feng exclaims cheerfully. “It's not gay if they're—” Adam tries again. “If what, they don't make eye contact?” Feng snickers right back. “No, I mean if they have both male and female reproductive organs,” Adam explains, looking embarrassed now. Ace glances at Felix and sees him staring at the snails with his mouth pressed into a thin line. But… he's also blushing. “Gay snails! Gay snails!” Feng, disregarding Adam's explanation, starts chanting. Jane and Laurie eventually have to pull some of the more eager onlookers away by their ears to give the snails some privacy.

One day, Felix returns from a trial and walks to Bill’s spot a little outside camp to return a map he borrowed earlier. He never makes it that far, because he spots Ace out in the woods, looking much more focused than Felix has ever seen as he fiddles with something in his hands. Ace doesn’t even notice him approaching, and Felix takes the opportunity to freely stare at the man who’s been slowly but surely occupying more and more of his thoughts. Ace’s sunglasses are pushed up into his hair and his tongue is poking out in concentration, and it’s completely beyond Felix’s understanding how someone can manage to look both so handsome and utterly ridiculous. “What are you doing?” Felix asks, and Ace’s head instantly snaps up to look at him in surprise. “I’m, uh…” Ace falters for once in his life, lowering his hands to hide whatever he was up to, but Felix catches the glint of something metallic. “Is that a needle? Do you need stitches?” Felix asks, not failing to hide the concern in his voice. “No, I—” Ace starts, but then falters and sighs in defeat. “Promise not to tell anyone.” He doesn’t wait for Felix’s reply before reaching his hand forward, opening his palm to show Felix… A tiny pink baseball cap with a thread and needle attached. “For… Snace?” Felix asks, struggling to take in the information that, somehow, this flamboyant loudmouth is making clothes for his pet snail. “He deserves a proper wardrobe, okay?” Ace huffs jokingly but pulls the project closer to himself defensively. It’s surprisingly… endearing. “I didn’t know you sewed,” Felix says instead of voicing his embarrassing thoughts. “Yeah, well, it comes in handy,” Ace points out. “Can’t tell you how many times I had to patch up a shirt after I barely escaped the cop—uh, competition,” Ace catches himself, grinning sheepishly. Felix raises a curious eyebrow but doesn’t push the topic. Instead, an idea forms in his head that he can’t help expressing. “Could you make a scarf for Snelix?” Felix says, and almost instantly regrets asking after realizing how stupid that sounds. But it makes Ace perk up in interest, and soon a wide grin is spreading over the gambler’s face. “Sure, I can do that!” Ace beams. “Why a scarf, though?” Felix is already opening his mouth to say because he loves scarves, but thankfully is able to stop himself. “They’re stylish,” he says instead. “Well well well, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were starting to like the little slimy bastards,” Ace grins. “They might be growing on me,” Felix admits with just the barest hint of a smirk. Hopefully Ace realizes he doesn’t mean just the snails.

One evening, Ace is sitting by himself, looking at Snace and Snelix living their best life. They eat a little bit of some of the flowers Claudette gave them earlier, before Snelix turns around to leave and Snace immediately follows him. They slither away to a secluded corner, laying next to each other and doing their little snail kisses, until Snelix eventually slumps and flattens to the ground, seeming to fall asleep. Snace sits next to him for a while, before he carefully moves away, slinking back to nom on the flowers. “Putting your boyfriend to sleep, huh?” Ace murmurs quietly, not wanting to wake Snelix. “I'm jealous of your life, buddy.” Snace lifts his head from the flower, his little shades looking Ace's way. “At least one of us got what he wanted. You did good for yourself, high five,” Ace whispers, holding up his finger in front of Snace for shits and giggles. And Snace, the snail that absolutely hates him, lifts one of his antennas and briefly touches his finger in a high five before going back to his meal. “Woah,” Ace breathes, a grin spreading over his face and glancing around camp, wanting to see if anyone was around to witness the event— And his eyes meet Felix's, standing behind him, staring at Ace talking to his snail like an absolute idiot. And probably having heard everything. “It, uh,” Ace starts when Felix isn't saying anything, the German's eyes wide from surprise. “He high-fived me.” “I, er…” Felix stutters in return, before clearing his throat. “I got some moss for them from Red Forest.” “Oh, neat,” Ace comments. “Snelix just fell asleep, but maybe you won’t wake him if you’re careful.” “No, I don't want to disturb them,” Felix says, crouching down next to Ace and placing the moss next to the medkit. They watch the snails in silence, Snace finishing his midnight snack, Ace debating on whether he should bring up the previous conversation or not. “Thank you,” Felix says instead, before Ace can strike up a conversation. “…For what?” “For being patient with me,” Felix murmurs. “I know I can come across as… cold.” Well that's an understatement if Ace has ever heard one. “Hmm, I guess you could say you needed some time to…” Ace says, pausing for comedic effect while he waits for Felix to turn to look at him for the punchline. “Come out of your shell.” Felix huffs a surprised laugh and turns his head away, but not before Ace sees a beautiful smile spreading over his normally serious face. They keep observing the snails, until Snace has finally had enough of the flowers, moving to lay next to Snelix. “Oh, he's awake,” Ace comments, seeing Snelix groggily lift his head toward Snace. He pushes up Snace's shades, dislodging the cap a bit before doing another little snail kiss. “Damn, that's adorable,” Ace grins. And then there's a hand on his temple, and Ace freezes as his shades are gently pushed up into his hair. He turns to look at Felix, heat rising up his neck, feeling vulnerable without the glasses, not able to hide his wide eyes searching Felix's own in a silent question. Felix's face is redder than usual but he looks more unguarded that Ace has ever seen, gaze dropping to Ace's lips while the hand on his forehead moves to cup his jaw. Ace holds his breath, not daring to say anything lest he ruin the mood and permanently mess up his chance with Felix. His thoughts are little more than white noise and excited screeching as he tilts his head up in silent invitation, and that's all it takes for Felix to lean down and claim his lips.

“Snace is getting fat,” Feng comments one day. “What!?” Ace exclaims, offended. “No he’s not!” “Hon, he does look a little… pudgier,” Kate comments. “He’s just… bloated, okay?” Ace insists, huffing defensively. “He’s a fucking fatass,” Feng corrects. “Yeah man, he’s really letting himself go,” Steve agrees with an infuriating smirk. “Okay, rude!” Ace scoffs. “Felix—” he starts, turning to his newly acquired boyfriend for solidarity, but sees the little shit is shaking from quiet laughter instead of being upset on his behalf. “Babe! Don’t tell me you agree with them!” Ace gasps in mock offense, hand over his heart. “Every time I’ve looked at him, he’s eating,” Felix manages to point out between snickers. “Absolutely terrible, the lot of you,” Ace huffs, peering into the medkit where the completely innocent Snace is… Munching on some berries Claudette placed there earlier. “You were saying?” Feng snarks, making Ace shoot a glare her way while Felix is still holding back chuckles.

When Ace gets back from a rather uneventful trial some time later, he notices Jake staring intently into the snails’ medkit. As he walks closer, it becomes apparent that the snails are having sex. “Jake, what the hell are you doing?” Ace asks the survivalist. “They've been at it for hours,” Jake says, face just as neutral as ever and not taking his eyes off the writhing clump of snail. “I'm a little concerned by how much you like watching my snail get laid.” “Nature is lit,” Jake merely offers. So Ace shuts the medkit, feeling weirdly exposed by having his snail’s private life invaded like that. “Give them some privacy, sheesh,” he chastises Jake. “Prude,” the boy snorts.

It’s only a few days before there is another episode of, as Felix likes to call it, snail drama. “Felix!” Ace shouts, making Felix sigh in fond irritation and pause his sorting of their shared stash of items that Ace has left an absolute mess (again). “Yes, love?” he asks, doing his best impression of an exasperated husband despite them only dating for what can't be more than a few weeks. And then he sees Ace's face full of both alarm and excitement, and immediately drops what he was doing. “What's wrong?” he asks, feeling the panic quickly bubbling up. “SNACE IS GIVING BIRTH!” Ace exclaims ten decibels louder than necessary, grabbing a confused Felix by his sleeve and dragging him toward the snails' home. Sure enough, there's a small commotion around the medkit, and when Felix peers into it he can see Snace in the middle of laying eggs, Snelix by his side in solidarity. “Come on dude! Push!” Feng is trying to encourage the snail. “Shh, you're stressing it!” Claudette chastises. “I told you guys he wasn’t fat!” Ace huffs proudly. After ten or so eggs, the process seems to be over, and Snace happily slithers away to go snack on some leaves. “Oh,” Claudette says, bewildered. “What?” Ace says. “I, um,” the botanist falters. “They usually lay about a hundred eggs…” “A hundred?” Ace screeches. “Don't you think ten kids is more than enough?” “Only a small portion of them actually hatch!” Claudette hurries to add. “Maybe he's going through menopause,” Jake, not so helpfully, supplies. “I'm going to smack you,” Ace threatens. Felix just chuckles and lays a hand on Ace’s shoulder to settle him.

Excited about the possibility of baby snails, the survivors take turns watching the eggs for the next few weeks. Eventually, it’s Cheryl who screams: “Guys! An egg is hatching!” Felix rushes to the medkit before anyone else, and in an instant Ace is peering over his shoulder too, both looking at the transparent, tiny antenna pushing out of one of the eggs. Snelix and Snace are right by the eggs, eagerly waiting to meet their offspring. And then the small snail plops completely out and starts wiggling around, and Ace honest to god squeals. “Look, Felix!” he says, tugging on Felix's sleeve. “We're grandparents!” “I'm… not sure that's how it works,” Felix points out, even as he smiles at Snelix petting his child with his antenna. “I'm gonna make so much baby snail clothes for her,” Ace continues with a wide grin, nearly shaking in his shoes in excitement. “'Her'?” Felix asks, and Ace falters. “I'm, uh…” Ace explains, looking away. “You said your kid's a girl, I mean based on the ultrasound before you were taken, so I figured…” Something in Felix's expression softens, touched that Ace would remember something like that. He steals a quick kiss while everyone is preoccupied with staring at the family of snails.

“What should we name their kid?” Jeff ponders a couple weeks later, watching the baby snail climb all over Snace while Snelix anxiously hovers nearby. “Ask the grandpas,” Feng snarks. “Yeah, have you decided on a name yet?” Cheryl asks, looking up at Felix with wide, shimmering eyes. “Err,” Felix says, glancing at Ace for help. Ace grins and discreetly nods toward the eager Cheryl. “Oh,” Felix seems to realize. “Yes, we were considering Ch—ehm, Sneryl.” Cheryl gasps in awe. “She does look like a Sneryl,” Jeff agrees. “What? It doesn't look like any—” Feng starts, but at Jeff's pointed look, thankfully shuts up. “She's the spitting image of a Sneryl!” Ace says, smiling in encouragement. “Really!?” Cheryl asks excitedly, looking between Felix and Ace. “Ah… of course,” Felix says, and then the breath leaves his lungs in a pained “Oof!” as Cheryl rushes in for a hug. “Thank you! I love having my own snail!” Cheryl beams while Felix awkwardly pats her on the head and looks at Ace with an expression that screams 'HELP'.

Seeing Sneryl grow over the following couple of months, Felix takes it upon himself to start building the snails a house out of a commodious toolbox. He might put in way more effort than necessary, making sure to separate different rooms with interior walls and adding corridors to entertain the snails. “Hey handsome, what're you doing?” Ace asks, placing a kiss against his temple as he comes up behind him to see what he’s working on. “I'm building our snails a house," Felix explains. "They have a family now, a cramped old medkit won't do.” Ace stares at him for a moment, and then a wide grin spreads over his face and he suddenly looks like he’s about to combust. “You’re so friggin adorable!” Ace exclaims and pulls him into a hug. And then he refuses to let go, clinging to Felix’s back like a koala while he keeps working on the house, and Felix would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. “…Can you make a poker room for Snace?” Ace asks after having observed his work for a while. “Poker? But they're—” Felix frowns, turning around just enough to see Ace's exaggerated, ridiculous pout. “…Fine. But you're making the furniture.” “You got it, babe!” Ace grins, before seeming to notice something. “Hey, what's that?" he asks, pointing at a drawn square on the side of the toolbox. “Oh. It's going to be a door,” Felix explains. “But what if Sneryl goes out and gets stomped on?” Ace asks worriedly. “I just…” Felix falters. “Thought that maybe they needed some freedom. Especially Snace.” “Huh?” Ace tilts his head in confusion. “He was alone for so long, I… assumed he'd probably get bored of the family life,” Felix says, looking at the ground in thought. He’s embarrassed for bringing up the subject of Ace’s loyalty like this, but once again, the snails are proving a wonderful excuse to talk about topics they otherwise wouldn’t. “That sounds like a load of bullcrap,” Ace grins, making Felix look up at him, still frowning. “I've never seen Snace so happy. He knew what he signed up for and there's no way in hell he's leaving now.” The reassurance feels like a weight lifting off of Felix’s chest, and he can’t stop the smile spreading over his lips. Hesitantly, he grabs Ace’s hand still wrapped around him, and Ace brings them both up to brush his lips over Felix's callused knuckles. “I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart,” Ace murmurs, the sweet sentiment making warm affection spread through Felix’s entire body. “I, uhm,” Felix blushes, clearing his throat. “Is this a good time to point out I just had the snails crawl over the back of my hand…?” Ace sputters and immediately wipes at his mouth while Felix lets out a few quiet chuckles.

Following the conversation, Felix can’t help but read into Ace’s answer. Especially with the other survivors engaging in another round of the popular “What’s the first thing you’ll do when we escape?” game, Felix finds it difficult to focus on anything other than the possibility of a shared future. So, when he catches Ace alone, he hesitantly brings up the option of the man coming with him to Germany. “I know the possibility of escaping is slim,” Felix babbles nervously after Ace isn’t saying anything, just staring at him curiously. “But I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wanted to see where you are—” “Babe,” Ace interrupts, grabbing his arm to ground Felix from his scrambled thoughts, giving him an encouraging smile. “I’d love to.” Felix breathes out a relieved sigh, returning a shaky but happy smile over not getting rejected. And then Ace smirks mischievously and Felix’s instincts scream “Uh-oh”. “On one condition,” Ace adds, holding a finger in front of Felix’s face playfully. “Um… which?” Felix asks, nerves resurfacing. There’s not much that would make him say no, and he hopes he doesn’t have to, willing to make sacrifices for a potential future together. “The snails come with us,” Ace quips sheepishly instead. Felix chuckles and shakes his head in amusement, before pulling Ace in for a soft kiss. “I wouldn't have it any other way,” Felix murmurs against Ace’s lips, silently thanking the two dorky snails that allowed this to happen in the first place.

#dbd fanfic #riconti #dbd crack #dbd #dweetwrites #ace visconti #felix richter #dead by daylight

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lunaleetarot · 3 years

Text

Cancer 2021 Year Ahead Birthday Spread

Starting from the top clockwise, theme in the middle.

June 2021- Ace of Swords

This month you will figure out the source of some of the conflict in your life. This will be a new conflict in your life. Although this ace will show you the origin of drama in your life, there will be an opportunity to turn it around for the better. This is an extreme card. You will either experience great love or great hate this month. This card also predicts quick and forceful action. If you commit to the task and give it your all, you will have a swift outcome. Your determination will be great. You’ll have the extra stamina you’ll need. You may need a health treatment this month. This may involve scalpels, scissors or knives. Accidents, surgeries, dental visits or even cesarean come to play with this card. A situation may begin to progress very quickly. You will receive clarification and answers very shortly. That’s not to say the end is near, but you’ll learn more about the situation at least. You may be dealing with an air sign this month (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius).

2.July 2021- The High Priestess

Secrets, intuition and mystery will be a theme for you this scorching month. The outcome of the events unfolded this month are not meant to be known. This is a card of psychic ability. You will have an increase in your intuition (which is already pretty spot on as a Cancer). You will have strong suspicions. You may suspect infidelity in your partner. Your intuition may be telling you something in your life isn’t right. A lover or business partner may be keeping a secret from you. You will sense this dishonesty this month. At this time the secret may come out to light. However I would let the information present itself naturally rather than playing Nancy Drew.

3. August 2021- Six of Wands

Victory, glory and success will come to you in the summer haze of August. You will have victory in all your endeavors this month. Your hard work will be recognized. The effort you’ve put in will pay off, and you will bask in the glory. This will be a long-term success. You will be looked up to as an authority at this time. Your social media following may grow. You will also be rewarded financially. Your ego will get a boost as well. If this doesn’t ring true for you, this can also mean you let your pride get in the way of your happiness. You can’t admit when you're wrong and can’t handle when someone knows more about a subject than you do. If not kept in check, this could lead to your downfall. This arrogance will turn people away from you. You may appear to be a know-it-all. You may be dealing with a Leo a lot this month.

4. September 2021- Temperance

This September it will appear nothing is happening (in the best possible way). You will achieve contentment in every area of your life. You will also experience healing in every sense of the word. This is the quiet after the storm you went through in the early summer. You now find you can relax with room to breathe. For some of you, this card can be a warning that you need to balance. Don’t wear yourself too thin this month. If you’ve been worried about your health, this is a sign that all will work out fine. Your home life will be a happy one. You will make your home your sanctuary and find comfort there. You may be dealing with a Sagittarius this month.

5. October 2021- Six of Swords

As summer turns into fall, you will begin to see some movement. You're going to make a move in some area of your life this month, Cancer. You may be traveling away from or towards conflict. You may have the opportunity to get out of your hometown and go someplace different. This could be another country for some of you. Or this could mean you made steps towards a personal goal or desired outcome. You're making progress even if you don’t believe you are. You may be dealing with an Aquarius frequently this month.

6. November 2021- The Star

You will be very hopeful as we move into November. You will see signs of promise in your current situation. If you’ve been considering giving up on your dreams or love life- don’t. You will get results this month. Your dreams and wishes will come true at this time. You will get what you want, but not what you expect. However the outcome will be what’s best for you. Destiny is at work here. It will all work out in the end. You may be dealing with an Aquarius again this month.

7. December 2021- Three of Swords

This festive month you will be hit with heartache, pain and possibly infidelity. It won’t be holly or jolly for you, Cancer. This will be an emotionally painful time for you. Your relationship (romantic or another kind) is failing, and to make matters worse other people have become involved in the situation. You will be dealing with a lot of sadness. This will be a difficult time for you, perhaps the worst month of your year ahead. This card usually means break-up or divorce. An outsider may come between you and your partner. Cheating is often associated with this card. If it isn’t in romance, it can be a different type of drama. You may feel betrayed by someone you thought you were close to. You may be dealing with a Libra frequently this month, or this situation may involve one.

8. January 2022- Four of Wands

As the new year begins you will find some much needed stability. Last month was rough for you, but I feel all will be going well in your home life come January. If not right away, it will by the end of this winter month. At this time you will be focused on your family. You may even get reassurance on a family issue. At this time you may be making a home move or will be considering one for the future. You may decide to undergo some home improvements. If that is the case I see this paying off, even if it is stressful at the time. Just be mindful not to become too introverted, you need to put yourself out there, Cancer. Especially because of the three swords in December. You may be dealing with Aries frequently this month.

9. February 2022- Seven of Cups

Choices, ideas and inspiration are coming to you in the romantic month of February. This month you will have to make a choice. There will be many and each will seem valid in their own way. To complicate matters, you’ll likely have a timeframe to make this tricky decision. Quick action will be needed here. Otherwise you can go from having many options to none. Many people will be giving their opinions on what they think you should do. Not everyone will have your best interest at heart, and you would be wise to keep this in mind as you consider your decision. You may feel overwhelmed or confused, especially if your decision making skills need work. You may be dealing with a Scorpio frequently this month.

10. March 2022- The Hanged Man

As we enter Spring 2022, prophecy, waiting and sacrifice are in store for you. You may find yourself playing the role of the martyr. You’ll have to let go of something close to you to get something else in return. You may have to give up your time, money or something else that you love. You will feel sadness when you give up whatever this is. You will be on edge this month. The outcome of a particular situation looks uncertain. You may feel desperate to take action, but the hanged man is cautioning you to wait until you have more information. This card can also mean sickness and illness. If this is the case, treatment will be a long road for you, but necessary for you to get well again.

11. April 2022- Three of Pentacles

April will be a time of apprenticeship, fine tuning your skill and learning. You will develop yourself this month. You're putting the skills and talents you were born with to good use. Because you have a natural talent, your skills won’t go unnoticed by those who matter. The hard work you put in this month will pay off in the end. This marks the start of your journey, not the end. You may need to push yourself a little harder to see results. The prospects are good. That’s only the case if you apply yourself though. Don’t assume because you're talented at something you know everything about it. This way of thinking is arrogance, Cancer. There are people out there who are better than you. You may be the subject of envy for people who aren’t as naturally talented as you. They may try to call you out. The Three of Pentacles is telling you to rise above their pettiness. You may be dealing with a Capricorn this month.

12. May 2022- King of Pentacles

This month you may be dealing with an established man, or you want to take on the traits of someone of this persona. This month you (or someone close to you) will be all about business and making money. This month your financial situation will improve for the better. This won’t be a one large sum, but something more permanent. This card holds the meaning of riches. You will have a more traditional approach to life. You may follow in your family’s footsteps. This King follows the same religion, occupation and outlook that their culture expects of them. At this time you should appreciate the power of tradition. This may also be a sign that a new romance will be a stable and lasting figure in your life. However this card can also mean your being too materialistic and money focused. It can also mean you're unwilling to let go of the way things were done in the past, to a fault. While tradition is a good thing, it isn’t always appropriate.

13. Theme of the Year- Ten of Wands

This year you will have a lot of stress and burdens. You will have to work much harder than you’ve had to previously, and there is much work to be done after that. Over the course of the year, you're going to have to decide if you want to get serious and complete the challenge ahead of you or if you want to give up. This card isn’t telling you what to do, it’s just letting you know the year ahead will be a difficult one. You’ll have a lot on your plate this year. Your juggling family, business, work or other obligations. You go to bed at night thinking of all the work that lies ahead. You're overwhelmed. Stress related illness may crop up for you, so be sure to make time for self care when you can. For some of you, this is a card of pregnancy and childbirth. Perhaps adjusting to parenthood or adding another child to your family will wear you thin. In business, you feel like you're pushing and pushing but you feel like there is no end in sight (I see this getting better Spring 2022). Remember you're working hard for a more comfortable life. This year you're pushing towards the life you want. You may be dealing with a Sagittarius a lot this year. You may need to enlist the help of a group of people in April to get projects off the ground. You should seek out help from a priest, therapist or counselor. July, September and March of 2022 will be significant months of your year.

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ggmadeit · 7 years

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Divide is defined according to Dictionary.com as to separate or part from something else; sunder; cut off. In the grand scheme of things division has its place, but in crafting?

There have been some great debates when it comes to this or that. I know we all have different life experiences that drive us towards that which we love. My question is what makes different wrong or bad? For example the internet was all up in arms over the Grits divide. Are you team salt or team sugar? Listen folks were serious about how grits should be eaten.

I prefer salt and pepper but what I eat don’t make you 🚽 so why does it matter? photo credit canitalkmyish.com

Please don’t make me discuss the black vs. white or in my culture light skin vs. dark skin UGH!! The word “and” exist for a reason but I digress, back to crafting.

MY CROCHET HERSTORY

I learned to crochet as a kid in summer camp. Yes I can and will crochet too. Does that make you like me any less? I would hope not! I am still GG, the Yarnho, the Orange fanatic and Shelbey’s mom.

Divide Yup I hooked that baby up and proud of it! When all I could do was crochet, I mostly focused on baby gifts. I didn’t venture into more complicated items until later in life. I was always afraid of knitting because it looked more complicated, however I never labeled folks that knit vs those that crocheted. As for yarn, I shopped where I knew which was Michaels, AC Moore and hell coming up Woolworths (did I just go all the way back? well it’s throwback thursday so there)

FACTS ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA

Crochet (English pronunciation: /kroʊˈʃeɪ/;[1] French: [kʁɔʃɛ][2]) is a process of creating fabric by interlocking loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials using a crochet hook.[3] The name is derived from the French term crochet, meaning ‘small hook’. These are made of materials such as metal, wood, or plastic and are manufactured commercially and produced in artisan workshops. The salient difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used for their production, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before proceeding with the next one, while knitting keeps a large number of stitches open at a time. (Variant forms such as Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.)

However the earliest published pattern was in 1824, in a Dutch magazine. There are no known examples of crochet that are earlier than 1800. Knitting on the other hand, has examples as far back as around 1000 a.d.–these were a pair of knitted socks found in Egypt. Although the first knitting trade guild was started much later–in 1527 in Paris France.

THE DIVIDE

I was a part of a challenge where the majority of the participants crocheted. The talent blew me away on a daily basis. What their talent did not do was make me feel less than because I knit, not for one second. One day, a phenomenal crocheter was proud of her knitting progress; she was learning to knit. The reactions from the crowd hurt my feelings. I know they weren’t talking about me but…. comments like “knitters are bougie” wait what?, “crocheters don’t spend money on yarn” or how “crocheters are mistreated in local yarn stores”.

Listen, I am a lot of things, some you may not like, but bougie is not one. One of my dearest friends crochets her assets off and SHE introduced me to the yarn shop world. Teresa has a ton of yarn, yarn that she got from a yarn store. The same yarn stores she went to for help with HER CROCHET projects. I have been mistreated, but not because I knit vs crochet, but the color of my skin. They didn’t even bother to find out if I could do either, simply judged me based on my appearance. I am usually cute..sooo why can’t we all just get along? They are equally beautiful crafts. Period, the point and the blank.

YARN SHOPS

To all my yarn shop owners, those of you that I know personally, I can’t imagine you treating someone who didn’t knit rudely. I simply can’t! The feeling is so strong that I reached out to a few shop owners here in NJ. I even reached out to a shop I visited in Florida Stash and they offer crochet classes which were not well attended. Hell Nancy Ricci, who works in a Knitty City and is a fabulous knit designer, is currently crocheting.

Chelsea Yarns in Redbank is planning a CAL in the summer and the same for Frame & Fiber. Admittedly, most of their clientele is knitters yet they are crochet friendly. Have you all seen that crochet blanket that everyone was making on Instagram? Most of them are knitters. I kept hearing the same story. I talk to Laura from Four Purls (I love her BTW) and the same thing..they offer crochet classes and no one attends. The result is private lessons for crochet. Yarn is yarn people..look at the picture below. I did both knit and crochet from the same ball.

So my challenge is this, for those crocheters that feel left out in yarn shops, go talk to the owners and see what happens. To my shop owners, make sure you are crochet friendly, because the ultimate goal is to sell the yarn to whoever wants to purchase.

LET’S DISCUSS

The word AND damnit! It exists! Did we not learn it in the kindergarten? If I have a choice, who are YOU to judge my decision? My choice in no way diminishes yours. Whew this post got under my skin, so I will stop here.

Let’s discuss, I would love to hear your thoughts on this from both sides of the coin. Which one are you, a knitter or crocheter? If you only do one of the two, do you have an issue with a person that does the other? Have you as a crocheter had a bad experience in a yarn shop? What can we as makers, as Yarnhos do to bridge the gap? See you in the comments. Do what makes you happy

http://ggmadeit.com/blog/the-great-divide-knit-vs-crochet/

#knitting #crocheting #handmade #diy #debate

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winterlovesong1 · 2 years

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Halloween prompt: Nace pumpkin carving. We all know Ace's art skills suck so his pumpkin would have no recognizable design. Nancy's is super nice and well done.

Here is prompt number two from a kind anon, who coincidently enough, sent in a prompt that was basically Nace + Pumpkin Carving again (thanks universe, real funny) - but actually this person provided some guidelines to work within so this was actually a bit more on the fluff leaning side than the other story I wrote for this same prompt. I hope you enjoy!

flicker of autumn light

Summary: To calm the disgruntled customers, George thinks of something to brighten up The Claw, get in the spirit of the season.

-/-

Nick suggests it in an off handed manner, casually joking after a trying dinner shift that maybe the customers would ease up on their complaints if the restaurant was decorated a bit more.

George does not take this as a joke. She takes it as a challenge.

(she thinks Nick should have known better)

(he’s learning)

read the rest below the cut or read the rest at A03

“Everyone will carve one,” she says a bit demanding as she forcefully sets a pumpkin in front of each of them upon a white canvas cloth that covered the outside picnic benches off the side of the restaurant.

“We’ll display them in the front windows and put name tags in front of them with the staffer than carved them,” she’s smiling, not out of joy, but out of the satisfaction that despite Nick starting this whole idea as a farce, everyone was going to have to endure some seasonal antics. Though she enjoyed this time of year and her hometown traditions, the more antiquated rituals like carving pumpkins she could care less for.

“It’ll be…what did you call it, honey?” Almost sounding sincere before recalling, “oh yes, community building,” the last of her phrase heavy with sarcasm as it weighs itself down into the air.

She can feel the eyerolls and groans resounding and smiles even wider.

Nick is the first to finish his, expertly sculpting the face of a skeleton into the skin just from memory.

George is less than enthused that her fiancé not only finished first, but left her behind to go check on the delivery orders for the week.

Bess is second to complete, but she did a more paint by numbers approach, using a stencil and colored markers to draw upon the skin of the pumpkin rather than carving. She hopped off to go display her witches’ hat next to Nick’s skeleton.

George forfeited soon after Bess skipped away, citing as the manager, she wasn’t obliged to provide a pumpkin for the display.

“New rule,” she proclaimed as she huffed away.

This left Ace and Nancy sitting next to each other on the bench finishing up their forced art projects.

(well, one of them was finishing, the other had yet to start)

(ok they both weren’t nearly done)

“You need some ideas?” she suggests rather innocently, trying not to sound too confident in her own set of skills, which were admittedly lacking, but at least she was further along than him. She had at least started sketching an outline upon the surface, he had yet to pick up a marker or carving knife or as her eyes glanced down at his empty hands in his lap...anything really.

“I have an idea, I just…” his voice trailing as he dips his head a little, a shade of pink gracing his cheeks.

Since when did his lack of art skills become a source of embarrassment?

Her mind wanders to a carefully crafted sketch of a fish, and she wants to smile at the memory, but he’s still not meeting her eyes and her display of joy at her happy memory might seem out of place so she holds back and instead, knocks her shoulder against his and finishes his thoughts for him.

“Know where to start?”

He lifts his eyes back up to her and he’s the first to smile so she allows herself to let her happiness show, her lips drawing up into a grin as she offers again, “here let me help you.”

It takes them about an hour to finish - she's not sure the exact span of time as it all occurred in between unrestrained laughter and bubbly giggles, tangled amongst now this is how I do it and now you try, surrounded by pauses and stops of her stolen glances, watching him concentrate on his art, of her noticing him glancing over at her from the corner of her eye while she pretended to work on hers.

“I’m impressed you guys,” George exclaimed, arms folded as she stood back overviewing the line up of pumpkins on the front windowsill. "Maybe we should do this every year?” she suggested, turning over her shoulder to her friends scattered about the dining area.

And in union from their own places about the room, they all affirmed, “I don’t think so.”

They prepared for the start of the lunch shift, the first customer breezing through the door with the ring of the bell attached to the top echoing its jingle. As they gathered in the kitchen, they peered through the serving window at the young professional woman, dressed in a well ironed pencil skirt and tailored blazer, look over at the windowsill, a small smirk gracing her features at their various sculptures before her eyes went back to seeking out a waiter.

When Bess came back with her order, Ace was the first to tentatively ask, “so which one did she like best?”

She wrinkled her nose and in a spark of pride, cheered, “actually, it was yours.”

She left to take the drink order to her table and as the metal doors swung behind her, George walked away with Nick, though not admitting, he pride was a little hurt, leaving Ace at the stove and Nancy leaning herself against the counter beside him.

He turned to her from his workstation, a pink hue shading his features, and sheepishly expressed his gratitude, “thank you.”

She took in the moment, his eyes full of sincerity at how she helped him carve what in the end was a pretty decent ghost, and something swelled inside her, the emotion not one of satisfaction or a job well done as an expert pumpkin carving teacher, but something else, something resembling...

She leaned her back further against the edge of the counter and tucked her hands into her apron pockets. Gathering a bit of bravery in herself by looking quickly at her sneakers, before meeting his eyes again, she replied, “anytime.”

(she really hoped it was sometime soon)

#nace fanfic #nace fanfiction #ace x nancy #nace #nace autumn fic #my fanfics #nace halloween fanfic #happy halloween nace shippers

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