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vivianweasley · 4 years

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In Love With My Best Friend (Fred Weasley X Reader)

Summary: When you realized that you have always loved George, it was already too late. Instead of being the bride, you became the bridesmaid. But it seemed like you weren’t the only one who’s in love with their best friend.

Pairing: Fred X Fem!Reader, George X Reader (unrequited love)

Warnings: angst (George getting married!) to fluff, drinking

Word count: 1.9K

A/N: I was listening to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat while writing this!

Please do NOT repost my work or translate it on another site without permission! Thank you! Reblogs and comments are always welcomed

There are always a few things in life that people just take for granted.

Like that year’s Christmas Eve at the Burrows. That night, after a few glasses of butterbeer, you fell asleep lying on George’s shoulder. His shoulders were broad and he smelled like sweet cinnamon and caramel. You just felt so warm and secure next to him. At that time, you still couldn’t understand what that warm feeling in your heart meant, but you just naively believed that this feeling of warmth and security would never go away.

You were friends with the famous Weasley twins since your first year at Hogwarts and the three of you have been best friends for about twelve years now.

But regardless of being given more than a decade, you were still stupid enough to finally realize during the war that you have always loved George. And still you did nothing after that big realization, because you were afraid that he would find you weird or feel awkward around you. You just couldn’t afford sabotaging your friendship with him.

Plus, he’s your best friend so he would always be there for you, right? You could just confess your feelings whenever you are ready. So what’s the hurry?

But life rarely goes according to people’s plans. George eventually got a girlfriend. You were sad, but you weren’t hopeless. It was not like he never had a girlfriend before. So as long as he was not married, you could still wait for him.

But then, he proposed to her.

Fred told you this news when he came to your apartment for your weekly movie night. He always knew that you fancied George, so he decided to tell you this before you hear it from George at tonight’s dinner at the Burrows.

You swore to Merlin that you heard a huge exploding sound when you heard that news, but your apartment was perfectly quiet, dead silent even.

And then you went through what the muggles called the five stages of grief.

Denial. “Ha ha ha, that’s funny Fred. You got me, that’s a good one.”

Anger. “How could he do this to me! This is so not fair! I was here first! I was here for him for twelve years! This is not fair! I need to get him back! I don’t care if I’m gonna ruin the wedding! Fred Weasley, are you with me or not!”

Bargain. “Merlin, please! What should I do! I can trade anything for this, please!”

Depression. “Fred, I need some time alone. Oh I’m not sad...I just...I’m not crying......I’m sorry about your shirt Freddie, didn’t mean to use it as a tissue. I’ll wash it for you tomorrow.”

And finally, acceptance. “Merlin of course! I would love to be your Maid of Honor! I’m so happy for you George!”

You’ve prepared so much for this wedding, possibly overthinking every detail of it. For example, what should you say for your Maid of Honor speech?

Tell them how Fred accidentally splashed paint on your dress the day before the Yule ball, and how George managed to get you a new one one hour before the dance? No, you’re not the bride. This is not about you.

Tell them how you and George hid chocolates in the secret passage at Hogwarts when you were 12? The chocolates all melted after the summer and ants were crawling all over the secret passage. No, you wanted to keep that as your secret memory.

Tell them how George prepared for his bride’s birthday present when they first started dating? He decided to give her a whole box of puking pastiles for her to skip work, but you strongly opposed that idea. That’s a nice story, relevant to both the bride and the groom.

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

You were sitting on the stairs at the Burrows, holding your notes in your hand and your nails anxiously tracing the side of the paper. The wedding was just at the tent beside the Burrows, but you were panicking now.

What the hell were you doing? The man that you’ve loved for so many years was getting married and you became the bridesmaid? How the hell did you get into such an unpleasant situation?

You knew that he doesn’t belong to you. He never did. You knew that, but going to his wedding is different. Did you really have the courage to watch him get married to another person? Were you really ready to face the fact that from this day on, George Weasley will never be yours? But you just wanted him to be happy.

Twelve years of memories with him raced through your head. You missed that and you missed the you at that time. You wanted to start over.

Your brain was a mess and the insides of your stomach felt like they were tangled together. And you couldn’t remember a single full sentence from your speech that you spent the entire night memorizing.

You wanted to run away.

“Are you still planning to steal the groom? Thought we are a team.”

You turned your head slowly towards the source of the voice and it took your brain a few seconds to process and give you a name, Fred. You tried to sound as normal as possible, “Oh no, don’t have the energy to do that anymore.”

You thought Fred just came here to make a lighthearted joke, but he sat down next to you on the stairs, “You know, you don’t have to give the speech if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to be the Maid of Honor.”

“No, I have to. I promised him.”

“Or you can give me your notes, or to Ginny. There are so many choices, take your pick.”

“It’s ok Fred, I can do this myself.”

“Fine, just remember that I’m always here to help.” He sounded so serious it surprised you. You’ve never seen Fred being so serious before.

You nodded.

“Alright! Let’s go then!” He pulled you up from the stairs and you followed him to the wedding venue with your head held high.

The wedding went well. When this moment, this moment that you’ve dreaded for so long, finally happened, you were actually feeling calmer than you imagined. Watching them exchanging wedding rings and becoming legal husband and wife, you actually felt relieved for a moment. This was finally the moment when you accepted the fact that George never belonged to you. This was finally the moment when you could officially let go of this unrequited love that you never really knew how to deal with.

After Fred’s toast, it was your turn. You stood up and everyone was staring at you now. Suddenly, you found yourself panicking again. Were you really feeling calm right now? Were you really ready to do this? What if you started to break down during the speech, with everyone watching? Your throat went dry. Your face was burning up, but your hands and feet were cold.

But someone held your hand under the table. You turned to Fred. He smiled at you and whispered, “You can do this.”

His hand was warm and his smile was so comforting, making you believe that you can indeed do this. You felt warmth gradually returning to your limbs. You felt like you could breathe again.

You eventually finished your speech without crying or stuttering. The guests were cheering and you saw George grinning at you, “Thank you Y/N!”

You replied with a soft smile. It was finally over. The wedding came to it’s conclusion and so did your decade-long unrequited love. Nothing dramatic happened. Everything was just the way as it should be.

You fell on your chair. You were grateful that your poor heart could finally find a moment of peace and tranquility. “When all of this is over, maybe I could finally get a good night sleep.”

“When all of this is over, maybe you could give yourself a break in Greece,” Fred replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Charlie was invited to study a really rare breed of dragons in Greece and they said he could bring two friends.”

You suddenly sat up, “Are you bringing me!”

“Yea, Charlie was bringing me and George at first, but I guess George won’t be available for the next month. So I thought I should bring you since you love Greek mythology and all that.”

“How did you know that!” You were surprised. You always loved learning about Greek mythology, but you never told Fred and George about it because you thought they won’t be interested.

“Please Y/N, I’m not that stupid. I saw you reading about it all the time.”

“I never thought you were stupid. I just thought- you couldn’t read!”

He looked hurt, “Is this how you treat someone who’s gonna treat you to a grand trip?”

“You’re right...Where’s Charlie? I need to thank him!” You replied and he laughed.

Slow music started to play and the bride and groom started dancing. The guests soon followed them.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N, may I have this dance?” Fred stood up. He bent over a little and offered his hand.

“Of course!” You smiled as you put your hand in his and followed him to the dance floor. You two were dancing right beside George and his bride. This scene took you right back to the night of the Yule Ball. That night, Fred was dancing with Angelina and you were dancing with George.

Fred thought back on that night too, “Looks like you’ve finally found the better dance partner.”

“Didn’t know you could dance too,” you teased, but you also wanted to compliment him. You always thought Fred would be more into dancing to up-beat musics, instead of slow sappy love songs like this. But now with your hand on his shoulder and his hand on your waist, leading you, it felt just right.

“Of course! But you still chose George that year, it’s your loss.”

You rolled your eyes, “Please, it’s not like you’ve asked me or anything.”

“Was planning to, but George asked you first.”

“What?” You thought he was only joking, but he stated it so matter-of-factly. A familiar tingling sensation started to rise in your stomach.

“It’s true. Why? Are you regretting your decisions now? Are you falling in love with me now?” He winked at you as he teased you.

“You wish!” You kicked him, but your heart was beating like crazy and you could feel your face heating up.

Oh no. Not this again! You finally moved on from George and now you were falling for his twin? You tried to calm yourself and regain some senses, but you could already feel the heat from your cheeks spreading to the tip of your ears.

Please, you were not going to make this kind of mistake twice! Because you knew from experience, it sucks being in love with your best friend!

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

Many stories would be so different if different people were telling it. Like that Christmas Eve at the Burrows that you remembered and held dear to your heart for years.

That night after you fell asleep on George’s shoulder, George fell asleep too, leaving Fred to be the only sober one. He tried to wake his brother, but the two of you were sleeping like the dead on the couch. Fred sighed and decided to carry you upstairs to Ginny’s room.

You were so drunk, but you still didn’t forget to mumble a “Thank you” when Fred tucked you in. He found that adorable. A warm feeling started to rise in his heart as his fingertips caressed your flushed cheeks. He couldn’t help but left a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“Good night love.” He whispered with a soft smile before closing the door and leaving, knowing this night was probably going to live in his head for a long time.

People all say that Fred is the more insensitive and oblivious twin, but that’s not true when it comes to the person he loves. Long before you even realized that you loved George, Fred figured it out.

But that’s alright, he knew he still got a chance. He knew he would always be there for you and one day maybe you would realize that too. He knew what’s your favorite song and what’s your favorite book. He knew how to make you smile so easily. He just felt so lucky that he’s in love with his best friend.

Part 2

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hacked-by-jake · 4 years

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Was that Jake there?

Part 2

Fandom: Duskwood

Paaring: Jake x MC

Word counter: 5,3k

Passage:

-"It doesn’t have to be just one night”

"Okay, just kidding please don’t hit me" Phil grins.

You roll your eyes.

"But you noticed when we wrote that I thought you are pretty" he adds.

"Phil.." Actually, you want to tell him that he should stop but you were interrupted.

"I think that were enough jokes for this night" you hear a dark voice behind Phil talking.

Phil scares out and turns around. You were expecting Dan, but that’s definitely not Dan.-

Preface: Hi guys👋🏻 I’m back with a new story. This one takes place after episode 6. Those who know my other stories know that I love it when the mysterious hacker suddenly appears. I don’t think it’s a spoiler, most of us are already done with episode 6.

I hope there are not too many mistakes and you can understand everything. It took all night to translate the German text. It may be that I missed some things but I hope you don’t mind by reading this. In the text there will be short passages from two songs, I have linked the songs but you don’t have to listen to them. I just wanted to bring the feeling over more. I hope you like it and have fun

"Jesssyyyy" you call out loud so she can hear you despite the loud music. Excited, she turns in your direction and you go through it between the other guests to get to Jessy quickly. It’s your first time in Duskwood. In keeping with Jessy’s birthday she celebrates at the city’s most famous club. She extra rented a Vip Lounge for this day.

You landed with the plane two hours ago, and Dan picked you up at the airport.

You brought your luggage to Jessy’s apartment, she gave Dan a key so you could leave your things in her apartment.

Unfortunately, you could not take an earlier flight because your Boss needed your help at work. But in this Moment is isn't important. Now you are finally in Duskwood. Jessy and the rest are already at the club celebrating. Actually, it’s her birthday tomorrow, but she wanted to party in. "MC" calls Jessy back loudly as she sees you between the people.If you hadn’t waved, she would never have seen you. Shortly thereafter, you happily fall into each other’s arms.

"Oh my God, I’m so happy to finally see you, so finally in real and not just about pictures," she murmurs into your ear. "I’m looking forward, too."

"Today we are having a party and forget everything for a few hours okay?" she asks grinning. You nod to her with determination. "It’s my turn to say hello" shouts a male voice.

Richy lifts you up a little bit and turns you both in a circle. Laughing, he lets you stand on the ground again. "THERE IS THE RIDDLE QUEEN YES" he shouts loudly and gossip. You bow and wink at him.

"MC" someone calls your name. This time Cleo’s coming at you. "Hello Cleo" you giggle and hug her too. "Nice that you managed to come" "I am also very happy, I must not miss this" "You should have come much earlier" she looks offended away but grins. "You could have invited me, but you didn’t," you giggle.

"Touché" she laughs.

Shortly thereafter, Thomas greets you. "Today we don’t think about the bad" you demend. "Tonight is ours," he agrees. He holds his hand up and you claps.

Also you and Lilly greet each other.It was weird at the beginning but after a short time it got better.

Since you’ve been standing in the way all the time and everyone has to walk past you, Dan finally pushes you into the sitting area of the lounge.

You recognize Phil right away, but you don’t know the rest of the people. You sit next to Jessy, and right now, Dan will hold you a glass of whiskey. "Whiskey Dan? Are you sure?" you ask. "No, we’re drinking tequila," Jessy blends in and puts a little glass on the table. Two shots of tequila and a glass of whiskey later, you’re suddenly tapped by someone. Your head turns in the direction you think the person is.

Frightened you open your eyes, Phil’s face is not ten centimeters from yours. "Woah" directly you slide back a bit. You bumping into Jessy. The glass in her hand starts to shake and the drink lands on the floor. Jessi’s face turns in your direction and you look at each oher in surprise. She starts laughing and you join in. Phil looks at you troubled. "Okay, that’s a girl thing," he grins. Another girl calls out to Jessy, she gets up and walks towards the bar. Phil starts talking, but you don’t hear anything through the loud music. "What did you say? I didn’t understand anything," you shouted. The bench of the lounge has a padded backrest. Phil puts his arm on this one just behind your shoulders, leaning down a bit to your ear. "I said we didn’t have time to say hello, you wanted to come to the Aurora" "That’s right, I haven’t made it yet, I’m in Duskwood for the first time today," you murmur. "Then you should come more often from now on" he winks. Nervously you smile at him and try to slip away a bit. You drink a sip of your cocktail and look around, you see Dan standing a few meters away, watching Phil skeptically. This is your chance. Inconspicuously you squint in Phil’s direction to show Dan that you need help. You have become quite good friends lately and he understands your situation immediately. He comes up to you and waves. Immediately you wave back and act like you’ve only just noticed him. Phil, who was about to tell you something, gets interrupted by Dan. "MC come with me, Jessy wants you to go dancing with her," he calls. You’re looking at Phil. He just smiles and moves aside so you can go to Dan. The bearded one immediately takes your hand and pulls you in the direction where the bar is. "Thank you" you say. "Watch little one, I really don’t like your hacker friend very much, but then I’d rather take him than a fuck boy like Phil. He is not a relationship person" You’re starting to smile. "If he shows up again, I’ll take care of it," you answer. "Yeah, and I’m gonna have to talk to him, just not as nice as you plan to do." Asking, you look at Dan and pull up an eyebrow.

"MC you don’t have to pretend like you don’t care about anything. You have changed slightly, become paranoid and much more careful with what you say. We haven’t said anything yet because we didn’t want to interfere, neither of us understands what’s between you and Jake." You look at the floor sad. You haven’t noticed yourself that you are feeling so bad, but if the others even notice it when writing, it will be true. "It doesn’t matter, I promised Jessy that this evening was ours, so let’s just celebrate." You blink at Dan and hit him lightly against his shoulder. Suddenly you’re hugged from behind and almost thrown to the ground. Dan can hold you just as tight as Jessy screams into your ear. "LET’S DANCE MC PLEASE" she shouts. "AUA JESSYYYY NOT SO LOUD, I’M NOT DEAF" you call back just as loud what makes her giggle. She looks at you like a puppy, pleading her hands folded. "All right, but only if Dan comes too" "What? No! I don’t dance..." "Yay" calls the redhead in between and pulls Dan and you behind her. On the dance floor you will meet the rest of the group. Richy and Thomas have put an arm around their shoulders and jump up and down to the beat of the music. They call the lines of the song.

"When I saw her Walking down the street She looked so fine I just had to speak I asked her name But she turned away As she walked All that I could say what"

Typical party music is played by the DJ. When Richy finds you three, he screams. "MCCCC" He shouts so loudly that some strangers turn to you and look at you. Giggling, you look back at Richy who just shrugs his shoulders. He and Thomas still jump up and down. Richy puts his right arm around you and encourages you to join in. Laughing you do what he wants and put an arm around Jessy’s shoulder. Jessy does the same with Dan. Dan puts his arm around Cleo and these around Lilly. And so you all stand there and jump together to the beat of the music and laugh.

"So many girls in here, where do I begin? I seen this one, I’m 'bout to go in Then she said, I’m here with my friends She got me thinking and that’s when I said Where the girls at, girls at? Where the girls at, girls at? Where the girls at, girls at?

So go get them, we can all be friends" you all sing together in the choir for "Where Them Girl At - David Guetta". Soon you realize that Richy seems to be pretty good at rapping. Even if the text is rather screamed, in real life it would certainly sound good. Meanwhile, Phil and a friend of his have also come to you. You didn’t care because first they brought a tablet with shots you all drank together. Second, Phil has a certain distance from you and doesn’t stand right next to you. Third, because you just didn’t care about anything and you just enjoyed the music and the time with your friends.

“No, no I don't endorse that, pause that, abort that Just the other day mi go London, saw that, kids down the street Paparazzi, all that Hey hey what can I say? Day day day da-day day Coming through the club all the girls in the back of me This ain't football why the fuck they tryna tackle me?"

Thomas pulls Lilly between him and Richy. The poor girl is pushed back and forth for fun while both sing the lyrics.

"Really, I pick dude at the bar like really Looking like he wanna good time like really"

Richy puts both hands on Lilly’s shoulders from behind and jumps around next to her.

"Said he had a friend for my home girl Lilly Lilly, Lilly, Lilly" Lilly looks at him unsettled and almost loses the balance because of the movement Richy produces.

The song ends and a different melody sounds.The melody of "Happy Birthday" It’s zero o'clock, it’s Jessy’s birthday. All guests who don’t belong to Jesse’s birthday are looking around confused. Dan and Thomas disappeared a minute ago to get the cake for Jessy. Jessy gets pulled into the middle by Richy and the rest of you line up around her. You’re looking confused at Richy, who took care of "Happy Birthday" being played for Jessy.

"Feliz cumpleaños? That’s Spanish?" you realize.

He nods proudly.

You look at him "Why?"

"Is something normal with us?" he asks grinning.

You’re shaking your head.

"See? That’s why Spanish"

"Can anyone here speak Spanish?"

"No, I don’t think so, but whatever"

"Idiot" you answer laughing.

People make way and you see a bright light of candles on the cake. Cleo keeps her hands on Jessys eyes, so she can’t see. The music goes out and Cleo takes the hands off Jessy’s eyes.

Her eyes get big when she sees the cake Cleo made. "1...2...3..." Thomas shouts, at the same time everyone starts singing again for Jessy, even the guests who don’t belong to Jessy sing along. Like on command, Jessy starts crying. Quickly you go to her and take her in your arms. At the end of song, everyone starts to applaud. You congratulate her, "Happy Birthday Jessy" and hug her tight. "You have to blow out the candles," says Dan. "Make a wish," Lilly adds. "But don’t say it out loud, otherwise the wish won’t come true" you warn her. "You’re so cute," Jessy murmurs, wiping away the tears. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then she blows out the candles. Then everyone applauds again. Little by little, everyone congratulates her. Even some strangers wish her well. Everyone gives the presents to Richy, who then takes them to his car and puts them in the trunk, where everything stays all night. Since each of you drinks alcohol, you and Jessy will take a cab home to her later.

And as soon as everyone wakes up, Dan Richy drives back to the club so Richy can get the car. Then you all meet at Jessy’s and have breakfast together, and then the others want to show you some Duskwood. You took a week off so you’ll be here a few more days. Arrived in the lounge Dan puts the cake on the table to wish Jessy finally all the best. "So how do we eat it now? We’re definitely not allowed to use cutlery in here" Jessy looks at us questioningly. "You’re right, that’s why the cake has already been cut, and Cleo brought a pack of napkins, which should be enough" Richy explains. After eating the cake, Jessy bought some drinks for all. Now you’re all back on the dance floor. So slowly you start to sweat and also you get a little dizzy. "I’m going outside for a minute, get some fresh air" you call out. "Shall we come with you?" Dan asks directly and looks worried. "No, I’ll be fine. I need a little rest, there must be other guys outside. And if the man without a face kidnaps me, look for me and hit him"

"Okay, but if you’re not back in 20 minutes, we’ll come looking for you," Dan warns you.

"Okay, dad, do that" you wink at him and start squeezing you through the people.

Shortly thereafter, you open the door and step out into the night.

Immediately, the cold wind hits you, goose bumps spread on your arms and you take a deep breath.

Immediately you relax a little.

Further away is a small group who smoke and laugh.

Well, you’re not alone, and even if the bouncers are still there. And the way they look, the man without a face has no chance of kidnapping you. You lean back against the cold wall and close your eyes for a moment.

You didn’t expect it to be so cold and folded your arms in front of your chest to protect your arms a little.

Enjoying the tranquility you do not notice the steps that come to you.

"Hey, there you are" suddenly sounds.

Immediately you flinch and jump away from the person.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you" Phil looks at you.

"Oh my God, never do that again" you hiss and hold your hand to your chest to calm your heart, which beats twice as fast as usual.

"All right? You’re pale.Did you get so scared?" he grins at you. "Of course, you know I’m trying to find a missing girlfriend? It can happen that one is more frightened than usual" you explain.

"Why are you out here all alone, you’re right, there’s a murderer running around, it’s pretty irresponsible of you."

"Or are you seeing the kidnapper?" he jokes.

"Haha, no, I was just warm and I needed some fresh air, and what are you doing here?"

"The same" he mumbles and brings a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of the shirt he is wearing over the tshirt.

"Any?" he asks.

Considering you look at the box he’s holding out to you.

You were just reaching for it when you saw a movement across the street, it looked like a man. You look at the street light in a flash, but there’s nothing.

"Everything okay?" asks Jessy’s brother.

"Yes, everything is fine, thank you, I do not want any" you refuse the cigarettes.

"How do you like the evening so far?"

"Very good, and how do you like it?" you answer his question.

"It’s okay, but the night is still young, so much can happen or not?" he breathes.

Oh no, please don’t.

"Uh, sure?" your answer sounds more like an overwhelmed question.

"Where do you sleep?"

"in Jessy’s apartment" you answer and try not to show how unpleasant the situation is.

"You can sleep with me too" he grins at you. "Oh, uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea," you mumble and nervously rub a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?"

You look at him annoyed.

"No, I don’t, it’s complicated, but I’m not the type for One Night Stands" you explain.

"It doesn’t have to be just one night" he laughs.

"Okay, just kidding please don’t hit me" he grins.

You roll your eyes.

"But you noticed when we wrote that I thought you are pretty" he adds.

"Phil.." Actually, you want to tell him that he should stop but you were interrupted.

"I think that were enough jokes for this night" you hear a dark voice behind Phil talking. Phil scares out and turns around. You were expecting Dan, but that’s definitely not Dan. "Wow, who are you?" Phil asks. In front of him stands a dark-clad man. The hood of his black jacket is pulled over his head. Instead of a face, you look at the face of a staring mask. That one mask you missed so much. "It doesn’t matter, but now you should stop giving MC a bad feeling" hisses the man who’s obviously Jake. "Oh, and who are you to speak for MC? She can say that by herself or not?" hisses Phil. "She can, and she certainly would, but if you had looked out for her, you would have seen that she was not feeling well. So go back inside and leave her alone. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of her" the voice sounds a little mechanical but not like the one he usually uses. But distorting a voice in the mask would also be weird. But wouldn’t surprise you either.

Instead of interfering, you’re frozen in the same place. Your mouth is open with amazement and you forget to blink.

"You are threatening me?" Phil keep provoking. He’s not a man who likes to take orders.

"Never mess with a person you don’t know, you never know what the person is capable of. I could destroy your whole life, Philipp Hoppkins. Owner of the bar Aurora. I even know the name of your first girlfriend"

Jake is a little bit taller than Phil.

It looks a little creepy the way he looking down on Phil from above and holding his head slightly crooked.

"Are you a stalker or why do you know everything about me?" Phil looks confused at Jake.

"That also doesn’t matter, but if you want to keep your bar, get out of here now" Jake’s voice sounds like a warning. "You’re really threatening me," hisses Phil.

"No, I just gave you a hint," counters Jake.

Finally you come back in the real world, you had to realize for a moment that Jake was there, he was here, he is one meter in front of you.

"Is it really you?" you breathe overwhelmed.

Jake’s head is moving in your direction and you realize he’s nodding to you.

As if Phil wasn’t there, Jake slips past him and stops in front of you.

"What are you doing here?" you immediately ask.

"I wanted to..I wanted to see if everything is okay, how you are" he whispers.

"Why? Where have you been? Are you okay? Are you safe?" the questions just pop out of you. "I’m sorry, MC, I don’t have much time. The important thing is that I was worried that you were in Duskwood so I wanted to check on you to make sure everything was okay."

"Please, Jake, can’t you stay a day or something?" you beg him.

"MC please, it’s not safe here," he whispers.

"I’m weird because I’m flirting with you, but you’re talking to the masked guy?" Phil suddenly asks.

You look at him hard and you reach for Jake’s hand.

You feel his whole body tense as you pull him away from Phillip.

A few feet away, you stop to talk alone to the hacker. "Jake, please, we can meet at the motel. I’m sure Lilly can help us, so no one can see us at the motel.Please, I have so many questions and I’m worried about you"

You can hear him sighing.

At this moment, you wish the mask away so you can see his reaction.

It’s quiet for almost a minute.

"Jake please" is your breath.

He’s growling.

"That’s not good, MC, that’s dangerous, you’re dangerous, dangerous to me," he murmurs.

Dangerous for him? That sounds kind of hot but also like an insult.

"What do you mean?" you ask.

"I should have left long ago, but I’m still standing here and I feel like I’m having a heart attack. my heart is beating so fast it can't be healthy" he calmly explains. "Are your persecutors so close to you or why is your heart beating so fast?" you ask him uncertainly. "No MC that’s not the reason, I have a bit of a lead right now which is why I can be here" "Are you scared about the raven guy?" "God MC no, because of you! Because of you it beats so fast, that’s why I’m still here, because I missed you" "Ohhhh ah" you murmur and you notice how your cheeks turn red. A little moment it’s quiet between you both. "I was hoping for a reaction," Jake whispers, wanting to take a step back. before he can move, you hug him tight. He breathes in surprised Again, you realize how he’s tense.

But shortly afterwards he relaxes and also put his arms around you.

His smell draws into your nose and clouds your mind. It feels as if all the problems and every difficulty just falls from your soul.You automatically feel safe and secure. It’s like a switch in your head flipping.

A few moments ago it was cold and now you are warm, cuddly warm and beautiful. And you know right away that you want that feeling that you’ve only felt with Jake, forever.

Forever in your life, forever by your side.

Him by your side forever. This hacker whose face you don’t know, whose identity you don’t really know, who is wanted by the government, this hacker has sneaked directly into your heart with his sweet nature. And that’s where you want to keep him.

"I missed you too, Jake, you can’t imagine how much" you sniffed. You can’t control it, you’ve been so worried about Jake that you’re just relieved to see him. In addition, you have already drunk one or the other glass of alcohol today and therefore your senses are already a little foggy. "Are you crying?" you hear Jake asking. You press your head firmly against his chest and hide your head under his arm lying around your shoulder. "No," you snifed again. "Yes, you do, look at me, Mc," he breathes and pushes you away to look at you. "Why?" he asks quietly. "I was just worried! I didn’t know until just now if you were caught by the government or if you were safe. And now you’re standing in front of me." "I’m sorry, really, but I also have to think about you, if they catch me, and find everything, you’re in danger. You hacked with me. Not all of this, but simply trusting a hacker and hacking a stranger’s cell phone is also illegal" he explains objectively. "Couldn’t you at least get in touch once? So much has happened where I needed you.I know you can’t help it. I don’t want to blame you, but I was alone. The others from the group were by my side but that’s not the same as with you. Besides, Hannah and I don’t know each other. I can look at everything objectively and at the same time have to consider whether Jessy or one of the others is acting out of emotions. I talk too much for that you don’t have time I’m sorry" your voice sounds desperate.

"You don’t have to be sorry, I have to be sorry. And I want to protect you, that’s all I care about, that you’re safe."

Overwhelmed by what you’re supposed to do, you push your body back again Jake's. "Your action with #IamJake helped me, by the way.For that I thank you and say thank you to Lilly.That means a lot to me." he murmurs. "Jake, all these people, they don’t know you, and they’re behind you. Behind you and me, behind Hannah. Please, Jake, come back to me." "MC...I’m sorry, I can’t" Jake’s voice sounds desperate. Just like yours, you’re desperate, you don’t know what to do. There’s only one logical reaction for you before you let him go again. Now all you have to do is hope everything goes well. Breath in, breath out. Without warning you put your hand on the mask and pull it up only so far that you get to Jake’s lips. You quickly stand on your toes, reach for the collar of his jacket and pull him down to you. Before he has a chance to move, you press your lips on his. If only you could see his reaction now, his face. Or maybe read his mind. A flood of happiness hormones is spreading through your body. Even if Jake doesn’t move, this is the best moment of your life. His lips feel soft, soft and perfect for yours. If you haven’t been in love by that point, you’ll be in love by now. This sad conversation was perfect in your eyes, even if it was sad, it was with Jake. Just as quickly as you kissed him, you break away from him. God, did you really do that? Why you do that? You see the kiss as a kind of goodbye to him and you just want to get out of here, away from this place. You didn’t know if he wanted to. In addition, he had a mask on. Actually, that should be reason enough not to kiss someone. Before you can run,Jake grabs your wrist and before you can react, you feel his lips on yours this time.

He’s kissing you now.

HE KISSES YOU.

HE KISSES YOU!

Quickly he pulls his head away. You look at him, the mask is gone, he holds it in his hand. "God damn it," you murmur and wrap your arms around his neck. Desperately, you kiss him again. Desperate to see him next time, whether you’ll ever see him again. Whether he will be free or whether his persecutors will catch him. You don’t know all that things, and you don’t know how to go on, how you can ever live normally. Yes, quite dramatically to think like that but this boy has something about himself that immediately captured and fascinated you. But what you just said about the best moment of your life was a lie. This is the most beautiful moment in your life. Because this time, you both want it, without being surprised by the other, you kiss like there’s no next day. As if all you have is this brief moment between you, this moment of uncertainty about the future, about everything. Because actually, this has been your life for months, but you love it, you love the people you’ve met. Hell, even Lilly made you like her.

You have become a team, and Jake is also part of that team.

You were like a family, and right now you’re planning on moving to Duskwood as fast as you can. You want to live here, with your friends, with the best friends you can have, they’re so different, but they’re still the same. You want to live here, with Jessy, with Cleo, with Richy, with Dan, with Thomas, with Lilly, also with Hannah, and of course with Jake. You knew from that moment that is the best decision of your life would be. A life full of joy, happiness and great people around you until you’re old, and even then. As in a book "To Death and Much More" But this is not a book but the real life, the life where you’re kissing a man who’s perfect for you in your eyes. Your lips move perfectly to each other as if it were the only thing you ever did, the only thing that ever counted. Admittedly, you didn’t expect Jake to be able to kiss so well.That sounds mean, but he seems to have been lonely the last years. Even if it took you a while to kiss, you are breaking away from each other far too quickly. You feel drunk, whether it’s alcohol or the kiss, you don’t know, but probably both. Your knees tremble from the adrenaline flowing through your veins. Your heart is racing and your hands are shaking easily. "Tomorrow at the motel. Please ask Lilly to find a solution where we will not be seen. And be careful the rest of the evening, and please stop drinking so much alcohol. I taste the tequila." Without waiting for your answer, he turns around and disappears towards darkness. He puts the mask back on while running. Like in a movie, a car gets hit and makes a full stop right in front of Jake. He opens the door, gets in, closes the door again and the car drives on. And again, you’re standing there with your mouth open, staring at Jake. "Oh, my God" you hear a woman say. Your head turns in the direction of the voice, you look into Jessy’s eyes. She stares at you and holds a hand in front of her mouth.She seems to be more shocked than you. You’re being stared at by all your friends standing next to Jessy and just as overwhelmed as you are. Right, Dan wanted to come after 20 minutes to see if everything was okay. Like trapped in a dream, you turn your head back to the spot where Jake stood with the car seconds ago. Jessy comes running at you. "Was that HE?" she asked immediately. "MC’s all right with you?" you hear Dan worried. They keep asking you things, but you just can’t answer. "Tomorrow at the motel," you hear Jake’s voice in your head. Jessy waves her hand in front of your face to get your attention. "Tomorrow at the motel," you hear his voice again. "MC Hello? Can you hear me?" "Shit, tomorrow at the motel, but what time?" you call out. "MC talk to us now" Lilly begs. "Lilly I need to talk to you! You need to give me a motel room.Is there a back entrance? Where someone can come into the building secretly? A hidden room? I’m also satisfied with a storage room" the words just flow out of you.

"Um, yeah?" Lilly looks at you confused.

"Okay, I need a plan, explain the way, and best time, do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No, I have free time, but tomorrow, Miss Walter will be there. And since the body appeared and Hannah is gone, we have almost no guests. Nobody wants to go to Duskwood at the moment" she explains. "That’s perfect, okay, explain to me how to get in without anyone seeing you" you demand.

"Tell us what happened first" Jessy tries to make you talk.

"MC, that was Jake, wasn’t it?" Dan calmly asks you.

"Yes, yes, he was, and I’ll meet him tomorrow" you said excitedly. No one say a word. Jessy has hiccups. "You’ll have sex tomorrow" she giggles. At the same time as Lilly, you call Jessy’s name as a warnin, she just twitches her shoulders and drinks a sip her glass. You are sighing. "Dan? I need a glass of whiskey now"

I hope you enjoyed it🎭🌹.

Masterlist

#duskwood #duskwood everbyte #everbyte studios #duskwood jake #duskwood Jake x player #duskwood Jake x mc #everbyte game #everbyte duskwood #duskwood fanfiction

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 34 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hello, darlings! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet got one step closer to her dream.

This Chapter: Violet shares her good news, Courtney finds out about her new position, Bianca makes a request, and Katya shows Trixie who’s boss.

***

“Anything for you sir?”

“Whiskey on the rocks please.”

Sutan smiled at the bartender, who quickly left him. He was waiting for Violet at The Nomad Bar, the woman promising that she’d be there, but she was already 10 minutes late.

It was weird with Violet, something about her somehow tricking him into forgiving the fact that she was chronically late for everything that wasn’t work related. Sutan was wondering if he’d have time for a cigarette, their dinner reservation still not for another hour, when he felt someone touch his shoulder.

“Hey.” Violet pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, her lips soft, the pleasant scent of lavender washing over him.

“Hello.” Sutan smiled. Violet looked absolutely stunning as always, though she was wearing what he now recognized as her work wardrobe, a black skirt and a white silk blouse so proper he wanted to tear it off her.

Sutan expected Violet to sit down or to start chatting, or at least apologize for being late, words always spilling from her when they met up because Violet wasn’t a texter, but today, she was just standing there, an excited but secretive expression on her face.

“What’s going on?” Sutan titled his head.

“Guess.”

“Guess?” Sutan smiled. “Okay, so, what category am I-”

“You’re looking at Galactica’s newest designer!” Violet burst out, a gigantic grin on her beautiful face, her eyes shining bright.

“Wow,” Sutan laughed, Violet absolutely beautiful in her joy. “Congratulations lovely eye-”

“Can you believe it?!” Violet squealed, putting her arms around Sutan and almost jumping in place, her excitement so thick he could taste it, the poor girl almost bursting at the seams with emotions.

“I can, actually,” Sutan smiled, a hand on Violet’s hip quickly guiding her down on the chair next to him. “Bartender!” Sutan yelled, “Champagne for the lady please.”

Violet giggled. She put her hand on Sutan’s thigh, leaning over to give him a kiss, a sweet whisper of ‘thank you’ left against his lips.

“I almost wish I had a cigar.”

“I’m glad you don’t.” Violet deadpanned, and Sutan snorted, Violet looking back at him with a smile.

“So,” Sutan took the order, Violet getting her glass of champagne while he was handed his whiskey. “When is the happy day?” Sutan put a hand on Violet’s knee, squeezing it as Violet took the first sip of her bubbles.

“Soon.” Violet looked at him. “As soon as I can.”

***

“Courtney.”

Courtney looked up from her computer, where she’d been updating Miss Fame’s schedule. She checked briefly to make sure that the phone call she was listening in on, a conversation between Fame and Trixie, was muted, and asked, “Yes?”

“I need you to know,” Violet was standing right in front of her desk, “that the 10th will be my last day working in this office.”

“What?” Courtney’s eyes went wide in alarm. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Violet held up her hand, “Nothing’s wrong. I’m getting a promotion.”

“Oh!” Courtney let out a sigh of relief--now that she knew it was good news, she relaxed a bit. If anyone deserved a promotion, it certainly was Violet.

“I’m going to be working in design,” she added, an uncharacteristically proud expression on her face.

“That’s awesome, Violet, I’m really happy for you.”

“I’m glad you’re taking it this well.”

“Of course!” Courtney smiled. “I’ll do whatever I can to make it easier: helping with the job description, interviews, whatever you need.”

The more Courtney thought about it, the more excited she got. Not that she had anything against Violet, but it would be so wonderful to have a coworker who was a real friend.

“Interviews?” Violet’s brow furrowed in confusion. “For what?”

“For your replacement?” Courtney said, trying not to sound like she was being patronizing, although the answer was painfully obvious.

“Oh…” Violet just stared at her, blinking slowly, with that look she hadn’t given her for some time now, the one that said that Courtney was an alien doing a piss-poor human impression. “Huh.”

“What?” Courtney asked, suddenly self-conscious, knowing she must have put her foot in mouth but unsure how.

“Courtney,” Violet said, exasperated, in a tone that may very well have added ‘you brain-dead moron,’ “You’re who’s been hired as my replacement.”

“But...wait, what?!” Courtney's mind raced, panic filling her chest. Replace Violet? “But then who will replace me?”

“Nobody?” Violet looked like she genuinely didn’t understand. “You will be Miss Fame’s first assistant, and also her only assistant.”

“Shit.”

“Why do you think you were hired in the first place?”

“I just thought, with how much work there is, that you’d...need…” Courtney trailed off, not wanting to appear even dumber than Violet obviously thought she was, mind still reeling from this news.

Alone in Fame’s office? No one to guide her and lecture her and stop her from fucking everything up royally?

“No, Courtney. Fame has always just had one assistant.”

“But...do you really think I can do it alone?” Courtney asked, her stomach tight.

“I do.” Violet said. “Your work has been decent, even adequate recently.”

Courtney almost flinched. All she’d ever wanted from Violet was approval, and maybe some general comradeship. But this was almost too much. Could she handle it?

“You’re ready.” Violet looked at her, a small smile actually on her face. “I’ve done this alone. The workload is heavy sometimes, but who knows, in time you might move from adequate to good.”

“If you say so…” Courtney said, swallowing down a lump in her throat.

***

“Are you done yet?” Adore whined. She was sprawled on the sofa in Bianca’s office, waiting for her sister to finish working so that they could go to dinner.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is my job, that supports us both, getting in the way of your plans?”

“Yeah, I told Pearl that we’d be done early. Plus I’m starving,” Adore informed her.

“Ugh, I guess that means you haven’t broken up yet,” Bianca said with a sigh.

“Don’t fucking start, Bianca.” Adore was in no mood to Bianca’s dumb opinions aout her girlfriend...who had been nothing but wonderful so far.

“Fine, fine. So then are you still plus 2 for my party next Friday?”

“Uh, I don’t know, I might just be plus 1. Courtney’s been real busy at work, I don’t know if she-”

Bianca turned away from her computer, brow furrowed.

“But you said she was coming!”

“She was coming, but I’m just not sure she’s gonna feel up to-”

“Adore. I want her there,” Bianca said sternly, before flashing a charming smile, adding, “Consider it my birthday present.”

Adore sat up straighter. “Listen, Bianca, I know you think she’s hot, but I really don’t think you should mess with her. First of all, she’s straight, and she just broke up with her boyfriend, and she’s really vulnerable, and-”

“My specialty.”

“Bianca!” Adore’s face contorted in outrage. She knew about her sister’s reputation, of course, had seen the parade of girls with her own eyes plenty of times. But this was the first time she’d turned her attention to one of Adore’s friends, and it was extremely disconcerting, even if Courtney seemed to enjoy the attention.

“Oh, calm down, I’m kidding,” Bianca said with a laugh.

“Are you, though?” Adore crossed her arms, glaring across the office.

“Yes, asshole! Listen, I know I joke, but the truth is, I only seduce the willing. Otherwise it’s just no fun,” she explained. “I just like her, that’s all. I want her to come. Please.”

“Fine, fine. We’re supposed to hang out this weekend. Assuming she doesn’t cancel again, I’ll bring it up.”

“Adore. Darling baby sister,” Bianca cooed. “Make it happen. Or I’ll cut you out of my will and leave everything to the dogs.”

“I’ll do my best.”

***

“Go to the bed.”

Katya smiled as Trixie scrambled to obey, like the sweet boy he was. No one else was home, Pearl out for the night, and for that very reason, the toy chest from underneath their bed had come out to play.

Katya caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and she couldn’t help but smile. She was all dolled up; her hair and makeup done by Trixie only an hour before when he had artfully curled her hair and carefully applied lipstick to her lips. Katya was wearing heels and a set of black lingerie that they only brought out whenever they played a very particular game. Katya had allowed Trixie to choose today, and he had picked a bright purple strap-on that was now nestled against Katya’s stomach.

Katya took a step toward where Trixie was laying on his back, and she could practically hear the sharp intake of breath, anticipation radiating off Trixie’s body.

“Did you lube yourself up for me, sweetheart?”

“Yes I did, I did what you asked me to-”

“Ssh.” Katya was now kneeling on the bed between Trixie’s spread legs; a smile on her lips as her hand gently glided over his soft stomach, dipping into his navel, onward to his puffy chest where she couldn’t help but play a little with his nipples. Trixie’s hips bucked a little at the sensation, sending his cock bouncing. He was already so hard, so filled with excitement about what Katya was about to do that he was practically dripping onto his own stomach, a small pool of precum collecting in the valleys on Trixie’s chubby middle.

“You look so good, all ready for me.”

Katya smiled as she gently pushed a manicured finger inside of Trixie; the passage was so smooth and easy that she added another one immediately, which made him whimper.

“Sssh, you’re being so good right now, let me play with you a little, let me feel my big, strong man, who always pleases me so well.”

Trixie nodded, his eyes scrunched shut as if it would be too overwhelming to see Katya’s fingers disappear into him.

“Turn around.”

Trixie nodded again, moving so fast Katya barely had time to get her fingers out before he was on his hands and knees. Katya couldn’t help but smile and lean down to give Trixie’s lower back a sweet kiss, the red lipstick she had worn for this scene leaving behind a perfect mark.

“Are you ready for me?”

Trixie didn’t answer her question with words, but with actions instead as he pushed back against her, a high whine leaving his throat, making Katya laugh.

“That’s my sweet boy, my sweet…” Katya pushed inside, her strap-on fitting perfectly into Trixie’s ass, “…amazing boy.”

Trixie moaned as she bottomed out inside of him, and it was the sexiest thing. Katya loved this, loved to take Trixie this way. She loved all of it, the control, the respect, the trust, the way Trixie gave everything over so completely as she set a rhythm, the amount of times they had done this together making it easy for Katya to circle her hips in just the right way to make Trixie shout with pleasure.

Katya snapped her hips faster and faster, her hand in the space between Trixie’s shoulders forcing him down as she took him and used him for her own pleasure. The constant pressure against her clit made Katya join in on Trixie’s moans with real sounds of her own pleasure. But it was not until she leaned down over Trixie, their bodies pressed together and the words “I love you” leaving her mouth that Trixie came all over the bed, his eyes seeing white as he shook apart underneath her.

When Trixie came back to, wrapped in Katya’s arms underneath their duvet, it was to the feeling of sweet kisses getting pecked onto the bald spots on his head. Trixie couldn’t help but smile, his chest warm with happiness as he looked up at Katya.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, sugar butt.”

***

Violet had done the unthinkable, which meant that she hadn’t done anything at all.

It was her last day in Miss Fame’s office, and she had come in at 9, only arriving 15 minutes before Fame, not lifting a single finger to complete the morning routine.

It was all in Courtney’s hands.

So far today, she had opened her email and gone to get coffee, making sure to include the peach tea for herself that she was sipping that very moment, taking notes and keeping a keen eye on Courtney, the notes most of all for show to keep Courtney on her toes.

When Violet had suggested this dress rehearsal, Courtney had looked like she had wanted to die, but so far, she wasn’t doing terribly.

Sure, she was stressing over what Violet considered simple tasks, and she had almost missed a phone call, but Fame had requested adequate, and Courtney was delivering just that, without a single irritating joke or any clownish airheaded behavior, even when she was flailing.

***

“Don’t you want some pizza?” Adore looked over at Courtney, who was on her phone, dealing with some work thing for the third time since she’d arrived. She set the box on the coffee table and took a seat.

“No… I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

When Adore didn’t get a reply, she grabbed a piece of pizza herself instead, trying to figure out what was going on in Courtney’s head.

Between Courtney’s work schedule and Adore’s blissful new-relationship bubble, they’d barely seen each other at all since Adore got back from Paris. But when they had, Courtney had been acting strange: subdued, a muted version of her normally exuberant personality. Adore wondered if she was depressed, and felt like a pretty shitty friend for not noticing sooner.

“Court…”

“Hmm?”

“What actually happened with Willam?” Adore asked carefully. “You never really told me the whole story.”

“There’s nothing to tell. He turned out to be a disgusting, lying jerk, just like every other man I’ve ever been with,” Courtney said, flinging an arm over her eyes and lying back on Adore’s purple sofa.

Adore didn’t have a lot to add to that, because as far as she knew, it was kinda true. For as long as she’d known Courtney, her bestie had had the worst luck with guys. But usually, she bounced back right away, onto the next adventure...this seemed different.

“I’m sorry,” she replied lamely.

“It’s not your fault. You’re not a douchebag,” Courtney said.

“So…hey, are you still coming to my sister’s party next week?”

“I don’t know, Dore. It’s gonna be the end of my first week in the office alone, and I’m gonna be so tired. Third-wheeling at a fancy party where I don’t have anything to wear doesn’t sound-”

“Come on, you always look great! And it won’t be third-wheeling! If anyone’s third-wheeling, it’s Pearl,” Adore giggled, reaching out to tug gently on her hair.

“Look, I know you love them, but the idea of being at a party with my boss, and Raja, and all their friends is-”

“It’s gonna be a huge party, you probably won’t even see them!”

“Right.” Courtney rolled her eyes.

“If you don’t come, Bianca will be so disappointed.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure she really cares whether I come,” Courtney said sarcastically, shaking her head.

“She does! She even asked me to make sure you, you know, have all the right info. She definitely cares. She thinks you’re cool.”

“Well…” Courtney suppressed a smile, biting her lip. “Really?”

“Yes. Cross my heart. So please come.”

“I guess I can ask Ivy to lend me a dress from the wardrobe closet at work.”

“There you go! Plus, it’ll be a great party,” Adore insisted. “I promise you’ll have fun.”

Courtney nodded, finally looking at Adore with a sparkle back in her eyes as she reached forward to grab a piece of pizza. Adore grinned, but her happiness dissolved into confusion as she then watched her scrape the cheese off before taking a bite.

“What are you doing?” Adore asked, horrified.

“I’m vegan now. You know this, I told you weeks ago.”

“You’re still doing that? Dear god, why?” Adore moaned.

“Well, I’ve been really stressed and low energy and I think this will make me feel better, and sleep better, and give me some balance back. And it’s something concrete that I can do for the planet. Did you know that the meat and dairy industry-”

“Okay, okay!” Adore held up her hand, laughing. “I don’t need a whole essay.”

After a slight pause, Courtney sighed and said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what, bae?”

“I know I’ve been in a shitty mood. I’m sure it hasn’t been fun to be around.”

“Honey, it’s okay. You just went through a breakup, it’s totally understandable.”

“It’s not even that,” Courtney said.

“No?”

“No, it’s just...work is…” Courtney sighed again. “It’s hard to explain. But I am done with men.”

“Oh yeah? You gonna come to the dark side?” Adore asked, fluttering her lashes.

“Ha. I wish.”

***

“Baby!”

“Yes?” Trixie was making breakfast, the eggs sizzling away in their pan. He turned, just to see Katya round the corner, a look of panic in her eyes. She was wearing an open shirt with a puppy print on it, her orange skirt around her hips, her hair barely collected in a loose bun, miniature pencils dangling from her ears.

“I just remembered-” Katya paused, “Hey,” she snapped her fingers, “eyes up her here,” and Trixie grinned at the fact that he had been caught openly staring at her tits.

“It’s Violet’s first day at design today. Why didn’t you remind me? I have nothing planned to celebrate and this is huge for he-”

“Hey, hey,” Trixie reassured her, putting an arm around his fiance. “I got it.” Trixie titled his head, and Katya turned to look at their kitchen table, a gigantic framed sheet of pink paper on it.

It hadn’t been easy to find photos of Violet, the woman apparently avoiding cameras like she was being paid to do it, but Trixie had still managed to find quite a few, Katya, Violet and Shangela all smiling at the brunch table on the roof.

“Did you make this?”

“I’m taking offence at that, this is a Mattel original, I poured my heart into this.”

Trixie smiled as Katya was hanging on to his shoulder, moved by her fiancé’s work. “I plan on putting it on her desk.”

“She’s going to despise that.”

“Probably.” Trixie chuckled, and Katya gave him a kiss. He had expected it to be short and sweet, but Katya pushed him against the cabinet, her hips flush with his.

“… Are you turned on by the fact that I made a collage?”

“Maybe.”

“Good enough for me.”

Tags – rpdr fanfic, thedane, veronica, galactica, vitan, bitney, trixya, violet, raja, Courtney, adore, bianca, Trixie, katya, lesbian au, m/f au, fashion au,

#rpdr fanfiction #thedane #veronica #galactica #vitan #bitney #trixya #violet chachki #raja gemini #courtney act #adore delano #bianca del rio #trixie mattel #katya zamolodchikova #lesbian au #m/f au #smut #fashion au

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gilded-green · 3 years

Note

In celebration of the 10th anniversary, I’ll probably reread GG and send updates/highlight areas and as for commentary. Probably XD

But first. What aspect of Gilded Green was your favorite? What was something you put in a lot of world building for but never got to show either in fic or on tumblr. Who is your favorite character and why, what makes them special in your eyes? Which character has turned into a completely different one as soon as you started writing them? Which part of the fic did you like most when you finished it, do you still like it? Similarly, which part do you dislike most?

Lasty, anything about gg2’s story you want to share/talk about/rant?

-love, the dai li fangirl

Haha, no pressure! But at the same time yes if you do feel free to send me passages for commentary here! <3

What aspect was my favorite? Hmmm. *thinking face* I think, when I first came up with it, I was just thrilled to have these two small things - minor character Lu Ten, overlooked villain organization Dai Li - that I was able to combine into something so big. That was pretty nifty!

As I started developing the story, I think what really caught my attention was the fact that “Wow, all these characters are awful people!” Like. The Dai Li aren’t good.The Fire Nation aren’t good. Lu Ten is a victim but also an oppressor. All off these people have extremely different beliefs and worldviews - Fire supremacist, police state enforcers, classist academic gatekeepers - and all of them think THEY’RE in the right here and none of them are. I think Tien and Hoang might be the only people with a decent, non-oppressive worldview in the story so far. XD I was growing out of the storytelling trope of black-and-white morality at the time, so it was really fun to start experimenting with writing awful people as enjoyable, sympathetic characters.

World building? Hmm. I was just learning how to use my worldbuilding muscles back then. I seem to remember reading up a lot on how brainwashing actually works in the real world and going “I don’t think this is compatible with what we have in ATLA” and just kinda tossing that whole thing out. XD I also recall looking up a lot of stuff for the bits about Jouin, some of which - kalua pig! - has since shown up again in WFFD. I also recall someone on FFdotnet at the time saying “All this chapter did was tell us more about a dead character than the living one” and I was just kinda like -_- yes because he is DEAD and this is your chance to feel sorry about that, we’ll get plenty more of the living one later on account of him still being, y’know, alive. XD

Oh, and Shirong’s personal side projects. I finally got into that a bit in A Meeting of Minds, but the dude DOES have his own stuff going on, which Delun so rudely interrupted to drag him off to see Long Feng about brainwashing a Firebender.

I also did a bunch of research for the birthday party interlude, I think. Mostly appropriate alcohol for such an occasion? And....okay, this’ll sound funny, but.....food containers. I wanted Fen to pack up leftovers for Suyin and Shirong. That’s what my Italian family does after get-togethers, and I assumed that a Chinese family/friend group would do the same! But I also had, like, zero exposure to everyday Chinese life, let alone everyday Chinese life in the 1800s, and I just didn’t have the...idk, cultural osmosis? to figure it out. Like, if you asked me how Victorians would transfer food I’d probably come up with “Idk, wrap it in cloth and stuff it in a basket?” and I assumed people living in modern China would also be able to explain what their people did for food storage/transport 150 years ago but I didn’t have that cultural background, now, did I??? Also this was 10-12 years ago I was looking this up, mind you, the internet was still very different, there was plenty of information on Chinese historical events but not on everyday life objects, CDramas weren’t easy to find if they were translated at all and I certainly didn’t know they existed, and no one was posting beautiful aesthetic videos of life in a rural Chinese mountain village to youtube yet. Eventually I learned that bamboo baskets were a thing, but there wasn’t much info on THOSE either and I wasn’t sure how to describe them, so I just tentatively typed “basket” and called it a day. XD

YOU CANNOT ASK ME TO CHOOSE MY FAVORITE CHARACTER THAT’S LIKE ASKING ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MY CHILDREN!!! *shoves Yong off a cliff*

I’m very fond of the Dai family, along with the Trungs and Sais. I’m very proud of how Tuan turned out. I adore Yuan, who you’ve barely met, and Xun, who you haven’t. Huang and Wu Sheng are also definite faves and I can’t wait for y’all to get to know them better.

Characters do usually behave for me in terms of personality development. They surprise me, but they never really turn out to be the complete OPPOSITE of what I was expecting? They just kinda develop organically. Huang and Wu Sheng surprised me, tho, those boys got deep. I knew they had the potential, but developing their backstory actually caused Stingrae and I to develop Ba Sing Se’s socio-political backstory and Long Feng’s rise to power, all because of an inkling I had. That was a very satisfying few years of worldbuilding and story development.

Um, favorite part of the fic....idk, I’m very fond of the final scene, with Azula and her wall chunk from Lu Ten. I’m doubly fond of it because of how it always resonates with readers. Heck, during Azula week last year, I used that chunk of rock as an ongoing theme in Sandstone, and someone commented like “I DIDN’T REALIZE YOU’RE THE ONE WHO WROTE GILDED GREEN” and that made me really happy!

Lu Ten’s time stuck underground - I used the seven stages of grief to get through that one and it was very helpful in structuring that part of the story, and I figured it was deep or something because PSYCHOLOGY.

I’m also proud of myself for getting through the dark brainwashing scenes. So, like, FYI, fanfiction could get...very dark, back in the 00s. People love to play purity police these days and complain about how nasty people get can, but listen. Listen. Do you have any idea how dark FFdotnet got back in the day? Legolas And Aragorn Get Captured By Orcs And Brutally Tortured was an entire genre. I feel like torture fic was actually a lot more common back then, and darkfic in general - I’m sure someone could write a whole thesis on why it’s not so prevalent anymore, I’m gonna guess the fact that fandom is less-insulated and more public now could be part of it, maybe also the fact that the internet is more social media/influencer culture based so people care about their image, and also the purity police which is its own kettle of worms, but I also think that the Bush Administration had something to do with it? You have all these kids who were pre-teens when 9/11 happened, growing up during the Iraq War with an awful presidential administration while everyone was scared and conservative Christianity started to realize that their control over the nation’s “morality” might be slipping and reacted accordingly......yeah there was a lot of darkfic back then.

And I read a lot of darkfic too, but, uh....well, statistically speaking, a lot of writing is bad, okay? A lot of those fics were just weird; you could see where the writer had this idea, and also where they failed to execute it in a way that resonated or made sense. And whatever, writers were young and just wanted to pound out some catharsis, it’s cool, but it still just felt narratively awkward when you could tell how the writer was more focused on LET’S MAKE THIS AS DARK AS POSSIBLE instead of “Let’s tell this as well as possible.”

So the first several attempts at writing the brainwashing scenes, I was nervous because I didn’t want to get TOO dark, and when I finally decided “eff it” and said to Stingrae “I think I need to let this be as dark as it needs to be” I was still nervous because I didn’t want it to end up WEIRD. Idk if that makes sense, but anyway I seem to have done a decent job at it!

As for parts I dislike the most, uhhhhh Iroh’s retreat (I didn’t care, I just wanted to get it over with), Enlai might’ve been promoted too fast? idk, the fact that I came up with Nanyue AFTER I finished publishing GG so I couldn’t work that into the Quy bits, the fact that I was young and innocent and didn’t understand sexual slang or innuendo and randomly chose Dong as the name of the court physician which could lead to some awful puns except no one ever seemed to pick up on that and maybe I’ll regret pointing it out but the man IS going to appear again so I might as well get the first shot in myself. XD

I might have GG2 stuff to talk about but not sure, if I do I’ll make another post on that!

#GG tumblr escapades #GG 10th anniversary

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a-simple-imagine · 5 years

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Three Hearts

Synopsis: It’s Y/N birthday and she doesn’t really feel like celebrating but that doesn’t stop Tony and Pepper from doing something a little special though.

Pairing: Tony Stark x fem!reader x Pepper Potts

Words: 1.6k+

A/N - I always write something for my birthday and this one is quite close to home for me. Happy birthday to me... I guess

Warning- Talks of depression.

It's weird that once you're brought into the world you're kind of just stuck and expected to be grateful. There are probably millions of people who don't appreciate such a gift. You never exactly asked for it and often you found yourself wishing you could return it but each year you complete yet another trip around the sun. You weren't always this bitter towards your birthday; you're not quite sure when it all changed. Happiness could be considered such a fickle thing. You now resent the day in question and along with it comes sadness. They say birthday depression is a very real thing, you're not sure if that's true or not but you like to think it is. There is obviously more to it than just being sad when the big day comes around. There are many factors that can contribute; the passage of time, feelings of failure, stress, etc. All you know is that each year you experience a wave of unbearable sadness and that's not something you wish to relish in so why bother celebrating at all?

Time moves forward into the early hours of the morning. You're lying between two people who would give you the entire world if you simply asked for it. They're both sleeping soundly but the same can't be said for you. You've been staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours, thoughts swirling around your head. The only sound in the room the soft snoring of your boyfriend. Pepper was usually pretty quiet when she slept.

"Happy birthday to you," You mumble out loud. Acknowledging the fact you were now a year older. Nobody else was gonna sing happy birthday so why not do it yourself and get it out the way? This was actually the first time you were spending your birthday with Pepper and Tony. You hadn't told them it was your birthday because you didn't want them making a fuss. You couldn't handle a big party or a fancy dinner. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear me." You fall onto your side, shuffling a little closer to Tony. He was warm and comforting. You slip your arms around the man, pressing up against him as he groans softly. You wonder if he'll wake up but he doesn't "Happy birthday... to you." A gentle whisper against his skin and you place a chaste kiss against the back of his neck before nuzzling against him.

It's still early when your eyes flutter open. Tony and Pepper rush around the room, pulling on items of clothes and trying to talk in hushed whispers. A strained groan slips from your throat as you push yourself up. Rubbing your tired eyes as you watch them. You decide to wait up until they leave for work. As soon as they're gone it doesn't take long for you to drift back off into unconsciousness. Luckily you have the day off so why not spend some time wasting away in bed. When you do finally slip out from under the comfort of the duvet it's because your stomach is growling for something to eat. The air has a particular chill to it as you head for the kitchen. Some would consider it sad that you often spend your birthday alone and maybe they're right but this happened pretty much every year now.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, you enjoy a bowl of cheerios in complete silence. Occasionally checking your phone, you're surprised you actually receive any birthday wishes considering how early it is but you get one or two. They're from people who consider themselves friends but they're more like strangers. There are very few people you have ever actually considered friends but even they're long gone from your life. You contemplate how you would like to spend the day. Staying inside seemed like the most obvious choice but if you spend another day off just lying in bed, Pepper was gonna make you talk about your feelings again. You could go shopping but you didn't exactly have a lot of money to burn. You decide to just get dressed and head out the door; it doesn't really matter what you do as long as you get out and be at least kind of semi-social. You don't do anything particularly exciting. You grab lunch at a small cafe downtown after a short walk and you also pick up some snacks for later. Nobody seems to acknowledge you unless they have to. Your phone hasn't had a notification for hours. The desire to receive birthday wishes outweighs the hatred you have for your birthday. It worse when it feels like nobody remembers or cares. You hate this side of you. This strange desire to be liked when you continue to isolate yourself. You're almost certain you're not the only person who craves attention on their birthday otherwise why would people make posts on Facebook or Instagram? It's so people don't have an excuse to forget. You haven't posted anything so you're not surprised by how little people have been messaging you. It's pretty much like this every day except Tony must be bored because he keeps sending messages to the group chat. You and pepper have been reading them but neither of you has responded.

Pushing through the front door, you're pulled in by the crushing silence. It's hard to ignore. This house was way too big for this kind of silence. After putting away your things, you settle down on the couch to watch a movie. It's a particular favourite of yours but it doesn't seem to hold your attention quite like it normally does; it's just not that interesting. Tony and Pepper arrive home together which is actually pretty weird for them. Tony sits down in the armchair while Pepper just breezes past you.

"Hey,"

"Hi," You reply, glancing towards him and then back to the screen. "how was work?"

"Same old boring crap," he mutters following it up with a hearty chuckle. You give him a small smile before falling quiet. Pepper comes along and joins a little while later, she's changed out of her suit into some sweats. She hands you a hot mug of tea as she sits down next to you on the couch. You take a sip of tea, the warmth spilling through your body. "What were you doing?"

"Just putting stuff away, nothing to worry your pretty little head about," Reaching over, she places her hand softly against your thigh. You don't question her words. "I couldn't stop thinking about you today."

"Oh," You're cautious of her words. Why had you been on her mind more than normal?"And why is that?"

"You just seemed upset this morning."

"How could you tell? Shes always grumpy in the morning," Tony teases, a soft sigh slips past your lips. You fall into a comfortable silence as you watch the movie except for when Tony decides to ask for a bowl of popcorn you prepared but hardly ate. When it finally ends, you try to duck out as quick as possible. You can almost sense the weird conversation that was about to happen. Brushing off some crumbs you charge past Pepper who grabs your wrist along the way. She had surprisingly quick reflexes and a weirdly tight grip. You look back to Pepper who stares back with such gentle eyes.

"You can always talk to us, you know?"

"I know." You reply, nodding a little. "Please let go of me."

"...Sorry," She sighs, releasing you from her grip. Her fingertips glide gently across your skin and you flash her a smile before walking away.

"Oh and Y/N?"

"Yeah Pep?" You call back.

"Happy birthday," You come to an abrupt stop, turning slowly on your heel. You had heard her correctly, right?

"Happy birthday," Tony repeats. His lips curling into a smug smile.

"You knew?"

"Of course," Tony shrugs, somehow looking even smugger than before. "Why wouldn't I know something like that about a person I love?"

"You... love me?" You question slowly. He's never said that to you before. Neither of them had. You had wanted to say it to them but you were worried they wouldn't say it back.

"We love you," Pepper corrected him. "Don't feel like you have to say it back but we wanted you to know how much you mean to us."

You can't help but smile a little as you stare at both of them. "Thanks... I... I love you two, too."

Leaving them alone, you disappear into the bedroom. You wait for a moment half expecting the two of them to come trailing after you but they don't. You think nothing of it. They would come to bed when they were ready. You change and get ready for bed. Sat on the edge of the bed, you place a glass of water on the bedside table and that's when you notice it. A small box left under the dim light of the lamp. It's tiffany blue and tied with a white bow. Your brow crinkles a little. That definitely hadn't been there this morning. Taking the box, you twist the label to reveal five specific words scribbled across it.

We're glad you were born

You roll your eyes but a smile settles on your lips. You open up the box and inside sits a necklace made of silver. It was beautiful. The chain connected by three interconnected hearts adorned with diamonds. They really just casually bought you a diamond necklace? It was definitely their style. It cost more than you could ever possibly afford on your own. You imagine Pepper picked it out because Tony was notoriously bad at getting gifts or so you've been told. You run your finger slowly over the hearts. Pepper and Tony had come into your life so abruptly but you couldn't imagine your life without them. A lot of people would consider your relationship weird but it worked for you. Maybe it was enough to just have these two people in your life. Nobody else mattered because right now they were the only ones who brought a sense of joy to an otherwise depressing day.

#tony stark x reader #pepper potts x reader #tony stark #pepper potts #tony stark x you #tony stark x pepper potts #tony stark x reader x pepper potts #pepper potts x you

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fourteenacross · 5 years

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end of 2019

I've done this survey every year since like, 2006 and then missed it last year because I was on a social media break. Whoops! My shitty memory makes it fairly important as a way to track the passage of time, so I'm back on the horse this year.

What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before? I'm sure there's some specific thing, but nothing's coming to me immediately. Oh, I guess I started cross stitching? Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I'm not sure what my resolutions were for last year because I did not write them anywhere because I did not do this meme /o\ Next year: + Set up some kind of writing schedule + Finish my mg novel + Survive moving + Get a new job + Go on more dates

eta: Outside of these sort of concrete, 2do-list type goals, I set some more nebulous personal goals on Twitter: - See my local friends outside of the BFC more often - Do weird, dumb shit - Be nicer to myself - Fix my meds - Bake something fancy(Okay, that last one is kind of 2do-listy.) Did anyone close to you give birth? YES!! @caphairdadbeard had a baby and he's perfect and I love him and it kills me that he's so far away and I only get to see him a few times a year, even more so than it usually kills me having Sarah so far away. Did anyone close to you die? My former roommate's father. I did a lot of family stuff with her over the decade that we lived together and spent a lot of time with her parents and he was super loved and admired by his community. A real shitty loss all around. What countries did you visit? Just the US, but I visited Seattle and Mississippi for the first time! What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? ~*~Financial security~*~ What dates from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? I'm so terrible with actual dates. May 9 was Max's birthday, so there's that? We did a lovely, successful live show on April 18. OH we went to Rent Live and had our wild weekend in LA on January 26. We watched a lot of wild movie musicals at Grace and Jesse's in July. I saw Blair Witch in the woods. I went down to the city to see Octet and Hadestown. Lisa moved in with me. Moby-Dick happened. Now I'm just listing events and not dates, but there you go. What was your biggest achievement of the year? God, do I even have one? I'm not dead, so that's probably something. Oh, I guess we had a really good WBS month where we were interviewed by Forbes.com, had one of our crossovers with IDEOTV, guest edited TBD, and had our live show. That was a really satisfying few weeks. What was your biggest failure? I'm haunted by this work thing I fucked up, even though everyone has told me it wasn't a big deal. I really crash and burned out for NaNo because SAD hit me way harder and faster this year than it has in the past. Did you suffer illness or injury? Lots of brain stuff, as per usual. A couple minor colds. My FAMILY on the other hand.... What was the best thing you bought? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Tickets to Octet, maybe. It was probably my favorite show of the year. The new chair/loveseat is also very good. Whose behavior merited celebration? Some of my friends. A lot of excellent activists. Sarah's baby (he's very good). Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Like, the whole government? Where did most of your money go? Grown-up type stuff (rent, utilities, groceries), cons, and travel. What did you get really, really, really excited about? LA, Octet, Max, DragonCon, Moby-Dick. Galentine's! What song will always remind you of 2019? Probably music from Octet? I don't like.....listen to the radio. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Probably about the same? Maybe more stressed out by family stuff going on and money stuff. b) thinner or fatter? Same. Also, I hate this question. 2020 Kaitlyn, delete it plz. c) richer or poorer? About to be poorer. What do you wish you’d done more of? Writing. Sleeping. Going on dates. Hanging out with people. What do you wish you’d done less of? Being depressed. Being stressed. Did you fall in love in 2019? Nope. What was your favorite TV program? If we're talking "currently airing" and not "things I bingewatch that are very old," probably The Good Place--OH I almost forgot Good Omens was this year!!! Also that! And I started watching Schitt's Creek and watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Oh, and I started watching some videos on the Bon Appetit YouTube channel, mostly Gourmet Makes and Making Perfect and Reverse Engineering. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Mostly just like...........people I don't actually know who are terrible humans. What was the best book you read? Coming soon to a podcast feed near you! What was your greatest musical discovery? Probably Octet? I don't think I listened to a lot of new music this year. OH WAIT, The Highwomen!!! What a good album!!! (Also in doing the theatre section I just remembered Six was this year too!) What did you want and get? Mostly material things--clothes, cons, travel, seeing people, tickets to things, etc. Impeachment. Got that. That was nice. What did you want and not get? Financial security. A new job. Emotional stability. A relationship. More sleep. What was your favorite film of this year? Captain Marvel, although Us, Charlie's Angels, and The Wind were very good too. What was your favorite theatrical event of the year? Probably Octet! The broadway version of Hadestown was kind of disappointing compared to the 2016 NYTW version and Moby-Dick is great fun, but still pretty rough in places. Octet is just.....very good. Oh, or SIX, that was great too! Octet or Six. Oh, and, jesus, this year was a hundred years long, I totally forgot we saw Denee as Eliza this year!! She was very good!! And I got to see Daniel Breaker as Burr again and I fucking love him. What was your favorite podcast of the year? The Empty Bowl, a meditative podcast about cereal. It is so good for zoning out and being calm. TAZ has been killing it with the one-shots and the Amnesty arc, too, and this was the first year I listened to MBMBaM weekly and also I mainlined all of Sawbones after listening to half of it, then not listening to any for six months, then deciding to start from the beginning again. Unwell is a really good show that I recommend, and Mabel. The Magnus Archives killed it with season four, which was tailored to my exact narrative tastes. MFM and Criminal are perpetual faves. American Hysteria was super interesting to go through and Bear Brook and In the Dark both obviously had fucking fantastic years. Oh, and Who the Hell is Hamish? that was fun too. And I’ll stop now.

I.....listen to a lot of podcasts. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 34! On the day, I went out for dinner and drinks with some friends. That weekend, I bought a bunch of children's Captain Marvel birthday supplies and we played Jackbox games and ate cake! What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Any sort of fix to our current political mess. And/or financial stability. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019? The "Whimsical" section on eShakti. What kept you sane? Friends! Podcasts! Anti-depressants! Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Brie Larson and Starr Busby are the first that spring to mind. What political issue stirred you the most? It’s hard to pick just one when the whole country is on fire. Who did you miss? Pretty much everyone when they are not right next to me. Sarah Bay, a lot, but I feel weird singling one person out. [This is exactly what I wrote for the last four years, but I’m keeping it because it’s still true.] Who was the best new person you met? Did I meet new people this year? I know I internet-met a couple people, but I'm not sure if I in-person made any new friends? We hung out with this girl Jenn at con a bunch, she was pretty cool! edit: oh my god MAX I met MAX this year because he did not exist last year!!! Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019: Do not invite folks to sit on a panel unless you know they'll stick to the goddamn topic agreed on in advance. Quote a song that sums up your year: And no one grew into anything new / we just became the worse of what we were

(I think this is the third year in a row that Dave Malloy has been my lyric of the year.)

Anyway, that’s 2019 for me. I can’t say I’m sorry to see it go. The last half, in particular, was super rough. Hell, the last week was super rough--guess how many members of my family have been in the hospital in December! If you guessed “six” you would be correct!! (Everyone is more or less fine.)

But, hey, it also brought me my tiny nephew and two Dave Malloy musicals, so it wasn’t all bad!

I hope 2020 treats you all well, friends!

#stuff about me #2019 #meme

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cutsliceddiced · 4 years

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New top story from Time: How COVID-19 Will Shape the Class of 2020 For the Rest of Their Lives

They call it commencement because it’s supposed to be a new beginning.

College graduation is one of life’s last clean transitions, a final passage from adolescence to adulthood that is predictable in ways other transitions rarely are. Relationships end with breakups or death, jobs often end with quitting or firing, but college is one of the only things in life that ends with a fresh start. Except when it doesn’t.

One morning in March, Clavey Robertson took a study break and climbed onto the roof of his dorm at the University of California, Berkeley. He had spent the past year working on his senior thesis on the erosion of the social-safety net since the Great Depression, and he needed to clear his head. In the distance, Robertson could see a tiny white speck: the Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying crew members infected with COVID-19, lingering in the San Francisco Bay.

Photograph by Hannah Beier for TIME

Hannah Beier, a photography major in the Drexel University Class of 2020, has been virtually photographing her classmates in quarantine. She directed this series of portraits over FaceTime.

Two months later, Robertson’s transition to adulthood is in limbo. He skipped his online commencement and he’s living in his childhood bedroom, which had been converted to a guest room. His parents have lost their travel agency work, and his own job prospects have dried up. “No longer am I just a student writing about the Great Depression,” he says. “Now there’s a depression.”

College graduation is often marked by an adjustment period, as students leave the comforts of campus to find their way in the raw wilderness of the job market. But this year’s graduates are staggering into a world that is in some ways unrecognizable. More than 90,000 Americans have died; tens of millions are out of work; entire industries have crumbled. The virus and the economic shock waves it unleashed have hammered Americans of all ages. But graduating in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic will have enduring implications on the Class of 2020: for their memories, their earning power, and their view of what it means to have a functional society. For these young adults, the pandemic represents not just a national crisis but also a defining moment.

Hannah BeierJoshua McCaw, Drexel University Class of 2020, in his childhood bedroom in Brooklyn

Even before COVID-19, the Class of 2020 came of age at a time of fear and uncertainty. Born largely in 1997 and 1998—among the oldest of Gen Z—the Class of 2020 were in day care and pre-kindergarten on 9/11. Their childhoods have been punctuated by school -shootings and catastrophic climate change. Their freshman year at college began with President Donald Trump’s election; their senior year ended with a paralyzing global health crisis. “We stepped into the world as it was starting to fall apart,” says Simone Williams, who graduated from Florida A&M University in an online commencement May 9. “It’s caused my generation to have a vastly different perspective than the people just a few years ahead of us or behind us.”

Researchers have found that the major events voters experience in early adulthood—-roughly between the ages of 14 and 24—tend to define their political attitudes for the rest of their lives. And the Class of 2020’s generation was -already disaffected. Only 8% of -Americans -between 18 and 29 believe the government is working as it should be, and fewer than 1 in 5 consider themselves “very patriotic,” according to the 2020 Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics survey of young Americans. They are at once widely skeptical of U.S. institutions and insistent on more government solutions; they’re disappointed in the current system, but hold out hope for a better one.

Hannah BeierBrooke Yarsinsky, Drexel University Class of 2020, celebrating her birthday in her family’s kitchen in Marlton, N.J.

For the Class of 2020, COVID-19’s lasting impact may be determined by what happens next. If the rising cohort of young workers are left to fend for themselves, mass youth unemployment could lead to permanent disillusionment or widespread despair. A forceful, effective response that invests in the rising generation of American talent could restore their faith in the system.

It’s not clear to the Class of 2020 how the pandemic will play out. They just know it will change their lives. “Everything” is at stake, says Yale history major Adrian Rivera. “It’s this pivotal moment where we’ll never forget what’s done,” he says. “Or what isn’t done.”

School is often a refuge from the gusts of history. But the events that rupture the classroom routine, from President Kennedy’s assassination to 9/11, tend to be the ones that stick with students forever.

The coronavirus disrupted more class time, for more students, than almost any other event in U.S. history. It started with a scramble: The University of Washington announced on March 6 that it was cancelling in-person classes for its 57,000 students. Then Stanford University followed suit. Over the next few days, campuses from Harvard to the University of Michigan announced they’d be transitioning to online learning. Soon, hundreds of other colleges and universities followed.

Hannah BeierBen Scofield, Drexel University Class of 2020, on his bed in his new apartment in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn

By Friday, March 13, an eerie silence fell on campuses across the nation. “Something about that day was really weird, because every time my friends and I would say ‘See you later’ or ‘Catch you after break,’ I just had this sinking feeling that I wasn’t going to see them,” says Vincent Valeriano, a member of Iowa State University’s Class of 2020. “Saying goodbye felt like it carried a lot more weight than it used to.” He ended up watching his online -graduation -ceremony at home, in his pajamas.

For underclassmen, the shortened semester was an irritating disruption. For seniors, it was a total upheaval. “There’s no way for there to be closure,” says Sam Nelson, who recently graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. “I know in real life, closure doesn’t exist, but this is one of the last moments for young people to say goodbye to young adulthood and move into the next phase of their lives.”

The Class of 2020 hugged their closest friends and mourned their lost semester, but scattered back home without so much as a goodbye to many people they’d lived with for years. Acquaintances who laughed in hallways or shared inside jokes in seminars simply disappeared. Fraternities and sororities canceled their formals and philanthropy events, attempting Zoom happy hours that didn’t come close to the real thing. For some couples, casual hookups quickly escalated into long-distance relationships. Others quietly packed up their feelings for college crushes and left without saying a word.

Hannah Beier for TIMESarah Pruitt, Drexel University Class of 2020, at home with her mom in Colchester, Conn.

The loss of a milestone like an in–person commencement had a special sting for some families. Arianny Pujols, the first natural-born U.S. citizen in her family and the first to graduate from college, still did her hair and makeup as if she were walking across the stage at Missouri State University. She and her family held a small ceremony in her grandfather’s backyard, and then she stood on the sidewalk in her cap and gown waving at cars with a sign that said “Honk, I did it!” Brenda Sanchez, 22, whose parents are immigrants from Mexico, says they will miss both her graduation from Humboldt State University in California and her sister’s college graduation the next day. “My parents didn’t go to school. They didn’t graduate,” says Sanchez, who is herself an immigrant and is protected from deportation by President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. “Your heart breaks a little. You did work hard, you did earn this degree, but you’re not going to see yourself walk across that stage.”

Instead of graduating into their future lives, many Class of 2020 seniors feel like they’ve gone backward. “We were ready to be in the world as young adults—not good adults, maybe clumsy adults, but some kind of adult,” says Ilana Goldberg, who recently graduated from Tufts University in an online ceremony. “We’re not in the system anymore, but we’re not far enough out of it to have our footing in the world.”

Hannah BeierLauren, Parsons School of Design Class of 2017, and Dylan, Marist College Class of 2017, quarantining in Lauren’s family home in Woodstock, VT

Eric Kolarik, who was supposed to be sitting at his University of Michigan commencement ceremony in early May, is instead back home in Traverse City, Mich., raking leaves, helping his mom with the dishes, doing the same chores he did in high school. “I’m 22 but I’ve assumed the life of 15-year-old Eric again,” he says. “You feel like a failure to launch.”

If only they knew that a stolen senior spring is the least of their problems. The Class of 2020 is falling through a massive hole in the U.S. social-safety net, into a financial downturn that could define their lives for decades to come. Graduating seniors have lost on–campus jobs that got them through school. Many haven’t been working for long enough to qualify for full unemployment. If they’ve been listed as dependents on their parents’ taxes, they don’t get a stimulus check. They haven’t had time to build up significant savings.

Hannah Beier for TIMEDestiny, Drexel University Class of 2019, at home in Palmyra, PA

“I’m not sure they’ve fully processed what 25% unemployment, disproportionately affecting younger Americans, will actually mean,” says John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. He recalls that during the last recession, the Class of 2009 scrambled to scoop up opportunities, “like a game of- -musical chairs.” The Class of 2020, by contrast, is essentially frozen in place by a pandemic that has trapped much of the nation inside their homes. “There almost are no opportunities in any sector,” Della Volpe says. “It’s like suspended animation.”

More than 1 in 5 employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in April said they were rescinding their summer internship offers. The overall number of postings on the online jobs platform ZipRecruiter have fallen by nearly half since mid-February, while new postings for entry-level positions have plummeted more than 75%, according to ZipRecruiter labor economist Julia Pollak. A year ago, less experienced job seekers were enjoying brisk wage growth and rosy job prospects. Now, Pollak says, “it’s particularly hard for new graduates.

Sanchez, who worked two jobs and started her own eyelash-extension business to help pay for school, has applied for more than 70 jobs in recent weeks without success. Williams, who dreams of working in the entertainment industry, had no luck with at least 15 jobs and struck out with fellowships that are no longer taking applicants; now she’s cobbling together gig work. Robertson had planned to try to get a job in labor activism; these days, he’s considering graduate school instead.

Hannah BeierJillian Yagoda with her boyfriend Benjamin Halperin, both in the University of Maryland Class of 2020, in the apartment they share in College Park, Md.

It’s not just dream jobs that have disappeared. Historically, many young people take positions in the retail or restaurant industries as they find their path. According to Pew, of the roughly 19 million 16-to-24-year-olds in the labor force, more than 9 million were employed in the service sector. Suddenly, a significant chunk of those jobs have evaporated. In April alone, the leisure and hospitality industry lost 47% of its total workforce, with 7.7 million workers newly unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Which means the economic crisis has hit the youngest harder than any other age group. More than half of Americans under 30 say someone in their household has lost a job or taken a pay cut because of the corona-virus crisis, according to Pew, and the youngest workers are more likely than older generations to say that the pandemic has hurt their finances more than other people.

Graduating into a bad economy can affect everything from future earnings to long-term health and happiness. Researchers have found that beginning a career in the teeth of a recession can depress earnings for 10 years, and trigger broader impacts for decades. One study from UCLA and Northwestern found that the young people who came of age -during the early 1980s recession had higher mortality, and were more likely to get divorced, and less likely to have children. Till von Wachter, a UCLA labor economist who has spent years studying this issue, has a name for these young people who enter the labor force at the worst possible moment: “unlucky graduates.”

Hannah BeierSisters Camilla Nappa, Drexel University Class of 2020, and Sophia Nappa, NYU Class of 2022, isolating at their father’s home in St. Louis

Rather than brave a job market battered by COVID-19, some in the Class of 2020 are seeking refuge in graduate school. But that presents its own conundrum. As of 2019, nearly 7 in 10 college students graduated with student loans, with an average tab of nearly $30,000. Going to graduate school can mean –taking on even more debt. “I’m having to take out grad loans, but I can’t work to pay them off,” says Sean Lange, who plans to enroll in a master’s program in public policy after graduating from New York’s Stony Brook University in an online ceremony in May. He’s not even sure he’ll get his money’s worth for the $18,000 annual tuition. Especially if his classes end up being taught online.

All of this—the forgone memories, the abrupt goodbyes, the lost opportunities—will stay with the Class of 2020 forever. “The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest cultural event since World War II,” says Jean Twenge, a psychologist and author of iGen, who studies millennials and Gen Z. “It’s going to have a huge impact on -everyone, but young adults in particular.”

Hannah BeierMagda, Drexel University Class of 2022, with her family in Lynbrook, NY

Even before COVID-19, much of Gen Z was disappointed in the government response to the issues facing their generation. These are the students who joined the March for Our Lives gun-safety movement amid near weekly school shootings, and went on strike over inaction on climate change. They were too young to be swept up in Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, but old enough to gravitate toward Bernie Sanders’ message of progressive revolution in the 2016 primary. Those who were old enough to vote overwhelmingly opposed President Trump in that year’s general election. They favor student debt reform and universal health care. They are the most -racially diverse generation in U.S. history.

Their skepticism of public institutions is largely fueled by a sense that the government is doing too little, not too much. A study last year by Pew Research Center found that 7 in 10 wanted the government to “do more to solve problems.” The divide is generational, not political: more than half of Gen Z Republicans say they want the government to do more. (Less than a third of older Republicans agree.)

Near mandatory use of social media has already contributed to sky-high levels of depression and anxiety among Gen Z, according to Twenge. She analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and found that the number of young adults reporting symptoms of major depression had increased 63% between 2009 and 2017, with a marked turning point around 2012, when smartphone use first became widespread. The pandemic has likely only made them more anxious and disillusioned. Pew found that Americans between 18 and 29 are more likely than older ones to feel depressed during the pandemic, and less hopeful about the future than the senior citizens who are far more vulnerable to the disease caused by the virus.

Hannah Beier for TIMEKathryn Murashige, Drexel University Class of 2020, in the sunroom of her childhood home in Kennett Square, Pa.

Which helps explain why young activists view this as a now-or-never moment for their cohort. They know that the pandemic will shape their futures, even if it’s not yet clear exactly how. “Either we will end up with a generation that is far more resilient than earlier generations,” says Varshini Prakash, a leader of the Gen Z–powered Sunrise Movement, “or it could be a generation that is far more nihilistic, and far less likely to engage in our politics because they’ve seen the institutions fail them at the times they really needed it.” The youngest cohort of Americans “could be traumatized for life,” says Robert Reich, a former U.S. Labor Secretary who is now a professor of public policy at University of California, Berkeley. “They could turn economically and socially inward. They could lose faith in all institutions, and they are trending in that direction anyway.”

In other countries, like Egypt, Tunisia and Spain, widespread unemployment among educated young people has led to social unrest or radicalization, mostly because of a sense of betrayal. They think, “we thought there was some kind of bargain, a social contract, that if we play by the rules we get a job at the end of all of this,” says Heath Prince, a research scientist at University of Texas at Austin. So far youth unemployment in the U.S. is mostly correlated with drug addiction and right-wing extremism, Prince says, and hasn’t tipped into the realm of mass uprisings. Then again, -unemployment hasn’t been this high in nearly 80 years.

“My generation isn’t feeling like they’re being spoken to or listened to, and at the same time, a lot of us are becoming economically disenfranchised,” says Robertson, the University of California, Berkeley, graduate who studied the New Deal. “I definitely think a lot of us have lost confidence in the government.”

The only way to address an unemployment rate reminiscent of the 1930s, according to some scholars, students and activists, is a federal government response that echoes the scale of 1930s reforms. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal included major initiatives to get young Americans back to work. Six days after he took office in 1933, Roosevelt proposed the Civilian Conservation Corps: within four months, the federal government had hired 300,000 young men to plant trees and maintain parks and trails. Three million young people were ultimately employed as part of the program. In 1935, Roosevelt created the National Youth Administration (NYA) as part of the Works Progress Administration, designed to give young Americans work-study and job training. (A young Lyndon B. Johnson got an early political break as an administrator of the NYA program in Texas.) The Americans employed by these New Deal programs grew into the selfless, patriotic army that fought World War II, now known as the “Greatest Generation.”

Some Democrats say the COVID-19 pandemic calls for a similar approach. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has called for a “Coronavirus Containment Corps,” to expand the public-health workforce and employ an army of contact-tracers to help fight the spread of the virus. (Warren, an admirer of the New Deal, noted the CCC acronym is no coincidence.) Senator Chris Coons (D., Del.) joined with Senator Bill Cassidy (R., La.) to champion a national service bill that would expand Americorps and fund 750,000 jobs to help train new health care workers to fight COVID-19. And proponents of a Green New Deal, like Prakash and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, are working to shape the environmental policy of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Given Republicans’ skepticism of big government programs, none of these ideas are likely to make it through Mitch McConnell’s Senate or onto President Trump’s desk. But the political landscape has already shifted the universe of the possible, with Republicans agreeing to recovery measures—such as sending $1,200 stimulus checks to eligible working Americans—that would have been unthinkable only months ago. And if Democrats reclaim the Senate and the White House, broader reform could be closer than it looks. Young people who are skeptical of government’s ability to solve big problems say their faith can be restored. “I have no faith in this Administration and this government,” explains Lange, the Stony Brook public-policy student. “But I believe in Big Government.”

Eric Kolarik spent his last semester at the University of Michigan working on a paper about the 1918 flu pandemic. Now, with classes canceled and his job search on ice, his copy of The Great Influenza is on his childhood bookshelf, alongside his old high school copies of The Crucible and Of Mice and Men. “There will be a sort of unity that the Class of 2020 has with each other, and it’s not fond memories,” he says. “People will say, ‘You’re the Class of 2020,’ and everyone will know what that meant.”

The pandemic has marked the end of one phase for this unlucky cohort. The recovery could mark the beginning of another.

Cover photograph in collaboration with Melissa Nesta

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news

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theocsquad · 5 years

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Timeline of my story!

For the T4DS universe, bc I've been most hyped about them so far this year :) comments and feedback always greatly appreciated

TIMELINE IS CHRONOLOGICAL:

Onria and Sakuya are born. A few weeks after that Riru is born, then Theihe and at last Titokura. Onria is born in her family home to middle-class standards, Riru is born during a sandstorm with her tribe in the Firebelt, Theihe is born to unknown circumstances but was found on the steps of an orphanage only a few days old and Titokura was born to a very wealthy family of jewel-traders in the Farover Islands, a colony of Vrisamis. (NOTE: I have not yet decided whether or not Riru should be the youngest lmao)

Onrias mother runs away from her abusive husband when the twins are four years old. Despite her “simple” mind she starts smuggling for income.

Rirus mother dies soon after she turns five. Her sister falls ill to the same disease, meanwhile Riru’s hair color starts changing and Theihe starts gaining her memories of her previous lives, sometimes having troubles distinguishing between real life and her memories.

At age six, Titokuras little brother falls victim to the Deeplake-flu.

In the following years, Onrias two younger siblings are born.

At age 8, Onria and Sakuya begin experiencing strange dreams, and their hair gradually pales.

At age 9, Riru is traded to the towers in exchange for free passage of the Badawiin in Vrisamis, as well as medicine for her sick younger sister. This despite her father having raised her to be the next chief of their tribe. Other than her hair and eyes, she shows no talent at her divine powers as a goddess of the storms.

Meanwhile, Titokura begins developing signs of her godly powers, as well as realizing her gender identity.

At age 10, Sakuya is swept along the river and presumed drowned. Onria is consequently chosen as the new goddess of wealth and brought to the towers. She shows some talent in regards to her powers, but not at regaining her memories and she’s a famously unruly child.

At age 12, Titokura is discovered. She’s brought to the towers as the goddess of fire and war. But because of the amount of time it takes to get to get to Tavaros from the Farover Islands, she manages to turn 13 before she arrives. She shows modest talents in all aspects of her divine powers, but truly excels in her studies.

At age 14, Theihe is discovered and brought to the towers as the goddess of the night. She excels in all areas of her divine powers, except for her studies, which is not weird considering she had never learned how to read or write up until this point.

A few months later, the immortal emperor of Landarn, the enemies beyond the Firebelt, arrives for diplomacy. He demands to have one of the goddesses, namely Theihe, in exchange for peace, but when these demands aren’t met he proceeds to declare war, but nothing happens. Onria, Riru and Titokura listened in and swear to protect Theihe.

At age 15, they discover the Honeypot, a local bar in Tavaros run by the exceedingly beautiful Baba and her blacksmith husband, Sten, as well as their daughters and her mother. They don’t mind underage drinking, so the gang proceeds to get extremely drunk. Theihe also comes along after some convincing.

At age 18, Onria is considered an adult (lmao) and is to be instituted as the head of the state on her birthday. But the institution ceremony is interrupted by Fukoro, leader of the Daemana rebellion, and Onria gets kidnapped. Lucifer, a Daemana with a grudge against Fukoro, is the only Daemana to be captured in the chaos and is subsequently thrown into jail.

That night, the remaining gang breaks into jail and questions Lucifer. He agrees to help. They form a plan, but Riru has other ideas. (NOTE TO SELF: consider perhaps her original plan only involving herself?)

She breaks Lucifer out that night and discovers that Lucifer might have something to do with one of her past lives. He is tasked with finding out where the rebellion is headed next.

When morning comes, chaos erupts due to the escaped, dangerous Daemana. Riru takes the opportunity to drag Titokura and Theihe with her for an escape. The get to the Honeypot, where Baba shelters them. Lucifer brings back a code, which Titokura cracks. Theihe also seemingly has her own ideas about what to do next.

The next day they move in on the encampment in the woods. While Lucifer acts stupid and attacks Fukoro on instinct, the other three goddesses sneaks into Onrias tent. It is discovered that not only had she joined the Daemana cause willingly, she’s also been sleeping with its leader, Fukoro. Uh-oh sisters!

THIS IS WHERE I HAVE GOTTEN CURRENTLY, FROM HERE ON OUT THE REST IS JUST SPECULATION

After the other three calms down from the shock they stay a night at the encampment. Titokura and Riru sympathizes with the Daemana cause, while Theihe, bootlicker that she is, can’t seem to agree. Riru and Lucifer get closer.

When Titokura and Onria decide to stay, Theihe finds into a fit of rage. The Speaker, having predicted this potential outcome, equipped Theihe with colored flower seeds which she laid out on the ground for soldiers to follow. On Theihes command, these soldiers storm the camp.

(AT THIS POINT I REACH A CROSSROADS. SHOULD ONRIA AND TITO STAY WITH THEM? OR COME BACK TO THE TOWERS? FROM NOW ON I WILL PLAN IT AS IF THEY WENT BACK TO THE TOWERS)

Fukoro, having practiced this drill endlessly gets the camp to scatter and they escape. Onria and Tito decides to let themselves be captured to allow more Daemana to escape. But this causes a rift between the four of them. Lucifer decides to go with Riru despite having the opportunity to enact his revenge.

When they get back the next day, The Speaker has terrible news. Not only has the Lantern army been spotted crossing the Firebelt, they also have a newly discovered goddess. The goddess of time. It is time to prepare for war.

A few days later, the immortal emperor approaches Fukoro and proposes an alliance. They don’t give an answer at this time, but considers the proposal.

Theihe now knows how to crack the Daemana code, and as the only trusted goddess of the four, she’s allowed to venture outside. She approaches two slave-Daemanas under the guise of being some random enthusiast of the game they're playing (which is also used to relay information). By this method she begins gathering information on the rebellion.

The Speaker receives an official letter from the emperor to reconsider his proposal. She’s tempted.

Onria begins meeting Fukoro in secret (I haven’t decided by which method yet). She can’t agree to him allying himself with the emperor, so they reach a deal. He will not ally himself with the emperor, in exchange she will make sure to better the circumstances of the Daemana living in the city as per his instructions, as well as make sure to never slay a single Daemana in battle, to which she agrees.

Soon enough the first direct confrontation between Landarn and Vrisamis occurs by the Firebelt. None of the goddess participates, and so Vrisamis loses thanks to Fukoro taking the chance and joining the battle. This obviously works to Landarns advantage, but they’re not allied. Nonetheless this irritates Onria.

Meanwhile, Theihe is finding herself attracted to the female Lynx-Daemana she’s been spying on, and becoming somewhat sympathetic to the cause, though she can’t admit it just yet.

It is decided that it’s time for the goddesses to participate. They’re basically weapons of mass destruction in this world. Before going Titokura has a minor fight with her boyfriend, mostly because her awakening powers have also awakened old memories of a past lover that she, and her predecessors, couldn't get over.

On the way to the battlefield she is visited by Fukoro. They go to his secret library nearby, where he keeps all his past diaries. He reveals that he wasn’t meant to live this long, and that his memories have been fading after about a hundred years. He only remembers glimpses of Rajavihara (Onrias first life), his lover, and their daughter. They look though his library and Onria is drawn to a certain book, the diary chronicling the life of him and Rajavihara. Though the diary doesn't reveal much, it finally triggers her memories of her death and it turns he didn’t kill Rajavihara, he had tried to protect her. It relieves him and they finally admit their feelings for each other are much more than just lust at this point. Onria chooses to ignore the influence her old lives have over her now.

They have their first battle and it goes rather swimmingly. But Theihe meets the immortal emperor on the battlefield and she realizes he’s the drunk father that had abandoned her when she was a toddler. He tries talking to her, but she repels him. No sighting of the rumored new goddess.

Riru and Lucifer grows closer. They have a minor fight, in which he explains he’s hurt by her cold demeanor and she accuses him of only liking her because he loved her predecessor. Eventually they have a healthy conversation about their feelings, of how Riru was basically abandoned in enemy territory by her father, and him how he saw a woman he loved as like his mother get burned at the stake because of Fukoros actions.

During a strategy meeting they encounter Sten, who reveals he knew they were goddesses all along. His wife, Baba, is also there (not at the meeting but at the camp, cooking her terrible food), and possibly their daughters (?)

Onria also meets her older brother, who has now been submitted to the army as soldier.

Another fight, but this time with Daemanas. Onria and the gang, with the exception of Theihe, tries to minimize the loss of Daemana lives (which the Speaker obviously notes). Onria sees Fukoro fighting and gets, like, really horny. She allows herself to be captured for one rowdy night before the other goddesses come to bail her out. Theihes identity crisis continues, especially since the Lynx girl doesn't seem to want to leave her mind.

During the battle, the Landarnians sneak around them and gets behind front lines. The Vrisamesian army has to rush to intercept them, but are harassed by Daemanas on the way. During one skirmish Onrias older brother is almost killed, and she has to kill the Daemana in order to save him. This obviously infuriates Fukoro and they fight the next time they meet. No one wins this argument.

Once they intercept the Landarnian army there’s another three-way fight. The emperor and Theihe meet again, and it is revealed that he's not actually her father (technically speaking). Like them, he’s a bonafide god from beyond the stars, and was the father of the very first goddess of the night (from back when she was an actual goddess, instead of a goddess in a human body). She had been confusing these memories with her own for her entire life, making her completely unable to trust herself. (NOTE TO SELF: consider making her more proactive in this, by investigating these memories herself)

Meanwhile, in another corner, where Onria is trying to repel the Daemana and Landarnian army (still trying to keep true to her promise), the godess of time appears. She’s woefully unprepared and ends up losing a leg. The new goddess disappears, apparently satisfied. This causes quite the commotion, and while Fukoro is trying to get to Onria he is captured. But surprisingly, Theihe steps in and orders them to free him. He stays by her side while Titokura heals her enough to stop the bleeding. Eventually he has to return in order to avoid getting killed, but not before a short but intimate conversation between him and Onria.

That night, Baba visits them. She smiles mysteriously and heals what Titokura couldn't, thus preventing a possibly life-threatening infection. Baba refuses to answer their questions and then both Baba and her husband disappear.

It is decided that the goddesses are to be sent back to the towers. The Landarnian army has mysteriously stopped their attacks, so it is deemed risk free. This gives Onria a few months to recover from her tragic limb-loss.

Once she recovers somewhat the other three decide to talk to her about the goddess of time. Onria reveals that she already knows that the goddess is, in fact, her deceased sister and she’s set on freeing her.

Theihe reunites with Lynx-girl, and realizes she has fall in love. But she can’t quite reconcile with this just yet, which culminates in hurt feelings on Lynx part. Titokura also reunites with her boyfriend, but they continue to fight. He can’t understand since he doesn’t know that she is in fact a goddess. Riru is getting increasingly fed up with the Badawiin discrimination she’s experiencing.

After two months they learn that the Landarnian army has once again begun their advances. They’re all sent back to the battlefields, even Onria.

Once there, Fukoro asks for help to approach the Speaker. Lucifer and Fukoro have a confrontation, which is quickly solved by Riru asking them to calm their tits. Lucifer agrees to temporarily let go of his resentments. Fukoro then negotiates a deal with the Speaker and they joined the exhausted Vrisamesian army, although only temporarily.

Both exhausted armies meet exactly one week (haven't decided on a time yet lol) after that. On the battlefield, Onria goes for the goddess of time, who has once again appeared, immediately. It’s definitely her sister, but with a strange mask that Onria assumes is what’s making her do this. Fukoro backs her up as they fight, using 100% of her abilities. Theihe and the emperor also meet on the battlefield, with Riru close behind her.

After an hour of intense battle, Fukoro is injured. This causes her to panic somewhat and she makes a mistake, tripping over herself. Obviously we all know where this goes. Fukoro takes a sword to the chest for her, which seems to surprise even Sakuya. Onria covers them in diamonds as shields and has one final intimate moment with him as he lie dying in her arms. The anger and sadness and hurt from her countless lives all swirl together, causing her to snap.

Riru is hit in the head during the fighting and passes out, protected by Lucifer. This event unlocks her memories and she dreams of one of her most influential lives, Kara the oracle, famed for her ability to see into the future (one Riru did not inherit). The oracle is writing a letter in her dream, addressing Riru directly and informing her of a plan that has been in place for a thousand years. But first she gives Riru the method with which to snap Onria out of her rage. With this she wakes up.

Onria is FUCKING the battlefield UP. Her sister tries desperately to flee, as she’s beings overwhelmed. Onria doesn't seem to care that she’s getting injured or that her prosthetic is falling apart. Everyone starts noticing what's going on, including the other goddesses who rushes to her side. Onria manages to get close to Sakuya after a while and rips her mask off, revealing that it almost seemed grafted to the skin with gross worm-like appendages. Sakuya immediately loses consciousness.This does not deter Onria, who continues her rampage.

BEFORE Theihe leaves, the emperor asks her to find him and then retreats with his army.

Once Riru arrives on the scene she instructs Tito to enclose Onria in a ring of fire so that she cannot move, and then asks Theihe to allow her to shadow-jump, wait for a minute and then join them together with Tito inside the fire.

Inside the ring she throws herself on Onria, who was just about to walk through the fire and sustaining burns on her arm in the process. She cries and hugs while Onria begins clawing at her. She releases a small electrical shock (the most control she’s ever shown of her powers), temporarily incapacitating Onria. Soon Titokura and Theihe joins them, and they all come together in a crying bundle. The causes Onria to snap out of it. She cradles Sakuyas body in her arms.

A while later Onria attends the his funeral. She takes on the mantle of leader of the rebellion, at least covertly so. With Sakuya comatose and confined to the towers, she decides to change things from within, while she supports the Daemana generals changing things form the outside.

Theihe and Riru have a talk and finally gets over their issues, united as the sisters they truly are at last.

Shaken to the core by the latest events, Titokura reconciles with her boyfriend and with one final dream of her past lover, she lets him go. Theihe has similar ideas and confess to the Lynx girl, but also asks of her to wait for a little while longer. She has something that needs doing first.

Riru talks to Tito about the plan her previous life had relayed to her, and Tito agrees to it. Using some of her own power and Onrias diamonds, she gets herself a crew and leaves port for the Farover Islands that very day, before the Speaker could get her.

A little while passes by, and Riru finds herself further constrained by the Speaker and her goons, the discrimination worsens as well. One night, when Lucifer accidentally witnesses a rather humiliating incident on her part, the embarrassment causes her to snap. Sure, they could threaten her with destroying her clan, but they should keep in mind that if they ever did they would also lose their hold of her. And she would rain hellfire down on all of Vrisamis. She then runs away. She rides away in a storm laughing loudly, with Lucifer and Theihe close behind her. This is technically not a part of the plan, but it’s what she needs.

Onria remains in the towers, nursing her comatose sister. They’re all separated, but not for long. For another story waits after this one.

PHEWWWW THAT WAS A LOT. As mentioned, I'm not yet sure about all these last parts but im feeling like im liking this veriosnmore and more. I got to include most of the stuff I wanted so im not gonna complain lol, but this shits gonna get LONG

#im thinking like at least 500 pages #holy shit how will I ever get this published #im despairing right now #well well at least ill love it c:#gotta work on this big plan tho lol #I know where I want it to lead but I don't have the kinks worked out yet #t4ds #onria #riru #theihe #titokura #timeline #<-- ill use that tag for future reference if I ever forget something from the timeline lol

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eldritchsurveys · 5 years

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507.

1. are you more tolerant of hot or cold weather? describe a time when you were extremely cold? describe a time when you were extremely over-heated?: >> I really don’t know anymore. I mean, I run hot, so I think I physically fare better in colder weather. But I don’t enjoy cold weather, you see. I don’t necessarily enjoy hot weather all the time, either, but I feel like I have more freedom in warm seasons than I do in cold ones. A time when I was extremely cold is when I was still new in NYC and I couldn’t find the shelter I’d been referred to and it was eleven degrees and I wasn’t wearing proper winter clothing because I was eighteen and dumb. I nearly froze to death, no joke. I can’t remember a time I was extremely overheated. 2. what was something weird that you did as a child? did anyone make fun of you for it? were there any other children you knew who did the same thing?: >> I was a weird child to other people, but I can’t really see what I did that was so weird. From my point of view, I was pretty unremarkable, but others didn’t see it that way. The myopia of being unable to see myself from other people’s point of view, and all. But I guess being socially underdeveloped and preferring to live in my internal headspace is “weird”, so, that. 3. what has been the hardest thing about growing up? what was the easiest thing about it? was there ever a time when you wanted to stay young forever? was there ever a time when you wished that you could be older?: >> The hardest thing about growing up was dealing with traumatic events without proper assistance or support. (Which is why I’m so behind on dealing with them.) The easiest thing about growing up was just... the passage of time, I guess. That stops for no one. I don’t recall ever thinking I wanted to stay young forever, but of course when I was young I wanted to be an adult so I could start making my own decisions and running my own life. 4. which age milestone has been the most meaningful to you (ie. 16. 18. 21. etc.)? what did you do for that birthday?: >> I’ve never had much use for the standard age milestones. 5. do you use sarcasm on a daily basis? do you have any favorite sarcastic comebacks? how about a favorite sarcastic television-show character?: >> I don’t think I use sarcasm very often. I don’t know what my favourite sarcastic comeback would be, either. I can’t think of a sarcastic tv show character right now.

6. who was the last person you yelled at? do you often yell at this person? are you on good terms with them again, or are you still upset with them?: >> I don’t remember the last time I yelled at someone.

7. if you work, do you get along with your coworkers? which one of them have you known the longest? is your current place of work somewhere that you plan to stay for a long time?: >> --- 8. name three items that have much sentimental value to you. who gave you these items, and for what occasion? do you ever have a harder time throwing away things that people have given you?: >> My plushies have sentimental value, because they’re... plushies. I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not sure I know what sentimental value really is, because I’m ruthless when it comes to downsizing and getting rid of stuff I don’t need or use.

9. in general, would you rather spend the majority of the day at school or at work? what is the longest amount of time that you have spent at either of those places?: >> --- 1o. name some trends that you really enjoy. how did you find out about them? do you know anyone else who likes them as well?: >> I don’t really know what’s trendy. There’s stuff I like that a lot of other people like, too, obviously... but I don’t know if that makes them trends or not. I really just don’t pay attention to this sort of thing. 11. who do you speak with more often: your online friends, or those that you see face-to-face? of which type of friend do you have more? which of those friendships do you value the most?: >> --- 12. when was the last time you felt confused about something? is this a subject that often confuses you?: >> I don’t remember. 13. are you often misunderstood, or do you think that people can get where you are coming from pretty well? do you think that you have a good ability to understand others? if yes, explain?: >> I don’t know how often I’m misunderstood. I feel like I have a hard time making myself understood sometimes, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. I think I have a pretty decent ability to understand others, especially considering I had to really work at my cognitive empathy over time. It doesn’t always come easy. 14. when was the last time that you had a headache? what did you do, if anything, to help it feel better? which is worse for you: headaches or stomach aches?: >> Last night. I took an Aleve. I’d rather have a headache than a stomachache. 15. have you ever had a crush on someone you met online? if yes, what happened between you and that person? do you think that online relationships are legitimate relationships? explain your stance?: >> I’ve been interested (in whatever fashion) in people I knew online. One of those people is my most recent ex, for example. I do think online relationships are legitimate, because... I don’t think any form of relationship is illegitimate? It’s also less difficult for me to understand physically distant relationships because I... am a physically distant person, lmao. 16. out of all of your past friendships and romantic relationships, which one was the worst? if that person were to show up at your place, would you be willing to talk to them?: >> I don’t want to rank any as “the worst”. I don’t see that as helpful. Also, only one of those people knows where I live, and I don’t think they’d show up here anyway. 17. if any, how many friends have you made in the past year? how many have you lost? is making friends something at which you are good, or does it take you awhile to form friendships?: >> I don’t know if I’ve made any friends. I still don’t really know what a friend is right now. Could definitely use some external insight in this area. 18. if you are 18 or older, did reaching your 18th birthday make you feel like you were an adult? if not, what moment (or moments) made you feel like you were finally maturing?: >> I “felt” like an adult because everyone around me said I was. But I didn’t really understand what that meant, and the feeling was only superficial. Mostly I felt crazy, because I was pretty crazy back then. I needed more support, not to be thrown out into the world and left to my own devices, but I guess I made it through all right in the end. I’m alive, ain’t I. 19. would you say that you are typically more or less mature than people your own age? why do you think this is? do you ever look down on people who are less mature, or (if you are “immature”) do people look down on you?: >> I don’t know how to grok or compare maturity. I’m just wherever I am, and I don’t feel the need to measure that. I don’t look down on people for behaving immaturely, especially if they’re young. Like, it’s all part of the process, dude. Let people live and learn. 20. when was the last time that you felt paranoid, and why? do you often feel nervous, or are you more of the mellow type? do you know anyone who is nervous or worrying all the time?: >> The last time I felt paranoid was last night because my heart rate was elevated for about an hour, randomly. But I guess hearts just be like that sometimes. I don’t often feel nervous, I’d say I’m more mellow than anything else although I do have my high-strung moments. Most of the people I know are some level of anxious on a regular basis, so I guess I’m an anomaly. 21. if you have a formspring account, what do you think of it? do you think that you will keep using that site for a long while, or will you be giving it up soon? how many questions have people asked you so far?: >> I haven’t used Formspring since it was popular for that short burst of time. 22. when driving/or when riding in the car, do you ever get pissed off at other drivers? how often would you say this happens, if ever? do you know anyone who has some serious road-rage?: >> I’m the passenger, so other drivers have little to no effect on me. I don’t think I know anyone with actual road rage. 23. as a kid, did your parents force you to eat everything on your plate? if you had them, how did you feel about family meal times? if you were to have children, would you have structured meals with them?: >> I don’t remember, honestly. I don’t recall having any feelings about having to eat meals with my parent, either. It was just normalised. Regardless of whether I ever raise a child or not, I do sometimes miss structured meals, for the bonding aspect (I’m very interested in the connection between food and social bonds, you see), and for the routine/ritual aspect. But that’s just not the kind of household I live in, so. 24. what was the last new thing that you tried? what is something you did a long time ago that you might like to do again?: >> I tried this little snack I found at the Asian market earlier today. It was good as hell, as I’d expected. I don’t know about the second question. 25. do you like it when life falls into a routine, or does routine-ness tend to bother you? when was the last time you went out and did something on the spur of the moment? when was the last time you sat home all day?: >> I am naturally routine-averse; I need variety to stay interested and engaged. Even if I enjoy something, if I do it every day at the same time or whatever, I’ll get bored real fast. But I do sometimes seek out routine when I’m stressed, and I think that goes back to those multiple hospitalisations and the strict and bland routine they imposed. Weird shit becomes comforting when the brain is under pressure, lmao. 26. what kind of things are sold in the last store to which you went? did you make any purchases while you were there? is that some place that you will going back to soon?: >> Everything, it was a big-box store. I didn’t buy anything because they didn’t have what I wanted to buy. We shop there very often, yes. 27. what is your least favorite part about going to the doctor? what about going to the dentist? which of those people would you rather see?: >> Being touched is my least favourite part. I guess I’d rather go to the doctor, though, because that’s less invasive (most of the time). 28. do you ever take care of anyone younger than you (ie. babysitting, watching a younger sibling, etc)? do you like doing this, or does it get to be a hassle?: >> No. 29. is there anything that your parents do that you hope to do for your potential future children? is there something your parents do that you will not be repeating if you have kids of your own?: >> In the unlikely event, I’d say... I hope to inspire creativity by being a creative person, and I hope to not be so strict and standoffish that I give said child an attachment disorder.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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imightbeapotatobutihavestandards · 6 years

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He’s Hurting Me Pt 12

Summary: It’s Virgil’s birthday, the day he dreads all year round, but this year, he has friends who are insistent on making this his best birthday yet... unfortunately others don’t share their enthusiasm

Triggers: Explicit language, swearing, violence, mentions of attempted suicide, blood...also very long, I would say it’s to make up for me being gone for a week but I really don’t like this chapter so... I’m very sorry

Part 12

Virgil stared up at his ceiling, contemplating the passage of time. He grabbed his phone, letting the artificial light temporarily blind him, before noting how late it was.

Seven minutes to twelve.

Seven minutes.

Seven minutes to his birthday, until he is officially one year older. He felt his anxiety spike again. His birthday only reminded him of time, and his time was running out. He was reminded of the exams to come. The colleges and universities to apply to. He was reminded of the future he had to know. Everything was changing. He’d lose everyone. Or they’d lose him. Virgil was younger, in the year below everyone else, they’d be leave him behind. Patton was off to work, to travel with his brother. Logan would be studying at some advanced university. Roman had a scholarship to a prestigious performing arts course. Virgil would be stuck here, going nowhere, entirely alone, for a year. He couldn’t even think of where he’d be in two years, he had no idea what he wanted. Creative writing was always an option, but what if he wasn’t good enough for the course? What if he never found what he wanted to do? He felt his insides twist around themselves as he thought about fading from his friends lives, about them forgetting him.

Think logically, he told himself in Logan’s voice. He’d figure out what he wanted to do eventually. He didn’t have to know now. His exams were ages away, there was nothing he could do for them now. No matter what, Patton would always stay in contact with him. Besides, his friends were still here, they weren’t leaving until next September, he didn’t have to say goodbye just yet.

He still had time.

He felt some pressure release. Sometimes, he was able to think reasonably, and he was greatly appreciated Logan’s help in that. This was a only a momentary peace, but so long as he kept reminding himself of facts, he could avoid a full blown panic attack. So he clung to these moments; the way Logan had told him to.

He thought of Logan. Although cold, and almost emotionless at first, Virgil couldn’t help but feel calm about him. Logan was honest, and that was reassuring. He was responsible, in a way he was like Patton, he seemed to always know what exact thing he needed: a bit tired? He’d buy Virgil a coffee. Exhausted and running off barely any food or drink? Absolutely no coffee, lots of water, some food. On the verge of a panic attack? Calm, assured, reasoning. Full on panic attack? Patton. It was funny, how well Logan and Patton complimented each other. They were polar opposites, yet worked well together, and it wasn’t as if Virgil didn’t notice how Patton perked up that bit more, or would sit that little bit closer, to Logan. It was adorable, really.

Virgil found himself and Logan agreeing a lot on things, and Logan actually understood him pretty well. Virgil thought about how before, he’d only ever been fully comfortable around Patton, he assumed it was because he’d known Patton for so long, yet he and Logan seemed to have some kind of unspoken bond. He was comfortable with Logan, and Logan with him.

Buzz.

Virgil jolted violently as his phone went off, he grabbed it and once again allowed himself to be glared at by the bright light. Squinting, he noticed the time, and panic struck again.

Twelve.

It was officially his birthday.

Virgil’s eyes scanned the rest of his screen, seeing a notification from Roman there.

Now that was an odd one. Virgil remembered, vividly, the hatred he had felt for Roman the night before the play: his arrogance was frustrating, he was always obnoxiously loud, and was extremely stressful to deal with. Virgil had hated him… and then they’d met, and his eyes had glistened brightly, and his smile had tugged slightly more to one side, and he’d hated how that’d made him feel. He’d hated how easily he’d accepted the compliments and charisma. Hated how instantly he’d felt okay in his presence. And then, Virgil had really started hanging out with Roman, and they’d argue over every little thing. Virgil chuckled thinking back to just yesterday.

“Virgil, you can’t call me a nerd if you are arguing in defence of Star Wars.”

“Yes I can if you’re arguing for Star Trek, nerd.”

“Star Trek is infinitely better than Star Wars!” Roman argued back, enthusiastically waving his hands around.

“No, it’s not! Star Wars has an actual plot, a well-developed plot! Star Trek, they went back in time to save a whale, w-“ Virgil was promptly cut off by the boy in front of him.

“Yes, and it was magnificent!” Roman decided passionately. “It’s light-hearted, engaging, touches on some important and complex themes, and showcases a diverse cast!”

“Okay sure, especially for the time.” Virgil admitted. “I’ll give you that. But, it’s still nothing compared to Star Wars.”

“Just because Han Solo’s hot…” Roman mumbled, faking a pout and crossing his arms.

Virgil dramatically placed a hand on his heart, looking offended. “Roman, how dare you assume I’m as shallow as you… besides Ewan McGregor’s hotter.” He grinned.

Roman chuckled, nodding his head rapidly. “You’ve got me there, plus that man can sing.” Roman said dreamily.

“I know, Moulin Rouge is actually my favourite film.”

Roman’s eyes went wide and locked onto Virgil, he wasn’t sure if he was this happy because someone else appreciated Ewan McGregor’s singing, or because it was Virgil appreciating any kind of singing… actually that’s a lie, it was entirely because it was Virgil.

“Oh my-“ Roman cut himself off by wrapping his arms around Virgil. Virgil couldn’t help tensing up slightly, but he quickly relaxed, smirking a bit.

“Okay, whatever, you win this debate, just because you said a MUSICAL is your favourite film!” Virgil laughed at Roman, and was fairly sure Patton was fangirling in the background.

Roman pulled back, but clasped his hands on Virgil’s shoulders firmly. “ We need to watch it together.”

Virgil pretended as if he was considering it, when really, he’d already decided.

“Hmm…”

“Please, please, please!”

“I don’t know, I quite like watching you beg.” He smirked, but inside began freaking out.

Roman’s eyes widened, but allowed his lips to twist upwards. He seemed at a loss for words, which was unusual. Their eye contact lasted longer that perhaps it should, and Roman’s smile became more of a smirk every moment, maybe Virgil had actually said something right for once?

“Alright then Princey, I’ll watch it with you… if you bring the snacks.” Roman cheered at that response.

Virgil smiled at the memory, unlocking his phone and reading his friend’s message.

Sir Sing-a-lot: Happy birthday my favourite Emo Nightmare! I may have only known you for a month or two, and we may have had our disagreements (Goblet of Fire is still the best Harry Potter book,) but I’m still so glad I have met you. Now, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do without your cynical comments. So, celebrate this fine day, and I’ll see you soon Hot Topic xx

Virgil’s heart felt weird, and his pulse was going insane, but it wasn’t panic, he felt warm? He felt… loved, and appreciated… and he had no idea how to respond to that.

Me: Wow Princey, I didn’t know you actually cared this much… thanks, see you soon x

It took Virgil a solid three minutes to send because he was kept deleting and then adding the ‘x’ but, eventually, he left it and he hit send.

Sir Sing-a-lot: Of course I care, Virge. Now get some rest

Me: You too Roman

Virgil closed his phone and looked up at the ceiling again, his heart a bit lighter, everything feeling a bit warmer. He drifted to sleep at around 1:04, but that was good for Virgil.

***

Virgil immediately pulled his hood over his face when he reached the lunch table, his friends singing chirpily and far too loud.

“No, please. Stop.” Virgil cut them all off, causing them to giggle. He already thought the whole canteen was judging them, he didn’t need more attention.

“Okay, okay, only so we can get to the presents quicker!” Patton exclaimed.

“Presents?”

“Yes! Presents!” Patton practically squealed in response.

“You didn’t have to get me anyt-“ Virgil began but was interrupted.

“Nonsense!” Roman smiled. “Now on with it!” He declared, crossing one leg over the other as Virgil sat opposite him.

Patton clapped excitedly, diving into his bag and pulling out an envelope, and two package wrapped in pale blue with a silver ribbon. Virgil first opened the envelope, cautiously slipping his finger under the flap and neatly tearing it open. The cream material had hidden a hand drawn card stating; “ur fam” on one side and “ily” on the inside, next to a picture of all four of them. All of them had signed, the handwriting varying from an elegant calligraphy to a barely legible, excited scribble.

Virgil let out a slight laugh. “Thanks guys.”

“Open them. Open them. Open them.” Patton chanted excitedly, bouncing from his seat. Virgil chuckled and complied. He opened the smaller one first, carefully pulling at the ribbon and unpicking the neat wrapping.

“Wow…” Virgil gasped as he examined his gift. It was a black, leather-bound journal, with the word “thoughts” etched into the centre, and a black string enclosing it. Virgil excitedly opened it, a shocked expression still plastering his face. The paper was high quality, cream, and the lines were slightly faded; perfect.

“Patton… thank y-“

“Just wait till you see the next one! I’m most proud of that!” Patton beamed.

Virgil, still surprised and entirely grateful, reached for the other gift. As soon as Virgil saw the present, he’d leapt up and thrown his arms around Patton.

“I hope you like it!” Patton smiled kindly.

“I love it.” Virgil’s voice was muffled by Patton’s shoulder, and when he pulled back he wiped his eyes quickly. Patton had given him a sleek black frame, the picture inside was of a smiling Patton, his glasses reflecting the sun and his hair a wild unkempt mess of waves. Virgil was laughing, looking down, his hair neatly cut, for once. In between them both, smiling, practically glowing like the sun, was Virgil’s grandmother, her arms around both of them. Virgil wasn’t sure what they were laughing at, but he remembered the feeling; he had been laughing so much his stomach hurt, smiling so much his face ached, he’d felt so happy, so… accepted, and proud.

“Thank you… so much.” Virgil almost whispered, pulling away and staring at the photo.

“You’re very welcome, kiddo!”

Logan coughed awkwardly, drawing Virgil’s attention. “Mine is far less… well…”

“I’m sure it’s great Logan, I really didn’t expect you to get me anything in the first place.” The smaller reassured.

Logan’s smile was so quick Virgil was almost convinced he’d imagined it. He handed over his present, almost nervously. Taking great care again, Virgil peeled back the suspiciously Christmassy wrapping paper, to reveal a pair of large, black, cordless headphones.

His eyes flew wide, his head jerking up. “Holy shi-“ He cut himself off in shock, seeing Logan holding out something else; a gift card.

“I know you’re prone to… moments of extreme alarm.” Logan began, not entirely sure how to word what he wanted to say, which was weird for him. “I thought these noise-cancelling headphones may help.” He continued matter-of-factly. Virgil just nodded, still in awe as he took the giftcard.

“And that’s so you can buy some audiobooks, that might help you calm down.”

“Logan I… That’s really thoughtful, thank you.” Virgil replied sincerely, his eyes flickering from the gift to Logan, before finally deciding and tentatively wrapping his arms around Logan. Logan hesitated before hugging back, in a manner that was confused at first.

“You’re very huggy today, J-Delightful.”

“Shut up. I’m allowed.” Virgil mumbled, pulling away.

He sat back down in his seat, surrounded by wrapping and presents. He couldn’t fight the soft smile that graced his way onto his lips. Roman handed him his gift from across the table, grinning brightly.

For the final time, Virgil carefully pulled apart the wrapping, revealing a soft black material. He titled his head in confusion, before holding it up. The mysterious material unfolded to reveal a black hoody, embossed with plaid purple patches, white stitches, and a thunder cloud.

“Pat helped me with some of the design choices. I hope you like it!” Roman beamed.

“Wait, you made this?!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Yep!” He responded brightly. “Now come on, try it on!” He urged as he stood up.

Virgil quickly shucked off his black hoody and replaced it with the new one. The material was soft and comforting, it pooled around his wrists and fell past his hips. He held his arms out, examining it further and discovering zips on the sleeve, Virgil grinned. Every part of the hoody was planned out and considered entirely dependent on Virgil, it was literally made for him, and it was perfect.

“Roman this… wow, it’s so soft. Thanks!” He smiled, eyes darting across the table, he was confused when he didn’t meet Roman’s green ones. He turned to find his friend standing in front of him, arms flung out wide.

“My turn!” He grinned. Virgil laughed, but complied, allowing himself to be enveloped by Roman’s arms. The taller leaned back slightly so Virgil’s feet were lifted off the ground, the grip around him tightening in response, but the movement barely startled Virgil, he just laughed into the other’s shoulder.

Roman put Virgil back down and removed his arms, hands ghosting over his hip.

Virgil was elated. He was so happy, he could feel tears pricking the back of his eyes. As he sat amongst all the unwarranted gifts, a part of him wanted to hug them all again. He’d never liked presents, he liked birthdays even less, but this was different. Everyone had thought so much about these things, put so much time and effort and care into it, hell, Roman had HANDMADE his git. They weren’t forced out of obligation, they got him something meaningful, and he was indescribably grateful, if a little guilty. He couldn’t help that knowing feeling in the pit of stomach, that he’d made his friend’s do that, he’d made them waste time and money on him… but at that moment, he couldn’t help the happiness brought from the love he felt. Virgil pressed his palms to his eyes gently, trying not to wipe off his eyeshadow while wiping his tears. He knew it was pathetic but, he hadn’t felt like this in so long. Felt like he was cared for, by people who didn’t have to care for him. His friend’s weren’t forced to be there due to blood, they chose to be there, for some strange reason, but he wouldn’t question why. Not now at least. Not after such a good day. For once, his birthday brought genuine happiness.

“Oh look, it’s that little freaks birthday.” Spoke too soon.

A voice recognised to be Louis, spoke from behind him. Virgil visibly tensed, his eyes training intently on the table, hands balling into fists, body slowly beginning to close in on himself.

Logan had flinched as he turned to face the group with a cold, hard stare. Patton was entirely focused on Virgil, worry flaring bright in his eyes as he saw the glaze in Virgil’s own, his entire body stiffened. Roman, on the other hand, was clearly working hard to contain himself. His fists were balled, knuckles turning white, jaw set, eyes livid. If looks could kill Louis would be dead where he stood.

“Nice jacket, faggot.” Virgil shut his eyes.

“He’s finally found a group as fucked up as you? That’s pretty difficult.” Logan opened his mouth to say something, but James beat him to it.

“Why not just try and kill yourself again? Second times a charm, y’know?”

Screech. Roman’s chair flew backwards, falling over dramatically. He stood in between the group and their view of Virgil, his eyes still murderous, but also controlled, calculated.

“Got a problem, Prince?” James spat, stepping closer.

“Yes, actually. You’re my problem. You and your disgusting mindset.”

“You’re one to talk about disg-“

“Come up with a new joke, that one got old. Quickly. Oh wait, you can’t, you’re too stupid to comprehend anything past your limited vocabulary.” Roman retorted.

“What, the fuck, did you just say to me?” James demanded, people clasped at his shoulder, holding him back.

“Oh, not just you. All of you. This entire group put together probably still wouldn’t have a single brain cell. No wonder you’re all failing. I look forward to seeing you guys serving me across McDonalds and gas stations in the future, considering that’s all you’ll amount to.” Roman continued, desperately trying to prod the bear.

“Watch your mouth, fag.” James growled, the hands holding him back growing weaker.

“Make me, coward.” Roman bit back, a smirk playing at his lips.

Like a flash, a fist slammed into Roman’s jaw, with so much force he fell to the floor. He heard the others stand up, but he couldn’t let them help him, they couldn’t interfere. He took two deep breaths, forcing himself up, desperate to ignore the pain and throwing on a smirk for good measure, striding towards the group, a copper-ish taste filling his mouth.

“Did your parents not teach you violence is never the answer? Well, actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if they hadn’t.” He smirked.

“What are you saying, asshole?” Roman knew he was going too far, he knew he should be better than them, but he needed this to end.

“I’m saying, your behaviour suggests something’s wrong at home. Don’t worry, I get it. Daddy not hug you enough?”

“Alright, that’s it.” James snarled, Roman had clearly touched a nerve. Good.

Roman felt James’ hand tighten around his collar, pulling him into the centre of the group. He was pushed roughly against Louis, who happily held him up, circling his arm’s under Roman’s.

Already there was a crowd, drawn in by the promise of violence. Like wild animals, they were drawn to blood. Virgil, Logan and Patton had somehow gotten trapped on the outside of the circle, helpless behind yelling and cheering children. Why were there never enough teacher’s on duty?

A fist smashed into Roman’s face and he could feel his entire body crumple with the impact, almost like he was short circuiting. He knew the arms circling him were the only things holding him up. He’d squeezed his eyes shut from the impact, biting back a cry of pain. He felt warm blood trickled down the side of his temple. A force jolted him, forcing him to turn his head and look back at his attacker.

He snapped his eyes open, spitting out the blood, making no attempt to fight back. Another hit. This one more to his nose, the impact causing a shot of sharp, unbearable, pain.

“Ahh.” He couldn’t stop the pained exclamation. He was focusing too much on holding back the heavy threat of tears stinging the back of his eyes.

“Look at me, fag.” A voice yelled, it might have been James, but he wasn’t sure. When Roman refuse to follow the order, the owner of the voice yanked his hair harshly, causing Roman to wince. Roman’s eyes jumped to two things; first the clock, then his friends. Through the sea of people, he could see their movements, see them pushing to reach him, but no one let them pass. Somehow, through the havoc, for a split second, Roman’s eyes met Virgil’s. He looked terrified, with the very little time he had, he tried to seem calm, willed his eyes to tell him not to worry. He hoped he understood. James yanked his hair again, pulling him down to eye-level.

“Kinky.” Roman flashed him a bloody smile. The other boy’s face heated, his cheeks puffing out, he said nothing as he pulled backwards, removed his hand, and punched Roman in the stomach. All air was knocked out of him and Louis let him fall to the floor. He lay on the floor, pain shooting through his nerve endings, heart racing, lungs empty, gulping for anything. It was like there was too much to process. The roar and cheers were consuming until finally, they were silenced by a shrill, piercing voice. He could feel the presence run in immediately between him and the group.

“Stop this! Stop this instant!” Miss Fitch; the one time she’s late.

And now, was Roman’s time to shine.

He started coughing loudly, a few sounds a pain escaping as he did. He tried to push himself off the ground but his arms shook and collapsed. He let out some sort of agonised whimper and allowed his body to shake. Virgil quickly appeared at Roman’s side, helping him sit up, Patton and Logan not far behind him.

He saw the group around him stiffen, unsure of how to react to the figure of authority in front of them. “Explain yourselves!” She snapped, glaring at each of them individually.

“Self de-“

“Don’t even try that! Roman just decides to attack all of you at once? I don’t think so. Principles office. Now!” She commanded before speaking rapidly into a walkie-talkie to other members of staff, while the group begrudgingly, and somewhat confused, walked to the office.

As the others walked off, Virgil pulled Roman into his arms, inspecting his injuries as best he could.

“My hero…” Roman muttered as Virgil carefully helped him to his feet and the crowd around them dispersed.

“Roman, will you be able to get to the nurses office yourself?” Miss Fitch asked, Roman nodded. “Good, I need to deal with them. Don’t worry, the school will do all it can to stop this from happening again, I’ll need you to fill out an incident report form at some point though.” Roman nodded again. “Alright.” She began striding off, barely hiding a tight-lipped smile. “Oh, and your parents will be notified as soon as possible.” She called nonchalantly over her shoulder.

Great.

As soon as she disappeared from sight, Roman forced himself to flash the others a bright, if slightly bloody, smile.

“Roman, are yo-“

“I’m fine, Virgil.” He wheezed slightly.

“You really don’t look it.” Logan interjected.

“Yeah kiddo…” Patton’s voice was filled with concern, Roman felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. “What happened back there?”

Roman attempted a shrug but it didn’t really work, given he was being held up by Virgil. “I couldn’t let him say those things. But if I hit him I’d get in trouble.” Roman stated as if it was an obvious fact.

“Wait, so you planned on getting beaten up?” Virgil was seriously questioning Roman’s sanity.

“Well, not badly.” Roman winced slightly as he tried to move, his head was still loud and roaring. Pounding. “But I remembered what Logan and I talked about once. Nothings ever gonna change, not unless-“

“-They get caught red handed.” Logan finished.

“Exactly. Miss Fitch won’t let this go lightly, she’s probably the most well-respected and reliable teacher at this school, they’re not gonna ignore her for a bunch of delinquents. Besides, this is the opportunity teachers dream of: Rescue a helpless student, get rid of a difficult student, and have air-tight proof.” Roman stated, his words slightly forced and breathy, but he needed to say these things. He pointed upwards to a security camera with an innocently blinking red light. “Despite what I said, James and his friends aren’t stupid, they know its… risky, to start a fight here. I just needed to make them mad enough they’d forget their common sense.”

“I… I hate to say I’m impressed.” Logan admitted. “It was… disagreeable, but there is an unfortunate amount of logic behind it.”

“There is no way you came up with that on the spot.”

“It was a vaguely planned idea I’d imagined, but never actually thought about implementing it. Seemed too farfetched. Besides, my pride wasn’t worth it. But, the stuff they said… before I knew it, I was on the floor.” Roman finished, his voice hoarse.

“That was fucking stupid, man. Look at you! I am not worth this.” Virgil argued, genuinely mad at Roman for being so reckless when it came to his own health.

Roman jolted his head upwards, affronted and holding back a wince at the sudden movement. He opened his mouth to defend Virgil’s worth, but the angry teen just cut him off.

“Shut up, dumbass. You’re going to the nurse.”

***

The nurse was in shock when she first saw Roman; bloody, bruised and voice hoarse. It didn’t look good. However, once she’d cleaned off the dried blood and plastered up a couple places, she was relieved to discover there was no bone damage or heavy structural damage: Roman’s nose was in tact, his lip was only slightly swollen and his wound on his temple wasn’t deep. He’d bruise, but he’d heal. The only other issue was his arms, he’d managed to land on it when he fell, still not too much damage but she ordered him to hold an ice pack over it. Virgil leaned against the wall near the doorway, still glaring at Roman: he was so worried and relieved and scared and pissed as hell. He wasn’t sure who he was mad at though. Roman for getting himself hurt? James for hurting him? Or himself for not doing anything? All were equally good picks.

The nurse held another ice pack to Roman’s lip, causing the swelling to reduce. Once satisfied she moved the ice pack around in her hands, then placed it to the cut on Roman’s temple, just above his eye. There had been a thick, heavy silence in the room, until another teacher poked her head through the door.

“Oh, uh, sorry-“ Began the older woman, looking between the three with wide eyes. “-It’s just, Mel, if you could, we need your-“

“-Don’t worry, I’ll be there in a second.” The nurse smiled kindly. “I’m going to deal with this, Virgil, can you hold the ice pack?” She asked, turning to Virgil and offering him the ice pack.

“I can do tha-“

“No. Keep pressure on that wrist.” The nurse firmly told Roman. Virgil took the nurse’s spot as she rushed out to deal with… whoever’d just thrown up.

There was silence between them. Pounding against their ears. Virgil refused to look at Roman’s desperately pleading eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Roman said, genuinely.

Virgil sighed, all anger he had leaving him in an instant. “It’s alright.” He replied, reluctantly. “I don’t… it was really nice you stood up for me, I do appreciate that. I just, I don’t want you to get hurt Ro, least of all because of me. I was so worried.”

“I know, I know but, I don’t want you to get hurt either, Virge.” Roman’s voice was honest and serious, Virgil wasn’t sure he’d heard him like this before, without a hint of bravado or humour. “What they said wasn’t right. It wasn’t okay. I couldn’t stand seeing the way you tensed up. They’d crossed a line, and getting beaten up will be worth it when they get expelled.” Roman said, determined.

Virgil sighed heavily again. He’d been so worried about Roman he’d almost forgotten those stinging words.

Why not just try and kill yourself again?

He winced. Now they knew. They probably knew already. Lots of people did. But lots of people didn’t as well. It’s funny how gossip travels, some people get left out entirely. But now they knew. Roman and Logan.

“I… I know a lot of people know me as the kid that attempted suicide.” The words rolled off his tongue without his permission, he looked down, trying to escape his own words. “I know that’s why I get those looks, even after two years, that’s all they see me as. Either someone to pity, or the punchline of a joke. But, it was different with you and Lo. I thought, maybe you didn’t know, maybe you didn’t have to. Maybe you’d see me for who am I, not what I’d tried to do.”

“Virgil…” Roman spoke softly, bringing a hand up under the other’s chin.

“You need to keep pressure on your-“

“Virgil.” Roman cut him off, forcing the other boy to look in his eyes. “…I’ll admit I’d known of someone who’d tried, I hadn’t known it was you. But, just because I know now, doesn’t make me see you any differently. I know who you are Virgil; you are loyal, kind-hearted, intelligent, fiercely witty and highly sarcastic… with a tendency to hiss at people. You are also strong. I’ve always known this. It doesn’t change now I know what you’ve overcome.”

“Thanks Roman… and thank you for being a complete fucking moron, in order to protect me. Honestly, where would I be without my Prince?” Virgil smirked, trying to lighten the sombre mood, but also feeling genuine gratitude.

Roman chuckled, hand still under Virgil’s chin, eyes flickering to his lips. It wasn’t until that moment, Virgil realised how close the two were to each other, and how the gap seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, until there wasn’t a gap and their eyes were shut.

It was the smallest sensation, the lightest warmth on their lips. It wasn’t like the films, there were no fireworks, or butterflies, or elongated make outs that had a cold falsity to them. None of that. But there was something. Something tugging at Roman’s gut. Something deep, but light. Something real.

It wasn’t what was on TV, it was just two nervous kids with no idea what they were doing, and that was so much better.

They pulled away, Roman’s lips stinging slightly from where he’d been hit. He blinked, then reattached their lips again, only for a moment. It was still shy, soft, and fleeting, but it still meant so much.

“Roman.” A voice jolted the boys backwards. “Pressure on your wrist.” The nurse smirked.

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#thomas sanders #sander sides fic #sander sides #sander sides au #prinxiety #eventual logicality #He's Hurting Me

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rainagainstmywindow · 6 years

Text

All Shades of You (Chapter 5)

Happy Birthday to Percy Jackson! This is super fluffy so it commemorates the Percabeth anniversary as well too I believe. Thanks as always to my lovely beta @san-penedo and enjoy the small lifeguard!Percy i managed to sprinkle in there! (please search #ramwfics or #ASoY for previous chapters)

Percy groaned as he attempted to read the same passage of his history textbook for what appeared to be the hundredth time. The exhaustion that weighed over him thanks to swim practice two hours prior didn’t help either, nor the fact that he had to wake up early tomorrow for his dog-walking gig. He would have little time the rest of the weekend to catch up on homework since he’d taken on extra shifts at the local pool where he worked as a lifeguard to make up for what he couldn’t work during the weekdays now that he was in the swim team.

He got halfway through the passage once again but it was no use, the words just taunted him from the page, dancing around in weird, curvy waves. Frustrated, he slammed the book shut, immediately flinching at the sound. He hadn’t heard anyone come in but Smelly Gabe would give him hell for making any noise during his precious “TV time.” Percy slowly poked his head out of his room and was relieved to find he was home alone. His stepfather was probably out drinking with his buddies and his mom should’ve been heading home from the candy shop. He felt his phone buzz. It was a text from Sally.

Will probably get there in a few hours. Had to close up late and I stopped to get some groceries. Don’t wait up. Love you

Percy texted back a quick reply, knowing full well she was probably closing up but at a new job. She had not wanted to admit it when he’d asked, too concentrated on congratulating him for making the team, but this definitely put a strain on money. His school tuition had already been too much even when he was working more frequently. He wondered once again if this was worth it, if he was worth it. He knew his mom wanted him to have what she didn’t, to finish high school and make it out of this neighbourhood. But he’d only managed to screw up every chance he’d gotten so far, and college just seemed too out of reach. His stepfather seemed to agree with it all being a waste. I won’t waste a dime on your little delinquent kid, Sally! Percy had heard him and his mother arguing after she’d gotten Percy the interview at Goode. As if Smelly Gabe had ever contributed anything but anxiety to Percy’s life. He’d silently prayed he wouldn’t be allowed into the school, didn’t really see how considering his record and poor grades. But, somehow, he’d made it in.

He made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge. He’d made sure to have an extra large lunch but he had not eaten since practice and he was starving. Percy looked at the clock. 10:32 pm. He figured Beckendorf would be at his apartment, getting back from work himself. Last year he would alternate his time between practice and Beckendorf’s apartment. Most days Grover would join them and they would pass the time bothering Beckendorf about Silena or playing with Mrs. O’Leary. Yet another thing Percy had screwed up when he got himself kicked out. He slammed the fridge door too, this time flinching because he knew he couldn’t afford to break the old thing. It’s not like Beckendorf had stopped inviting him over. He’d even hung out there a few days ago. Percy just couldn’t help but feel guilty whenever he saw him.

In the end, his own boredom and frustration won and he found himself in front of Beckendorf’s door. Mrs. O’Leary must’ve heard him come because Percy could hear her barking through the door. A few seconds later there was Beckendorf staring down at him, still im his mechanic overalls. “Hey! Everything okay?” Percy didn’t miss how his dark eyes scanned his face. There had been a couple of times last year when he’d knocked on his door later at night looking worse for wear.

“Yeah,” he answered casually, “I just got bored. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course.” Beckendorf stepped aside, making sure to hold on to Mrs. O’Leary’s colar. The large Rottweiler had started bounding happily at the sight of Percy, who scratched her ears on his way in. Beckendorf knew Percy too well. “You hungry?” He asked as they shuffled into his living room/kitchen.

Percy tried not to look too embarrassed as he admitted: “I’m starving.”

************

“What?” Percy asked Grover for the second time. He’d been too focused on a scrawny kid flopping around in the pool in front of him to hear what his friend was saying. He’d seen the kid before, not the strongest swimmer but Percy could tell it was more due to lack of confidence than anything else. He’d seen him manage quite well in the shallower parts of the pool. Today it seemed like he’d finally decided to try out the deeper end though. The kid’s parents were nowhere to be seen, and Percy could see the panic starting to creep into his face as he realized the water was too deep to stand in. “I’ll be right back.”

Percy slid into the water. He didn’t want to make a scene since the kid wasn’t actually drowning and he wanted to give him a chance to get out of there by himself. The boy spotted him right away, relief evident in his face. Percy was tall enough to stand in this part of the pool so he made his way slowly towards him. “Hey there.” The kid didn’t make a dash to hold onto him so Percy knew hadn’t gotten too desperate, but the way he was flopping around would tire him out soon enough. “What’s your name?”

The kid, looking mildly embarrassed, told him it was Trevor. Slowly but surely, Percy got Trevor to paddle to a shallower part of the pool. His parents finally made an appearance not soon after. “Hey ma’am,” Percy called. They were clearly here just to pick him up and they didn’t look too happy about it. The father hadn’t even looked up from his phone. “Is this your kid?” The mother, a woman that appeared to be blonde with unusually dark skin (through his limited color palette Percy assumed it was due to a bad tanning job), looked him up and down but didn’t find it within herself to answer. “I had to help Travis swim away from the deeper end of the pool. He’s not a strong enough swimmer yet for you to leave him on his own like-”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you complaining about doing your job?” The woman’s tone made Percy’s blood boil but he clenched his fists to keep his temper in check. He didn’t need any complaints going to his supervisor. He tried to apologize but the woman was too busy yanking Trevor out of the water to care. Percy tried to put on a fake smile as he waved goodbye to the kid and sulked back to his chair.

Grover looked distastefully at the spot where the woman had gone. “A plus parenting, huh?”

Percy rolled his eyes in agreement and slumped back into his chair. “What were you saying before?”

“Oh right,” Grover tried to calm his nerves, but he’d never been a good liar and Percy knew him pretty well by now. Grover was hoping to catch Percy in a good mood since he knew he wouldn’t like this next part very much. “Well, you know how you’ve been telling me you’ve been struggling with homework lately?”

That question alone was enough to hit a nerve. “I’m not struggling, Grover. I was just saying that I’m tired and I hate reading.”

“Yeah, well I was talking to Annabeth-” Grover held up a pleading hand before Percy could interrupt him- “She’s really smart, Percy! She could help you out after school!”

“Why did you have to tell her anything? I don’t even know her!”

“I didn’t tell her anything about that!” Grover argued. He knew it was hard for Percy to talk about people about his dyslexia and ADHD; he wouldn’t betray his trust like that. Little did Percy know, however, that Annabeth was in the same boat. “I just told her you needed some help with some subjects because I know she’s really good at all that stuff and she actually volunteered herself to tutor you.” It had taken Grover aback a bit actually. Annabeth was nice and always there to help, but she didn’t take on to new people right away. Grover hadn’t gotten the impression that she disliked Percy, but it usually took her a lot longer to show interest in new people. The only other person he knew she’d gotten along with right away was Thalia. Now that Grover thought about it, Percy and Thalia did have a lot in common, though.

“Tutor me?” Percy was looking thoroughly annoyed, eyes fixed on the water before him.

“She’s not going to charge you or anything,” Grover winced at his own comment. It was hard to manage Percy’s temper around this subject. He hated feeling pitied and wasn’t big on asking for help. “She’s just trying to help and she’s new here. She doesn’t know many people besides me and Thalia.” Percy sighed. “She’s the smartest person I know, Percy. I trust her. You met her. She’s cool.” Grover could tell he was going to give in. He knew Percy was worried about keeping his grades up. His swim coach had let him on the team under the condition that he would get his GPA up enough to get out of probation from the school. Grover was also secretly excited about his two best friends possibly becoming friends themselves.

“Fine,” Percy finally said, bringing his whistle up to his lips at the sight of a group of small girls chasing each other. He gave one firm blow and pointed at the sign that read No Running when they both whipped their heads towards him. “I’ve got some free time on Monday after practice.”

*************

Annabeth tapped her pen impatiently against the table she’d settled in at the library. It didn’t help her temper that today she found out that this same pen, which she’d been using since the beginning of the semester, was bright red. The color of romance, her father had once jokingly told her. And danger, Annabeth now thought. Yeah, that seemed more accurate in her case.

The guy was almost an hour late. She was about to give up when she heard what sounded like a chair being knocked over, a loud hush, and a quick apology. A few seconds later, there was Percy Jackson. His hair was still wet from what she assumed was swim practice and he was holding a battered skateboard under his arm. Annabeth was once again struck by the intense green of his eyes. She thought she’d gotten used to the color after seeing it everywhere for the past couple of weeks, but it still floored her. There was nothing else that was that exact shade of green.

“You’re late.”

He at least managed to look guilty as he pulled a chair out noisily, earning him a death glare from the librarian at the desk. “I know. I’m so sorry. We ended late and the subway broke down or something.”

Annabeth would’ve shrugged that off as a half-assed excuse but every time she’d gotten on the subway that week it had stopped for almost an hour. Percy also had a very sincere way of saying things that kind of put her on edge. She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Did you bring your book?” He pulled a history textbook from his battered backpack. She tried to ignore the fact he’d dogeared the page. “Fall of Constantinople, right?”

“Yeah.” She could tell this whole ordeal embarrassed him a little. It was becoming harder and harder to remember she was annoyed at him. “I just...can’t seem to understand why this city was so important. From what I managed to extract from the other chapter, it seems like this whole empire was already done for.”

“I mean it was certainly in decline, and the Ottoman Turks had taken the Balkans and Anatolia by this point. So that made Constantinople the last city holding up what used to be this seemingly unbreachable empire.” Annabeth saw Percy nodding along and jutting down some notes. There was no other way to call it, it was cute. “Constantinople also represented Mehmed’s rival religion.”

“Wait, so he tried to take it again? This Meh...however you say his name? He’d already tried before, right?”

“No, that was his dad.” Annabeth leaned closer to the passage Percy was looking at. He pushed the book towards her so she could get a better look. The font was so tiny that Annabeth almost got dizzy. It would’ve taken her almost an hour to decipher just one paragraph. She pushed the book back towards him, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Thankfully, she had always been good at remembering names and they’d gone over this in her school in San Francisco last year. “Murad was the one who failed to take the city and then his son Mehmed tried again and succeeded. He got this Hungarian artillery expert, Urban I think he was called, to build him a cannon powerful enough to take down the walls of the city.”

“Sorry, could you spell that last name?”

Something about the question made Annabeth falter for a second. Percy appeared to understand most of what they were talking about. It was the names that seemed to stump him. It sounded a little familiar. “Sure.” Annabeth spelled the name out for him and she watched him make some new notes. She thought about how Grover never failed to bring up Percy one way or another when she complained about homework assignments. “Once Mehmed seized the city he used the emperor’s famed cathedral as a mosque. I can’t remember the name though. Is it in your book? I don’t know if they’d want you to know it for class.”

Annabeth observed as Percy scanned the page; she could practically feel the frustration oozing off of him. She was absolutely certain her suspicions were correct when she saw him push the book a bit far away, a trick she herself had tried many times. “Hey Percy,” he grunted in response, still absorbed in the textbook, “are you maybe...dyslexic?”

She felt him tense right away. Grover hadn’t told her for a reason, it was clearly a touchy subject for him. Annabeth was grateful that Grover had also clearly failed to tell Percy about her. “I just think that’s why Grover brought all of this up.” He was now looking at her, a complicated look on his face, like he didn’t know whether or not he should be getting offended. “It’s just that,” it had always been hard for her to talk about it too. It was like a cosmic joke for someone that loved reading so much to be made in a way that made it almost impossible to do so. “I am too, dyslexic I mean. Just looking at that book just now made me want to throw up.” His expression immediately softened. Annabeth noted the way he could easily go from one emotion to another. “That font size is awful.”

“I know right. And it’s and older edition so it doesn’t have an audio version.”

“I think I still have one for my textbook last year. I don’t know if it has everything in this one but-”

“No, yeah. That’d be great! I mean if you don’t mind-”

Annabeth chuckled, definitely cute. “I don’t, Percy.”

He thanked her once again and they finally exchanged numbers. They got through the main events of Constantinople. Annabeth remembered everything pretty well and Percy took notes. She felt light as a feather the whole time. She tried to ignore it. It’d never been this way with anyone she liked in the past. Her crush on Luke had been anything but light. Being with Percy was just nice. She didn’t know about the whole ‘soulmate’ ordeal, she didn’t even know if she liked him that way really, but she definitely wanted to hang out with him again.

An hour later he casually checked his phone and almost jumped off his chair, earning him yet another glare from the librarian. Annabeth tried to mask her snort as a cough. “Sorry,” he said quickly. He turned to Annabeth. “I have to go. Are you free Thursday?” She was pretty sure she would be but she’d have to check. She could tell he was in a hurry though so she told Percy she’d text him. “Thanks again! See you then.”

Annabeth smiled silently to herself as Percy hurried out of the library, bumping into several chairs and failing beautifully at making a quiet exit. Her smiled melted when she looked down at the pen she was still holding. Bright red.

#ramwfics #ramwfic #ASoY #ASoY chpt 5 #percabeth #percabeth fluff #percy jackson #annbeth chase #lifeguard!percy #grover underwood #happy birthday percy!#pjo #hoo #soulmates!au #color!au

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thedreadpirateglitterbeard · 6 years

Text

Corona Park Jams, By Andrew L. Foster. Creative Non-Fiction, 2017

For Your Entertainment, feel free to analyze, make remarks, ignore, enjoy, or otherwise. roughly 1600 words. about a 10 minute read.

Reflected sunrays pierce slightly bloodshot eyes after a night of libations with friends from out of town. The 1995 Buick LeSabre rattled as though it had bricks for engines. My head ached as if I had bricks for brains. The car would have its 21st birthday soon if it hadn’t had its big day already. That was reason enough for us to celebrate. Last night was the celebration of the Buicks birthday and the squeal of its belts was the hangover to the pounding in my mind. We also had friends in from out of town, we can celebrate over anything.

As if Puebloans needed a pretense to party. I allowed myself to be absorbed into the cushy carpeted seats that were tanned a light grey from years of Pueblo desert sunshine. A smile crept across my face and that lonesome sun smiled right back at me. I appreciated the historic boom district appeal contrasted with the “we never recovered from the Great Depression,” patina. Even the quintessential Pueblo dish of a cheeseburger covered in Green Chile known as a “Slopper” was weird mixed with cool. It’s the kind of college town where the community college does better than the university but they both aren’t that great. The rivalry is strong. The feeling of family is stronger. Puebloan’s need little reason to come together but create lots of reasons anyway.

This stop light always catches me. Emilio leaned into the steering wheel, elbow cocked into the open mouth of the driver’s window as the breaks pressed us to a stop. One hand clutched the wheel, fingers tapping the rhythm to a Circle Jerks jam, the other hand connected to his resting elbow brought a smoking cigarette to his open mouth. We were all in our cups last night, but we were “on one” and stocking up for more no-excuse-necessary partying. The green light cleared our passage and Emilio sought after parking.

The Pantry is a Seinfeld-esque dinner, though maybe less cliché, which is a wonderful place to fill the old tum-tum. Abriendo Street hosts a series of Roman revival structures, one or two-story buildings connected business fronts with inset window wells that lead to doorways, pulling walker-bys into shops to search for doo-dads in antique shops with no particular end in mind. We pulled up Michigan St. and parked the bucket in front of Tony and Joe’s Pizzeria. The tree-lined streets are triple wide in the Aberdeen district thanks to General Palmer calling this neighborhood home for many years. His old manse was farther up from the shops, at the first corner. A quick walk to the drugstore that has been there as long as the Corona Park and Bessemer districts, near a century. Autumn trees, gold and green leaves shimmer. The air carries the aroma of old money. We walked to the corner and found The Pantry.

Emilio represents the profile of friendships that have enhanced my life. He is unique. His Style is the more independent and classic profile of punk that could be likened to the clash, early on—before they stopped making music with pretense. No need for spikes or studs, just a simple rejection of the common standard. Emo has tackled deep self-reflection and made pertinent life changes that mirror the development of his personal philosophy. This largely consists of him choosing to be a pescatarian—a bit of a contradiction if you ask me, but I let it slide because I eat everything and have no place to talk. I hold him in high regard because he has introduced me to many Pueblo intellectuals whom I have learned and taught with too great satisfaction. Life’s zest can often be found in good company, good food, and good conversation.

Emilio paid for the half-dozen potatoes, egg, and cheese breakfast burritos. Exiting the maze of The Pantry’s tight corridors, I gave a shout out to a classmate I recognized, Anthony. He is both homeless, employed, and a student in the lowest rent city in Colorado. Anthony gave a friendly smile and went back to bussing tables. We had an ancient civilizations class together, his presentation on the ancient Assyrian warrior caste was excellent and marked him in my mind as brilliant, yet his condition remained troubled. He only came to class 1 out of 3 sessions a week. I suspect this wasn’t due to a lack of heart.

It was ten am and the hot September Sunday was well underway. Emo and I sauntered back towards the whip both donning colorized wayfarer sunglasses, like Millennial Blues Brothers, sent on a mission from God to feed our hungry and hungover friends breakfast. Next stop this morning was Hercules Liquor Store, Agent Orange’s “Bored of You” had the energy flowing through us and the breakfast burrito’s smelled like a cure to disgrace. Emilio reeled the clunker away from The Pantry and the general’s old castle and back into Abriendo’s light Sunday traffic.

Herc’s was just another couple blocks up the way on Colorado Avenue. This drag shared a wine and coffee breakfast bar on the corner, next to the Local 1607 Millwright’s office so the metal works could catch a shiner before meetings with the union. Hercules Liquor and the Historic Firehouse Museum shared an alley. Occasionally I would see familiar faces from the firefighter school working in the museum as I went into Herc’s for an evening brew. They always carried themselves with purpose as I slinked by with little pride. Emilio cut a wide U-turn and pulled us into the alley to park behind the spirits house.

This, a small cramped store was absolutely flush with plenty of beer to choose from and an excellent selection of liquor and wine. Mike and his brother ran the store together, owned by their mother who is suffering from late-stage dementia. Despite this, the boys are always smiling and chatty when they see Emilio and I come in. They like us because we drink like their late Slovakian grandpa. Campari and grappa are two of the commonly stocked items at Herc’s we can’t find elsewhere. Because the brothers are 2nd generation Americans, they still have close ties to their Italian and Slovakian family. They have cousins who live on the Island of Crete where the sculptor Pygmalion’s statue Galatea was granted life by Aphrodite because she was moved by his passionate love for the female statue he created. Just so, the Cretian Grappa Mike sold us was the type of spirit that could awaken marble statues. Grappa is what is left after wine grapes are stomped upon. It tastes vaguely like wine, but primarily like pure alcohol. It does the trick. We left the store flush with cheap beer, cheap whiskey, and a bottle of Grappa which may have been cheap or expensive, but we had yet to find another bottle in town to compare price.

As we parked on the too-narrow street in front of the house, Benjamin wore Adidas classics that had looked as though they had been walked on their whole life. His wiry chair leaned precariously back against the stucco wall while his foot pressed against the ever-loosening banister which enclosed the porch. He had a cigarette in one hand while the other cradled an iPhone near his eyeballs. A three-day beard and unruly bed head alluded to Bens Sunday dishevelment. Benji is a Vancouver Canuck. His mother passed several years prior, not long after Emilio lost his father. The two, and their larger group attended St. Mary’s Catholic for primary school and the bonds shared between my two friends were far deeper than I could estimate being a new inductee to an exclusive group.

Before Emilio and I could walk up the concrete steps Ben was laughing and explain the problems that Trotskian economic theory faced after the Bolshevik Revolution and argued that the Soviets picked the wrong guy in Lenin. I smiled and nodded as if I knew anything about Trotskian political theory. Ben was always expansive in conversation and I admired him deeply for it. The first time Emilio introduced us, my misgiving and mistrust of new people was rendered mute next to the backyard fire pit and eager talking points Ben insisted on sharing with me.

I remember that night, he would hardly let anyone say a word as he often does. I interrupted him as he spoke with conviction on the need to rid the world of paper currency to be replaced with a social exchange program in line with “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.” I asked him if he always commanded the conversation and if he ever let anyone else speak. I was instantly mortified at my manners but everyone sitting around the fire began to laugh. Ben’s other half said, “No, this is how he always is.” Ben quitted down a bit and we all shared the conversation. We all picked songs on an iPad adorned in a case printed with an ancient world map and took turns playing obscure music while passing the bottle of cheap around. The grainy taste of the whiskey mixed with the fire smoke's aroma, both gently burning our throats. This was the standard weekend for most of two years, good company seasoning our slowly aging lives within the old, worn town that rested in the fading shadows of old wealth.

As the Sunday star dipped below the horizon, we looked out towards La Vida Pass and the Sangre De Cristo mountains. The buzz we shared reached deeply into the earth and for a moment it seemed like all of us were supposed to find each other, as though no matter how big the universe became this moment would persist as both the flash of a meteorite and the timeless life of a lonely sun. As if we needed more reason for us to celebrate.

#creative #nonfiction #writing #short story #authors on tumblr #spilled ink #life #friends

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askullinajar · 7 years

Text

The Shattered Frame (Part 1/7)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Fic info: this is a sequel to my previous fic, The Living Ghost so go read that or this won’t make sense. Rating: General. Pairings: Lucy/Lockwood, Holly/Rani. Ao3 link: here.

A cluster of hauntings in a decrepit manor and the dripping spectre of a woman dressed all in black hits a little too close to home for Lockwood & Co’s newest member.

Part 1: A Shopping Trip

Skull looked just about ready to murder Holly. He often threatened to, of course, and I rarely took those threats seriously, but the look on his face as she piled another dozen shirts into the shopping trolley made me make a mental note to keep him well away from the kitchenware section.

“Nobody needs this many shirts,” he said, coldly. “The most I ever had was two.”

“I’m sure you also used a hole in the ground for a toilet,” Holly replied, unconcerned. “Times change, Skully. And we don’t know your clothing size; you need a few to try on.”

I should probably mention that, after an incident involving George, Skull, and an electric whisk, we had given up calling him ‘Jim’ and had instead settled for ‘Skully’, which could at least pass as an ordinary nickname.

Skully glared down at the pile of clothes in the trolley. “This isn’t ‘a few’, this is the whole damn store!”

It had taken us a week to convince Skully to come clothes shopping with us – he seemed to dislike the chaos of modern London, with its masses of people and vehicles. Lockwood had had to promise to buy him all the chocolate milk he wanted in order to persuade him; I think he was rather desperate to have Skully stop stealing his clothes, which was understandable, as the ex-ghost currently owned no underwear.

Kipps was off visiting his grandma and George had stayed home, partially because he had an aversion to clothes that weren’t ragged and discoloured, and partially because, whenever he and Skully were in the same place, more likely than not a slap fight would occur, and Holly insisted that wasn’t appropriate in public. So today it was just me, Skully, Lockwood, Holly, and Rani, who had tagged along to spend some time with her girlfriend. Holly had since explained to her all about how the Orpheus Society had brought the skull back to life.

“Give the kid a break, Hol,” she chastised. “He’s probably never had to go shopping before.”

“My feet huuurt,” Skully whined.

“You can sit down when we get to the shoes,” Holly said.

“And how long will that be?” I said, a little apprehensively; my feet were starting to hurt too, as Holly had already made us spend half an hour looking at socks.

“Well, we still need trousers, jumpers, jackets, coats…” Holly said as she held up a blazer to Skully to inspect. “And maybe a suit.”

“What do I need a suit for?!” Skully exclaimed.

“For special occasions,” Holly said, patiently. “Parties and birthdays…”

“When is your birthday, Skully?” Lockwood said, curiously as he rifled idly through the trouser rack.

“Well, on a cold Halloween night in 1859…” Skully started.

“As if you were born on Halloween,” I said.

“… my mother was in labour and I popped out just after midnight on the first of November,” Skully finished.

“Bummer,” I said.

Skully nodded solemnly. “It was the greatest disappointment of my life.”

“Ooh, your birthday’s not too far away then,” said Rani. “We’ll have to celebrate!”

“I’ll bake a cake,” said Holly.

Skully looked at her with slightly less murder in his eyes. “I have no objection to that. As long as there’s no fruit in it. And George doesn’t get any.”

Holly smiled. “I’ll make it chocolate, and a separate one for George.”

“I almost forgive you for this hell trip,” said Skully.

“Speaking of special occasions,” said Rani, slipping an arm around Holly’s waist, “our six-months is coming up, babe. I’m gonna go see what wine they have.”

“Aw, you know the way to a girl’s heart,” said Holly, grinning at her.

“I’m surrounded by couples,” Skully huffed, sticking his tongue out in disgust. “Get me a beer while you’re at it.”

Holly raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you above the drinking age?”

“There’s a limit now?” Skully scoffed. “Back in my day, we were drinking beer straight out of the womb.”

“Wasn’t that because it was safer than water?” I said.

“How can beer be safer than water?” said Lockwood.

“Well, for some reason, shoving everyone’s crap in the Thames and getting drinking water from the same place made people sick,” said Skully, shrugging.

“Weird,” I said.

“I know, right!”

Holly crossed her arms stubbornly. “Well, water is safe now and alcohol has an age limit. How old are you?”

Skully looked thoughtful for a minute. “One hundred and fifty-seven,” he said at last.

“How old were you when you died?” Holly clarified.

“Oh. Eighteen.”

“Seems convenient,” said Lockwood, suspiciously.

“Hang on,” I said. “Well, Bickerstaff died in, what was it? 1877? And Skully must have died soon after, sooo…” I did the maths in my head using the birth year Skully had given us. “Yeah, he’s eighteen.”

“Alright, I’ll get you a six-pack or something,” said Rani, making her way towards the escalator that lead to the food section. “Call it compensation for putting up with Hol.”

“I’m not that annoying!” Holly called after her.

“Never said you were, babe!”

“You know, I quite like that one,” said Skully once Rani had gone. “I’ll let her live for a while.”

“I’m gonna go ahead and ignore that last part,” I said.

Lockwood tugged a pair of trousers off the rail and held them up in front of him. “What do you think of these? For my blue blazer.”

“They look great, Lockwood!” said Holly.

“They’d look even better on Lucy’s floor,” Skully added.

I stared at him, feeling my face go red. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lockwood blushing too, and Holly covering up a smile with her hand. “Did you just… hit on Lockwood for me?”

“Well someone’s gotta give you two emotionally-stunted turnips a hand!”

“We’re already dating, you buffoon,” I said. “There’s not much point.”

“Yeah, but pick-up lines are the best!” Skully insisted. “Behold.” He sidled up to the closest stranger around our age who was shopping nearby. “Hey, did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Coz it hurt when I crawled up from hell.” He snapped double finger guns at the boy and winked for good measure. “Aw, no. Come back!” he called as the boy quickly made his way to the other side of the store.

I stifled a laugh behind my hand as Holly and Lockwood snickered behind me. “Maybe you shouldn’t have included that bit about hell.”

“Just adding a bit of factual information, you know,” said Skully.

In fairness, he didn’t seem too fussed that his flirting attempt had failed. To be honest, I had no idea where he stood on the whole relationship/sexuality thing. Maybe he just didn’t care about that stuff.

“Alright, that’s enough messing around,” said Holly. “Let’s move onto trousers.”

Skully groaned and dropped his head onto my shoulder from behind, basically forcing me to support his weight. “Kill me now. Just not with a garrotte. That hurts.”

I had often wondered how his skull had come to be separated from his body, but now I got the feeling that ignorance really was bliss. “Spare me the details,” I said, patting his head in mock pity.

Despite Skully’s whining, there are few things in life as enjoyable as just spending a day out with your friends. Making them try on the most ridiculous accessories you can find; smearing sample lipstick on your boyfriend’s face; playing with the toy’s in the children’s section, wishing you got to play with them as a kid; screaming and laughing as you cling to the sides of the rickety trolley you ‘borrowed’ while your best friend hurtles you around the car park, (not that that’s what we were doing while the others were busy paying, of course).

There’s something about just being in the presence of the people who care about you, something that makes the rest of the world melt away. You can lose yourself, and forget how you woke up last night in a cold sweat because you dreamed of a mass of black and red flames overwhelming your friends. You can forget all the horrors and misery the world holds. Constraints of life and the passage of time doesn’t seem to matter.

You can let go of all your worries and stress, just for a moment.

Even if you know it won’t last.

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