#tori… how did it feel to live my dream ?!

[doll-elvis]

Any idea who the female companion is on the back of his bike? https://www.elvis-collectors.com/candid-central/040376riding.html

thank you for the ask <3 !!!

as for the mysterious female companion… that would be Tori Petty, a 20-year-old college student and cheerleader from Oxford, Mississippi (which btw was a 75 mile commute to Memphis… Elvis would be worth it tho 🤭). She met Elvis around 1975 after his 40th birthday and we know they dated for about a year (possibly more) as these photos below were taken on April 3, 1976 ⬇️

George Klein introduced Tori to Elvis after she participated on his "Talent Party" show. Elvis most likely saw her appearance on the show and asked George to set him up, as he did with Cybill Shepherd and Gail Stanton, who both appeared on "Talent Party" and were immediately asked to be seen by Elvis. This is why many of the MM refer to George Klein as Elvis' pimp 💀, as he was the one responsible for setting Elvis up with women

And like many of the women in Elvis’ life, Tori was involved in beauty queen pageants and held the title of “Miss Ole Miss”. I believe she also occasionally modeled for clothing catalogues while being a student

According to George Klein, Elvis began dating Tori while Linda Thompson was staying at the apartment he had leased for her in Los Angeles, California. This goes back to the ask I answered a few days ago regarding Linda and how Elvis would create physical distance between them so he could date other women. Naturally, Linda was upset when she learned about him and Tori 🤧 ⬇️

(excerpt from “Elvis: My Best Man” by George Klein)

And, while Tori has never been formally interviewed for a book like "Baby Let's Play House" by Alanna Nash or "Careless Love" by Peter Guralnick, she has openly spoken about Elvis to a few newspapers and may have appeared on a talkshow in the early 1990s ⬇️

Newspaper from August 11, 1994: “Elvis would fly me back and forth from Memphis to Oxford in a little private jet I was certainly impressed," said Petty, now of Dallas. "I wish I could tell you that he was a sweet, down to earth, ordinary man. He was sweet and he was down to earth, but he was extraordinary." One April afternoon, they went for a ride on Elvis' Harley. They were being followed by a woman in a car, who was working on a pictorial book about the star. "At a red light, Elvis said, 'Look at her give her a good picture, and she'll leave us’ So they did. And, it was in focus, from inside a car, with a Kodak Instamatic. The picture appeared in Betty Page's Got Ya, Elvis, I Got ya, published in 1977. Some time after the Memphis ride, an acquaintance told Petty he saw a picture of her with Elvis and put her in touch with the woman who took it. Petty got a print. "It's framed and depending on what else is going on in my life, I either put it in the closet or hang it on the wall." - Interview with Tori Petty

(courtesy of “Clarion-Ledger” on newspapers.com)

As for the possible television appearance, according to this newspaper⬇️, Tori Petty and Gail Stanton ( the playboy model Elvis dated) were interviewed on Geraldo Riveras' talkshow which was set to air on January 8th, 1991 for Elvis’ birthday. I've searched every archive site I know and haven't been able to find the episode 😭 !! In fact, I don't even see the episode listed on Geraldo’s archive which has every season and the names of its’ episodes, so I'm wondering if it ever even aired

Newspaper from December 29, 1990: What would you have to do to wind up being interviewed by Geraldo Rivera? For Memphian Gail Stanton it was nothing deviant or even horrible. That distinction was saved for the interview itself, her grilling by the king of the naughty interview is scheduled to air Jan 8 (10 am on WHBQ-TV). Geraldo was kind of conniving said Ms Stanton ,36, who holds the distinction of being the only Frayser woman who has been a Playboy Playmate of the Month. That was in June 1978 when she followed in the footsteps of Mississippian Stella Stevens with a nude Playboy pose from sea to shining sea. That piqued Geraldo but his real interest was in another distinction. That was Ms Seventies fling with hometown boy Elvis Presley. It was Elvis's Jan 8 birthday that inspired producers to delve once again into the things from drugs to gossipy stepbrothers to girlfriends. The show taped last week included Ms Stanton who was a Shelby County computer programmer before she turned centerfold spread and Tori Petty a former Ole Miss cheerleader who also dated Elvis. Ms Stanton said Geraldo seemed to give short shrift to other guests such as Charles Thompson coauthor of The Death of Elvis spent quite a bit of time- (illegible). Geraldo knows how to turn those questions around, Ms Stanton says, “I think he was trying to get us to say something like whether we'd been to bed with Elvis and of course that's our personal information”. As for Elvis, Ms Stanton volunteers memories such as how he was a Southern gentleman, “There aren't too many men today who open doors for you or are polite and he was. He didn't blast away TV sets in her presence or talk incessantly about mama or even act moody or strange”. She says “He played the piano for me and sang. How many people can say they have been serenaded by Elvis Presley?" - Interview with Gail Stanton

(courtesy of “The Commercial Appeal” on newspapers.com)

And lastly, I found this book that briefly mentions her and the jacket that was given to her by Elvis <3 ⬇️

(courtesy of “Rock & Roll Memorabilia” by Hilary Kay)

#if anybody happens to find the Geraldo episode that she is in #I will love you forever !!! #I wish we could have heard more from her 😭 #her being dripped out in pink and on the back of Elvis’ motorcycle is so iconic 😩 #tori… how did it feel to live my dream ?! #elvis presley #elvisaaronpresley #elvis #tori petty #gail stanton #george klein #linda thompson #big daddy elvis #elvis history #elvis fans #elvis photos #elvis asks #70s #70s elvis

[thefallennightmare]

Fika-Joakim 'Jolly' Karlsson: 2/2

*made by @madomens. check her out!*

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: Joakim 'Jolly' Karlsson x OFC.

Warnings: some angst, swearing, lots of fluff, smut, mentions of death.

Summary: To appease her dying father’s wishes, Astrid takes over the family coffee shop: Fïka. Plans to restore it to its former glory: setting her dreams and ambitions aside- that is until she meets an unexpected stranger. This very stranger changes the trajectory of her life.

Authors Note: Here is part two my lovelies!

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @sammyjoeee @somewhere-diamond @concreteemo @ladispo0p @to-be-written @lilmonster218 @whenthesummerdies @lizzieseveride @blackveilomens @malice-ov-mercy @lma1986 @klutzy-kay24 @baddestomens @cncohshit @jilliemiw86 @cookiesupplier

ASTRID

Straightening out my black floral sundress, I knocked on the front door and waited patiently. Surprisingly it was a warm February evening in Los Angeles but I still wrapped my jacket tighter around me and then tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, opting to leave it down tonight. Exhaustion crept into my bones after a long day of running the cafe but at about seven, I left Jessica and Tori to close up so I could come here. 

All day, I could only think of mine and Jolly’s kiss and the way it made me feel so alive. Yes, it made it harder to work today but it was worth it when I remembered how his lips tasted or how he smelled. Every part of him had absorbed into me with our kiss and I craved more. 

Earlier today, Jolly texted me the address to his house and a time of when to show up. So here I was six p.m. on the dot shaking out the nerves just as the door opened, the music from the house spilling into the street.

“Hey, Astrid!” 

I smiled at Jesse. “Hi!” 

He waved me inside. “Come on in. Make yourself at home. 

Stepping over the threshold, I did my best to calm my nerves again when I noticed a lot of unfamiliar faces and I felt very out of place. I was two seconds away from turning on my heels and leaving until Y/N stepped into the living room from a hallway. 

“Astrid, hey!” Her cheery voice waved me over. “Jolly told me you were coming. I’m so glad because I’m so over being the only girl at these things.” 

“Yeah,” I chuckled, then held up a bag. “I-uh-brought some sweets from Fika. It was the batch that didn’t sell today and I figured you guys would enjoy them more than being tossed out.” 

Y/N’s eyes lit up as she took the bag. “Oh my gosh, you know the way to my heart. Let me introduce you to everyone.” 

She linked her arms with mine, and that simple action washed away every anxiety I had tonight. I couldn’t explain it but Y/N seemed to be the sunshine in a dark room, making everyone forget the bad in their life for a few moments. 

First, she pointed to a couple that was leaning against the kitchen island, hand in hand. 

“This is Malcolm,” Y/N motioned to a tall man with long auburn curls and hazel eyes that mirrored my own. 

“And his boyfriend, Chase,” then she pointed to a man next to Malcolm. 

His head was buzzed, only fuzz of his blonde hair, but his bright blue eyes were striking. 

“They’re also my best friends and roommates,” Y/N informed. 

“Nice to meet you, Astrid,” Malcolm smiled. 

Chase nodded. “Jolly hasn’t stopped talking about you all night.” 

I shuffled my feet, wondering what exactly Jolly had told them about me. “Oh?” 

“It seems as if someone is smitten,” he smirked behind the cup as he brought it to his lips, taking a sip. 

Y/N waved them off before leading me toward another group of guys that sat at the kitchen table. 

“Geez, you weren’t kidding about being the only girl here,” I joked with a smile. 

“Tell me about it so if I seem a bit clingy, I apologize. It’s just nice to have another female here.” 

I patted her arm reassuringly. “You’re fine, Y/N. I don’t mind at all.” 

As we stopped in front of the table, six sets of eyes stared at me. All of them had a wide variety of tattoos but warm smiles. 

“Okay so,” Y/N started rattling off names as she pointed to everyone. “That’s Nicholas, Nick but you can call him Folio, Matt, Davis, Michael, and Bryan.” 

“Sorry, it’s a lot of names thrown at you at once,” Folio apologized. 

“If I couldn’t remember names, I wouldn’t be good at my job,” I shrugged with a laugh. 

“Oh, that’s right! You own that cafe on W. 9th? Fika?” Matt asked. 

I wore a proud smile. “That’s the one.”

For the next few minutes, I chatted with all of them until movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Peering up to the sliding glass door of the house, I noticed both Noah and Jolly standing outside on the back deck, grilling some sort of food. It seemed like they were having a deep conversation, Noah running his hand over his face a few times and Jolly listening intently. 

Almost as if he felt me staring, Jolly glanced away from the grill, his dark eyes immediately finding mine. I gave him a small wave, one he returned before going back to his conversation with Noah. 

“I hope you’re hungry,” Nicholas said, pulling my attention back inside. “Jolly insisted on cooking tonight for all of us.” 

I played with the straps of my purse. “He cooks?” 

“Out of all of us, he’s one of the best. Noah likes to cook but if it were up to either of them, it’s always Jolly,” Matt said. 

“The rest of us just eat,” Folio finished with a chuckle. 

As I continued to talk with all of Jolly’s friends, a genuine smile on my face, I felt someone's warm embrace encased around me as a gentle hand rested on my lower back. 

“Käraste,” Jolly’s deep voice breathed into my hairline.

Gazing up at him, my breath caught in my throat when I met his dark eyes. I’d seen them up close many times before but every single time, they took my breath away. The tan long sleeve he wore did wonders for his skin and half of his long hair was tied back into a bun so I was able to fully see him. 

“Hi,” I turned towards him. 

He motioned to everyone behind me. “Are they being nice?” 

I patted his chest, fingers messing with his necklace. “Yes, very welcoming.” 

“Good,” he hummed and laced our fingers together. “Are you hungry?” 

Suddenly the smell of fresh food filled my nostrils and my stomach growled, something Jolly picked up on because he chuckled. Pulling out the stool at the kitchen island for me, I sat with a smile of thanks and watched as he grabbed a plate. 

He motioned to the wide spread of chicken and steak shish kabobs with a variety of different veggies. “Anything a no on this list?” 

“Nope. I’ll have a little bit of everything please,” I said. 

While Jolly filled my plate with food, Noah motioned toward the open fridge. “Would you like something to drink?” 

“Water is fine, thank you.” 

After he set down a bottle of water in front of me, Y/N was trying to make herself a plate of food but Noah quickly smacked her hands away. 

“Noah, I can-,” she started. 

“Not a chance, angel. Sit down and I’ll bring it to you.” 

I watched the two of them interact with a faint smile, Noah brushing back Y/N’s hair after he brought her a plate and lay a soft kiss on her lips. 

Jolly set down my own plate and I thanked him with a wide smile. “Thank you, Jolly.” 

We sat in silence for a few moments as we ate while everyone else had their own conversations but when his rough fingers grazed over my knee, I turned my head to look at Jolly. 

“Did you ever figure out why the alarm went off last night?” 

I groaned while setting down my fork. “I’m not sure. When I checked it out, every door was locked shut so I’m unsure why the alarm went off.” 

“Maybe a glitch?” Jolly suggested while taking our plates to the sink. 

“Hm, maybe,” I tapped my fingers on the edge of the counter. 

He quickly returned to my side to grasp my hand and led me toward the evergreen sectional couch. He pulled down with him and I crossed one leg over the other and his hand immediately rested on my knee, tracing random shapes on the skin there. 

“You look beautiful,” Jolly mused. 

I tried to hide behind my hair so he couldn’t see the way I blushed at his comment. But he brushed it away, tucking it behind my neck to fully expose myself to him.

“Don’t hide, Astrid,” he said. 

I ran my hands over my thighs. “I’m a little nervous.”

“Because of me?” Jolly wondered, almost removing his hand from my knee but I placed mine over it. 

“Of dating in general, I suppose,” I admitted with a long breath. “This is the first time in a long while that anyone has shown any interest in me.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” he said while turning his body inward towards me. 

I shrugged, not wanting to meet his gaze. “I’ve been so busy with school before having to drop out to take over Fika that dating took a back seat.” 

Jolly’s fingers grazed over the back of my neck and I leaned into his touch. “So you never had time to focus on yourself?” 

“I guess, yes in a sense,” I agreed with a shrug. “I’ve never put my feelings first before anything so it’s a bit new.” 

“What are those feelings telling you right now?” He wondered, one hand on my knee and the other resting on the back of my neck. 

Swallowing thickly, I turned my face up towards him so our lips were meters apart. I watched as his gaze bounced from my eyes down to my lips to trace every movement of my tongue as it glided over them before resting on my eyes once again. 

“I would like to kiss you again,” I breathed while tracing a finger over the stubble on his chin. 

Something flashed in Jolly’s eyes before he peeked over my shoulder to see that everyone else had been preoccupied with other things then he linked our fingers together and gently but quickly pulled me up from the couch. 

“Would it be alright if we go up to my bedroom?” 

My heart skipped a beat at his question. While it was clear that Jolly was filled with anticipation for kissing me again, he still wanted to make sure I was alright with going up into his bedroom with him. 

A little too eagerly, I nodded which caused him to grasp my hips and lead me up the stairs, away from the small group of friends that pretended to ignore us slipping away. But quickly glancing back, I saw Y/n who was sitting on Noah’s lap on the couch, giving me a playful wink. 

In the seclusion of the upstairs hallway, Jolly stopped in front of a closed door but made no effort to open it. Instead, I felt his warm breath over my ear right before his lips pressed a tender kiss to my neck. 

“Are you sure?” He asked. 

With his hands still on my hips, I turned in his embrace to lock my arms around his neck. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day.” 

Not saying anything but keeping me in his embrace, Jolly opened the door and led me backward into his room. It was dark but my eyes quickly adjusted to his face as I heard him kick the door shut. There was an eerie silence in the confines around us but our heavy breathing seemed to break through it. My name was hushed on his lips as his hand grasped my cheek, the roughness of his fingers tracing over my bottom lip. I pressed a kiss to them causing him to suck in a breath. 

Jolly swallowed hard, his chest heaving with shaky whispers as he spoke again. 

“Nu när jag har dig vill jag inte släppa dig.”

Blinking up at him, I was rooted to the ground, spinning while standing straight. Dizzy in my blood and my soul. I was breathing like I was Icarus when he finally felt the air between his wax wings as he flew towards the sun like I’d been inhaling a special kind of oxygen you could only find in the clouds. I was trying to keep myself from breaking the spell between us to ask him what he said in Swedish. 

With his hand still caressing my cheek, Jolly leaned in so carefully all while breathing but yet not breathing. Our hearts beat between us and he was so close now, I could almost feel the softness of his lips. While our first kiss seemed to have a rushed start, it was as if Jolly wanted to enjoy the build-up; and take his time with me. 

I couldn’t feel my legs, my fingers, or the cold emptiness of this room because all I felt was Jolly everywhere, filling everything in and around me. Then all at once, Jolly’s lips were on mine, softer than anything I’d ever known. My hands found his chest, grasping his necklace between my fingers while one hand tangled in my hair and the other grazed up the bare skin of my thigh.

His lips were soft like the first snowfall of the season. They tasted like biting into cotton candy for the first time and the explosion of sweetness filling your mouth; so effortlessly sweet. I felt weightless while floating in the water when his tongue slipped between my lips and I moaned as our kiss deepened. Slowly, Jolly backed me up towards his bed and when I felt the edge of it smack against the back of my knees, the two of us fell into a heap of tangled limbs and tongues. 

I giggled into the kiss as he muttered a slew of curses. 

“I meant to be more suave with that,” Jolly admitted while marking my neck with tender teeth. 

I titled my head to the side, giving him more access. “I appreciate the effort.” 

Leaving the mark on my neck, he attacked my lips once again with such fever it made my head spin. Our teeth smacked against each other as our tongues devoured each other with such hunger. Jolly’s calloused hand grazed up my leg to my thigh before resting at the end of my dress. 

“Astrid,” he breathed when my hands slipped underneath his shirt. 

His skin was a blaze as my fingers danced across the waistband of his jeans which made him break away from our kiss, resting his forehead against mine. 

“Hang on,” Jolly muttered before untangling himself from me. 

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, suddenly worried. 

Suddenly, a lamp clicked on, painting the room in a faint golden hue and it was then that I got a good look at Jolly. He was standing at the end of his bed now, while I lay on his bed on my elbows, and his dark eyes stalked me like a hunter with prey. His chest rose and fell with each deep breath and his lips were swollen from the force of our kiss. When I trailed my gaze down the long length of him, I nearly choked on a breath when I realized that I had done nothing wrong; his cock was prominent in his jeans, straining for release. 

Licking my lips, I locked eyes with Jolly again to see him take out the top half of his hair from its elastic, the strands falling to his shoulders in waves. 

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, käraste,” he ran a hand over his face. “I just want to slow things down in case this isn’t something you wanted.” 

I sat up now and shook my head. “Jolly, if I didn’t have the slight inclination something more than just making out might happen tonight, I wouldn’t have agreed to come up here with you.” 

He nodded but still made no move to come back to bed, instead stuffed his hands deep into the pocket of his jeans. So briefly, I faltered and pulled my knees closer to me. 

“Unless this isn’t something you want?” 

“Käraste, all I want is you. The thought of you has overtaken every one of my thoughts the last few days,” Jolly admitted while taking a tentative step towards me. 

My heart beat wildly in my chest with his admission so I extended my hand towards him, inviting him back to his bed. The familiarity of his hands grasped mine as he knelt on his bed, towering over me. The knuckles with tattoos grazed over my cheek just before his lips met mine again. I allowed him to slip his hands now underneath my dress to pull it up over my head then tossed it to the floor. 

Pulling away from our kiss, Jolly sat back on his knees to gaze down at me wearing nothing but a pair of black panties; me kicking off my shoes when she tumbled to the bed together. 

“Fuck,” he sighed, eyes going dark with lust as he continued to stare at me. “You’re beautiful.” 

I cast my eyes downward with a blush which made Jolly lift my chin with a knuckle so I could peer up at him. 

“Don’t hide, Astrid. I want to see all of you.” 

I wasn't sure why I was nervous in front of him. I’d never been shy when it came to sex, knowing what I liked and being vocal about it, but now sitting in front of Jolly like this, I couldn't stop myself from hiding. 

He was gentle as his lips found mine again, this kiss slower, more sensual, as I leaned up into him while rising to my knees. I made quick work of taking off his shirt, only breaking our kiss for a moment, and scratched my nails over his chest, up to his shoulder. Jolly hissed in pleasure and then began to lie me back on his bed, the warm comforter bringing a sense of comfort to my chilled skin. 

Jolly began kissing over the tattoos across my chest, his hums of approval etched into me, and I leaned farther back into the mattress, exposing all of him to me. My pussy ached with such force, I needed some sort of pressure to alleviate the pain, so I grabbed Jolly’s hips to bring him closer to me, the rough material of his jeans brushing over the thin material of my underwear. 

“Shit,” I groaned.

Breaking away from littering my chest with tiny marks, Jolly sat up to quickly remove his jeans, joining the growing pile of our clothes on the floor. As he stood at the end of the bed, I assessed his tattoos the same way he had done mine. His entire left arm was covered in a sleeve of various designs. His chest had a woman with a mask and winged helmet, roses, and directly in the middle of his chest was a shining diamond. Gazling lower, I noticed he had a tattoo on his right knee. 

I licked my lips when I took in the full sight of Jolly, standing in front of me in his gray briefs, hair a disheveled mess from my hands running through it, and lips bruised from the force of our kiss. 

“Astrid.” His deep voice made my eyes snap up to his. “Are you sure?” 

“Please,” I nodded once, my voice hushed due to being lost in lust. Weeks of flirting, stolen glances, and soft touches had led up to this moment and I was in dire need of release. “I need you, Joakim.”

Darkness shadowed his eyes and slowly began crawling up my body, leaving small kisses along each of the tattoos on my leg, the one on my thigh, and my ribs. He linked his hand with mine which had the Medusa tattoo and locked it above my head. 

“Say it again,” he groaned into the crook of my neck, his cock pressing to the inside of my thigh. 

My nails raked down his back. “Joakim.” 

His chest rumbled low with a noise I’d never heard before as he quickly slipped off my underwear so now I was completely bare for him. Jolly’s finger brushed between my folds, gathering up the wetness between my legs, and I shivered underneath him. 

“So wet.” 

He slipped one finger inside of me then began a languid pace of fucking me with his finger. My eyes fluttered shut only for the briefest of moments until Jolly’s deep voice rasped in my ear. 

“Look at me, Astrid.” 

Snapping my eyes open, I watched him through hazy vision as Jolly peered down to my pussy, watching his finger disappear inside of me. 

“Faster,” I breathed. “Please.” 

All at once, Jolly’s pace quickened and when his warm mouth covered my left nipple, tongue and teeth teasing, I bucked my hips into his hand. My knees buckled when he added a second finger, spearing me wide open. 

“Joakim,” I moaned while grasping at the back of his head, keeping him in place. 

His actions on my nipple halted briefly. “Fuck, say it again. I need to hear you say my name again.” 

I did, like a mantra when my orgasm began to crest then all at once washed through me in a tidal wave. Just before I could scream out my release, Jolly swallowed them with a kiss so spellbinding, I couldn’t feel the pad of his thumb on my clit to work me through the aftershocks. With the heat of a second orgasm building, I ran my hands down his stomach to pull on the waistband of his briefs. Jolly understood because, with my help, he shimmed out of them before kicking them off to the side. 

Breaking away from the kiss, I stared down between us and let out a groan. His cock was long but thick and I licked my lips, suddenly wanting a taste. Using my strength, I pushed Jolly on his chest so he was lying on the bed now. 

“Käraste,” he warned. “I’m not going to last-.” 

I hushed him by grabbing his cock with a tight grasp. “Just a little taste.” 

Jolly jerked when my hand started to move up and down, spreading the precum around the head with my thumb. Glancing up at him through the strands of hair that fell into my face, my breath stuttered at the sight. His head was buried in the pillow, long forearm covering his eyes, but his lips were parted. The muscles in his stomach contracted as he forced himself to not let out a breath, anticipating my mouth sinking around him. 

So that's exactly what I did. 

Wetting my lips, I hollow my cheeks before taking Jolly in my mouth all at once, never once gagging. His guttural groans broke through the otherwise silent bedroom when I held myself there for a few seconds, my tongue pressing on the underside of his cock. Then my lips parted around his thick, veiny cock, tasting the salt of his precum in my mouth. I hummed in sheer approval, loving how he tasted and needing more of him. I slid down his shaft until my nose was buried in his dark hairs and his crown struck the back of my throat. 

“Fuck. Shit,” Jolly choked out and held my face in place with his hands before he began fucking my throat. 

I moaned around him as the tears gathered at the corner of my eyes and drool dribbled down my chin. But I refused to let him know I couldn’t handle it because I knew I could. 

“Astrid,” my name was strangled on his lips. 

Suddenly, his hips writhed underneath my nails as I clawed at him before I was pulled off of him with a loud pop and I squealed when he shifted our positions so now he was kneeling between my legs. Jolly leaned over to his bedside table to rummage through the drawer, immediately pulling out a condom. I swallowed thickly when the realization of what was about to happen sunk in. 

We’d already come this far, there was no way I’d deny us this. I wanted it just as much as he did. 

I needed this. 

But the fear of how it would change things between us lingered in the back of my mind while I watched Jolly roll the condom on his cock, hands shaking slightly. I noted that he was also nervous but opted to not say anything. 

Spreading my legs wide for him, Jolly angled the head of his cock towards me, and with a fast gaze up at me, I nodded. My back arched off the bed as my hands grasped at anything I could to keep myself centered when he sank his entire length inside of me. 

“Oh,” I whined a moan when the thickness of his cock filled me. 

“So tight,” Jolly grunted as his hips stilled, nipping his teeth on my breasts. 

We stayed like this for a few steady beats, our breaths syncing as soon as our bodies did. He lifted my thigh to my chest so he could bury himself deeper and I squeezed around him. 

“Please,” I husked while moving my hips. “I need you to move.” 

His eyes were blown wide with lust as leaned down to crush his lips to mine, immediately forcing his tongue in my mouth. Jolly’s hips began to move with such fever that the mattress beneath us began to creak. 

“Fuck, I forgot how loud my bed is,” he chuckled into the crook in my neck as he sucked on the tender skin there. 

In turn, I giggled but then hissed in sheer ecstasy when the head of his cock hit that perfect spot. The fire spread from my gut through my veins and when I clenched around him again, Jolly’s teeth grazed my ear, hips still holding his sensual, steady pace. 

“Touch yourself,” he urged. 

My fingers quickly the swollen nub between my legs and worked in the pattern I knew all too well; the one that would grant me the release that was about to break free. But I sensed that Jolly was holding back so I brushed the sweat-matted hair away from his face with my free hand, his dark eyes gone from pure bliss. 

“I need you to go faster. Please,” I sighed. 

While my body reacted in the most euphoric way to him, I needed him to hurt me in a sense. The harder and faster his cock slammed into me, the better it felt. 

Jolly laid a kiss on the inside of my palm. “I might not last long, käraste.” 

I paused my fingers against my clit to press a tender kiss on his lips, one he returned without a missed beat. 

“Neither am I. I’m so close, Joakim.” 

His head fell to my shoulder and nuzzled the side of my neck with his facial hair for a brief moment before pulling himself completely out of me. Before I could whine in protest, he flipped me to my stomach and dug his nails into my skin to hoist my hips up in the air. One large hand pressed against my back to keep me against the mattress while his other lined up his cock again however this time when he slipped inside, he was anything but gentle. 

My screams were muffled into the pillow when Jolly slammed into me from behind, over and over again with such force the headboard banged against the wall. Neither of us cared if anyone heard downstairs; only we mattered at this moment. The sound of skin slapping on skin tangled with the sounds of our moans of ecstasy and I thrived in the way his cock seemed to perfectly fit inside of me. His thickness filled me up completely. 

Reaching around, Jolly’s fingers found my clit and matched the pace with his hips, drawing fast circles in both directions and when his cock twitched inside of me, I knew that this was it. 

“Du är underbar, Astrid. Jag kan inte få nog av dig,” Jolly spoke into the skin of my back as he left a variety of kisses along my spine. 

I was gone in a haze of ecstasy that I didn’t even pick up my name in between the Swedish words. My toes curled with a scream when my second orgasm slammed into me without warning; without care to who heard us. 

“Joakim,” I writhed underneath him, my arousal coating the condom. 

Wrapping an arm around me, he lifted me so now I kneeled on the bed so he could fuck up into me. His fingers pinched and pulled on my nipples and I rested my head against his shoulder. 

“So warm. So perfect. Mina,” he promised with a kiss to the side of my head before Jolly finally emptied himself inside the condom.

We fell into a heap of exhaustion onto his bed then slowly, he slipped away from me so he could dispose of the condom. I lay there, clutching the pillow close to my chest as the exhaustion weighed heavy on my eyes. With all of the Swedish words Jolly had spoken to me, the last one was one I recognized. 

Mina. 

Mine. 

The bed dipped behind me and strong arms pulled me into a warm chest and I sighed in content. 

“Are you alright?” Jolly asked, pressing a kiss to the back of my shoulder. 

“More than alright,” I hummed while shifting closer to him; his cock twitched against my bare ass. 

His fingers traced up and down the skin of my ribs while we lay there in complete but comfortable silence. I looked around his bedroom noticing for the first time how boxes were scattered about and it was vaguely decorated. 

“We just moved in a few weeks ago. Haven’t found the time to unpack everything,” Jolly answered my silent question. 

“Well, maybe if you weren’t coming to a certain cafe every day, maybe you would find the time,” I teased while linking our hands together and kissing the tattoos on his knuckles. 

“I can’t help it. She makes the best kanelbullars,” Jolly retorted. 

“You know,” I began. “Never mind, it’s silly.” 

He tilted my head back so I could look at him. “Nothing you say is silly, Astrid. Go on, tell me.” 

Biting my lip, I turned in his embrace so now I was laying my head on his chest and my left leg was thrown over his hips almost locking him in place. The touch of his fingers along my back brought chills to my skin so he covered us with a black throw blanket that honestly, only covered me but he never complained. 

“When I first took over Fika after my father passed away, I had every intention of selling it. It took a toll on my grandparents when they owned it and they nearly got a divorce. Thankfully they were able to make it through but my parents weren’t so lucky,” I admitted. 

Jolly remained quiet as I continued. “They divorced when I was young and my mom wanted nothing to do with me or Fika claiming it was cursed, so she left. I stayed with my dad and helped out there every day until I went away to college.” 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into my hairline. 

I shrugged. “College wasn't for me anyway so when-uh-when my dad got sick, I came back home to help him. His mind wasn’t right so he nearly went bankrupt.” 

“Sick?” 

Resting my chin on Jolly’s chest, I looked up at him. “Alzheimer’s. It took him pretty quickly so he didn’t suffer but as a result, he left me with Fika which was days away from closing. If it wasn't for my mormor investing more of her money into Fika, there’d be no way we’d be open right now.”

The corner of his mouth tilted up in a smile. “Mormor? So you do know Swedish.” 

I patted his chest with a snort. “Very little.” 

Jolly brushed a kiss along my forehead. “I’m sorry about your father.” 

With a tight-lined smile, I decided to continue with my original train of thought, not wanting to go into too much detail about my father and his death. 

Since you were the one who found him slumped over in his chair, pill bottles askew. 

“When my grandparents moved back to Sweden, all I had was my dad. It was the two of us for a long time so when he died a few months ago, I felt lost and alone. It made me realize how afraid I’d always been of being alone. I’ve trusted people too easily because of this fear and ended up getting my heart broken.” 

Jolly’s body tensed underneath me as I continued speaking, running my fingers over the tattoo on his chest. “With you, though. It’s been a nice breath of fresh air; something different. I haven’t had that fear since you walked into Fika that morning.” 

“You don’t have to be alone anymore. I’ll always be here for you.” 

I glanced up at Jolly. “But what I was getting at originally was that I had every intention to sell, ready to get rid of the place that held too many negative thoughts.” 

“But?” He caressed the side of my face. 

“But,” I smiled. “There have been far too many positive thoughts lately that outweigh the bad.” 

I kissed his chin, the stubble scratching my lips, and Jolly squeezed my hips. “I’m glad, Astrid.” 

Now I pressed a kiss to his lips, suddenly finished with talking, and straddled him. I pinned his hands above his head with one hand while I reached for his cock with the other. 

“Jolly!” 

Persistent knocking on his door made me hastily crawl off of him and reach for the first piece of clothing I could find; his tan long sleeve. Jolly sat up in bed to now cover both of our bottom halves with his large comforter. 

Giving me a quick glance, I nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah?” 

Tentatively, the door opened and in walked Jesse, who had a container of blueberries in his hand, popping a few in his mouth as he stared at us with raised brows. 

“Oh, shit. Am I interrupting something?” 

Jolly ran a hand over his face with a groan. “Do you need something?” 

“Astrid left her phone in the kitchen and I think someone’s been calling her,” Jesse informed while tossing my phone on Jolly’s bed. 

Thanking him with a smile, I reached for it and sucked in a breath when I noticed all the notifications and missed calls; Jese and Jolly having a conversation amongst themselves. 

“Noah wants to know if you’re still up for working tonight.” 

Jolly nodded before looking at me, running a hand down my back. “Everything alright?” 

Ignoring him briefly, I looked towards Jesse. “How long has my phone been going off?” 

“Just a couple of minutes,” he said while popping a few more blueberries in his mouth. 

Glancing over at Jolly, I sighed. “It’s the cafe. The alarm has been going off the last few minutes. I disarmed it but should go over there to look to make sure everything is alright.” 

“I’ll come with you,” he said. 

I rested a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. It seems like you have work to do. Plus, Tori and Jessica are there with the police officers. I won't be alone.” 

Just then someone walked past Jolly’s room and scolded Jesse who was still leaning against the wall, stuffing handfuls of blueberries in his mouth. 

“Jesse Cash! What is your obsession with not only fruit but interrupting people?!” Y/N scolded while crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I was bringing Astrid her phone,” he defended. 

It didn’t matter to her because she waved him out of the room. “You’re unbelievable.” 

I did my best to giggle at the two of them but the worry about what could have tripped the alarm weighed heavy in my mind. Eventually, Jesse left the room but Y/N briefly peaked her head in. 

“Not trying to interrupt because I understand the feeling,” she chuckled before speaking to Jolly. “Um, Noah is ready to get to work whenever you are. Just because of the deadline-.” 

“I know,” he nodded. “Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll meet him there.” 

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t bother to ask Jolly what kind of work pulls him away this late. 

“Astrid?” 

Glancing away from the text I had been working out to Jessica, I smile at Y/N. “Yea?” 

“I’m leaving in a few minutes. I can walk with you to your car if you’d like,” she offered. 

“I’d like that, thanks Y/N,” I nodded with another smile. 

Closing the door behind her, both Jolly and I slipped out from underneath the blanket to get dressed back into our clothes. While I was stepping into my vans, I finished the text message I’d been trying to send Jessica for the last few minutes. 

Me: I’ll be there as soon as I can! I’m so sorry I wasn’t near my phone. Any idea what set off the alarm?

Jessica: No idea! We checked every single sensor and door, there should have been no reason for it to go off. Thankfully, Tori and I were still in the parking lot when it went off. We didn’t see anyone. 

“Käraste.” 

Glancing away from my phone, I hummed in response to Jolly who was handing me a sweater. “Take it, it’s cold outside.” 

When I reached for it, he pulled me into his embrace to lay a kiss on my lips. His tongue briefly brushed against my bottom lip before he pulled away. 

“Be careful,” he muttered to them. 

“I will,” with another peck, I stepped away from him to slip on his sweater. 

But before I could leave his bedroom, his fingers wrapped around my elbow to stop me. 

“The next few days I’ll be busy but maybe we can officially go on a date this weekend? Friday night?” 

“I’d like that,” I said with a wide smile but cursed under my breath. “I forgot Friday is my late night at the cafe. Saturday?” 

Jolly’s shoulders fell. “I have this thing for work. But I can bring you dinner Friday if you’d like. Keep you company.” 

My heart fluttered in my chest at the thought of that and I answered with a kiss to his cheek. 

“I’d love that. I’ll text you when I’m back home tonight.” 

With a small wave, I finally slipped through his bedroom door to make my way over to Fika. 

JOLLY

I lounged on my bed with my phone on my chest, aimlessly flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch on the television. It'd been a long day of media press so I wanted to spend a little while decompressing before heading out to dinner tonight. 

For what seemed like the third time this last minute, I checked my phone to see if Astrid had texted me back. 

She didn’t. 

She hadn’t texted me back in four days. 

And it was all my fault. 

We texted earlier in the week almost non stop when we weren’t busy with work, talking more about our date for Friday. However by Wednesday afternoon, it ceased when I had to cancel because of last minute media press that showed up. With the recent debut of our third album, Bad Omens was one of the most sought after artists for podcasts and interviews. Hence what we’d been doing all weekend long. 

That wasn’t the reason why she stopped talking to you, though. 

Groaning at the thought, I looked back at the text thread between Astrid and I. 

Käraste: Oh, that’s okay. I understand that work comes first. I’m free most nights next week since Jessica is comfortable with closing up the cafe for me. 

Me: I’ll let you know what my schedule looks like. 

Käraste: Okay :)

Read at 3:32 pm on Wednesday. 

Käraste: I made a fresh batch of kanelbullars if you were planning on coming by tonight. 

Read at 5:03 pm on Wednesday. 

Käraste: I thought I’d let you know that I made it home safe and the alarm company fixed the glitch with my system. So finally, it’s all figured out. 

Read at 10:21 pm on Wednesday. 

Me: 👍

Käraste: Not sure if you’re planning on coming in today but I have a lot of office work to get through so if I don’t see you that's why. 

Read at 10:00 a.m. Thursday. 

Käraste: I could always work in your booth, if you don’t mind my company. 

Read at 10:03 a.m. Thursday. 

Then with a shaky breath, I read the last message Astrid sent. 

Käraste: Message loud and clear, Jolly. 

Read at 11:47 p.m. Thursday. 

It was Monday now and I had every intention of replying back to her with my schedule for next week. Y/N mentioned in passing that she and Astrid had been texting and while she was hurt about me canceling our date, she understood why I had too. 

Did she though? You still haven’t told her who you are or what you do. 

The guilt of lying to Astrid and having to cancel ate away at me that it hindered me unable to respond. I found myself deep within my own head on if I’d be enough for her. Especially after our night together, I knew she deserved someone that would be home all the time and not on the road most of the year. 

That night replayed in my mind all the fucking time. All I could think about was the way she felt underneath me, the way she smelled; her scent still lingering on my pillows days after. The way she looked coming apart on my cock was stuck on a loop, so much so that a little while ago I was in the shower with one hand leaning against the wall and the other wrapped around my cock. 

A stern knock echoed in my hotel room and with a sigh, I turned off the television and dragged my feet over to it; already expecting who it was on the other side. 

“You have some explaining to do, Jolly,” Y/N scolded as she pushed her way inside my room, Noah trailing behind with a sorrowful smile. 

“What did I do?” I asked, shutting the door behind them. 

“What did you do?” Her eyes widened before she ran a hand through her brown hair. “Astrid told me you’ve ghosted her?” 

I stuffed my hands in my sweater pocket before falling into my computer chair with a huff of breath. “It’s complicated.” 

“How?” Y/N demanded while tapping her foot on the ground. “Because from the outside looking in, I see someone that was hurt by the choices you made. You hurt her, Jolly. She thinks she did something wrong and pushed you away. ” 

“She didn’t,” I sat up, resting my elbows on my knees. 

Noah sat on the edge of my bed but Y/N instead let out a long sigh before sitting next to him. 

“We know that,” Y/N pointed between her and Noah. “But Astrid feels that since the two of you slept together, you got what you wanted and now you don’t want anything to do with her.” 

“That’s not-,” I began. 

“Hang on,” Noah spoke up for the first time, shaking his head. “You and Astrid slept together?” 

My cock twitched in my sweats when the memory of the two of us tangled in the sheets came to mind. 

“The night of the housewarming party,” I admitted. “How did you know?” 

Y/N shrugged. “Girl talk. She needed someone to confide in and with my own experience, I felt like I could give her the advice she needed.” 

“Your own experience?” Noah raised her brows at her. 

“Ok while I don’t have experience of being ghosted, per say. I do have experience on what happens when you don’t talk about the things bothering you,” she said while rolling her eyes

“I didn’t expect for it to end up like this. But with how busy we’re going to be the next few months, it won't work. This is a perfect example. We have been busy the last few days with media bullshit. Astrid doesn't even know who we are. I had you guys keep Bad Omens a secret from her the night of the party. What kind of relationship starts off with lies?” 

“So you think it’s better to ignore her after having sex with her?” Y/N’s voice was raised. 

I winced at her words. “I didn’t mean to.” 

“Jolly, while you didn’t physically leave her to go somewhere, you left her emotionally. You ignored her and expected what? To have a positive outcome?” 

“No,” I shifted in my seat. “I just don’t want to disappoint her with always having to leave for a tour. She’s had a rough life from what she told me. She’s all alone.” 

“Exactly why what you did was a dick move,” Y/N said sternly but then apologized when Noah gave her a look. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, Jolly. But can you see it from where Astrid is coming from?” 

“I understand,” I nodded. “It was wrong of me to ignore her the last few days. But I was afraid of not being enough for her; being what she needs.” 

“You’re projecting a feeling that doesn’t even exist,” Noah said.

I snorted. “The two of you see a shrink once a week and all of a sudden you have PHD’s.” 

“We’re just-,” Y/N began while leaning forward. 

I waved her off. “No, I know, I’m sorry. You’re right. The irony of all this. Here I thought I had it all figured out, when I tried pushing the two of you together and now here I am doing the opposite of what I thought.” 

“You’re only human, you know. And that’s okay if you might have not learned from your mistakes.”

“I know. I’m not usually the one that wallows in my mind. I’m the one that helps people out of these situations. So, thank you guys for being here; pulling my head out of my ass.” 

Y/N smiled while resting her head against Noah’s shoulder. “It’s what we’re here for, Jolly. Think of it as returning the favor.” 

Noah left a gentle kiss on top of her head before looking at me. “You should at least call Astrid. Let her know that you’ll explain everything to her, but you just need time because this way of thinking or feeling is new for you.” 

To lighten up the mood a smidge of guilt in her chest. “Calling the kettle black here, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You deserve happiness too Jolly, don’t- don’t do that. Call her.”

I sighed while leaning back in the chair. “What you two did, whatever you went through to get where you are, it’s different. I’m not sure if this, whatever it is, will work. It’s easier for you both because you understand this life, Y/N. I can’t expect Astrid to drop everything like that to come with us, or be with me like that. Fika is her life, she cant leave that behind.” 

“You don’t know that,” Y/N reassured me with a warm smile. 

Noah rubbed her back. “We can’t sit here and say anything that hasn’t already been said. But, if we can say one thing; communicate. Talk with Astrid and tell her the truth. You’ll never know if you don’t. You deserve happiness, just as much as anyone else and I think she really adores you. So just at least if anything, talk to her.”

“Just don’t take 6 months to say something,” Y/N added in with a chuckle. 

I snorted while rising to my feet, going about my room to gather my phone and wallet since we were about to head out to dinner.  “Your telenovela was enough for me. I’ll use my words.” 

“I’m shocked you even pronounced that word so well,” Y/N mocked. 

“Kiss my ass Joakim, we use words,” Noah nudged my shoulder when he stood. 

“Yeah, most of them start with don’t and end with stop,” I shot back with a smirk.

Y/N gasped while smacking the back of my head. “Okay now you’re being an ass for real.” 

“Don’t pry in my love life,” I playfully pushed her. 

“Oh, I see how it is, ” Noah chuckled. 

For the first time in a few days, I felt lighter in my steps and felt as if things would be alright with Astrid and I. Just as soon as I talked to her. Making a mental note to swing by Fika after dinner, I retreated down stairs to the living room where Nicholas and Folio were waiting for us; the five of us meeting the others for dinner. 

“Jolly,” Y/N grasped my wrist to stop me from following everyone outside. “Don’t let your worries ruin this because you deserve happiness too. You do.” 

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders in a hug, pressing a peck to the top of her head. “Thank you, Y/N. But who’s to say she’ll even want to talk to me after how I ignored her.” 

“Don’t start that. I know that kind of thinking all too well. Just go with the flow. Let it happen naturally. You’d be surprised to find out how Astrid feels about you,” she patted my cheek before running to catch up to Noah, jumping onto his back. 

ASTRID

No. 

No. 

No. No. No. 

Glass crunched underneath my boots as I walked farther into Fika, everything in disarray at my feet. Plants overturned with dirt spilled everywhere, glass from the front door shattered into hundreds of little pieces, coffee machines and the turbo ovens were destroyed. The safe in my office was broken into with $5000 missing; I planned on going to the bank tomorrow morning to make the deposit; like I did every Tuesday. 

But through all the destruction, there was only one thing that I was the most upset about. 

My grandfather's guitar. It was stolen. 

I continued to stare up at the guitar wall, four out of the seven guitars missing, and I swallowed the burning tears, refusing not to cry. 

When I got the call at about eleven this evening from the alarm company that yet again it was tripped at Fika, I thought nothing of it so I disarmed it from my phone and took my time getting here. So when I walked into a scene of pure chaos and destruction, immediately my heart sank to my stomach. Someone had broken into Fika by breaked the glass of the door and stepping through it. They trashed the entire place; cups and plates thrown against one of the walls and couches ripped apart by what I assumed was a knife. 

I had been in such a state of shock that I had yet to call the police to report it because as soon as I saw the missing guitar, I became in a catatonic state. The last few days had been incredibly rough with Jolly ignoring me so when I walked into this scene, it was the very last thing I could handle. 

I’d been plagued with the worry that I’d done something wrong to push Jolly away, even saying my thoughts to Y/N. But she tried to reassure me that he didn’t mean to do what he did and I should talk to him about it. 

But the thing was, I did try to talk to him. I continued to text him for days after he canceled our date but even though he never sent a message back, I received it loud and clear; although it didn’t stop me from continuously checking my phone and almost sending a few texts to him. 

The noise of glass crunching caused me to swirl around in defense, holding my breath. However when I saw those dark eyes staring at me with shock, the tears I’d been holding finally broke free. 

“Käraste.” 

I shook my head widely. “N-no.” 

Jolly took a tentative step farther inside, doing his best to step over the destruction at his feet. “What happened?” 

I scoffed and outstretched my hands. “What the fuck does it look like, Jolly? Someone broke in and vandalized the place.” 

“Are you alright?” He asked while reaching for me. 

“Oh, now you give a shit about me? Where the hell have you been the last five fucking days?” I sneered, taking a step away from him. 

“Kär-.” 

“Stop!” I snapped, pointing a finger at him with tears falling. “Stop fucking calling me that. You don’t get that right anymore.”

He scratched at the facial hair on his chin, it was thicker than the last time I saw him, but I tried my best not to fall into his embrace again with one look into his striking eyes. 

“I know. I owe you an explanation,” Jolly ran a hand through his long hair.

I wrapped the sweater tighter around me; his sweater. The one he gave me that night. 

“You don’t owe me anything, Jolly. You made it clear how you felt about me after fucking me.” 

His jaw ticked. “Don’t say it like that, Astrid.” 

“It’s clear that’s the only thing you wanted,” I shrugged. “So now that you got it, you can leave.” 

Turning my back on him, I went to work cleaning up the mess, but when gentle fingers wrapped around my elbow, I ripped myself from his grasp. 

“Don’t touch me,” I seethed with a choked breath. 

The depths of Jolly’s eyes faltered as he gazed over my broken appearance. Hair thrown up into a very messy bun, his gray sweater, bright green sweats that were my pajamas, and my black rain boots; literally rolling out of bed to come here. My tears were red and cheeks blotchy from crying. But I didn’t care how I looked in front of him because my livelihood was destroyed. 

Fika was destroyed. 

Jolly’s eyes glanced away from me up to the guitar wall behind me and I could see the air leave his chest. 

“You’re grandfather’s guitar,” he noted. 

“Yep,” I popped the ‘P’ while kicking a knocked over plant. “Whoever did this also took the bell above the door; the one my grandparents brought over from Sweden.” 

He looked over to the front door, the glass from the panes shattered so the cold air seeped inside, and let out a sigh when he noticed the missing bell above the door. Then when Jolly turned back to me, I quickly averted my gaze to the mess around me. 

“Astrid, please,” Jolly begged. “Let me explain.” 

I narrowed my eyes. “There’s nothing to explain, Jolly. I bore myself to you physically and emotionally that night. I felt betrayed by you!” 

“I didn’t-.” 

“I told you how afraid I was of being alone. You told me that you’d be here for me but you fucking left. You lied,” I blew out a shaky breath while running a hand through my hair. 

“I trusted you and you still hurt me.” 

Jolly went to reach for me again but I smacked his hands away, the sound of skin on skin echoing around us. 

“You need to leave; now,” I motioned to the broken door yet again. “I want nothing to do with you anymore.”

“Astrid-.” 

“GO!” I pushed his chest, tears streaming down my face. “There’s nothing else between us. We fucked and that’s it. You can leave and forget all about me.” 

Jolly grasped my hands on his chest, keeping me close to him. “I don’t want to.” 

“I don’t care, Jolly. How can I trust that you won’t do that again?” I slipped my hands out from his hold and hastily wiped away the tears. 

Even though he looked so inviting dressed in his sweater and sweatpants, I kept myself from not stepping into him and running my hands through the waves of his hair. 

“Please leave,” I sobbed. 

Jolly didn’t move. 

Letting out a frustrated groan, I pushed him again towards the door. “Fuck you! I trusted you.” 

Another push. 

“That’s all you wanted, right? Just sex?” 

Another push. 

“Well congrats. You got it and now you have no other obligation from me, so you can leave!” I cried with the final push out the open door. 

Not once did Jolly fight me, simply letting me get my anger out with my force against his chest. When he was finally back on the sidewalk outside, I slammed the door in his face, which did absolutely nothing since he could walke through the part of the door where the glass had been broken. But it was the sentiment before the slamming of it in his face. 

With my back to him, I ignored him calling after me with my nickname and disappeared into the back area of the cafe to wallow in my miseries before figuring out what the fuck I was going to do now. 

ASTRID

Humming a tune to myself, I tapped the sign to the newly fixed front door and tapped it for good luck. 

Closed for a private party. Will resume normal hours tomorrow. 

I stepped back inside of Fika and gave a small smile to the blonde man as he paused setting up tables to meet me halfway. 

“I really do appreciate you letting us use your place for this, Astrid.” 

I waved Matt off before stuffing my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. “Oh, don’t even worry about it. I’m glad I’m able to help out for this pop up event. You said it’s for a band you manage?” 

“Yep,” Matt said while adjusting his hat. “They recently released their third album and we wanted to promote it so we invited fans to this event to meet the band, buy some merch, and get a signed poster.” 

“That’s pretty fucking sweet,” I smiled. “Which reminds me, I had my manager Jessica put together a playlist for today. You said the band's name is Bad Omens?” 

He shifted on his feet while clearing his throat. “Yeah.” 

“Perfect, just let us know when you want us to play it and I’ll have it come through the speakers.” 

With a small wave, I missed the look that Matt shared with Bryan, who was also here helping set up, as I met Jessica behind the counter while she adjusted her new nametag to make sure it was perfectly straight. 

Jessica. Manager. 

After the break in a few weeks ago and realizing how much work I’d been putting on my shoulders, I decided that I needed help for the back of house things. With Jessica’s prior experience at management, she was perfect for the job. 

Jessica, Tori, Sean, and I spent a few days putting things back together and replacing what we could in Fika. And once news hit the city that someone had broken in, people donated items or showed up to help fix things that I couldn’t. I remember trying my best not to cry at the sincerity of the people from this small community. Fika opened a week after the break in and business had been insane since.

But when I received an email from Matt last week wondering if he could rent out Fika for a private event, I immediately agreed even though he was friends with Jolly. The money Matt offered to book out the entire cafe was exactly what I needed to build up the savings that were stolen from the safe. 

Jolly. 

I hadn't heard from or seen him since he stopped by that night of the break in and I knew I should have been fine with it since I told him to leave; to never speak to me again. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurting on the inside. 

Jessica, Sean, and Tori often wondered why he stopped showing up and not wanting to go into much detail about what happened between us, I kept my answer simple. 

“He’s busy with other things.”

Other guys tried to flirt when they came in, tried to get my number, but every time I declined and told them I wasn’t interested. Which was true. But another reason was because none of them were Jolly. He was all encompassing, always on my mind even when I forced myself to think of something else; anything else. 

My mind wandered to Jolly and the darkness of his eyes. The way his lips tasted or the way he sounded when I had my mouth wrapped around him. I found myself missing the way he smelled, the way he tasted, and the light that encompassed around him whenever he walked into Fika. My heart yearned to see his smile once more and my soul was desperate for the connection it missed. 

He fucked you then ignored you for five days. 

Yeah but-.

No buts. You told him how afraid you are of being alone and he did the exact same thing.

Deciding not to argue with my thoughts any longer, I forced a smile at Jessica. “How are things going?”

She nodded. “Good. Sean is in your office finishing up the playlist and Tori is helping Matt and Bryan set up.” 

“Perfect. The three of you can head out if you’d like. There’s no need for you guys to be here today.” 

Jessica’s eyes lit up and Tori popped up from the front of the counter. “Wait, really?” 

I chuckled at Tori. “Yeah. It’s a beautiful spring day outside. You guys should go enjoy the rest of your Saturday.” 

Tori and Jessica shared a look before they scurried to the back to gather their things, their giggles echoing far behind them. Shaking my head at them, I decided on running a fresh pot of coffee for Matt and everyone else who was here setting up for this event. Sean came bounding up to the front counter with a wild look in his eyes until they landed on me. 

“Jeez, where’s the fire?” I joked with a hand on my hip. 

“Astrid,” he took a few deep breaths. “I need to tell you something.” 

“Hey, Astrid?” 

Pointing a finger at Sean, I turned around and smiled at Bryan. “Do you guys need something?” 

He adjusted the camera that hung around his neck. “I was going to snap a few shots and wanted to make sure you were ok with it? Since it’s your place.” 

Immediately I nodded. “Definitely. You don’t even have to ask, Bryan. Although, any bad shots you get of me you delete right away.” 

“Deal,” he chuckled. “Is it alright if I get a shot of the guitar wall? The lighting from the sun casting over it looks sick.” 

I nodded again and watched as Bryan walked over to the wall, a stinging pain digging deep into my heart. Over the last few weeks I’d been able to replace all but one of the guitars that was stolen; my grandfathers. So there was still this empty spot still in the middle, like the empty spot in my heart that was left due to Jolly’s absence. 

“Astrid,” Sean urged. “I was looking into this band, Bad Omens. And you’re not going to believe what I found. They’re huge in the rock scene right now; super popular since they released their third album.” 

“Fuck, that reminds me. Can you go hit play on the music? I think they’re going to be here soon and want to make sure it’s perfect,” I said, turning my attention back to the coffee. 

“The members of the band, there’s four of them-,” Sean tried again. 

I tilted my head at him. “I didn’t realize there was going to be a pop quiz about them?” 

He ignored my sarcasm and ran a hand through his bright blonde hair. “The guitarist is-.” 

“Better late than never! Fuck, you do realize that this thing starts in like ten minutes? We have the fans lined up in the back parking lot,” Matt chastised the group of people that just walked through the door; I was still getting used to not hearing the bell go off every time the door opened.

“Look, Sean, you can tell me all about them later. But I have to get to work. Go enjoy the rest of your Saturday,” I tapped his shoulder, dismissing him. 

His eyes darted to the group gathering in the dining area and with a sigh, Sean nodded before retreating to the back. 

As the conversations were hushed over the music that began to play, I moved along to the lyrics, finding myself drowning under the hypnotizing spell of the voice from the vocalist of Bad Omens. I set up a row of paper cups and with the pot of fresh, hot coffee, I turned on my heels ready to offer everyone some but froze in place with what I saw. 

Noah. 

Nicholas. 

Folio. 

The three of them were gazing at how everything was set up, smiling with pride. But none of them had my attention, it was the man that stood directly on the other side of the counter in front of me. His long hair was pulled back in a tight bun, those dark eyes and sharp cheekbones on display. The faint nose ring caught the overhead light and I bit my lip at how gorgeous he looked. 

“Käraste.” 

I blinked, breaking free from Jolly’s spellbinding gaze and glanced over to where everyone else was watching us. Next to the table where Bad Omens would be sitting was a large banner behind them that had a picture of all four of them. My mouth ran dry as I continued to bounce my eyes back from Jolly to the large banner, my brain slow to catch up that he was part of this band, along with his friends. 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I spat with furry. 

My grip around the pot of coffee slipped causing the burning liquid to spill on my hand before crashing to the ground. 

Glass shattered and I hissed out in plain while clutching my hand to my chest, quickly scurrying to the back in such a haste. Tears brimmed at my eyes for not only the pain but also seeing Jolly again, finding out that he was part of this band. A pretty popular one according to Sean yet I had never even heard of them. 

Had they all lied to me about who they were when I went to their party? 

Well, technically you never asked what any of them did.

Ripping open the freezer door with force it slammed against the wall, I rummaged around for an ice pack to apply to my hand.

“Astrid?” 

“No! No!” I spun on my heels to face Jolly and dropped the ice pack in the process. “I don’t want to see you.”

“You hurt yourself. Let me help you,” Jolly’s comforting voice carried in waves as he stepped farther into the back area of the cafe as I fell onto the stool that was in the break area. 

I wanted to cry so fucking bad because of the pain in my head, it red and angry because of the burn, but I refrained. I couldn’t.

“I don’t need your help, Jolly. Please. I’m still upset with everything and now finding out about-,” the words died on my tongue when my bottom lip trembled. 

“I know.” He bent down to pick up the ice back and a towel from the rack, wrapping it up. 

Slowly, almost afraid to push me farther off the edge, Jolly closed the distance between us. Then he reached for my hand, calloused fingers turning it over to inspect the burn. I was in too much pain to fight him and frankly, exhausted from arguing with him. 

I missed him. His presence. His aura. His smile. The way the room lit up when he stepped in it. The positive aspect he had on everything. 

But I was still upset with him. 

I hissed in agony when he gently pressed the ice pack to the burn but grumbled a thank you under my breath. Silence fell between us for a long moment and I kept my gaze straight past him at the door that blocked us from everyone up front. 

“I know you’re surprised, and unhappy to see me here today,” Jolly’s voice broke through the tension.

“Understatement of the fucking century,” I snorted while bouncing my knee up and down. 

He sighed while setting the ice pack down on the table next to me. When I realized he was looking around for something, I pointed to the rack of shelves behind him. “First aid kit is on the third shelf. Burn spray, ointment, and wrap should all be in there.” 

I was glued to his form as he closed the distance with two wide strides to do his long legs and I couldn’t stop the way my bottom lip caught between my teeth when I realized how perfect his shirt hugged the muscles in his back or the way his jeans fit the perfect curve of his ass. 

Focus, Astrid. You’re supposed to be pissed at him. 

Jolly set the first aid kit on the table and began rummaging through it to find what he needed to wrap up my burn. Once he applied the spay, his warm breath fanned over my skin and I shivered at the feeling. 

“Can I explain everything?” He asked as he began wrapping my hand, after applying the ointment.

I kept my gaze on my feet. “What’s there to say, Jolly? You were pretty clear when you ignored me.” 

“And that was a mistake.” 

I sniffled. “Ignoring me or having sex with me because it feels like the entire thing was a mistake.” 

Once my hand was wrapped, Jolly cupped my face so I had no choice but to look up at him. “No. Ignoring you was a mistake and I’m very sorry. When I had to cancel our date for work, I felt so guilty because I knew with my career that it won’t be the last time that happens.”

“Why did you?” I asked, meek and quiet. 

“Well as you see out there,” he threw his thumb in the direction back outfront. “I'm the guitarist in Bad Omens and with how often I’m gone on the road touring or doing media, I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” I held my injured hand closer to my chest in a way to protect myself from Jolly. 

I couldn’t allow myself to open up to him again if his intentions weren’t pure. 

He hesitated while holding his breath before letting it out and running a hand over the thick hair on his chin. “Well, these things-romance. They can be complicated for people like me. I didn’t want to start something and then have you find out I won’t always be around.”  

“Jolly, you could have just talked to me. I would have understood,” I said. 

The corner of his mouth lifted as he chuckled, his hands now grazing up and down my arms. “I know, you’re right. I should have. I’m sorry, I never meant to ignore you. It was wrong of me to do.” 

“If you talked to me about it, be honest with me, we could have figured out the logistics of us later on. You didn’t have to hide who you were from me. I would have still fallen for you just the same,” I admitted. 

It was true. 

Now knowing that he played guitar in one of Los Angeles’ most popular bands, I didn’t think differently about him. My heart still beat wideley in my chest as his dark ember eyes drank me in. 

Jolly brushed a few strands of hair away from my face, fingers lingering on the side of my neck. “I liked being Joakim for a little while, not Jolly from Bad Omens.” 

“You’re still Joakim to me.” 

He smiled then lifted my injured hand. “How does it feel?” 

“It’s better than what it was. Thank you,” I did my best to smile despite the pain. 

Moments before he dropped my hand back in my lap, he pressed featherlike kisses across the bandage and I sucked in a breath, his name falling from my lips.

“I hope you can forgive me, Astrid. That night was special, it was one of the best nights I’ve had in a very long time. Being with you has been a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know I was looking for.”  

“It was for me too,” I bit my lip. “ I-I forgive you.” 

“Really?” Jolly eyes snapped up from the ground, full of light and hope.

I wrapped my good arm around him while opening my legs so he could step between them as I was still sitting on the stool. Almost quickly, his hands clasped around the back of my neck. 

“I’m fine with figuring things out as we go, Jolly. But, please don’t hurt me like this again. Just talk to me,” I rested my chin on his chest to peer up at him through my lashes.

“I can do that. I swear I can,” he brushed his lips over my forehead in a kiss. “Thank you, käraste.” 

Stepping up to close the distance, I pressed my mouth to his and breathed in content as the feeling of finally being home crept deep into my blood. I missed him so much, more than I’d ever admit. Yes, he may have hurt me but he apologized and proved that he was willing to change. 

We’ve all made mistakes but our mistakes didn’t make us. 

Jolly’s tongue brushed along my bottom lip before meeting mine in a lazily fight for dominance, one I was quick to win; not that he was complaining. He hummed into the kiss and his large hands skidded underneath my shirt to set the skin of my back a blaze. 

“Astrid?” 

Swiftly pulling away from Jolly, I wiped my mouth before glancing over to Noah, who was resting against the wall next to the door with a smug smile. 

“I see the two of you made up.” 

Giggling, I buried my face into Jolly’s chest to breathe him in, his voice vibrating against my cheek. 

“Do you need something, Noah?” He asked. 

“I’m sorry to kill the mood but the police are here. They want to speak with Astrid.”

Jolly tilted his head down towards me. “The police?” 

I nodded with a sigh. “I filed a police report because of the break in. I wonder if they finally have some news for me.” 

With a kiss to my cheek, he let me jump off the stool and hooked his fingers with my good hand as we made our way back up front; not before Noah ruffled Jolly’s hair as we walked past. 

Two officers were excitedly chatting with Nicholas and Folio when I walked up but turned serious when they saw me. 

“Astrid Akerman?” The taller office asked. 

I nodded while still holding onto Jolly’s hand. “Yes?” 

The bald officer spoke next. “We just wanted to stop in to tell you we found the group of kids that broke in here a few weeks ago. Turns out they trashed a few other places around here the last couple of months. We were able to arrest them last night as they tried to break into the therapist office next door and we found the items you claimed were stolen.” 

My heart leaped into my throat. “Wait, does that mean you found my grandfather's guitar?” 

The taller office points to the table behind us where there lay my grandfather’s blue Teisco Del Rey ET-312. Choking on a sob, Jolly went about thanking the officers while I hastily reached for the guitar, afraid it would slip through my fingers. 

“Astrid,” Jolly’s fingers grazed over my lower back. “Do you want me to hang it back up?” 

With tears in my eyes, I nodded. “Please. It hasn’t felt like Fika without it.” 

Standing in between Noah and Nicholas, I grinned watching Jolly as he stood on a chair with Bryan’s help to hang the guitar back on the wall. Once he was back on his feet, he pulled me back into his arms and I swung on my feet with him. 

“Thank you,” I pressed a kiss to his chest. 

“Anything for you, käraste.” Jolly breathed me in. 

When I first took over Fika months ago, I had every intention of selling. That was until one of my regulars not only changed my mind but also changed the trajectory of my entire life. 

“Jeez, the crowd out there is insane!” 

Spinning in Jolly’s grasp, I beamed at Y/N as she stepped inside, the ends of her olive green sundress trailing at her feet. She took one look at Jolly and I before breaking out in a wide smile. 

“Well, this is a sight to see.” 

Rolling my eyes at her, I stepped up on the tips of my toes to leave a tender kiss on Jolly’s cheek. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes to get settled before opening the side door for your fans.” 

He gently patted my ass to dismiss me and I squealed before walking over to Y/N, hooking my arm through hers after she greeted Noah with a kiss. 

“Would you like some mochis?” I asked. 

Her eyes widened with a bright gleam. “Yes please.” 

#joakim jolly karlsson #jolly karlsson #jolly karlsson x ofc #jolly karlsson fanfic #joakim karlsson #bad omens

[mixelation]

Obito's circle is obviously not cool with the age thing and maybe him dating in general- though I suspect they don't realize the real danger of Tori's corrupting influence? But what about the Akatsuki? Itachi and Deidara? Are they like ~well in hindsight there was tension and they were partnered together a lot or are they like ~this is the most cursed thing I've ever heard? Does Itachi worry for the future of Konoha? Is Deidara forced in even closer proximity to one of the most annoying people he's ever met since he's her roommate? As an aside, happy for this AU version of Tori for getting with someone who will rob a ninja walmart and destroy a village for her. Go girl, live your dreams.

okay here is what you have to understand about itachi's view of tori in plasticity.

she took out his brother for a banana. not on purpose. on accident. but still. for a banana

he also watches her straight up murder a guy with a seal. also on accident. and then she's like, "oh damn my experimental design was kind of shit"

he knows tobi is "madara." he knows she knows tobi is "madara." this does not seem to have affected her behavior around him at all.

itachi for the first several months is like "hey if she knows so many secrets and is also an unstable weirdo, why don't we just kill her" and obito is like, "no no.... what if she's funny useful....."

SPOILERS, but, tori is going to come home from her first mission with tobi and be like: "yeah the ghost was real. fight me on this. i dare you" while tobi stands behind her going "OOOOH IT WAS SO SPOOKYYYYY" and then pein and konan just have to accept this. it's in their official records now. ghosts are real

so basically: itachi is very aware there is. something. very insane about tori, and also obito is into it. he's very aware that their personalities combined will form some sort of horrible vortex that might ruin all of konoha. so he's like. well i don't like it but i feel like i should have anticipated this happening.

deidara is not at all worried about konoha potentially going up in flames. he's more worried about INCREASED VISITS FROM TOBI. ITACHI, YOU MORON, HOW DID YOU LOSE YOUR GIRL TO OBITO

i think for the rest of akatsuki torito is easier to wrap their heads around that itatori. they were partners. they were into the same dumb shit. yes it's annoying but why are you so upset, itachi, we all saw this coming

#reborn au au: it's gotten sillier #tori: why AREN'T you destroying a village for me :'( #obito: listen you KNOW by the time i show up they will already be doomed by their own hamartia

[tkwrites]

Second Nature - Quinn Hughes x ofc

Photos from Pinterest

Title: Second Nature

Author: Tory / @tkwrites 

Relationship: Pre-established: Quinn x Sarah

Warnings: Grief, mentions of dead parents, making out (if I missed any, let me know)

Summary: Sequel to Worth the Wait, Quinn and Sarah have their second date. Getting to know each other in many ways is like second nature.

Word count: 5,900

Comments: This took a long time to write. I caught the bug, got swamped at work, lost it and finally caught it again. I'd love to know what you think and what you'd like to see next in their little universe.

Second Nature

A Quinn & Sarah Snapshot

Quinn woke to three messages from Sarah. They had actually been delivered in the middle of the night - at 2am. He didn't see them until he stumbled into his bathroom in the morning, but they woke him right out of his listless journey to the sink. 

Thank you for last night. It was the best first date I've ever been on. 

I’d love to come over for dinner on Saturday. 

Maybe send me your address and I'll come there and we’ll see where the night goes? 

He did celebrate this time, pumping a fist in the air. It felt like a battle won that not only she was coming to his house and they could be alone, but also that he might be able to take her home. He felt like he’d slain a giant in winning her trust. Or, at least, he was on his way. He felt outrageously victorious. 

Twenty minutes before she was supposed to arrive, his phone rang. 

“Hey.” 

“Quinn?” 

“Sarah?’

 “Yeah. Hey, it’s raining buckets out here. Do you think you could come get me from the station?” 

“Of course,” he said, putting the asparagus he’d just pulled out of the fridge back into the dish, “I’ll be right there. Can you send me a pin?” 

He washed his hands, shut off the stove and ran out of the apartment. 

When he pulled out of the parking garage, his jeep was assaulted with rain. Huge, heavy drops of it that splashed and splattered over his windshield. 

He called when he got close, and she sprinted to his idling SUV. He’d even thrown the door open for her. 

“Oh my gosh,” she said, breathless, shutting out the heavy wind and rain, “I knew it was going to rain tonight, but I didn’t think it was gonna get this bad.” 

He glanced over at her. “I’m glad you called. I wouldn’t want you walking in this mess.” 

She giggled, “how noble of you.” 

“I’m serious,” he said, turning onto his street, “you would have been soaked by the time you made it.” 

It was true, she would have been. It had been shocking to come up from the platform and find that much water in the streets. It had only been drizzling when she left less than 20 minutes before. 

After he pulled into the parking garage, and into his reserved parking space by the elevator, he sprinted around the car to open her door. 

“Thank you,” she said, blushing. It had been a long, long time since someone had made such an effort. 

He scanned into the elevator and up to the penthouse. Sarah watched the numbers count up, feeling a little dizzy when they finally stopped at twenty.

When he let her into the apartment, she was overcome. In general, Quinn seemed like a nice, really normal guy who just happened to play sports professionally for a living. Standing in this gorgeous, penthouse, though, she thought about how much money he must be making playing hockey. It was certainly much, much more than she could ever make as a zoologist. She would never dare to even dream of an apartment like this. 

Her eyes caught on the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the harbor and northern skyline. Even though everything was dark and moody outside, it made the warm, modern interior of his home feel more cozy. 

“Can I take your coat?” he asked, resting his hands on her shoulders as she looked around. Quinn loved this apartment, and it fit every bill - close to the arena, comfortable, and big enough to have a party - but at times like this when someone was gazing around in awe, it made him a bit uncomfortable. He never wanted to be better than anyone else, and didn’t think he was, but sometimes, he wondered why he was the one to deserve a top story penthouse in Gastown.

“You have such a beautiful house,” she said, still looking around at the plush dark furniture and modern, sleek lines. 

"Thanks. I can't take all the credit, though. It was furnished when I moved in." 

"Still, it's so lovely," she said, taking her bag off her shoulder. It clinked when it hit the ground. 

“Did you bring supplies?” he teased. 

“I brought wine. I wasn’t sure what you were cooking, so I bought a red and a white.” she said, turning to face him as he pulled the jacket off her arm. 

It was such a thoughtful thing for her to do that he paused for a moment before hanging her coat on the hook by the door. 

It was something out of a dream to have her in his house in her jeans and simple, blousey top. 

“I was just about to start cooking when you called, so come into the kitchen,” he said, taking her hand. 

He led her through the open concept living space that butted up to a small formal dining room before they reached the long, narrow kitchen. 

“Oh, I love your kitchen,” she said. “I've always loved a galley kitchen.”

He looked over his shoulder at her. 

“My mom was an interior designer, so we talked about this kind of stuff a lot.”

“Yeah? What does your dad do?”

“My dad was an aerospace engineer.”

“Was?” he repeated, dread filling his limbs. Surely, he was just retired. 

Her sad smile told him otherwise. “He died two years before mom did.”

Quinn set the wrapped salmon down and went to her. 

“Sarah, I'm so sorry,” he said, gathering her against him. 

“Thank you.” Accepting the embrace, she tucked her face into the curve of his neck and let him hold her. It was so rare for her to get this kind of physical affection, she relished it whenever it was offered. 

He pulled away, and looked into her face. She was so strong. How could anyone be this strong? To lose both your parents by the time you were twenty-four? He didn’t know how he’d survive. 

Suddenly, he was overcome with how much he liked her. Not just because she was pretty, which she was, but because she had so much character, so much strength in her spine. 

The red of her top made the blue in her eyes brighter and more vivid than he'd seen before. Words fell out of his mouth, "God, your eyes are pretty." 

“Thank you,” she said with a shy smile. “I really like your eyes too.”

He chuffed. “Brown. They're boring.”

She took a hold of his jaw and made him look at her. “They're not. Your eyes are the color of whiskey and I think they're really beautiful.”

A blush bloomed into his cheeks. 

"Plus, aren't they a little hazel?" she asked, studying him, "they looked kind of green on Thursday." 

He shrugged, "I've never really noticed." 

Continuing to look into his eyes, Sarah decided they were hazel. Even in the kitchen light, she could see flecks of green in them. 

Quinn was thinking about kissing her when she said, “so, how can I help?” 

“I’m cooking you dinner,” he reprimanded, “you can open the wine and talk to me.” 

A smile spread over her face. 

He handed her the corkscrew, and she got to work. When she turned around to ask for glasses, he already had them out on the counter for her. 

“So,” she did a little hop to sit on the counter next to where he was working, “how was your day?” 

“Good,” he said, “practice this morning."

“What does that look like? When you have practice in the morning, I mean.” 

“I’m usually up at 8, go to the rink and we have breakfast. Then we watch tape with some of the coaches, sometimes have a meeting, and then we’re on the ice for an hour or two. Then we have strength training, and lunch, and I’m off for the rest of the day unless we have a game.” 

“Could you teach me?” she asked. 

He looked up from snapping the ends off of the asparagus, “teach you what?” 

“About hockey. I started watching your games with my roommate Eunice, last week but I still don't really understand a lot of the rules. It’s so confusing.”

“You never watched hockey before?” he asked, feeling a corner of his mouth turn up in a smile. She had started watching for him?

“I’m from the desert. Ice hockey wasn’t really on the PE docket.” 

“And no one watched?”

“I’m sure some people did, but football was the big thing in my family. We were so thrilled when the Raiders came to Vegas, and we had our own team to cheer for.” 

“There’s a hockey team in Vegas now,” he said, his tone light and teasing. 

“I know,” she said, taking a sip of her wine. 

His eyes followed her movements, drinking in the shape of her mouth on the rim of the glass. 

“So you won’t teach me? You’re just going to let me flounder all on my own?” she teased when he didn’t answer. 

Laughing, he slid the asparagus into the oven before putting the salmon into a hot pan. It sizzled and snapped, and he stepped back to avoid getting hot oil on himself.

Once that was done, he moved to stand in front of her. 

Instinctively, her knees widened so he could stand between them.

“I’d love to teach you about hockey,” he said. 

This was ultimate flirting in Quinn’s book. Something he knew he could do. When someone wanted to talk about music, or art or classic cars, he was a fish out of water. But talking hockey? He could do that all day long. Convincing someone to like the sport he loved so much? There wasn't a more ideal situation. 

“Oh, good,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him. 

This was a perfect evening. Casual and comfortable. Cooking for someone he - liked, and kissing her whenever he wanted, taking no worry of who might be watching. 

Letting himself get swept up in the kiss, he slid his hands over her hips and tried to commit her scent to memory. No matter what happened - though he was pretty sure nothing bad was ever going to happen with Sarah - he wanted to remember this. She smelled like a dream he’d had as a boy. Like vanilla and warm skin and fireside, summer nights. It was an outlandish notion, but he couldn’t shake it. 

All her life, Sarah had read stories about star-crossed, fated lovers thrown together by chance and circumstance and serendipity. But those were all just stories. Even when her grandpa talked about meeting her grandma - like they were always meant to be together, and just had to find each other to make it happen - it seemed like folklore. A tall tale he spun to make their love story seem more epic. 

These past few weeks with Quinn made her realize how it could be possible to meet someone and decide that marrying them seven days later was a good idea. She’d never do that, but experiencing this kind of attraction first hand made her grandparents seem a little less crazy. 

She didn’t know Quinn very well, but in a way it felt like she’d somehow known him all along. Everything felt so comfortable with him.

Something popped on the stove and Quinn pulled away to check on it. His tongue darted over his plush bottom lip, pulling it into his mouth briefly as he flipped the salmon. The action made something in Sarah ache for him. 

“How was your day?” he asked. “Were you at the aquarium?” 

“No, I’m usually only there Tuesday through Friday. I was working a special shift when you came in that Monday because we had so many school field trips that day.”

They could have missed each other so easily, the fact of it made him a little dizzy. 

“I finished all my midterms on Thursday, so I actually took the weekend off. My roommates and I went to the market this morning, and then I finished a bunch of stuff I’ve been putting off because of school.” 

“So it was a good day?” he asked. 

She nodded, “better now that I'm here.” 

Quinn felt himself grin. 

“This is so good,” she said after her first bite.

“Thank you.” 

“Thank you for cooking,” she said, “It’s such a treat to get a home cooked meal.” 

His shock must have shown his face. 

She laughed, “I never have time to cook with school and work. I’m usually eating a sandwich for dinner.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. "That was my freshman year whenever I was away from the dining hall." 

“Yeah? I assumed you didn’t go to college. I thought players were drafted and that was that.” 

He shrugged. “I actually played a year of college hockey before I was drafted. Some guys don't need any extra development after the draft, my younger brother Jack didn’t. But some guys need a few years in college or the minors before they're ready.  I needed a little more development before I could come into the NHL, so I played another year at Michigan.” 

“Did you like it?”

"College?" She nodded and he continued,  "I loved it. It was time for me to move up to the NHL, but I wouldn’t have been too mad to stay there until I graduated.”

“Did you finish your degree?” she asked. 

“Yeah. In Communications.” 

“Did your mom teach you to cook?” 

Quinn couldn’t help but snort, “no.” 

Realizing how rude that sounded, he rushed to explain, “my mom is a great cook, but I really had to learn over COVID when I wasn’t allowed out.” 

“You weren’t allowed out?” she repeated. 

“They were really concerned about us getting sick, so the only time we could go out was to go to the rink or to games.”

“That sounds awful.” 

“It was, and I still got COVID twice,” he said ruefully. “So I had to learn to cook because I couldn’t go out to eat. I watched a lot of cooking shows,” he admitted with a smile.

“So what do your parents do?”

“Mom stayed at home, mostly, but she did broadcasting for women's hockey for a while before she had us kids, and dad was a development coach for a long time in the AHL and NHL.”

An amused smile spread over her lips, “so you really had no choice, did you? It was all hockey all the time in your house.” 

“I mean, my parents would have been happy with whatever we decided to do, but it was pretty impossible to avoid.” 

Her smile got bigger, and Quinn found himself smiling back. 

“When did you start playing?” 

“When I was three.” 

He jumped on a question of his own before she could get another one in, “when did you know you wanted to study the ocean?” 

Smiling, she rolled her eyes at herself. “It was a pretty classic girl who grows up in a desert, land-locked state is obsessed with what she doesn’t have. But it really kicked into gear when I moved to Hawaii after I graduated with my undergrad.” 

“Hawaii?” he asked. 

She swallowed hard and took a sip of wine, “yeah. I moved pretty soon after my dad died. I got an internship working for a conservation group on Kauai, and just kind of ran away with it,” she said. “I felt like I found my calling there in a way.” 

“Why didn’t you study there?” 

��Well, it’s really expensive to live and study in Hawaii,” she said, “and my mom died, and I found out pretty soon after that I couldn’t be that far away from my family.” 

This was the second time she’d mentioned needing to be close by family. Quinn felt like there was something she wasn’t telling him, but didn’t want to push, it would probably come out with time.  

They finished their meal in companionable conversation, getting to know each other more. He learned about her research on octopus social behavior, and she learned about some of his teammates, who were his best friends in the city. 

Sarah insisted on doing the dishes. “I may not be much of a cook, but I do know how to clean,” she said. 

Quinn followed her into the kitchen. He was getting antsy. He wanted to kiss her. 

“What did you have in mind for the rest of the night?” she asked, looking up from loading plates in the dishwasher. 

Making out. Really, he wanted to pull her into his bed, but he was only one half of that equation and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away now. 

“I'm not really sure. I figured we'd figure it out together,” he said. 

Something in Sarah melted a little at his words. It was good to have a plan sometimes. And sometimes, it was good to let the evening take you where it wanted. 

Meeting his eyes, she said, “I like the sound of that.”

After a house tour, they ended up upstairs, on his favorite couch. Gray suede softer than anything he’d ever owned. He'd been meaning to ask his real estate agent if he could take it with him when he left. 

Fingers entwined, she tugged him closer, letting her lips fall against his. 

A distinct feeling of, finally, seeped through Quinn as he deepened the kiss. One hand woven into her hair, while the other caressed her waist.

Sarah’s fingers slid behind his neck, pulling him closer. God, she wanted him so much closer. 

A breathy moan escaped her mouth when he brushed his tongue over hers just so.

Her body drove her next actions, pulling herself into his lap, knees bracketing his hips as she rested her weight on his thighs. 

He sucked in a deep breath. 

She pulled away to look into his face, “is this okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding too fast, he didn’t want her to go anywhere. He hadn’t been shocked so much as trying to brace himself. 

Smiling, she leaned in again. Just as their lips met, words she'd been thinking for the past eleven days tumbled out of her mouth and into his, “I really like you, Quinn.”

His heart twisted at the tenderness, and he pulled back to look into her eyes as he responded, “I really like you, too, Sarah.”

His sincerity burrowed into her and hummed there, heating her from the inside out. Nudging his mouth with hers again, she sighed. This kiss was far more tender and slow than any of the ones before. It wasn’t so much passion as it was an expression of gratitude for companionship, and hope for the future. 

In a way, these kinds of beginnings in their relationship felt perfunctory, like they needed to get through them in order to get to the good stuff. Still, Quinn didn’t want to rush. 

Their kiss in the kitchen felt like a glimpse into a future time when the awkwardness of firsts was done away. It had taken months to get that comfortable with his last girlfriend, June. She hadn’t been as into him as he’d been into her (and hadn't been afraid to wield that fact like a sword), so that had been most of the problem. He didn’t get that game playing vibe from Sarah; just this reciprocated, gentle passion like he’d never experienced before. They even seemed to naturally kiss at the same pace. 

Her kisses were unlike anything he’d experienced. Hot, of course, but there was an underlying tenderness and safety he hadn’t known he was seeking. 

It didn’t take long for the gentleness to evaporate. After a few minutes, Sarah angled herself closer. Desperate to feel more of his skin, her fingers snuck under his shirt, splaying over his stomach.

He grunted at the skin to skin contact and felt his temperature spike.

That was it. With that sexy grunt, she was a woman possessed. “Can I take this off?” she asked, tugging at the hem of his shirt, too anxious to wait for a more natural moment. 

He leaned away from the couch to grab the collar and stripped the fabric over his head before throwing it on the floor. 

Giggling, she went back to kissing him, letting her hands explore his shoulders and chest. Feeling the smattering of coarse hair there, visions of how it would feel brushing her own chest flooded her mind. She had to stop herself from rubbing up against him like a cat.

His hands snuck under her shirt, and set fire to her skin. Sitting back on his thighs, she stripped her shirt off, letting it drop to the floor by his. 

Quinn sucked in a shallow breath. His heart kicked forcefully into his spine as if to ask, are you seeing this? 

He was and he couldn't believe it either. 

The bra she wore was dark blue, and cradled her breasts so they swelled gently above the fabric. Lace peeked over the solid lining, drawing shapes on her skin.

It had been a stroke of genius when she decided to buy this bra, even though at the time, she didn’t have anyone but herself to wear it for. Comfortable for the most part, it made her boobs look killer: pushed up and round. It was a confidence booster to just wear it under her clothing. Getting ready earlier in the day, Sarah knew herself well enough to know there was more than a slim chance she'd end up losing her shirt. She wanted this to be the first bra he saw her in.

Finally forcing his eyes up to her face, he found her nervously biting her lip, a hopeful sort of look in her eyes. 

“You’re…" He didn’t want to come off cheesy, or like he was trying too hard, but eventually, he just said what was going through his mind. Cheese be damned. "Jesus, you’re so pretty, Sarah.” 

She flushed the most adorable shade of pink. “Thank you.” 

He pulled her in to kiss her again. He wanted her so much. 

“Leave that on,” she said, moving his hands away from the clasp of her bra, not quite ready for him to see the stretch marks and asymmetry of her breasts. 

“Okay,” he whispered against her lips, entwining his fingers with hers. 

It was such a respectful, sweet gesture that she almost took her bra off anyway just because she liked him so much.  

The temptation to look at her more grew too strong and he pulled away. 

He kept their hands laced together as his eyes roved over her, from her soft stomach to the curve that dipped from hip to chest. 

His eyes caught on something dark peeing out from under the band of her bra. 

“Do you have a tattoo?” he asked. 

She nodded, lifting her left arm and twisting her torso to show him. 

“Is it a tree?” 

Looking down, she realized that while the roots and poem intertwined into them were visible, the thick band of this bra covered most of the design. 

Her hands were moving before she really had time to think it through. The need to know if he would accept this part of her consumed her until she was doing something she'd just asked him not to. Consequences be damned. She wanted to show him this part of herself - this reminder she'd had permanently added to her body. 

Quinn watched, enthralled, as she wrapped her right arm in front of her to cup her left breast, reaching back to unsnap her bra with the other hand. His mind raced with images of his hands replacing hers. 

Keeping her bra flush to her, she dropped her left shoulder until the strap fell, pulling the band forward. 

Even though he knew she would stay covered, his breathing still jumped when she lifted her arm. 

“The tree is based on a beech tree that was in my grandma's backyard. We used to play in it all the time.” 

"Can I touch it?" he asked reverently. 

"Yeah," her voice was breathy. 

The tree was a sepia photograph - dark brown, expertly detailed roots, trunk and branches leading up to lighter, autumn toned leaves that looked as if they might just blow away with the right gust of wind. 

“What do the roots say?” he asked, tracing his finger over the fine cursive text, looping and weaving itself among the chaotic web of lines. 

Goosebumps rippled over her skin. 

“It’s a poem my mom had hanging in our house. It says, ‘Good timber does not grow with ease: / The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees; / The further the sky, the greater the length; / The more the storm, the more the strength. / By sun and cold, by rain and snow, / In trees and men good timbers grow.’” 

It had been a long time since someone had seen her tattoo close enough to ask about the poem, and she’d had to recite it. Saying the words out loud after so long choked her voice with emotion. She tried to not let it overwhelm her, but it was like trying to stop a dam from collapsing when it had already cracked. Tears pooled in her vision.

Quinn stared at her for a few heartbeats, terrified to fail, before his common sense and advice from his mom kicked in. His first thought was to hold her, but she would probably be uncomfortable with her bra undone like it was. So, he threaded the strap back onto her shoulder and clumsily hooked the clasp together - that was something he’d never done before - before wrapping his arms around her. 

Sarah was stunned, but welcomed the embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. This act of receiving care and comfort when she started to cry, only made her want to cry more, this time out of gratitude. 

This was something she’d never dared to say out loud when her friends asked about the kind of man she wanted. It was impossible to explain to someone that had never lost a loved one. She wanted a man who wasn’t afraid of her grief, and wouldn’t try to solve it. She’d written that very phrase in her journal, and it seemed the Universe held onto that wish until both she and Quinn were ready. 

“What can I do?” he asked, feeling so inadequately prepared. 

A small laugh chuffed out of her mouth at the absurdity that he felt he needed to do more. “This is enough. This is exactly what I need.”

A sigh breathed through his body and he tightened his hold around her. 

It was a bizarre situation. Cuddling on their third date with shirts off because Sarah had started crying over a poem her mother had loved. It wasn’t where she had envisioned the night to be going in the slightest. 

She sat up and blinked the moisture on her lashes onto her finger, leaving streaks of mascara on her skin. “I’m sorry.” 

He shook his head, letting his hands rest at her hips. When he’d called her for advice, his mom told him how sometimes, grief just came up and swept you away, and the best thing he could do as a support was be there. Be a physical presence, tethering her to the shore so she could find her way back. 

A forced little, self conscious laugh escaped her chest, and she reached behind to re-clasp her bra. He’d done up only two of the three clasps and on the wrong hooks.   

“That was my first time,” he said, self-deprecating. “Can you tell?”  

She laughed - fully, out loud - and it banished the tears from her eyes. 

“I really like this,” he said, brushing his thumb over the roots winding to the front of her ribcage. “I like that it’s something so important to you, and has so many memories in it. It’s not like one of those sticker tattoos, you know?” 

One of those adorned her thigh. A heart small enough, it could be mistaken for a birthmark in the right light. She’d gotten it on a drunken dare, and was glad she’d had enough sense at the time to at least pick something simple. 

“You don’t like sticker tattoos?” 

“Tattoos are so permanent, I think they should mean something. I have a friend that has a whole bunch of dumb stuff tattooed on his arm just because he can.” 

Quinn’s hand was still on her side. The feeling of his warm palm on her skin was grounding and comforting. 

The rest of the night was spent kissing and cuddling. Her bra stayed on, though she thought about flinging it across the room more than once when he asked if he could touch her there, and then did, heating her blood to a boil. 

When Quinn’s phone buzzed with an alarm at 11, he pulled away reluctantly and smiled at her dazed, over-kissed expression. Memorizing the feeling of her skin to sustain him through the night, he ran his palm from its place on the back of her neck to the small of her back.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from hearing it. “I’m really sorry, I have practice in the morning, and a game tomorrow.” 

She nodded, pursing her lips, which were flushed and more pouty than usual. “Can you take me home, then?” 

The last remnants of the test anxiety he’d been feeling blew away. “Of course.”  

Watching unashamedly as she pulled her shirt on, Quinn tried to commit the way she moved to memory. He wanted to remember everything about this night. 

Reaching for his hand, Sarah still felt a small thrill when he took it as they walked to the elevator. 

As she directed him to her apartment in Yaletown, she watched his profile in the city lights. 

“Have you broken your nose?” 

Laughter bubbled out of him, and he glanced over. “Yeah, a couple of times. Why?” 

“I just wondered,” she said, “You have a really distinctive nose.” 

“Is that a good thing?” 

“Yes.” 

She told him to turn left and pointed to her building. 

He stopped in front of her apartment building. “Are you still taking tomorrow off?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Do you…” he didn’t know why he was so nervous about this, “do you want to come to the game? I can get you a ticket.” 

A smile beamed over her face, “I’d love that. Do you think my roommates could come too? They’d never forgive me if I went without them.” 

“Sure.” 

“Am I supposed to wear your jersey?” 

He grimaced and shook his head, “no. Just wear whatever you want. I always think it’s kind of weird when girls wear my jersey.” In some ways, he’d love to see his name across her back, but not at a game. She’d be just another fangirl there. 

“Okay.” she leaned over the console to kiss him. 

He fumbled for the gear shift and slid the car into park. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said when she pulled away a while later. 

After watching her scan into the building, Quinn drove the ten minutes home knowing, having won her trust in this way, he would sleep like a rock. 

Both Eunice and Jane were in the living room when Sarah opened the apartment door. Eunice immediately shut off the TV, effectively blowing their cover that they were awake for any other reason than talking to her. 

"How was it?" Jane demanded. 

Sarah allowed herself a moment of self indulgence, and sank dramatically into the giant black chair Jane had inherited from her cousin's best friend’s brother or something equally convoluted.

"It was so good."

"Did you fuck?"

"Eunice," Jane reprimanded, rolling her eyes. "It was only their second date."

"So? I'd be stripping him down the second I got him alone."

Sarah cut in before Jane could snark back or Eunice could say something even worse, "No, we didn't. But we made out and if it's any indication of what's to come, it'll be amazing."

"Tell us everything."

The last time Sarah had rehashed a date minute for minute, she'd been in Hawaii, home from the first of many dates with her last boyfriend. She'd forgotten how exciting it could be. 

"Oh man," Eunice said when she was done. "That sounds so magical."

"It really was."

"I like the way you talk about him, like it's fate or something." Jane said dreamily. 

"It feels like fate," Sarah admitted. "It feels like something just plopped us together."

Eunice sighed. "I want that so much."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Quinn invited me to the game tomorrow."

"Oh, that's exciting," Eunice said, voice lacking any and all excitement. She was failing to look like she wasn't pouting. 

"I told him you'd never forgive me if I went without you, so he's getting tickets for all three of us."

"Really?" Eunice squealed as she took Jane's hands, forcing her to stand and started jumping around the living room. "I've never been to a game in person! Is he getting us rinkside?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask. I was just glad he was getting three tickets."

"You have to wear his jersey. I have one you can borrow."

"Oh," Sarah paused, "he actually told me he didn't want me to."

Eunice looked perplexed for a long moment before she continued her jumping that was sure to wake their downstairs neighbors. “I'll wear it then.”

The following evening, Quinn wasn't sure what to expect as he skated out for warm up. He'd sent Sarah the tickets and asked if she would stay after the game so he could take her home, which she'd agreed to. He had warned her it might be a while before he was ready to go, and she’d assured him she would bring a book. He didn't ask her if she would be there for warm ups or if she would be down at the glass instead of up by the box. 

He did a lap, and didn't see her. He felt on edge in a way he didn't usually before a game. Hockey was something he could practically do in his sleep. It was a learned and inherited skill he'd been honing for the past 18 years. But knowing she was watching made him a little bit nervous. 

When he went back to run some passing drills, he spotted her at the glass wearing a simple blue shirt that matched his colors under a black jacket. Her hair was in an intricate braid, twined around her head like a crown. She looked so much better than she would have wearing a jersey. 

He skated over to her and knocked on the glass to get her attention. 

Her roommate shrieked and Sarah turned. A beautiful, easy smile bloomed on her face. He smiled back in a way he usually didn't allow himself to in public. 

He grabbed a puck and tossed it over the glass for her. It was dumb, he knew that, but it was all he had to offer at that moment. 

When he went back into the drill, Conor was the first to skate up beside him, "who is that?"

Quinn felt himself blush and tried to brush it off, but Petey saddled up to both of them. 

"Is that Sarah?" He asked. 

"Sarah?" Conor repeated, a smirk on his face. "Who is Sarah?"

Want more Quinn & Sarah? Check out the Snapshots Masterlist

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#quinn & sarah snapshots #quinn hughes #quinn hughes fic #quinn hughes imagine #quinn hughes x oc #quinn hughes x ofc #quinn hughes fan fic #quinn hughes oneshot #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey romance #quinn hughes fanfiction

[mellowsadistic]

“That was so embarrassing!” Tori whined as she stepped inside her house, the woman who’d been appointed as her ‘Nanny’ following close behind. “Why did you have to make me sit in a stupid car seat? And why do you drive me to and from work in the first place? I can drive perfectly fine by myself!”

“I know you can, sweetie,” Nanny said patiently, “but it’s important that you get used to being dependent. Your regression sentence might be a light one, but the court appointed me as your Nanny for the next three years, and it’s my job to take care of you.” She slipped off Tori’s dress and let it pool at the young woman’s feet, exposing her full chest and bra, and the thick cotton training pants between her legs. “So apart from the journey home, how was your first day back at work?” she asked kindly, noting with satisfaction that the front of Tori’s pull-ups were slightly discoloured.

“It was awful!” Tori scowled. “They all made fun of me, and everyone kept asking to see my… to see my… my undies.”

“Poor baby,” Nanny cooed sympathetically. “But you can hardly blame them, can you? It is pretty silly, after all. A grown woman who’s still in potty training!” She let out a giggle.

“I’m not still in potty training!” Tori said angrily. But then she felt a sudden, hard spank to her rear, and she shut her mouth quickly.

Nanny didn’t come across as particularly strict, but even though Tori had only been in her custody for a couple of hours total, excluding the time she’d been at work, she’d learned that the woman was quick with a smack, and she had a firm hand. She wasn’t looking forward to her first trip over Nanny’s lap; so far Nanny had restricted herself to swatting her bottom while she stood, but Tori could tell she was itching to administer a proper, over-the-knee spanking.

“Oh yes you are, little missy,” she said sternly. “You may not be in nappies, but you are most certainly not toilet trained. Not anymore. Your regression sentence made it quite plain that you will be spending the next three years in a state of perpetual potty training, living the partial lifestyle of a toddler. So let’s try that again. Are you potty trained yet, Tori?”

Blushing to the roots of her hair, Tori mumbled, “Not yet, Nanny.”

“Do you wear panties?”

“No, Nanny.”

“What do you wear, Tori?”

“I wear… I wear pull-ups, Nanny.”

“That’s right. And can you use the grown-up toilet?”

“Only… only while I’m at work, Nanny.”

“And while you’re at home?”

“At home I have to… I have to use my potty.” Tori felt like she was about to cry.

“But you don’t always make it in time, do you Tori?” Nanny asked sweetly, and Tori gritted her teeth. That was the rule she hated most. It was so ridiculous! Every time she used the toilet, she had to pee in her training pants for a few seconds first. It was disgusting. Tori couldn’t stand the horrible sensation of wetting her pants, feeling her pee soak into her pull-ups and press against her skin. She’d felt totally absurd standing in front of the toilet at work and wetting herself deliberately, and Nanny’s assurances that she’d eventually start having accidents for real did nothing to make her feel better. It was like some horrible dream! All because she’d been caught inventing a few things for her newspaper column!

“No, Nanny, ” she said stiffly.

“No,” Nanny agreed, and then she started sniffing the air theatrically. “Uh-oh!” she sang happily. “I think Nanny smells wee-wee! Did little Tori have an accident today?”

Tori squirmed on the spot and looked down at the floor, wishing it would swallow her up. Nanny reached out and slipped a finger into the front waistband of her training pants, pulling it out and peaking down at the yellowish padding inside. “Oopsie!” she trilled. “Silly girl, Tori! You’re supposed to do your pee-pees in the potty, not your pants!” She let the waistband snap back, smiling broadly. Then she frowned a little, leaned close, and sniffed again. “Tori,” she said warningly, “I’ll let you off this time because I didn’t say it explicitly, but from now on perfume is a no-no. If you want something to cover up that icky wee-wee smell, then I’ll start putting baby powder on your tushy in the mornings, okay?”

Tori groaned. The smell of urine had followed her around all day. It would only be more obvious if she wasn’t allowed to wear perfume! But would smelling like baby powder really be any better?

“Yes, Nanny,” she pouted.

“Good girl. Now, let’s finish getting you undressed!”

Tori was pleased that she’d at least be allowed out of her yucky pull-ups, but instead of reaching for her training pants again, Nanny stepped behind her back and started to unclasp her bra.

“W-what are you doing?!” Tori asked, taken aback.

“Little girls don’t need bras, honey,” said Nanny. “You can have it back when I dress you for work tomorrow. You don’t need anything but your training pants when you’re playing around the house, okay?”

A flush rose to Tori’s cheeks as her bra was pulled away, freeing her large breasts.

“Oh my goodness,” Nanny tittered. “You do have big boobies, don’t you baby? Look at the size of those knockers!”

Tori turned scarlet and lifted her hands to cover her chest, but Nanny smacked them away. “Uh-uh, sweetie. No covering up. You don’t have modesty anymore. If you’ve got big boobies, you’ll just have to let them jiggle about.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Now come along, Miss Melons,” she said with another giggle, taking Tori by the hand and leading her further into the house, “It’s potty time!”

Tori felt disoriented by Nanny’s abrupt switch from treating her like a toddler to teasing her about her womanly chest, and she felt suddenly self-conscious about the way her breasts wobbled stupidly on her chest as she toddled along at Nanny’s side. But she was pulled out of her thoughts a moment later when she saw what was sitting on a little disposable mat in the middle of the living room. She’d known it was coming, of course, but it was quite another thing to actually see the large, pink, plastic potty chair sat in front of her, waiting.

“You know what to do,” said Nanny, patting her bottom gently, a smirk playing about her lips. “You must need to pee by now. I’d bet you were trying to pee as little as possible at work, so people wouldn’t notice the yucky smell.”

Tori shifted from foot to foot. Nanny was right. She had been holding it in for the last few hours of work. In hindsight, she wished she’d taken the opportunity to use the toilet there with some privacy, even if it meant risking snarky comments and taunts from her coworkers about her pissy pants.

“Go on, Tori,” said Nanny. “Do what you need to do. Then make sure you ask properly, like I explained this morning. Unless you’d like to skip potty time today and go straight into your night-time diaper?”

Tori whined inarticulately and shook her head. A few moments of silence passed, and then, with an effort, she started to pee. One second, two seconds, three, four, five. Then she clamped down hard on the stream of wee-wee that had been flooding her toddler pants. “Nanny, I need my potty!” she blurted, blushing furiously and clutching between her legs. After starting, it was difficult to stop, and as humiliating as it was, using a potty would be better than using her pants like a baby. “Please will you help me do a wee-wee?”

“Oh course I will, darling,” Nanny cooed, and she led Tori over to the potty. In one swift movement, she slid her training pants down her legs and lowered her plump bare bottom onto the seat.

Tori desperately avoided eye contact with Nanny as she let her bladder go again, and a tinkling noise filled the room. But she couldn’t stop herself letting out a sigh of relief.

“Good girl!” Nanny crooned, her voice sickeningly sweet. “What a big girl you are, Tori! Well done for mostly making it!” She probed the pull-ups pooled around the younger woman’s ankles with her fingers, grinning at how wet they were after a full day of accidents. “You can almost always make it to the potty for wee-wees, can’t you honey? And you hardly ever make poo-poos in your pants, do you? Barely more than once a week!”

“Once a week?!” Tori squealed, looking up sharply, but she gulped when she saw the stern look in Nanny’s eyes, and she dropped her gaze back to her feet.

“That’s right, sweetie,” said Nanny, with a sinister airiness. “Once a week, and occasionally twice, is what I expect. And if it’s any less, you’ll be in trouble.”

Tori cringed. Wetting herself was already disgusting, and the thought of having to poop her pants at least once a week was enough to turn her stomach. “Yes, Nanny,” she whimpered, as her stream of pee slowed to a stop, and she was left perching on her potty, waiting for instructions.

“Good girl,” Nanny said happily. “Now stand up and Nanny will wipe your princess parts all clean, and then it’s into your night-time nappy and off to bed! There will be plenty of time for playtime later. You’ve had a busy day! Just remember, girls who aren’t potty trained can’t control themselves at night, so if your nappy isn’t wet and icky when I wake you up tomorrow morning, you’ll be going straight over my knee!”

#mellowsadistic

[fire-but-ashes-too]

(Writerblr) intro post!

Hi! welcome to my blog! this is my (very late) writerblr/general/artblr intro, or just somewhere with all my general informations :)

please, go on and read *bows*

☆ Ash is my name on here and i go by she/her

★ Im a teen writer and artist, but i dream of acting

☆ im from italy

★ pan ace and quoiromantic (or wtfromantic its the same) (im still kinda questioning tho??? probs demiromantic??? idk?? feelings r weird atm)

☆ entp and introvert

★ im always up for tag games or stuff like that :)

☆ recently added tags! #ash writes- my writing ofc #ash and her rants- just me talking abt random stuff could be anything serious or not #ash on fire- probs me fangirling over something lol i may get overexcited beware

★ i relate to a spiritual and psychological level to black cats and all theur other forms (aka regulus black, tori spring, aristotle mendoza etc etc etc)

i mostly write fantasy or fanfiction, but sometimes i engage in various genres as mystery, dystopian or surrealism :)

★ So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since

genre: fanfiction

audience: general/ teen and up

tropes: rivals to lovers, college AU, slow burn, a lot of fencing, paris✨

cw/tw: past rape/non con, ptsd, homophobia, wounds/blood

progress: i try to update every week but nothing's promised 🥲

snippet here:

Years ago he’d learned to mask his handwriting, so now he could easily forge any handwriting he wanted, if he was given a good example of it being used. There was something extremely interesting in how each person connected two letters to each other. How they wrote an “ar” was different from how they would write an “or”, how much the words were apart from each other and how much pressure they put in the paper told a lot about someone, to him it was like zodiac signs. He didn’t always have to copy other handwritings, not unless he wanted to throw the blame on that person. He just had to invent a brand new writing style, and be careful to not slip his between the cracks. And that’s exctly what he did in the letter. Before Jesper could finish his monologue about how much he had missed out in the past few months holed up in his office, a blackmail threat was ready to be closed inside the paper envelope, just the signature was missing, but he didn’t bother to add it. A proper threat always had to be anonymous, it was always better to give as little information you could. Everything could be used against you. The maroon wax sealed the opening with a satisfying fizzling and a single wisp of smoke. The clock chimed on the wall, it was already 6 pm, he had to go finish some assignments.

(previously titled: questionable decisions)

☆ The Rogue

genre: fantasy, dystopian

audience: teen and up

setting: a fantasy world im currently busy (trying) building

progress: just vibes really, two mainc characters, a couple sides and an outline plus one of the first chapters, not much really but im working on it

characters:

anne: the rogue from where i took the title.

shes a 17 y/o girl who lives in a bunker in a forest, on the run from the government as she's a "high traitor and liar who must be destroyed".

she has the ability to modify her face and appereance for a while and she has a prosthetic arm connected to her virtual friend Indigo.

thanks to it she's able to teleport and keep track of various things.

alexander: the son of the dictator, he's lived his life in a bubble until 2 years ago, when he finally managed to get more social contacts with people and (slightly) catch up on what he's missed, behind his father's back of course.

he meets anne when she's captured and figures she's his best shot at escaping his father domain.

snippet:

This time, she materialised in the shadows behind a bulding, which gave her enough cove for her to shift her facial features. Her nose a little bigger, her hair some shades brighter, her eyes more elongated and greener than the grass growing outside her doorstep and a splash of freckles to top it all off. It was way harder to do it without a mirror, and way more dangerous. For all she knew, she could’ve been looking like a girl with a fish head, and she didn’t know if that would be better or worse than looking like herself. Anne took out a hat and a silk scarf, she wrapped it around her neck and jumped in a group of tourists gazing at the city. In no time she was in the square, vendor’s stands circling her, colourful flags waving in the wind. She could’ve stayed like that for ever, stuck in the memories of her old life, but she knew it couldn’t last forever.

★ Flowers and Homicide

genre: mystery

audience: general

cw/tw: blood, dead bodies, autopsies

main character: Giada

she's a forensics student who one day stumbles (metaphorically) over a dead body in her neighbour's lawn and starts investigating.

progress: actually finished but in italian sadly so in the translation process

☆ Confessions of a timeless man

genre: short story, surrealistic

audience: teen and up

content warning: suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, depression

plot summary: a man is stuck living the same day over and over, after almost 10 years there, he tries to escape his curse by killing himself

progress: completed XD

(here's my ao3 btw)

you want to know more about me! why than you, here you go!

★ my favourite artists are Taylor Swift, Conan Gray, Arctic Monkeys, Chase Atlantic, Marina, Lana del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Mother Mother and Billie Eilish (theres more but i cant remember whoops)

☆ i have a veryyyy slight synesthesia

★ other than writing, art-ing and reading i love baking/cooking and crocheting

☆ theatre kid over here, always up for screaming my lungs out

★ uhhh im a vegetarian

☆ i know a scary amount about death and murder (especially poisons)

★ i dont have a specific vibe, it usually changes every few months or so

☆ i probably have anxiety but ive never been to therapy so idk 💀

★ always up for fangirling :3 (im in too many fandoms *cries* buuut im most active on pjo, marauders, grishaverse and osemanverse, musicals and some books that i have boards for on my pinterest :D)

☆ i am terribly scared of insects, needles and dogs

★ my (quite unusual) sport is aerial dance, a circus speciality that looks really cool but is acctually really painful

☆ my pinterest, spotify and goodreads if by some reason you're really interested in the chaotic human being that i am :)

thank you for reading this farrr🥹🥹

have a great day/night/life/existence/other :D

#writerblr #writerblr intro #writing community #teen writer #artblr #me #myself #and i #intro post #music #about myself #fianlly i made it #took just 100 peeps #love u guys #my heart 🥹 #literally made my day #week #month #year #everything #queer #taylor swift #conan gray #fangirl #ace #a-spec #pan #lgbtqia+

[letteredlettered]

Vid Rec

Silent All These Years, by sisabet (Jiang Cheng-centric)

This vid focuses on JC holding it together during WWX’s absence, the sacrifice that JC made, and in some ways, the love he lost.

If, like me, you grew up with the song this vid is set to, you’re used to applying Tori Amos’s “Silent All These Years” to different situations, despite the very specific lyrics. The song is about the suffocation of holding your feelings inside and the dream that you are in fact magically stronger than that and can one day be heard (and the knowledge you also aren't because mermaids can't wear jeans). Obviously universal feelings, right? Obviously applies to everyone right? NEVER MIND!!! IT WAS NOT OBVIOUS TO ME!!! WHO KNEW THAT THIS COULD BE JC’S ANTHEM; I CERTAINLY DID NOT. Just, the way that sisabet made this song apply to JC is mind-blowing.

A lot of vids use music with a clear message to illustrate a message that is also clearly in the text. Eg, the song is “I love you” and all the images are LWJ looking at WWX. This is a fine way to vid! And a vidder in that school of vidding would probably look at “Silent All These Years” and think about how quiet LWJ is and make a vid about LWJ’s years of silent pining, then mourning. But other vidders take a text, then take a song, and say, “How do I make these media comment on one another?" That’s what this vid does. It’s a rare vid that does it successfully (without being too opaque for my brain) and this one is a treasure among them.

Note, please, who got “saved by the garbage truck” and who is the garbage truck

Note, please, who is “the girl who thinks really deep thoughts”

THEN think about what the “jeans of your with her name still on it” are and honestly you’ll be living in a Jiang Cheng Tori Amos renaissance and also you might be tempted to go find all the LWJ/JC hate!fucking and grief!fucking you can find. Though you might just sit there and cry about JC like you do every damn day.

#vid rec #jiang cheng #cql #tori amos

[saltchipfishshop]

Vegan Passover Pecan-Banoffee Pie: my magnum opus

I set out with a dream. An impossible dream. To create a vegan dessert for my synagogue seder that was also kitniyot-free. Did I have to do this? Not really, my shul allows anything vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian that doesn’t have chametz, and we have a section for kitniyot. Am I vegan? No. Do I even keep kosher for Passover myself? Also no. But, you see, I have an almost pathological need to feed as many people as possible, and I am intractably stubborn, so once I realised how difficult this was going to be it only made me dig my heels in further.

It turns out to be borderline impossible to find vegan substitutes for pretty much anything that don’t contain soy, oats, cornflour, chickpeas, or some sort of forbidden legume. Subsequently this recipe is heavily reliant on coconut milk; luckily for me I live in an area with a large Muslim population and it’s currently Ramadan, so tins of coconut are front and centre of every supermarket display.

It’s taken almost a full month of trial, error and meltdowns in the butter aisle of Sainsbury’s, but I finally did it. I had to cobble bits of the recipe together from half a dozen different sources, so I feel relatively justified in calling this my own invention. The pecan crust is borrowed from a Tori Avey cheesecake recipe, I just swapped pistachios for pecans. I really think the crust is what makes it, to be honest. You could probably skip the ganache layer if you can’t be bothered, I just feel like it helps cut through the sweetness.

Recipe under the cut. Please please tag me if anyone decides to make this! I would be so delighted to see it out there in the world.

Crust

84g (⅔ cup) pecans

84g (⅔ cup) pecans

84g (⅔ cup) pecans

60g (½ cup) matzo meal

66g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar

71g (5 tbsp) Kosher for Passover vegan margarine (Rakusen’s Tomor*), melted, + extra for greasing

Pinch of salt (optional)

Ganache

113g KFP vegan dark chocolate (Lindt Excellence 70%, Green & Black’s 70%, Green & Black’s cooking chocolate are all KFP)

113g coconut cream/full-fat coconut milk

A few drops of vanilla extract (optional)

Caramel

200g caster sugar

100g KFP vegan margarine (Tomor)

200g coconut cream/full-fat coconut milk

Whipped cream

200g coconut cream/full fat coconut milk, kept in the fridge overnight

15-45g KFP icing sugar (check it doesn’t contain maize starch. You could probably omit the sugar and leave the cream unsweetened if you can’t find it, or grind your own- there are recipes for Passover powdered sugar online.)

¼ tsp vanilla extract

3-4 bananas

cocoa powder or grated chocolate to serve (optional)

chopped pecans to serve (optional)

Method

Make the caramel. Place the sugar into a medium / large saucepan. Place the pan on the hob over a low heat. Allow the sugar to melt, this will take around 5-8 minutes. Don’t burn the sugar! Make sure to stir constantly to prevent burning. You can use a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula.

When all of the sugar has melted and is a golden / amber colour, add in the margarine. Be careful, as the sugar is very hot. Remove the pan from the heat and stir to combine. Allow the margarine to melt into the sugar. It might bubble but that's fine. Once it’s combined, it might have a thick consistency. It might look like the margarine isn’t mixing with the sugar, but it should combine once you add the cream. Now add in 200g coconut cream. It will steam and bubble again so be careful.

Add the pan on the heat and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes to help thicken it up.

Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, then transfer / pour the caramel into a heat proof jar. Place the jar into the fridge. Allow to chill overnight. The coconut cream for the whipped cream should also be kept in the fridge overnight, to encourage it to separate and firm up.

If the caramel separates overnight, use an electric whisk to combine into a smooth consistency until there are no remaining lumps. It’ll be a more custard-like texture but still delicious. Keep caramel in the fridge until needed.

Make the crust. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease a loose-bottomed tin with margarine and line with greaseproof paper.

Blitz the pecans in the food processor until finely processed. Add matzo meal, salt and sugar and pulse until the entire crust is uniform in colour. With the processor on, drizzle the melted butter into the machine.

Once all the butter has been added, turn the processor off and dump the wet crumbs into the bottom of the lined pan. Using the back of a spoon, press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (it doesn’t have to go all the way up, just as much as you can).

Place the crust in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust start to brown a bit and smells fragrant. Leave crust to cool for about ten minutes and then transfer to the fridge to finish cooling.

Make the ganache. Finely chop the chocolate and put in a medium-sized bowl. Put 200g coconut cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, watching to make sure it doesn’t bubble over.

Pour the warm cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Don't stir yet.

After 2-3 minutes, whisk the chocolate/melted coconut milk until smooth. Add vanilla if desired. Let cool in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

Make the whipped coconut cream. Chill a mixing bowl in the fridge for ten minutes (you can do this while the ganache is cooling to save time). Put 200g coconut cream (the thick white part, not the clear liquid) in the chilled bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with an electric whisk until creamy. Add vanilla and icing sugar and mix until creamy and smooth – about 1 minute. Avoid overwhipping because it can cause separation. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.

Carefully run a knife around the edge of the crust tin and remove the crust from the tin.

Spread a layer of the cooled ganache over the bottom of the crust. Top with a layer of sliced banana and return to the fridge to set for ten minutes.

Add a layer of the caramel, another layer of sliced banana, and return to the fridge for ten minutes again.

Top with the whipped cream (I like to leave the edge of the bananas visible around the edge). Dust with cocoa powder or grated chocolate and add chopped pecans if desired.

*Tomor contains sunflower oil, but sunflower oil is not considered kitniyot in England: https://www.kosher.org.uk/article/sunflower-oil-kitniyot

#Passover recipe #pesach 5783 #pesach 2023 #pesach recipe #passover #Passover 5783 #Passover 2023 #Passover food #pesach food #פסח 5783 #פסח #פסח שמח #jumblr #judaism #jewish #jewish food #kosher #kosher food #kashrut

[yandere-daze]

think abt brutally honest player.. JUST ONCE like they just straight up pointing out the creepy stuff and slips some insults to them but they will keep it down for some ppl like hajime, mitsuru, tori, aira etc etc and does have a soft spot for their favourites so usually for the lucky favourites the player will just nod along whatever they say but maybe will mumble something under their breath lol

gn reader

tw yandere, obsession, mention of stalking, breaking in and murder, unsanitary? ( used straw)

A brutally honest player that comments on all the creepy behaviour

Honestly, it´s what they deserve considering how creepy they all are around you. Like, talking to you and laughing along to anything you say is one thing, but tracking you with a GPS tracker, stalking you and breaking into your home? Collecting things you´ve left behind to build a shrine with? Threatening to hurt or kill someone for you?

Yeah, you have more than enough reason to be absolutely done with them at this point.

But here´s the thing: You don´t really have the option to just leave them all behind and go live your life because you´re literally in a different, completely foreign world where you have no home aside from the one you were provided with by the ES staff. There are also around 50 idols of varying amounts of influence, money and power completely obsessed with you that would never let you leave them. Also, you know, the GPS tracker that is somewhere on your person that you haven´t been able to locate yet. Very slim chances of escape.

So you do the next best thing to vent your frustrations: You comment on all the weird and disturbing things they do or say around you, not being nice about it either. I mean for what reason? You´re not going to spare their feelings when they´re actively invading your privacy on the daily. So you are going to tell them that how they´re acting is really creeping you out and that they should be ashamed of themselves.

“Ritsu, stop taking up my personal space all the time, I don´t like cuddling with you and never will”

“Mayoi stop watching me at night from the vents, it´s really creeping me out and it´s also weird af.”

“Wow Mika, did you really just pocket one of my used straws? Gross”

Maybe if they know how much it upsets you and how it hurts their chances with you they´ll finally stop? Well it´s not very likely but at least you can dream

#yandere enstars #yandere enstars x reader #yandere ensemble stars #yandere ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader #ensemble stars x reader #ensemble stars self aware au #yandere self aware au #yandere self aware ensemble stars au #gn reader #yandere #cw yandere #yandere x reader #cw obsession #cw stalking #cw murder #cw unsanitary

[pretty-idol-hell]

High School PriChan 1

Just finished watching the High School PriChan musical. Part 1, anyway. (I kinda forgot there was two parts.) So I don't think it's too big of a spoiler to say it ends on a cliffhanger.

Basic plot summary and thoughts below.

It starts with with Miracle Kiratts and Meltic Star on their way to school, but they aren't acting quite right.

Mirai clearly has a crush on Sara, who is Rinka's big brother (yes, brother). Mel is Sara's robot. Anna is Emo's MAID.

But eventually Anna and Emo start fighting and ruin everything allowing us to find out they are supposed to be acting in a musical.

Daia, who is supposed to be playing the boyish, energetic transfer student, doesn't even get to play her part before they are all whisked away in a robot rocket ship by Sadame Ginga where they meet Maria and Suzu at a high school in space. Sadame's goal is to have them build their sadame power so they can... change destiny. Or something.

Although it's obvious to the audience that she has some kind of nefarious plan, the girls eventually go along with it (Maria is happy to go to school with everyone again, and Mel in particular is having a GREAT time) and participate in the high school where Sadame uses them as "examples" for the other "students" (the MyCharas sent in by the fundraiser backers).

But no matter what subject, their example is just a live haha.

Eventually, after everyone has performed, Sadame lets everyone know that... they did not collect enough "sadame iine". They all FAILED.

But then she gets them a better stage and after performing Diamond Smile all together, they PASS!

But that doesn't mean PriChan high school is over. No, they're just second graders now! To be continued!

So, like the PriPara virtual live I watched before, there was a thin plot but most of the runtime was taken up by full performances (usually the full song, uninterrupted by Yattemita, etc). There were a few new songs such as the school song and Sadame's solo, and at least one big surprise: Daia performed the full version of Heart Iro Tori Dream!!! The dance reference here might be very useful... f... for a friend...

Most of the older songs I haven't heard since PriChan ended, so it was nice to hear them again. I don't know why, but PriChan songs and coords don't stick in my head as well as PriPara and Pretty Rhythm stuff does. But, on the bright side, that made it almost feel like I was experiencing them new all over again. After PriChan season 2 ended I basically never wanted to hear Diamond Smile again (the Jewel Chance song on the arcade) so I was surprised how much I enjoyed it here.

Sadame Ginga has a pretty badass design with her galaxy skirt and cape and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with her! Her voice is FAN-TAS-TIC as well!

*sigh* I gotta admit though I spent a lot of this musical SUPER JEALOUS of all the people who got their MyCharas in though. And the voice actors even called their NAMES! I was totally gonna do it, but then a bad thing that cost a lot of money happened to me at the beginning of December and I didn't even try. It would have been expensive, but I'm sure if you just sent the PriTicket to the right address and everything they would just accept it haha... oh well.

I've been trying to console myself by telling myself getting a MyChara in one of the PriPara movies is a much bigger deal considering there was a DVD/BluRay release. Meanwhile, this musical is probably just going to fade into obscurity after the archive period ends, right? ...Probably???

[himemiya-kun]

Blue Sea＊The Shining, Truthful Atlantis (Prologue)

Start • Chapter 1 »

Back to list

Prologue: Atlantis

Winter

Characters:

• Tori Himemiya

• Yuzuru Fushimi

<Dream. Or the harsh reality of Tori Himemiya>

Tori: (…)

(I can’t breathe.)

(It’s painful. It’s painful. It’s painful.)

Tori: (I can't open my eyes... I can't see anything.)

(It’s dark and cold here.)

Tori: (It's cold. It's cold. It’s cold.)

Tori: (Hey, is anyone there?)

(Yuzuru! Hibiki-senpai! Eichi-sama…!)

(Is anyone there? It doesn't matter who it is, I'm one—)

Tori: (It's painful. I can't see anything. Cold, cold, cold.)

(Where am I? Why am I like this...?)

Tori: (Eichi-sama! Eichi-sama! Eichi-sama!)

(Because the place where you are is so high, it feels cold down here.)

(I desperately stretched out and reached out my hand.)

(But. Because I can't fly in the sky like an angel—)

Tori: (I broke it. My wings broke and I crashed—)

(Oh, is this in the sea?)

(The bottom of the deep sea where the light can't reach.)

(It's so cold, it's dark, and it's hard to breathe, isn't it?)

Tori: Cough, cough, cough.

Yuzuru: —Bocchama?

How are you doing?

Did he catch a cold? He collapsed during the SS, and even though he was still recovering, he’s pushing himself too hard—

Tori: Haa… haa…

Yuzuru: Bocchama? If you can't reply, I will call an ambulance right away—

Tori: Hyu~ Hyu~... Yu-Yuzuru?

Yuzuru: Yes. Yuzuru is here.

Always by your side.

Tori: ...I see. Yes, that's right.

Huh... Even though I decided to enter the dormitory, I'm still in the same room with you. I'm fed up.

I thought I could do whatever I wanted away from the monitoring of noisy people.

Yuzuru: Even if you and I were assigned to a separate room, I think I would have lived in your room.

It’s my job to always wait by your side and take care of you, and it's my reason for living.

Tori: Wow, that's disgusting... It's annoying ♪

Yuzuru: Fufu. Your statement and actions don't seem to match.

You're a spoiled child who holds my hand tightly and always takes care of me.

Tori: I'm sorry. I had a scary dream.

Because of that, I may have had a strange sleep talk. It's okay, I don't have a cold or anything.

Tomorrow, I’ll be energised and ready to work.

Yuzuru: Hm... Actually, your body temperature is normal. It can be hard to tell since Young Master is childish and has a high normal temperature.

Tori: When did you take my temperature?

Yuzuru: With my hands, it is even possible to get a boy to change his clothes without getting distracted.

I'm familiar with where the nerves and sensory parts exist in Young Master's body, so the whole body is like acupuncture without giving any sense—

Tori: Scary, scary, scary! Sometimes the mysterious skill that Yuzuru has is very scary and gross!

Yuzuru: It's a skill that I trained for Young Master ♪

Tori: That's why I'm scared of you!

Yuzuru: There's no need to be scared. I'm on the side of Young Master, anytime, anywhere.

Tori: Well, I know that, and I think I'm grateful... People who are far more talented than me devote all of their lives to me. It's too much to believe.

I'm not a worthy person to be treated like that.

Yuzuru: What are you saying? It seems that you are worried because you saw a nightmare.

It's okay. Young Master is an excellent and good person who is enough for me to serve.

If you have any doubts, I'll stay at your bedside, and I'll repeat it a million times in your ear.

Tori: I'm going to have another nightmare this time, so stop that.

Yuzuru: I want to whisper... Love for Young Master.

Tori: Aren't you falling asleep too?

Oh, it's three o'clock in the morning. But I woke you up while I was sleeping. Sorry.

Yuzuru: No. It can be hard when something happens, so please rely on me when you are not feeling well.

There is no need to consider the time or situation.

I'll repeat it over and over again. I am an ally of Young Master, whose priority is always Young Master.

Please, don't forget that.

Tori: Mm... I know.

Yuzuru: Has the anxiety disappeared?

Tori: It seems so… Oh, I'm getting sleepy now that I'm relieved.

Yuzuru: That is good. Shall I hold your hand until you fall asleep like this?

Tori: I'm not a baby, Yuzuru, and I have work tomorrow too, so go to sleep, go to sleep.

Tori: —Because I'm fine.

< Back to list • Chapter 1 »

#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #ensemble stars translation #blue sea #the shining truthful atlantis #fine climax #tori himemiya #yuzuru fushimi

[mephinomaly]

[TL] At your service, Master!

Character(s): Chiaki, Tori

Summary: With Yuzuru away with work, Tori is struggling to look after himself. Luckily, Chiaki is eager to offer his services.

Season: Summer

Location: Studio

Chiaki: (Hm~. It’s time for work, but Himemiya hasn’t shown up yet. Has something troubling happened?)

(...This reminds me of how I used to wait around when I was a part of Rain-bows.)

(But that was because of a lack of communication… Maybe I should double check with the staff just to make sure.)

Tori: Excuse me~! Sorry for being late!

Chiaki: Oh, you’re finally here? I’ve been waiting for you! Himemiya is usually on time, I was worried something had come up.

Tori: Nn~... Something did. In the present tense, I mean.

To be honest, Yuzuru has been away working for a while. Until he comes home, I have to take care of everything myself.

I’ve only just moved into the dorms, and Yuzuru does basically everything for me so I don't know how to do it myself.

If I go home, the servants will take care of it. If everytime Yuzuru is gone I go home, I won’t grow at all.

I don’t know what to do! When I try to iron out the wrinkles in my clothes, the opposite happens and they get creased instead! Why is that?

Uuugh. There’s still 3 more days left. What now…

Chiaki: Fumu, I understand what you’re going through.

If that’s how it is, I’ll stand in for Fushimi…☆

Tori: You? Then, do you have any experience as a servant?

Chiaki: Fuhaha! I have none, of course!

But as a defender of justice, I can’t ignore a person in trouble!

Tori: Huh? Hnn, you said that with confidence, so I’d have high expectations for you~.

Chiaki: No need to worry! Don’t hold back, and leave it to me ☆

Tori: Where is this confidence coming from… Hnng, what should I dooo? I don’t know if I can depend on you, but I can’t do this all alone…

...Fine then. You start tomorrow, ‘kay?

Time: The next morning

Location: Tori and Yuzuru's room

Chiaki: Are you awake, Himemiya? I’m coming in ☆

What a refreshing morning! It’s gonna be a good day!

Tori: Snnrk, snnrk…

Mimimi, mimimi… I can’t eat another bite, Eichi-sama~...♪

Chiaki: Oh. Despite what time he promised he’d be up, he’s still sleeping.

This might be a little painful, but what else can I do… Taaakeee this—!

GooOOOD MORNINNNGGGG ☆

Tori: Hyaaaaah!?

Chiaki: Umu, that worked well! Morning Himemiya ☆

Tori: Uu, I was having a good dream. Lemme sleep some more~...

Chiaki: Don’t hide under the covers. Come out, Himemiya. Getting your body moving will help you wake up!

It’s “Unrivaled ☆ Meteorangers” time[1]! Keep up with me!

Time: 4 minutes and 30 seconds later

Chiaki: …~ ♪

You were able to keep up by copying me! As expected of Himemiya!

Tori: Haa, haa…You made me do the dance for the entire song…

Chiaki: But you’re wide awake now, right? I’m feeling great too ☆

Tori: How are you so lively so early in the morning?

Yeah, I don’t feel like going back to sleep now.

I guess I’ll be grateful. Thank you for waking me up, Morisawa-senpai.

Um, could you leave so I can get changed and wash my face? It’s hard to do that with you watching.

Chiaki: Sure thing! Then, I’ll get started on breakfast!

Location: Kitchen

Chiaki: (White rice, miso soup, some grilled fish…♪)

(Alrightie, this is going good so far! It’s because I happened to find some super-quick recipes for beginners ☆)

(Final part is the tamagoyaki[2]. Now I gotta pour the whisked eggs into the pan…[3])

(Once it’s solidified, I have to roll it up… I have to be careful so I don’t mess up the shape.)

(I think the trick is to not fry it for very long. I’ve got to be quick.)

Tori: …Oh, you’re making Japanese food. Is this the kind of food you like, Morisawa-senpai?

Chiaki: Hello, Himemiya. It’s not about what I like, it’s about what you like.

I’m sure Fushimi makes balanced meals for you, right?

Tori: Uu, yeah that’s true. I want to eat normal food when Yuzuru’s not around.

Chiaki: Fuffuffu. This isn’t all you’ve got, y’know? Open the microwave.

Tori: Microwave?

…Oh, fried potato ♪

Chiaki: It’s hard to say what group potatoes belong to, but these fine vegetables are from the Takamine grocery store.

So these vegetables are super good for you! Make sure you eat them!

Tori: Uwaa ♪. If Yuzuru could see this he’d be frowning, but it doesn’t bother me~.

Chiaki: I’m glad you’re happy. It was worth all this preparation…♪

Speaking of preparation, are you ready to go to school?

Tori: Yup. Because you woke me up, I wasn’t in a hurry.

Chiaki: I see, I see! Don’t forget this as well.

Tori: Nn, you made me a bento? But I was planning on eating in the cafeteria.

I wonder what other things you’ve put in here… Waah.

I know what this is. You’ve made them into cute shapes, right?[4]

Chiaki: Ah. When I was deciding on what sort of bento to make, an old memory came back to me.

When I was a kid, my parents would make this kind of bento for me. It made me really happy, so I thought I’d try to do the same for you.

I haven’t the same skill, and the kinshitamago[5] is burnt, but the fact that it’s misshapen gives it more charm ☆

Tori: ...

…I’m not a kid anymore.

But thank you for doing this for me, Morisawa-senpai.

Chiaki: Fuhaha! Don’t mention it! Eat lots and you’ll get big and strong.

Then, dig in. Since every good day starts with breakfast…☆

like, as in the ryuuseitai song...

japanese rolled omelettes

he’s using a tamagoyakinabi, which is a square pan used specifically to make these egg rolls

he says kyaraben, which is a bento with food decorated to look like cute characters

thin omelette sliced into thin strips

#ensemble stars #enstars #translation #chiaki morisawa #tori himemiya

[toads-treasures]

Fifteen questions for fifteen mutuals!

(It will probably not be fifteen I am too scared to tag too many people)

I was tagged by @galaxycunt weeks ago, and I finally got around to answering.

Tagging @hereforthehaunts @cactme @plasticdodecagon @iwanttobecomeavoid @mars-colony no pressure tho!

Also, feel free to skip any questions you don’t wanna answer.

1. Are you named after anyone?

My great grandpa Tora. But he went by Tory. He was apparently a grumpy ol sonofabitch according to my dad, but it was also his idea to name me after him so 🤷‍♀️

2. When was the last time you cried?

Prolly like two days ago but I don’t know for sure for sure. I cry all the time. I think this time I was crying in frustration at packing for my last camping trip lol

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, and I don’t know if I want any tbh. It would really cut into my time of being the Weird/Fun Aunt who lets my nieces and nephews stay up too late and helps them dye their hair

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not nearly as much as I did when I was younger. We call that Growth 😌 but sometimes I can’t help myself

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Ha. I am so uncoordinated I don’t play any sports. I played tennis for one year in high school and hated it. I’ve gone rock climbing once and really enjoyed it even though I was scared shitless, so I’d really like to get back into that. I’ve also been kind of wanting to play tennis again just for funsies with my husband and not actually pay attention to any rules or anything and just have fun.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

I think height? Because I’m pretty tall and if someone is taller than I am I definitely notice

7. Eye color?

Hazel is the least pretentious way to describe it. Or green…ish.

8. Scary movie or happy endings?

Why not both? I will say I like things to end happily, because I need to have some semblance of hope in the world lol, but also bittersweet endings will stick with me for the rest of my life.

9. Any special talents?

I am freaky good with names and faces. I will remember people who I had one college class with but never actually personally interacted with them. I can also like, trifold my tongue so it looks like a clover.

10. Where were you born?

Ha nice try fbi. Just kidding, it’s just a small town (like, less than a thousand people) in southern Utah and I highly doubt anyone would know the name or where it was, but if perchance they do, it probably means I know them in real life and I’d rather not risk it.

11. Free space

Ummmmm I love hiking and camping, and I’d love to get into photography and videography to be like a nature photographer, I think that would be cool. But I’m also Very Bad at taking pictures. I always forget to take them, or I frame it really bad or the lighting is really bad, I’ve got a lot to learn with that hobby lol. Also I wish I could just wear my crunchy/granolaey/outfits all the time business casual my absolute beloathed

12. Do you have any pets?

No 😔 I want one, either a cat or a dog, but honestly I have so much anxiety around it because there’s this CREATURE in my HOUSE and it needs me to live! And what if it eats my plants and what if my plants are toxic and what if it chews a hole in the floor or the door and we get kicked out and and and (you get the idea).

13. How tall are you?

5’10” 😎 my husband insists I’m 5’9” but he’s wrong

14. Favorite subject in school?

I’m still recovering from the god complex that being in English class gave me so, we’ll leave it at that.

15. Dream job?

I do not dream of labor, but I have a few ideas of what would be preferable than being a receptionist for the rest of my life lol. I’d like to open an online sticker/print shop and just draw and design cute silly stationary and stickers. I’ve also always dreamed of being an author, but seeing as how I can’t finish any of my wips that will probably remain a dream lol.

#toad rambles #I had to stop myself from rambling a few times with this lol

[black-dhalias]

2000s Barbie movies

So I may, or may not have spent my day yesterday listening to every barbie song, and then proceeded to rank them based on five criteria.

(1) Memorability?

(2) Aesthetic?

(3) Serotonin Boost?

(4) How Likely Am I To Play It Casually?

(5) Nostalgic?

Linked below is the playlist I created based on my ranking...

However, if you are apart of my niche, below there is a complete list + my rationale (will be controversial)

Top Ten

These are the songs that score high in all categories...

Free -- Princess and the Pauper

I Need to Know -- The Island Princess

To Be A Princess -- Princess and the Pauper

How Can I Refuse? -- Princess and the Pauper

12 Dancing Princesses Theme -- 12 Dancing Princesses

Shine -- 12 Dancing Princesses

All For One -- 3 Musketeers

Keep On Dancing -- The Pink Shoes

Unbelievable -- 3 Musketeers

A Girl Like You -- Princess and the Pauper

Still Good, but not God Tier

These are the songs that scored well in most areas, but in one or two areas it just didn't perform as well.

What If I Shine -- Rock N Royals

If You Love Me For Me -- Princess and the Pauper

Right Here In My Arms (reunion) -- The Island Princess

Here I Am (Keira Version) -- Princess and the Popstar

Do The Mermaid -- Mermaid Tale II

Can You Keep A Secret -- A Fairy Secret

On Top of the World -- Princess Charm School

Another Me -- A Fashion Fairytale

Find Yourself in a Song -- Rock N Royals

The Rat Song -- The Island Princess

A Cat's Meow -- Princess and the Pauper

Fashion Fairytale Theme -- A Fashion Fairytale

Rapunzel's Main Theme -- Rapunzel

We're Gonna Find It -- The Diamond Castle

Connected -- The Diamond Castle

You Can Tell She's A Princess -- Princess Charm School

Constant As The Stars Above -- Rapunzel

Shooting Star -- Starlight Adventures

Shooting Star (acoustic) -- Starlight Adventures

When We Have Love -- The Island Princess

A Brand New Shore -- The Island Princess

Two Voices, One Song -- The Diamond Castle

Get Your Sparkle On -- A Fashion Fairytale

Written in Your Heart -- Princess and the Pauper

Fun At First

These are the songs that are good, but after you listen to them a couple times, I started scoring them lower than the first run through.

Jolly Ole St. Nicholas -- A Christmas Carol

Summer Sunshine -- A Mermaid Tale

Finale Mashup -- Rock N Royals

Wings -- Swan Lake

Gotta Get To Camp -- Rock N Royals

Love is for Peasants -- The Island Princess

Only A Breath Away -- Mariposa and the Fairy Princess

Unlock Your Dreams -- Rock N Royals

Hope Has Wings -- Magic of Pegasus

We Rule This School -- Princess Charm School

You're the One -- A Pony Tale

Believe -- The Diamond Castle

Queen of the Waves -- A Mermaid Tale

Soaring -- Princess Power

Look How High We Can Fly -- Princess and the Popstar

A Perfect Christmas -- A Perfect Christmas

Be A Friend -- Mariposa and the Fairy Princess

Wonderful Me -- The Diamond Castle

Okay Songs... Not Good, but okay

You can listen to these every once and while, but in the wrong mood, it just irritates. Not terrible though.

At The Ball -- The Island Princess

Light Up The World -- The Pearl Princess

Mermaid Party -- The Pearl Princess

Always More -- The Island Princess

This Is Me -- Barbie Diaries

Here I Am (tori version) -- Princess and the Popstar

Note to Self -- Barbie Diaries

Strength in Numbers -- Spy Squad

What If I Shine (remix) -- Rock N Royals

Brand New Sound -- Rock N Royals

Girl Most Likely To -- Barbie Diaries

Real Life -- Barbie Diaries

Feels Like Love -- Barbie Diaries

Perfect Day -- Princess and the Popstar

Fate Finds A Way -- Barbie Diaries

Coolest Thing Ever -- Princess Power

Coolest Thing Ever (reprise) -- Princess Power

So Beautiful -- Starlight Adventures

Will Probably Not Listen To

These are the songs that I did skip at least once in both rotations, and will probably continue to skip.

Champions -- Spy Squad

When You're A Princess -- Rock N Royals

Treasure -- Dolphin Magic

The Greatest Days -- Great Puppy Adventure

Live in the Moment -- Puppy Chase

Silver Lining -- Spy Squad

I Wish I Had Her Life -- Princess and the Popstar

Gotta Get To Camp (reprise) -- Rock N Royals

Raise Our Voices -- Rock N Royals

To Be A Princess/To Be A Popstar -- Princess and the Popstar

Here I Am/Princesses Just Wanna Have Fun -- Princess and the Popstar

All We Got -- Spy Squad

Princess and the Popstar Finale -- Princess and the Popstar

Well there it is...hours of work, and commitment, to decide that I still hate princess and the popstar...

#barbie movies #barbie #barbie music #barbie song #magic of pegasus #the island princess #princess and the pauper #12 dancing princesses #the 3 musketeers #princess charm school #mermaidia #a mermaid tale #mariposa #the diamond castle #a fairy secret #a christmas carol #fashion fairytale #rock n royals #magic of the rainbow #barbie as rapunzel #barbie as the island princess #barbie as the princess and the pauper #fairytopia #barbie fairytopia #nutcracker #barbie as nutcracker #the pink shoes #barbie in swan lake #starlight adventures #the pearl princess

[chthonicgodling]

@marscats37 - (in response to this horrific statement I’ve just made🤪)

here’s the thing - everyone in the Elysium palace knows the truth.* to this day no one on Asgard does.

edit after I finished writing this and sat back and looked at what I even said; hi this got way away from me and barely answered your question and turned into an essay about Elysium!Thor. oops! WELL!!!

*actually- I don’t know if Maci knows the specific details? She wasn’t privy to his memories back then and they hated each other up until recently so. hmmm. oh I’ll revisit that thought. Anywayyy

and now I’m putting it behind a cut cause I got lONG AGAIN AAHHHH. cw ofc for child death and abuse mentioned ig and also mentions of past suicide attempts-

So — first of all obviously elysium!Thor does exist if I haven’t made that clear, he’s. there’s no real changes of note except for probably what I’m about to say lmfao so take that information as you will. though he hasn’t been in canon for QUITE some time — do we all know that Thor came with him when Loki ended up in Elysium!? Loki’s Memory Theater had continued all the way from early childhood up through the events of 2011/2012, presented all laid out to Tory, Epi, Thor, and Pasi when Loki had first come, the communal attempt to speedrun-therapy him. Together they all SAW undeniably everything that had happened, including to all the kids. the first half of this was-,, even before the twins were killed,, I mean just such clear insane cruelty that Thor like. first refused to believe it was real?!,

there was a whole nother altercation where Thor approached Loki like this CANNOT actually be things that have happened to you, these gods are planting images in your head, if this was all real I would have noticed I would have stopped it :( to which of course Loki went ballistic like you DIDNT notice and you DIDNT stop it and how dare you accuse my MEMORIES of being lies— Tory found out that this fight had happened when Loki was suddenly moodier than normal and Thor was stomping around outside and Tory was SO FURIOUS at Thor — wait wait I’m scrolling back to 2012 - oooo we get a real quote from the end of this argument, quoth Tory:

“You bring him back, he'll run away again. And next time, he might not end up here. He'd rather die than go back. […] He's already tried to kill himself. Do you want him to die? […] Then you will stay here for him, take his memories as truth, and understand everything that he feels. If you have any objection, get the fuck out of my kingdom.”

hey I love Tory so much. Also worth mentioning that Loki did overhear this entire conversation in the action of moodily eavesdropping of course. one point scored for Elysium wowie

so after being successfully snarled back into his place by Tory who was also on fire by the end of that little chat Thor returned with a slightly more open mind and watched in rising horror as he realized what their father had done to him under his nose. And then Vali and Nari. the death of Vali and Nari was viewed in Memory Theater but cut short - Loki had BEGGED them not to play through it, and when Epi and Tory insisted, since he also refused to talk about it, he’d just shut down. None of them were prepared for how horrible it was, the memory of walking into the scene of death, and it was the only time through all of this sideshow that nightmare god himself Epi shattered the dream in horror, everyone waking back up in hysterics. because of this— and this is crucial — they did not get to SEE Loki finding out how this had happened.

by this point Tory (&co.) had more than proven themselves to Loki. please reread that above paragraph again that Tory had unflinchingly unhesitatingly growled into Thor’s face, when Loki had been living in the palace for like three weeks only. And so Tory & co found out the specific details of how they’d died when Loki, in an actual conversation right after they’d watched ^that, told them.

Loki did not include Thor in that conversation.

After, he was witness to the other bits and pieces surrounding their death, plus what he remembered himself - viewing now the horrifying conversation Loki had with Odin after the fact, to Thor’s own memory of scraping his brother off the throne room floor. Thor’s… a fuckin ditz but he’s not a COMPLETE idiot??? The context clues were very clear that Odin had had.,, somethinG..,, to do with their deaths the way he’d had something to do with everything but Loki had no desire to share the depths of that truth with him. For what purpose???????? especially now??? With every intention of leaving all thoughts of Asgard dead and gone forever, why spur Thor to lay siege upon the whole place on his behalf (this COULD have been the knowledge to do it too.)? Forget it all, Loki’s renounced all parents and birthplaces. There’s no point. Better to keep distance forever in an actual happily ever after. (Plus then he got Vali and Nari back ANYWAY).

so… no, no one really knows, even now - just Thor. A little. Just Thor looking at his father with a touch more disgust, but knowing also that Loki is hidden forever, and defending him could mean exposing him. Odin has.,, experienced no consequences ever for what he’s done. In the eyes of Asgard, the last thing anyone remembers Loki doing was going insane and trying to murder his own family including his own brother and then vanishing only to reappear trying to take over a planet like a wackjob so STILL no one thinks very highly of Loki. He caused endless problems, gave birth to monsters, was moody and dangerous, betrayed everyone he knew, and is now gone forever and hopefully dead. Poor Odin AllFather didn’t deserve the burden of dealing with him. And they all lived happily ever after.

This is how Loki prefers it, though.

Yknow, once the ghosts of the twins were brought to Elysium, Thor and Loki’s Elysium reconciliation did take place - apologies from Thor, Loki’s guard lowering one single time into heaps of tears and clinging in a heap in the hallway, before Loki peeled himself back away from him. Closure, at least. Eventually Thor did leave, around after Fjoer was born, knowing that Loki was in good hands and knowing that Loki was., actually happy?? finally???

Within the context of Current Elysium - Loki considers himself estranged from Thor and has no desire to rekindle a closer relationship, it’s like. First of all he’s fucking annoying to everyone in the palace and to him lmao. Most importantly. but second of all like,, the previous stages of Loki’s life and upbringing and childhood and past were so traumatizing that Thor’s entire existence is?? tangled up in that? like,, it’s Painful, unfortunately, to be with him, as being with him comes with those memories of [GESTURES, SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS]. this… is something that Loki’s sad about if he thinks too hard about it but would never, ever admit. He also would never ever admit that he keeps tabs on where Thor is at all times and has saved every one of the one million letters Thor has sent him, even though hes never once responded. But he keeps them.

The last of his kids Loki allowed Thor to wvwn meet were Eisa and Einmyria - and ONLY because after several years of no contact, he’d ambushed Thor in a panic in one single night to help him get to Fen & Jör and free them to prevent ragnarok. The literal only person he could count on to help him on a QUEST - cause the kids were being born NOW right now!!! and there was no time to waste - and Thor agreed to help him!!! ….in exchange for getting to meet his new nieces pretty please please please please🥺🥺🥺 after that- back to estrangement - lmao I’m pretty sure Libby thinks Loki is an only child 🫣

SO, to answer your question. yes the people Loki is closest to - the residents of the palace - all know the truth. Anyone else - he’s given up on long ago, and his old life is dead and buried to him now. Odin - head high, no regrets, father of the year forever.

PHEW!

#suicide tw / #child death tw / #abuse tw / #ASK TO TAG / #eloki #replies #oc talk #WRITING ABOUT ALL THIS IS SOOOOOOO FUN #GENUINELT IM HAVING SO MUCH FUN THANK U EVERYONE FOR ASKING ME THINGS

[hyuccubus]

15 Tags 15 mutuals

Tagged again by @toribookworm22, which makes me very happy 😊

I don't have a lot of mutuals to tag, though 😶 I'm always looking to change that, I try to follow back, although I have been slacking in searching a little bit.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Funny story abut that, honestly. My father wanted to name me after himself. That would have made my name Teddy, which I would absolutely hate. My mother, whom he was divorcing at the time, hated it as well, and they argued back and forth until my uncle got a book of names from the hospital gift shop and they landed on my previous name, which I still don't have a problem with but is hardly what I'd consider feminine. The surname I use, Allen, is my middle name, which I did inherit from him. I might drop that, too, though, I've been processing a lot of feelings about my dad I couldn't fully come to terms with until he died about two years ago.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Hard? About a week or two ago. Earlier today I teared up during an emotional moment in a Ted Lasso episode. Great show, btw

3. Do you have kids?

Yes, I have one seven year old son. He's a wonderful little guy, and despite my trans-femme identity, I'm proud to be his father for now

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Speaking of having kids, I can say I use it far too much, because he's only just now getting when I'm being sarcastic.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Typically it's their hair or their fashion sense. I have trouble with eye contact, and I like finding something to compliment about someone that was a choice they made, like their nails or their shoes, that sort of thing.

6. What's your eye color?

Very, very blue

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings. I love scary stories and video games, but scary movies rev up my anxiety too much. I think it's the music, honestly, good sound design makes all the difference, and in video games I still feel in control.

8. Any special talents?

I am very, very, very good at Guitar Hero/Rock Band. 99% likely I am better than everyone else you know. Proof

9. Where were you born?

Louisville, Kentucky, where I've also lived in or near for all of my life.

10. What are your hobbies?

Apart from writing, I spend just about all of my time playing video games. I suppose a more specific thread of that is that I really enjoy emulating video games on their native hardware, which has nothing to do with being pretty poor and not being able to afford retro games that are becoming a speculative market, combined with anxieties about the limited lifespan of physical media. I get a lot of enjoyment out of tinkering with my PS3 or Wii U and making it do something the original creators never intended. The ingenuity of the gaming community never ceases to amaze me.

11. Have you any pets?

Yes, one cat named Piers.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

I was pretty much forced in playing soccer for around 11 years or so. I really like tennis and I'd love to get into more extreme sports like BMX or skateboarding, although given that I'm going to be 30 this year, that'll need to be sooner rather than later 😆

13. How tall are you?

5' 7"

14. Favorite subject in school?

Drama, I'd say. I really like the stage, although I've never had the courage to join any kind of production once I left school. Could be fun if I had the opportunity!

15. Dream job?

Writing for video games, maybe for an indie studio. I don't have much faith in any of the big companies right now

I'll tag @daisywords, since my other new follower already got one from Tori 😋