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thekillingjoke-haha · 3 years

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Angel With A Shotgun

Summary: The Novak family was big talk,but not nearly as famous as the L/n’s. Togther they can be unstoppable,so what say family ties like guns,drugs,money,and murder?

Paring: Michael!Dean x Male!Reader

1900's Mafia/Gangsters AU

A/N: this is a Micheal fic,but its him in Dean's body so like...idk its the same snake different skin. Also Chuck is referred as Charles

Warning:Blood,guns,knives,gore,torture,swearing. Homophobic comments like just a few. No proof reading

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The Novak's that a family that was one of the most feared yet respected. The way people talk about them down south you'd think they were inspiration for the Bible itself. A man by Charles or Chuck Novak is the head honcho with five sons to help him run is kingdom.

The youngest is Castiel he was probably the nicest of all his siblings,but also the most protected with three other brothers, Gabriel is the definition of trouble and if he slipped up head could easily get lynched good thing he puts that silver tongue to work. Raphael was one of the more head strong,but sadly he was shot when several rivals attacked at on of their bars. Lucifer is the second oldest and the most hot headed with a temper to match the black sheep in his family if you will, then last,but not least Michael he was something else entirely the play boy,a demon is a flat cap and tailored suit.Now that the Novak's have been introduced the world's most feared gang the L/n's is one family not to be fucked with.

(Father's name) leading his kingdom no...empire with his wife (Mother's name) and togther they had only two sons. The second born William and the oldest M/n. William wasn't much involved with the criminal side of the business,but his big brother was the prime example of a gangster. No one besides the L/n gang has seen him he stays out of newspaper coverage and that only allows his terror to run ramped. A man with no face and a title of Satan himself made the oldest Novak just a little timid when he found out. "WHAT THE HELL!!!" Michael threw the newspaper on his fathers desk in anger the older man looked up after glancing at the paper. "I'm due to be wed to a L/n and none the less a man! I can be hanged for so much as saying I do and it IN THE FUCKING BULLETIN!!!" He was seething with hatred in every word. Michael will admit it hurt a lot finding out he was to be wed by the slight disgust look he got while grabbing the paper before getting coffee. "I wanted to tell you sooner,but you were handling something. There's no way out of this a deal was made before you were born me and (Father's name) have been waiting for his wife to bare a girl or your mother to do the same,but your mother's untimely passing and (Mother's name) having gone unfertial our oldest are due to wed." Chuck sighed taking off his thin wired glasses.

"You two were once friends,but I guess time got rid of those memories." Chuck sat down his spectacles down looking at his son. Michael turned to father with shock evident in his eyes. He was friends with M/n L/n the man with no face. Everything was too foggy. The shorter male stood up to a shelf in the office and grabbed a small match box opening it looking around before pulling out a picture. Handing it over to his son he sat back down. "He was one of the only people you'd go to when you were a baby. Heavens he was probably the only person you liked,but when he was five and you were three the fact that our business was centered around blood and there's on bonds it became a fight,mafia versus a gang, and you guys saw eachother less and less till around the time Luci was born not at all." Chuck sighed. The young man was in shock a little boy maybe two or three was cuddled up to a baby in a pale blanket that he remembered was blue fully awake and if the picture could come to life he's sure the boy was humming all while rubbing the infants back.

"No ones seen a picture of him in twenty six years and he was on his fathers hip with a match box car. He's in town and should be coming for dinner here by himself in three days time. So til then keep your brothers in check we don't need them to shoot the young man with a stray bullet." With that Charles dismissed his eldest son as the green eyed boy stormed off in a huff. Michael started to do digging. M/n L/n was in headlines weekly in every post known to man from shootings,assassination,and gangbanding to rumors of his love-life,what he wears,and people claiming to have met him. One thing caught his eye that made him falter. "Gangsters M/n L/n Captures Murderer" that when he started reading the full paper that crumbled a bit due to age. Maybe he's not so bad the guy he caught never saw a courtroom,but met a far worse end all because he caused problems with his people. It was admirable the brunette knew he'd do the same,but not just for anybody. Marriage wasn't settling well with him that didn't mean it felt completely wrong.

One day later

Looking in the mirror Michael watched as his maid adjusted his tie while another smoothed the wrinking in his white button up and vest of his three piece suit. As the oldest he had business to handle people to keep in line. When their hands left his body they scurried out of the room rushing to be down stairs before him. His dress shoes met the floor as he grew closer to the door his youngest sibling ran up next to him. "Can I come,please!" His raven head of hair and doe blue eyes almost made him cave,but with a firm look he gazed down at him. "Sorry little raven,but I have things to handle another time." The pout on Castiel lip didn't move as he held up his hand his pinky out. "Promise?" Interlocking with the ten year olds pinky. "Promise." With that he happily skipped away to play in the garden.

Out the door he went. His flat came on his head and coat thrown over his shoulder his effects tucked in his waistband. Screams caused him to smile as he stood before the butcher on payroll. He wore the man's leather apron having abandoned his tailored suit jacket in the front of the deil. "Were is my money?" He cut the man some more as he continued to scream in pain the white fire from the rusted meat hook in his shoulder flaring with each jerked motion. "Help please!" He yelled all of a sudden in the past hour he hasn't called for assistance. "No can do." A deep voice said behind the oldest Novak turning around sharply his green eyes clashed with e/c. The man looked like anyone off the street his shoes tattered and clothing dirty form labor no bet. "I came for my five notes." The didn't seem fazed at the torture. "Fuck you gypsy scum!!" The pig of a man responded as the tall s/c man crept closer gripping a knife Michael was using. "I just unloaded a load of meat in the summer heat that would give the devil a sweat and all I asked for my effort was five notes nothing more nor less so cough of the money that you clearly owe both of us or I'll carve it out of you and make you squeal like the piggy bank you are." His tone dropped further the blade under the man's fat chin and the Novak felt aroused at the threat. This guy meant every word when the hanging man spat in his face the off color of snuff and blood made the normally clear liquid seen and thick. Let's just say Michael sat back crossing his legs in a attempt to compose himself as the man hit pitches not even the girls in the church choir could master. The heavy weight man forked over the money then some I got my full and he ended up giving the mystery man a hundred notes if he made the pain stop after pocketing the money he shot the man.

He turned around and began to leave when the brunette stopped him. "Wait! I give you my thanks friend he was stubborn for a hour almost" The h/c man turned looking at him giving a smile tilting his head for the Novak to follow as he stepped out the deli. Scrambling he walked down the street next to the man their attire clashing a well tailored suit next to rags that looked more like a potato sack then cloth. "Glad I could help a fine looking fella like yourself." His flirtatious grin caused butterflies to run ramped in Michael's guts. As they walked down the street they slowly moved from the good side of the town to the slums. No cars drove on the gravel a fire hydrine spat out water for all the children playing around it,women hung up clothes on wire between tenements and men looked more like the mysterious gypsy next to the Novak. Speaking of the mystery man he went to each crowded tenements door and knocked the women or young men of the families came to the door and he handed over twenty notes each. The women cried and clung to his tall figure and the boys almost men looked at him in wonder like a hero before running off to tell the adults of the place. "Why did you do that?" Michael asked as they walked out of the town. "You worked for that money and gave it all away." He was confused he's never seen a man work for a family that wasn't his own.

"They need it more. Schools out the children don't get meals and the men work hard to feed them at least a meal a day. I'm alone here no lover or children with the energy and muscle to work." Novak wasn't sure before,but he was sure now this was love and it felt better then any harlot he could spend the night with. "Thats very admirable of you." Michael complmented which was not a normal accuracy. "It was truly nothing to admire,handsome. I'm not saying I'm amazing,but sometimes I'm decently above average. That's what people need someone decent enough go care."

Before he knew it they were back on his side of town and getting closer to the business. "It's been a pleasure,Mr. Novak." The man dripped his head as he turned to leave somewhere. "You know who I am and I don't even get a name." He turned back around and got closer to him his chest pushed up against his till he was pinned to the wall he leaned down his lips so close to his face just out of reach. "I'm N/n,but you can call me the man of your dreams." Michael almost leaned up to peak his lips when the warm body pulled away taking with it the lust filled tension. N/n turned and left out of sight that night was full of the man tossing and turning dreaming of the e/c man that made him feel high as the clouds above. N/n smiled as his men drank around him he finally saw his baby boy all grown up and he's taking what's his this time.

Two days later=Six Hours Before Family Dinner

The buzz of the New Yorker coming to Kansas was the rage. Any man that was new in town was watched like a hawk by commoners and the Novak's. Michael was no longer looking forward to this marriage he didn't want this man no matter who he was. N/n stole his heart like a petty thief and ran away from him. No one in Kansas knew who he was a s/c skinned,h/c haired,e/c eyed gypsy was all he had to go on no last name just a image that burned bright in his mind. Michael sighed as he left his office and went down to the bank he needed enough cash on hand to throw away on booze and maybe angel dust. People parted for him like the red sea and he easily got money when gun shots went off. The teller in front of him fell to the ground wounds ridding his body and Novak turned to see men...no boys with guns.

"Everyone get down on the ground. We've come only for the money we won't hesitate for blood as well." The group chuckled as the leader smirked people shook as they easied to the ground all except Michael who stood tall. "Ah! If it isn't Michael Novak no men to protect you now." A man he didn't realize came behind him hit him over the head with his gun causing him to fall to his knees. "Pathetic." The band of thugs leader grabbed the Mafia bosses chin looking and the blood coming from his brow. Someone stood from on their knees a flat cap covering their hair and a long trench coat that was only slightly open. "It would be in your best interest to leave,boys." They all train their guns at the man. "Why's that,you motherless bastered?" The man turned his gaze upward deadly sharp e/c orbs looked at him and Michael was in shock it was N/n. "Cause I have twelve guns ready to blow holes in you and your men." After his words ten men stood up all wearing the same clothing flat caps,overcoats,and suspenders with a Tommy on every man except the leader. The cowardly man looked frightened looking around keeping his gun on the s/c man. "I only count ten I still have the upper hand." N/n gave a devilish smile that made Michelle gaze on love struck and excited for what's to come. His gray trench coat hit the floor and two sawed-off shotguns in each hand. "Upper hand you say?" He pulled both triggers the left one killing the man sending himself flying back and the right killing the man behind Michael blowing his brains painting the tan walls this made the others fire as well. The bodies of the criminals and one civilian litter the floor.

N/n sent the men off to get the people out as he walked up to the bleeding Novak. "Thank you." His green eyes gleamed making the standing man give a grin as he held his hand out to help him up. "Consider it a gift from M/n L/n." The gleam disappeared from his eyes his soon to be husband was in town has been in town and set his men up to keep him safe. "Now if I'm not mistaken you have a dinner to get ready for,pretty boy." He takes the handkerchief out of his waist coat dabbing the blood away. "Will you be there?" Michael voice sounded weak so full of hope. "You can count on it. We'll be seeing eachother alot more." The man stood up and quickly left and not a moment later Mafia men came in running tending to the boss. Looking longingly at the piece of cloth (Your Initials) were sowed into the reddend white square of fabric.

Family Dinner was about to start the Novak's sat at the table Charles sitting at the end his three eldest sons to his right while his youngest sat to the left two spots were available one across from Michael and the other on the opposite end of Charles. A maid came in the dinning hall and cleared her throat. "The L/n's are here." Two young men came through the door one taller then the other the shorter of the two sat across from Michael while the other sat at the other end of the table closest to Michael and the other man. Charles smiled at them both and Michael was in a state of shock. "M/n been a long while hasn't it?" The oldest Novak looked at the man infront of him waiting for a response when the man he thought to be just a gangster working under the L/n's answered. "That it has Chuck. Sorry father couldn't come he had some other business to handle." N/n or M/n now to Michael's knowledge said before placing a hand on the man beside him. "This is Benjamin or Benny my right hand man don't mind him." The man gave a nod of acknowledgment his blue eyes piercing. "Heard about the blood bath at the bank quite impressive from what Michael has told me." A side smile and a teasing look was turned the mentioned Novak's way. "Saw low life scum trying to rob the place and touching what's mine,their little toys they call guns were child's play compared to my men." M/n sent a wink addressing the men hitting Michael from behind.

"Are you a knight that saves people?" The youngest asked his blue eyes wide in wonder. The s/c males eyes turned to the child a warm smile gracing his lips. "Sometimes when I want to be." A bubbly giggle rang out. "You saved Mikey making him your prince." Those words caused different reactions from all the men. Gabe covered his mouth trying not to laugh at his older brother,Lucifer grinned leaning over to his brother. "Did he have to kiss you sleeping beauty?" He chuckled lowly making kissing noises in his ear,Micheal was beet red as he couldn't bear to face any of them,Chuck smiled looking at his son and son-in-law,Benny nudged his boss sliding something to him while everyone was distracted. "Yeah and I'm gonna make him my king and take him to my castle." M/n leaned towards the boy and whispered in his ear. "We'll ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after." Castiel was gobsmacked as he gazed at his brother all giddy he was gonna live a fairy tale like in all the books their mother use to read. "Um if you'll excess me. I need some air." Micheal stood up and not long after M/n followed when given a reassuring nod from Charles.

The garden of the estate was beautiful in the moonlight and it wasn't hard to spot the oldest Novak on a bench on looking the pond that reflected the night sky. "You knew the whole time who I was." Micheal didn't look up at the man as he sighed. "Yes I knew who you were...we were once closer then the stars and the skies itself." The L/n sat next to him on the bench looking forward. "Chuck knew as well." Michelle turned in shock at that statement a goose chase for nothing. "He didn't know what I looked like now,but letters everyday asking about you seemed to do the trick." Those e/c eyes turned to look into those apple green ones. "Learning from a young age that in you grasp was the person you were due to wed was shocking I almost hated you,but the moment you grabbed my finger as if I'd slip away made me realize it can't be so bad." M/n held out his hand palm up so the younger male rested his hand in his grasp. "I was afraid at first you'd hate me. So I swore to protect you always. Some of my men live here with their families and they keep me posted. Just last year a rat was found on you door step admitting his faults."

Micheal remembered that the maids came rushing to get the family and a man bloody and beaten spilled his guts about planning to cross the family having been hired by a rival Mafia to get information to attack them at a weak state. "I know this won't mean munch to you know,but maybe at some point you'll be happy to carry my last name and call yourself my husband." In M/n hand that wasn't interlocked with Micheal's he opened a box revealing two wedding bands both were silver while one had a gold trim and the other had a f/c trim. "No matter what,Novak,I'll be there when yiu need me through it all most of the times guns blazing." M/n chuckled lightly taking in a deep breath. "Just ponder on it,pretty boy,I'llbe here waiting." as he slipped the ring on the silent man's finger before doing the same with himself he gently kissed the top of his head as he stood up and left wanting to give him space. Micheal smiled at the ring that perfectly fit his finger. The one man he felt attracted to was his guardian angel always there no matter what.

Lifting his hand up he kissed the metal band as a laugh left his lips. "My angel with a shotgun."

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A/n: Second Male reader and I had to spell check for almost 50 she/her in her so I think I got them all lol.

@spnquotebingo

Quote: "I'm not saying I'm amazing,but I'm decently above average."-Blacklist @spnquotebingo

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esperantoauthor · 3 years

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Senior year Klaine!!! Applying for colleges! (Or you could just put some headcanons of how that year would go).

Hi Jas! This ask is literally 7 months old but I have every confidence that you still remember sending it because that is kind of your thing. I finally got inspired to pick back up the scene I had written and finish this off. It was a joy to write in this universe again for a little bit; thank you for sending this in when I invited people to send in prompts for scenes from the Express Yourself Verse. Without further ado...

Title: Applying to College [bonus content for the Express Yourself Universe] Author: Esperanto Length: 1,404 words 📚 Read it on Ao3 or below 📚

“You and Kurt talk much about college?” Burt asked conversationally as he handed Blaine a tire iron.

Blaine grasped the handle of the tool. “Some. I, uh, uh, I —don’t want to influ—to effect his de-de-decision so I haven’t shared my list yet.”

“Oh.”

Mr. Hummel looked disappointed. This confused Blaine, whose own parents had given him stern lectures about not throwing away his dreams for some high school boyfriend who, statistically, wasn’t going to be his forever partner anyways. Yes, his father had research to back up his point, as always.

“It’s irresponsible to choose a college based on where your boyfriend is going,” his father had lectured him.

“But he’s the love of-of-of my life,” Blaine had countered.

“Then your relationship will be strong enough to survive a little separation.”

His mother, always with the softer touch, had added, “You are just so young, sweetie, that’s all. You don’t want to limit yourself. It’s the responsible choice.”

They had worn him down in the end. He didn’t always agree with his parents but he knew they had his best interests at heart and as much as he was loath to admit it, he was young. There was a lot he didn’t know about life. College was a big deal and he didn’t want to screw it up by making an irresponsible decision.

But now, it seemed that following his parents’ advice meant disappointing Mr. Hummel. Blaine felt like he couldn’t win.

“So, how many colleges are you applying to?”

“I’ve got, uh, five applications —submitted but I’m not d-done yet.”

Blaine hoped his answer was good enough for Mr. Hummel. What if Kurt has applied to way more? Do I seem behind? I haven’t missed any deadlines.

“Is that, uh, a lot to apply to or… what’s the usual number?” Kurt’s usually confident father looked at Blaine with uncertainty in his eyes.

“Oh, I mean it, uh, it depends but I think like —five to eight is good.”

Burt fell into a plastic lawn chair and made a frustrated grunt. “I knew it!”

“Uh, you kn-knew what?”

“That Kurt doesn’t know any more about this than I do. I thought they had guidance—that’s what they’re called, right?— counselors at that school of yours. Aren’t they supposed to tell him this kind of stuff?”

“Um, they-they-they do, b-but no one has to talk to them. I...what do you m-mean he doesn’t know any more than, uh, y-you do?” Blaine asked, feeling deeply confused. Mr. Hummel was an adult, of course he knew more than them.

“Never went.”

“I...I ne-never realized. Not-not-not that it m-matters, of course!” Blaine felt his cheeks start to flush with embarrassment. Way to assume, Blaine!

“Got a job right out of high school, did the certification course at the junior college, and then I got real lucky that my boss decided to retire and wanted to pass on the business to someone he trusted. Can you do me a favor, kiddo?”

“Of course,” Blaine replied earnestly.

“Talk to Kurt about all this college stuff. He needs your help.”

“Um, o-okay.”

“Good.”

—

Blaine wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic without being heavy-handed but an opportunity presented itself to him just a few days later.

Kurt and Rachel strode into the cafeteria with their arms linked and matching smirks of self-satisfacts plastered across their faces; it was times like these that Blaine thought they could be siblings.

Blaine leaned in to accept the cheek kiss Kurt offered and then raised an expectant eyebrow, knowing that neither Kurt nor Rachel needed much prompting to spill when they were this excited.

Tina was not as patient. “Well?”

Kurt and Rachel turned to face one another before saying in unison, “We found our college!”

“It’s called NYADA,” Kurt added, face glowing with excitement. He pressed a colorful brochure into Blaine’s hands. “Please tell me you’ll apply too, Blaine!”

“Oh, I, uh… l-let me take a… look but, I mean, I p-p-p-probably, sure.” Blaine felt a bit flustered at being asked such a big question on the spot. Kurt’s gaze softened, clearly realizing what was happening and he gave Blaine’s thigh a comforting squeeze under the table.

“The deadline isn’t for another six weeks, so there’s plenty of time. Here, you hang on to this; I have more copies.”

That night, Blaine dutifully read through the brochure and researched the school online. His boyfriend, as always, had impeccable taste; it was clearly a top notch performing arts college. But the more he read, the more worried he became

He needed to talk to Kurt.

—

“Kurt, can we, um, um, well, can we talk about… about NYADA?”

“Sure! Did you read the flyer? Isn’t it just perfection?” Kurt clapped his hands against his thighs and bit his lip in excitement. Blaine swallowed thickly, thinking about how to do this without completely taking the wind out of Kurt’s sails.

“—Totally. The list of-of-of famous alumni alone was enough to, uh, convince me. Kurt, I would—I would love to go there.”

Kurt threw his arms around Blaine’s neck and kissed his cheek. “We’re going to New York! This is going to be perfect!”

“I, uh, I hhhope so. But Kurt… did you see that-that-that they only, uh, only accept 20 st-st-st-students a year? I… I think it would be a good… a good idea to have a backup, uh, plan.”

“You don’t think I’m good enough?” Kurt sounded hurt.

Blaine quickly leaned forward, gathering Kurt’s hands in his and drawing his gaze.

“No, no, sweetie, no, of-of course I do. But… e-e-everyone gets rejected from a-a-a-at least one or-or t-two colleges, Kurt. My…my father went to Harvard Law but even he didn’t get in everywhere.”

Kurt’s nose wrinkled in concern. “He didn’t?”

“He didn’t,” Blaine confirmed. "He was re-re-re—he didn’t get in to-to Colum-Columbia. And he got a-a-a-a-a perfect score on the SAT. He’s the one who —told me how important it is to-to-to apply to several schools, including a few ssssafety choices.”

Kurt sat back in stunned silence. “I thought the hard part was choosing the school… I had no idea. How many schools have you applied to so far, Blaine?” Panic was starting to creep into Kurt’s voice.

“Um, five so far.”

“So far?” Kurt’s voice cracked on the second word and he ran his fingers through his hard, something he only did when he was highly stressed. Blaine felt a sympathetic pang in his chest. “Well, which ones? Is it too late for me to apply to them too?”

“N-no, I don’t—I don’t th-th-think the deadline has-has-has —passed for any of them yet. I, um, let me think. I… applied to CUNY, NYU, Cornell, Northwestern, and-and-and Ohio State.”

“You want to go to Ohio State?” Kurt looked mildly scandalized.

“N-n-no.”

“Then why did you apply?” Kurt asked in befuddlement.

“It’s a-a-a…it’s —called a safety, um, school. It’s just in—just in c-c-c-case I don’t, I don’t get in anywhere, um, else. I’d r-r-rather go there than-than n-nowhere, you know? —Besides, my father said you-you-you-you can al-al-al-al-always transfer after a year.”

“Oh. Well, I guess there’s no harm in that.”

Well, that could have gone a lot worse. Blaine let out a contented sigh. He had managed to talk to Kurt about this delicate topic without embarrassing him.

“I, um, I-I-I can help you with the, uh, uh, um, the, uh, the research if you want.”

“That would be amazing, actually. I’m suddenly feeling very overwhelmed by this whole thing.”

“Happy to help. It is our fu-fu-future, after all. That’s always worth p-p-p-putting in a bit of work for.”

Kurt’s worried expression melted into a fond smile.

“Th-th-th-there’s this one program, actually—“

Suddenly, Blaine was flat on his back, looking up into Kurt’s mischievous eyes.

“Tomorrow, Blaine. We can start tomorrow. Tonight, I have other plans.”

Kurt didn't have to tell him twice.

#this takes place between the last chapter of love yourself and the epilogue #love yourself #gorgxoxus #asked and answered #also I heard your birthday is coming up so HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY #love yourself extras #my fic #esperanto writes #This is me trying to write something short #also I read through this maybe twice so hopefully there aren't any glaring errors #should I post this on ao3?#express yourself extras #express yourself #express yourself extra scene

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starf · 3 years

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StarF’s Top Ten Albums of 2020

Another year, another list. Let’s not even bother with the preamble this time around, you get what it is.

10. I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - RAZZMATAZZ

Let me tell you right now, I struggled with this tenth spot. There were about four albums that were pretty much tied once I narrowed it down this far because it was a jam-packed year. Ultimately though I had to give it to iDKHOW for their smooth brand of piano rock-pop. This is their debut album and it brought the heat. While it didn't dazzle me immediately, with every subsequent listen I feel a little more of that promised razzmatazz from the title. I also absolutely love the ballad "Nobody Likes The Opening Band," which will certainly be a fun song to hear them perform some day whether they're the opener or not.

9. The Front Bottoms - In Sickness & In Flames

The last offering from The Front Bottoms, Going Gray, left me feeling a little lukewarm. In Sickness & In Flames, however, is a much stronger return to form for the band in my opinion. Some people say all of The Front Bottoms' albums sound the same, and maybe that's a little bit true. But maybe 2020 is the year that we needed to hear some new Front Bottoms material. It was a strange time for all of us, and in these times this kind of album just hits different. From the optimistic opening of "everyone blooms" to the infectious singalong moments of "Fairbanks, Alaska," this album is a good time all around.

8. The Used - Heartwork

Did you know The Used is still around? Not only still around, but apaprently they never went away! When I saw that they had released a new album early in the year I assumed it was a comeback, but I was wrong! For me there was a 12 year gap since I had personally listened to a new Used album, and this one blew me away in a big way. They're still going big, going hard, and rocking their signature sound - but updated for the modern age. This is a band that has managed to hold on to their roots while successfully adapting and progressing into the future.

7. Oliver Tree - Ugly Is Beautiful

Where do you even start with an artist like Oliver Tree? An absolute master of internet marketing, the release of this album was a tortured and dragged out experience, like a person chasing a 20 dollar bill on a string and having it constantly pulled away over and over again. By the time it came out it was a little disheartening that an entire half of the album had already been released via single, but overall it is undeniably a powerhouse of a pop album and a strong showing from Oliver Tree. A strange character, but an impossibly catchy album with earworm after earworm.

6. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - All Borders Are Porous To Cats

I pretty much always enjoy any offering from this band, but to varying degrees. Their last few albums have certainly been good to my ears, but for whatever reason just didn't resonate enough with me to earn a spot in my top ten. This album is clearly different though, and keeps me enthralled the entire way. With their unique brand of punk-jazz-cabaret, All Borders Are Porous To Cats tells the story of one Mr. Cat In The Hat, and it's a wild ride that you're going to want to hear.

5. Run The Jewels - RTJ4

One of the most biting and necessary releases of the year, RTJ4 dropped right when we needed to hear it most, and for free no less. It's my personal opinion that Run The Jewels continue to get better with every release they put out, and their fourth showing is easily my favorite so far. El-P and Killer Mike come through with some of their sharpest bars and heaviest beats yet. It's just a shame that for how much history repeats we as society still haven't learned some of the lessons that an album like this continues to attempt to teach us.

4. Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide

Spirit World Field Guide is not a typical Aesop Rock album, but then again what is? Back in 2016 I fell in love with the album The Impossible Kid, an accessible (by Aes standards) album that hooked me in immediately. Spirit World is a different beast that took me off guard the first time I heard it, and left me a little bit lost - but that almost seems to be the intent. An absolute monster of an album coming in at 21 tracks and over an hour, this thing wasn't necessarily meant to be ingested all at once, or even in the order presented. The more I revisit it the more I put the pieces together and enjoy it more and more.

3. Poppy - I Disagree

Let's take a journey all the way back to January before the world entirely fell apart. I discovered Poppy for the first time through this album and was quickly intrigued. Going back through her older music, and then her YouTube, and slowly unraveling the mystery that is Poppy was perhaps some of the most fun I've had experiencing an artist's work in years - all topped off with seeing her perform live that month, the last large live music show I've been to. I Disagree is an eclectic blend of pop, metal, and strange curiosity. It starts off right away with the oddball banger Concrete and promises to weed out those who aren't prepared to take the mental trip through this album right away. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.

2. Jeff Rosenstock - N O D R E A M

Well here we are! The number one spot! You guessed it, it's Jeff Rose- what? This isn't number one? Well that can't be right, hold on. Nope, I guess that's correct. The new Jeff Rosenstock album, N O D R E A M comes in at number two this year, a fact that will probably shock and confuse anyone who knows me. This is the proof that Jeff doesn't automatically get my number one spot if he releases an album, but with all of that out of the way, let's talk about the album.

In a Post-Post- world we see Jeff returning to a more traditional take on putting together an album, rather than simply rushing through it to get the feelings out of his head (both perfectly valid approaches). N O D R E A M continues to explore themes of being lost and confused in such a soul-crushing and increasingly overwhelming world - all while attempting to find the silver linings and be optimistic about where we're headed. Whether it's the world at large or a personal journey, this album is an anthem to a year that saw most people holding their head in their hands and saying "please, just, let's all get through this, okay?"

1. Will Wood - The Normal Album

Wow. Just wow. Okay, where to begin? I was listening to a random Spotify radio when it started playing a song by Will Wood & The Tapeworms called "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!" Intrigued by the style of the song, as well as the title, I clicked through and listened to their most recent album which was 2016's "Self-Ish." I thought it was really good! I enjoyed it a lot and continued to listen to it for about a week. At that point when I started digging further into the band I learned that there was actually an even newer album entitled The Normal Album, categorized on Spotify under just Will Wood, which is why I hadn't previously found it.

I enjoyed Self-Ish, but hearing The Normal Album took it to an entirely new album and blew me away in a way that I haven't experienced in years. This wasn't just a great album, this was one of those musical discoveries where you think "oh wow, this is something I can't live without going forward." Will Wood is exactly what I needed in the back half of 2020 to keep my sanity, and even now I still listen to this album usually at least once a day. It's perfectly crafted in every sense of the world. Not a single second is wasted or out of place. The technical skill is in full display without muddling the pure enjoyment of the melodies or taking away from the overall vibe of the songs. The writing is some of the sharpest and dense I've ever seen, without being undecipherable or inaccessible. This is an album that truly does it all.

The feeling I have when I listen to this album and attempt to get people to listen to it is identical to how I felt about Jeff Rosenstock in the late 2000's, back before he had sort of blown up. Will Wood certainly has a following, but his music is definitely niche at the moment and somewhat obscure. Much in the same way that eventually people listened to me about Jeff, I hope they will find out about Will. Everyone should hear this album. It's breath-takingly perfect.

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snusbandxknifewife · 3 years

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Not me seeing this post:

And starting an entirely new Jurdan AU based on it lmao. Rated E for “Excessive Mentioning Of Sex Toys”

~~~

Dun dun.

Jude looks up as the front door of her father’s business, Lawn & Order, opens. The bell, added by her eldest sister in an effort to annoy their father, has been going off all day. Work is piling up on the receptionist desk and she curses to herself, knowing that more paperwork means less time outside.

A USPS delivery man walks in, hauling a hand truck nearly overflowing with boxes. Sweat drips down his face, pooling at his collar as Jude decides that maybe a little time in the AC isn’t too bad on a day as hot as this one.

“Sign here,” the obviously exhausted man says as he turns a clipboard towards her.

Funny, Madoc didn’t tell her they’d be getting a delivery today.

Still, she shrugs and absentmindedly signs the clipboard as the man unloads the hand truck with a dramatic groan. She should get up and help him, and, on any other day, she probably would. But today is for licking wounds and pouting.

The clock ticks quietly as Jude considers how she has to file papers and phone customers and clean the shop, just to go home for family dinner where her sister will undoubtedly be moaning about her cheating ass of an ex.

Not sure why she’s surprised, considering he cheated on JUDE with HER.

Taryn and Locke had been a thing officially for only three months, but they’d been sleeping together behind Jude’s back for much longer than that. The very idea makes her skin crawl and she would much rather spend her valuable time cutting someone’s lawn with nail clippers instead of playing nice with her poor heartbroken witch of a twin.

“Have a good one!” Jude clocks back into reality as the USPS man walks out the door, taking his hand truck with him and leaving her to the quiet of the AC unit and the court room tv playing in the corner.

Sighing, she gets up from her leather stool and walks around the counter to pick up the boxes. They look innocent enough, simple white USPS priority mail boxes that she expects to contain samples of seeds or maybe replacement weed whacking string trimmers. She could use some of those, the weed whacker she takes in her truck hasn’t been working as well as usual and Mrs. Mitsgunmins is kind of an asshole about precision.

She lets out a groan as she picks up the top two. The boxes are a lot heavier than she thought they’d be. Puzzled, she sets the two boxes on the counter, leaving behind the other two as she goes on a hunt for some scissors. Making it almost to her father’s office, she cusses audibly as she remembers the hunting knife she keeps in her boot.

It’s been a long fucking day.

Jude hums along to a commercial as she walks back to the counter, pulling out her knife along the way and slicing the tape of the top box. With a whistle, she opens the box and frowns at finding a bunch of little cardboard boxes stuffed inside. What the hell did Madoc order?

Her whistling stops in horror as she picks up one of the packages and spins it around, only to find bold neon print plastered along the front: XXX RECHARGEABLE NIPPLE CLAMPS

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Jude screeches at the top of her lungs as she drops the box and jumps back. Why the hell does her father need some hundred-or-so sets of rechargeable nipple clamps? Why do nipple clamps even need to be charged in the first place?

Taking a moment to steel herself, Jude moves towards the second box—staying as far away from the nipple clamps as possible—and reads the label for an explanation.

Ohhhh, these are for next door. The delivery man must’ve mixed up the addresses.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she pushes the nipple clamps back into their box and closes the lid, checking the other labels and seeing that all four boxes are meant for next door and thanking her lucky stars that Madoc didn’t suddenly decide to get his kink on.

Looking out across the driveway to the innocuous white building beside Lawn & Order, she rolls her eyes. The Sinful Serpent—complete with its shimmering golden apple sign—has been the bane of her father’s existence since it opened a year ago. Every day she has to hear about how he hates sharing space with some gross sex shop. While adult stores aren’t really Jude’s thing, she hasn’t cared too much because she hasn’t had to interact with the store or owner.

Until, she supposes, today.

She stacks the boxes back up and picks them all up with a grunt, thankful for the workout routine that her work provides as she curses the delivery man for taking his hand truck with him.

Only one car is in the parking lot of the sex shop and she celebrates the fact that nobody will see her going into the store. The last thing she needs is people recognizing her workplace on her shirt and bothering her or her dad. It’s already bad enough listening to old men ogle her when she goes to do landscaping work.

The front door is hooked up to an electronic bell that sounds like the twinkle of magic. As she pushes her way into the Sinful Serpent, she lets out a sound of surprise. Whatever she expected a sex shop to look like, this certainly isn’t it.

The entire store is decorated to look like a forest at twilight, with displays cut into bookshelves that look like giant trees and murals depicting faeries dancing through delicate nature landscapes wrapping around the walls. The lighting is low, except for where spotlights illuminate the wares. Over along one wall, by where the lingerie and exotic dancing costumes are, is a stage with a pole, the whole area bathed in blue light and covered in decor like coral. Between the entrance and exit door, the area for the registers resembles a castle.

“Give me a moment,” a voice calls out from within the castle. “I’ve got to check your ID.”

Jude panics, the very suggestion that she might be a customer in a store like this sending her brain into red alert. “I’m not here to shop!”

“The hell you here for then? Last I checked we didn’t have a gloryhole.”

She all but screams, short circuiting at being faced with a worse option than shopping at a store like this. As she tries to think of what to say, a young man pops up from behind the counter and surveys her, his kohl-lined eyes narrowed as he tries to figure out what her deal is.

He’s dressed in all black, his button up shirt undone halfway down his chest, exposing edges of tattoos that she doesn’t study enough to identify. His bottom lip and septum are pierced, as are his ears—which appear to have been elfed, because they end in sharp points. When he crosses his arms in front of his chest, his fingers are covered in glittering rings.

And he’s grinning at her.

“I uh, um,” she shakes her head, and then remembers the heavy boxes she’s hauled all the way over. “I work next door and, uh, the mailman,” she trails off again, her cheeks flaming as she lowers her voice and mutters, “I think he mixed up our addresses.”

His smile widens and his eyes look dangerous as he tilts his head. “And why would you think that?”

She glares at him and he chuckles lowly.

“We didn’t order these.”

“Can you be sure?” He asks, raising one painted nail to tap thoughtfully against his chin. “A landscaping company and adult entertainment store must have some overlap. Ropes and chains come to mind.”

“We don’t need rechargeable nipple clamps!”

“Everybody needs rechargeable nipple clamps,” he counters, his smirk replaced by reverent intensity.

She lets out a frustrated noise and slams the boxes on the counter, her back cracking in protest. “I don’t!”

“Woah! Stow the seriosity, Sunshine,” he lifts his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just playing with you.”

Grinding her teeth and digging her nails into her palms, she does her very best to keep from choking him out as he leans across the counter, his falling shirt collar exposing a necklace with a snake pendant hanging at his sternum.

She goes to spin on her heel and leave, but stops when a door—hidden behind a painting of a faun and nymph doing unspeakable things—opens, revealing a pretty young woman with blue hair pulled up into a messy bun.

“Cardan I can’t find the damn nipple clamps. I thought they were supposed to be delivered today?”

“Don’t worry, Nic,” the young man calls back with a smile. “Sunshine here brought them over.”

Jude, bristling at the title, misses how the woman momentarily blanches when she lays eyes on her. Quickly recovering and putting on a stony face, she walks over to the castle counter and inspects the opened box.

“You look familiar,” she observes and Jude zeroes in on her carefully cool tone. “Don’t you work at that coffee shop downtown? Bean There, Done That?”

“You’re thinking of my twin, Taryn.” Jude bites her tongue, doing her beat to avoid sounding annoyed at being confused with that backstabbing little—

“Sunshine here is our neighbor, Nicasia,” Cardan cheerfully announces. “She got our order and was kind enough to haul it over.”

“My name is Jude,” she grumbles.

He ignores her, leaning in conspiratorially and stage whispering in Nicasia’s ear. “She has insisted that she doesn’t need rechargeable nipple clamps, so surely they must belong to us.”

“Everyone needs rechargeable nipple clamps,” Nicasia whispers back.

“That’s what I said!”

Jude, rooted in place from the pure horror of listening to this conversation, watches as Cardan picks up a pair of scissors and opens a second box; pulling out a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs and grinning when he notices her watching him. Nicasia raises a perfectly groomed brow at the situation before grabbing the box of nipple clamps and heading to restock the shelves.

Once again, he leans forward, fingers spinning the handcuffs around as he smirks at her. “Now that the packages are handled, what can I do you for?”

Jude frowns, sure that he misspoke. It’s then that her phone goes off and she celebrates any excuse to get the fuck out.

Emergency situation at Dr. Wullworth’s. Need you to take over cutting at the Collethes. -Madoc

“I’m good, I’ve got a lawn to trim,” she says, turning off her phone and tucking it back into her pocket.

“Awe, Sunshine, you ain’t gotta clean up for me.”

She tilts her head in confusion before shrugging and turning to leave.

“Gotta go out the other door, Sunshine,” he sighs, almost like he’s disappointed. Weird.

Jude still tries the door, but it won’t open from this side, so she grabs ahold of her pride and walks around the castle counter, moving as quickly as she can and keeping her head down to avoid getting any further education.

“Bye,” she waves her hand awkwardly as she hits the exit door.

“Bye, Sunshine.”

~~~~~

Mostly setup for the AU. Yes all the last names are keysmashes. Yes I did go on early 2 bed’s website and choose random buttons until I found a sex toy that seemed a little odd. (The nipple clamps are rechargeable because they vibrate.) Big thanks to the discord server for helping me with ideas!

Tag list: @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @hizqueen4life @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @thewickedkings @aelin-queen-of-terrasen @cheekycheekycheeks @queen-of-glass @b00kworm @doingmyrainbow @andromeddea @jurdanhell @thesirenwashere @illyrianwitchling @courtofjurdan @clockworkgraystairs @st00pid231 @booksandlewks @fateandluminary

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

#jurdan #Jude Duarte #cardan greenbriar #tfota #tfota fanfic #sex shop/landscaping au #tyrannosaurus lex writes #literally just crack

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lakesandquarries · 4 years

Text

Jump the Fence Part One: Something Out Of Nothing

chapter one: started with a big bang

summary: Post Black Mesa, things get weird. Well, weirder. The Science Team is back, but it's not just them, and Gordon has to learn how to readjust.

notes: series title from “jump the fence” by mother mother, chapter and fic title from “infinitesimal” by mother mother. this is part one of a four part fic and should be about 3 chapters. maybe.

AO3 Link

Gordon wakes up on his couch, face pressed against the cushions. He’s sore in places he didn’t know existed and exhausted in a way that goes past physical, but mainly he’s confused. For a moment he just lies there, staring at the dark brown fabric of his couch, appreciating the fact that he’s alive. It’s only when he tries to sit up that he realizes things are off.

His hand is missing, replaced by a prosthetic. An admittedly cool looking one, sleek and orange, but - that wasn’t supposed to be real. It was all just a game - or a dream? His VR stuff is nowhere to be seen, and he did essentially just wake up. So why the fuck is he missing a hand now?

A sharp buzz interrupts his thoughts. His phone is on the coffee table next to him, ringing loudly. Gordon lets out a goran, rolling over to grab at it as it screams at him. The caller ID just says “Unknown.” Never a good sign.

“Fuck it,” he says out loud, and answers the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, Gordon!” A familiar voice says, and for a second Gordon thinks he might cry.

“Dr. - Dr. Coomer? Is that you?”

“Indeed it is!” Coomer responds.

“Holy shit,” Gordon says. “Holy shit.”

“I completely agree,” Coomer says, and in the background Gordon can hear other muffled voices.

“Is - is that Bubby?”

“Yes! Tommy is here as well, along with Sunkist!”

“Can you put me on speaker?”

There’s silence, followed by a very muffled conversation where Gordon can just make out Tommy’s voice.

“Mr. Freeman?”

“Tommy!”

“I’m here too, you know,” Bubby cuts in, and there’s a bark in the background.

“It’s so good to hear you guys,” Gordon says, and he means it. He’s smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt.

“I’m very glad to hear you as well, Gordon. However there’s a few things I must ask you! First of all, where are you right now?” Dr. Coomer asks.

“Uh, my apartment. Why?”

“Do you have a car?” Bubby asks.

“Yeah.”

“We may need some assistance,” Dr. Coomer continues. “For you see, we are all still in Black Mesa!”

“What’s left of it, at least,” Bubby grumbles.

“What do you mean?” Gordon asks, running his hand through his hair. Oh, that feels weird with the prosthetic.

“It’s real fucked up,” Bubby says, which explains absolutely nothing.

“It looks like it got hit by the Tri-State Tornado of 1925,” Tommy says, which also explains nothing.

“The most "extreme" tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado , which spread through parts of Missouri , Illinois , and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It is considered an F5 on the Fujita Scale , even though -”

“Cool, got it, thank you Dr. Coomer.” God, he missed them. Granted, he’s only been apart from them for like ten minutes, but that was ten minutes where he thought he would never see them again. “Right, okay, do you guys need me to come get you?” Oh, fuck, are they gonna need somewhere to stay?” With the initial excitement of hearing his friends fading, Gordon is starting to realize the actual logistics of this. Three entire people have apparently sprung into existence in a place that doesn’t exist. Plus a dog. Where are they gonna stay?

“I don’t wanna be here a second longer than I have to,” Bubby says. “How the hell did you get to wake up somewhere new while we’re all stuck in this shit hole?”

You’re not real, Gordon thinks but doesn’t say. “I dunno, man.” He puts his own phone on speaker, opening the maps app. How the fuck is he gonna find a place that doesn’t exist?

Except when he opens the app it shows him places he has saved. Right under Home is Work, and work is apparently located at “Black Mesa Research Facility”.

“What the fuck,” he says.

“What?” Tommy asks. “Is something wrong, Mr. Freeman?”

“Everything’s fine,” Gordon says. He doesn’t wanna reveal anything to them, not yet at least. That's not a conversation to have over the phone. “I’ll be there in 20, okay? I’m gonna hang up while I drive but call if - if anything happens. I’ll be there soon.”

“We’ll see you then, Gordon,” Dr. Coomer says, and with an echoing bye from the three of them, he hangs up.

---

He spends the drive over having a mild panic attack. The route feels at once new and familiar, roads he recognizes moving in ways that feel just a little off. Even the music on the radio seems weird, though that might just be his imagination - he doesn’t actually listen to the radio that often.

Black Mesa isn’t a far drive. Gordon can imagine working there, picking an apartment based on location, commuting everyday. But Black Mesa isn’t real . Or, it wasn’t, until today. Because regardless of what he remembers, he pulls into the parking lot and the building is right there.

He understands what the Science Team was talking about, now. The glass windows are all shattered, the door completely smashed. He carefully picks his way inside, avoiding especially large shards, and the front desk has been crushed by a fallen chunk of ceiling.

He opens his phone and redials Dr. Coomer’s number, hoping for a quick response. He picks up almost instantly. “Hello, Gordon!”

“I’m here! I’m in the front lobby, I think? The aboveground part. Where are you guys?”

“We’re in the main building! I suppose it would be easier for us to come to you, though, wouldn’t it, Gordon?”

“I really do not wanna go any deeper into this place,” Gordon admits. Coomer chuckles.

“I don’t blame you! Well, we’ll start trying to find our way up. Don’t go anywhere!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Gordon says, and he hangs up again.

He does a little exploring as he waits for the Science Team, wandering around the remains of the lobby. The ceiling has almost completely caved in, but he manages to find a small waiting area that's semi-intact, with one chair left miraculously unscathed. He takes a seat, looking over the assorted magazines left on the table. A couple he even recognizes. He flips through them quickly, and quite a few reference Black Mesa, mentioning their research in fields from genetic engineering to theoretical physics. Apparently the experiment that got them attention in the first place was a successful sheep cloning done decades ago, and that got them enough funding to branch out into other things.

What the fuck.

Well, no one’s here anymore. Can’t hurt if he just...takes them.

It’s then that he hears voices, distant and indistinct, but Gordon knows his friends well enough by now. He scoops up the magazines and starts heading towards the noise, grabbing the handle to the stairwell just as Coomer pulls it open. Gordon’s pulled with it, colliding with Coomer’s burly chest.

“Hello, Gordon!” Coomer says, wrapping him up in a hug.

“Hi Dr. Coomer,” Gordon wheezes as Coomer’s arms squeeze all the air out of him. He finally releases Gordon, who has to take a second and lean against the wall to get his breath back. Tommy pats him on the shoulder. “Thanks, man,” he says. Tommy beams at him. “Fuck. Okay. It’s good to see you guys again,” Gordon says, some of the tension leaving his shoulders for the first time since he woke up. “Whadya say we get out of here?”

“Please,” Bubby says.

Gordon leads them to the car. Tommy calls shotgun as soon as they step outside, which Gordon is happy to oblige, and soon enough they’re on the road.

“So, I’m not gonna have space in my apartment for everyone to stay. What do you guys think of getting a hotel?”

“We don’t have any money, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy says, turning his pockets inside out.

“It’s cool, I figured I’d cover it.” He doesn’t really have the money for this but it’s fine. It’s fine! He’ll work something out.

There’s a pretty decent hotel a couple blocks from his apartment. Gordon had stayed there once when the electricity got all fucked up and couldn’t get fixed for a week, and for a few dudes who have presumably lived in Black Mesa their whole lives it’s probably gonna seem amazing .

“They better have a hot tub,” Bubby says from the backseat. Gordon glances in the rearview mirror to see him scrunched up sideways in the middle seat, leaning against Coomer. Neither of them have their seat belts on, though somehow Sunkist does.

“Guys, come on. Wear your seatbelts.” He waits until he hears the click to keep talking. “I’m pretty sure they have one. Shit, maybe I’ll stay with you guys too. Be nicer than my apartment.”

“Uh, Mr. Freeman?”

Gordon risks a glance at the passenger seat. Tommy’s staring intently at his phone, propeller hat spinning slowly. “Whats up?”

“My dad just messaged me,” Tommy says. Gordon almost considers pulling over and demanding to see the texts. “He, uh, he said I can come stay with him?”

“I thought you were an orphan?” Bubby asks, leaning forward and grabbing onto Gordon’s seat.

“It’s complicated,” Tommy says. “But, uh, if you guys wanna come stay too, I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

Bubby makes a thoughtful noise. “Wait, is your dad the weird guy in the suit who was at Chuck E Cheese? Fuck no, I’m not staying with him.”

“I’d like to stay with Bubby,” Coomer says.

“Okay, well, I’ll guess we’ll...split up, then. Coomer and Bubby can get a hotel, Tommy stays with his dad, I go home.”

“We’ll see each other again though, right?” Tommy asks, eyebrows furrowed.

Gordon and Coomer both say “Of course!” at the exact same moment. Gordon keeps one hand on the wheel as he reaches over to Tommy and rests the other on his knee. “You guys are stuck with me whether you like it or not. Science Team stays together.”

Tommy pats his hand, and doesn’t say anything else as they pull into the parking lot of the Los Gatos Garden Inn. The four of them shuffle into the lobby, Sunkist staying in the car - windows rolled down, of course. Tommy and Coomer immediately get distracted by the tourist brochures, even though most of them advertise places a long drive from where they are. Bubby, at least, is being helpful. Sorta.

“Just so you know, we only have singles available right now. That’s a room with just one bed,” the receptionist informs them.

Gordon turns to Bubby. “You and Coomer gonna be okay with that?”

Bubby hunches his shoulders up. “I can sleep on the floor if I have to,” he says.

“If you insist.”

Gordon books it. It’s not as bad as he was worried it would be, but still, he has a need to check his bank account. To his surprise, when he opens his banking app, he’s informed that he has nearly a million dollars that were just deposited. Clicking the deposit gives him no useful information, the source being a string of glitched out text.

Okay. Sure. Fine! Why not.

Bubby’s eyeing him strangely, like he wants to ask something, but Gordon ignores him. “Okay! Coomer, Bubby, you guys are set. Do you, uh...need anything?” Oh, shit, they don’t have any stuff, do they? Everything they owned is probably still in Black Mesa, if it even existed in the first place. “Do we need to go shopping?”

Bubby picks up the collar of his lab coat, sniffs it, and recoils. “Yes, we do.”

“Alright. Let’s fucking…go to Target, I guess?”

---

Wrangling the three of them through Target may actually be harder than getting through Black Mesa. It feels like every second someone is wandering off, getting sidetracked by something. First it’s Bubby insisting he needs some space suit pajamas, then Tommy discovering the toys section, then Coomer harassing some random employee he somehow mistook for Gordon. At least Sunkist is behaving. She doesn’t have a leash, but she stays near Tommy anyway and doesn’t run off once.

“Guys, we do not need all this,” Gordon says as Tommy stacks a third 12-pack of soda in the cart. “We’re just getting the essentials. Some clothing, toothbrushes, that sorta thing. Okay?”

He feels like he’s aged several years by the time they make it out. But they’re out, and Gordon’s bank still says it has a ridiculous amount of money, and they have everything they could need for the next while, so. Gordon’s feeling confident. He drops Bubby and Coomer off at the hotel, helping them carry everything inside. They’ll be okay there. It’s one of those hotels you can basically live in long term, with a minikitchen and everything. He wonders how the single bed is gonna go.

Well, not his problem.

“Alright, next up is to take you to your dad’s, right?”

Tommy nods, buckling his seatbelt, then rattles off the address. Gordon plugs it into his gps. It’s barely ten minutes from his apartment.

Gordon’s running out of things to say, but Tommy seems content with the silence. They’ve never really gotten to have a peaceful quiet like this. In Black Mesa quiet moments never lasted very long, and the day has been extremely hectic. It’s not until Gordon is pulling up to Tommy’s house that he feels the need to speak.

“Holy shit , dude. Your dad lives in a fucking mansion. Why were you staying in the Black Mesa dorms?”

“I-it’s company policy, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy says, wringing his hands together. Gordon doesn’t press. Probably didn’t exist in the game - though in that case, how does it exist now?

He can worry later. Tommy’s getting out of the car, and Gordon offers to help him carry stuff but Tommy assures him he’s fine. Gordon’s glad, to tell the truth - he doesn’t wanna risk interacting with G-Man again.

“I’ll see you later, Mr. Freeman!” Tommy says as he waves goodbye, and Sunkist gives a single farewell bark.

“See ya soon, Tommy,” Gordon says, and he drives off.

#hlvrai #half life vr but the ai is self aware #gordon feetman #tommy coolatta #bubby bubby #dr coomer #idk how to tag!#cora writes #jump the fence #something out of nothing

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despressolattes · 4 years

Text

CONSEQUENCES | CHAPTER TWELVE | LEGACIES/THE ORIGINALS

BOOK THREE IN THE SIDE CHARACTER/LILAH SERIES

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─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

4TH OF J U L Y S A L V A T O R E S C H O O L

Landon was outside, trying to set up an outdoor movie session with Rafael. With his best friend in wolf form and no idea how to bring him back to normal, he just wanted to be able to make him as comfortable as possible. And that meant trying to make him a wolf den.

"So, I should probably tell you I moved rooms last month. Ours was getting painted, and I figured I'd move back in once you were, you know, you again," Landon said. "But if for any reason you become you while I'm out, like looking for ways to help you become you, I just didn't want you to go back and see that I wasn't in our room anymore and think that I bailed on you because I would never do that obviously. I also brought the photos of that mystery girl I told you about into the new room with me so the painters don't... yanno, mess them up."

Rafael approached, growling. Landon wondered what Rafael would say about the girl in the photos. He noticed that in the ones they had with her, he had a certain look on his face that Landon hadn't seen in a while. Not since Cassie. He wondered if there was perhaps something that had gone on between them, and if there was, he was sad that his best friend may never remember.

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"No matter what path I go down, it seems like a dead end. I mean, there were at least two other people with Landon the night Malivore was destroyed," Alaric said as he walked around town square with his daughter, standing behind people holding things to decorate for the holiday. "They left fibers, footprints, hair. I just don't know who they were."

"Maybe one of them is Lilah," Josie suggested. "She had to go somewhere, and if none of us remember her, the only logical explanation is into Malivore. And that's just the point of Malivore, if someone went into the pit, they'd be erased from our memories."

"Yeah, well, that's what's haunting me," Alaric replied. "Who've we forgotten? There was two others there. It can't just be this Lilah girl."

"It couldn't have been anybody we've known. There'd be keepsakes, photos, an empty bed somewhere. We only have Lilah's, so if someone else went into that pit with her, it's not someone we knew," Josie shrugged.

"Well, whoever they were, they were important to somebody."

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N E W

O R L E A N S

"Why is she running around and decorating the Abbatoir?" Rebekah muttered, watching as Lorelle went around the Mikaelson compound with Fourth of July decorations. "She doesn't even know that America is like, she's been dead for over a thousand years."

"Maybe she's feeling a bit patriotic," shrugged Marcel, grabbing her hands and bringing them closer to him as they sat on the couch. "Rebekah, I know you've been missing your brothers lately, and I understand you're upset with Lilah for not telling us about her identity sooner, but she's your family, babe. You guys already spent a thousand years without your niece, and now you want to spend more?"

"What does my frustration with my brother's daughter have to do with her mother running amongst decorating?"

"I think it's cute," Kol stated, making his presence in the room known as he walked over to the couch, placing his hands on the back of it. "It's Lorie's first holiday with her daughter. Maybe let her enjoy it."

"Perhaps we figure out how the mummy came back from the dead, and then we can deal with her being a mommy to Lilah."

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"I just can't get over the fact that he's your dad," Josh said, leaning against their kitchen counter munching away on a bag of chips while Lilah cleaned the table. "This is a bigger surprise than the look on your face when you found out I was gay."

"Let it go, Josh!" Lilah yelled with laughter, sending a playful glare his way.

He shrugged, "I'm just saying. You went from Lilah Desmarais, mysterious, small, and badass to Lilah Mikaelson, deadly, unkillable, and in love within the matter of weeks."

"I am not in love!" Lilah denied, placing her hands on her hips.

Josh rolled his eyes.

"Normally, you and I spend practically every waking moment together, either here or at Rousseau's. Since you've met Roman, we've hired him to work with us, and when you're not with me, you're spending time with Mommy dearest or Mr. Mystery Blond," Josh said, pulling out facts to hit his best friend with. "Lilah, we hired him because you two wanted to spend more time together. You can't tell me that's not you being in love."

"It's been a month and a half! I only want to be around him so much because his presence helps me unlock the weird deja vu feeling I get, like there's things I need to remember,"

"Time doesn't tell what love is and isn't, and the fact that he's the key to you're weird funk might just prove my point even further," shrugged Josh.

Lilah threw the rag she was using to clean up the table at him, accidentally knocking his bag of chips out of his hand. He stood there with his jaw wide open, looking at her like she had killed someone. She shrugged, walking out of the room.

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Lilah got to the Mikaelson compound, seeing red white and blue streamers and decorations everywhere.

"Lilah, be a dear and help me with this."

She was surprised when she saw Rebekah putting up decorations, but what really threw her was that Rebekah was speaking to her. Since her revelation about who her dad was, the relationship she had with the blonde was strained. She had been one of her best friends prior, and perhaps that's why it hurt so much. Rebekah hated when secrets were kept from her, especially since when she was rolling with just Klaus and Elijah, she would be kept out of the loop a lot.

Lilah walked over, helping her aunt put up some balloons.

"What is all of this?" Lilah asked.

"Your mother wanted to put on a little party," Rebekah explained, looking at her niece for the first time in forever. "And I'm not the type to turn one down. Especially not when it's in the honor of my family."

Lilah turned her head to the side, confused. It did touch her heart that Rebekah was finally acknowledging her, though.

"She wants everything to be extravagant. She gets to experience her firsts with her daughter, who's grown into a fine young lady," Rebekah said, before sassily adding, "Who obtained her auntie's horrible taste in men."

"I heard that," Marcel said from the balcony, where he was hanging up some more balloons.

"Good!" Rebekah called back. She turned back to her niece, "Thinking of poor taste in men, go invite that hot vampire of yours."

"You mean the one you practically threw in a dungeon?"

"We don't have a dungeon," Rebekah replied. "Though... not turning down the suggestion to make one."

"That was not a suggestion!"

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New Orleans during any kind of holiday seemed like a dream. The excitement, the music, the people, and the liquor. Lilah stood on the roof, faint music playing in the background. She had a drink in her head, onlooking the city her father helped build with the help of her uncle, aunt, and Marcel—who no matter what title Lilah gave him, it sounded weird considering he was married to her aunt.

The sun was well set, which only meant that the fireworks would be starting soon. Lilah reflected on her life, how she should've felt like she was on top of the world. But the brunette could've shake the feeling that this was all fake, that she was living a lie. She was unsure why or how, but she had the strangest feeling that this wasn't the life she was meant to live.

Someone stepped onto the balcony, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Roman. He smiled at her, walking over and wrapping an arm around her waist. The two of them hadn't talked about what they were, whether they wanted to be exclusive or anything like that. Lilah kept brushing it off to Josh that they were just having fun. She knew that when fall came around, he'd go back to work, leaving New Orleans and herself behind.

But it was nice. It was nice to feel good to be wrapped in someone else's arms. She couldn't remember the last time she let herself feel something so all consuming. She denied it though, denied that her knees buckled every time the curly haired boy looked in her direction.

She denied that her dead heart fluttered when he kissed her.

She denied that it almost made her want to cry when she thought about how his departure was inevitable.

She denied that it felt wrong almost, to love someone who played even the most minor of roles in the death of Hayley Marshall.

She denied that he made her feel almost the same way Stefan once did.

She was a lot like Elijah in that way. He was big on how true love was hard to find, something he himself believed to have only found three times in his life. For his daughter, however, she could only think of one instance where she had been in love, and with her new predicament, she felt that this might just turn into the second time.

She really was a little miniature version of Elijah, whether or not he raised her.

She heard the small hum of something being shot through the sky, both of them turning their heads to the sky. People started to pour out of the compound or go onto the balcony alongside them, the sound of the party coming outside. Lilah and Roman moved to the corner together, watching as the sky lit up in beautiful colors.

She couldn't help but hold onto his hands that were on her waist or lean back into him with a giggle. She moved her arm so that one of them was around his shoulder, and he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Happy Fourth of July," he said to her.

"It's been a pretty epic summer," she said back, smiling ear to ear.

Seeing his wide smile and dazed eyes, she knew that denying it would only get her so far.

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A U G U S T

S A L V A T O R ES C H O O L

"Songwriting, stop," Lizzie said dramatically. "I can't take it anymore. Somewhere in Belgium, Penelope Park's black heart just exploded."

Josie gave her twin a look.

"You and Gizmo the Gremlin?" continued Lizzie, not letting up on her disgust about her sister and Landon.

"Actually, Gizmo's a Mogwai," responded Josie.

"Oh, God. He's got you speaking nerd!"

"Relax, we're just friends."

"You are not friends! You're a montage," pointed out Lizzie.

"It's been... fun," explained the brunette. "It's been like, actual fun."

"You know what's actual-actual fun? Mom and I taking the speed train to Rome for the weekend. So get your ass across the pond! Stop worrying about Dad, and stop worrying about whoever Lilah used to be—"

"Love you," Josie said, and Lizzie gasped and Josie practically press the end button of their witchy video-call.

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Josie and Landon looked all over the woods and the building out there, but they couldn't find Rafael anywhere. Josie and Landon continued to get closer, slowly falling for one another. Despite Rafael going missing, Landon and Josie talked about what things made them happy-ish.

Outside of the school, Dorian William's almost runs over a girl. She plays off how she knew Dorian, and acts like she's going to be on her way. She goes back into the school, knowing the gate code, feeling happy to finally be the place she called home, a place she had been longing for for who-knows-how-long.

She just wasn't expecting to come back looking for her best friends and her boyfriend, to see that they both moved on without her. That the people she loved would just fill in the gap she left when they can no longer remember her.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TAGLIST

@akshi8278

it's come to my attention that you guys don't like lorelle... LMAOO. elijah was never the type to have good taste in women (the exception of hayley) i mean... celeste??? katherine??? LOL

also, i've talked about this before since others have commented about it before, but writing a book about lilah in the vampire diaries?? i've been thinking about it a lot lately, and perhaps i love the idea because i can't let go of lilah. i mean, she's my baby. she's the first character/first book where people totally fell in love with my writing, where people have stuck with me. so, on the topic of lilah desmarais/mikaelson having a series in the vampire diaries? yes, i want to write it.

it would be a bit of an 'au' i guess. nothing about that book/series will have anything to do with lilah's storyline here, since this timeline never has lilah go be in mystic falls until the salvatore school. the only thing that would be the same is who her family is, her backstory, her friendship with katherine.

i'm thinking of writing this series as a "spin-off" but that then prompts the question: what about with the mikaelson's leave mystic falls and goes to new orleans? lilah will get to choose between staying in mystic falls or going with her family. i am excited to start this spin off. it'll still technically be "book 4" of the SIDE CHARACTER CHRONICLES, but i may write this book and book 4 at the same time.

the names i want for book one is currently:

IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES

DISCUSSION BOARD!!

· did anyone actually read the book plot i just ranted about?

· time skipped through july and august, and now hope is out! it does take them a while to remember hope, but... what happens when roman goes back to work?

· i absolutely loved writing the lilah and roman fireworks scene

· everyone's opinions on lorelle?

· opinions on rebekah and lilah's relationship

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multifandomforthemostpart · 4 years

Text

Ironstrange - Alone

Tony had never cried alone before, and he didn't like it.

—-

There had always been someone there for Tony, someone to pat his back, hold his hands and wipe away his tears. To whisper soft words of comfort, that his world would not be dark forever, sweet nothings and lies that slipped through his broken mind so fast he didn't notice. Who it had been had varied on the time and place. The main four on rotation were Pepper, Bruce, Rhodey and Peter

Yet here he was, slumped against a wall in his basement, sobbing his eyes out. Dum-E had respectfully turned away after he had shouted at him, and FRIDAY was hovering. Tony had come cascading down with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, almost smashing it against the glass. He wasn't drunk, just tipsy, but the consumption was enough to tip him into a bucket full of sadness.

But they weren't here, his four horsemen, to keep him from diving into the darkness of his mind. Pepper was on a business trip in Cali and Rhodes was in Africa doing some volunteer work with the military. Bruce was off world, hopefully with Thor somewhere, and Peter had been whisked away with Aunt May on a brief two week holiday to Australia, where they had promised each other they would have FUN and there would be no spidermanning around Sydney. Tony had packed a suit for him, though, a nanotech unit hidden in his watch, which he had been reassured by Happy that he wore consistently and was taking with him.

"Where are you?" He asked nobody. He wasn't even directing the question at anybody, because he knew where everyone was. He knew that they weren't here, and he was. He knew that he needed mending, but this time he was going to have to mend himself.

Last time he'd been trusted to mend himself, he'd ended up hurting himself more, with a particularly sharp blade in the bathroom that he could create interesting patterns with.

He let out a sob and then covered his mouth immediately.

"Sir, would you like me to contact Miss-" FRIDAY, the ever caring AI, was quick to jump onto Tony's emotions, but he wasn't up for it.

"No, no, Pepper's busy. So's Bruce, Peter and Rhodey. Don't ruin their....their time off," Tony blinked. God. When was the last time he'd had time off? Gotten away from this house, New York. For a break away. It must have been years.

Time off. It was an apt description. Pepper was working - so it wasn't 'time off' per se, but it was time off from looking after Tony and his quirks. Most people's quirks are weird habits, but Tony's are horrifying nightmares and frequent mental breakdowns due to constant panic attacks.

"Should I call 'Capsicle', then?" FRIDAY asked, and Tony's heart lurched.

"NO! No, no please. Don't call him." Tony had had trouble getting over his thing for Captain America, but him stabbing him in the chest with a shield and running off with his childhood boyfriend really drilled the nail into his head. Steve did not want him. Obviously, though, they weren't talking. It was just too awkward. Steve wasn't the kind of person to be comforting anyone with tears, yet alone Tony.

"Miss Romanoff?"

"No," Tony winced as his voice cracked. Crying to Nat, with her blatant spy face. Not a fan.

"Happy?"

"With Peter." Not that the kid knew that....

"Mr Barton?"

"No!"

FRIDAY continued to list people who she thought could be a comfort, until it was just getting ridiculous. She must be pulling random names off the Internet.

"Beyoncé?" was her latest, and Tony let out a laugh.

"Ha!" He wheezed, taking a swig of the whiskey. "Sure she'd love to help me! Anymore?"

"Of course, Sir. I think...Dumbledore."

See, the pensiveness in the AI before suggesting the name should have let him twig what was about to occur, but Tony was still obliviously tipsy and not fully aware of his AI's capabilities. She was playing an intricate game here, and it was working.

"Yes! Yes, call Dumbledore. I think he could give me some solid advice about who to kiss next. Although that childhood crush of his....messy one," Tony rambled to himself. He'd been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction out of pure boredom. Peter had 'accidentally' left the movies here for him to watch, inside was a detailed list of things for him to read, titled 'Mr Stark's list of guilty pleasure reading late at night'.

"Calling Dumbledore," FRIDAY announced, and the phone noise sounded.

"Hilarious," Tony chuckled, but it kept ringing. "FRIDAY? FRIDAY Dumbledore isn't real you can't-" A flash of memory went through Tony's mind, a sudden cold, sobering effect that made him go suddenly very very panicked. "SHIT! FRIDAY! CANCEL! SHIT! CANCEL!"

But a low, sleepy voice came from over the phone. "Hello?" It seemed very unenthusiastically confused. "Stark?"

Shit. Tony had never heard Stephen's Strange's voice when it was sleepy, and he really, really liked it. This is not the time, Tony! You're getting an early onset of an attack, not fantasising over another Avenger!

"Hi," he replied sheepishly, trying desperately to mask the anxiety. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you wrong number, would you?"

"No," Stephen said smoothly, shuffling around as though he was sitting up.

"Well see, I was trying to call Dumbledore," Tony began. Okay he can't do this, he can't mask it, he's going to have to either have a panic attack over the phone or hang up really rudely. Fuck.

"How drunk are you?" Stephen asked.

"I'm not...that drunk," Tony's voice was getting slightly laboured now from breathing so oddly.

"Are you okay?" The doctor seemed genuinely concerned as to his wellbeing. "You sound like you...just did a run or something."

"No, I'm just," Tony gasped. Shit his breath was vanishing and he didn't even know WHY.

"Just?" Stephen prompted. "Stark?"

"I'll," Tony breathed, "'ave to call you back."

And he hung up the phone.

Tears spilling immediately, a bad combination, he failed to regulate his breathing. The four would often try to do it by counting with him, a technique which apparently only worked when he had others with him.

He was trying to ignore the fact that Stephen Strange was an actual Doctor and any Doctor knew basic panic attack symptoms.

Come on, Tony. Come on! One little phone call and all this harm? Can't you tell your body that this time it needs to just fix itself?!"

And then, not even a minute later, there was a warm hand on his shaking body, a comforting low tone murmuring to him. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, Sorcerer Supreme, Former Neurosurgeon, also one of his slightly animosity-filled relationships.

But fuck this wasn't he'd wanted the evening to go down, not at all. There was another bottle of whiskey in the alcohol fridge that he had been planning on consuming, not having to explain himself to a doctor.

"Tony," he muttered gently, and Tony jumped slightly. Hearing the wizard call him by his first name was a privilege that Tony never really got. The doctor began rubbing a hand back and forth on his shoulder as Tony's sobs wracked his body. He didn't even know why he was crying at this point, but he turned to the Sorcerer and buried his head into the man's pyjamas: he hadn't even given himself time to change out of them, which allowed for a rather hot (although blurry, from tears) bed-head look. The hair was stuck up on its ends and Tony relished in the warmth that Strange offered, snuggling in.

"Let's get you to bed," Stephen commanded, picking him up bridal style and looking at him....it wasn't a hateful look, nor exasperated, it was...tender.

FRIDAY and Tony directed Stephen to the right room and he was plonked on the bed, Stephen standing awkwardly next to it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"The panic attacks? Um...maybe. Can you...lay here with me for the night?"

"Sure," Stephen smiled softly, clambering onto the poster bed and looking at him intently.

"I don't know why I had that one. I'm not scared of you, so maybe it was the thought of upsetting someone this late at night or, or losing you as a friend or maybe just being alone...I don't really know," Tony wasn't slurring his words, but they weren't 100% clear.

"Were you drinking tonight?" Stephen queried, a slight reprimanding mask worn on that worried face.

"Whiskey. I had....about 3/4 of a bottle. It's good stuff, of course."

"And...uh, how long has it been since you've slept?"

Tony grinned, "1."

"1 what? Hour? Day?" Yes, he supposed that would be the normal assumption.

"Month," the doctor's eyes shot up suddenly and he seemed intent on getting Tony to sleep ASAP.

"Don't make me," he warned, holding up a finger very close to the other man's face. "Please," he pouted.

"Nightmares?" Stephen persisted.

"Yup. Bane of my existence, I swear to God."

Tony found himself staring into the wizard's eyes, getting more and more enticed.

If Stephen was Dumbledore....did that make him Grindelwald? If so, did that mean he was the villain, the mass murderer? Fair, he supposed, he had done some pretty bad things. But then again, leaving a child in a neglected home wasn't something he'd done.

What was most exciting was that Stephen was staring back, into those whiskey eyes as though he was reading his soul. He probably was.

They began to gravitate closer together and Tony's cheeks flushed the further he went. Biting the bullet, he decided to just bloody kiss the man.

"Anthony," Stephen whispered when they had separated, in a voice that made him want to capture those pink lips again. Fuck. Stephen.

Wait. Didn't Stephen...have a girlfriend? Was he therefore cheating on her with him?

"Shit- Strange. Christine, your girlfriend. I-I'm sorry, that was a mistake, I apologise. I won't mention it to anyone I'm sorry." Tony panicked.

"Seriously?" Stephen looked at him pointedly. "It's like you've never interacted with me enough."

Well certainly not like this, Tony reflected as Stephen aimed for another kiss. But he wasn't sure he wanted to kiss him if he was keen of the whole thing of adultery...Tony was never a cheater, just a playboy. But if the Doc wanted to settle down...

"Stephen...I-" Tony murmured, pulling away. "I don't feel comfortable doing this with you having a girlfriend."

"Anthony Stark, I'm gay, and single, and have been for several lonely years. That kiss you saw with Christine was her one attempt at her trying to see if I loved her, which I do, but platonically. Please, for the love of God, just kiss me."

And so, they did, not declaring many feelings, just declarations that the other was so hot.

Oh and Tony did whine when Stephen pulled away, taking this circumstance to pull out all the stops, including the pouty face, but all he got was cuddles as Stephen stroked his hair to get him to sleep.

He slept, but it was plagued with tantalisingly dangerous dreams, nightmares he woke up panting from and multiple tosses and turns.

But Stephen stayed.

And maybe, just maybe, Tony thought, maybe he wouldn't be alone anymore.

#ironman #drstrange #ironstrange #supremefamily #avengers endgame #marvel #alone #stephenstrange #tonystark #tony stark #fanfic

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iwillsinkwithmyships · 4 years

Text

Beautiful Boy, Bathed in Disaster

As he laid dying in a Siberian bunker Tony Stark thinks about betrayals and broken promises. Left behind and half-dead he is faced with his worst nightmare.

Notes: This was literally written in hours, which is insane because usually I take forever to finish even a one shot. But this just flowed! The title comes from the song "In Loving Memory" by Chester Lockhart which played in repeat while I wrote this. I recommend you listen to it as you read it as well lol

There is a slight canon divergence as in my story, Pepper and Tony broke up after Iron Man 3 and Tony and Steve get together a little after Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Borrowed some quotes from other Avengers works, such as comics and AA

AO3 Link

"Mr. Stark."

"Captain."

"Is everything a joke to you?"

"Funny things are."

"Big man in a suit of armor... take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage, the only thing you really fight for is yourself. You are not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

"What the hell! What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

"We won."

"Oh, alright, yay! Alright, good job guys! Uh, let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. You ever try shawarma? There is a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"We are not finished yet."

"And then shawarma after?"

"Oh really you two knew each other? He never mentioned that...maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."

"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth, but I don't want to see you gone. We need you Cap."

"Winghead"

"Shellhead"

"You are walking a little funny Steve, next time you should establish a safe word." . . . "You are walking a little funny Tony, what was that you were saying about a safe word?"

"Hilarious."

"Wait a second, no one else gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?"

"I know...It just slipped out."

"We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together too."

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things."

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned."

"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet."

"How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said: together."

"No way we all make it through this."

"I got no plans tomorrow night."

"I will miss you Tony"

"Tony, when I woke up on this era, I had no one. Nothing. You gave me a purpose, somewhere to belong...You gave me a home."

"You wanna survive you gotta change with the times."

"Spend a few decades frozen in ice, then we can talk about survival."

"Just say it, say 'Tony I'm afraid of new tech!' admitting you have a problem is always the first step."

"Gosh Mr. Big Brain, your modern tech is so gol-darn confusing. How does this contraption turn water into coffee? Is it coal power or is it a miracle?"

"Hmm, sarcasm must be a modern invention, because when you do it, it just sounds wrong."

"But, with my armor gone, all I can do is improvise. Steve, even without your shield, you're still captain America. Without my armor I'm just ..."

"Tony Stark, THE Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, you are probably one of the three smartest men in the entire world. You are as tough as they come, you invented hardcore. The avengers are lucky you are on our side."

"Really? you know two people smarter than me?"

"Can't you just take a compliment."

"I am not half as good at - at anything as I am when I'm doing it next to you. And that's the truth."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Good morning Beloved. Did anyone check the dumpster for Clint yet?"

"Funny you should ask that..."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I'm worried about you, if you don't get some sleep..."

"I slept for 70 years - "

"Yeah, you've used that line before."

"Leave me alone. I am a senior citizen."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"He's my friend."

"So was I."

"Did you know?"

"I wasn't sure it was him--"

"Don't bullshit me Rogers! Did. You. Know?"

"Yes."

Images and memories flashed through Tony's mind as he laid on the cold floor of the abandoned Hydra base. The Siberian cold penetrating his suit as his mind raced.

Steve had known the truth about his parents' death for years. He'd known when they fought Ultron. He'd known when he gave Tony shit about keeping secrets, the fucking hypocrite. He'd known over a year ago, he'd known when he leaned over the table to kiss Tony. He'd known when they tumbled into bed that same night. He'd known for the rest of their relationship, even when he whispered "I love you" late at night and when Tony had said it right back.

He'd known.

And now all Tony was left with was a broken suit and an abandoned shield.

Tears fell out of his eyes as he fell back to the floor. Steve had left. He'd taken Barnes and walked right out, without sparing a second thought for Tony. After he and Pepper had broken up Tony had resigned himself to being alone for the rest of his life. Then Steve had kissed him and all of the sudden Tony had been in love again. They'd still fought but Tony had learned to see Steve's side of things and to explain his side of things to Steve. Tony had been sure that this was it. He'd fallen hard and fast for Steve.

"Well that shows you, huh Stark."

-----

Some time later, Tony's eyes startled open as he realized that he had no way out of that bunker.

-----

The temperature kept dropping, and Tony had long given up hope of a rescue.

"Well Yinsen, it looks like I did waste my life after all... I'm sorry."

Tony closed his eyes.

-----

When Tony came to again, everything was still cold and painful. He tried to move, but the suit was frozen and still dead, quiet honestly, Tony didn't know how he was still alive.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the bunker, and Tony blinked trying to place the sound. Had FRIDAY alerted Vision?

A few minutes later two slender figures walked towards him.

"Father," he didn't recognize the breathy feminine voice that rang out, "We've found him. We've got Stark."

"He looks half dead. Should we put him out of his misery?" Another woman said, her voice a lot more confident. The two figures walked closer, and Tony struggle to keep his eyes open. There was no way he could defend himself.

"Patience daughter, I have plans for Stark." A deep voice responded. The two women walked into the sliver of light that managed to get into his cold dark tomb. He finally laid eyes on them and his breathing grew harsher. The two women were not...human. They were humanoid, but one of them was blue, and her body was littered with mechanic enhancements, the other was completely green with deep burgundy hair. The two of them exuded murderous vibes. The kind that Tony usually only got from Natasha and Pepper. He drew in a harsh breath and tried once more to get up from the cold floor he'd been planing to die in.

"Such fighting spirit. It's a pity that humanity does not appreciate you Anthony Stark." An imposing figure approached from the shadows. He was huge, probably bigger than the hulk himself. "I have waited a long time to meet you Stark."

"Yo...u..... kno...w....m...e?" he managed to croak out.

"I do, you are not the only one cursed with knowledge."

"..w- wh..who...?" Tony could barely keep conscious. He was still on the verge of death, and aliens invading earth was literally his worst nightmare. A new voice rang out and a squid looking figure joined the others.

"Rejoice, you will have the privilege of being saved by The Great Titan, Thanos."

"Wh...wh.." Tony gasped for breath, "...why...?"

"I have come for you Stark. Earth's Greatest Defender. When I first enslaved the Asgardian, I thought his task a simple one. After all this planet is quite primitive compared to others we've conquered before. Yet, you and your team managed to defeat my army." The titan walked closer to him, "Imagine my surprise at realizing that it hadn't been your Asgardian ally who'd laid waste to my ships and army, but a simple human. Fascinating. After that it was difficult not to pay attention. Time and time again, you defend it, and this is your reward" The titan waved a hand towards the pathetic picture Tony painted.

"G..go..f..fuh..Fuck...yo...yours...self." Thanos smiled and waved a hand to those behind him.

"Give him a blood transfusion, The Accuser should have provided enough, and make sure he survives. Once he's no longer on the brink of death, bring him to me."

---------------------

Tony had passed out after his encounter with Thanos and when he'd woken up he was being moved. The pain had dulled down, most likely a result of the forced blood transfusion. He'd shuddered as he thought about it. Once more a victim of nonconsensual body modifications.

This nightmare just kept getting worse.

He was laid on a hard surface and bound. The genius took a moment to analyze his current situation, he seemed to be in some sort of medical room, there were holograms displaying what he assumed to be his own vitals. The technology seemed advanced and otherworldly so he took this to mean that he'd somehow made it into the ship. What was this Thanos actually doing here? Where they still on Earth? Was Earth under attack?

That final thought made him pull at his restrains, he immediately slumped back in the bed his body still felt like he'd been run over by a bus.

'or two super-soldiers'

Tony closed his eyes as the entire fight replayed in his mind. God he'd been so fucking stupid. And now here he was trapped by some crazy alien bent on conquering earth. Who would protect Earth now? Rogers and Barnes were definitely on the wind now. About half of the team were sitting in Ross's super secret prison. He hoped Vision runs and hides that damn stone. God knows were Natasha was hiding.

And Rhodey. Rhodey was in no condition to fight.

The door to the room he was currently trapped in opened and in walked the mad titan himself, accompanied by his two daughters? Who looked nothing like him.

"Stark, you are awake."

"Where am I? What do you want? You better stay away from Earth or I swe-"

"Don't worry, the time will come but there is much to do before I return for Earth's salvation." Tony's jaw clenched as he watched the purple maniac approach him. "Like I said, I am here for you Stark."

"What do you want from me? From the looks of this ship, you have no need for my tech much less my money, so what do you want? Weapons? I'll die before I ever create another weapon of mass destruction!" The titan simply smiled and sat beside him. His two deadly looking daughters stood guard by the door.

"I am here to offer you a place in my order, as my son and perhaps my heir." Tony stared incredulously and glanced at the other two in the room and saw their shocked expressions. So he hadn't shared his plans for Tony with them.

"Excuse me?!"

"I admire your bravery and tenacity Anthony, you would do well in my order and when I have achieved perfect balance in this entire universe I wish to retire, but I must leave someone in charge. I think you would do well."

"You are out of your mind." the brunette gritted out.

"You could help me save this entire universe from itself, and then you would be the most powerful man in the universe. Join us Stark"

"Never. I can't believe you thought that I'd say yes to this."

"You and I are quite similar you know. I too was called mad for trying to protect my planet. I tried to save my planet and our people, I was ignored, and the entire planet perished. Are you not tired Anthony? Of trying to save a planet that doesn't want to be saved?" The ache in Tony's chest grew and he continued to glare at Thanos.

"Never." Thanos let out a disappointed sigh and got back on his feet.

"I had hoped you would see reason," he walked towards the medical equipment in the room, "perhaps a little reminder of what Earth has repaid your loyalty with will help."

Tony couldn't help his scream at the pain his head was under. As he trashed he thought he saw pitying looks come from the two women by the door.

Everything went dark.

His father sitting him down at 8 years-old and handing him a glass of whiskey. The start of his alcohol problems.

His father handing him hot tools despite his bare hands. The reason he doesn't like being handed things.

Tiberius Stone.

The Cave. The open hear surgery without anesthesia. The waterboarding. Yinsen.

"When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But you see, it was just fate that you survived that, you had one last golden egg to give."

The Palladium poisoning. The fight with Rhodey. Rhodey taking off with his suit.

The helicarrier fight.

Extremis. Maya. Aldrich. AIM.

His break up with Pepper.

Ultron. Thor lifting him by the neck, as everyone watched and did nothing to stop him.

A video of the winter soldier killing his parents. Steve's betrayal.

Steve walking out on him with Barnes in his arms and dropping the shield.

"Tell me my child, do you wish to forget? To bury all this pain and suffering. All the betrayal and abandonment?" . . . . . . . .

"Yes."

#My fic #My writing #steve x tony #stony #captain america civil war #CA:CW #AU #Canon AU #steve rogers x tony stark #stevetony

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thedyingmoon · 5 years

Text

💜 This I Promise 💜

***

LXIII. Lavender

***

When I saw her there, I felt the whole world around me stop. It's as if the force that pulled me to the ground was suddenly taken away by her, pulling me closer and closer, to wherever she was.

I met her there at one of the Elite Nobles' gatherings. It was the first time I met her, but I honestly thought I was taken away by her with just that one look of hers.

And when I heard her speak, I knew I was taken prisoner by this enchanting creature.

Yes, this enchantress.

"Why do you always have that look?" She told me once with that precious, little voice of hers.

"I always look like this." I answered back with ferocity, not really wanting her to notice how I felt about her.

"Oh, that's weird. But, you know, I like the color of your eyes." She said, then smiled at me - that smile that instantly melted my heart - seemingly not minding my rude attitude towards her. "My name is Lavender. How about you?"

Right there, I hesitated whether I should tell her who I was, thinking that she would surely despise me because of my Ackerman lineage, but there really was something about her eyes that kept me hypnotized. And when I told her my name, I knew it deep within my heart that I will forever be her prisoner.

She smiled once more, that smile so honest, pure and innocent, that knew no hatred or animosity.

"It's nice to meet you, Kenny Ackerman."

From then on, I looked forward to these boring gatherings. And the only thing that helped me endure them was her lively personality and company.

Sometimes, we would skip meetings together to go to King Fritz's garden. Right there, we endlessly talked about silly nothings like the weather, the nobles' stupid attires, and her own stupid piano tutor who would doze off in the middle of the lesson. Heck, we even talked about her favorite character from her favorite fairy tale, (F/N) (L/N), who was a girl who can grant anyone's wishes.

"Isn't (F/N) like Freida Reiss, then?" I asked her about that one time.

"No, she doesn't have powers like the Coordinate." Lavender told me. "You see, she grants them using her own strength and dedication and love. She will do anything to protect her loved ones."

"But, that's how she died, ya?"

"Yes, but it was a happy kind of ending. The Elf Prince, who witnessed all her hardships, brought her back to life and gave her wings and they lived happily ever after."

Hahaha, sure, why the fuck not?

We always do the same stupid thing for almost a year, and I thought that that year was the best time of my own miserable life.

But, just like any other stupid love story you can buy at cheap, stupid bookstores, every story has its own stupid plot twist, be it good, or bad.

Ha. Guess which one I got?

"Kenny, I would like you to meet Thomas Arlert. My fiance'" She said to me as she introduced the man I hated for the rest of my life.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kenny."

"And, we're going to get married next month! You'll be the Godfather of our child, please, say yes."

Yes. And that's another stupid, plot twist for you.

Turned out that my precious Lavender was with child, and not mine, but that of that stupid Arlert guy I will hate for the rest of my life.

The news that greeted, no, that hit me in the face and laughed, was still on my mind as I watched my nephew grew stronger with his own Ackerman awakening. Even then, it was still on my mind as I left Levi to fend for his own.

I didn't attend the next Noble gatherings for the following week, and the knowledge of my absence was quickly spreading like wildfire. So, I had to show my face, even for just one time only, to not raise any suspicion.

Why? You can't just blame an old, broken - hearted man, ya hear?

Anyway, I did show my face, but it was after two years. And when I saw my Lavender again, she was holding this really tiny human she lovingly called, well, Lavender.

"What is that?" I asked her like I never saw a human baby before.

"My child Lavender. And I'm mad at you!"

At this point, I no longer cared. And she was the one who got mad? Come on,...

"Why would you get mad?"

"Because you didn't attend my wedding, and the Baptism, Lavender's first birthday, and,..."

On and on, she droned like a buzzing bee, not even noticing for a bit how this Lavender child looked at me. She had those huge (E/C) eyes that stared at me in awe, like I was fucking Saint Nicholas, or whatever. And when I spoke to her, something happened that reignited some old flame that had died deep inside my heart.

"What are you fucking staring at, tiny human?" I told her, then she giggled and giggled until the whole place was filled with her tiny voice.

"Kenny, I think she likes you." Lavender told me as she carefully handed me the baby.

And right at that moment, I felt some connection to her I couldn't quite explain. No, it was not that sensation I felt the first time I saw Lavender. It was, should I say, a whole lot different.

No, no, not that thing you're thinking of, 'cause that would be fucking criminal.

But, yeah. I felt something about this kid. And as I visit her from time to time, watching her as she grew up, that feeling only became stronger.

You see, I never called her by her name, Lavender. It just didn't sound right. So, at first, I just called her kid or brat. Whatever swings my mood.

"Hey, kid." I called to her. She dropped her doll and automatically went towards me. "How would you like to be called (F/N) (L/N)?"

"(F/N)?" The kid asked, probably wondering where I got that name.

"Ya. You like that?"

And after that, she giggled and giggled like that first time we met.

See? She likes that name! So, I called her that, but only when her parents were not around, which was almost everyday.

But, that one fateful day, just like any other day, started off as normally as possible.

I visited (F/N) once more to bring her Levi's old stuffed animal that the stupid brat tossed because he didn't like it. She took it with utter curiosity and looked at me with wide eyes.

"That was Levi's stuffed animal, and since he didn't like it, you can have it. I bought it from the Capital, you know. And I still have it with me, so you can have it." I told her.

"Who is Levi?" she curiously asked.

"Oh, just my stupid nephew."

(F/N)'s eyes grew even wider.

"Can I play with him?"

"Haha, yeah, sure, if he doesn't mind playing with brats like you,..."

And that was what really startled me. At that brief moment, I felt something weird at the thought of (F/N) having to meet Levi.

Then, a thought came to me: Lavender and I were never meant for each other.

But, could (F/N) and Levi be?

Like those other important times when my instincts were really kicking inside of me and telling me what to do, I took (F/N) and carried her all the way to the mansion to ask for permission to bring in my stupid nephew for the kids to meet and play.

But, as I've said, that one fateful day started off as normally as possible.

And it changed everything.

"Hey, Lavender, I was planning to bring in my nephew Levi so the kids could meet and play - "

"No! This is wrong! You should not have brought that book here! You're putting our lives in danger,..." I saw Lavender arguing with her husband.

"But, this is the real deal!" Thomas argued back, showing the said book to his worried wife. "We could make tons of cash if we sell this Underground!"

Lavender just smiled sarcastically. "Thomas, I thought we agreed upon this! We don't need that! We already have everything - !"

"NO! YOU have everything in the world!" The husband pointed angrily towards the woman I once loved and with igniting fury, he continued arguing. "Look at you! You're an heir to your grandmother's title, a future Duchess! While I'm here, as useless as ever, and just a fucking Honorary Noble who came from Wall Maria and who just got recognized by the King by working my ass off. But, with this, we could make millions!"

"Rubbish!"

"Shut the fuck up, you hag!"

"Hurt her and I'll fucking kill you!"

Both Thomas and Lavender looked at me, surprised that I was there, listening in on their conversation.

"What in the Hades are you doing here?!"

"How about you, what is that thing you're holding onto that is even more important than your own family?" I started firing back at her stupid husband when Lavender finally had it, taking the crying (F/N) and left.

The next day, I found out that Lavender Fleminger and Thomas Arlert were accused of possessing a forbidden book about the outside the World and were sentenced to immediate execution.

"Please, I know you love Lavender." Claire Louise Fleminger, Duchess of Orvud and mother of Lavender, pleaded with me behind bars, since those madmen threw the poor, innocent woman into a dungeon for suspected connivance with the wrong - doers. "Save them, Kenny! Please!"

"I'll do what I can." I told her. "But, I could never promise that I would spare her husband."

And with that, I left her and went to the mansion, only to find Lavender and Thomas still arguing with each other, despite the warnings and threats they have received.

From there, I looked at the person I once loved, thinking only of those happy days we were together, of those endless talks in the garden, about the weather, about the silly clothes of the nobles, of the stupid piano tutor who dozes off in the middle of the lessons, of the fairy tale character named (F/N),...

... and I knew that she, along with her husband, who I will hate for the rest of my miserable life, could no longer be spared. And at that brief moment, she turned to look at me.

It was the last time we looked at each other like that.

Her stupid husband stopped firing shit for a while as he noticed this and went towards me.

"Help us, Kenny, I beg of you." The idiot said as he kneeled in front of me. "I already sent the book away from here! We no longer have it! My younger brother has it! Please, spare us!"

But, I ignored him and went towards (F/N), who was still crying, confused, and holding onto Levi's stuffed animal like it could drive away the demons that plagued her family. I took the child and turned away from that place, away from the rest of the Fleminger household,...

... away from the woman I once loved,...

... and probably still do,...

But, before I left, I heard her say this,...

"Keep her safe, promise me."

That was the last thing I heard from her before I left the house with (F/N) and my second - in - command, Traute Carven.

Before I heard gunshots coming from that place,...

I knew you assumed it was all good now. But, you're wrong. Even the storm that ensued the event assures you of this.

Eventually, they found out that the Fleminger couple had a child and immediately spread out around the city looking for her, even in the relentless rain,...

... even knowing that a child couldn't possibly have done anything wrong despite the mistakes of her parents.

After so much running and hiding, we pushed her there, at a farm in a remote village in Wall Rose. Traute and I have to, or else death would come to both the two of us and that innocent child.

But, just like any other stories, everything returned to normal. Traute's team who were loyal only to us made sure to pronounce Claire Louise Lavender Fleminger as dead to avoid further investigation. Rod's loyal dogs even released the poor Duchess after a month.

Then, after a month, I visited the family who took in Lavender.

"I came to ask for a little girl about this tiny."

"Oh! You knew the girl! We didn't even know what to do with her during that storm, so we took her in!" A ginger - haired woman, who opened the door, told me.

"Is she safe?"

"Yes." the woman said and pointed towards their vast field, where a (H/C) haired child was playing happily with a ginger - haired little girl of the same age. "As you can see, my Petra already considers the girl as her sister. But, will you take the girl now?"

"Oh, no, no, no. I only came to visit her. But, can you, please, take care of her? I'll send in whatever I can to help financially. I promise."

"What is your name, Sir?"

"Oh, my name is not important. Don't mind it."

The woman smiled at me, then sighed.

"But, we don't know what to call her. What is her name, Sir?"

I smiled at her, thinking of the girl who granted wishes with her own strength and determination, as told from the favorite fairy tale of the woman I still adored and will always love for the rest of my life.

"Her name,... is (F/N) (L/N)."

***

~ @levi4mikasa , @chocolate-mmilk , @yepps , @unhappysap , @shewolfofficial , @super-peace-fangirl , @fangurl-ontgeside , @nerdyphantomlady , and @emilyackerman78 . 💜

***

💜💜💜

***

#shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #levi ackerman #captain levi #this i promise #levi x reader #levi x you #chapter 63 #lavender

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winryofresembool · 5 years

Text

Edwin Week day one: First (paternity package)

A/N: Long time no fics! I have explained myself here so many times already that I won’t do it again, but it feels nice to be able to write again. Let me open up the topic of the fic a bit: in Finland expecting women get to choose if they want a certain amount of money from the state, or if they want to get a maternity package full of baby clothes and other necessities instead. Well, what just happened in my “real life” was that my sister-in-law got my brother a paternity package (aka she picked him some dad-themed items), and the idea was imo so sweet that I had to channel it into an Edwin fic. So, after this long and boring rant, here we go. The usual, enjoy, and pleease review! :)

@503week

Words: 1400+

Genre: fluff (mild hurt/comfort)

Warnings: probs swearing?

“Ed, you have been so quiet today… That’s so unlike you,” Winry noted as they were resting in the living room after the dinner. Ed turned his attention from his book to his wife, scowling at her.

“Yeah? I’m quiet a lot when I’m doing my research,” he claimed.

“That might be true, but you haven’t even gushed about my stomach at all for at least 2 days now. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Winry was 8 months pregnant and starting to feel like she was ready to pop out any moment now. Her husband’s Maes Hughes like excitement over the baby was only adding to her discomfort. While it was sweet, his constant “Is everything OK? Do you need something? A blanket? Water? A pillow? Is the baby kicking? Are you SURE that wasn’t a contraction? (“no, Ed, it was just a fart”)” was starting to get on Winry’s nerves now that they were so close to the due date. However, that gushing had suddenly ended a couple of days ago, and Winry didn’t know what to make of it. While it was a relief that she managed to go all the way from the sofa to the toilet without him asking what was wrong when the baby was simply pressing against her bladder, she knew that something wasn’t right. Something bothered Ed, and he wasn’t telling her what it was.

“Huh? I thought it was annoying you.” Ed shrugged, trying to brush the topic off.

“Since when have you cared whether something annoys me or not?” Winry rolled her eyes. There was some seriousness behind her question, though; despite being a couple, the two of them were the masters of annoying each other. Ed had even said once that he wouldn’t want to date someone with whom he couldn’t have occasional bickering battles. The fact that Ed used that excuse made Winry even more convinced that Ed was keeping something from her.

“You are being pushy, woman.” Ed glared at her for a moment before hiding his face behind his huge alchemy book. He didn’t get to fake-read it too long, though, because Winry smacked him on the head with a newspaper that had been lying on the sofa table.

“What the hell, Winry? I’m trying to read that!” he exclaimed and tried to take his book back from his wife who had snatched it from him when he had tried to defend himself from the newspaper attack.

“No, you are trying to ignore me,” Winry said, holding the book out of Ed’s reach. “And as your pregnant wife I can’t accept that. Seriously. Talk to me. If you can’t tell me what’s bothering you, then we have much bigger problems than I thought…”

“If you really must know…” Ed sighed in defeat after a long silence. “Al gave me this the other day.” He pulled a book he had really been reading when Winry wasn’t nearby from behind the sofa cushions, and Winry’s mouth formed a huge ‘o’ when she read the title.

“How to be a good parent,” it said.

“Ed…” Winry started, but her brain couldn’t decide what to say next before Ed continued:

“This book… has made me realize there’s still so much I don’t know, so many things that I haven’t experienced myself because my dad was never there,” he uttered bitterly. “And… there are moments when I’m wondering if I’m ready for this.”

“Ed, my granny always says none of us are really ready for the first baby, no matter how well prepared we are, but we’ll still figure it out eventually…” Winry tried to comfort him, but that wasn’t enough to convince Ed.

“No, you don’t understand. What if I become like my dad? What if one day I just leave you and… I could never forgive myself for that!”

“Listen,” Winry said as softly as possible even though she couldn’t deny that Ed’s words upsetted her. “The fact that you worry about that means that you are different from him. I know that you would never do that to your own child when you know what it feels like. I understand why you are scared… hell, I’m scared too! Remember, you’re not the only one without parent models in this room!

“Yeah, you are right. I’m sorry.”

Winry didn’t answer to Ed’s apology, instead she said as an afterthought: “We have already been through so much together… and we have always survived, right? And Granny, Al, Mrs. Gracia, Mrs. Izumi, everyone will help us.”

“I know.” At least he gave Winry a quick grin, which she took as a good sign.

“If you’re still not convinced… I suppose I could give you my present a little early,” Winry noted mysteriously and left the living room, getting something from a closet that Ed never checked. Soon she returned and handed him a box that had apparently been lying there for a while now.

“What’s this about?” Ed asked with confusion. “It’s not my birthday or anything…”

“I was going to give this to you after the baby was born, but… I suppose this is as good a time as any.” Winry stated.

Ed lifted the lid of the box, and saw the box was full of objects… for the baby.

“Huh? What’s the meaning of this?” he asked, still not understanding where Winry was aiming to. How was this supposed to cheer him up?

“It’s something I like to call a ‘paternity package’! In some countries, I hear a woman who is expecting receives a maternity package from the state, and the package is full of baby clothes and other necessities needed for taking care of a baby. The baby can even sleep in the box when it’s still tiny! But yeah, this is meant for you, and I made it. Well, Al helped me a bit, because I had a hard time deciding what you’d like…”

“Oh…”

Ed started taking in everything that was in the box. First he found a baby’s bodice that said ‘daddy’s little sunshine’ on the front. Winry blushed a bit when he kept staring at it with an unreadable expression, and said “I know, it’s a bit cheesy, but…”

“No, it’s… sweet…” Ed said, surprising her. “Did you make the text yourself?”

“I did…” Winry admitted.

The next thing he found from the box was a rag for wiping the baby’s face, and to Ed’s surprise it had black skull shapes printed on it.

“Out of all people I know, I wouldn’t have expected you to get me… well, technically, the baby… something like this… I have always thought you call them ‘tacky’…”

“It is tacky! But it’s also something you like so we thought it would make you happy…” Winry twitched her hands nervously.

“I can’t believe you’d get me all this…” Ed patted Winry briefly on the head affectionately before turning his attention back to the box. “What the… This must be the coolest pacifier I’ve ever seen!” He lifted the small object closer to his face so he could see the letters Al had transmuted into the handle better. ‘Silencing transmutation’, it said. Ed couldn’t hide his grin anymore, as it got wider and wider the more baby things he found from the box.

Finally, he lifted the biggest object from the bottom of the box and unfolded it. It was a baby’s blanket, and someone (most likely Winry) had drawn simple, small transmutation circles on it with a fabric pen. When Ed took them in better, he realized it was a code that he needed to break. It didn’t take him too long, though:

S-U-C-C-E-S-S-F-U-L H-U-M-A-N T-R-A-N-S-M-U-T-A-T-I-O-N

He started laughing so hard he doubled over, and when he finally calmed down enough to see Winry’s expression, he noticed she was having a hurt expression on her face.

“Why are you laughing?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Because…” Ed guffawed, wiping a couple of tears from the corners of his eyes. “This must be the best present ever! Only you and Al would do something like this! Did Al help you with the code?”

“Well, he gave me the idea about the transmutation circles, but I made the code myself…”

“I always knew there was a reason why I married you!” Ed ruffled Winry’s hair again, now longer than earlier.

“Hey!”

“Seriously, though, this is… wonderful. You always manage to cheer me up… Just like that day at the train station.”

“Now, do you believe that /I/ believe in you?” Winry asked, happy about the shift in Ed’s mood.

“Yeah… Thank you, Gearhead,” Ed said, smiling widely.

“No problem, Alchemy freak.” Winry answered, receiving a wet kiss on her cheek.

#503week #edwin #edxwin #edward elric #winry rockbell #fullmetal alchemist #my fics

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rosecorcoranwrites · 5 years

Text

Editing Advice Part 4: Copyediting

Now that you have checked your WIP for continuity, addressed every plot hole, and finished all rewrites, it's time to put on the final touches by copyediting!

Now, just to be clear, the term "copyediting" usually refers to when an editor, not the writer, reads the manuscript looking for errors, and it actually does include a lot of continuity editing and fact checking. But this series is for writers editing their own work before another soul reads it (regardless of if the work will then be self-published or sent out to agents and editors). It is my belief that, for a writer, continuity editing should come long before the final stage of the editing process. Thus, for our purposes, I'm going to use "copyediting" to refer to correcting errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other such things.

Obviously, this involves going through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb, on the lookout for misspellings and typos. However, there are a few items to especially watch for, roughly broken down into the categories of spelling; grammar, usage, and style; and punctuation, spacing, and everything else.

Spelling

Spelling of made-up or unusual words: If you write fantasy or sci-fi, odds are you're using at least a few words that don't exist in the regular lexicon. Make sure you use consistent spelling for these. This is especially true for different forms of said words. For example, I chose to spell "Lesse" in Lesse's Moor with and "e" at the end, which is easy to remember. Yet, when spelling the adjectival form of that word, I used either an "e" or "a": Lesserian and Lessarian. I had to choose one to use throughout. This goes for non-made-up words as well. "Empyreal" of the Empyreal Palace is a real word (it means celestial), but it's not like I've known how to spell it from my youth, so I still had to double check it every time I came across it to make sure it was spelled correctly.

British vs American spelling: If you spend a lot of time reading books from across the pond, you might have picked up some foreign spellings. As a child, I would always spell "gray" as "grey", because I liked it better, and to this day, that spelling sneaks into my writing from time to time. There are many such words in the English language that you should watch out for.

Hyphens: Make sure that you know which words are hyphenated, and that they are always hyphenated in your manuscript. Pay attention to height and ages: "six-foot tall", "four-year-old" and so on. Keep consistent for made-up words as well. Will you use "mechano-magical" or "mechanomagical"? Whichever you choose, you have to use that spelling every time.

Homophones and similar words: You might think that this is dumb to mention, since you, of course, know the difference between all the homophones in the world, but that's irrelevant. I know the difference too, yet I mix them up all the time in my writing. Some people picture the spellings of words even as they speak, and I am not one of them. I know the difference between "their", "they're", and "there" like the back of my hand; I still write the wrong one about a third of the time. Why? Because when I write, I'm picturing how the words sound and, moreover, how the scene looks, not how the text will appear on the page. That's what copyediting is for. You can Google lists of commonly misspelled or mixed-up words, or write down your own list if you have certain words you personally get confused.

Grammar, Usage and Style

Subject-verb agreement: By the time you're at this stage of editing, your manuscript is likely a Frankenstein's monster of sewn-together old drafts, and that tends to lead to some weird grammar. Make sure your subjects and verbs agree. That means that if the subject is plural—they, policemen, the dragons, or whatever—the verb has to be one you use on plurals—were, know, have eaten. If the subject is singular—he, a policeman, the dragon—the verbs similarly have to match—was, knows, has eaten. If you're not too keen on grammar, read it out loud and see if it sounds right; even if you don't know all the proper grammatical phraseology, you know English and you'll be able to pick up on errors that you hear.

Writing out numbers or not: Generally speaking, for narrative prose, you should write out the numbers zero through one hundred. For larger numbers, 101 to infinity, you can use numerals, but some guides suggest that numbers ending in two or more zeros should also be written out: two hundred, five million, etc. But I think you can get away with writing out larger numbers as well, like three hundred seventy-three; it looks nicer to me. Whatever you choose to do with larger numbers, stay consistent. Special numbers like years and addresses, however, should be written in numerals: 221 B. Baker Street, 1984, etc.

Capitalization of titles of people: Obviously, if the the title comes right before the persons name, and is thus part of their name, it's capitalized: Queen Delilah, Doctor Mario, Professor Moriarty, President Coolidge. But what about when the title is by itself? Well, it depends on how you're using it. If the title is used to address the person, it's capitalized: "You saved his life, Doctor!" or "Well, Professor, it looks like your theory was wrong." Obviously special title have special addresses which are obviously capitalized: Your Majesty, Mr. President, etc. If, on the other hand, you are talking about the person, or the office in general, it's not (usually) capitalized: "The professor is getting on my nerves!", "That doctor is a quack", "The president has to be an American citizen". However, for certain fancier offices, if you are talking about a particular holder of that office, you do capitalize it. Now, I found a few competing sources on this, but from what I could figure, the only titles that work this way are Pope, King, Queen. Again, you have to be referring to a very specific person to do this: "The Queen has been slain!" "The Pope blessed the travelers". Some sources also said this could be done for the president's of countries, but other said not to, so... I guess pick which way you'll do it an stay consistent.

Punctuation, Spacing, and Everything Else

Extra spaces: Get rid of 'em. This included two spaces after a period (for us old people who learned that that was the correct way to type!) as well as space at the end of paragraphs, between two words, and so on.

Missing punctuation: Don't forget commas after opening phrases like "Well, you see..." or "Of course, I'd never say that," or when separating a name when being addressed: "Are you ok, Constance?". Double check that every paragraph has a period or closing quotation marks; somehow, these seem to disappear on me and I've never figured out why.

Smart quotes, … vs ..., and m-dashes: This is almost getting into formatting territory, but I'm going to include it here anyway. Depending on what word processor you use to write your WIP, there might be some differences in how certain characters are automatically formatted. For example, some programs will turn quotation marks ( " " ) into smart quotes, i.e., one that wrap toward the text and have different opening and closing characters ( “ ” ). Something similar happens to ellipses, which may be typed as three periods (...) but turned into a single character (…). Finally, there is the m-dash, that long dash used in a way similar to a colon. When you type it by itself, it typically looks like two dashes (--), but if you type a letter, then two dashes, then another letter with no spaces between, it turns into a single character (—). I'm in favor of all of these automatic changes, as they look nicer, but depending on where you typed what part of my WIP, they don't always happen. It's a good idea to go though your manuscript and add them in, or set your word processor to change them automatically.

Personal foibles: Finally, know thyself. Are there weird mistakes that you always tend to make? I myself tend not to use question marks (they are a silly punctuation mark and ought not exist!). I have to be careful to check that all of my questions are, in fact, marked as such. Maybe you tend to spell one particular word incorrectly, or are really bad at using commas. Know your weaknesses and make an effort to fix them while writing and catch them while editing.

Tips to Make Life a Little Easier

The greatest tip I can give you is to embrace your Find and Find/Change or Find/Replace functions of your word processor. You'll find these in your edit menu.

Find should be used to check homophones and commonly misspelled words. When editing, I'll Find the word "its" and go through my entire document to check each instance of this word to make sure it should not be "it's". then, I do the reverse, searching every instance of "it's" to make sure it should not be "its". I do this for each of the words that I, personally, confuse. Know thyself; if you never confuse "it's" with "its", don't bother checking it, but if you know that you often confuse "principal" and "principle", use the Find function. You can also use this to Find quotation marks and replace them with smart quotes if your word processor doesn't have the option to replace all quotation marks with smart ones at once.

And then there is my favorite, Find/Change. This should also be found in your edit menu, sometimes with the "Find..." feature and sometimes as a separate "Replace..." option. What Find/Change allows you to do is enter in some word, like, say, "Lessarian" and replace every instance of it with a new word, like "Lesserian". I use this to do a quick fix of made-up words and British to American spellings. I also use this if I have changed character and place names, so that I can replace every instance of, say, "Robert" with "Brother Roberto". It's also useful for catching double spaces, as you can Find " " (two spaces) and Replace them with " " (one space). You can also replace two dashes with an m-dash or the three-character ellipsis with a single character ellipsis.

And with that, you'll have a sparkly new manuscript, ready for the eyes of agents, publishers, or—should you go the self-published route—your readers. Speaking of which, you self-pub peeps out there might need a bit of advice on formatting and proofreading. I just so happen to have some such advice! But it will take some doing (mostly in the form of screen shots), so that post will have to wait for a while. In the meantime, get to work polishing that manuscript! If you come across some weird editing issue and need particular advice, my email, Facebook messenger, and Tumblr asks and messenger are always open. Happy editing!

#copyediting #editing #editing advice #writing advice #writer advice #advice for writers #writing #writeblr #writelr #typos #misspellings #writers #how to edit #author advice #advice for authors

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gingywritesimagines · 6 years

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Mistakes and Decisions (Part 2)

Title: Mistakes and Decisions

Chapter: 1 2

Fandom: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda/Love, Simon

Pairing: Leah Burke x reader, platonic!Simon Spier x reader

Description: After the Halloween party, you look to start anew, but that proves difficult when the person you’re trying to move on from seems to be absolutely everywhere. It gets worse when one of the friends you seek comfort in has his respect, privacy, and well-being violated in the worst way.

Warnings: cursing, public outing, M*rtin *ddison being his evil self, Simon Spier is sad and that makes everyone else sad

A/N: Part 2 is here! School is back in session and I am crying the gayest of tears- hence why the September chapter is being published now. This part has about as much M*rtin hating as the last chapter so yaaay FUCK M*RTIN. This also puts a lot more attention on the reader and their friendship with Simon, and their transition in friend groups. Hope you enjoy!

Taglist: @fandomsneverdie14 @mcoomcoo @tina20213 @berry-kitten-paws @caelestii-e @sims4ccshopingcart

Months after the Halloween party, you had been trying your best to live a blissful, Martin-free life. You’d been spending more and more time with Simon, Leah, and their friends. Bram and Nick often talked to you about lunchtime snacks or soccer- sometimes even asking you if you could come film their practice. Abby would plan girls nights with you and Leah, seemingly determined to have at least one stereotypical, 90s-teen-movie-esque sleepover. Garrett felt a lot safer about hanging out with you, but he would sometimes still apologize for what happened, still feeling like it was kind of his fault.

Simon was kind and comforting- as always- but something felt off. You’d sometimes notice him slink off into another room, Martin either closely behind or leading the way. You were sorta worried; your first thought on the situation being that either Martin was scheming his way back into your life through Simon, or Simon was dragging Martin away to guarantee he wouldn’t talk to you. Either way you were concerned, but you decided it’d be best not to think much of it, and shook those thoughts out of your head to tune back in to Taylor Metternich’s speech about her Christmas plans.

“-after swimming with dolphins, we fly to Saint Martin for New Years. Anyone else? Christmas in the Caribbean?”

You rolled your eyes, sharing a look with Simon as you folded yet another play program. Simon chuckled slightly before answering Taylor.

“Staying here. We have a classic Spier tradition of French toast on Christmas eve.”

“I’m staying too.”

“I’m going to an unheated vacation house in the middle of nowhere.” your band friend, Cal Price, groaned, “As is our bleak family tradition.”

Before anyone else could answer Taylor, Martin shot out of his seat, “Ow! Ow! Oh, man. Ow.”

“You okay?” Simon asked, clearly unamused.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a papercut.”

“Overdramatic.”

“Um, Simon, do you know where the bandages are?” he asked, leaning in uncomfortably close.

“Uh, yeah.” Simon muttered, turning back to the program in his hand, “They’re in the supply closet.”

“Okay, do you mind showing me?”

At that question, everyone paused and eyed Martin suspiciously. He’s 17 and he can’t find the damn band-aids himself? Before anyone questioned him though, Simon stood with an exasperated sigh. Martin smirked as he watched Simon lead the way.

“He’s like a nurse, this man.”

Everyone was at least a little confused as they watched Simon and Martin slink off into the distance, but no one said anything for the rest of the day. After that, you noticed Martin hanging out with Abby and her friends a lot more, Simon shooting you an apologetic half-smile as you left to sit with Suraj. You saw minor bits of unaddressed tension happening within that friend group, and you were honestly a little surprised that they made it to the homecoming game together.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Simon called, ushering you over to sit next to Abby on the bleachers, “How’s it going?”

“I’m good.” you smiled, sitting down, “How are you guys?”

“I’m okay.” Abby smiled, leaning the bag in her hands so the opening was closer to you, “Popcorn?”

“Sure, thanks!”

You popped a fistful of popcorn in your mouth as Leah answered your question, “We’re good. Nick and I just came from dinner.”

You almost choked, “Dinner?”

“Yeah, I took Leah out for dumplings. It was a nice date, we had a good time.” Nick answered, “Right, Leah?”

“Yeah, I had a great time.”

Your heart sank at that. You were happy for them, you were, but some part of you was screaming- some part of you was breaking at the idea of Leah going on a date with someone else. You two weren’t joined at the hip, and it wasn’t like you’d told her you liked girls, but that didn’t change the smile that popped onto your face every time she entered the room, or the years of butterflies she never failed to give you...

...before you could ponder any further on the subject, the field’s sound system crackled to life.

“Please stand for the national anthem.”

As everyone stood, Taylor walked up to the platform they’d put down as a stage, “This goes out to all the refugees... and my vocal coach, Monica Lewis. O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proud...” Before she had even finished the first part of the song, the Creekwood mascot ran up to the platform, wrestling the microphone out of Taylor’s hands, “What the hell are you doing?”

Grabbing the mic, the bear ripped the costume’s head off to reveal Martin, “Hi everyone. Uh, sorry to interrupt.”

“Why are we interrupting the national anthem?” You heard Mr. Worth ask uncertainly.

“But I have something to say... that's a little more important than the national anthem. No offense, America. Abigail Katherine Susso…”

As he said that, Abby squeezed herself between you and Simon, and you could have sworn you’d heard her whisper, “How does he know my middle name?”

“-when you transferred to Creekwood High School, just a short three and a half months ago, you not only transferred into a new school, you transferred your way into a new heart, belonging to me. My heart. Right here. And whether it was being your partner in pong, or your Waffle House warrior, I have cherished the 135,300 minutes that we've spent together. Oh, I'm sorry. 135,301 minutes. And I know that you're this smart, talented, perfect creature. And, uh, I'm just a sweaty schlub in a bear costume. But like old Bogie used to say, it's a ‘crazy mixed-up world.’ So, Abby, without further ado... will you go out with me?”

With every word he said, Abby sunk further and further into you and Simon, but she reluctantly sat up to go answer him. Some random crowd member shouted “she’s too hot for you, assface” as she squeezed her way to the front of the bleachers.

“Martin, I am so sorry, I don’t feel that way about you.”

“You don’t?”

“No. But I really like hanging out with you and I don’t know, maybe we could still be friends, you know?”

“Yeah.”

In that moment, your phone buzzed. As you pulled it out of your pocket, you saw a notification from a walkie-talkie app that Martin had made you get ages ago. You opened the app to hear Suraj’s voice on the other end.

“What did she say? Should I release them?”

“Them?” You asked quietly, “Suraj, does Martin have birds prepared for this or something?”

“Doves, yeah. I have no clue where he got ‘em tho-”

“Suraj.” You sighed, deciding that now would be when you got your revenge, “Release the doves.”

After a couple of seconds, you heard soft gasps from a few places, and Leah was one of them, “Are those doves?”

“No, no, hey, hey! Suraj! Hey! No, no! She said no!” Martin cried, waving his arms wildly, which Suraj took to mean ‘open the other cage’, “No, don't!”

The crowd started laughing as the second set of doves flew away, and you heard Nick mutter to Simon, “Yo, I thought you said she liked him.”

“She might’ve.” You answered, “But the humiliation he just put her through probably ruined it.”

“Not the ceremonious dove launch I was hoping for. But still uplifting to free some birds. Yeah. Okay, uh... Enjoy the game.” Martin was clearly trying to remain positive, but everyone was more focused on Abby’s feelings.

“That was terrible.” She muttered, sitting back down between you and Simon.

“Are you okay?” You asked, suddenly regretting the dove decision.

“Yeah. It’s nice that Suraj released the doves even when I said no. Expose Martin for going way too big for something like this, ruin his moment, save those poor birds.” She smiled at you, but her eyes showed she was kinda uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry.” Simon assured her, “People will get over it in a few weeks.”

Contrary to what Simon predicted, the whole incident had become a massive meme on CreeksSecrets and although Abby hadn’t had to deal with it since a week after it happened, Martin had been mocked online well into Christmas break. However, that wasn’t the worst possible thing to happen over Christmas break. Less than a week before the actual holiday, you logged onto Tumblr and decided to check the school blog, but your heart dropped straight into your stomach as you read the words that first showed up on the screen:

Dear fellow Creekwood students, Simon Spier has a secret male pen pal. Because he's gay. Interested parties may contact him directly to discuss arrangements for butt sex. Ladies need not apply. We should all probably be talking about this instead of Martin Addison's homecoming debacle which was actually kind of sweet, and romantic, if you think about it. Sincerely, Anonymous.

Immediately, you grabbed your phone and texted Simon. You weren’t sure what approach to take, so you decided to act like nothing was wrong.

I just made cookies, want some? :)

You waited for an answer, but two hours later, he still hadn’t replied. You decided to call him, but it went to voicemail.

“Hey, this is Simon. I can’t make it to the phone right now, but you know what to do.”

“Hey, Simon, it’s me. I just wanted to check in. I know it’s barely been a week since school got out but I miss you, buddy. I have cookies, and I, uh, I know you’re having a tough time right now, so please just call me back. I love you, Simon, and I wanna help. Please let me. Okay, uh, merry Christmas. Call me back. Bye.”

You’d placed your call at 8pm, and refused to go to sleep until he answered you- but he didn’t. He didn’t text or call you back all night, and once you realized he probably never would, you took a long nap before getting to work. You got dressed, grabbed the box of cookies off the counter (yes, you’d told him you baked them but you didn’t actually have time for that right now), threw the cookies and all Simon’s favourite things from your house into a messenger bag, and biked your way to the Spier household. Mrs. Spier opened the door when you knocked.

“(Y/N)! Good to see you! How’s your Christmas break?” she cheered.

“It’s good, Mrs. Spier, thanks.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but, um, is Simon home?” You asked, not meaning to be rude but worrying more about your friend than the conversation.

“Oh, yeah, he’s just upstairs. Come on in.” She held the door open for you as you entered, “I think something may have happened though, he’s been in his room since yesterday.”

“Oh.” You said, acting as though you knew nothing, “Is it okay if I go up and check on him?”

“Oh, yes, of course, sweetheart. Go on up, just make sure to knock before you go in, okay?”

“Of course.”

With that, you ran up the stairs and navigated your way to Simon’s room, using the vague memory of the night after Bram’s to guide you. Suddenly, a room opened up, and Simon’s sister stepped out, stopping when she saw you.

“Hey, (Y/N), right? You’re Simon’s friend?” she asked.

“Yeah. You’re Nora, right?”

“That’s me.” She smiled weakly, “Are you here about the post?”

Your stance fell, and a solemn silence fell briefly between the two of you, “I’m just here to make sure he’s okay. What he went through- what he’s going through- is terrible, but he shouldn’t have to go through it alone.”

She nodded, gesturing to a door a little ways away from you two, “That one’s his. And thank you, for doing this for him.”

You offered her a smile, and headed straight for Simon. You knocked on the door and his voice very weakly answered from the other side.

“I’ll be down in a minute, mom.”

“I’m not your mom, Simon, it’s me.”

Almost immediately, the door flew open, and a very red-eyed Simon stood practically looming over you, a look of shock and confusion etched on his face. You could tell he had been crying, so you pulled the cookies out of your bag.

“I brought you some cookies.”

With that, Simon visibly untensed, taking the box from you slowly and stepping a side to silently invite you in. You were both silent for a while, just sitting on his floor, until he cleared his throat.

“So, I take it you saw the post?”

“Yeah, I did.” you nodded slowly, “I wanted to come make sure you’re okay. I can’t imagine what I’d do if someone outed me.”

Your friend’s head whipped toward you so fast you thought he might get whiplash, “Wait- Wait, you’re...” there was a pause, as though he was struggling to get the word out, “...you’re gay too?”

“You bet your ass I am, sweetheart.” you chuckled, “Girls? Perfection.”

Simon laughed too, “So you, you can kinda understand what’s going on?”

Your smile fell with those words, “I can’t imagine, Simon. I can’t imagine the pain or the anger or the humiliation that you must be going through.”

Simon frowned at that, staring down at his carpet in defeat, until you put your hand over his, “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be here for you, no matter what. Wherever this bullshit takes you, Si, I’m there- right by your side.”

“Thanks (Y/N).” your friend smiled, “You’re a really good friend.”

Over the rest of the Christmas break, you talked with Simon almost constantly. You regaled him with tales of your father’s decorating mishaps and your new years adventures with Suraj. He showed you the gifts he’d received and he told you that he still hadn’t talked to anyone else from school; in his defence, no one was making an effort to reach out either. By the time school came back into session, you and Simon were closer than ever, but with his other friends- not so much. You even saw him get out of the car alone when he arrived, so you ran up to make sure everything was okay.

“They didn’t want a ride this morning.” was all he said, but you tried to comfort him as best you could.

The rest of the morning was a painful blur. Sneers and whispers were thrown at Simon from all directions, but you were the only person who made direct eye contact with him all day. His so-called friends avoided him like the plague, and lunch made it much, much worse. Everything was fine, just you and Simon eating at a table by yourselves, until sudden music came blaring into the cafeteria. Two assholes- Aaron and Spencer, if you remember correctly- came skipping into the café, one dressed normally and one dressed in a wig and scarf (clearly mocking Ethan, Creekwood’s first out gay kid). They got up on one of the tables and started dancing and making obscene gestures, mocking Simon directly but dragging Ethan into it as well. Rage bubbled up inside you, but Simon got up first.

“You have something you wanna say to me?” he roared, marching up to their table, “I said do you have something to say to me?”

Ms. Albright came up behind Simon, grabbing the speaker that was blaring music and turning it off.

“Hey, Ms. Albright.” The one dressed as Ethan smiled, but his smile quickly fell as her glare hardened.

“Don't ‘Hey, Ms. Albright’ me. We're not friends. You're not gonna braid my hair or paint my nails. Get your ass off the table now! You sweaty, hormonal virgins. You know what? You're about to be suspended for so long, that by the time it's over, you're gonna be the fat, bald, unhappily married, wildly mediocre nobodies you're destined to become.”

“You can't talk to us like that!”

“Actually, I can, 'cause I just did. And you know why? Because you're just those two assholes that did that shitty thing in front of the whole school. And guess what? Nobody feels sorry for those assholes, especially me. Now, walk. Mr. Worth's office now. Bye.”

The boys got off the table slowly, and started walking out of the cafeteria. One tried to get the speaker back from Ms. Albright, but she pulled it away sharply.

“Uh-uh. That's mine now. I'mma sell it. Get my tubes tied.”

“Um, Ms. Alrbight?” you stood, and walked over to her, “May I?”

You gestured to the two assholes as they turned to look at you. Assuming you just wanted to yell at them, Ms. Albright nodded, gesturing for you to continue. You nodded in thanks, walked up to the boys.... and sucker-punched both of them. The entire student body gasped, and at least two teachers ran up to keep you from doing any more damage, but you threw your hands up in mock surrender. You turned around, gave Simon a hug, and started walking to Mr. Worth’s office, throwing your middle finger in the air as you walked out. When you arrived at Mr. Worth’s office, he was initially excited to see you.

“Hey! (Y/N)! Good to see you! How’ve you been? What can I do for you?”

“Ms. Albright sent me.” you said simply, sitting down in one of the chairs across from his desk.

His face scrunched up in concern, “Oh? How come? Everything okay?”

“Aaron and Spencer committed a small hate crime against Simon and Ethan so I decked ‘em.”

Mr. Worth’s eyes widened, “B-by ‘decked em’ you mean...?”

“I punched them so hard they fell over.” You explained simply.

Mr. Worth nodded slowly, clearly still in shock from both what you did and how casual you were being about this. He said that although violence was never the answer, he understood why you did what you did, and he assured you that Aaron and Spencer would get the punishment that they deserved. He explained that because you took violent measures, he’d have to suspend you for at least a couple days, and you explained that that was fine- you knew the consequences when you took action, and you were prepared to deal with them. You and Mr. Worth agreed on a week-long suspension, and he sent you to get your things out of your locker and make arrangements to get homework while he called your parents. You told Suraj everything, having run into him on your way to your locker, and he offered to bring you your homework while you were gone- also mentioning that he’d seen Simon and Ethan entering Mr. Worth’s office earlier. Deciding that you should check on Simon, and that his meeting with Mr. Worth was probably over by now, you ran out to the parking lot to find him. However, when you got out there, the first thing you heard was Martin’s whiny bitching.

“-I got in a lot of shit for Homecoming, and I wanted everyone to focus on something else, you know? I just didn't think it was gonna be a big thing.”

“I don't care if you didn't think that my coming out was gonna be a big thing, Martin!” You heard Simon yell, “Look, you don't get to decide that. I'm supposed to be the one that decides when and where, and how and who knows and how I get to say it. That's supposed to be my thing! And you took that away from me. So, well, can you please just get the fuck away from me?”

You walked out around a car to see Simon storming into his car, and Martin standing there, looking pathetically helpless. With a sigh, he turned around, but stood there gawking when he saw you watching.

“(Y/n), I-”

“It was you.”

“What?” he asked, acting nonchalant but clearly guilty.

“It was you!” you screeched, barrelling towards him, “You’re the pathetic son of a bitch who outed Simon! You did this to him!”

“(Y/n), I can explain-”

“Save it, Addison! I cannot believe you!” You screamed in his face, “You manipulate me and abuse me and treat me like shit! You get called out on it so you just toss me aside like a wet rag! You act sketchy for months, then you humiliate the shit out of poor Abby! And when you were too much of a pussy to deal with the consequences of your own fucking actions, you put Simon’s life at risk because you couldn’t take the fucking heat?”

“Hey, hey, hey! I never abused you!” he held up his hands defensively, “And I didn’t know people still did that stuff-”

“What part of ‘save it, Addison’ did you not understand, mother fucker?” You spat. When he became silent, you continued, “You wanna talk so fucking badly, answer me this, Martin: How the fuck did you get a hold on Simon’s emails?”

He looked down at his feet, “I, uh, used the computer in the library after Simon. His gmail was still up. I read a few of them- ‘cause they were just right there- and I, um, I screenshotted his emails... so he’d help me get with Abby.”

Your eyes widened in rage at that, “You what?”

“I-”

“No, no, asshole. You screenshotted the emails of an innocent kid and threatened to out him in the bible-belt of America, if he didn’t help you get with a girl who’s barely known you for three months- as thought that was a better plan than just fucking talking to her- and then you forcibly outed him anyway when your little plan didn’t work out because, surprise surprise, she didn’t appreciate that you didn’t see her as anything more than a piece of meat for you to parade around!”

As you screamed, Martin got defensive, “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad!”

“NO SHIT IT SOUNDS BAD, MOTHER FUCKER, YOU RUINED A KID’S LIFE JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE PATHETIC BUT YOU STILL CAN’T KEEP IT IN YOUR FUCKING PANTS!” you were booming with rage now, and you wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole school could hear you, “As if ruining my life wasn’t enough, you had to rope Simon and Abby into this shit too, you selfish fucking bastard!”

“Ruined your life?” He repeated, as though he didn't hear anything else you said, “We were friends!”

“No, I was your plaything, Martin. Just something to manipulate, and use, and beat up on until something better caught your eye and you could toss me to the curb! Then you’d just pick me back up and do it all over again once you lost interest. I was never your friend! I never mattered to you! I didn’t mean shit to you!”

Martin blubbered trying to find a justifiable way to defend himself, “Why does it matter how I treated you? I bet you never liked me anyway!”

“For fuck’s sake, you were like family. I loved you, Martin!”

“You, you loved me?”

“Yeah, I did.” You spat, opening your car door, “Worst mistake of my fucking life.”

You climbed into the car, slammed the door, and sped off- almost running him over in the process. Not that you cared; the world could do better with less people like Martin Addison.

#love simon #simon vs the homosapiens agenda #leah burke #simon spier #love simon imagine #svthsa imagine #leah burke imagine #love simon x reader #svthsa x reader #leah burke x reader #mine #My Story #not MY gif #gingywritesimagines #gingywritessvthsa

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inawickedlittletown · 6 years

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Walking The Wire (52/?)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

Masterpost

Chapter Fifty One

There seemed to be a lot going on inside Tony Stark’s workshop when Peter was allowed inside by Friday. There was music blaring -- something loud and hard that Peter was sure Uncle Ben had listened to and that made Peter wince because it was so loud. Thinking about Uncle Ben hurt a little, especially in light of Tony Stark being his father because Uncle Ben ad tried to tell him with his last words and when Peter didn’t let him he had never expected to ever find his father or even get to know him.

Mr. Stark was working on something to do with the Spider-Man suit, Peter realized as he stepped further inside. He was too busy to notice that Peter had entered but one of the bots did and wheeled over to him and Peter laughed because it was just a robot but it was cute and Peter reached out to touch it and then it was gone again and Peter watched as it grabbed what looked to be a blender cup and wheeled towards Mr. Stark.

“Dum-E, I am not hungry,” Mr. Stark said without even looking up, “put that back before I donate you to charity. Not sure any will take you, but there is a chance.”

Dum-E beeped and Peter thought the robot sounded a little sad as he rolled to set the blender cup down elsewhere. Whatever was inside didn’t really look appetizing so Peter understood why Mr. Stark didn’t want it.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said, stepping closer.

Mr. Stark didn’t seem to hear him and Peter could tell that the man was in his element so Peter figured it was probably better to just let him work. Instead he looked around the workshop a little more. It really was an amazing space.

Peter didn’t know if Mr. Stark had gone to bed at all the night before since he never saw or heard him leave the workshop. But, then, Peter had actually fallen asleep in the living room until he woke up in the middle of the night and Friday led him to one of the bedrooms and the most comfortable bed that Peter had ever slept on. Peter had woken up there a little confused just a few minutes earlier, but everything had flooded in and Peter found that he was feeling a little bit better about everything. He just still needed some more time to figure out what would come next. He pressed his hands against his ears as he walked around the workshop and wondered if Friday would lower the volume if he asked.

He ended up not having to ask because suddenly the music died down and Mr. Stark was looking up at a screen and a woman that Peter recognized as Pepper Potts appeared there. She wore a business suit, had her hair tied back and more put together than anyone that Peter had ever seen before.

“Hey, Pep, what’s going on?” Mr. Stark asked.

“I did a bit of digging around. I’ll send you everything I managed to find on The Raft. I just don’t know how that’ll come in handy to you because you can’t do the rescuing yourself and currently we’re not going to get anywhere even if we get all of the SI lawyers on this.”

Mr. Stark sighed. “I think Steve will take care of the rescuing for us. I just hope that Ross isn’t trying to use The Raft as bait. I’ll have to get some of this to Steve and offer as much help as we can. I know where he is so I’ll find a way.”

“That sounds like you’ve thought this through. How are you with that? Are you--”

Mr. Stark cut her off. “I’m fine. I’m more than fine. Have you heard from Fury yet? He’s not returning my calls and Hill hasn’t answered my emails which is typical.”

Ms. Potts didn’t seem to care that Mr. Stark was brushing off her first question. “Maybe they’re more on Steve’s side than yours,” Ms. Potts said.

Mr. Stark laughed. “Wouldn’t put it past them, but we’ll need their help if we’re going to try and work around this mess. I did hear from Helen Cho. There’s really nothing more they can do. She’s going to personally oversee his transfer.”

Peter didn’t want to interrupt the conversation, but he felt bad about listening in on Mr. Stark’s conversation. It was just hard to move and try to get a word in to make Mr. Stark notice that he was there.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Ms. Potts said.

“It shouldn’t have come to that,” Mr. Stark said and shook his head. “It just means I’ll have to fix it.”

“Have you spoken to Rhodey?”

“Not really. I don’t know what I would say--”

“And how’s Peter?” Ms. Potts asked.

Peter’s head snapped up at the sound of his name. He hadn’t expected for Mr. Stark to tell anyone about him. It made him wonder about who else might know. Did The Avengers know?

“According to Friday he’s fine. Slept well enough last night even though some of it was on a couch. I really -- I don’t know what I’m doing here. But, he’s great, Pep, he’s just so great. I always knew that but it’s different now I know him.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Ms. Potts said. “You always do and anyway, I think you’re doing well so far. I’ll call if I have anything else to add and keep me updated on Rhodey. Also, Peter’s just behind you so that seems like a good sign.” Then Ms. Potts was gone and Mr. Stark turned around, looking surprised.

“Um, I’m sorry,” Peter said at once. “Friday let me in and then the music was too loud but you said I could come in here and--”

Mr.Stark grinned at him. “Don’t worry about it. You’re welcome in here any time unless it’s on lockdown. Anyway, Friday could have told me you were here when you walked in and she didn’t so really it’s on her.”

“Right,” Peter said and let out a breath. He had never felt so awkward in his life.

“I’ve been working on a few updates for your suit,” Tony said, turning back to his work.

“Oh,” Peter said.

It was mostly precautions. Protocols to protect Peter in any circumstance that Tony could think of because a part of him wanted to just take the suit away and tell Peter that he couldn’t go out as Spider-Man anymore. But Tony knew that it would be a contradictory message after taking him to Germany. In part, Tony could admit that it wasn’t even the dangerous aspect of what Peter did that was bothering him -- he was well aware of how capable Peter was and what his powers gave him -- it was that Tony wasn’t sure how low a profile Peter could keep.

“Does that mean -- am I keeping the suit?”

“Of course you’re keeping the suit,” Tony said and turned to look at him. “Kid, I made this for you. As much for my own peace of mind as it is because you’re not especially talented with a needle.”

“I tried my best,” Peter said.

Tony let himself smile a little. “Yeah, you probably did and I can admit that you weren’t doing too badly for yourself.” He stared at Peter for a long moment and frowned. “Did you have breakfast yet?”

“No. Just woke up,” Peter said and before he lost the courage to: “I think I’m ready to talk about--” he waved his hands “--everything.”

“Sure, sure,” Tony said.

Peter took a deep breath. He didn’t really know how to explain himself. “I don’t -- I don’t really know what this means. I don’t know what you want from me, I guess? I wasn’t looking for my father. We were doing this project in school. Blood typing and punnett squares and I figured it out -- there was no way Richard Parker could be my father. I never thought I would ever figure out who it was and you’re the last person I thought it might be and now…”

Tony could see how nervous and unsure Peter was and yet he was trying not to let that show. Tony was a little surprised about the whole punnett square thing but then again Peter would be smart enough to figure it out that way. Tony was sure that if Peter had actually suspected that Tony and he were related that he would have also found a way to get Tony’s DNA and test it.

Peter seemed to be waiting for him to speak and Tony knew that he had to take everything a bit slower. Maybe he had thrown too much at Peter.

“I wanted you to know, Peter, because I didn’t want to keep that secret from you now that we’ve met,” Tony said and it hurt a little to not just shove all his emotion out at Peter and yet he was realizing that maybe Peter wasn’t ready to know the extent to which Tony cared for him.

“Okay,” Peter said and nodded.

Tony smiled at him. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time but it never worked out. Part of it was me being who I am -- being Iron Man. Your Uncle came up with the idea of the letters as a way to make it so we could have some contact with each other. He was a good man, Peter, and he always wanted the best for you.”

“He came up with the idea,” Peter whispered, surprised. “But that was years ago. Why couldn’t --”

“Peter, the circumstances made it very difficult and we didn’t want -- we didn’t want to tell you the truth if you and I couldn’t meet in person. Anyway, that was then and I’ve finally met you and you know the truth.”

“Yeah,” Peter said, but he was frowning a little and Tony didn’t know what to make of that, but he decided that he might as well finish with what he wanted to say.

“I know you’re not sure where this leaves us and I’m not much better. I don’t want to add any pressure on you. It’s the last thing you need on top of Spider-Man and everything else and I do understand that, Peter, and you can have as long as you want to decide what you want here -- if you want me in your life as more than just a weird eccentric mentor. But I want you to know I’m here for anything. It doesn’t matter the time, the place, or anything else, I’m here. For you, I will always be here whether it be Peter problems or Spider-Man problems. I just wanted you to know and it’s shocking and strange but it’s the truth and I’m game for whatever you want this to mean.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Peter said after a long silence.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Tony said and decided that it was probably better to just change the subject and let Peter think on all of that. “Now come on, you have to explain to me about why you thought it was smart to email me questions about spiders? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Peter actually laughed and some of the worry seemed to fall off his shoulders. “I didn’t know who else to ask,” Peter said. “Also, I kind of wanted you to figure it out, I think, and anyway the idea came from Oscorp because they were working on it and they showed us a bit of it on that field trip and I would have asked even if I didn’t get bitten by a spider.”

“But you did get bitten and decided that you would still ask,” Tony said with a grin. This kid really was something else.

Peter shrugged.

Tony also suddenly realized that he had never looked into the whole spider bite thing. He hadn’t questioned Peter further on it or tried to make sure that he really was alright and that he wasn’t going to end up with some weird side effects.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked.

Tony shook his head. That would be something for later. “It did help,” Tony said, “once I was trying to figure out who Spider-Man was. I thought maybe you had found the webbing or seen Spider-Man. Bit of a surprise when it turned out that my son was Spider-Man, but I guess we’re not so different after all.”

Peter looked unsure again, but then he seemed to push past it. “My aunt always said that I was a lot like my father. I took it to be Richard but she knew he wasn’t my father so she was talking about you. She knew it was you.”

It felt almost like Peter was trying get confirmation that May and Ben did know -- although it had all been implied already -- and Tony figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it to him.

“They knew,” Tony said, “your mother must have told them. Mary made them your guardians in case anything happened to her and Richard and she must have told them about me as well at some point.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “She didn’t think you’d want to take me in if-- when they died?”

Tony shrugged. “I was a completely different person when your mother knew me. I wouldn’t have been good for you or any kid back then. I was a mess.”

“Right,” Peter nodded, and Tony hoped that Peter would never understand the extent to the mess that Tony had been back then.

“Anyway. Breakfast, come on. You’re a growing spider-boy.”

Chapter Fifty Three

#peter and tony #iron dad and spider son #iron dad #iron dad fic #peter and tony fic #mcu #mcu fic #marvel #marvel fic #stony

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imagine-by-susu · 6 years

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The Cookie Fail - Sherlock x Reader

A/N: This was requested by @thefandomfairy567 . I enjoyed to write this one and I hope you enjoy as much as I did while writing it. Requests are open! List of Fandoms GIF IS NOT MINE!

Word Count: 2.182 ________________________________________________________________

Sherlock never was a fan of the holiday spirit. It was no secret. But that he ignored you completely was frustrating you.

You worked in the Morgue together with Molly this is how you met Sherlock and his friend Doctor Watson. First you couldn't stand him at all but in time you got used to his rude behaviour much like John did.

It still got to you sometimes, but you let it slip because this man just doesn't know any better, but you hoped that at least on the Christmas days he would at least be a little bit nicer to you. During the preparation for the Christmas party that was held in his flat he didn't talk to you nor looked at you.

He acted normal to everyone else but to you he was just ruder than ever. Every time you tried to get to talk to him he excused himself and vanished into nothing for the rest of the day. John and Mrs. Hudson said you shouldn't worry too much but still it made you sad that Sherlock ignored you.

Maybe but just maybe you developed some kind of feelings for the Consulting Detective. To your own surprise. The only people who knew where Molly and Mrs. Hudson. Both promised you to keep it a secret. It was better to let this feeling unknown than to be rejected.

Right now, you were under your shower in your flat. You washed your (Y/H/C) extensively hoping to get rid off the smell of death and disinfectant.

While you stepped out of the shower, you rubbed your hair on a towel to dry it a bit. You grabbed your clothes than contained a fluffy, big red jumper with a big collar, short black shorts combined with some cute patterned thighs and for the last touch brown boots to keep your feet warm from the cold.

You put on your clothes and put on some make up. Nothing special, just some mascara and lipstick. Your (Y/H/L) (Y/H/C) was curled and hang freely on your shoulders. With pins you pulled some strands from your face. Now, you were prepared for the Christmas party.

Grabbing the bag were all the presents for your friends were packed, you pulled on your beige winter coat, some gloves and a scarf. Prepared for the cold you went out. It was freezing, and snow came falling down from the sky. Snow in London was rare and you smiled as you made your way to Baker Street.

Meanwhile in 221 B Sherlock sat in the kitchen together with John and Mrs. Hudson. "Are you sure you can do this alone Sherlock?" the landlady asked the dark haired man carefully. Sherlock looked up from the receipt the old Lady gave him. "Of course, It can't be that difficult." Mrs. Hudson and John exchanged a look.

John sat beside his friend. "Did you ever bake anything like that?" John asked him already knowing the answer. "No, John. But how hard can it be to bake some cookies?" Sherlock asked as he got up from his chair and went to the stove with the receipt in his hands.

"Call me, if you need anything." Mrs. Hudson said as she went down to her own flat to prepare the rest for the Christmas Party. John sighed as he watched his friend start to collect the ingredients. "Good luck, Sherlock. You will need it." With he closed the kitchen door, so the Detective won't be disturbed.

The Doctor sat in his chair and over thought the things he just witnessed. The shock was still there as he remembered coming to Baker Street seeing Sherlock with brown bags full of Baking utensils in them. Sherlock confessed he wanted to bake cookies which made John question the sanity of his friend.

He even asked him what kind of drugs he was taking but apparently Sherlock was clean and as Mrs. Hudson came up the stairs with some papers in her hand, John was more surprised that Sherlock took gratefully and even thanked Mrs. Hudson.

"I will bake some Cookies for (Y/N)." the younger Holmes brother said as John had asked him what in the name of god he was doing, expecting the answer for some experiment. "Why would you do that?" John had asked straight forward. "You've been ignoring her the whole month."

Rolling his clear blue eyes Sherlock turned to his friend saying, "I was thinking of a way to tell her that…" but he stopped before. John didn't need anything more. "I knew it. It was a matter of time you realized that you may have feelings for her." He had said to his friend surprising him with that.

Squinting his eyebrow, he asked, "What do you mean, John?" John laughed at that and Mrs. Hudson had a smile on her face as she watched the whole conversation. "Why are you laughing. This is not funny." But John couldn't help himself. "I am sorry, but you were quite obvious. Every time we needed something from the Morgue you especially asked for (Y/N). You would even call her on her free days to get what you need not caring that Molly could do that, too."

It was true. (Y/N) did more than once called of her free day just to get some papers done for Sherlock or get him a body for his latest Cases. But never she said that it bothered her.

John smiled as he remembered the last ten minutes. This could be a very funny Christmas eve. A knock on the door interrupted Johns thoughts and he went to the door opening it in the process. "Oh, hey (Y/N)." he shouted her name a bit louder to let Sherlock know that you arrived. Something crashed down in the kitchen a slight curse came from the room.

Confused (Y/N) titled her head. "Ehm, Hey John. What was that?" she asked as she stepped into the flat putting down her bag with the presents. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold outside and her clothes had some snowflakes on them that slowly started to melt.

"A new Experiment. Better not get in there." John pointed to the closed kitchen door. "Typical. But at Christmas Eve?" she asked disappointment clearly heard in her voice. The Doctor nodded. "You are a bit early." He stated to change the topic. Pulling off her coat and scarf to hang it on the hanger at the door she looked back to John.

"Oh, I just wanted to be here before a bigger storm crushes down on us." She explained as she rubbed her hair to get rid of the snowflakes. "Alright, would you like some Tea? Mrs. Hudson brought one up here just a few minutes ago."

In the kitchen, Sherlock was in panic. Not on the outside. On the outside he was calm as ever but on the inside, he was nearly screaming. He wanted to make it all perfect. So, he followed every single step of the receipt, quite making a mess out of him and the kitchen in the process.

It took him hours, but he managed to put the cookies into the heated oven. Now, he just needed to wait till they were ready. In the mean time he got over the many scenarios that would happened in the near future.

Would (Y/N) be happy? Would she get mad? Would she reject him? How would he cope with if she does? These and many other question came rushing into his mind.

At the party everyone has arrived. Molly was talking to Mrs. Hudson, Greg and John enjoyed a glass of Scotch that Greg had brought with him and even Mycroft showed up. Right now, you were talking to Mary, Johns wife. "This party has a really good atmosphere." The blond woman said smiling as she looked around the people. "Yeah." A sigh escaped your lips as you still didn't catch a glimpse of Sherlock.

Mary noticed your disappointment and looked at you. "I now sweetie, you're upset because your Detective is not here." You rolled your (Y/E/C) eyes at her comment. "He is not 'my' Detective. And I am not upset. It's just not nice to not show up on his own Christmas party just for some experiment." Mary had to hide a smile from you. John texted her the whole scenery as you were in the bathroom.

"Alright, if you say so. But tell me how is it going with this Nick guy?" she asked and took a sip from her drink. "Don't remember me of him." And with that Mary perked up. It was nice to have a friend like. She always listened and gave very good advices.

"I want something long lasting while the men I meet want something quick. I am not that type." You explained and let the topic slip.

The party went on for a while and you enjoyed every minute of it with your friends. You talked and laughed a lot now preparing a party for new years eve. Still, no sight of Sherlock. The kitchen door closed. Even when it was time to exchange the presents he didn't show up.

It made you sad as you saw the only present that was left in your bag was the one for Sherlock. You sighed as you looked out the window seeing the snow silently flooding down onto the Streets.

Suddenly the door to the kitchen opened and Sherlock went out. His whole body covered in flour and some freezing over his face and hair. In his hands he held a plate with freshly made cookies. Everyone stared at him shocked. "It went better than it looks right now." Sherlock said into the round. Than he looked straight at you.

In his eyes you looked just stunning as you stood there at the window. The lights making your (Y/E/C) eyes shine brighter than ever.

He cought a bit and then went up to you holding the plate put for you to grab a cookie. Surprised you took one of them when you realized that something was written on it. Slowly you start to read it and you started laughing loudly taken everyone by surprise. "Why are you laughing?" Sherlock asked completely shocked at your reaction. He didn't prepare for that.

"Sherlock, for the world's best Consulting Detective you are quite stupid." Sherlock rose an eyebrow at your comment then he looked to John who just shrugged at that. Everyone was confused and wanted an explanation. Grabbing the plate from Sherlock grasped you gave everyone one of them.

They all looked at them and started to giggle or laugh out loud. You made your way back to Sherlock to deliver him from his misery. The cookie was now held up into his face and he read what he did wrong. His face turned bright red from embarrassment. Instead of 'Will you be my girlfriend?' there stood 'Will you be my Gilfriend?'

He was indeed stupid for not noticing it and now everyone had witnessed it. The night was over for Sherlock.

But you munched happily on the cookie. "You are very bad at spelling, but these Cookies are heavenly." you said as you munched again on the cookie. It surprised Sherlock but a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." you got on her tip toes and gave Sherlock a sweet kiss on the lips. The kiss tasted of the cookie you just ate. "I would like to be your Gilfriend." You laughed as you pulled away from him. Cheering and clapping could be heard from the guest making you smile brightly.

The crowd from the party dissolves and left the flat after they all took their farewells to each other. Only Sherlock and you were left now.

"Are there more cookies?" (Y/N) asked as she turned to Sherlock. "Nope." He said popping the 'p'. (Y/N) laid her arms around his neck pulling him closer. "Alright, then I have to satisfied with the second best that happened tonight." She said as she pulled the man into another kiss.

But he pulled away from he quickly. "I think I need to show you that this was the best that could happen to you Miss (Y/L/N)."

With that he sealed his lips with yours again. First the kiss was innocent and slow, but it turned quickly into a passionate kiss full of love and desire. You pulled away slowly, look deep into his blue eyes.

"Well, Mr. Holmes you have to try a lot harder." For Sherlock it was clear that this was challenge he accepted as he pulled you closer to him and kissing every inch of you his lips could reach. Closing your eyes, you grabbed into his dark locks enjoying the feelings of his lips on your skin.

"Okay, defiantly better than the cookies." You sighed out as Sherlock slowly pulled away from your neck. "And we just started." He whispered as he again pulled you closer to his body.

#sherlock bbc #sherlock holmes #sherlock x reader #x reader #sherlock imagine #cookies #requests are open

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vrenaewrites · 4 years

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CRAVE by Tracy Wolff thoughts: Chapter 0 - 21

Full video here.

In which a mortal girls goes to her uncle’s boarding school after the death of her parents, and finds it full of creatures.

CH 0 for some reason: if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space

“Try my hardest not to freak the eff out” - if you’re gonna use expletives, use them

Immediate info dump of “if you’d told me two months ago i was gonna be in fairbanks alaska to get a puddle jumper to denali, the highest mountain point in north america”

CH 1: landing is just throwing yourself to the ground and hoping you don’t miss

I thought these quotes were weird self help quotes but then i realized they were probably the chapter titles

The fog is referred to as “civil twilight” - this weirded me out because civil blood and twilight, idk if this is a real thing? Will look it up if i remember: it is the brightest of the 3 twilight phases and it is ABUNDANTLY clear that she added the civil part to not make it straight up twilight because this book is unwitting twilight satire

He tells her it’s a short runway “because it’s hard to keep a long one clear of snow or ice for any amount of time” HE’S IN THE MIDDLE OF LANDING A PLANE ATM BRO WE DON’T NEED ALL OF THAT INFO ATM

Grace is kind of funny if not a little cheesy

“Textbook landing” - maybe if that textbook is a horror novel he’s reading upside down and backwards - i don’t know if by listening to this i’m missing the line breaks and short sentences that would make this funny, so if i am lemme know but if she didn’t break this up it’s clunky

Her uncle is headmaster of the boarding school she’s being sent to

“Despite being a year younger than my own 17 years” - did you not read this out loud? Did no one hear how redundant that was?

“According to wikipedia, heeley - hailey? - has only one major road” she’s mentioned google and wikipedia at this point and idk if i’m the only one who finds that type of thing annoying af

“In weather that’s 20 degrees below freezing, if the app on my phone can be believed” THIS IS SO ANNOYING

“The insulated helmet will keep you warm as well as protect your head if we crash” yes macy we know what helmets are and also insulation, again the redundancy

CH 2: Just because you live in a tower doesn’t make you a prince

“Is that kadmere academy?” i shout - not, is that it? They’re on a snowmobile, with helmets on, and macy understood her...and she understood macy saying they’d be there in five minutes

She couldn’t google the academy

“I half expected quasimodo to be waiting for us when we got there”

It may be a castle but at least there’s no moat or dragon

Macy has short rainbow-colored hair

She’s wikipedia’d and googled her life away but didn’t expect to not be able to breathe since she’s coming from sea level and is now up in the mountains - i’m from florida and even i know what altitude sickness is

She sees a flash of red in the window “i don’t know who it is or why they even matter” ...what does that mean?

But she doesn’t see them when she looks back and she’s disappointed, which she acknowledges makes no sense…

“I should be bowing and scraping right about now”

It’s a castle with an xbox and giant flat screen, and they have wifi AND cell service up in the desolate mountains. I went to cossayuna - 476 feet above sea level, 7 miles from a town - and NONE of us had cell service the entire time

She picks up a chess piece and it’s a carved vampire, then a dragon

Then she comes face to face with the most intimidating guy i’ve ever seen, not just because he’s hot, there’s something different and powerful though i don’t have a clue what it is”

Face too intense to be beautiful, skyscraper cheekbones????, red lips, stone-cutting jaw, bottomless obsidian eyes, obscene lashes

Trapped by his stare, hypnotized by the sheer magnetism rolling off him in waves

“Annoyance flashes through me”

He’s blocking her view of anything else - did he step between her and the chess board?? Confusion, but because of this she has to look at his long lean body

“Double-wide shoulders” gross

“Nothing to do but admit that this boy is sexy AF - a little wicked, a lot wild, and all dangerous”

“Seriously, when exactly did i become the heroine of some YA romance? The new girl swooning over the hottest, most unattainable boy in school?”

CH 3: vampire queens aren’t the only ones with a nasty bite

He quotes hamlet to her, and she corrects him for fucks sake

“I warned your uncle you wouldn’t be safe here, but he obviously doesn’t like you much”

“Welcome to alaska?” “more like welcome to hell, now get the fuck out”

“Ignoring the pterodactyls flying around in my stomach” - this is a great line if it didn’t take you completely out of the action, which it does

This whole exchange about big bad monsters is soooooo fucking cliche

And he’s talking about the chess pieces the whole time????? Am confusion.

She’s so horny for this insane man screaming at her and cornering her

She says she’s lost everything that matters and he changes, his agony visible behind “layers and layers of defenses he’s erected”

It’s calling to her own agony

They're soooo connected and staring at each other

He pulls on one of her curls and it makes her super horny

“Five minutes ago he was being a total douche to me”

Pushing him is like pushing a wall of granite

He’s got a scar down half his face that she didn’t notice until now????

“A fallen angel with a bad boy vibe for miles”

She’s touching his scar…

“I don’t understand you”

AND SHE QUOTES HIM QUOTING HAMLET IN RESPONSE

CH 4: shining armor is so last century

“Mr. tall dark and surly” would be more snarky and cute if she didn’t just have an ~earth-shattering moment of connection~ with him over their agony or w/e

Some weird instinct i don’t understand tells me not to mention that guy - the amount of times this girl has acknowledged something she doesn’t understand is so redundant and weird.

She keeps referring to the guy she spent half the last chapter basically falling in insta-love with as “tall dark and surly” as if that didn’t happen, as if he was just a dick and then he left without all the insta-love shit

Uncle finn and flint is a student...couldn’t pick any other name?

“A smile in his eyes that’s as different from the other guy’s iciness as the stars just outside the windows are from the endless midnight blue of the sky” and i’ve fallen asleep while she was spinning this long unending heavy-handed metaphor

His eyes blaze with sympathy

He offers to give her a piggyback up the stairs…

“You’re so little i won’t even notice” not lyk other girls guyz

Four guys open the door and they’re all sexy AF, tall dark and surly is among them ofc

“I couldn’t help but wonder why the icy guy made me hot and the one lending me his warmth left me cold” WE GET IT WE FUCKING GET IT WE DIDN’T NEED YOU TO SPELL OUT THE ALLUSION

“I want a name to go with his insane body and even more insane face”

CH 5: things hot pink and harry styles have in common

Macy is a cinnamon roll i love her

His name is JAXON VEGA...JAXON. G2G

Macy was so nice to her that she finally starts crying because macy is the BEST

Grace puts on a harry styles t-shirt and macy is dancing around to watermelon sugar when she comes back. This book already feels dated and it came out last month

CH 6: no i don’t really want to build a snowman

She wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about jaxon and almost has a panic attack

I hope in the actual book there is a tw for panic attacks because when i see / read about the symptoms of one or a description of one it triggers one for me

She goes exploring the castle in the dark to avoid the attack

Some guys come in wearing like concert tees and ripped jeans and she wonders if they’re ghosts, like how hogwarts has ghosts

I could swear he was sniffing me which was totally bizarre and not ghostlike behavior at all - this was cringe except i was listening to it at like 2x speed so when you hear it fast it’s actually funny

The guys corner her

They say something like “show us what you can do” and they seem to smell something about her…? They’re werewolves maybe??

CH 7: Something really freaking wicked this way comes

Hate these titles sfm

“With my thin california blood, i won’t last in the snow”

Jaxon saved her ofc and makes the guys apologize

“The moon is doing its thing” they’re totally werewolves

She thanks him and he’s like “i just made you a pawn in a game” and she’s like dude what but he’s staring at her and it’s making her hot and bothered

He wipes blood of her bottom lip and sucks it off and she finds it SUPER sexy

“This isn’t like your old high school”

He whispers in her ear “you have no idea what i know” and i’m like..okay dis kinda hot or whatever

She wonders when she’ll see him again and why it matters so much to her - bitch because he makes you horny!!!! Just say that!!!!!!

CH 8: Live and let die

It’s at this point that i stopped for the first round, and i had to ask: why the FUCK didn’t macy or the headmaster tell grace that this was a school for - obviously - vampires and werewolves? Is macy one? Is it genetic? Grace is a mortal according to the back of the book.

Grace tells macy what happened minus jax

She mentions to macy the boys didn’t have cold weather gear on and macy’s like hmmm weird idk anything about that

And they’re going to a party tonight and grace is like i don’t wear makeup i only own makeup and lip gloss and i’m like...did i accidentally re-download AFTER because here we go with the NLOG syndrome

The party is a welcome party for grace - and it’s actually a high tea??? Tf?

“I’d die without netflix”

“Have you seen this show legacies? It’s about a bunch of supernatural creatures that go to a boarding school! Isn’t that silly??!”

And then macy says, “who can resist a hot vampire?”

Guys….are we SURE this isn’t satire?

“I can’t help remembering what those guys said about the moon doing its thing when i see the werewolf on the show…”

CH 9: Even hell has its factions

Omg her dress is showing off too much of her big boobs, maybe the jeans she originally wanted to wear will be better

Macy calls her beautiful and then we get a full “with my curly hair and freckles and this color eyes i’m so not beautiful, i’m wallpaper next to macy”

“We could be fashionably absent” lol

The beads on the door don’t shock grace but they shock everyone because she is NOT LIKE OTHER GIIIIIIIIRLS

This castle is goth chic baybeeeeee the light fixtures are downturned thorny black roses where can i cop these

“The pterodactyls in my stomach are now butterflies”

She says FML. did a 50 year old woman write this. Edit: i looked, i cannot find how old this author is

Velvet wallpaper, wall sconces shaped like dragons, LET ME IN

“Self-imposed isolation” lol little did she know what a phrase in the lexicon this would become in 2020

Cliques include muscular people near the windows, soft flowery delicate people in the back of the room which are macy’s friends, super-tall literally hot people in the middle, and the black-or-white money people that seem to be more formal

She says “basketball anyone??” re the tall people lol

I am going to guess: werewolves, witches, dragons??, and vampires

Macy keeps having coughing fits?

Hot redhead - simone, hot dark girl - lily, hot asian girl - gwen

“Simone’s just bitter all the guys are looking at you”

Grace loves dr. pepper so i fuck with her

Macy’s boyfriend is cam and his friend is james, who looks at her like she is food?

“I’m just not that interesting”

CH 10: turns out, the devil wears gucci

Would i have probably picked this title as well? Yes. did it make me cringe nonetheless? Fer shure.

“Do i need some jerk trying to make me his afternoon snack?” huh???? As far as you know these are normal boys...make it make sense

Jaxon makes his ENTRAAAANCE BABY

Dressed all in gucci black - she can tell from across the goddamn room

“Jaxon is anything but regular, anything but ordinary, even here among the blatantly extraordinary”

Icy blank stare soooooo much

She calls his voice low wicked and wild

She can’t stop thinking about “running my tongue over the perfect bow of his upper lip, dragging is lower lip between my teeth”

Idk where these thoughts are coming from!!!! Baby you 17 c’mon now

I try to think of anything else, snow!

She takes a drink and it goes down the wrong pipe lmaoooo

“At least if i find a bathroom i can die in peace” lol

But he touches her and she stops choking and she’s like “he couldn’t have stopped that, i know, but…”

He stares at her as he bites the strawberry and she takes it as a threat

CH 11: in the library, no one can hear you scream

“His moods change more quickly than my bffs instafeed” I -

Oh so NOW she’ll say “the fuck you in his eyes” but she was saying freaking and eff before...did her publisher tell her only x amount of fucks per book?

She goes into the library and her body is like RUN, but she ignores it…

There are beautiful gargoyles and ornate shelves and...stickers fucking everywhere?

The gargoyle is pointing to an secret room that says students needs permission, but she hears chanting and decides to check it out since it might be one of the native languages spoken in alaskaaaaaaaaaa

“Especially because some of them only have less than 4,000 speakers left in the world” okay gracie-pedia tf?

CH 12: it’s all fun and games until someone loses their life

She meets a girl named Leah - who was the one chanting

Okay but i do fuck with the horror movie quote pillows…

Damn leah’s boyfriend died…

“Tea from homemade leaves” again...read this out loud before you put it in a published novel...do you mean loose leaves? Do you mean homegrown leaves?

Is she gonna poison her????

“What do you guys have to lie about that’s so important?” “Everything”

CH 13: just bite me

“Lol jk”

“Finish your drink” BITCH IT’S POISON

Macy and leah are being soooo weird about what could have happened to grace on her own

Apparently leah is super popular and secretive so it’s weird she took to grace so fast - is this a NLOG sitch or a “come into my web little fly” sitch?

She pukes because of “altitude sickness” aka poisoning i bet

CH 14: knock knock knocking on death’s door

This theme of bastardization of guns and roses songs is really....something.

Grace takes a mental health day because she’s still feeling weird

Flint comes to check on her and invite her to a snowball fight…?

If your character’s name is grace, i feel like you can’t use gracefully as an adjective, the same way you wouldn’t say Rue said something ruefully.

Flint kisses her cheek and i’m already waiting for this Great Value Edward/Jacob triangle

But he makes her feel ~nothing~ compared to jaxon

CH 15: so hell actually can freeze over

Macy likes flint, uh-oh

But the different groups don’t mix

“What is this, mean girls alaska edition?” - stfu

Omg her uncle checks on her and he reminds her of her dad and :(

We get sooooooo much detail about how to dress to go out into the wilderness...here is one thing i was able to find out: tracy wolff lives in texas. So i feel like she did ALL this research and then was like y’all gonna LEARN ABOUT THIS I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME!

As a girl who has never ever seen snow, i felt this fascination

She finds a gnarled up weird tree guarding a trail

“A weird sense that i should turn around - like the feeling in the library - came over me but i knew i was just being silly”

The lack of survival instinct henny

She comes across a gazebo where leah and jaxon are sitting

CH 16: sometimes keeping your enemies close is the only thing that prevents hypothermia

That’s not a chapter title, it’s an entire sentence…

Ooh they’re having an angry, intimate convo

And leah slaps him!!

“They’re looking at me like they’re the predators and i’m the prey they can’t wait to sink their teeth into” we get it, first of all. Second of all, what is with the long-winded metaphors

“Every time i catch sight of him i feel something tug at me i can’t identify, something i have no ability to explain” it’s horniness.

Then she just leaves but he catches up to her

With his sexy af hair blowing

“Trying to run away from all the thing he makes me feel when really i just want to grab on to him and hold on tight” - so what is the truth?! You keep acting like you don’t know what the feeling is but clearly, YOU DO.

“Everyone answers to me, eventually.” - we found the line used in the adverts guys!

Oh my god, what an asshat. Asshole, i would have laughed. Asshat is stupid.

It’s annoying af

Doing my best dory impression: just keep walking

“Making friends with a dr - a guy like flint” CALLED IT, he’s a dragon

Leah’s boyfriend was jaxon’s brother

Neither leah nor jaxon was wearing a jacket. BOOM

CH 17: it’s discretion, not diamonds, that’s a girl’s best friend

Not only cringe but grammatically incorrect…she coulda just said “discretion is a girl’s best friend” and we woulda got the reference….

Grace mentions jaxon in front of macy and she’s supes weird and grace is FINALLY like wtf is the secret you’re hiding from me

“She looks at me like i’m a few snowflakes short of a snowball” SOMEONE. READ THIS OUT LOUD. WHERE IS HER EDITOR I JUST WANNA TALK.

The order?! “Just a nickname for the popular boys” bullSHIT

Macy FREAKS OUT when she realizes grace has been alone with jaxon

She says he was interesting and “macy looks at me like i said i wanted to bodysurf the alaskan tundra”

Macy “We’re talking about jaxon right? Arrogance of a rock star?”

She didn’t mention “the scar that turns him from to pretty sexy af, and scary af”

“He’s not the one who tried to kill me” “you’ve only been here a few days, give it time” get her MACY!

HE WAS LISTENING!!!!

CH 18: how many hot guys does it take to win a snowball fight?

Ooh jaxon mad that grace is going to flint’s snowball fight

“His breath is so warm and soft that i can feel it everywhere, even deep inside” okay you horny bitch!!!!! Was this cringe or did i like it or both?

“The orange and dark water scent of him” ...what? Dark water is a cologne? Or does she literally mean like the dark water of the ocean? What in confusion

Her throat is always tight and dry around him, all the time, every day

Flint pops up and he is wearing a dragon beanie…

The rest of the order shows up and “For the first time the phrase got your back makes sense” to grace...are you kidding me? You never understood a very simple common phrase til now? Sure jan

SEXUAL TRIANGLE TENSIOOOOOOOOON

But she only has eyes for Jaxon...they both reach to touch each other.

“Grace” it’s barely a whisper but i feel it all the way inside myself BITCH

“Something tells me this boy and his world famous disappearing act is going to be the death of me”

CH 19: we came, we fought, i froze

Civil twilight AGAIN.

“I didn’t think screwed up and obnoxious was your type” me-OW

The snowball fight happens

Sounds like fun, the designer faction isn’t there

“Did she just do parkour against that tree?” re: Macy so close to being funny. I did exhale through my nose. Then “did you just parkour that tree?” i DID laugh

Flint climbs the tree with grace over his shoulder ‘like spider man’ and all i can think is “you better hold on tight spider monkey”

The wind is so strong it knocks her out of the tree…

CH 20: there’s never a parachute around when you need one

Flint catches her in mid-air...this man… #teamflint2020

“You’re heavier than you look” dead

He has shame in his eyes? Why?

Because JAXON IS THERE AND HE IS MAD!

And flint is SUPER MAD!!!!!!!

Jaxon puts himself between grace and flint so grace can’t touch flint

“Can i just say i’m feeling a lot like alice in wonderland here? Things get curiouser and curiouser.” stfu

I was laughing because she was like “so much for fitting in, now i might as well be painted biohazard orange” but then she said fml. Stfu

Jaxon picks her up

CH 21: I like standing on my own two feet, but getting swept off them feels surprisingly good, too

If it takes up more than one line of a google docs page IT’S NOT A FUCKING CHAPTER TITLE!!!!!

Ooh and his arms feel really good around her, REALLY good

Now he smells like orange and snow and it’s making her crazy

Macy looks at them like she’s getting punk’d

“Grace.” “what?” “shut up.” i’m dead

“I sprained my ankle, i’m not dying of consumption” “yeah well, the night is young” this made me lol despite it being more of macy’s voice than jaxon’s

Jaxon is blaming grace for falling? “You don’t see macy falling out of her tree” is he negging her rn?

She’s called him super-sexy twice in a paragraph

Macy goes to get ice bc she’s scared of Jaxon and grace says, “Et tu, brute?” lmaooo

“I can do it myself” “maybe i wanna do it for you” and macy squeaks LMAO

His scar makes his smile a crooked little smirk...who else had a crooked smirk...the vampire this is 1000% based on, maybe?

“I find myself relaxing despite myself” guys. Reading is power. Read your work out loud so you can hear when you use the same word twice in a sentence, like this.

“My whole body lights up like the aurora borealis i’m still dying to see”

They almost kiss but don’t bc macy comes back

~~~

#crave #tracy wolff #jaxon vega #katmere #cringe books #book review #reading #fiction #negative review #booktube

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