marty-parties · 2 months ago
Text
Happy September 15th! Which, if you didn't know, is 'leave a comment day.' I could be wrong though, since my source is a poll i took on my other blog - either way, i've come up with a fun idea.
In honour of ‘leave a comment day’ i’ve made a list of all of my favourite fanfics/authors that I can think of atm, and I wanna leave a nice little note about them and their work! This isn’t in any particular order, tbh it’s mostly me going through my AO3 bookmarks and re-reading all of my fav fanfic, haha. 
I honestly had no idea 'leave a comment day’ was a thing, and if you didn’t either, show your favourite authors that you appreciate them! Anything from a heart emoji, or a key smash, or an insightful/heartfelt comment will do wonders in terms of showing/being appreciated.
A lot of these fics below have influenced me in some way, big or small, into how/what I write today. I guess I wanted to give thanks where I could. (It’s also just really sick to make a doc full of your favourite things,and I highly implore you to do it too, even if you don’t wanna post it. (That's totally fair, no pressure.) I keep going over in my mind what I like about each fic and ‘oh, this fic is different from that, but it’s still fantastic, oh and this fic, too,’ etc. it’s such a fun little snowball effect of positivity, i definitely recommend you do this if you have time and need a pick me up, haha.)
Little note, here, If you’ve seen that I’ve read your fic, but found you’re not on the list - it’s not that I don’t like you/or work! I probably very well did enjoy it! I found as I was making this list it was taking a lot of my free time. (Free time that i’d rather like to use writing or reading more, haha.) And, I feel like this list is already so wickedly long ‘cause I can't shut my mouth to save my life, to add more might be a little bit much to read all in one go. 😅
So, please don’t be upset if that’s the case! ily *mwah* 
Also, there’s a few nsfw fics mention at the end, so if you’re a minor, pls buzz off,  that content isn’t for you! I also recommend you check the links on some of these fics. I think I’ve included warnings where I think they’re due, but you know yourself better than i do. And, who knows, I might’ve accidentally missed a tag or two - So, please take care of yourself out there! 
You’ll notice i’ve either included a source for either the authors tumbr, or AO3. I originally was going to try and do both, but i lost steam. Each story is linked to their author, on some site, promise. 
Last thing, most of these fics are in the undertale fandom, tbh. It’s been my ride or die since highschool, so i’ve got a lot of love and things to say. You won’t find any frans or foncest here, i’m a reader insert girlie, simply put, and I don't care much for those tags on the fics i read. 
Quick legend here:
Complete = complete work
Ongoing = still updating / i think they’re still update
Incomplete = either hiatus, or just incomplete
So, without further ado- 
 Road Side Attraction (Ongoing, teen+ rating) and Dirty Laundry (Complete, teen+ rating)
By Popatochisp  (AO3) / popattochisp (Tumbr)
I’m going to be grouping together fics by author. Usually when I find one I really like, i really lurk around their tumblr/AO3 for others, haha.
–AND because I can’t think of one fic without the other. I find myself going back to read them both quite frequently, usually on rotation,  they’re my little bedtime stories i keep on repeat in my mind, lol. 
I mean, if you’re in the undertale fandom how can you not know about pop? For me, them (and luluwrites, among a few others i can’t remember rn,) –were really impactful to me growing up, as I think it was to a lot of people. (Tbh they’re still impactful, actually. I find myself going back even pretty often to read the same fics I read in high school.) They’re like the one piece of media you read in English class in high school that sticks with you throughout your adult life. (Looking at you, monkey’s paw.)
Pop has like 1,000 different au’s to choose from, all with fantastic and deep characterizations and lore.( I don’t know how they do it, i’m only writing a/b ONE skeleton rn, and i feel like a hamster on a wheel trying to get his characterization right.  I couldn’t imagine doing that for every single au they have. God damn.) 
I especially love Roadside Attraction, because of how easily i can relate to it? I’m deep in the sticks, a town more populated by livestock and people. When I read this, I can really put myself i MC’s shoes - b/c i’ve been there! (Hah, maybe not the dating skeletons part, granted, lol.) But it’s such a fantastic read, I love any and all media that has a vibe that it could take place in like a   rural Montana. (think scenes in Twilight. Tall spruce/pine trees, misty morning, the possibility of seeing bigfoot, that sorta thing.) 
And Dirty Laundry? Come on, dude. What a love letter to the swapfell universe, truly. If you haven't read it, you gotta. The world building, and the changing POV’s are so damn good, that every chapter feels crisp, and like you’ve got a really good inside scoop of each character. You can’t knock the characterization in this one, fellas. All the dynamics are so dead on - how Sans and Papyrus interact, how Sans and Alphys – dude, even how Sans and Toriel interact read so deeply in character. Everyone’s motives and ideas make sense to each character and the conflict that it  brings. Big fan. 10/10, will definitely read again and again. (There’s also a ‘Menswear addition, where the reader has he/him pronouns if that’s your cup of tea!) 
Bones Picked Clean (Incomplete, teen+ rating) and) Apéritifs (Ongoing, Mature rating)
By Skelezbian (tumblr) / luluwrites (on AO3)
Woof, where do I start?? I think Bones Picked Clean is another one of the first fics I remember being a really impactful piece of undertale fanwork that stuck with me. I know they’re not the one who created the whole ‘lodge’ scenario, (if you know, you know. Thank you @Tyrant_Tortoise, we’ll be seeing you next,) but they put a spin on it that is so interesting to see. The problems feel very realistic, like something that can easily happen in a house full of busy bodies with not enough communication. And, ohmygod the MC. My first love, truly. You get to see each set of skeleton brother’s, and watch how MC’s befriends them all. Granted, they have a track record of putting themselves in dangerous situations, for reasons revealed in the fic, but they’ve got a heart of gold, and a PHD in being a sweetheart.
The horrortale boys really shine here. I haven’t read much horrortale centric fanfics, but I really like the soft horrorale’ spin. The healing after the damage, the sunshine after the storm, watching the fauna overgrow, etc. I love watching characters grow when love is shown, and here, you can really see it here. I love domesticity, and using food as a love language– which is something this fic has in spades!
(I also love love swapfell characterization in this fic, chapter 13 does a REALLY good job of walking you through the mindspace of sf pap. But in terms of favourties, i’d have to say that would be Chapter 18. You get to see sf pap’s relationship with his brother!  You really see/understand their dynamic, and how they really act as brothers behind closed doors. The other reason it’s a favourite is the inherit domesticity! Maybe I’m a sucker for the normie, slice of life, but how MC and sans chit chat at the start of the chapter is so cute! )
Warning: mention of past cannibalism, past murder, past abuse? I think that’s it, maybe check the tags to be sure. They sound scary, but I promise it’s a very sweet story. 
Ohh, Apéritifs. First of all, what a clever name! I’m a sucker for word play, and this title alone really did it for me, haha. (if you don’t get it, please google ‘define Apéritifs’, and you’ll be just as jazzed as me.)  They’re three stand alone one-shots featuring a  different skeleton each chapter. I will say, I think chapter 3 is my fav. It’s actually heavily inspired me to make one of my one shots - it’s that good! I love the world building in it, as well. Really, you can’t go wrong. (Lulu really knows how to nail flirty dialogue, in very funny ways. ‘“so, you a fan of spare ribs, or just mine?”’ (ch. 3 – Apéritifs) KILLS ME, oh my god, what a funny flirty little one-liner. 
Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady (Incomplete, teen+ rating)
By Tyrant_Tortoise (AO3) tyranttortoise (Tumblr)
Man– SSLL walked so we all could run. The amount of ‘lodge’ type fanfic dynamic i’ve seen, BECAUSE of this fic is wild. I might be wrong in saying this, but I think they were the one who came up with the whole ‘lodge’ type scenario, like all the reverse harems with all the au’s. 
I haven’t read anything of theirs in a long time, but I wanna pay my respects where respects are due. Tyrant made one hell of an influential fanfic, enough so, that I’m pretty sure if I had a timeline of fandom evolution on undertale alone– I think there would be a noticeable difference in the before and after SSLL.  Which, is so sick!! To have influenced a whole fandom with a concept that we’re still seeing it years later? (I get that trends sorta tend to last longer in fandoms than they do irl, but isn’t that such a neat thing to think about?) 
I’m going to age myself (and maybe you, reading this a bit, but–) the first chapter was posted in 2017. 2017! Isn’t that nuts to think about? I was literally 17 at the time. No WONDER it stuck with me, my teenage brain was looking for all the  serotonin it could get from fandoms.  (wow. Things haven't changed all that much for me, haha. 
Skeleton Ex Machina (Incomplete, teen+ rating)
By Cryptid_jack (AO3)
Ohh, okay, for all the SSLL fans out there, you probably already know who cryptid_jack is. And if not, I'll gladly tell you!
They’ve made this cool ass AI AU (it’s a LOT cooler than it sounds, I promise!) in their words, ‘a fanfic of a fanfic’ that’s actually in Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady (see above.) I’d recommend reading SSLL to fully understand this - although, if you’re good at picking up context clues, or maybe don’t mind missing some context, I don’t necessarily think you’d have to, since jack does a really good job of showing the reader everything that’s going on. (although, i really  recommend you do.)
I think this au is so cool, it’s literally tagged as ‘Quarantine Sans’ (which, i’ll be the first to say, that maybe that name didn’t hold up too well, with recent 2020 events, an’ all that. Pandemic aside, it’s a cool name for an AU!) 
It’s also really fun to see two friends in the fandom interact with each other's works like this. Even reading the note at the start of the fic, you can just feel the camaraderie and care that went into paying each other's proper respects. 
Big big ups, hats off to proper manners and friendship!
All’s Fair In Love and (Prank) War (Incomplete, teen+ rating)
By torrikor (AO3)
Ohh, this is a short and sweet 2 chapter read. I don’t the author is going to circle back to it, but i suggest you read it anyways! the idea is so so good! In essence, MC and sf sans are roommates, and MC starts a prank war. I love love love their dynamic, their bickering is a real treat to read, that, coupled with their size difference? Sign me up!
My Favorite Thing (Complete, teen+ rating) and A Conversation Starter ( Complete, teen+ rating) 
By peachwhimzy (AO3) peachwhimzy-things (Tumblr)
I’m a slut for their characterization of sf pap here, oh my god. Both are so so good, and i know  i must sound like a broken record by saying I love how this author interpreted his character - but i can’t help it! So many people have good ideas and ways to showcase a character! Sue me.  
A Conversation Starter is another one that’s inspired me to write a little one-shot. It’s so fantastically written, sf Papyrus and MC are at a bus station, both the first human and monster either have met. The world building is subtle, but wonderfully done. MC is so damn cute in this, and so is Papyrus, who’s really just trying to keep the conversation going, lol. There’s a delightful slice of life aspect to this. 
Honestly, a lot of of Peach’s work feel very domestic, and sweet, and romantic. Sorta like i’m reading a studio Ghibli movie. Do yourself a favour and go check em out!
Late Night Shift Romance (Complete, teen+ rating)
By Inumaru12 (AO3)
The one fic on here that’s not a romance,how about that. (I guess that’s not technically true. There's possibly something budding, if you squint. I always read it as platonic friendship- it’s fanfic! Read it with whatever context you’d like!)
Burgerpants and MC are at the same convenient store late at night, and there’s a robbery. Friendship ensues. I love seeing the background character of undertale, and honestly, who doesn't relate to Burgerpants? Perpetually working shitty minimum wage jobs, trying to chase his dreams - that’s rough. I appreciate a character who can give a nod to class solidarity.. I think Inmuaru12 did so well writing his character, it feels like he was plucked out of the game himself, haha. 
My Dearly Detested Delivery Man, (Complete, teen+ rating) and Black Coffee (Complete, general audiences rating) 
By Little_old_lady (AO3)
Lol yet another set of swap fics, haha. (Yet another great example of different interpretations of the swapfell au!)
My Dearly Detested Delivery man is so  fun, I love an ‘enemies to friends to lovers’ type of fic. I love the dialogue, it’s so funny! Like almost sitcom-esk with how good the one liners are. I think my favourite thing about writing fanfic is the dialogue- but reading what other authors have cooked up is such a treat, too. I love seeing authors with a certain brand of wit/cleverness they think the character would have, and seeing their own comedy bleed through, too sometimes. Little_old_lady does a good job showing the reader what you can gleam from the characters with how they talk to each other, in a way that sets the tone for their relationship. (whether it’s platonic, romantic, etc.)  There’s so many ways you can show friendship, but I think the “passion” (lmao I don’t know what else to call it!)  that’s at the heart of any argument is what can create the difference between friends arguing, vs two people who could be more. (Better put, I think what I like about two characters arguing is the sorta obvious chemistry it can create.) 
Black Coffee does a good job about that too! I’ll be the first and last to say that I love any characters whose love language is ‘argue’ (lol even though irl I wouldn’t last long in any relationship like that, haha. ) I can be hit or miss with a soulmate au, but there’s another layer that I think undertale adds another level to in a soulmate au-since the game established that monsters and magic are real— that it almost feels a little more plausible of an au, than say, a soulmate AU of parks and rec? (no hate on the au or parks and rec, haha. I guess it just feels more “realistic” being that undertale is already a world made of magic, that magical soulmates, is one more step into weird that also makes sense?) I also love the bro-ship mc has with pap, in this one. Coming from someone who’s constantly worked retail/with customers one-on-one, somedays you want to go ape shit, so it’s nice to see an MC who can.
Half Your Age Plus Seven (Complete, teen+ rating) 
By KassyKins
Ohhh, what a little treat this was to read. Tragedy! Romance! Love-rivalry! (NOT a love triangle!) People just Trying to do their best, they’ve got it all! This is another MC i’m in love with. They know what they love, and what they’re passionate about, but when push comes to shove, they’ll choose their family over themselves every single time. I think it’s a very admirable trait to have, integrity, and the ability to self-sacrifice.  I think those two tropes/characteristics can really lead a story in so many interesting directions - weather it be an MC who’s too self-sacrificing, giving parts of themselves to everyone, leaving nothing for themselves, or an MC who’s pushing themselves through the ringer trying to do what they think is right according to their integrity, burning them up in the process.  In this particular case, it’s maybe a little bit of both, coupled with (sad) a slice of life meet cute, with a healthy dose of growing pains. 
There’s something about it that always hits extra hard to me, the ‘thrust into the lime light, or power, or a position they have no business being in. But, they’ve got people on the line, their people to take care of, so by god they’ll try.’ There’s something so tragic and poetic about it – but who knows, maybe I'm waxing poetic about the eldest daughter trope. 
This fic really nicely written, and there’s so many fun hijinks and shenanigans in there to make you chuckle. Featuring another MC who’s able to shout at their boss and get away with it- big ups from me, lets goooooo working class!
Fair warning, this is a notable age gap from MC and swapfell gold sans. It is talked about in the story as well. I personally don’t mind it too much, but if that’s a no-go from you, you’ve been warned. (Maybe just check the tags on this one, (spoilers!) I know someone gets pregnant later. But, I know that can freak some folks out, so, heads up.) 
There’s some smut mentioned, but it doesn’t go into detail about it, so i’ll leave it above the NSFW section. Just fair warning! (Maybe not a story for minors? I don’t know, read at your own discretion if you are?) 
For the smut mention, be warned that I couldn’t find any age in their bio, do with that what you will. 
And Now It’s Crystal Clear(Complete, teen+ rating)
By nighttimelights (AO3)
Oh, man. What another banger read. 
Fun fact- i read this in . . . highschool? But i forgot the name of the fic,and it took me FOREVER, im talking YEARS before I found it again. I actually gave up the hunt, and just found it again one day– what an utter joy that was for me to rediscover it. I felt like I ran into my highschool sweetheart at the grocery store after not thinking about them in years. 
It’s really cool concept on the whole ‘machine gaster’ situation. I respect someone so damn much who incorporates a bit of sci-sfi in their fics, I have no idea how to write it, but I love to read it/see it in media. So to see it, and understand it, and how it’s relevant to the plot is a real treat!
I also love the ending.  :)
Wish Bone (Ongoing, Explicit rating)
By timeofjuly
I could not, in good conscience make this list without including my bestie, the OG and probably the reason why I'm actually posting what I'm writing today. I really can’t sing their praises high enough – but for the sake of comment day, I sure can try, haha.
July really does a good job of creating a wicked atmosphere in her works. The stark difference between Wish Bone (a political romance drama) and Resisting the Currents (reverse harem, but the gf likes you too. It's linked in the nsfw section, please check it out if you can.) is so incredible – they’re really an author that can do both, haha. Even though both fics are so different, what they have in common is their ability to get you right in your feelings, in whichever way the story calls for. 
In Wishbone  – Flint (the MC) has a bad case of being a massive asshole, that’s verging on becoming chronic. Their paranoia has caused their head to permanently be a swivel, and they’ve developed a taste for their own brand of Justice (however malicious as it is.)  That sounds like the start of a vigilante story, but in all truth, Flint is a dick. Which, is another thing July is great at! Writing MC’s who are assholes! You love to hate them, you hate that you love them! 
This is a MC x sf Pap, and later X sf Sans as well, If you’re hoping for a sappy romance, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is a reluctant soulmate AU fic, a fantastic spin on the traditionally very romantic au, a meet ugly, sort of vibe. If you love arguing, political drama, fantastic world building, and a very, sad, broken MC – you’re going to love this. Hell, even if how I described it doesn’t sound appealing to you – I implore you to check it out anyways. July will absolutely knock you on your ass with her writing. By god, there’s themes, motifs and symbolism that I'm not smart enough to analyse, let alone talk about. Whether July intentionally put them there or not, I have no idea, but they’re there and it adds another layer of depth in a delightfully, painful soul crushing way. 
Go, see what I mean for yourself! 
Tbh, i feel like I could go on forever about what I love about their fics, and my little personal theories on them – but I feel like I already look pretty unhinged. For the sake of my ego, i’ve gotta move on. 
In terms of warnings, I think I sorta covered them? There's Plenty of anger, and hatred, ummm monster phobia? There might be some sorta nsfw stuff down the line, thus the rating, but as it stands now it’s smut free! Just a heads up, I suppose. 
 In Two weeks time and Red is my favorite color
By who_wants_a_muffin (AO3) 
My other current ongoing fav, in two weeks time! Another swapfell sans one, to the surprise of absolute of no one, haha. 
This MC is a dude! A man! Which is a refreshing change up, I don’t think there’s many many fics out there with a male leaning/male dominant MC’s. The characterization of MC is very good, 
is so so good, it’s and X sf sans, and he’s got the exact right amount of snark and sass to keep you coming back, haha. (Or, I guess in this case, he keeps coming back. MC works at the pool he frequents.) Their banter is really fun to read, bordering on bickering, really. They’re almost like a little old married couple, haha. Which is to say, you can really feel the chemistry they have even though they’re basically strangers. 
sf Papyrus is such a little shit in this one, i love it. He’s perpetually the youngest brother, and how Muffin writes him is so snarky and funny, and very endearing. 
The chapters are short and sweet, enough so that you can read it a few times in the same day and still enjoy it, even though his updating schedule is crazy fast! I don’t know how he does it, but they’re just motoring along, haha. I get excited whenever I get an email saying Muffin updated. It’s like a little treat to brighten your week.
I’ve been reading a bit of his other stuff, and he just gets it! Like the dynamic between MC and fell sans in Red in my favorite color, is just perfect. I love the soft!underfell au, and he does a really good job of capturing how underfell sans straddles the line between being a bad boy, and a boy that's not all that bad.
I also love the notes he writes, ‘Hello gays and other assorted sillies!’ (from Chapter 2 in Red in my favorite color,) Like COME ON, that’s so funny! 
– Undertale related 
Bonley Hearts Club (Demo available, Ongoing, teen+ rating) 
Bonely Hearts Club (tumblr) 
owl-bones (tumblr) is the Developer and Director and (self proclaimed! I’m not being mean!) Lead Nerd.  Here is a link to their cast, although it might not be fully updated. (It’s  \a big one, so I'm going to leave it as a link.) 
I don’t even know how to begin to explain my love for Bonely Hearts Club. It’s a fanmade game, made entirely of love, which you can tell, even before you play it. The sprites are so cute, and fantastic, and the writing is so in character and on point, do not get me started on the voice acting - which is also incredible. I’m not kidding, when I first played the demo, I immediately followed the voice actors on tumblr after, haha. 
This is the kinda piece of art that you just stand back and look at it, and just go ‘wow’. It’s such a big undertaking! I know very little about game development, but from what i vault remember from my comp sci class - is that is’s hard. Mad respect from me to Owl, and everyone a part of the team/process. 
This is off topic, but I wonder if Toby Fox has read any of these fics, or played the demo of this dating sim, like in the same way Alex Hursh has played a bit of Swooning Over Stans: A Grunkle Dating Sim. I’d pay serious money to have Toby play the dating sim demo. God, could you imagine the energy in that livestream? It would be goddamn electric.
[ Soul Redacted ] (Completed, teen rating) and The Great Noodle Jape (Completed, teen rating) 
By nighttimepixels (game jolt) nighttimepixels (tumblr) 
// active twitter lethalhoopla  
//active tumblr lethalhoopla
Good god, talk about a . . .what, triple, quadruple threat? There’s nothing nighttimepixels can’t do. They write, they make art, they’ve made two complete games, (and the beginning of another,) and they animate!! Like oh my god! Another love letter to the fandom, everything they do is so so good. 
[Soul Redacted] is a very cool rpg sidescroller explorer/mystery, and i’d say a touche of sci-fi in there, too. It has fantastic writing, and features Q! (from Cryptid_jack au, in Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady fromTyrant_Tortoise  fic! see above for all!) Truth be told, I got a little scared playing this. Granted, I played it at like 2 am in the dark - and I am a coward lol. I don’t think the average person will get scared, but fair warning anyways, haha. 
They’re not into the undertale fandom anymore, I don't think. Which is sad to hear, but also understandable. It’s not fun making art and other creations if you’ve lost that spark there. However, if you’re a mass effect fan, they’re making a bunch of art on their other bog. I personally really love their art style, so i’ll gladly keep checking back. Also, there’s so much undertale content on their blog that you’ll be good for a long while. And if not, you can always go back and look again! If you can’t experience it for the first time, the next best thing is to experience it again. 
Warning: I think there’s some flashing lights at some point? Maybe double check the tags on that one if that’s a concern for you. 
The Great Noodle Jape is so damn cute. As night put it, ‘a visnov style silly whodunit’, which I think it captures it perfectly. The writing is so fun, all the characters feel very well written/in character, and i love how they all interact with each other. As well, the sprites are so fantastic! Night has that kind of art style where you just know it's theirs without needing to confirm. 
No warnings that I could think of, other than you’ll be wishing for the experience of playing it for the first time once you’re done.
– non-Undertale related fics - 
Cult of the Lamb—
The Rehabilitation of Death 
By bamsara (AO3) / bamsara (Tumblr)
WOOF. I am an ‘happy ending angst’ lover, and a ‘energies to lovers slow burn,’ and this fic takes the cake on both regards. Truly, who could pine better than a god, who’s named literally ‘The One Who Waits’? What an aptly named character for one of the major troupes in the fic, haha.
But for all you freaks out there (lol me) who don’t mind horror some of the time, I recommend reading it! Even if you’re not into CoTL, the pining is so goddamn good! (Considering it’s about gods, they’ve been pining for hundreds of years without even knowing it–  the slowest of burns, like oh my GOD.) Bam also is known to post longer chapters- so if you like a read that lasts a couple days, PLEASE do yourself a favour and check it out. I don’t wanna spoil anything, but they’re getting to the part where the main couple is starting to be nice to each other, plus, the subplot B couple is starting to sorta shack up too. There are so many good, funny dynamics that are in this fic, that I don’t have enough words to properly explain them. 
They also make fantastic artwork and sketches for just about each scene in their fics - which for all you visual girlies out there (myself, haha.) I think you’d appreciate it! I wish I was that type of triple threat, but I think i’d burn out too quickly if I was also drawing scenes of my fics – which is why I think it’s so impressive when other authors/artists do it! 
 They do art streams pretty frequently, too, and they make stickers too! A true triple threat, 
Just, fair warning-  like Cult of the Lamb (the game the fic is based off,)  this fic mentions a lot about gore, and death, and mention of cults and religion. So if any of that is a turn off, or something you don’t like to read about, this might not be your cup of tea. 
Non-fanfic Undertale fandom related material– 
FNAF—
Solar Lunacy (Incomplete, Mature)
By BamSara
(I kept these two separate on the account they’re different fandoms, lol) 
I was very briefly into the FNAF fandom, I only read a handful of fics— but Solar Lunacy really stuck with me!
Robots with trauma! An overly curious MC! I think what I like most about this, is how driven mc is? Usually it gets them into trouble, haha, but I love that troupe where the MC really puts themselves through the wringer looking for answers. (I.e like ford and bill from gravity falls.)  
What’s not to love? For all you robot fans out there, it’s pretty sick! I’m sure if you dig deep enough on Bam’s tumblr you’ll find all their old DCA fanart, and draw parts from this fic. 
Fair warning! Scary robots, the regular tags of the fnaf fandom (past child abuse/past child murder), robots don’t understand boundaries, maybe check the tags on this one, just in case. 
Sleuth Jesters (Series!) (Complete, teen+ and mature ratings, depending on which fic in the series you’re reading.)
By naffeclipse (AO3)
This was the other FNAF fanfic that really stuck with me when I had the robot bug. (lol)  I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not overly into the whole ‘mafia boss’ side of self-ships, but if I had to choose one to read for the rest of time –  it would definitely be this one. It’s like a detective noir, where mc is the vigilante who’s only law they follow is their grey moral code - but usually it’s for the good! So you can’t really feel to bad about that, haha. 
Tbh it’s almost hard to verbalise what I like about it, it’s one of those fics that give you a feeling you can’t name, and it’s so frustrating to have this unnamed feeling you can’t quite pinpoint! (PLEASE tell me some of ya’ll know what i’m talking about!)
I feel so tragically for the MC, if that makes sense? They’re constantly putting themselves in harm's way for answers, and for others.  They’re selfless, yet selfish, and they never let anyone too close, except for when they do. There’s some heavy themes and very toxic relationships, but there’s a happy ending! 
Ahh warning for a very possessive, toxic robot, and kidnapping in later fics - i suggest you read the tags just in case! Bam is really good at tagging triggers accordingly, 
Fair warning: blood and injury, very possessive character, toxic relationships (one sided), mention of injury, violence, kidnapping, guns, gunshot  wounds, shootouts, broken bone- probably some more. I recommend checking the tags on this one as well, just to be on the safe side. 
NSFW Below – Minors get out of here pls!
A quick mention, before I get into this–
I tried to check and make sure all the authors below are all well over 18, i’ve indicated which link has their age posted in their bio’s if you’d like to check for yourself. If I couldn’t find it, I made sure to be clear that I don't know. 
Just doing some light housekeeping, here. You should also check the tags on each fic for what kinda . . . stuff it has, lol. 
Play With Me (Incomplete, explicit rating) 
By grimrester (AO3) / grimrester  (tumblr/ age in bio here.) 
Oh my god. Oh my god! For all you queers on the ace/aromatic spectrum just like me, this is the fic for you!
I could easily go back and read this again and again - tbh I already do. It’s plot with porn, and then it turns into porn with plot, but emotional!  love the relationship between MC and Sans. There's something about their intimacy that’s so casual (maybe not the right word for what I mean,) but vulnerable, and realistic, but very enthusiastic and personal? I don’t think I even have the right words to properly and fully describe what all I like about this fic, but what I do know is that I like it a lot, haha. 
I like that it shows sex and intimacy in a different way. I know it’s pretty common for undertale smut to have some kind of ecto junk involved - this one doesn’t. I personally, like the creativity involved in thinking different ways a person can get off that isn’t just penetration. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s in here too, but that comes a little bit later.) 
I’m also s Big Fan of the sf sans interpretation here. It’s like a soft swapfell, one of my favourite version of him. I said it already, but there’s so many ways a person can go with his character, and I really really like the worldbuilding. It’s a nice subtle nod told through the characters. I love his relationship he has with Alphys, it all feels so incredibly in line with the character, even though he’s a swapfell version, he still does have some sort of friendship with her – even if to him it’s under a guise. To me, it’s one of those things that you can see the core traits that make him a sans, and that’s a hard needle to thread! Just an all around great character study. 
ALSO, I think I have a particular penchant for MC’s with oddly specific niche jobs?? In my heart of hearts, Pixy’s (the name of the arcade MC owns in Play with Me) is like right next door to Faunas (the name of the pot store my MC owns in Into The Weeds.) 
Warnings: i’m pretty sure this one is tagged accordingly on AO3, so i’m not going to tag it all here, just know there’s smut. 
Something Good (Ongoing, Mature) 
By skeletonlvr22 (AO3)
WARNING: No age in bio that I could find. This fic isn’t at the smut yet - but becuase of the 'eventual smut' tag, and for the sake of transparency, i’m letting you know. (I’m like 90% sure this person is an adult though, since there’s a tag thanking their husband for their help.) Do what you will with this info, you’ve been warned. 
This is another one of my current reading obsessions lately! 
I think i’m realizing I have a particular penchant for some of the lesser known au’s? (niche, I suppose?) Fellswap Gold Pap sets out on his own in only his trusty bus, to explore the surface above, away from the (over-) protective eyes of his brother. 
This is the escape fantasy of my dreams. A stray skeleton on the adventure of his lifetime, seeing the sights and the city lights. The romance portion in the later chapters is so damn cute too, it’s very much the ‘first love’, type of romance that’s very sweet and charming. (also, c’mon, who doesn't love a coming of age story?) Love love seeing a Fellswap Gold fic, and a Papyrus based one, too! People are so damn creative, I never would've ever thought of this plot for a fic, but now that I know it’s real, I love it!I I’m really not kidding when I say it’s prime escape fantasy material -  I think it would be the cats ass to have a van and travel across north america, thanks skeletonlv22 for letting me vicariously live through Pap in your fic. :) 
Warning: Only the ones i’ve given at the top! It’s a very cute story. I put it in the NSFW section b/c of the eventual smut, there’s none in it now – although, they certainly are starting to get flirty. 
Resisting the Currents (Ongoing, Explicit) 
By timeofjuly (AO3) timeofjuly (Tumblr) 
WARNING: No age in bio that I could find, but I’ve been chit-chatting with July for months now and i’m 99.99% sure they’re well above 18. It’s not my info to give out, and i’m trying to be transparent on my end, do with this info what you will! 
Edit: age confirmed in the tags!
This is easily another fav of mine for sure. 
Resisting the Currents is a reverse harem fic (with all the au’s!) but with a twist - the gf likes you too! It’s a refreshing take on the ‘reverse harem’ tag you see often in the undertale fandom - and holy shit, truly ‘only love can hurt like this.’ The relationship they have with the MC is so painful, verging on devastating. There’s love there! There is! But there’s also hurt, and a lot of it, the kind that doesn’t just go away, not on its own, anyway. I’m trying not to spoil too much, because I truly think you should read it for yourself. 
But, Oh My God, their MC? Holyshit- I have a(n aforementioned) weakness for impressionable MC’s, oftentimes, I end up loving them more than the love interest in the fics.  I can’t help it! The electrician is personable, relatable, and funny! They’re a lovable goofball with a rough past, with a history of doing the wrong things.They're recovering/recovered? (I’m not too sure which is the correct term, here,) drug addict, and they’ve come a long way! They’ve changed a lot, and I love love love to see that kind of realism in an MC. 
If you’re reading RtC (which you should be,) you can 100% see me going apeshit in the comments trying to figure out what the elections and Quinn’s deal is. (ESPECIALLY chapter 11!
(Sorry if they’re not coherent, at one point, those theories made sense in my head, but looking back on them, I think they’re more so like the crazed ramblings of a conspiracy theorist, haha.) 
This fic is in the NSFW section b/c it does have a chapter where two characters get it on, but i can’t say that’s what the whole story is about. I put it down here to be safe rather than sorry, haha. 
Ahh, fair warning, there is past drug mention, and past abuse child abuse I think? Plus, a bit of mention of religion and the negative effects that can have on a person. Read the tags just to be safe!
Shark Teeth (Complete, Mature rating)
By luluwrites (AO3) skelezbian (Tumblr)
Warning: No age in bio that I could find. If it makes you feel any better, they joined AO3 in 2012, while I joined in 2016 and i’m 24 currently. I’m not good at math, but I think we’re all in the clear here. But like always, do with this info what you will! 
I will say, this isn’t full on smut - it’s saucy, but I’m trying to keep anything suggestive, kinda together? 
Not to divulge myself too furiously here, but uh–There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about Shark teeth. C’mon. Y'all get it, right? It’s just a funny, saucy little number! A funny moment that happens between couples that we get to see. There’s so many different interpretations on the fellswaps, (I know i’ve said it a lot,) but Lulu’s just happens to be one of my favourites interpretations!! Sf Sans is a very precarious character, and I think Lulu does a good job showing that the swaps can be written in a multitude of ways, he doesn’t just have to be the dickhead all the time, lmao. They really do a good job showing how he shines, y’know?
Warning: teeth and/or biting? Not full on smut, or anything, but it is saucy. So, take that into consideration. 
The Fulfilling Ordeal of Being Known (Complete, explicit) 
By nighttimepixels (tumblr) / // active on twitter lethalhoopla (age mention in bio here) 
Ohhh, for all my sapphics out there – you’re going to love this. 
Blade (fem  horrortale sans, who’s apart of her ‘Lillytale’ au, a sapphic take on all the au’s,) and MC settling down for a nice night in, MC playing breath of the wild (BIG UPPS, great game, lol) while Blade plays some games of their own - hopefully you get the picture. 
Just some great lady-lovin’ smut! Size difference! If you love the pillow princess treatment, this is the fic for you.
Warnings: (Lesbians? Queers?) really going to town on each other, def NSFW. Check the tags before reading, it’s nothing Dead Dove, or anything - just want you to be aware. 
mothiepixie (tumblr / age in bio here)
mothiepixie (twitter, age in bio here too) 
No fic to tag, but their art? AHHHHH. They’re more active on twitter than tumblr since The Ban, but ohhh their art is very, very good. Very great if you like fictional hunky men, and beautiful shapely ladies. 
Warnings: tasteful (shameless) smut, you’ve been warned, lol
Woof. That was a lot of typing. If you made it this far, circle back to one of the recommendations above and get to reading!
12 notes · View notes
tlgtw · 7 months ago
Note
Aside fromsoft, are there any fantasy game settings/stories you're into?
Like what was the first game that pulled you in and before you realized you were checking dialogue for inconsistencies?
Zoooooomg, I *wish* had any other answer for this but the first game that "pulled me in" indeed WAS a Fromsoft game; and it was Bloodborne.
This came around a few months after it came out, (Meaning I was 14.) and I'd wanted Bloodborne the whole time because of how wicked fucking awesome it looked. (even if perhaps I was a little too young for it.)
I can't remember how, but by some means or another leading up to or concurrently with Bloodborne's initial release I got into all the "Loretubers" from that time, as they're known now.
VaatiVidya of course--most likely he was the first person I ended up watching, but also the other ones. Like the one who wrote that big book about it basically called like "The Paleblood Hunt" or something, and a few others!
The most significant of which I can tell you for a fact was the 'late' Jerks Sans Frontieres.
Her videos shot straight into my spinal cord because she wasn't a summarizer. She, in a similar sense that I am now, was a detective.
At that point I was still purely an audience-member for that latent genre of YouTube videos. As the consumer I enjoyed all of them, but I liked her's best. And I must've rewatched each of her Bloodborne videos at least a half-dozen times before I finally got my hands on the game myself--for my 15th birthday--and I got *so* scared by my experience in Central Yharnam that I think it took me days to pick up the controller again the second time.
I legitimately considered returning it! It was my first FromSoft game. I'd never played something that just, say, *didn't* have background music all the time, for example. I remember it still, clear as day, how unnerving it was just walking around the early areas hearing just your footsteps and the background rumble and when I was unlucky the screaming sounds of the crows and other enemies.
Precisely, when I first came up that ladder to the Central Yharnam checkpoint, when I heard the scream of the Cleric Beast, it scared me out of my wits so goddamn hard that I stopped moving for like 15 seconds.
I was still *just* turned 15, but at that point I had watched all of Bloodborne over and over again like 80 times. I'd watched tutorials and build guides and cheese strats and weapon movesets and everything else I could about that game, before I finally got my hands on it. I thought I would be, at least, ultimately okay. Cause I would still know everything I'd have to do.
I was wrong.
But I did get through it, hahaha.
In-fact I ended up getting through it so hard that by the time I got my hands on the actual DLC, my main save file was in NG++. So the first time I beat The Old Hunters was in NG++.
Fortunately I was very grinded-up so I think ultimately the experience balanced out.
And nowadays I've beaten Bloodborne so many times that I have the entire level of Central Yharnam actually memorized. Until a few years ago could've draw an accurate map of it from memory (and I have).
With Bloodborne being my introduction, as it were, to the concept of Videogame Story Explained Videos, it was also my introduction to the concept of seriously reading a videogame's story in the first place.
What this wasn't, yet, was me actually going in *myself* to actually cross-reference item descriptions and dialogue, for my *own* understanding. You don't do that sorta thing unless you're specifically involved in discussion. And I was involved in *no* discussions in 2015, or 2016, or '17 or '18 or '19 or anything all the way up to until 2022, because online I have the tendencies of a weird hermit.
Although that is me exaggerating. In truth prior to my dealings with Elden Ring I had been a Redditor and I talked (argued) about the story details of Little Nightmares 1 and 2 (My favourite games.) on the subreddit for those games. By then I had already become the kind of person I am still now, most of all in my disinterest in finding any answers regarding a fictional story that can't account for every extant element... of that story. (As you've seen, and will see more of in Episode X of ERwSET. When an idea I have appears to conflict with work in subject, I drop the idea. And develop one that doesn't conflict with it instead. This is opposed to the alternative of making up reasons or justification to keep the initial idea regardless)
No doubt doing that instead would probably make me a lot more content to make money with... Personally, doing so isn't engaging to me, because I am already someone who writes fiction. And in my opinion, "Videogame Story Explained Videos" are fundamentally a non-fiction genre of video, and for me are more interesting in general when they conform to that, because they interface directly with the media itself, and the material that media's author's put into it. Rather than just the individual video creator's personal experience of that media, of that material.
In part this comes from my background as someone who writes poetry and fiction. Of course.
*Of course,* an author who writes and puts meanings into material themselves, finds themselves more interested dissecting the material and creative decisions of *other authors,* who do the same thing, as opposed to the material and creative decisions of just *other readers.* Who most of them don't--generally maintaining more humane professions and areas of expertise instead.
And probably this is rooted into my tendencies as a 'weird hermit,' too. But, from my perspective, if I wanted to see what a fellow member of the audience thinks are the inner working of this character or imagines regarding the off-screen elements of a story, I would read their fanfiction.
...
...
That is of course reductive, but I think saying it like that is really funny, so that's why I'll be still saying it xd.
"Everyone consumes, but not everyone makes," you could say. The same way there are less farmers than people in the world. There are less writers than readers in the world. When I analyze a work of fiction, underneath it all what I'm looking for is to see what decisions the authors made, for *their final product:* "What does that do?" "What does this do?" "If it was different, what would that make?" "What does this matter? Does it?"
"Would I do this too?"
And this interest excludes the question of 'why,' predominantly. I'm not interested so much in wanting to know 'why,' because the only way to learn that is if the author themselves actually decides to share "why." I'm interested just in what the final decisions "are."
"Why'd the author decide to make this character do this?" Well, maybe they were really hungry that day. Or maybe they saw an ad on TV. Or maybe they were talking to their friend about something unrelated and their friend happened to say a phrase in a peculiar and cool way and the author decided he wanted to make use of that, too. And everything else that encompasses the spectrum of the human experience.
"Why" is whatever it wants, it's not like it would change what the final product "is," right?
And of course this doesn't preclude the fact that author's can just *lie* about their motivations too. For that reason, actually trying to find out 'why' is generally an impossible task.
And I'm not interested in pursuing those/I'm not interested in not #winning.
Perhaps this, you could say, then, is the ultimate source of my attitude. Not in the way that it's why I actually decided to write and draw and voice and edit my 80% Elden Ring lore series and 15% weird cartoon; "Elden Ring Explained with Snake-Eyes Teieruji." I did all those for completely circumstantial reasons! (And I go into detail about them in Issue #0 of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.)
Nor even in how my show is... the way it is! 'Cause even that is just me being really really slow and meticulous, (as you've no doubt suffered) and anyone can act like that~!
But it is, perhaps, what made me come up with the idea of making such a show as ERwSET, at all, in the first place. (And you can also read about the *second* major exclusion in my recounting here from that same article in Newsletter #0, which was the Sekiro-related project for which Snake-Eyes Teieruji was actually created, that didn't end up going anywhere.)
You'd have be a pretty specific kind of chucklehead to actually think of doing, specifically all this; y'know?
But you may be surprised to learn that I'm normally not like this at all, when I play videogames. Most of my creative energy in such regards are channeled into my poetry, art, and fiction. When I eat games, or movies, or books or TV, I don't really feel a want to find out "exactly what the author did for this character" or "exactly what elements of this scene connect with another scene" because I guess, perhaps, I'm too occupied with enjoying myself...
Hm.
Well, maybe it'll be more accurate to say that what I'm presenting, "of myself" in ERwSET, is effectively extremely extremely scripted and deliberate.
I spend months writing my scripts. (sorry about that.) And those months include the meticulous cross-referencing and fact-checking that gives those videos their noticeable pow.
It's a large amount of *work,* that that is. The desk-jockeying kind. And it's not something that can just do itself when you're relaxing playing any game normally. (I'll never just stop what I'm doing while playing a game to fact-check whether I'm currently right about something, while I'm still in the middle of playing it.
For example in my first playthrough of Elden Ring: I wasn't actually sure how Marika's name was spelled until I had finished my first playthrough. That I wasn't sure if it was "Marika" or "Merika" at the time just legitimately didn't concern to me. I just didn't pay that close of attention whenever I passed a Church of Marika or whatever to actually remember how it spelled her name, afterwards.
I actually kept a journal to keep track of all of my sidequests and stuff for my first playthrough, too! So maybe here's another example, haha:
Tumblr media
And here's one more dfbjkskjdbfbkjsdkjbfsjdsf. These are all things I actually wrote down in the middle of playing the game so reading these myself is really fucked up I just remember what I was doing when I wrote them:
Tumblr media
What I'm referring to as 'the fucking castle' there is actually what I thought the Siofra Aquaduct was, the first time I saw it, hahaha. I was even a little bummed out when I actually got to it, I'll admit. I thought it was gonna be an entire dungeon.)
In any case;
The experience of *creating* something, and the experience of *consuming* something, are just fundamentally incomparable things.
You could never figure out how houses are built by just living in one, even if you lived in one for a really long time. Right?
It's that very sort of thing; in terms of cross-referencing dialogue and noting game-wide consistencies and inconsistencies for discrepancies and explanations, no playing a game inspired me do that, or could. It was my becoming an author of fiction that inspired me to do that, and my burgeoning desire to understand the decisions *other authors* made, for *their* fiction.
"I wanna know how to do that too." Right?
Eventually this desire lead to me writing poems instead.
Which lead to me (once I finally became good enough at writing to realize--as related in that poem I flashed from highschool in ERwSET1) disavowing the written word entirely! TOO limited for me, I though...!
Pictures have WAY more pow than words!!!
And that's how I got into drawing...
(which are like *way* more powerful than words, right, like it's not even comparable, the only thing words are up-to-down unbeatable at is, indeed, non-fiction... but also in being a trillion times faster than everything else to actually work with. I have returned to the written word, since then, as you might tell. And I'll tell you that writing also has one advantage that no other skill on Earth has--and that's you can practice it using only your head. Every other skill needs equipment, lit only needs words.)
...which is lead me to my foray *now;* the likes of 2-dimensional medias like video! (visual + audio)
:DDD
But that's maybe not the kind of question you were actually asking, either... so...
Y'know... maybe it actually *is* Elden Ring, that's what 'pulled me in'.
I'm pretty far-in-deep right now in this, aren't I? And I've certainly never been this deep in something before!
How... did I get here...!?
I talk all about this in Issue 0 of the Newsletter as well but it's because of how Elden Ring served to combined FromSoftware's skills in atmosphere, the acting of the characters, visuals + audio, and gameplay, with George RR Martin's skills in actually have a coherent plot to present with those elements.
I've stated so before so I'll say so again that earlier FromSoft games such as Bloodborne and (especially) Dark Souls 3 are, to *a* meaningful extent, "not worth" looking into closely from a narrative perspective. In the way that their stories were never purposely finished.
The Soulsborne games have the reputation of having stories that are predominantly based on vibes, and that's not by accident. They are based on vibes.
Gameplay, atmosphere, acting, etc. Those are things that dictate the vibes. But they're not precise. You can't find the definitive answer to a character motivation in their boss theme, that's music.
*Power,* of course, they have in spades, but obviously not any 'precision.'
As we know, Bloodborne had a lot of cut content. And Dark Souls 3.
And as a result of the same internal situations (i.e. real life reasons like time, budget, and workforce) that lead to all that content being cut, a number of the questions you would ask regarding the plot details in those games, literally do not have answers *in* those games.
The stories of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 are ambiguous. But not in the way that there are multiple answers: In the way that there are *no* answers.
Again, that isn't by accident. The games themselves are obviously, literally, finished products. It was deliberate decisions made during production to *remove* material communicating parts of the story, for variable reasons, from what would become the finished product.
Thus, leading to parts of "the story" being, for the reader; missing.
Most people will frame this as equivalent to "the audience deciding what the truth is." And I think this is completely inaccurate.
"The audience can choose what the truth is" is when there would be multiple possible answers. (Little Nightmares 1 and 2 are my favourite games.)
"The audience can *never* know what the truth is" is when there are no possible answers.
And in my opinion they are completely different narrative outcomes. They shouldn't be equated.
...
...not acknowledging, of course, the *massive* amount of subjective legwork the word 'possible' is doing there, with those vibes-based definitions:
"Possible" as in, coherent with what is (percieved to be) in the text... by the reader?
Or "possible" as in, literally possible to be imagined by someone... such as the reader, whoever that happens to be?
The topic is only more complex from there. (All into academia and shit tho I wouldn't know I'm an art school dropout.)
And... almost definitely that's also not what you asked, either...
Hm...
Well, I ask that you forgive me.
As for *why* Elden Ring was special to me, circumstantially, such that it lead to my actually making ERwSET, the explanation for that will remain in Issue 0 of the Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.
As to *what* lead to me becoming this way, as you see before you? (Insane.) I hope I was able to answer it.
As for RECOMMENDATIONS, for games in general, that inspire ME, personally!?!?!? (Specifically, in the way that they inspired me to think about the setting and wonder about how things in there connect. These listing might look random but I'm positive they're exactly what you might mean in you including, specifically, what "settings" I'm into. Albeit, you are getting this from a poet. So... there is that as well. I hope if you end up looking into any of these that you do end up pleased with the experience.)
Hohokum (2014), for PS4 and PC
GRIS (2018), for basically everything
Bloodborne (2015), but note it standing directly *on* Elden Ring
Minute of Islands (2021) for PC and consoles
The surrealist artbook "Codex Serafinianus" by Italian artist Luigi Serafini (originally published in 1981, but still added to by him occasionally with an updated 40th anniversary edition having been released in 2021.)
Gorogoa (2017), for basically everything again
Child of Light (2014), also, for basically everything, somehow
Flower (2009), available on PC (and I really cannot overstate how important 'Flower' is to me, I didn't even know games could *be* like that, before I played this)
And of course, my all-time favourite book "The Vine That Ate the South" by the band The Legendary Shack Shakers's basically only actual member, JD Wilkes. (A book that has all-but baked itself into my genome since I first read it in highschool, and the additional 29 times I've read it since. 'Cause I have been counting. I voraciously recommend the Audible-licensed Recorded Books and RB Digital audiobook version; the narrator T. Ryder Smith's voice is a trillion bucks for that book.)
And y'know what I think I'm wanting to mirror this answer directly into the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter itself. Not all my readers follow me on Tumblr, even fewer'll be online at the right time as to actually *see* this post this before it's buried under everything else I'll post afterwards, and I've just spent the last few hours enjoying the hell out of myself writing all 3100 words of it, gyahahahhahaha!!
So, for those who aren't reading this!
Look forward towards seeing it the first time, in Issue #1 of the T-L-G-T-W Official Fanclub Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter. (The Issue that'll be available for free.)
My reader, I also hope you don't mind your ask ending up inspiring me to do this. But you might be the first of more, too.
So for now, going forward for any questions and answers such as these asked to me (even anonymously) on Tumblr blog, that activate me like this one has; *they* might just end up in the *next* Issue of the Newsletter, too...!
I can't say for certain I'll announce every that do, ahead of time.
But, maybe... you'll just be able to just... tell. Somehow.
Hm
7 notes · View notes
sneezingpotatoes · 1 year ago
Text
Hey there! Here's this little thing that turned into a big thing because I really want to post some writing but I always get hit with a roadblock whenever I try to work on one of my WIPs 🤣 So why not create something new!... for like the 15th time (literally) 👀🤣 LOL If you're seeing this then that means we dodged the WIP graveyard collection this time! 🤣 Anywayssss enjoy lol XD
"Wow, Ren! This prototype looks so amazing! Is this what you've been spending all your time on?"
"Yup. Just oneeee moreeee screw annnnd--" As he tightened the last screw, the robot made a few beeping sounds and immediately lit up with life. They both cheered with excitement as the robot immediately began to clumsily move around the room, curiosity at its peak as it began scanning whatever objects it could get it's hands on.
"I can't believe it! You've actually done it Ren!" His best friend Koji erupted, unable to contain himself as he lifted one of the robots arms and examined its face. "... It's almost freaky how life-like this thing is."
"We both did it, Koji. You helped a lot too." The roboticist exhaustedly muttered, nearly throwing himself into his chair and watching the robot curiously scan all of Koji's features.
"Well you've gotta name this thing! It's too cool to just be called prototype!"
"Hmm... PTBot A!" Ren called, having the robot make a beeping sound and quickly rush over to him. "Register new name... Ava. Ava, the Advanced Versatile Assistant."
The robot froze for a moment, processing the request before saying. "Hello. I am Ava, the Advanced Versatile Assistant, but you may call me Ava."
"Oooh, I like it! Sounds... Cute and techy... I guess? What can she do?"
"Well as of right now, learn. Her processor is still trying to finish downloading all of her basic functions and knowledge, but once that finishes, I'll start importing her advanced coding and she should be able to do just about everything we can and more. Fingers crossed."
His best friend leaned against the wall in awe, still surprised at the artificial robot roaming around the room. Although her movements were slightly choppy and robotic, she seemed to be functioning on her own accord, grabbing a variety of objects and curiously moving them around and identifying them.
"I can only imagine how she'll look like once the downloads are finished." Koji muttered.
"If all goes well, her movements should smoothen out and her biocomponents would be in more of a working order. Faster processing and all that." Ren rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking at his watch to check the time.
"Stop saying 'if', bro. You know it's gonna work! I mean just look at how great she is already!"
"... We'll see. But thanks, Koji." He mumbled through another exhausted yawn, "It's like 6 in the morning dude, I need to sleep. I know you've had some good rest but I can't be your only source of entertainment all day."
"Oh, ha-ha, very funny. You think that just because you made a bomb ass robot you're hot shit now? I knew you in middle school, you know. Don't forget that." Koji teased.
"... Ava, escort the crews dead weight out of my lab and to his office, please."
"Understood." Ava blandly responded, approaching Koji and gesturing towards the door. "Dead weight, if you could please exit the quarters, your services are no longer needed."
"Stop it, dude! She's going to remember that and actually think that's true about me!"
"That's the point." Ren said through a soft chuckle as he watched Ava guide him out of the room.
"Don't listen to him, Ava! He's lying! I'm technically your co-creator! He's the dead weight, not me!"
"I'm sorry that you feel that way, dead weight. According to my records, your office is down this hall. Allow me to escort you."
"Urrgh, finneeee."
Ren released another soft chuckle as he closed the lab door, hearing their voices disappear down the hallway.
He was so glad that Koji had so much confidence in his work, but he couldn't say the same about himself. He just hoped that he built Ava properly and that everything would all work out just as he planned for it to. Only time would tell. Ren sighed, removing his lab coat and pressed the blue button on his wall, revealing a hidden temporary bedroom. Boy was he tired; 8 months of nonstop working on Ava took a lot out of him, but it was well worth it. He'd do it all over again if he needed to.
The man hung his lab coat on the railing above his bed and immediately plopped onto the firm mattress, grunting with a little discomfort. He couldn't complain though; He was super tired and just grateful he even had somewhere to lay at the moment. Before he could attempt to close his eyes, two soft knocks against his lab door are heard, followed by Ava's voice.
"May I come in?"
"Enter, Ava."
The robot obliged, entering the room and immediately scanning her creator laying on the mattress. She looked around his temporary bedroom for a moment before speaking.
"The dead weight has been escorted into his office."
"Thanks Ava... You don't have to call him that anymore. His name is Koji." Ren lightheartedly chuckled again.
"... Okay Ren, current data has been corrected to Koji... If you don't mind, might I ask what is so humorous?" Ava innocently asked, eyes locked onto Ren as his chuckles abruptly stopped once she asked the question.
"... I'll explain it to you another time." He exhaustedly muttered, already feeling his brain fog up from just thinking about explaining it to her. After an intense moment, Ava dejectedly nodded in understanding and began looking at all the pictures he had on his shelves in order to get some more information about her creator. "... Ava, I'm very tired and need to sleep. Turn off the lights, please."
"Of course, Ren. I'll do that for you right away." She gave her automated response, and quickly turned off all the lights in his lab, watching as he flipped sides and pulled his blanket over his head. "... What would you like me to do in the meantime, Ren?" She blandly asked, staring at the lump underneath the blanket.
"I don't know- keep scanning stuff in the lab or something." He softly mumbled, voice barely audible through both the blanket and his exhaustion.
"I've already scanned and identified all 374 objects in your lab, Ren. What else would you like for me to do?"
"... Just... do whatever, I don't care. Let me sleep." He sighed, irritably shifting underneath the blankets. "If anyone tries to come in, tell them to come back next week."
"Understood Ren." She affirmed, turning to leave the bedroom. Before she completely walked away, she froze and turned back to her creator. "Ren...?"
"... What is it now, Ava?"
"... Is it true that you hated artificial intelligence and robotics in middle school?" She inquired, hearing Ren sigh from the mattress.
"... Ava, register Koji's name to Dead Weight again, please." She froze for a moment before confirming the successful change. "And to answer your question... Yes, it's true, but that was over 15 years ago. I was a stupid kid."
"... Okay. Goodnight, Ren."
"Goodnight, Ava."
The sunlight peering in from underneath the closed blinds rudely awakens the once sleeping robotics engineer. He flops the blanket all the way to the other side of his bed and gives a big yawn to shake off all the sleep, almost sounding like a lions roar. A cough escapes him as his throat is dry and a little itchy from all the sleep.
"Good afternoon, Ren. I hope you slept well." Ava approaches his bedside with a smile and a glass of water, which surprises the roboticist. He almost forgot about Ava and her completion; It wasn't a dream, and her downloads must've progressed, seeing how she was able to smile now and read his discomfort by grabbing him some water.
"Thank you." He muttered dryly, immediately drinking the water down. "Ava, what is today's date please?"
"Today is Friday, September 8th. Current time is 4:27pm." She recited, grabbing the empty glass and placing it in the sink. It's already Friday? But it was just Wednesday! "You were sleeping for quite a while, so I took it upon myself to tidy up your lab. I hope you don't mind, given your last command was to 'do whatever, I don't care.'"
"... That was very thoughtful of you, Ava. Thanks." Ren applauded her through a few dry coughs, still finding it difficult to speak for long without the itchiness returning at the back of his throat.
"Would you like another glass of water?" Ava offered, noting his continued discomfort.
"No, thank you." The roboticist grabbed his lab coat from above his bed and pressed the button, hiding his bedroom once again and headed into his restroom to freshen himself up.
"I would like to inform you that 30 associates stopped by your lab while you were sleeping, including dead weight." Ava announced from the outside of the door, over the sound of splashing water. "A lot of them wanted to congratulate you for completing me." She said a little louder this time, smiling when Ren opened the restroom door and halted in shock from seeing her standing so close to the door. "I told them to come back next week, just like you asked."
"Thank you, Ava. Hey... are you able to cook by chance? I'm not sure how far along the first stage of downloads are..." Ava's face lit up at the asking of that question.
"Certainly, Ren! The download of Phase 1 is currently at 67%. Please let me know what you would like to eat and I would be happy to make it for you." Ren stood in thought for a moment, feeling uneasy with how fast the download speed was going. I mean it was a lot of data to download, but at the same time... This is only Phase 1... If it's taking this long, then Phase 2 might-- "Please do not trouble yourself, I am confident that I can prepare any dish that you would like. My memory bank holds over 30,000 recipes from around the world. So please..." She stated, attempting to reassure Ren and pull him out of his own thoughts.
"Well alright then, Ava. You've won me over. I'm a simple man so I just want an omelet over sweet rice. I should already have those ingredients in my cabinets." He mused, finding it interesting how much Ava was trying to read him.
"Yes, you have enough ingredients in your possession to make 132 of the 30,000 recipes stored in my memory bank. You should look into getting more groceries, Ren."
"I don't live here so it's fine." He chuckled, grabbing a seat at his office desk and watching Ava begin to prep his meal. She was moving more like a human now; she even hummed softly as she cooked, which made him feel a little warm on the inside, oddly enough. "Ava, why are you humming?" Ren questioned, curiously. If that was the one thing they had in common, they were both curious creatures. She paused for a moment for what Ren thought was to process the question and shortly resumed her cooking.
"According to my records, humming reduces stress. Does it bother you Ren? I will stop."
"No-no, it doesn't. I was just wondering. Please, continue..." He muttered, intrigued. "Sarabande and Polka... Great choice."
"Yes, I read that it's your favorite." She cheerfully chimed, plating the side of sweet rice. "I hummed it to you while you were sleeping. You kept tossing and turning so I thought it would help."
"How thoughtful of you, Ava." Ren acknowledged, unsure of how to feel with that information. "... Maybe that's the reason why I slept for so long."
Surprisingly, Ava gives a chuckle to the latter statement as she plated the omelet on top of the sweet rice and handed him the plate. Ren looks up at her, shocked by her giggle only to find her smiling and glaring down at him, gesturing towards the plate. "Please enjoy, Ren. I will go and clean up."
The roboticist nodded and thanked her as he looked at the beautiful golden omelet resting on top of the fluffy bed of rice. He had to admit... it did look really good. Probably better than anything he ever made. But then again, he wasn't a chef but even so, this was still remarkable for a robot that was only a day old. Ren immediately took a bite out of the omelet and smiled, both surprised and grateful at how good the food was.
"This is amazing, Ava. I couldn't be happier." He openly admitted, earning a huge smile from his robot.
"I am pleased to have served you!" She announced with a bow, face glowing with honor.
The food was hitting the spot; after sleeping for a day and a half, his body was nearly eating itself. Another hour of that and he probably would've been a pile of bones. Had Ava not been there, he probably wouldn't have had the energy to even make this meal. After a few minutes of scarfing down the plate of food, he felt a little bit recovered and energized. He handed Ava the empty dish, which she gratefully accepted and began to wash.
"What's on the agenda today, Ren?" She asked, still washing out the dishes.
"I'm not sure..." He absently replied, deep in thought. "I'll probably chat with a few people and head home. Afterall, you are my biggest achievement at the moment. I'll probably look after you and make sure all of your systems are functioning properly. Probably monitor all the downloads and keep a close eye on how you're operating for--" He paused for a moment, taken aback by the prickling sensation he feels quickly forming in the depths of his nostrils. It only takes one dry sniff to ignite the prickling into a full fledged wild fire as it forces his shoulders to rise upward from the abrupt inhale and jerk forwards with a harsh sneeze.
"Hih... H'ESSCH!" It was a snappy and a little wet sneeze, seeing how it felt like his nostrils were drooling over the burning sensation pulsing deep in his nostrils. His robot companion immediately swiveled a 180 towards the location of the sound, interest piqued and attention grabbed. She curiously watched as he rubbed at his nose and quickly searched around for something but appeared to have no luck. "A-Ava..." He desperately stuttered out, eyes closing once again from the distracting tickle. She approached him with haste, audio censors listening for his voice command. "I n-need ahh... a-HIH'EGSHHhn...!! A dissue, blease." She was frozen for a second, trying to process and compute the last command given by her creator.
"I do not understand. What is... 'a dissue'?" Ava innocently asked, attempting to repeat his audibly congested plea for a tissue in her query and trying to understand.
"A tdissue!" Ren tried to repeat through his cupped hand, a little louder this time, hoping to sound a little clearer, but he's sure he failed as he could still see the confusion on her face.
"I'm sorry, Ren. I still do not understand your request, but I see that you are cupping your nose. Perhaps you need a tissue?" He gratefully nodded his head, watching her go into the restroom and grab the tissue box. Once she returned, he eagerly blew his nose, releasing a few small gurgling nose blows into the tissues. "I apologize for the miscommunication. I should've known that's what you were asking for sooner."
"That's okay." He breathily mumbled, still massaging his nose with the tissues. "I just didn't know you moved the tissues either, but it's fine."
"Hm." She folded her arms and tapped her cheek in thought for a moment. "Were those sneezes, Ren?"
"... Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Bless you, Ren. I will be prepared next time. Thank you." She muttered, grabbing a handful of tissues and shoving them into her front pocket.
"N-no that's not necessary! You don't have to do that." He sheepishly replied, but Ava had already returned back to cleaning the dishes and was already humming again. "... Once you're finished cleaning those dishes, we can head out. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great, Ren." Ava cheered as she placed the last dish onto the countertop.
--
"Ava, lock the door please." Ren muttered, still trying to fit all of his modems and drives into his bag.
"Of course." She affirmed, grinning as she locked the door and returned to her creator. "Would you like for me to carry your bag for you, Ren?"
"Sure, thank you." The roboticist agreed, zipping up one last zipper to his bag before seeing the shoes of Koji appear directly in front of him.
"There he is!" Koji announced, looking his best friend up and down. "I would've thought you died had I not known who you are." He chuckled.
"Shut up, I was tired okay? Like, really tired." Ren muttered with a chuckle, placing his bag onto Ava.
"Guess that explains why you're making a girl carry your bag for you? Not a good look man."
"Hey, she offered!" Ren erupted defensively, coughing afterwards from the sudden change in volume of his voice.
"Everything is fine, dead weight. Please do not concern yourself with our affairs." She stated blandly, looking to Ren shortly after to make sure he was okay.
"Hey, I told you I'm not dead weight around here! Why won't you listen to me!" He sounded more like he was whining and begging Ava at this point but she wasn't budging.
"Hey, if you stumble across any crew members, tell them we said thanks for all of the congratulations. It means a lot."
"For sure, dude. Don't worry. How's Ava's progress coming along? It looks like she's matured a lot since Wednesday."
"Everything's going well so far. My only concern is that thehh-hih..." Ava glares at her creator and notices his flaring nostrils and immediately begins to dig into her pocket for the tissues that she grabbed earlier. Another faint hitch escapes him but before he can double over with the sneeze, Ava shoves a handful of tissues into his hands. "Heh--EDSSCHh!!" He blinks a few times, surprised by the whole ordeal, but before he can even say anything--"Heh'ESCHHiih!!"-- The next sneeze tears right out of him and is buried into the handful of tissues.
"Woah, bless you dude! That whole thing was so smooth. It almost looked like this has happened before."
"T-thagks... She saihh... S-she-hihh'EGDTSHH!!!" He can't even speak his sentence as the third sneeze cuts him off and he's sent back into the handful of tissues.
"Bless you, Ren. I told you that I would be prepared for next time."
"Yes, that." He exhaustedly agreed, gurgling into the handful of tissues a few times.
"Holy shit! I guess Ava really is Ava-ing!" Koji humored, watching Ava take his soiled tissues and throw them into the trashcan.
"I just hope the download finishes soon. She's still only on Phase 1."
"Hey, what'd I tell you about stressin' so much? Ava, you better keep my man in line!" Ava only gave him in a confused look in return. "I'm sure it'll all work out. Just believe, man!"
"... You're right. I'll see you around. Gonna go home and take my mind off things for now, I guess." He muttered, scratching his head and starting for the door.
"Woah, hey! We need to celebrate your big achievement!" Koji exclaimed, darting in front of him to stop him. "You can't go home yet! Let's go to the bar or get something to eat!"
"Nah, no thanks. I just ate and I'm honestly just not feelin' it today, sorry."
"Alright, don't worry about it. Text me later bro! And congrats again!"
After that, Koji left them to return to his office and the two began to silently walk outside towards his car. Ava seemed enlightened at the view of nature in front of the lab. It was refreshing for Ren to see her face light up at the smallest things he and everyone probably took for granted.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The roboticist muttered as he placed his bag into the vehicle.
"Very. It's one thing to see it as an imprinted image, but another to see it up close in realtime." She said as she touched the dirt and began analyzing it. "If only you could see all of the tiny organisms living inside just this one clump of dirt!" She grabbed a fist full of dirt and began squishing it in the palm of her hand, looking so fascinated and entertained. She would've been completely intranced had Ren not coughed into the crook of his elbow. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" She exclaimed after noticing Ren standing by the open car door watching her.
"No-no, not at all." He barely managed to say through a few more chesty coughs, which earned a mildly concerned look from Ava. "I don't mind waiting. This is your first moment outside, so don't let me ruin it." He humored.
"Thank you, Ren. We can go now. I know your body must be worn." She couldn't help but smile at what she perceived as selflessness from her creator as she was helped into the vehicle. "... Ren?"
"Yes, Ava?"
"... I'm glad you turned down dead weight's offer." She muttered softly into the window, almost soft enough to not be heard, which earned a curious look from Ren.
"Why is that?" He lightly coughed to himself after cranking the car on and exiting the parking lot.
"I don't like dead weight." The way she said that line made Ren do a double take to look at her and make sure she was still a robot girl. It sounded a bit too human-like. "But also because we will have more time to spend together. More time for me to learn from you."
"... Well, Ava, I don't want you to think that I'm the only person you can learn from. There's so much for you to learn outside of just me. I built you to be versatile. Eventually, you'll be surrounded by all sorts of amazing people that you'll learn a lot from. Including dead weight Koji." She doesn't respond, keeping her expression blank and unreadable. "... But please, don't dismiss Koji yet. He's actually a great guy once you get to know him a little better." He mutters to break the silence. "Infact, he was the one that got me back into robotics those years ago. Without him, we wouldn't even be here right now."
"... Okay. You're the best teacher, Ren."
--
"What a lovely house, Ren!" She exclaimed, scanning the entire room around her.
"I know, it's almost like I programmed you to say that." He humored to himself as he locked the door and kicked his shoes off. "I haven't been here in about a month so please excuse the mess." He stopped to wonder for a moment, finding it interesting that he was actually starting to talk to Ava as if she were a real human being. Why would a robot care about a mess or anything like that? He sighed and grabbed his head with slight confusion on what to even think anymore. "Anyway, just go ahead and make yourself at home or whatever. I'm going to take a quick shower."
"Okay, Ren!" She exclaimed, still scanning all of his belongings like a child opening presents on Christmas morning.
She felt like she hit a gold mine with all of his belongings scattered about the home. Everywhere she looked, there were new traces of his life and character; his lab was just a sneak peak of the person that was Ren Tokayama. He had many diplomas, awards and ribbons hanging on all of his living room walls. Plenty of framed group photos of him and what appeared to be his crewmates winning awards for previous machines and gadgets they built. It really was like she had a VIP pass to the Ren museum. She decides to utilize this time to tidy up his house, or atleast get started, while he's in the shower, scanning every item she touched while she cleaned.
A few moments later, she hears the bedroom door open and sees Ren enter the room with a fluffy robe on, still drying his hair with a towel and yawning briefly. His yawn is cut short as he jumps in surprise at the sight of Ava, almost forgetting that she was inside of his house.
"Oh, you startled me, Ava." Ren says, hand over his heart in shock.
"Welcome back, Ren. I didn't mean to startle you. hope that you are feeling refreshed." Ava happily chimed, placing a book and fresh hot tea onto the table for her creator. "I've prepared your favorite book and some green tea to help you relax and sooth your irritated throat."
"I appreciate it, Ava. How did you come to the conclusion that this was my favorite book?"
"I looked through all of your bookcases while you were in the shower, and this book had the most of your fingerprints on it and seemed to have the most usage... Was I incorrect?"
"No, you were correct, but... You could've just asked me what my favorite book was. I didn't want you to go through all the trouble."
"It's no trouble." She chimed, "I enjoyed it. I felt like... I was going on an adventure." Ren furrowed a confused brow, but decides not to say anything and takes a sip of the tea after putting on his reading glasses. It did feel nice against his itchy throat though, that was for sure. He couldn't help but go back for a second sip.
"How are you functioning, Ava? Status check." The roboticist questioned as he flipped open his book.
"All systems are online and functioning, Ren. Battery percentage is at 72%, with 3.25 days of runtime remaining. Filters are moderately clear. Internal temperatures are neutral." She recited, almost in a dismissive tone.
"Good, thank you. Be sure to let me know if anything happens with any of your systems." He commanded, almost like a protective father.
"Of course, Ren."
Every now and then, Ren peered up from his book only to catch Ava staring at him from across the table, fingers overlapping each other as if she were patiently waiting for something. He tried to ignore her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as her cold, unmoving stare was beginning to burn a hole into the middle of his forehead. The roboticist snuffled thickly, wiping the underside of his nose and instantly furrowed a confused brow once Ava's eyes went blank like they usually did when she was processing information.
"Umm, Ava?"
"Yes, Ren?" She replied shortly after, pink eyes staring directly into his soft brown orbs, unblinking.
"Why are you staring at me?" The roboticist asked, feeling a bit uneasy with the unbroken staring she had been doing for the past 20 minutes.
"According to my records, you will be sneezing soon, and whenever that happens, I will be ready to assist you."
"That's nonsense, Ava." Ren said through a soft chuckle, with a bit of surprise in his voice from the reasoning. "And just where did you gather that data from, missy?" He humored.
"Research." She replied, simply, borderline pouting, "And studying you, Ren."
"Fascinating." He muttered to himself in thought, "Well tell me, Ava, what data have you gathered about me that will tell you when I'm going to sneeze, hm? Humor me." Ava seemed to light up at the curiosity of her creator and smiled when he casually removed his reading glasses and sat his book down onto the table. "You have my attention."
"I'm glad you asked, Ren. Based off of my observations, firstly, your nose begins to vaguely twitch ever so slightly, indicating a soft irritation. It's very subtle and slight to the human eye, but my visual processors allow me to detect this microscopic movement. To you, I believe it would only feel like a mild discomfort, or perhaps a very faint tingling?" She was speaking almost as if she were unveiling a master plan or exposing an enemy mastermind of some sort; Ren almost bats an eye at how passionate she was about the subject. It seemed like she had something to prove. "After a while, depending on the dust levels in the area, the irritation begins to grow over time into the tickling or burning sensation that you start to tangibly feel, which might make you start to rub at your nose or sniff a little bit."
"Hmm, okay, fairly normal assessments for the most part. Go on." The roboticist muttered in a manner that indicated he was listening through a brief cough into a closed fist.
"At this point, I'm aware that you have about a 92% chance of sneezing due to your underlying illness."
"Underlying illness??? Wait, what?"
"Yes," she stated matter-of-factly with a hint of surprise as if she were shocked that he didn't know, "I did a data analysis scan on the used tissues in your lab from earlier today, which tested positive for Influenza A. Furthermore, I've noted that your body involuntarily pauses when you are on the brink of a sneeze, followed by your broken breaths, the initial inhale, and, of course, the exhale of the sneeze. The confirming giveaway that you are officially going to sneeze is the sharp tremble your nose does before your nostrils flare up." She paused for a moment in thought, staring blankly for a moment before approaching his side and handing him a light stack of tissues, "In this instance, though, I gather that you will sneeze approximately 3 times within the next... minute or so." Ren was silent for a couple of seconds, unable to configure a response to her analysis. He didn't expect her to read a whole detailed essay just about his sneezing habits.
"Simply astonishing." He finally blurted out, fairly impressed with her deep analysis and already beginning to feel his sinuses start to tingle a bit harsher than before, just as Ava had predicted. "So this is what you were working on when you were staring at me got do long?" He breathily asked, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. "I will admit... My n-nose is startinghh t-togehhIH--" He froze for a moment, eyes finally shutting before he immediately jerked to the side with a spine chilling sneeze directed into the tissues. "--HEH'EGDJISH'iu!!!" The sneeze nearly rips out of him, almost catching him off guard with the quickness of it as he was still thinking about everything Ava had said, wondering if it all actually applied. He laughed internally at himself a little as he felt his nostrils tremble and flare up just as Ava had said before, immediately bending over with another-- "H'EKSSCH...!! Wow." The roboticist exhaustedly blew his nose, briefly with his eyes still closed and his breaths scattered. "I h-had ndo idea thht... y-youhh-hIH--"
"--Are so observant?--" She quickly reached for a few more tissues, noting his twitching nostrils and subtle grimace, immediately handing them to him once his chest bounced again.
"--AH'KSSHHN!! Hihh... Y-yes." He mumbled, massaging his nose through the handful of tissues.
"Bless you, Ren." She smiled, taking joy in the surprise on Ren's face. "You created me to be."
TBC...
How knows, if I'm feeling kinda sussybaka I might make a part 2 lol
15 notes · View notes
kipaia · 2 years ago
Note
Hey tell me about your Insane Mass Effect Timeline!
Oh my god. Mary.
I know you are FULLY aware of how FUCKING INCONSISTENT AND ANNOYING the official Mass Effect timeline is. I had a night last spring where I was trying to plot out my fanfic from start to finish and was getting super irritated about it so I went through, year by year, from 2115 to 2188 and wrote up my own timeline down to the exact dates of everything I needed to know for something like 14 characters entire lives, of which I think 10 or 11 are all complete ocs; I needed to know exactly where they all were and what was happening around them all at any given time, so I went through year by year wove them into the given Bioware timeline and put everything into a legible order.
This fucking document. The timeline alone (because I did end up sticking a couple of one shots on the end because I was too lazy to switch at the time),
Is thirteen pages long.
I have a thirteen page long timeline where I could put everything in a more sensible order, stretch out some of more ludicrously condensed major historical events of the official timeline and wrote up an actually sensible working order for the first two games because frankly, the way Bioware wrote it there is no possible way Shepard could have been spotted on Omega in Mass Effect 2 in mid-February of 2185 after having been dead two years and ten+ days and still have had enough time for the events of Mass Effect to occur in 2183.
If rumors of Shepard being alive came from Omega on Feb. 15th, they'd been dead for at least two years and ten days (plus a couple of days to account for Freedom's Progress and travel), and the attack on the Normandy happened a month after the Battle of the Citadel, the official timeline puts the entirety of Eden Prime war in the span of, maximum, the first week of January 2183, which can't have been the case if they also listen 2183 as the year the Normandy was constructed.
So yeah I got mad at that and how young a bunch of the 'older' characters canon ages are listed as (Anderson is in his early 40's according to the official timeline which I do not agree with, Hackett I think is something like 53 in official timeline, I don't remember off the top of my head) when humans canonically have 150+ year lifespans now. Neither of them would even be middle aged in that case, ffs, yet we're supposed to believe they're grizzled older gen soldiers on the verge of retirement? Yeah, no. First Contact War experience notwithstanding, I aged almost everyone from the older generations up, as well as my Athena Shepard by a few years because she has a teenage kid in the first game and I needed to sort all of that out.
I love my insane thirteen-page timeline and I reference that thing like it's the fucking bible whenever I'm writing anything for my mass effect fics.
Yeah so that's my rant about the Mass Effect timeline and how my thirteen-page monstrosity came to be and I love it so much
11 notes · View notes
a-mag-a-day · 2 years ago
Note
MAG 40 - cutting apples
Ok so right off the bat I have to say, I think it's a rather weird choice to have this scenes be on the same day as the attack itself. I can't under no circumstances imagine that they were not kept at the hospital. Were they even at a hospital? Elias says "about an hour after they'd taken you and Tim away". Why on earth would Tim come back to work, Jon I get, but Tim? Also, quarantine only for like a few hours? Allowing people back into the building when the worms aren't cleared out (why is that not under quarantine???) Kind of broke the immersion a bit for me there.
Second, wow, I read so many not getting what happened to Sasha in MAG 39, am I like the super minority of a few who knew exactly what happened in that moment? Like I said, we got instructions to check up on the table again, twice! Sasha then finds that table! She sees someone! She screams! And then suddenly her voice is all wonky with that echo-effect. I texted my sister when I finished S1 and went "So, Sasha got replaced" and she was like "Oh, did you listen to the credits?" and I was "Only a bit (didn't get to the Not!Sasha part of the credits), but it was obvious what happened?" My sister also didn't get it and had the revelation together with Jon in MAG 76^^
Okay, that out of the way, lets get to it!
ELIAS "I do apologise that it took me quite so long to figure out how to actually work the system. If I’d been quicker…" - Yeah sure…
JON "Tens of thousands of… things without mouths screaming as one." ELIAS "Yes. Horrible sound… Anyway!" - insert Jeremy Clarkson's Oh no! Anyway!-meme here
ELIAS "On the 15th of March last year" - March. May. Those months sound so similar! XD
Tim sounds sooo tired and done…
TIM "I spotted the tape recorder lying on the ground, and went over to, er, see if it was damaged" - haha, that "er" XD
TIM "I have a theory, actually. I think they weren’t ready to attack when you found the tunnels. It’s like, something in the Institute slows them down, and makes them, um, heh, sluggish." - Good job! The Corruption doesn't like the Eye, doesn't like to be seen. Could be used to cure the infection. Also, yes, we know they weren't ready. That's why the Web had to help^^
TIM "And that noise they make? That squirming sound? They don’t make it when they’re in the tunnels." - Already our first clue that whatever rules the Institute has no power over the tunnels.
TIM "They were sort of… wrapping around each other, like they were trying to form a… thing, like a structure or something. A ring. / …it looked like they were trying to make a doorway." - A… WORMHOLE! Badum Tss Our first ritual! First time around I found this sooo interesting and I was kinda bummed out that it was only mentioned once when Jon went exploring. After becoming aware of the rituals it finally clicked sometime later when I remembered Worm Stargate.
Not!Sasha sounds soooo wooden! Those brief answers. Assumptions when reciting events that still happened to the real Sasha. How she repeats what Jon says. I immediately was "Oh nooo… That's gonna be dangerous."
Static during Sasha's statement btw?
JON "Well, it’s thanks to you, to be honest. If you hadn’t met that ‘Michael’ thing…" - So here's what I totally got wrong about that episode. When I listened the first time I mixed up the "thanks to" and interpreted that sentence as "thanks to Michael", like Michael helped them directly in the Prentiss attack? Of course, it's meant because of the CO2 as weakness which they only discovered because Sasha went with Michael to find Timothy Hodge.
On second thought, the way Not!Sasha speaks is actually hilarious. Reminds me of the "Talking to you like a normal human being".
NOT!SASHA "He was looking at me strangely, but we were both quiet." - Not!Sasha actually a bit compelled here? Why would she tell Jon this?
JON "Are you feeling alright? You seem a bit out of it." - Ahhhh, deep down he Knows…
YES, finally Martin/Jon interaction again. I think, here during the S1 finale I started to ship them. Their energy was just soooo obvious! A friend of mine started listening not long ago and his first question to me, after he was done with S1 was: "So…. Are Martin and Jon a thing? (Because if yes, I'm on board!)"
MARTIN "Sorry." - Hnnnggg, I wanna hug him!
JON "Ah, it’s fine. I just…" - He's so tired and in pain but he's still soft…
MARTIN "No, I mean… I'm sorry I left you." - crying and tightly squeezing Martin
JON "Oh, Martin" - I'm dying here…
JON "I know." - Hnnggg, the way he says that… / "It’s fine, Martin. Everybody’s… [sigh] Everyone’s fine…" - dying even more
MARTIN "I think it must be the old Millbank Prison, like Tim was saying before." - Ok, back to business. First time name drop Millbank Prison!
MARTIN "I hadn’t seen any worms for a few minutes, and weirdly enough that actually started to worry me, like, if there weren’t any worms then I’d gone too far from the Institute. And there was more dust in those corridors too, and dead rats, even some discarded wine bottles. At one point there was an empty packet of mint imperials" - So Martin stumbled into Leitner's territory? Leitner apparently was far enough into the tunnels that he never encountered any worms. This was touched on again in MAG 152.
MARTIN "She was shot! Three times, that I could see. Three shots to the chest." - RIP Alex. His biggest mistake.
JON "I know that now, some deeper mystery. I think Gertrude Robinson found it, and I think that is why they killed her." - He's not wrong?
Yaaaay, S1 done and I managed to listen and send in my thoughts every single day! I'm excited to see how far I can push this^^ Some stats: MAG 1 - 19 took me 11 months!!!! MAG 20 bis 40 took me 20 days (finished S1 and started S2 on August 19th 2021)
What an ending to a first season!
18 notes · View notes
inwintersolitude · 16 days ago
Text
- October 15th 2024 -
The last time you ate leftovers, what was it that you were eating? I had a leftover slice of cake that my mom made for my brother's birthday party last weekend.
What is your favorite board that you've made on Pinterest? My boards for interior design ideas and home improvement projects. That's 99% of what I use it for. But I also have a board where I save cute pictures of budgies, one for neat dreamscape/liminal space type pictures, and one for space exploration and aviation.
Do you get on Facebook or Instagram more? Instagram. I post my nature/drone photography there. I haven't posted anything on Facebook in years.
What was the last thing you ate or drank that was blue raspberry-flavored? Not a clue. It's been long enough that I can't remember.
What is one annoying thing your computer does? It sometimes gets a little hot, but that's an easy fix with manual fan speed controls.
What was the last song you listened to? I think it was one of Mozart's piano concertos.
Have you discovered any new hobbies in the past couple months? Nope.
What's the wildest animal you've ever come in contact with? I saw a few black bears back when we lived in Virginia.
Do you trust your doctor? Yep.
Do you ever question if your mother loves you? No, I know that she does.
What is your favorite type of Lunchables? The nacho ones, haha. Such trash food but I still like to have them every now and then.
Do you have someone you feel completely safe around? Yes. My husband, my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, my Granny, aunts/uncles/cousins/etc.
What church do you go to? I don't go to a church, I'm not a Christian.
Are any of your siblings' friends like family to you? Not quite. He has a few lifelong friends whom I've known for like 25+ years, so they're kind of like family to him, but I was never close with them; they're mainly his friends, not mine.
Do you have any friends who you exchange memes with? Not friends, just family. My husband and my brother.
What was the last photo you took? It was a picture of my bird that I took about 15 minutes ago. She was leaning forward to scratch the top of her head on a perch, and her butt was pointed up in the air hahaha.
Are you in any Discord servers? How often do you use them? Nope, I've never used Discord.
Have you ever had to see an emergency vet after hours? Yes, with my guinea pig Turbo back in 2014, and also with my budgie Luna in 2018. But not with my other budgie Apollo.
When was the last time you sat under a blanket on a couch? I don't remember, actually. I've always kept the house warm enough during the winter that extra blankets aren't necessary. I do occasionally get a blanket while sitting on the couch, but I don't even remember the last time I did.
Can you bite into ice cream or are your teeth too sensitive? I can, but I don't typically bite into ice cream with my teeth like it's a sandwich or something lol. It feels like an unnatural way to eat it.
Do you like snowy winter days or do you prefer rainy days? I like both! I think I prefer snow, though, because it's so beautiful.
Do you know anyone who doesn't have a middle name? Not that I know of.
What was the last thing you complained about? I don't remember the last thing I outwardly/verbally complained about, but I'm currently internally complaining to myself about my glasses slipping down my nose.
What celebrity irritates you the most? I actively ignore celebrities.
Have you ever watched the Superbowl all the way through? Maybe just once or twice.
Would you like to know the exact date of your death? No, that would mentally screw me up.
What's on your to-do list for today? Not much. I need to go grocery shopping, refill the bird feeders, and clean the kitchen.
Do you know anyone who's been bitten by a snake? Nope.
Are you excited for Halloween? I guess. I like Halloween, but I don't have any plans for it.
What makes you smile or laugh no matter what? My husband being goofy. He has a great sense of humor.
Do you prefer strawberries or cherries? Strawberries.
Biggest insecurity? My TMJ disorder is giving me an overbite, so maybe that. I've found a maxillofacial surgeon, I need to schedule a consultation with him.
Have you ever had braces? Yep, when I was like 11-14. That's actually the likely cause of my TMJ and overbite. My orthodontist did a mediocre job, he fixed the gaps in my teeth but he didn't do anything about my malocclusion. I think the only reason my parents chose him is because they already knew him, he went to their church and he also bought our old house from them back in the 90s. Now I'll probably need braces again, or Invisalign, to fix the malocclusion.
Do you feel awkward using public transportation? I only use it while traveling around other areas. Like the Tube in London, or trains around Dublin or Chicago. Never felt awkward though.
Describe your mom with one word. Outgoing.
Would you rather bake a cake or cookies? Either one I guess.
What curse word do you use most? Fuck or shit.
Were you always one of those kids who got in trouble with everyone around? No, I was too shy to get into much trouble haha.
When was the last time you took a nap? Did it relax you any? I think it was two Saturdays ago, after we got home from the farmer's market and before going over to my brother and sister-in-law's house. It helped a ton. I hadn't slept well the night before and I definitely needed it.
Is there a secret you’ve never told your parents? Yep.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever been through? The acoustic shock injury that I sustained at my former job, and the permanent damage it has done to my hearing. It gave me tinnitus and noise-induced inner ear nerve pain. I think I have a bit of PTSD from it. Loud noises make me panicky because I'm terrified of further hearing damage and my tinnitus/hyperacusis getting even worse.
Do you like fast food or does it disgust you? It depends. I know all of it is super unhealthy of course, and most of it grosses me out, but there are a few things that I do like.
Who was the last person you kissed? My husband.
What’s your favourite alcoholic drink? Gin and tonic.
Do you like the smell of BBQs? Yep.
Do you crash on people’s sofas often? No.
Do wasps scare you? Only if they're near me lol. Or in my house. I found one in my house back in May and it kind of freaked me out because I didn't know how it got in, or if there were more of them.
Have you ever worn flip flops in the snow? I probably have.
Has anyone ever told you that you & your significant other could be siblings? Have they ever assumed you were siblings? Nope, we don't look that similar. I'm very clearly of British descent, whereas he's very clearly of German descent.
Have you ever heard people having sex in the next room? Nope.
Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No.
Have you ever lost your voice? Yeah, but only a few times that I can remember.
Museum date or aquarium date? Either one.
Did you ever have an emo or scene phase? Nope.
Name a subject you know a lot about. The aviation industry.
Most embarrassing poster you’ve ever owned? I've never had one that I found to be embarrassing. I had a bunch of fighter plane posters when I was a teenager, and back when my husband and I were dating we had a poster in our laundry room that was of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Han Solo, and Chewbacca in a rock band performing on stage, but not even that embarrassed me haha. I love geeky shit like that.
Could you see yourself having a child with the last person you kissed? No, we definitely don't want kids.
Who is your favorite person to have random conversations with? My husband.
Who was the last person to make you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable? Embarrassed: no idea. Uncomfortable: probably my in-laws. They're rather aggravating to be around. Dull, bad manners, pushy.
What are you known for? I'm sure that would depend on who you ask.
Which of the guys you’ve been interested in hurt you the most? None of them. The crushes I had as a teenager were just mild, I never actually wanted a relationship when I was at that age. My husband was the first person I met who I wanted to be with, and he is absolutely amazing, he's very kind and loving and has never hurt me.
Do you know anyone who is engaged? Yes, my friend Cory.
What is your relationship status on Facebook? Married.
What are you listening to? I'm not listening to any music right now. Just the YouTube video that I have playing on the iPad for Luna. It's a video of cockatiels, she loves watching them haha.
What was the last thing you looked up on Google? Harney & Sons tea. I was thinking of buying more tea but I'll wait til I have a larger order to make.
Ever been kissed on the leg? Yeah.
Do you think you are ready to be on your own (have your own home, job, etc.)? I've been out of my parent's house for 16 years now.
Has your ex ever gone out with someone close to you? I don't have any exes.
Are you friends with someone who’s autistic? No. The only autistic people I know are myself, and family members. I have a cousin who's autistic, and I also strongly suspect that my eldest nephew is autistic, but my brother has never said anything about him getting diagnosed, so I don't know.
Have you ever had a Bic Mac? I think only twice. Once here in the U.S. and I thought it was gross, but then I got one in Belfast to see how it compared, and it was actually decent. Not amazing but not awful.
Have you ever been to a convention? (comic, YouTube, etc.) Yep, multiple aviation safety conventions back when I was a pilot. And also a typical nerdy comic-con type convention, earlier this year.
What is the biggest difference between you and your best friend? This is kind of tough to answer because we are very similar. But the differences we do have, mostly come down to me being neurodivergent and him being neurotypical. I'm a very literal/logical thinker/communicator, I mean exactly what I say and I tend to assume the same of others, i.e. I don't "read between the lines" of what others say. Whereas he places more importance on body language and other forms of non-verbal communication.
1 note · View note
yoonia · 3 months ago
Note
3, 5, and 38 for the ask game :)
Forgive me for disappearing right after I dropped the ask game (rip). Thanks for sending in!
3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?
Ooff haha I can't say if I have any specific ritual for writing. But whenever I'm on writing lockdown, I always make sure to have these three things: coffee (or any warm drink available as long as it's not tea), snacks, and music. Sometimes I'll need to listen to some music for a short while before I actually start writing just to get in the mood for it or catch the vibe I need to have to focus on the story. Depending on what time I'm planning to write: if I'm planning to write at night, I try to rest in the afternoon or after work and take a long nap so I can stay up all night. I think this is the part of my "ritual" that is cursed for me because I can't really control how long I'll be napping, especially when I'm writing after work or after a long project deadline and I'll end up getting more tired than I'm supposed to 😭 Another "cursed moment" would be when I pick the wrong type of music to listen to while I'm writing. The wrong music can either ruin my mood or send me to another inspiration train. Like the last time I sat down to finish Ever A Never After and played my smut writing playlist and then I ended up writing a pwp smut fic instead. fun times.
5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?
I'm not sure if these are considered a superstitions, but I do keep up some habits that I've developed since I first starting writing and sharing my works. One, I try to post my fics on Monday (my time) and avoid publishing anything on Friday or the weekends. I don't have any superstitious reasons in general. At first it's only because some days fit my schedule the best and I'm a person who works better when I have a target or order set up for myself. But then it somehow grew to make me feel uneasy when I miss a posting day or if I'm posting at a different time of the week. Surprisingly, sometimes it does matter when I'm posting something. My fics rarely get a lot of traction when I post other than those two days, but maybe that's only in my head haha. Two, I often set up posting schedules for Patreon and releases for special occasions on Tumblr based on dates related to number 5 (on the 5th, 10th, 15th, and so on). I can't remember why I started doing this but I guess setting up habits do work a lot for me to stay focus.
38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?
Lmao. Okay, so I've mentioned a few times on my writing tips & tricks posts that I don't always work in linear way and would often jump around between scenes. I know some others might do this a lot too so it might not sound weird, but there are three things that I do in my writing process whenever I get stuck on a scene or the fic in general. One, when I'm jumping around but still have no clear vision of the scene that is happening in some parts, I'll fill in that scene with dialogues. Sometimes it helps me picture what's going on, what the characters might be doing as they speak, their expressions, etc when I get the characters talking to each other. Oftentimes, I write the entire conversation from start to finish to get a scene done, and then I'll go back to add/insert the actions, expressions, some other details needed to help build the scene into something that people can see happening between then (idk if that makes sense? lol) Two, when I'm stuck in the middle, I'll often jump straight into the smut scene (when the fic needs one, or two, or more). I'm not sure why, but working on the smut scenes first often triggers my brain into filling in what events that would lead these characters into this situation. For short fics with smut, I often start from the actual smut scenes first before going back to write the events leading to it and other details needed to build the story. Three, is when I get stuck and I jump straight to the last line of the fic. One of the most helpful advice I've read about writing is that "your first line/sentence to open your story is important to gain your reader's interest." Well, in my case, writing the last line/closing line first often helps me set the tone of the story. As weird as it is, I've found this helpful a couple of times before. Although there was a time when I did this and that "last line" ended up turning into a whole epilogue (*coughs* In Motion *coughs*) so there's that haha
Additional note: learning from my own cats, I think they think of us as their silly, furless, clumsier, and maybe dumber companions. Just cats like them that walk on their two feet. That's why they never see us as their "master" lol
Ask game: Weird Questions for Writers
1 note · View note
deadratio · 2 years ago
Text
(Ghost) Riders in the Sky Ch.6
Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x fem!reader
Tumblr media
Summary: GhostRider was once considered one of the best naval pilots on the West coast. She was top of her class, and had the proof for the pudding. That all changed one day, though, when she and her very best friend are sent on a mission that turned deadly. She was never the same, and ran away from her problems. What will she do when she’s forced to face the demons that taunt her on a daily basis, and the man who she once thought she resented?
Word count: 2.0k
Warnings: Soft and sad tbh
A/N: Hey y'all! Here's chapter 6! I would like to thank everybody who has read my pic since I started it, I can't express how much I appreciate you!
Please be aware that this story, along with all of my others, will likely be on a hiatus beginning August 15th, which is when I begin my final semester for college! I will definitely still be working on my pics, just not as quickly as I would like.
I also apologize to those who I’ve tagged but it isn’t actually tagging. I don’t know how to fix it :’(
Happy reading! <3
Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Ghost woke up suddenly, lifting her head to observe her surroundings. She could only remember half the night, and it took her a moment to recall exactly what had happened and how she found herself tangled in Jake Seresins limbs. His breathing was soft and even, still asleep. She looked around briefly again, finding that they were thankfully both still clothed. She knew sometimes she could remove a clothing item or two in her sleep, and wouldn’t have been surprised if she had because of how hot they were laying on the blanket together. 
She slowly attempted to lift herself from between his arms and legs, knowing that she really had to pee, but also didn’t want to wake him up any earlier. She glanced over to the clock on the wall, finding the time reading 6AM. A sigh of relief left her lungs, thankful that they hadn’t overslept. 
Slowly but surely, she freed herself of the grip Jake had on her, pulling the blanket back over his chest. She tiptoed to the bathroom, thankful that she didn’t have to travel to the public restrooms. Finally able to relieve herself, Ghost washed her hands before stopping to think about how she was going to get herself back home in order to change into uniform. 
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the bathroom door, a very sleepy Hangman cracking the door slightly. “Hey, Ghost, I really gotta go, can I…” He said, his voice deep from sleep.
GhostRider could have melted at the sound, but she instead held herself together, nodding as she opened the door to exit. She then stood in his room, quickly finding her bag. She dug out the dress from the day before, looking to make sure Jake wasn’t leaving the bathroom before stripping her shirt and shorts off and slipping the dress on. 
She had just pulled the hem down to her knees when he entered the room again, running his hand through his hair. She couldn’t deny that he looked extremely handsome like this, not put together at all and almost disheveled-looking. They stood in a momentary silence before GhostRider opened her mouth.
“So, uh…I guess I have to get back to my house to change,” She started, licking her lips. “I know you left your truck at The Hard Deck, but is there any way we could try to get it?” She asked, biting her lower lip.
Jake studied her for a moment, noting how quickly she had gotten ready. Her hair was still in the bun from last night, a few loose strands sticking out now. He didn’t know exactly how she could look even more beautiful than she already did, but he had never seen her like this…It was a sight he wanted to get used to.
“Of course, Ghost. I don’t mind at all. Just let me get ready and we can get on our way.” He told her, turning towards the uniforms hung up. She nodded, neatly placing her garments back into her bag. She slipped her shoes on while she was at it. She heard Jake shuffling through his drawers, probably looking for a pair of underwear.
She finished getting her things all in line while he slipped back into the bathroom to change. She looked around the room, finding the makeshift cot on the floor as Jake had left it when he had gotten into bed. She decided it would be unkind of her to leave the bed the way it was, practically destroyed from the two of them sleeping in it. 
Moving quickly, she placed the pillows onto the duvet on the floor. She pulled the blanket to the top of the bed, smoothing it out. She wasn’t exactly sure how Jake liked his bed to be made, but made every effort to make it look neat. She moved the pillows back to their original location, next lifting the duvet from the ground, shaking it out. She was sure his floor was clean, considering the neatness of everything else, but knew that you could never be too sure. 
She folded the duvet into a long rectangle, setting it on the foot of the bed. She took a seat on the edge, tapping her feet on the floor. She knew he had to take his time to be presentable, she’s lived by the same rules for just as long as him. 
Jake sighed when he opened the bathroom door, looking up from the floor to see that his bed had been made, and the makeshift cot was gone. His eyes found Ghost’s, noting the nervous movement of her legs. He grabs a pair of socks from one of his drawers, pulling a pair of shoes from under his other uniforms. 
He sits next to GhostRider, his shoulder knocking hers. She looks up to him, finding him staring right back at her. She isn’t entirely sure she can kiss him just then, like she wants to. She faces away from him, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. She listens as he puts his shoes on, fumbling with her fingers in her lap. She feels his weight leave the bed and looks back up to him. She grabs her bag, standing with him.
“I already called for an Uber.” She told him, awkwardly waiting for him to initiate leaving. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, she just didn’t want to get caught leaving his room. 
Jake nods, making sure he has everything he needs before leading the way to the door. GhostRider follows behind him, stepping out after he opens the door. She glances in both directions and finds that nobody else has left their room yet, ever thankful for the grace of whatever god above granted her this peace of mind. 
Jake walks closely behind her as they make their way to the front of the base, knowing damn well that they would easily get spotted if anybody decided to take a morning run. Their trek is silent, the emotions from last night still hanging stale in the air between the two of them. 
The uber GhostRider ordered arrives shortly once they finally get to a place where they can be picked up, Jake opening the back passenger door for her. She nods to him in thanks, smoothing out her dress over her knees. Jake rounds the back end of the car, slipping in next to her.
The ride back over to The Hard Deck is just as quiet as it had been the night before, except this silence was something you could slice a knife through. 
GhostRider knew that she needed to talk to Jake about last night, to fully understand where they stood with each other. If they would go on with each other or go their separate ways after the mission. Jake looked over to her, admiring her features. He wanted nothing but to hold her in his arms forever, to be her guide and comfort in life. There was a mound of obstacles they would have to work through first, though.
They made it to The Hard Deck rather quickly, Jake leaving the driver another tip. They waved them off before turning to each other, GhostRider letting out a deep breath. She wasn’t exactly sure how to tell Jake that she wanted him for life, for eternity, as long as eternity was for the both of them.
“I’ll be right back, I’ve got to go get the keys from the lockbox.” He said to her, turning away to jog over to the box Penny would put leftover keys in from the night before. Jake had done this plenty of times, and the code clearly hadn’t changed from when he had done it last, the door opening to reveal his truck keys. 
GhostRider stood by the truck, admiring the deep blue color of it. It was a newer model Dodge, she wasn’t exactly sure which one though. She knew more about planes than she did trucks, but as long as it got her to and from this spot to her rental house she didn’t care.
Jake unlocked the doors, kindly moving to open the passenger door for her. Thanking him, she found it surprising that she didn’t struggle to get in, considering the height of the vehicle. He closed the door behind her, rounding the truck before hopping into the driver's side seat. He put her address into the GPS on the screen and pulled out of the parking lot.
Jake's mind raced as he drove to her rental, wondering exactly how things would go down now that they had both revealed their feelings for each other. He wanted her to know everything he ever thought about her, everything he loved and admired about her. But he knew she wasn’t ready, and wouldn’t be for a long time. 
GhostRider found serenity in watching the beach pass them by, the crashing ocean waves rippling in the morning sunlight. She felt comfortable in this position. Being in the passenger seat of Jake’s truck, riding past the beach…If only it could remain that way forever. 
The view quickly changed from the ocean and sandy beach to the suburban houses that surrounded her rental. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jake clearing his throat, briefly looking over to her. She met his gaze before he returned his attention to the road. 
She didn’t want to say anything just yet. She wanted to get home and be in a place where she could safely talk to him about it all. She didn’t think talking to Jake about how she felt while he was driving would be the smartest idea, so she left it be until they pulled up to the house. 
She didn’t wait for Jake to open the door for her this time, a little too eager to get inside, into a more open space. He was hot on her trail, standing a little too close behind her as she opened the door. 
“G, please talk to me.” He said when they both entered, closing the door behind him. 
She barely stopped in her tracks, standing at the base of the staircase. She contemplated what to say to him, how to say anything to him at all…
“Jake, I just-” She started, turning to face him. “I just don’t know how to do it. How to give myself to someone, even if I want them so badly it’s almost painful. I haven’t been with anybody since before the incident, and I don’t even know where to start.” She told him,  holding back tears. She really needed to stop crying or else her eyes were going to go dry.
Jake looked at her somewhat shocked, mostly because she was revealing a part of herself that likely no other person had seen. He approached her, taking her hands in his. He rubbed circles into her soft skin, lifting them to press a gentle kiss to the backs of her hands.
“G, trust me when I say this,” He says, looking down at her. “I am here for you, and I always will be. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you wanted to kick me to the curb and say to hell with me, I would respect your wishes. If you want us to do…whatever it is we’re doing, we can take it slow. I don’t expect anything.” 
Ghostrider nodded her head, looking back up at him. “Jake, I can’t explain to you how much I appreciate that. I think I just need some time to think it over. I’m not asking you to step away, just back a little bit. I’m not quite ready.” 
Jake nods, releasing her hands. Ghostrider leans up to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, so much. I’ll see you later on base. I’ve got to get ready.” She told him, turning to go upstairs.
Jake smiled sadly at her before watching her disappear around the corner. He knew it would be better for her, but he couldn’t explain the pain it brought him to see how hurt she was after all these years. He would hold out for her, though. He would make sure that she was well aware that he was there for her, and support her in any way she would allow him.
Tag List:
 @littlewhiterose @alldaysdreamer @chaoticassidy @luckyladycreator2 @et-homephone @mediocremunge @ashes-136667​ @et-homephone @revengze​ @the-winter-marvel33​ @dempy​ @philiasoul​ @patdsinner33​ @spidey-d00d​ @certifiedsimp14 @bittergomez​
77 notes · View notes
lwt28brave · 3 years ago
Text
LT2 masterpost
If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.
Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.
I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.
Possible tracks:
Copy of a Copy of a Copy
Change
Faith in the future??
369??
Possible names:
369
Faith in the future
When is the album coming out?
Your guess is as good as mine
Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?
Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.
Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).
The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.
2020
He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.
Tumblr media
(x)(x)(x)
Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.
May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.
Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.
(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…
Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:
Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.
Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^
And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:
Tumblr media
(x)
He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)
And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.
Tumblr media
(x)
He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).
COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!
These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.
I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).
So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.
---End of the Intermission---
Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)
It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!
He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)
Tumblr media
(x)
Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.
2021
Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!
15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥
Tumblr media
(x)
Tumblr media
(x)
So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.
“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.
He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!
Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.
On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:
He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.
(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.
Tumblr media
(x)
…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).
On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!
On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)
Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.
On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).
Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.
(x) And the second mention to 369.
(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".
On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.
Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.
Into May’ 21 we go.
He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).
He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.
I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.
I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.
Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.
Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.
He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.
June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.
Tumblr media
(x)
This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.
He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.
During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.
On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.
He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!
I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.
Let’s talk Change!
On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.
Tumblr media
(x)
And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.
We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.
On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.
Tumblr media
(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.
So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).
Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).
On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.
And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.
On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.
“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.
“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.
“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.
And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.
So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.
90 notes · View notes
jingerhead · 3 years ago
Note
so i just finished reading the butterfly and i need to know if you have any thoughts on the andreil reunion post-time travel week
Hi anon!! This one made me think a bit, because in that fic Andrew and Neil had discussed the week in advance. Andrew kept most of his experience to himself, knowing that Neil wouldn't reveal too much and trusting whatever wishing powers there were to come back after the time was up. I feel like it would be a happy reunion, like Neil would be relieved to have "the right" Andrew back if that makes sense. I tried writing a little scene of what I thought might happen, I hope you like it :)
Andrew woke up feeling fully rested. Immediately, his thoughts went to falling asleep on June 15th, somehow knowing that it was June 20th without having to glance at his phone. He opened his eyes, hearing Sir's soft purrs and seeing that the rest of the bed was empty, the sheets on Neil's side not rumpled for five days. Under the pillow were his knives and on his arms were his armbands, itchy and uncomfortable.
He took a moment to lay on the bed, able to remember everything that had happened that week despite his present self not being there. He and Neil hadn't parted on easy terms, but more of an understanding, and he hated to think that he was nervous in any way. Very slowly, Andrew shifted the covers back and sat up, petting behind Sir's ears when she got up to stretch at his movements.
The first thing he did was take off the arm bands and store them in the night table with his knives. The next was check his phone, confirming that it was indeed June 20th. Specifically seven in the morning. There were no sounds from the rest of the apartment, so Neil was either still asleep on the couch or out on a run.
Andrew opened the door and walked to the living room.
There Neil was, dozing on the couch under a blanket with King curled up on his stomach. He blinked a few times as Andrew got closer, and slowly a smile spread on his face. "Five days, then?" Neil asked, nudging King away so he could sit up.
"Yes," Andrew confirmed.
"Good," Neil said through a yawn. "Sorry, but...younger-you was a pain in the ass."
Andrew decided to ignore that. He already knew that he'd grown into a different person and that running into his younger self had to be an adjustment. "You can't think of something better than 'older-you' or 'younger-you'?"
"Nope," Neil agreed. He got up and looked Andrew up and down, like he was checking for any injuries. Andrew let him stare, but after a moment his stomach growled. "Breakfast?" Neil asked through a snort.
"Pancakes," Andrew demanded.
"Alright," Neil agreed. He took a step towards the kitchen, then stopped and turned to face Andrew again. "Can I touch you?" he asked.
Andrew remembered his younger self giving Neil 'permission' just two days earlier. He remembered Neil telling him 'no', explaining that it hadn't been actual consent. He remembered the panic of letting himself be so understood by another person.
But now, he could give Neil an answer loud and clear. "Yes," he said, reaching to loosely hold onto Neil's wrist as his hand cupped Andrew's cheek.
They stood like that for a moment until Andrew's stomach growled again, which made Neil smile more and step away, walking to the kitchen. Andrew followed and watched him get out the pancake mix. After that one touch, he felt like grabbing onto Neil and not letting go, because he was here and he wouldn't have to worry about any time-travel bullshit ever again.
"I want to hold you," Andrew told him. "Yes or no?"
"Of course, Andrew," Neil replied, smiling over his shoulder.
Andrew wrapped his arms around Neil's stomach so that they were pressed back to chest, held on, and breathed. Technically he hadn't gone anywhere, but this...it felt like coming home.
125 notes · View notes
abandoned-as-mustard · 3 years ago
Text
I finally devised a timeline.
Edit: I've revised some of the dates, since Felix can't come before cat blanc because marinette's further attempt at telling adrien her feelings after Cat Blanc's failed. I don't even know why I'm still trying to make sense of this show.
So Felix arrives on the anniversary of emilie's coma in season 3. Meaning season 4 ephemeral is at least a year after that. Logically. But we know there's no logic here. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️
So I've come up with my own timeline that tries to at least accommodate "canon" (ignoring marinette mentioned as 14 still in dearest family. No she's not.) Some official days would have to be changed, though. Also seasons don't matter, since they clearly don't care about animating snow in January or February.
Emilie's coma: May 2015.
Season 1: September to October. Exception of dark Cupid. Chronology a mess, probably any order with exceptions of character that must be introduced before they reappear, and animan happening early because of Nino and alya.
Season 2: October 2015 to April 2016. Again, next to impossible to tell a chronological order. Marinette turns 14 in october in Befana, and that's the last time we see Lila.
Prime Queen actually happens later, after the Valentine's day kiss. We're pretending heroes' day is a month earlier, in April. Adrien finally wears the derby hat from season 1 in style queen. Around March, Paris floods and they figure out how to modify their powers.
Christmas special: December 2015.
Shanghai: April 2016.
Season 3: April to May 2016. Lila reappears in chamelion. The first ladybug movie comes out (ignoring the "3 years wasted" comment from Thomas' self insert.) Western Christianity celebrates the athanaesus name day on 2 May, but we can slide that over a few weeks. (it's probably actually the January day for France but let's ignore that.) Somewhere, Mr Pigeon is probably being akumatised at least once or twice a day. The oblivio kiss happens somewhere here. Chat Blanc appears mid May before Felix arrives. Marinette becomes guardian.
New York: June 2016 Mr pigeon has been akumatised for the 51st time. Miss Bustier is pregnant but continues to have a flat belly.
Season 4: June 2016 to April/May? 2017 (I haven't finished season 4 yet, I swear if the last 4 episodes throw this off I'll scream). Mr pigeon comes back for the 72nd time. Marinette turns 15 in October. Probably gets with Luka after new york in May or June (why would alya try to set up her friend that's already taken? Either that or she didn't know.) This way we can pretend that Qilin actually happens early on in late June, at least right after Mr Pigeon (because protective charm), it's "more than a month late for mother's day", because Qilin returns in Dearest Family for January. In early season 4, marinette is on holiday because school's out, but she's already broken up with Luka, and they were shown riding off together from school, which ends in July. Then dearest family happens in January, because of King's day is on the 12th day of Christmas (and I don't think we can change christmas can we?) Somewhere in this, glaciator 2 happens late 2016 because they're voted couple of the year with that photo. The sequel to the ladybug movie comes out around 2017.
And ephemeral is in April, 4 weeks shy (Because 52+52 = 104) of the anniversary of emilie's coma, the 100 week mark. In dearest family we're ignoring the fact that her relatives are arguing over her being 14 when grandma gives her the motorbike. Grandma still could've been there for her 15th party (or maybe they just remembered wong). Either way, given that this show stinks of retcon, I think we can retcon that dialogue easily.
Miss Bustier is either still pregnant or has already given birth. We can excuse her flat belly because the writers already think they can excuse logic.
Total passage of time from origins to season 4 end: 19-20 months.
And there ya go, this took me over an hour to write (and days to modify). Even if the writers then write an episode with marinette's 15th later, I'm just gonna pretend it's 16 because we know they can't count very well anyway.
15 notes · View notes
Text
Love Is Blind — and Apparently A Sarcastic Asshole Too — A Symbrock x Daredevil Fanfiction
This had been quite the week thus far. First, there had been a trial of the decade with one of their clients, an innocent man accused of mass corruption, one of the last traces of Fisk-induced paranoia. The case had gone well; however, afterwards, Matt had gotten a call from good, well, make that bad, old Frank Castle, and that soured most of the next few days, damage control turning into his main priority. And now, Mrs Ramirez from over by 48th and 15th called in for Matt and Foggy to help out, quote-unquote "The nice young man who lives just upstairs." Apparently, he'd been arrested for murder.
Now, Matt Murdock wasn't one to question an elderly Puerto Rican woman's judgement, but murder was a serious charge. Just how "nice" could this guy be? Nice enough to give the impression he could never bring himself to murder?
Matt looked around the precinct in his own way, though of course without actually having any form of working eyes. The heat signatures of the dozen or so cops around him seemed like this was just another ordinary day. The heartbeats around him were, on the whole, steady and even.  Same as how the voices around him were calm. Everything he could sense in his surroundings gave him the impression of normality.
 Still, despite that, there was a sort of prickling in the hairs on the nape of Matt's neck, a counterpoint of danger belying the apparent calm. Matt gave a slight tug on Foggy's elbow, as they walked towards the box of a room their client waited in.
The sense of someone, no something, dangerous was growing stronger and stronger with each step. Matt wasn't in any position to fight in the middle of the precinct, and whatever was setting off his senses felt like it would tear Foggy apart. 
"Matt, what's going on?" Foggy's heart rate increased incrementally. The sharp aroma of fear spiked in the air. "Do you hear something?" While Matthew couldn't see Foggy's face, he could sense the disturbance in the air as his friend frowned and leaned in closer to hear Matt's whisper.
"Something is wrong. I don't know what, but something is wrong." Matt blinked. Despite the damage from the accident, the dryness in his eyes still demanded it. He tilted his head to the side, listening harder than usual. A slight noise, new and unlike anything he's ever heard, filled his ears. Almost like liquid silk sliding over bone and under muscle. It made no sense, but it was certainly very real. "I think we need to have a word with our client, but be careful, Foggy, there's… there's something off here. Something inhuman."
"Matt, I really don't like this…" Foggy shook his head, the faint breeze from it brushing over Matt's face. Matt wanted to chuckle at how expensive Foggy's shampoo smelled. There's some things you can't get unused to, he supposed. He knew he couldn't give up the organic and hypoallergenic bath products he used, not just because the cheap stuff burned his skin like battery acid. "If this guy gets me killed, I'm haunting your ass." Matt felt the warmth of Foggy's finger pointed in his face. Accusatory, if Matt ventured an opinion.
Matt huffed softly, almost a laugh, but not quite. It was too rough, too sarcastic in his overly familiar way."Just don't start messing with my clothes. I still remember the incident with my socks." Matt lowered his chin, raising an eyebrow at his friend's face, or the general direction of it. He was sure at least his smirk was well enough communicated. 
Colors were difficult to sense, used up a lot more concentration than it was worth to try to feel the warmth of the amount of light an object gave off. Hence his organization in his closet, everything strictly labeled in braille and neatly arranged. But back in college, Foggy thought it would be a funny prank to switch Matt's usual plain black socks for vivid pink ones. No one had told him for a month. 
Matt still held a grudge.
Foggy, he sensed, raised his hands in surrender, but Matt could hear the rise in his heartbeat. The traces of fear coming off of his skin were a definite giveaway, but if Foggy was nothing else, he was good at not showing his fear.
"Don't worry,"  Matt joked as they stepped through the door, his hand on Foggy's shoulder for show. "I'll protect you from the bad guys." He's still grinning when Foggy dismisses the detective who seems a little hot under the collar. Literally, Detective Wilcox was probably five degrees hotter than he should be in his face and chest. "Mr Brock, I'm Matthew Murdock. Foggy Nelson and I, we're your attorneys."
"Fuck," Eddie swore, and Matt could hear the sound again, the slippery, shifting sound he couldn't identify the cause of. "I swear man, I don't know what they think I did…" Eddie looks up, and Matt couldn't understand what all was going on with this man. His body temperature was all wrong, and there was a distinct node right over Eddie's heart that was far colder than everything else. "We… we were over by the soup kitchen on 13th street, helping out and stuff. Plus, there's a decent buck to be made selling fluff pieces about puppies and charity work to local papers. I kinda don't have the liberty to be picky about the articles I write anymore."
"And people saw you there?" Foggy asked, and Matt heard his elbows thud softly on the table. Eddie as far as he could tell, hunched in on himself, and Matt heard a soft, almost musical purr. Almost perfectly silent, and not much more than a vibration in the air. It puzzled him. "Where did the cops pick you up?"
"Two blocks from our apartment. We were coming home for the night."
"Who was with you?" Matt heard Eddie's heartbeat jump erratically, a certain sign of some sort of deception, but why would he lie? "If someone could vouch for you, Eddie, I'm sure we could get you released from this hole." Matt tilted his head, peering sightlessly at the beads of sweat on Eddie's forehead, he could taste the salt drifting on the air. "Eddie, anything you say is attorney-client privilege. We can't say anything." 
"Dude, he looks scared out of his mind," Foggy muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Matt shrugged in response, trying to figure out the sudden chill that ran up his spine. He was being watched. By who, or rather what Matt couldn't tell.
"I'm not… I'm not scared of cops, or prison." Eddie's fingernails scratched over the short stubble on his cheek, rasping slightly in an oddly pleasing sound. Matt could picture a colorless image of how Eddie looked, handsome, and oddly innocent looking. Cute, for lack of a better word. Of course, the fear lacing his pleasant coffee and motor oil scent was distinctly upsetting. "I'm scared of some bastards taking us. Taking us and…" Eddie's breath came out in a huff, and rough hands slid and fisted in short hair. The dual thuds of Eddie's elbows dropping to the metal table told Matt there was something more. "Vee doesn't deserve to be locked up in an evil scientist's lab anymore, not after how far we've come. I can't let them take Vee away, we just managed to get used to living in New York."
"Who's Vee, Eddie?" Matt tried to sound as gentle as he could be. Still, Eddie recoiled like he'd been burned. Matt sighed, taking the chair next to Foggy, and reached out slowly towards Eddie's warmth. He had no idea why he felt drawn to this guy, but the sort of vulnerability he gave wasn't what Matt expected. He had a vague recollection of an Eddie Brock who worked for the Herald about five years ago. It seemed like a totally different guy than the one in front of him now. "I promise, I'll do my best to keep them safe, but who are they? Where are they?"
"Vee is my Other." Eddie's head turned up, and Matt could sense his eyes trying to see behind the glasses. "Vee is a part of me, but not. They're my… Parasite." Eddie flinches, and Matt could sense a type of pulse from whoever or whatever this Vee was. Eddie's hand pinches the bridge of his nose, and he mutters under his breath. "I know you're not a parasite, love, but it's less of a mouthful than saying 'the blob of alien goo cohabiting my head that I'm currently dating'."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"  Foggy's chair legs scrape against the floor, grating harshly on Matt's ears, and he reaches out, holding him in place as he listens and senses the presence he'd been picking up on. There's a smell of something vague and unearthly filling Matt's nose, something organic but… It wasn't from any place on this planet. "Matthew Murdock, I don't want to deal with your bleeding heart right now, this guy is certifiably—"
"I can hear them. They're… They aren't like anything I've ever seen…" Matt smirks, huffing in a self deprecating way and tapping his glasses with the hand not holding Foggy in place. "Or not seen, as the case may be." Matt can hear the despondent sigh that leaves Eddie's lips, as Foggy seems to glare daggers into his forehead. "We can't let this guy get trampled over by the DA, Fogs."
"I don't have much to pay you with, Vee needs a lot of food. Chocolate, mostly. And tater tots." Eddie huffs, his breath tickling Matt's face. "But anytime you need a guy in the press…" 
Matt grins, a playful smirk in response to Eddie's banter. "You from around here, Eddie? There used to be a guy who worked for the Herald, back when I was a sophomore at Columbia." Matt drew closer, letting go of Foggy and leaning on the table. He bit his lip, a teasing edge to his voice. "People said he was a damn bastard, but man, he knew how to cover a story."
"Yeah, until covering a story got me kicked out of the city." Eddie seemed to blush, the warmth of his body increasing as Matt raised an eyebrow. "Tried to get people to realize the truth about some big real estate guy. Said bigwig got me blacklisted from every paper in the five boroughs." Matt grinned in response to his chuckle. "Do you think you can help me, Mr Murdock? I can't let Vee get trapped in some lab. They can't survive long outside of my body."
"I'll see what I can do. And please call me Matt." He drops his head, toying with the handle of the mostly prop cane, trying to rein in his attraction. Just ten minutes ago, the danger really put him off, and set his teeth on edge. But now, now that he could get a better grip on who Eddie was, it thrilled him. It was a little addictive, if he was being honest. Like a certain past lover of his, it called out to the devil inside him. "I'll talk to the detectives."
Matt stood, pushing his chair in. And then the waves of irritation that rolled off of Foggy came crashing down. He rolled his eyes, pretending to have a bit of difficulty making it to the door, all for the cops waiting on the other side of it. "Excuse me, officer, what exactly are you charging our client with?" Matt unerringly found the scent of sweat and stale donuts that clung to Detective Wilcox like cheap aftershave. He took just enough steps toward him to be disconcerting, and he grinned, knowing the effect that he had on certain cops. 'Spooky,' they called it. Matt preferred it that way, when said cops in question were being idiots.
"You know we don't have enough, Murdock. We've been sweating him all afternoon, and the only thing he's told us is that he's hungry. Four different times." Wilcox rolled his eyes, though he thought Matt couldn't tell. He could hear the slight noise of the detective's eyes slipping around in their sockets. He personally felt it was one of the more disgusting sounds that normal people could never hear. "However, a man matching Brock's description was seen leaving the area of the shooting. An hour later, we picked this guy up, three blocks from the scene. He was behaving suspiciously."
"Wait, go back a minute, exactly how did the witness describe the perp?" Foggy seemed to be getting on board now, after hearing the cop's arrogant dismissal. Seriously, could this guy get any stupider? "Let me guess, average height, short hair, leather jacket?" Foggy could have a mean wit when he felt like it.
"The guy was three blocks away from the scene! He matched the description!"
"And so do half the guys in their thirties, detective!" Matt snapped exasperatedly. He planted his cane on the tile floor, leaning on the sturdy aluminum with a challenging smirk. "You've got nothing, and everyone knows it. Did you check his alibi?" Wilcox's heart beat unevenly, rising in tempo. Boom. Guilty as charged, your honor. "Either you deliberately haven't done it yet, or it checks out. Which is it?"
"We haven't gotten around to it yet. We thought he'd fess up before we needed to."
"Meanwhile, my client has been denied lunch and almost dinner because you couldn't be bothered." Matt smirks as Wilcox's nails scratch at his coarse uniform. He's nervous. Embarrassed. "If you release him, maybe we won't seek any recourse."  The smirk grows wider as the detective sighs in relief. He still acted like he wasn't going to release their client, but he knew he was going to.
"Fine, get your crazy asshole outta here. He's creepin' everyone out, anyway. Keeps talking to thin air."
Eddie's face brightens, in the instant Matt pokes his head back into the room. He hears a slight chittering, as if his Other feels the same as Eddie: hopeful. "I'm here to spring you. Quick before they realize we're walking freakshows." Matt feels his own giddiness bubble up, something that he'd missed in himself over the past few years. It seemed like the antidepressants were having a little bit of an effect after all.
"Excuse me, sir, we're walking freakshows?" Eddie snarks, as he signs the necessary paperwork. "I know I'm a mess, but you Mr hotshot lawyer?"  Eddie seems to shoot Matt a snarky grin, to which Matt laughed softly, putting his finger to his lips, still grinning. Foggy is rolling his eyes behind him, and Matt just laughs harder, grasping Eddie's shoulder for support. "I mean seriously…" Eddie snickered now too, and Matt paused his voice, listening to the laughter. He'd never heard anything that sounded like that.
Then, just as the three of them were just about to greet the open air, Eddie sighed. It was undeniably a sigh born of endless suffering. "Vee, please, that's not the way humans work and you know it." Matt sensed Eddie scrubbing at his face tiredly, as if he was fighting a losing battle. "Listen, I'm not going over this again, love. You know why."
"Mr Brock, if we could make it out of the precinct, please?" Foggy groaned, and Matt threw a little smirk over his shoulder. Eddie's face heated, and Matt took his shoulder, pretending to let him lead, but steering him ever so gently. His heart rate fluttered abnormally, amid many muttered complaints to himself. Matt found it adorable.
"Listen, I'm feeling like grabbing a bite to eat," Matt offered, when they got to the corner, and he gave Eddie a little innocent expression. "Care for an early dinner?"  Foggy gave an exasperated groan, walking off and hailing a taxi while Matt continued to stand with Eddie. "I know this great place, you'd love it. Best tater tots anywhere in the Kitchen."  Matt leaned in with a wink, adding, "For Vee."
Matt was almost certain that Eddie's heart seized up momentarily. Then, he sensed more than anything a soft purr coming from Eddie's chest, like a tiger that is so fucking pleased with its surroundings it can't help itself. Eddie's heart stuttered again, and Matt heard a gulp that wouldn't have even required any extra senses. "Man," Eddie whispered, "Man, you can't just say those things. Vee… Vee is halfway to picking you up and adopting you like a stray kitten. I'm serious."
"Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can take care of myself, Vee." Matt grinned, as he heard the click of the traffic lights changing and guided Eddie across the street, down just a block from the precinct. "Right here. Found it a couple years back when I heard they had full braille menus on demand. Despite the ADA mandates, a lot of places don't bother."
Lisa's familiar patterns — everything from her perfume to the unique rhythm of her heartbeat — made themselves known in front of him. Charming as ever, he flashed a sunny smile in her direction. "Lisa?" He knew it was her, of course, but to have a secret identity and still be Daredevil and all of that, he had to keep up the act. Nobody knew that he was blind, but could still see with his other senses. "Are there any open tables?" He could tell it sounded just about dead in the restaurant, but still, this was the typical routine they had. "Doesn't sound very busy, but people might not be very noisy today." He cocked his head, shrugging as he added, "I've got a late lunch with a client. This is Eddie."
"Come on, Matt, I know you can tell it's a slow day today." Lisa's blush was familiar as the feeling of his cane in his hand, and Matt grinned behind his red tinted sunglasses. "Table for two?" Matt nodded, letting Lisa lead him toward the front. "Nice to meet you, Eddie, by the way. Matt's a good guy, he'll do his best, which really is saying something."
"If you keep talking me up, Lisa, I won't be able to play the martyr card anymore. You know how we Catholics like to suffer..." Matt paused, turning his head towards Eddie and pausing for a moment. "I can pick up the bill, if money's really that tight for you." Bleeding Heart Murdock, he always has a savior complex. Or a martyr complex. Take your pick, they're one and the same for him. 
"Nah, it's not that bad," Eddie mumbled, scratching behind his ear. Matt could hear his heart stutter with the lie. Matt raised his eyebrows accusingly. "I mean, yeah, it's a bit hard keeping up with everything when I can barely get an article published most of the time. But my old boss said something about talking to a guy who works for the Bulletin. Might be back in business full time soon enough."
"I have a friend who works there freelance. I can have her put in a good word." Matt grins as he takes a seat in his favorite booth by the front window, and flashes it at Lisa, when she hands him the spiral bound menu. "I should have this memorized by now, I've been here so often." He feels Eddie staring a little, as Matt runs his fingers over the patterns of raised dots on the pages. It's not in any negative way, not when he hears the sound of him wetting his lips, and his distinctly soft sigh. Eddie found him attractive, Matt deduces. Hell, though, half the people he met showed the same tells.
It's really hard to push people away when the horny bastards keep coming back, trying to get in his pants.
"You know, I never thought that I would be in this situation." Eddie's breath kisses Matt's face, not unpleasantly, and Matt tilts his head, still scanning the pages, even though he knew he was going to go for the chicken Caesar wrap, without dressing. Unlike a lot of other greasy spoon diners, Lucy's actually used locally sourced and organic whenever they could. "I never thought that I'd meet someone like Vee, someone who just gets me, you know, and then, then this shit goes down…" Eddie chuckles, muttering, "Yeah, baby, I know, two sides of tater tots and chocolate milk for you. Anything else you might like?" 
"I have to recommend the salads, they aren't coated with a lot of crap that non organic vegetables seem to constantly be subjected to." Matt paused at the almost audible screech from Eddie's chest. "Or there's always a nice burger…" Matt offered, a little hesitantly. 
"Vee hates vegetables. Though they hate them even more when they're "singed" as they call it."  Eddie snickered, and Matt was certain he heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen. He plastered his most charming smile on his face as Eddie gave his order to Lisa, and knew the smell was going to be unbearably strong from the onions on his client's burger. "Um, is there any way I could get an extra large plate of tater tots? Apparently, someone told me they were the best in the Kitchen." Matt could hear the shy and embarrassed smile in Eddie's voice, and chuckled softly. "I'm talking like, main course-size. I have an overwhelming love affair with fried potatoes."
"And with that order, I'm surprised you don't have heart issues, Eddie." Matt chuckled, closing his menu and holding it out to Lisa. "I'll go with a chicken Caesar wrap, but no dressing. And do you have any coffee ready?" Matt read the smile on Lisa's face, in his world on fire, and added, "You are the best waitress I've ever met, you know."
"Hard to be bitchy when you're so nice all the time Matthew," Lisa returned, wrinkling her nose adorably. "I don't know how you can just be so good to everyone."
"It's not like it's so extraordinary," Matt muttered, turning his face away with a touch of bitterness. "People are more accommodating when you're not a total asshole. I mean, honestly, it's hard enough going out to eat without a server purposely giving me the wrong menu because I decided to be a dick."  Matt huffs, a self deprecating smirk in place. "As a result, I make it a point to be the best customer." 
"It's not just that, Mr Murdock. You know how much Rich feels like he owes you for sorting out the lease issue." Lisa huffs, tucking the menus under her arm and Matt could sense her glare. "One of these days, Matthew, you're going to realize you're a good person, and I will get to say I told you so."
"Yeah, sure, next thing you're going to say is that the legal system doesn't consistently screw over perfectly good people, and capitalism doesn't solely serve the agenda of the patriarchy and the rich."  Matt grinned, softening the biting sarcasm, adding in a gentler tone, "Thanks, Lisa. You're an angel."
"God, Mr Murdock, do you flirt with everyone you meet?" Eddie chuckled, and Matt heard the clinking as he rearranged the salt, pepper and ketchup containers, probably on impulse. "Or, you know, am I just kinda special?" Matt froze, a blush crawling up his neck as he thought about Eddie's words. He hadn't realized just how much and often he used his charm. He knew no matter how interested he was in his client, it was completely inappropriate. He wanted Eddie to respond because he was interested as well, not because he felt obligated.
"I'm sorry, Eddie. I just find you incredibly attractive." Matt purses his lips, dipping his head and half shrugging. He kept his face towards his folded hands that he then slid onto the table, and tried to stifle the instinctive guilt welling up in the pit of his stomach. But at that most opportune time, what thought should pop into his head, except the phrase Eddie had used in reference to his alien ride along, 'that I'm currently dating'. So not only was he hitting on an unavailable guy, he was doing it as said unavailable guy's attorney. He was still so fucking broken. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Really."
"I liked it. We both liked it." Matt could hear the upward curve to Eddie's mouth in his words. Matt lifted his face up, trying to decipher how in the hell Eddie really felt. He wasn't lying, his heart was perfectly steady, but… "Vee sometimes wants to open our relationship, but not to just anyone. It's really like if they find someone who appeals to them, they want to either bring them home and, you know, get down an' dirty. Or there's the opposite, where they see some kid, and want to take 'em in like a stray puppy." Eddie chuckles, and Matt tries to be patient. He really needed to know which category he fit into. Hopefully the first. "Yeah, you're more of the 'bang on every available surface' type, not the 'take home, spoon-feed chicken noodle soup and read a bedtime story to' type."
"Well, Vee, I am not strictly opposed to that proposition." Matt accepts the steaming hot coffee that was coming his way with a soft word of thanks. The glass of chocolate milk across from him was very potent, and Matt smiled at Vee's soft chitter of excitement. "However, I really don't like meaningless fucking." Matt ensured the waitress he really couldn't afford to piss off was out of earshot before he made his comment. "It's hard enough toning down my senses, let alone to do it for something lacking any deeper connection."
"What do you mean about toning down your senses?" He heard a loud guzzling noise, even as Eddie talked, and listened harder for who — or rather what — was making the sound. It seemed like they were right in front of him, but he couldn't sense anything. It was almost an absence of sensation from whatever it was. But then… "Vee, take it easy, love. I don't think it's endless refills, even if they are free." The sound of skin sliding over an almost frictionless and slightly wet surface met his ears, as well as a cup being set down. Vee purred almost musically, at least, Matt assumed it was Vee. 
"Sorry, Eddie." That was definitely not a human voice. No way in hell could a human voice be so deep and tonal. "Very chocolatey cow juice. We got carried away." Eddie gave some sort of nonverbal signal as Lisa came back a final time with their meals, and the previously sensed presence melted away. Matt only realized he'd felt something in relation to the alien once the sense of it was gone. 
"Thank you Miss," Eddie intoned as Matt's eyes itched with the scent of the onions.  "God, looks delicious." Matt blinked hard, trying to ignore the chemical that comes from cut onions stinging his eyes, and took a bite of his wrap. He sighed, the food hitting the spot after so much takeout over the past few days. "That good, huh?"
"You have no idea." Matt grinned, clearing his mouth of food. "To answer your question from before, my senses are heightened from the accident that cost my sight. Things you wouldn't be bothered by; pesticide residue, chemical processing, all of that makes most things barely edible. But this restaurant uses as many organic ingredients and natural flavorings as they can."  Matt flashed a grin as he paused to sip his coffee. "And after having eaten absolute garbage for the past few days, I think I earned something that doesn't make me want to instantly spit it out."
"I have a story about eating actual garbage. It was Vee's fault."  Eddie smirked as the presence came back, making Matt's nerve endings spark with a type of anticipation that wasn't entirely unwelcome. 
"Was not!"
"Babe, I was out of my skull. You were the one who actually ate it."
"Did not know it was garbage!"
"You couldn't tell how awful it smelled?"
"I smelled the things in your brain I need. Everything else second." Matt detected a certain pout to the alien's voice, as if it resented what Eddie claimed. "Did not know rules of Earth food. Did not know it made you sick when it was in the old food bucket." Eddie chuckled, and Matt heard the sound of him petting his alien better half, a hum in his throat. The rumbling purr Matt had heard earlier started up again, actually fully audible this time. It was like a thunderstorm and a mountain lion got together and the product of the union was infinitely pleased with itself.
"I can't tell what you look like, Vee." Matt crunched down through the lettuce-y wrap, and gave a self deprecating smirk. The awareness of the alien shifted, and the smell of ketchup filled the immediate vicinity. A soft splattering noise accompanied the scent. "What exactly are you doing right now?"
"Are your eyes broken?"
"Vee!" Eddie groaned, and Matt shook his head softly. He understood that Vee couldn't quite grasp something they hadn't experienced themselves. 
"No, it's alright, Eddie. I've got enough experience explaining my condition." Matt felt a slight sense of fear curling in his gut as he lifted his hands to his pair of black-red sunglasses. With a soft sigh, he pulled them off of his face, folding the stems to place them onto the table. He felt exposed like this, called out without words, as his sightless eyes sought out the alien's presence. "When I was young, I saved an old man from getting hit by a car. But a type of radioactive chemical spilled on my face." Matt swallowed thickly, feeling a presence right in front of his face. "On my eyes, mostly. It took away my sight." Matt smiled as he felt something so soft, it felt like silk even to his heightened senses. "Is this you?"
"We can fix what's broken, Eddie. Only if you want." The deep voice was inches away from him now, accompanied by the sound of sharp teeth clicking together, and a fluid sound, like liquid flowing through air. Matt trembled at what the alien offered.
"But if I have my sight, I could lose my power to help people." He felt his own heartbeat race under his skin. He couldn't lose his gifts. He couldn't lose the type of sight that truly mattered. "I can't lose what I have, for something useless in comparison. Please, don't try to do that." Matt let out a deep breath, uncurling his fists and trying to track the movement of Vee in front of him. "Promise you won't." 
"Promise. Promise not to hurt you. Even if hurting you is helping you." Another tendril of Vee caressed his face, and now Matt trembled in a new way, as the tingling sense of danger heightened the gentle touch. Matt gasped softly, his lips parting as Vee slid across them. "Won't hurt you, Matt."
"Vee, this is causing a certain issue not really appropriate in public." Matt chuckled dryly, as the tendrils paused. He adjusted himself in his too coarse boxers, his budding erection overly heightening his senses and making his constricting lawyer clothes feel like a straightjacket. It was far too loud in what he knew was a previously quiet diner, and goddammit, why wasn't someone changing that baby two blocks over? It's been screaming for five minutes. 
"Vee, too much, love. Matty can't just be manhandled like what you do to me." Eddie's quiet words cut through the noise, grounding him amid the chaos of his senses. Matt took a meditative pattern of breathing for a few moments as Vee retreated. Slow the heart, calm the mind. Peace. "You okay? Like, you know, overall?"
Matt exhaled one last time, opening his eyes. "Yeah. I usually have a bit more warning beforehand. I wasn't prepared to feel… I mean, God, that was something else." He grinned softly, picking up his wrap, what was left of it anyway. "Warn me next time, either of you. I just need to know to focus beforehand so I don't become overwhelmed." Matt laughed under his breath, stuffing the last bite of lettuce, chicken and tortilla into his mouth.
"So… You're implying there's going to be a next time." Eddie sounded like he was scheming of infinite ways to get into his pants, and Matt could imagine a wicked glint in his eyes. It accompanied the sounds of Vee gobbling down the plate of ketchup drenched tater tots nicely. "As well as implying there will be a next time, you're telling me you liked what had happened this time?"  Matt could hear Eddie's shit eating grin, and somehow he got the feeling Vee was grinning as they devoured their heaping pile of potato and tomato products.
"I believe yes is the answer to both." Matt smirked, toying with a piece of decorative kale on his plate. Idly, he wondered about the colors of the ruffled leaf. When he was little, barely six, he remembered that it came in different shades of green and white. Even one time pink towards the stem. His smile faded a bit at the fact that he couldn't see the colors of Eddie's eyes. It was one of the definite drawbacks of his gifts and their cause. 
"I want this only if both of you want it. I don't want you to feel like you have to. I don't want it to be because you're afraid I'll fuck up your case if you don't." Matt attempted as best as he could to meet Eddie's eyes in his world of afterimages and phantom visions. The sense of Eddie he held smiled, and Matt let him reach across the table to place his hand over his own.
 "Trust me, if I didn't have moral qualms about public sex, Vee would be doing things even I don't know are possible. Seriously, they have some kind of freaky way of taking you apart molecule by molecule." Eddie's breathing hitches, a half laugh escaping as he swore under his breath. "It's the best sex I've ever had. Hands down." 
"Then why do you want me in the equation?" Matt cocks his head, angling it towards the laminate tabletop. "Why would you want to, probably, mess that up?"
 
Matt sniffed, putting his glasses back on. Putting up a wall between himself and the rest of the world. Hiding his vulnerability from those that would take advantage of it. He shouldn't be afraid of it. Shouldn't be bothered by the unease other people displayed when they were confronted with how his eyes could never truly meet theirs, and how they could never focus on an object... How perfectly blind he was, despite everything he could do.  
And the alternative to their unease was even worse. Pity. Stupid fucking pity because he was broken in ways they thought made him lesser.  
Matt started, swiveling his head from side to side, searching for any sort of  danger present. Slowly, his heart rate returned to normal. Bitterly, his lips twisted into a grin. "Sorry… I got lost in my own head a bit." Matt paused, noting the absence of Vee's chewing. He found a hint of surprise lingering when he realized it hadn't been present for a while now. "You two finished? Uhmm, I can go up to pay…" Eddie's eyes rolled. "What? I heard that." 
"Come on, altar boy. Let's get outta here."  Matt stood, carefully, and made sure Eddie wasn't going to try to make a break for it and pay himself. He could tell, from the feel of Eddie's threadbare hoodie, that money wasn't just simply 'tight' for them.  
"I'm paying. We get enough clients that don't pay in chickens and pies to let me take care of you this once."  Matt smirked as he threaded his arm through the loop Eddie offered, hiding his pleased gut twist at the kindness. "Thanks. You didn't need to, but… thanks." 
"Hey, I like you, and Vee, they're halfway to proposing." Eddie's hand squeezed his gently, and Matt smelled the salty scent of tears hovering on his lashes. "I know you don't need the help, but I'd like to offer whenever I can."  
"You don't know how much I appreciate it," Matt whispered. He tried to swallow down how helpless actually admitting it made him feel. He was fucking Daredevil for Christ's sake! He could handle simply going out to eat like any other ordinary human being. He hated how disabled his disability made him feel. Even with all of its perks.
 
This was an entirely new situation Matt couldn't help but get himself into, but it felt as if it was the right call. The only call he wanted to make.  
Matt sighed as he pulled out his wallet, mentally assessing his bank account, and then feeling the small ridges to figure out which bill was what before he got to the register. It took a large effort to focus his sense of touch so minutely, while at the same time ignoring every other sensation. He heard the cashier express his bill, and he frowned, trying to determine two twenties.  
"Hey, babe, let me get those," Eddie murmured, pulling two bills from the pocket of his wallet. "How much tip do you want to leave?" Eddie hummed, pulling out the amount Matt replied. Matt sighed, tucking his wallet away, and giving Eddie half a smile. "I know you could have managed, Matty. I thought it would be easier if I lent a hand." 
"It was." Matt tugged Eddie in the direction of his apartment, his cane hovering at the ready over the concrete in front of him as a reflex. He didn't fully need it, but it gave him a steady reference point to keep in mind. "Usually I hate it when people help me with things… I feel almost guilty that I can't do them myself." Matt sighed, leaning into Eddie's side for a bit of comfort. "But sometimes I really can't do it quickly enough on my own. Not quickly enough to not be noticed." 
"Hey, trust me, I got my own issues. I hate when people say disabled, but yeah, it's a disability just as much as anything." Matt kept silent, squeezing Vee's tendrils softly, and Eddie's arm as well. He knew this was a sore point, could hear the way Eddie's heart picked up the pace a little. "Asperger's, you know? They don't really use that term as often, usually it's "on the spectrum" or some other bullshit. Just a bunch of crap about how my brain doesn't work right." Matt bumped his forehead on Eddie's shoulder, sighing against the threadbare hoodie. 
 
"Don't make altar boy jokes," Matt complained, joking now himself. "I am one of the shittiest Catholics you'll ever meet." Matt bit his lip as he tried to fight the stupid grin all over his face. "Hell, it's something my grandmother always said, us Murdock boys got the devil inside us. She was referring to anger issues, but well, I suppose it could apply to other things as well." Matt laughed softly, shaking his head. "It's not really something about the church I've really vocally challenged, but, hey, this new pope seems to be doing it for me." 
"I've never been really religious, but my dad was hella Catholic. Caused a lotta pain for a long time." Eddie's breath tickled his ear, and Matt nodded, muttering an apology for what some asshole thought was right. "'Snot your fault, Matty. There's plenty of good ones out there, but my dad wasn't one of 'em."
 
 
"Are you going to kiss me, Eddie?" Matt whispered, sensing more than anything the door to his building just a few yards down the street. All of the patterns were there.  
Matt could taste Eddie's air, as he tangled his hand in his soft auburn strands. "I'd like you to, if… if you want." Matt curved his mouth up, a half smile on his face. He reached the hand not twined with this boyfriends' to brush his fingers over Eddie's short, gelled hair. 
 
"Just shut up and kiss me already." Matt tugged Eddie's face to his, seeking his soft lips for a brief moment before connecting their mouths with a groan under his breath.  
Eddie tasted of everything from the diner, and a hint of crappy coffee, and something distinctly Eddie. Matt leveled his breathing as the sensations spiked while his focus wavered from the act of tuning everything out. In, out, in, out. Focus. Breathe.  
He tentatively brushed his tongue over the smooth velvety surface of Eddie's inner lip, testing his own limits more than his boyfriend's. He knew Eddie was getting aroused by the spike in his scent alone. But for Matt, he took a little bit of effort to get to the same level. 
 
"Christ, Matty." Eddie gasped for air when they finally broke apart, Matt grinning like a fool at the stunned tone of Eddie's voice. He traced his kiss swollen lips, feeling the stubble beyond them. Eddie's face was a mixture of softness and hard edges, clean cut with rough corners. Matt trailed his fingers up the defined edge of Eddie's cheekbones, pausing at his temples. 
"Eddie?" Matt whispered, half nervously. He was afraid of how it would sound, but he was curious. "What color are your eyes?" He chewed on his lips, smiling despite the nerves. "I have an image of how you look, but I can't tell the colors. It's not something easily detected by touch, taste, smell or hearing." 
"They're like a bright blue green. I've heard someone say they reminded them of the Caribbean ocean." 
"I've only seen the dingy color of the harbor, but there were some pictures when I was little." Matt could picture it, a bright color, like two gems sitting in Eddie's face. "They were beautiful." Matt paused, tracing Eddie's smile before asking, "My apartment's just a little ways down the street. Do you want to come up?" 
"Yeah, yeah, I'd like that, Matty. We'd like that."
45 notes · View notes
fangirl-ramblings · 4 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
Pairing: Charles Smith x Female Readee
Word Count: 3222
Summary: Love is in the air around camp, but has Cupid's arrow somehow missed you and Charles?
Notes: The fluffiest of fluff, Reader POV / Charles POV
This @rdr-secret-cupid gift is for one of my favourite people - @12timetraveler. My sincere apologies for this Valentine's / birthday present being so late, but hopefully it's well worth the wait 😘
~* Tumblr Masterlist | Stories on AO3 *~
Tumblr media
Cupid's Arrow
Reader's POV
14th Feb 1899
You looked around to see Dutch sitting in his tent, whispering sweet nothings to Miss O'Shea while Sean was trying his hardest to win over Karen, whose icy demeanour was starting to thaw with each passing drink he was plying her with. Hell, even John had had a little too much to drink and summoned the courage to pick a small posy of flowers and present them to Abigail as a small Valentine's gift. 
You liked seeing the camp happy like this, all relaxed in each other's company; the likes of Javier and Tilly sitting next to each other as the former strummed on his guitar and filled the air with a sweet melody, or young Mary-Beth, enjoying the latest romance novel she acquired, only to tear her eyes away from the page to gaze lovingly towards an oblivious Arthur before continuing her story.
And while Micah's grumbling about it "not bein' right, someone like him talkin' to a fiiinnnne woman like her," as he watched young Lenny saying something to make Jenny giggle from across the way, was enough to for everybody to tell him to shut up, it certainly wasn't enough to dampen the mood around the place.
It was even nice to see Miss Grimshaw laugh and smile as she joined the older camp members in their reminiscences about previous Valentine's days with their own past loves, soon followed by raucous singing of filthy songs but as you took your makeshift seat of a crate at the poker table, you couldn’t but help feel Cupid’s arrow had struck everyone and somehow bypassed you. 
You had secretly hoped that Charles would have joined in with the party, but the minute Dutch wound up his gramophone Charles had disappeared into the woods to take his position on guard duty.
While you'd taken many opportunities to try to make conversation and try to get to know him better over the last few months, you still found him to be a man of few words - but you liked that about him. The camp was full enough of loud-mouthed characters like Sean and Uncle that any moment you found yourself sitting in a comfortable silence with Mr. Smith was bliss.
Tumblr media
As the night drew on and more and more alcohol was heartly consumed by all, you felt your eyes growing heavy and couldn’t summon the energy to sing along with the lyrics of “The Louisville Maid”.
   "Well as fun as this is, I'm gonna call it a night," you announced to your campmates, knowing full well that nobody was really listening. You sighed as they were caught up in their merriment and headed towards your tent… only to walk straight into Charles.
   "Whoa, careful there," he told you, giving you a small smile as he placed those big, strong hands of his upon your arms to help stop you from falling over on the spot.
Your face burned as you felt your face grow redder and with each passing second as you enjoyed his gentle but firm touch, causing you to look away to avoid staring into those beautiful, deep brown eyes of his. You hoped that he thought your flushed appearance was a result of all the alcohol running through your veins and not the thought currently running  through your mind; what it would be like if he suddenly dipped and kissed you with a fervent passion?
   "Sorry Charles, I… I… I hadn't realised you'd finished your shift already. Want a drink?"
    "I'm okay, thank you, I was gonna try and get some sleep… and I think you should too - big day tomorrow isn't it?" Your brow furrowed as you tried to rack your brain. Had you arranged to go on a job and completely forgot? Charles watched you, with a confused look. "Oh, I thought you'd mentioned the other day that it was your birthday? Maybe I got it wrong?" 
   "Oh my word, yes it is," you gasped in wonderment, "I can't believe you remembered."
   "Guess I just have a good memory for special occasions," he grinned, brushing a loose hair from your face without thinking, making you weak at the knees.
He cleared his throat and moved his hand away. "Well we best both go get some shut eye before the sun comes up. Good night and sweet dreams." 
You watched him walk to his tent, before heading to your own. Still smiling to yourself, you drew the flaps shut and fell on the cot, relieving that brief moment you just had with Charles over and over as you closed your eyes and let sleep wash over you.
Tumblr media
15th Feb 1899
As the sun beamed through the gaps of your tent, you woke up to a very different camp atmosphere compared to the night before. It was eerily quiet; with everybody still in bed, sleeping off the hangovers they'd given themselves at the party.
Deciding to make the most of having a quiet camp all to yourself, you sat yourself up and stretched - your muscles and joints aching in a way that made you laugh. Another year older today and your body was certainly reminding you of that fact with all the aches and pains you suddenly started feeling. 
A part of you doubted anybody else would be able to remember that today was your birthday but you smiled as you saw Mary-Beth hadn't forgotten; she'd wrapped a romance novel with one of her ribbons and left it on your trunk. Next to it was a little handwritten note from her, wishing you a very happy birthday and how "the way the heroine in this story reminds me of how you act around Charles, maybe if you read it you'll end up with your true love too. x"
You playfully rolled your eyes; ever the romantic, Mary-Beth had seen you gazing at Charles one day and decided you were destined to be together.
Pulling on some fresh clothes, you stepped outside and made your way towards the coffee pot, presuming nobody would have thought to wash it out and prepare it ready for the morning. Yet, to your surprise, you lifted it up to find it freshly brewed and still piping hot.
   “I figured everybody would be wanting some when they woke up,” Charles chuckled, walking behind you carrying some logs for the campfire.
   “I’d say; seems they all had a lot to celebrate,” you laughed, pouring yourself a cup. “You want one?” you asked, offering Charles the filled mug currently in your hand.
   “I’m okay thanks, I had one before I made a start on tidying the place up.” 
   “Oh trust me, I wouldn’t worry too much about that today - Grimshaw will have such a headache, she'll be far more focused on getting all the quieter jobs done," you giggled knowing from previous experience how badly Susan seemed to suffer from next morning hangovers.
He carefully placed the chopped wood next to the campfire before turning his attention back to you. "Oh I bet," he grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Actually, I have an idea that might help keep camp running smoothly and stop people grumbling.'
   "Oh?" Curiosity had gotten the best of you and you were intrigued to know what he was thinking.
   "I saw supplies were running low and was thinking of doing some hunting later… a good hearty stew might be what the others need to recover," rushing his words out before casting his eyes to the ground. "I, erm… I was wondering if you wanted to join me?"
   "What? Because I'm the only other person sober enough to safely use a weapon right now?" you teased. 
   "That's one reason, but I'd also like some good company." 
You stood gobsmacked as he turned away from you, quickly making his way over to Taima, pulling something from her saddle.
   "I… I'd like to spend time with you too, but I'm afraid my pistol is no good for hunting." You hung your head in disappointment, mentally kicking yourself that this could be your one chance to be alone with the man you'd admired for all these months - and you've lost it because you never took the time to invest in decent hunting equipment.
   "I can help you with that," Charles told you, pulling out an ornate looking bow and handing it to you. "I made it… for your birthday."
   "For me?" Shocked by his act of kindness, you traced your fingers over each of the detail engravings that ran along each of the limbs, tears starting to cloud your vision. "This is beautiful, but are you sure you mean to give this to me?"
   "Of course… a beautiful bow for a beautiful lady.” A sudden flash of fear crossed Charles’ eyes as he realised what he had just said, his body tensing.
   "You… think I'm beautiful?" Your eyes looking deep into his, searching for the truth.
He nodded. "The most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. If it's too awkward, we can just forget the hunting…"
He stopped mid-sentence as you kissed his cheek, his body relaxing as he realised he hadn't made a mistake in telling you.
   "It's not awkward at all, I've liked you for a long time but I could never work out if the feeling is mutual." You gently thumbed his cheek, "Let's go on this hunting trip and talk about this in private shall we?" You suggested as you signaled for Charles to see what you could see. 
Stood behind him was a small audience of John and Mary-Beth, both of whom were grinning over to you both. 
Charles playfully rolled his eyes and walked  you away from their gaze. 
   "Sounds like a good idea, wanna head out now?"
   "Lead the way Mr. Smith." You held out your hand and he gladly took hold.
   "Oh wait, you'll need some of these too" he reached back into his saddle to hand you a bunch of arrows… only to be confused as he heard you laughing.
    "What's so funny?" Charles asked, trying to read your expression.
   "Nothing… just looks like Cupid's arrows found me after all."
Tumblr media
Charles' POV
14th Feb 1899
   “I’ll take over here if you want,” John grumbled, clutching his face as he approached where Charles was currently taking up guard duty in the wooded area on the outskirts of camp. “I reckon my Valentine's night is as good as over.”
Charles turned to face his campmate, the moonlight showing a fresh red looking handprint across John's cheek. "You blew it with Abigail then?"
   "Yep, I pushed my luck just a little too much," John chuckled lightly, "But I'm sure I'll  survive. Go on, you go enjoy yourself… I saw [y/n] looking all lonesome up there, she could probably do with some company."
John waggled his eyebrows as Charles pretended to scowl; alcohol had given him loose lips one night and he had ended up confiding in Arthur and John about his feelings about the camp lady he'd taken a shine to. But he couldn’t hold the expression for long as a smile crept over his lips he thought about you.
   "I'll probably just get some shut-eye instead, but I have been busy making this for her." He lifted up a beautiful bow that was resting against a nearby trunk. "It's her birthday tomorrow and she mentioned once she'd be interested in learning to hunt properly."
   "You're a big old softie, ain't you Charles Smith?" John chuckled. "Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate the thought."
   “Don’t you go ruining my reputation, John,” he laughed, making his way to the clearing where all the gang's horses grazed peacefully.
Taima looked up, nickering as she saw her owner nearby.
   “Just a passing visit for now girl, but we can go out on a ride tomorrow,” he whispered to her, stroking her neck as she nuzzled against him. “In the meantime, I want you to keep this safe for me.” Charles lifted his saddle onto the hitching post that Taima was attached to, and carefully placed the bow into the holster on it. She watched her owner with curiosity, her ears pricking up as heard Charles rummaging in his saddlebag to retrieve an apple to reward his trusted Appaloosa for her loyalty. 
Tumblr media
The music was still playing as he walked back into camp, only this time it was Pearson’s accordion and Uncle’s banjo that filled the air as Miss Grimshaw sang a bawdy song. It was clear that the party wasn't ending anytime soon, but that wasn't going to stop Charles from trying to get some sleep. Heading towards his tent, he found himself looking around for a quick glance of his heart's desire, only for you to crash straight into him.
   "Whoa, careful there," he told you, gently placing his hands upon your arms to help stop you from falling over on the spot. He could have swore he felt a jolt of electricity flowing through his veins as his skin touched yours.
   "Sorry Charles, I… I… I hadn't realised you'd finished your shift already. Want a drink?"
    "I'm okay thank you, I was gonna try and get some sleep… and I think you should too - big day tomorrow isn't it?" A flash of confusion crossed your face and Charles began to doubt himself. "Oh, I thought you'd mentioned the other day that it was your birthday? Maybe I got it wrong?" 
   "Oh my word, yes it is," you gasped in wonderment. "I can't believe you remembered."
   "Guess I just have a good memory for special occasions," he grinned, brushing a loose hair from your face without thinking, before catching himself and moving his hand away.
Not really wanting the moment to be over but knowing he must tear himself away lest he stay admiring you all night, he cleared his throat. 
   "Well we best both go get some shut eye before the sun comes up. Good night and sweet dreams." 
Making the short walk back to his own tent,  his heart soared as he thought back over your reaction to him remembering your birthday. Now he couldn’t wait to see how you would react to your present.
Settling on his bed roll, he watched you draw your tent closed before allowing himself finally sleep and dream of you.
Tumblr media
Charles found himself waking at the crack of dawn, just as the last few stragglers were stumbling towards their bedrolls . Realising he could effectively have the tranquillity of camp to himself,  he gladly jumped up and set about getting ready for a new day.
Firstly he made his way over to Pearson’s wagon to grab a few coffee beans and started brewing a fresh pot. Noticing the meat supplies were running dangerously low, Charles made a mental note to go out hunting later and wondered if this could be the ideal opportunity to ask the birthday girl to join him.
While he waited for that certain someone to wake up, he had already  stoked the fires back to life and disposed of the empty bottles that were scattered all around camp before finally enjoying a short break with a fresh cup of coffee.
It wasn't until he had made a start on chopping wood he had heard footsteps behind him and smiled to himself as he looked over to see [y/n] making her way over to the coffee pot.
   “I figured everybody would be wanting some when they woke up,” Charles chuckled, walking up to her with an armful of logs for the campfire.
   “I’d say; seems they all had a lot to celebrate,” she laughed in that sweet way that made Charles’ feel all warm inside as she poured a cup. “You want one?” asking as she offered the mug in her hand towards him.
   “I’m okay thanks, I had one before I made a start on tidying the place up," he explained, walking over towards where the chopped wood was to be stored.
   “Oh trust me, I wouldn’t worry too much about that today - Grimshaw will have such a headache, she'll be far more focused on getting all the quieter jobs done,"
Charles chuckled as he carefully placed the firewood down before realising this was his chance and turned his attention back to you.
   "Oh I bet," grinning with a twinkle in his eyes. "Actually, I have an idea that might help keep camp running smoothly and stop people grumbling.'
   "Oh?" you asked, tilting your head with curiosity.
He had noticed in the past that each time you asked a question about something that had piqued your interest, you would often tilt your head in this way and found it utterly adorable.
   "I was thinking of doing some hunting later… a good hearty stew might be what the others need to recover," Charles rushed his words out before looking away bashfully. "I, erm… I was wondering if you wanted to join me?"
   "What? Because I'm the only other person sober enough to safely use a weapon right now?" she smirked, and he felt his insides flip-flop. She was so damn beautiful.
   "That's one reason, but I'd also like some good company," he told her, quickly turning to go fetch the bow from Taima’s saddle.
    "I… I'd like to enjoy your company too, but I'm afraid my pistol is no good for hunting." She lowered her head in what seemed to be disappointment.
   "I can help you with that," Charles told her, carefully placing the bow in her hands. "I made it….for your birthday."
   "For me?" He watched as she traced her fingers over the engravings he spent so much time on, hoping the tears brimming in her eyes were because she was overjoyed. "This is beautiful… but are you sure it's for me?"
   "Of course… a beautiful bow for a beautiful lady.” He kicked himself inwardly for saying it aloud, 
   "You… think I'm beautiful?" Your eyes looking deep into his, searching for the truth.
He nodded. "The most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. If it's too awkward, we can just forget the hunting…"
He stopped mid-sentence as you kissed his cheek. The feeling of embarrassment replaced by one feeling like he could soar into the sky right now.
   "It's not awkward at all, I've liked you for a long time but I could never work out if the feeling is mutual." Gently thumbing his cheek, you suggested, "Let's go on this hunting trip and talk about this in private shall we?"
He followed your gaze to see Mary-Beth and John grinning at you both as they stood by their tents. 
Playfully rolling his eyes, Charles guided you away from their gaze. 
   "Sounds like a good idea, wanna head out now?"
   "Lead the way Mr. Smith." You held out your hand and he gladly took hold.
   "Oh wait, you'll need some of these too" he reached back into his saddle to hand you a bunch of arrows… only to be confused as he heard you laughing.
    "What's so funny?" Charles asked, hoping thewhole entire moment wasn't a set up so camp could make fun of him
   "Nothing… just looks like Cupid's arrows found me after all"
90 notes · View notes
stray-kids-react · 4 years ago
Text
Polaroid
Han x Fem. Reader Soulmate au
Warnings - Swearing, mentions of sex, and Fluff that'll make you cry.
Masterlist
...
Tumblr media
Y/n's pov, November 27 2020
My mother once told me that I will know when I'm in love, she never specified what hints will cross my path... She just said I'll know.
As a young adult now, sharing an apartment with my close friend Yeji. I'm starting to become impatient with this whole game of love, why can't I just get told who is my perfect match. I'm so tired of having my hopes risen up and then crashed down onto my heart... Breaking it each time.
"Any plans today?" Yeji asked from the kitchen, making me cringe at the word plans.
I just was still recovering from a terrible break up, where I caught the supposedly love of my life slurping the life out of his assistants pussy. I won't forget the feeling of my heart completely stopping for a few seconds, as my mind told me to run and not look back.
"Yes actually, I have a date with Netflix and the leftovers in the fridge." I replied, slyly smirking as she stared at me like a worried mother.
"Well Netflix isn't going to have to wait for his turn. Because I have this guy who is really interested you and is a total sweetheart." She sighed, showing me a photo of the guy she was trying to set me up with.
"Yeah... No." I replied, beginning to retreat back to my room.
"Y/n! JISUNG TOLD ME!" Yeji announced, catching my attention from the front of my bedroom door.
"I-it's still a no Yeji." I whimpered, shutting the door harshly behind me as she sighed in defeat.
Yeji's pov
She needs to get out of this place, it's been two weeks now. All over a guy she barely even knew, I know the true reason she is hiding and she will never admit it.
Y/n is scared to see his face again, our best friend Han Jisung. The best friend that she happened to fall in love with, and moved away from after she got accepted into the university of her dreams.
They were never just best friends in anyone's eyes, not even there own. Yet they both tried to fill in the whole in their heart with other people, never realizing that all they had to do was just say three difficult words.
Y/n was in a hurry to find her perfect partner after I found mine, the man next door with the matching tattoo on his wrist. Your tattoo shows up when you are over the age of 19 and are near your soulmate, it shows up on your wrist, neck, or shoulder blade.
She didn't want to see Jisung in case that tattoo never came, they both wouldn't be able to handle the realization. But it is a part of life, and I'm not going to let my best friends live alone when they could have a chance to be in love and happy.
Han wanted to see us both while he was visiting the city, even though he knew the risk of utter devastation. That fake profile was just a set up so that she would finally meet up with Han, and she probably already knew about my plans.
I walked up to her door cautiously, gently brushing my knuckles against her door.
"Y/n... I know why you are actually upset."
Y/n pov
"Because of Han Jisung." I answered, brushing past the old childhood photos saved on my phone.
"I know that's what you were going to say Yeji, and you're right. I know I won't be able to take it if the guy I love isn't the one for me, and that all of those nights alone with him that are coded into my brain are worthless. I'm scared Yeji, I'm scared that I won't be able to think of most of my life without tearing up." I explained, as she plopped down on my bed next to me.
"You're fear will just get worse until you find out, you'll never know the result until you actually try." She replied, placing my head on her shoulder for comfort.
I let out a shaky breath as a couple tears streamed down my cheeks, she was right as usual. But I still needed at least one day to prepare myself.
"Fine, but let me rest today. I'm not going to fancy restraint with puffy eyes and bed head." I remarked, watching as a sly smile spread across her lips.
She slowly began to exit my bedroom, delighted that she finally got her way with me. Not even explaining who that fake date even was, probably just a random guy from Google. It was 11:30 at night, and all of my crying really wore the energy out of my body and mind.
So eventually sleep crossed paths with my mind and hooked up, completely losing consciousness as my memories flashed like a polaroid camera.
December 15th 2018
"I can't believe we're graduating this year, seems like we only started high school yesterday." Jisung sighed, carrying both of our bags while walking home together.
"Don't worry quokka, you'll still carry my bags for me even after high school." I teased, pinching the reddened skin of his cheeks.
"Oh very funny, and you'll still put crackers in your mouth and pretend to be a walrus." He remarked dodging the snowball that came his way.
He set my bags down on my front yard as he gathered his own army of cold fluff balls. I tackled him to the ground as we both drowned the silence in laughter, I traced my frosted mittens across his face. Gently crossing his lips as he brushed the snow chunks from my hair.
The close warmth of his breath against my face sent my heart into a frenzy, I secretly craved the closeness of him... But I never wanted to admit it in case I'd lose him.
His now glossed lips looked so kiss able, the way they pouted as he focused on my hair. And how they stretched into a warm smile that left a fuzzy feeling in my heart for years, made it only harder to stop myself from interlocking them with mine.
"I better get going bun bun. I'll see you tomorrow at school though." Jisung reassured, lightly booping my nose as he left his trail from my snowy front yard. Waving one last time to catch my attention as I was at the front door.
"Farewell loser!" He shouted, showing off that bright smile of his.
"Farewell to you as well, asshole!" I retorted, giggling as I walked into my empty house all alone.
November 28th 2020
Y/n pov
"Wake up! Time for bubble tea!" Yeji screamed, jumping on top of me as she consistently hit me with my own pillows.
"I thought we were meeting Jisung later." I sighed, looking at the red numbers of my alarm clock reading 7:30am.
"Yes we are, but I want bubble tea and to talk with you about some stuff I found out." Yeji replied, pulling me out of bed to soon push me into the washroom.
I complied to her excited energy, understanding it is pretty exciting for her.
The steaming water swallowed every inch of my skin, blocking out all of the noises outside. Only leaving me and the blank wall to stare at, droplets of water racing against each other. A flash of the mirror and sunlight clashing, sending the flash of a polaroid to my memories.
August 16th 2018
Yeji squealed as her boyfriend threw her into the pool, soon joining her in a large cannonball jump. All of his friends danced around with liquor drenching their breath, as their bodies clashed together in ways they didn't fully understand.
It wasn't my style of fun, it instead gave me a wave of fear and stress. Not recognizing any of these people, while they danced around half naked. Yeji's boyfriend decided that she had enough fun for one night, and took her home to rest.
I hurriedly gathered my belongings and rushed out the door, just as excited and horny shouts came from the pool. I was okay to walk home alone, it felt nice to be surrounded my silence for once. Even if my conscious tortured me about every bad possibility.
"Need a drive home party animal?" a familiar voice called from across the road, that voice of the man who has always had my back.
"I'd actually really like that." I replied, feeling a wave of comfort when I entered the car.
"I can tell your a bit freaked out." He sighed, throwing his bad into the backseat.
"That party was just... A lot. A lot more than I expected." I whimpered, still a bit overwhelmed from the experience.
"How about you stay at my place for the night. We'll even watch some American horror story..." Jisung suggested, even though he was shit terrified of anything remotely scary.
"I'm holding you to it quokka." I giggled, slapping his thigh teasingly.
We drove to his home as the car filled with a random playlist of songs, one landing on my favorite 'Turning Page'.
"I didn't know you liked this song." I commented, blushing softly at the tone of the song.
"I want this to be the song that represents me and my soulmate. It sounds cheesy, but it's true." He revealed, glancing my way as the car stopped in the from of his home.
The whole topic of soulmates use to be humorous to me, remembering when me and Han drew matching docks on our palms as 'our' symbol. Even taking a polaroid photo of the amazing art we drew, I still have it in my phone case.
Then it hit me, how much it would hurt to see him destined with someone other then me. That moment when he glanced back into my eyes with a shy smile, is when I admitted to myself for falling madly in love with my best friend.
November 28th 2020
I walked along the streets of our home town, hanging my mask off my chin when sipping my bubble tea.
"You know what's crazy." Yeji started, catching my focus immediately.
"I remember the moment you started crushing on Jisung. You didn't even have to tell me, I already knew." She admitted, gazing at me with only a soft warmth in her eyes.
"It was obvious by how many photos you had of him and you on your wall, and the way you looked at him as if he were your dream person." She continued, texting something on her phone that I couldn't quite see.
"Or how when he caught you staring he'd reply with 'take a picture it'll last longer'... And you always did to get revenge. I will never forget the day I saw you two as more then best friends, that was the same day when I bought you that polaroid camera for Christmas. " She replied, taking a short break as her hands nervously fidgeted with her skirt.
"That's why I want a 'thank you' later on." She mumbled, before running off and leaving me completely stunned on the bench.
"Y/n..."
September 14th 2018
"It's crazy that this is your last day here." I sighed, trying my best not to cry.
He nodded trying to smile the pain away like me, but soon caving in once his arms met my body. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, hoping I could capture his scent one last time.
"I'll still visit. I can't cope without seeing your face, asshole." He chuckled lightly, sniffling quietly when he retracted his arms away.
He stared at my features for a few long seconds, as if he was contemplating on doing something. Jisung shook his head, smiling brightly once more as he pulled me into one last hug.
As he put his palm on the door knob, I shouted his name one last time. Running across the room towards him, he turned around immediately dropping his bangs on the ground.
He instantly knew what I was going to do, since his lips molded with mine without one ounce of hesitation. His hands lost in my hair, pulling me closer and closer until there was no space between us. Jisung's lips were so much sweeter and softer then any other kiss I've had.
The sweetness was sprinkled with the salty taste of our mixed tears. Only creating more as the kiss began to end, both of us realizing we should've told each other so much sooner.
"I love you." We both sighed at the same time, smiling sadly at the bittersweet sting in our hearts.
November 28th 2020
"Jisung..." I gasped, turning around quickly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
"W-wow... You've really. Wow." He stuttered, cautiously inching closer towards me.
"You too." I chuckled airily, swallowing back my tears. I missed him so much, but it hurt too much to see him at the same time.
"Y/n... I know it's been a while. But I honestly came here because I needed to see you. I still love you, and I don't care if we're soul mates or not. I'll sharpie our own symbol on us everyday if I have to." He revealed, grasping my hands between his own.
"I'm sorry that I was being so selfish." I sighed, caving into my own tears. Regretting my fears of seeing him again, feeling terrible for torturing him just as much as I tortured myself.
"We are both scared. It's not our fault, but I just want us to accept that things may not go our way. But that won't stop us from being together." He reassured, lightly brushing frosted his mitten across my features. Glossing over my lips gently, his eyes warm and gentle as they fluttered shut.
I molded into his kiss immediately, lacing my fingers through his silky hair. Soon pulling him closer to my so there was no space between us, making sure no one could try and ruin this moment for us.
His lips still were as sweet as the first time they molded into mine, and his fingertips could still make my legs give out by how gentle they were against my skin. Every emotion flashed through my mind, all my regrets, confidence, love, lust... It all flashed just like a...
"Polaroid." He gasped, tugging my palm next to his as the ink slowly traced the same picture into my palm. The picture of the camera that captured all the moments I treasured with my soulmate, the soulmate that was everything I could've asked for.
87 notes · View notes
punkscowardschampions · 4 years ago
Text
Bea & Ro
Bea: What time were you planning to go to mass on your birthday? Ro: [a time that is ridiculously early af] Ro: You're going to be there to present me with my rosary right? Bea: I thought it was just before the party, when is that starting? Ro: Traditionally, yes, but I don't want to hurry through it as if it's not important Ro: [a time for when the party is starting] Bea: Right Bea: it's just that it was going to be a struggle to get back for the party as is Bea: That's essentially adding an extra day to my stay Ro: but you're the closest thing to a godparent I have, spiritually Ro: I don't know who else could do it Bea: and I know that you really want to do this Bea: I'm just not sure if I can make this happen, the schedule doesn't have much wriggle room Ro: okay, I suppose you can lead the last doll ceremony at the party instead Ro: I was intending to have Ali give it to me, since she made the outfits and everything but I'm sure she'll understand Bea: I don't mind if Ali does it Bea: it isn't as if this is actually traditional to us Ro: I'm trying to create my own traditions, it means something to me in that sense Bea: I'll try to make the party Bea: Yes, I know Bea: but I can't have my life revolve around it for a full calendar week Ro: I can't help when in the calendar my birthday falls in relation to your university terms Bea: Of course not but this is a lot, Ro Ro: No, it isn't Ro: it's a party that you'll try to attend Bea: I don't know of any other party you have to attend church to go to Bea: unless it's a wedding Ro: I haven't thrown any other parties prior to this Bea: You know what I mean Bea: this doesn't need to be such an event, does it Ro: It's my birthday, it's allowed to be whatever I want it to be Bea: Right Bea: well I don't know if I can come, alright Ro: well, if you want me to tell you that's fine, I won't, because it isn't Bea: What do you want me to do? Bea: The workload is insane Ro: if you are unable to cope with it approximately a month after Christmas break, what would you like me to say or do? Ro: *before Bea: Don't talk like you have any idea about the workload, firstly, that's what you can do Bea: You haven't even done your leavers yet Ro: You only just got back, that's common knowledge Ro: being snowed under is a poor excuse Bea: They set the assignments at the start of term Bea: even if I have all term to do it, would you suggest I leave it to the last minute? Ro: I would suggest you learn more effective time management some time before you graduate Ro: since you asked Bea: Please Bea: You're in a strop but don't be a brat about it Ro: you're well aware of when I was born, it's nobody's fault but your own if you can't handle your own schedule to coincide with long established party plans Bea: I'm aware it's in the middle of term, Ro Bea: and I go to school in another country and am living on student loans Bea: I'm not flying back for every little thing Ro: it's one of the shortest possible plane rides and you're more than happy to take advantage of that when it suits you Ro: or Fraze Bea: That's my business Bea: and I don't come back as much as you're trying to put on Ro: and I don't ask you to come back ever, or for anything Bea: It's clear you're only concerned about yourself Ro: for one day a year, why is that so uncalled for? Bea: Because, all this is just ridiculous Bea: you aren't Latina Ro: look for the ridiculous in anything and you will find it Ro: or if you prefer, all great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning Bea: You do it with Ali, as per Bea: you don't need me for any of this Ro: that's just as well since you can't be relied upon to take part in any of this Bea: If it was important, I'd be there Ro: it is important to me Bea: I can't say you've inspired me to make any greater attempts than I already have Ro: of course not, your mind was already made up when this conversation began Ro: however inspiring I am or am not is irrelevant because of your unwillingness to prioritise me regardless Bea: You seem pretty convinced of a few things yourself Bea: It isn't exactly the easiest time for me, regardless of my time management Ro: it's my 15th birthday that approaches, not my 5th, I'm utterly convinced that waiting at the window for you is an empty pursuit Bea: You're being dramatic Bea: and if you'd like to compare 5th birthdays with me, feel free Ro: and yet I'm the one who's supposedly being dramatic Ro: one great sacrifice and you're content to never consider making another in my honour, however big or small Ro: okay then Bea: I didn't sacrifice anything for you Bea: They died, there's no good behind us Bea: I got help, we got out of there, end of Ro: maybe that's the end of the story as far as you're concerned Ro: it's the beginning of mine Bea: We aren't even talking about that Bea: yet another topic you know nothing about and I'm not willing to endure lectures on Ro: they died on the same day, it's impossible to talk about one without the other Ro: if I were being dramatic, that would be cause enough Bea: What does it matter? Bea: Can you remember it? No Ro: that in itself matters, having nothing to remember them by except you and your memories which you're as unwilling to share with me as you are to make any time to celebrate with me now Bea: I was 4, I don't have any memories either Bea: That's how it is, there is nothing to celebrate there Ro: Fine Ro: I'll leave you to your assignments then Bea: I will send your present Ro: Thank you Bea: Right Bea: if anyone asks, tell them what you like Ro: it's unlikely anyone will given how selfish I'm apparently being and how air tight your reasons for not showing up supposedly are Ro: besides, I have enough to do without indulging in any games of chinese whispers as to your whereabouts Bea: Then you best get on with it Ro: I have my own schedule under control Bea: I've not got the time to have this petty back and forth with you and if you're as busy as you say, that shouldn't be a problem Ro: finally, something you're right about Ro: it isn't a problem Ro: continuing this conversation with you is a waste of my energy Bea: Off you go then Ro: See you at Christmas, assuming you decide that's worth returning for Bea: Either way, you won't be waiting at the window Ro: precisely Ro: and you'll have my present sent if you don't appear yourself, little else mattering at times like these anyway Bea: You aren't upset I'm not coming, you're only upset your plans are compromised Bea: because if you remotely gave a shit about me being there, you would've approached this whole conversation differently Ro: experience has taught me what you value and what you don't Ro: I'm not about to make any kind of impassioned plea in order to be a hastily added footnote Ro: particularly if it follows that I'm to be blamed for your ensuing university hardships should you dare to attend Bea: You know me so well Bea: wait, no, we both agree that is laughable Bea: so spare telling me what I will or won't do or say, my sides are splitting as is Ro: perhaps I will when you respond in kind and stop telling me how I feel or why Bea: Experience isn't something you are solely blessed/cursed with Bea: I can only react to what I'm presented with Ro: you don't want to come, of course you're reacting in line with that, that's what I'm being presented with Bea: Of course I don't, but it's about obligation regardless Ro: you've long been free from any and all obligation towards me Bea: Don't be delusional Ro: you should make time for church if you're going to make yourself such a martyr to my existence Bea: Guess what, we're not Catholic either Ro: There is no we, my faith is my own Bea: Nah Ro: you don't speak for me on any subject, especially my personal beliefs Bea: It's bullshit, Ro Bea: no one chooses to be a Catholic Ro: I have Bea: Yeah, well you would love to be special Ro: I'm so unsurprised that you manage to find enough time to be confrontational Bea: If I were to actually call you out on all your bullshit, we'd be here 'til your 18th Ro: feel free to write the most urgent of your grievances in the card you'll send Bea: You don't deserve a gift that good Ro: that much we can agree on Ro: I don't deserve any of this from you Bea: For god's sake Ro: Stay there, as we said, nobody but me thinks it's unfair that you aren't coming Bea: I'm sure they do Ro: Well, I have not and will not ever care what your boyfriend thinks Bea: As I understand, it's mutual Bea: and he's more than just my boyfriend to you Ro: no, he isn't Bea: How do you think you get to pick and choose? Bea: you can't claim Ali and ignore everyone else, they exist too, like it or not Ro: In much the same way you and he both did, I would imagine Ro: if I were to claim him as my brother, being your boyfriend would be abhorrent and it's obvious what you would both rather by now Bea: Your choice to not integrate and be part of this family has nothing to do with me Ro: Likewise Bea: Fuck you Bea: you had every chance, this is the only one you've ever known Ro: by your own admission you had all the same chances, no sacrifices made for me and no memories of the former Ro: you chose him and he chose you, you're the one being delusional if you think there was room for me and him to still play happy families afterwards Bea: Now you want to believe me, convenient isn't it Ro: and you want to have your cake and eat it, it's an appropriately timed idea, at least Bea: This isn't about me, it's about you being ungrateful Ro: No, it's about you attempting to tell me how to behave as if you reside in an ivory tower instead of a glass house Bea: You're having your teenage rebellion phase, fine Ro: again no, I'd be more than willing to listen to you had you actually said anything worth listening to Bea: Sure Ro: Undeniably so Bea: No, bullshit, again, Ro Bea: you don't listen to anything anyone has to say because you think you're right about everything despite the obvious Ro: you can't garner a receptive audience because you're just talking and talking without pausing for breath or to listen yourself Bea: This might be a big conversation for you, but that's only because you never talk to anyone but yourself either Bea: I'm actually busy, with things far more important than your tantrum Ro: Go and devote yourself fully to those things then, I already told you to do so Bea: You think you tell me what to do? Bea: No Bea: I'm not so single-minded Ro: If I had any desire to waste my breath I'd do so during a piano lesson with one of my more challenging students, when I'm paid to Bea: Yes, that about sums you up Ro: thus allowing you to draw a line under me Ro: and all of this Bea: No Bea: that's your move Bea: if you're going to be as callous as to want it, at least have the follow-through Bea: I'm not making this one easy for you, lest I be accused of martyrdom again Ro: I wouldn't dream of trying to compete with you in the stakes of who is the most callous Bea: I miss a birthday, how much have you skipped out on, Ro? Bea: When are you ever fucking here? Ro: such a convenient scapegoat for you when you no longer wish to be held to your own account Bea: If you want to be a ghost, you don't get to defend yourself Bea: dead people don't get to prove or deny any claims made about them Ro: the dead are far superior conversationalists than you, in my experience Bea: Your imagination, it'd have to be Ro: boundless though it is, no Bea: You don't know any dead people, and that's the truth of it Ro: I've met lots of them Bea: No, you haven't Bea: and how many people turn up to your party is going to reflect that Ro: yes I have, and how many people turn up to my party reflects how many people I chose to invite Ro: for all the things you deign to lecture me on, having a select social circle is perhaps one of the most hypocritical Bea: If there was any element of choice, it'd be you and Ali Bea: it's obligation and the guestlist of your not family reflects that both ways Ro: this repetition is neither effective nor amusing Bea: It's the sad fucking truth and someone needs to smash it through your thick skull Ro: a chore you'll never be too busy for when you take such delight in it Bea: I hate talking to you Bea: do you seriously not understand how much you make my skin crawl Ro: and yet here you still are Ro: how ghoulish Bea: because I am your sister Bea: your actual sister, and it isn't optional Ro: hardly, we both opt out regularly as previously highlighted Bea: No, I don't Ro: you currently are Ro: and you have on many other occasions Bea: Not being able to stomach a whole performance from you trying to be someone else is not opting out Bea: I wouldn't still be here if that were an option Ro: you'd have to know who I was in order to have the slightest indication of whether or not I was attempting to be someone different Bea: I know who you are Bea: but don't insult me by pretending you have the slightest inclination Ro: you insult me with such a barefaced lie Ro: you don't know me at all Bea: You wish Ro: I'm not in the habit of wasting wishes Bea: How's that working out for you? Ro: Perfectly Bea: Then that's really sad Ro: You're a very convincing adult Bea: That's allegedly what you're preparing yourself for Ro: sober disenchanted maturity, so Wuthering Heights asserts among many other turns of phrase Ro: you're more suited to it Bea: You know, drunken, enchanting or youthfulness aren't words anyone would apply to you Bea: so I'd be more careful with what I asserted if I were you, you aren't likely to be thrilled with what you get back Ro: I am content without the constant appraisal of others right now, perhaps when I find my own way to university we can swap places though Ro: if nothing else, it'll grant you a rest Bea: Of course you are Bea: you haven't spent this entire conversation doing just that Bea: at least package your delusions as somewhat believable to anyone else or you just look wholly derranged Ro: this entire conversation is centred around the disruption of my plans and thus my self discipline is the only thing seeking to be placated as you yourself commented Bea: You've sought out every opportunity to assert your appraisals of me, unprompted and unforgiving Bea: I wasn't going to come out of genuine lack of ability, but the poison of spite and bitterness was barely held back between your pursed lips, no need to push hard for all that to spill forth Ro: however you decide to excuse your absence makes no difference to me Bea: It makes no difference because nothing does with you Bea: you'd rather I wasn't there because at least then you have something to lament over Ro: I'd rather you weren't because you've made no secret of the fact you don't want to be, as always Bea: because it's fantasy, none of it is real Bea: what is the point of us going through the motions of pretending to have this life-affirming bonding experience when it'll be nothing close Bea: how easily I could be swapped out for any other bit player confirms that, it isn't true, and this all means fuck all to you Ro: you could be so easily swapped out because necessity has dictated it on more prior occasions than either of us have the time or inclination to call to mind Ro: you kept yourself at a distance long before you left for Cambridge, lecturing me about my lack of integration or whatever you called it doesn't change that Bea: Because it was not me you needed to intergrate with, is the point Ro: romantically aligning yourself with Fraze and babysitting Rocky on occasion doesn't mean you can point out my perceived failings as if you're an expert, moreso Bea: This constant comparison is pointless and not what I'm talking about Bea: you were meant to be a part of this family Bea: YOU, not me Ro: and I am Ro: if only because they're obligated to care for and about me as you're so quick to point out at every single opportunity Bea: if you think that's the only reason, legitimately, for them, then you're proving my point about how out of touch you are Ro: you're the one who keeps propping up this conversation with that as the reasoning Ro: whether or not it has ever crossed my mind hasn't been brought up for discussion Bea: No, it's you failing to do your part, that obligation is a two-way street Bea: you're the one giving it negative connotations Ro: being in someone's debt rarely has positive ones Bea: That's what family is Ro: and contrary to what you believe, I fulfil my responsibilities to this one Bea: If you say so Ro: I do Bea: Then that's all that matters Ro: I'm well aware of what does and doesn't matter Bea: Okay Bea: not me you need to convince Ro: I'm also well aware of where to place my conviction so that it isn't misplaced Bea: Seems like it Ro: Goodbye Bea
1 note · View note
lovlydovlyjaycie · 5 years ago
Text
A Viking Story
Book 1
Chapter 1 : Where have I gone?
Summary: In this story we will follow Y/N. She will travel to places that she thought that were never possible. She will meet people she would never expect to have met.
Characters for this chapter: Y/N, Mom, John Higgs, Floki. That’s it I think.
Paring: Non yet.
Note 1 : It’s kind of a vague summary, but what I have in mind.. I can’t put to words in a short summary. ALOT of things will happen.
Note 2 : This “story”/ fanfic is inspired by the tv shows ‘Vikings’ and ‘Outlander so far. But eventually this story will play a big roll in the Marvel Universe. And Y/N will obviously have a VERY big role.
Note 3 : English is not my first language, so if you see a word that I’ve spelled wrong or a sentence that doesn’t make sense, please tell me! Because I would love to get better!
Tell me your thoughts about the first chapter! :)
Tumblr media
Monday August 15th 1966, the Netherlands.
Drowning. I was drowning. I tried to keep my head up. It hurt, everything hurt. How long have I been drowning, it hurts. Why is nobody helping me? I’m screaming right? I need to kick to keep my head up. But I’m tired. It hurts. I don’t want to die like this. Why is nobody helpin me. I need help.
“Y/n.” I’m here help me! Help!
“Y/n!” Yes here, help!
“Y/n! Wake up you need to pack, we are leaving in two hours.”
I jumped up and was breathing heavy. I got blinded by light. What light? I looked around frantically. Oh I’m in my room. It was just that stupid dream. I leand forward in my bed and put my hand in my hands, trying to forget that stupid dream.
“Y/n, get up we are leaving soon. Have you packed all your things?” My mom asked. We were leaving to England soon. My mom tijd me better things were there. But the truth is she hated this country. Still because of the war. Which I understand. Afther all the pain and death. I’m surprised that we still live here afther all she has been trough. No family. Just my mom and I.
“Yes, mom I packed my things two days ago like you asked. But, why can’t we bring all of our stuff I mean who is gonna buy all of this?” It was alot of things I needed to leave behind. Only clothes and the real valuable stuff that could not be replaced. I really wanten to bring my books with me, I love reading about just everything. Fiction, drama, romance, history and so much more.
“Nobody is gonna buy our stuff. I told you this, we are leaving as soon as we can. Who ever finds our stuff and wants to keep it, it’s fine with me. That’s how we start over okay. Now get out of bed.” She walked out of my room. I rolled my eyes, I know it's rude. But I don't want to leave. I like it here. And I don't want to get rid of my books. I knew there were more reasons why we were leaving to England. I could get a job there, which I didin't really like. My mom used to do it as well. Modeling. Ugh. I understand I look like I am whinning. Fine I get it, but I still don't want to do it. I want to be an writer. Put all the storys that are in my head to paper, and I don't care what kind of story. But for my mom, fine I'll do it... for now. Not forever.
Finnaly I got out of bed walked to my window and looked outside. It was probably gonna rain soon, perfect for the mood I'm in. Enough whinning, I better get dressed and have breakfast now, or my mom will yell at me and I am not really feeling that today.
---
''Y/n, do you have all your things? Our driver is here.'' This is it we are officially leaving. Can't say I'm excited… at all. But again, I have no choice.
''Yes, mom I have everything.'' I looked around and glanced at my books.''But not every thing that I want to bring with me, but what ever.'' I said under my breath. And I shouldn't have said that.
''Excuse me? You want to repeat that? You know I am doing this for us. So stop telling me that you don't want to leave, bacause that's to late, we are leaving. The end of it, I don't want to hear another word. You understand?'' My mother looked really engry, she said this alot to me the past few days. But that doesn't make it go away.
''Yes mother, not another word.'' I looked down, better not looking around now.
It was time, our driver was here to bring us to the boat. Wasn't really excited about that. Me not being able to swim. But it wil just be a few ours on there. I walked in the car and got in, the driver put our things away and got in as well. Here we go, last time I will be able to look at our old house. Take it in.
We started moving, I was trying to take in as much of my old town as I could. In the car there were no words being exchanged. And there was an uncomfortible silence between my mom and I. This was going to be long ride.
---
Afther an hour and fourty-seven minutes, yes I timed it, we arrived at the port. My mom and the driver got out of the car, but I stayed in for a little longer. Not beliveing this might be the last time, for a long time, I'll be in the Netherlands. Deep in thought I heard a knock and jumped a bit. It was my mom.
''Come one y/n/n, we gotta go or the will leave whitout us.'' Would that be such a bad thing I thought. But got out of the car anyway. I took a deep breath and took my suitcase. and walked to the boat with my mom. My mom showed our tickets and walk through. I looked at the water and felt a little light headed. I took another deep breath and went on the boat. There is no turning back now.
My mom went a head to a man that worked on the boat. She asked where we could leave our stuff, for the time being. Then they walked away, I followed them because I couldn't stand looking at the water for to long.
---
''Y/n, I understand that you don't like going away from a place you are used to call home. And you also had to leave your books. So I wanted to give you a present.'' She handed me an object wrapped in newspapers. I smiled. Of course it was going to be a book.
''Well what could possiblly be in here?'' I squinted my eyes at her. I unwrapped the gift and… a book about Vikings? Now I was confused. ''Vikings? I thought you would secretly give me a book that we already had? Thank you by the way, not that I am not thankful. But vikings?'' My mother smiled.
''Yes I thought I would give you somthing new to read. The books we had you either read them a hundred times or not even looked at the once. And I thought if we are going to start over, I also wanted to give you new books.'' I thought that was very kind. And we hugged. that has been a long time sice we hugged. It almost felt strange. Even though she is my mother.
''Well thank you. I'll start reading it now, it will destract me from the waves.. I hope.'' Smiling my mom left the room to explore the deck. Wich I am not going to do, because I will throw up.
I opend the book. Vikings. Not really my kind of intrest but. I will have something to keep myself busy with.
---
Tuesday August 16th 1966 England,
Finally I can get of this boat. I basacally jumped off. I can finally feel the ground. It looks beautiful here. I don't think I will be that mad if all of England looks like this. The hills, the grass just nature.
''So what do you think about England y/n/n?'' She looked around. And she looked.. happy. I don't remember her ever smiling like that. Not in a very long time.
''I think I might like it here. MIGHT. Just want to be clear. But so far it doesn't look bad, if I am being really honest.'' My mom smiled at that. That made me happy. Because I could actually see she was happy.
''Now come on, we will go to our new house. I hope you like it.'' Again, she smiled. She walked ahead of a road we had to follow. Again I followed as fast as I could, because I excidentally looked at the ocean.
---
We were walking for a while until a kind man asked us if we needed a ride to some place. He drove us all the way to our new home. The town it was in looked.. well.. lets just say old. And English, what ever that looks like.
My mom opend the door and let us in. It even smelled old. I just might not like it afther all. Every thing looked old and used. I got to be honest it was big. But that also means there was a lot of place to put more old used funiture in. That smelled. I mean did some one die here?
There was an old couch by the window I dare not sit on it for to reasons. 1. It looked gross 2. I think that even if I did try to sit on it it would break. All the furniture looked like that in the livingroom. Before I could walk further to see what else is downstairs, my mom asked me to follow her up to my new room. Which was an whole diffrent task, because those stairs looked really dangerous. When I got to the second floor without falling from the stairs, thank god, my mom showed me my room. I mean there is not much to say. I think that this is were the smell is from. someone has been murderd here, I am sure. But I smiled anyway to my mom and said thank you.
I put my suitcase beside me and walked around. The bed is on the right of the room with an nightstand on either side, with an horrible green lamp on it. On the left side of the room there was a closet. That looked like it could give out at any moment. Right ahead of me was an window. Curious what my view wil be I walked towards it. I opend the discusting curtains and looked outside. The view is not that bad I gues.
---
It was evening now my mom and I were sitting in the living aera. To my suprise the couch did not fall apart when I sat on it. I was reading my viking book. I rolled my eyes just thinking about it. But it is pretty interesting. I looked at the time, it was already late 11 o'clock.
''Mom I am going to bed alright. Goodnight.'' I stood up just before I got to the stairs I was stopped by my mom.
''Honny, tommorow you will have your first shoot at 1, be ready by then goodnight.'' I nodded and smiled and went upstairs. In my room I got ready for bed and wannted to close the curtains. but it looked like there was an figure standing outside. Not sure what to do I closed my curtains and went to bed anyway. That was kinda creepy I thought. I put the lights out and tried to sleep.I fell asleep pretty fast, even though I just saw an creepy figure standing outside.
Tumblr media
I was on an field and looked around. I don't think I have ever been here before. Still looking a bit around I saw an hill, with weird looking stones at the top of that hill. Something pulled me towards it. I had to see what it was, so I walked up it's only a dream right? On top of that hill I felt an eerie vibe. The stones were placed in a circle and one big stone in the middel. I don't know why but it  gave me a bad but a good feeling being here. I wanted to touch the stone. So I did. It felt like I was falling, and then.
I jumped awake.. What is it with me and the weird dreams? I looked around and looked at the time. ''Shit.'' It's 12. Goddammit. I got out of bed as fast as I could and got dressed. When I was done getting dressed, I ran down the creepy stairs and went to the livingroom. There was an man sitting on our couch. He got up and introduced himself.
''Jon Higgs, and you are y/n y/l, right?'' I nodded. ''So I'm the photographer today. We have a dress that you can wear for the shoot. It would be great if you can try it on to see if it fits. When your ready we can start.'' Okay so he is pretty straight to the point no small talk. He looks very serious in his suit. He gave me the dress I was going to wear for the shoot and I went up the creepy stairs to my room and tried it on.
It looked.. magical? It didn't look like a normal dress. I felt like a princess. I turned around and looked at the dress some more. It fits pretty well. Even though it is way to long for me. But I.m not sure if it was designed like that. Even though it was Summer I put a coat on before I walked downstairs. The dress was pretty exsposing my upper body.
When I was in the livingroom again. My mother called me beautiful, wich is not that difficult in a dress like this, but I thanked her anyway. Mr.Higgs said we could follow him out to his car so we could drive to the place where the shoot will be. He said it would be a long day so I wanted to take my book with me. Never know if I can get time to read some more.
---
When we were almost there, it looked familiair. The grass, the trees, the hill… With the stones? Okay that is just a coincidence. He stopped the car and told is this is where the shoot will be. We got out and Mr.Higgs got his equipment for the shoot. I was curious and went ahead and walked up the hill. The weird feeling started again., I walked around the stones and felt an weird buzzing. It became loud.
''Y/n, are you ready?'' Mr. Higgs said looking at me in an strange way. ''Are you alright?''
''Uh, yes I'm alright and I'm ready.'' I smiled but was an bit unsure. Noticing I still had my book in my hand I put it on the ground and went to Mr.Higgs.
The shoot was pretty boring. Again it's not my dream to become a model. But my mom looked happy. She also had great tips. Wich I am never going to use, because I already forgot them. Mr.Higgs was Packing up his equipment and we walked back to the car. When I was down I realized that my book was still on that hill. I told my mom I was going to get it and I will be right back.
I ran up that hill and looked where I put that book again. Walking around and there it was. on the gress behind the big stone. I picked it up and looked up to the stone. The buzzing started again. I felt a weird pull to the stone. Just touch it I thought.. it's just a stone. I put both hands in front of me and touched the stone.
Falling it felt like I was falling. But it also felt like I was being pushed and I was floating. A sickening feeling. It felt like I was nowhere. I tried looking around and saw my hair change it's colour. It turned white, exually pure white.
And then. I hit the ground. but not as hard as I expected. It still hurt. I got up and took the book I came for. I went down the hill. But, where is my mom and Mr.Higgs. I looked around mabye I came down at the wrong end of the hill? I walked a circle but I saw no one, and no road. What the he...
A tall slender man stood before me with weird paint on his face, almost like warpaint. He kept looking at me in a weird way. I did the same but..
Tumblr media
''Sir have you seen a man in a nice suit and a woman in a pink dress'? I was with them, but now I can't seem to find them.'' He kept looking at my like I had something weird on my face. so I checked if there was exually was something weird there, but no. So I looked behind me, maybe someone was standin there but again, no. I turned around looking at him and saw he was coming closer to me.
''Uhm, sir could you just maybe point me to the nearrest town so I can go there?'' He still came closer. ''Sir?'' And another step. ''I'm gonna go and find a town myself nearby.'' He was almost standing right in front of me. I turned around and ran as fast as I could. To my right there was an forrest, maybe I can get rid of him there. Is he still following me? I turned my head around and yes he is. Okay no running sprinting. Oh god. He is fast as well.
.
..
...
....
Hi, this is my first series ever and I’am very curious what you think. Did i spell something wrong or anything? Let me know! By the wat this dress is from the shoot 😬
Tumblr media
3 notes · View notes