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#it's fantastic. It's been on a loop for about half an hour now.
eppysboys · 1 year
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I love this video for many many mini reasons:
0:00: Right off the bat. Their Dad Shirts. The Grandma haircuts. 
0:03: Paul’s little pleased excited laugh + George’s smile
0:05: Very good. Paul proceeds to make great faces.
0:16: Paul in his own little world, and then coming back to earth just to sing to Ringo
0:20: Paul’s lil sandals clapping
0:28: Paul and George looking at each other 🥰
0:44: “Good intro.” “Good intro, yeah.”
0:49: Ringo just cruising in so effortlessly
1:02: Paul’s face
1:11: Excellent Paul sound
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player1064 · 14 days
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october 2023 <3 <3 <3
WIP asks but it's just the various sections of my happy (???) beville (/angsty carraville) WIP
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October, 2023.
Jamie is normally a punctual person, but when it comes to things organised by Gary he tries to be just on the wrong side of late, because he enjoys how fussy he gets about it. Unfortunately, today the traffic was against him and the drive over from Liverpool was an absolute breeze, so now he’s sat in the THG car park wondering if he should loiter for another half hour or just get over it and go in early.
He looks over at Gary’s car, for once parked neatly within the lines, and figures that’s as good a thing to tease him about as any so he might as well just go in.
“And look, look,” he hears Gary saying excitedly as he approaches the studio. “This one’s my seat, right, and then –”
“Where’m I? Next to you?”
“Ooh, steady on,” Gary says, and Jamie can hear the stupid little grin in his voice. “No, that’s Carragher’s spot, you’ll be in the middle. Better camera angle there, anyway.”
Jamie stops just before the double doors that lead on to set, leans against the wall and drops his head back with a dull thud. He’s not sure how he’d managed to forget, Gary’s been pestering the podcast group chat about it for weeks. ‘Remember we’ve got Becks on tomorrow, everyone (👀Jamie) on their best behaviour!!!’
“That’s next to Keaney, right?” he hears Beckham ask. “Then who’s on my other side, Jill or Wrighty?”
“Oh, that’ll be Jill. Wouldn’t want to separate Roy and Ian, they’re fantastic together. And Jill is so excited, y’know, you’re her hero.”
“Aw,” says Beckham, with a bashful little laugh, “hope I don’t disappoint. Bit crazy that, innit? I mean, she’s the one with a European championship under her belt.”
The two of them fall quiet for a moment, which Jamie reads as his opportunity to enter the room without interrupting. This, of course, is a mistake; clearly luck is not on Jamie’s side today. He slips quietly through the door and is going to walk over but stops in his tracks when he sees them.
Beckham’s got Gary pressed up against the counter, his hands spread wide on Gary’s hips and Gary’s arms looped around his neck. They’re not kissing, it might’ve been better if they were – instead they’re stood there, heads tilted in close but not quite close enough for their foreheads to touch, and they’re just talking to each other, voices too soft for Jamie to hear.
That’s not the bad part. The bad part is that Gary and Beckham are laughing at whatever stupid little inside joke they’re sharing, and the smile on Gary’s face isn’t one Jamie’s ever seen before. It’s like he’s glowing, and Jamie’s stomach churns with guilt at walking in on something that feels far more intimate than just kissing.
He’s debating whether he should turn around and leave, wait for one of the others to arrive and walk back in with them, when Gary looks over and catches his eye, his smile faltering. Beckham frowns at him in question, then looks over with a polite smile when Gary nods his head towards Jamie.
Jamie watches Beckham’s hand squeeze Gary’s hip for a moment before he takes a step back, shakes his head at Gary fondly and walks towards Jamie with an outstretched hand.
“Good to see you, Carra,” he greets, and dear god Jamie hates him.
He hates him, he hates him, he hates him.
Jamie shakes the offered hand with his most charming smile. “You too. ‘s been a while, eh?”
“It has, yeah, but you know our Gaz,” he says, looking behind him to shoot a grin at Gary. Gary at least has the decency to be looking at the floor in embarrassment, hands fidgeting. “He’s never liked having crossover between his work and social lives, has he?”
Jamie’s not sure when he was relegated to just ‘work friend’. Maybe he never got out of that category to begin with.
Recording the podcast is excruciating. David Beckham is just a bit too perfect, everyone loves him just a bit too much. Even Roy relaxes around him, lets his guard down. He almost smiles, once or twice. The nation’s sweetheart David fucking Beckham, still thought of as their beloved England captain even now, ten years out of the game.
David Beckham, saving the world one corny inspirational speech at a time. David Beckham, one of the best technical players Jamie’s ever seen, whose talents are so often ignored in favour of the fact that he’s David Beckham. David Beckham who never boasts, who’s flash without rubbing your face in it, who always has time for everyone he meets.
David Beckham, probably the most famous footballer of his generation, who looks at Gary Neville like he hung the moon and stars. Gary Neville.
It’s not fair. He could do better than him. He should have done better than him, found another superstar to shack up with and left the poor mortals alone. Maybe then Jamie would’ve had half a chance.
He just really hates David fucking Beckham.
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popculturebuffet · 9 months
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Sam and Max Save the World Retrospective Finale: Bright Side of the Moon! (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)
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Hello all you happy freelance police and after a short delay, we're finally back with the final chapter of telltale and skunkape's SAM AND MAX SAVE THE WORLD! Rest assured as the fact i've often called this the sam and max telltale retrospective shows, i'm nothing if not consistent, this isn't the end of the road as we'll be going onto it's sequel, Beyond Time and Space, next month and The Devil's Playhouse whenever the remaster comes out. If I need to stall for time we've got PLENTY of other sam and max content to shove down your ravenous max sized gullets.
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But the future is the future and the past is a rainbow colored cult leader our heroes have to stop in order to Save the World. It's been a long strange trip.. and honestly some of the most fun i've had doing these reviews. As I said in the first chapter of this retrospective, and I feel bears repeating now we're at the end... I often don't quote jokes.. because there's so damn many. Trying to do reactoin images recently I had to rely on a best of montage because the game is around 7 hours long and just.. DENSE with quotable lines. And even with that I've had to pace myself and only done about half an hour simply because the writing is that sharp. The level design is also fantastic for the most part, and the puzzles aren't that obtuse and this again being the internet age, when they are it isn't a problem. That also brings me to a few odds and ends about the game as a whole I haven't really talked about. The first is the hint system. See I did try this in the first chapter, but felt max was just rambling and it was a joke.
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Yeah the hint system is very helpful, it's just sometimes you have to ask twice because it's max we're dealing with. Kev told me it was and I just.. plain forgot for most of the game till this chapter. I was so used to the gameplay loop of trying it myself then using the guide I genuinely forgot I had an in game helper there. I still required it when I got stuck on one puzzle, but for the most part it makes the game so much easier. And of course being a professional I took the fact there was a really helpful tool I could've been using this whole time like a pro
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The other thing is the dialouge changes to the remaster, waited on till now so I didn't run into any spoilers I hadn't already run into years before doing this retrospective. And look I know a lot of longtime fans of Sam and Max aren't fans of the changes... but they were necessary. The game was 14 years old at the time and none of these jokes had aged well. And in a LOT of cases the replacement joke is better. To use an example in Reality 2.0 originally the googles they have for max were desgined for "special needs children"
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Yeah it wasn't funny THEN, should not have been made in the first place, and has only aged worse with time. By contrast the replacement is the COPS emphasising you can use it for various sporting activities. It's a more sam and max joke than "Hey let's laugh at children with disablities!". There were other just.. outright gross jokes like asking "Why the sex change" when bosco crossdresses in the final chapter (More on that later), and bosco implying he pretends to be an underaged girl online. which just
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NONE of that was funny to start with, so taking it out of the game dosen't really hurt it. It only dosen't work when they don't sub in another joke, and that's more "If your going to all the trouble to edit out these lines, re-record the dialouge and fix stuff up why didn't you make a new joke when you have for OTHER lines you cut out?" And even then i'm sure there's a rational explination why Skunkape didn't. It's fine to touch up your work for a rerelease especially when said work is simply something your not proud of anymore. If it's okay for them to touch up the textures, add needed accesiblity options, and other neat stuff.. why isn't it okay to get rid of some offensive stuff that simply dosen't really fit sam and max?
Now those odds and ends are out of the way it's time to return to the moon to put an end to this hypnosis scheme, reconnect with some old friends, and save the world. Goody!
Chapter wise, Bright Side of The Moon is a strong contender for my faviorite. It is REALLY hard to pick betweent his one and The Mob, The Mole and the Meatball. Writing good as usual, but there's an epic scope, a genuine tension and unease, and it really feels like a grand finale to everything you've done up to this point, while still keeping the level design tight. The only real issue is the long walk from the blister of tranquility back to your car. And having to walk back a bit when you need to get back to sam and max's street is a common issue it's just emphasized here. But overal one hell of a finale gameplay wise. let's get into the story.
We open with Sam catching up ot the audience.. by complicated deduction, he figures out Hugh Bliss is behind things, and finds out from the Chief where he is: THE MOON ALICE... I mean the giant face was kinda a big clue. So our heroes head back to the moon! I covered their previously moon adventure recently if your interested. It's in large part because Bad Day on The Moon is one of the only two stories pre-telltale explictly refrenced in this trilogy, via the photos in the boys office, the other being Meet the Road, from which both bosco's this season and stinky's next season come form, simply fleshed out into fully explorable places here. There's nothing saying the other Freelance Police comics or tv show aren't canon, and it's likely light on call backs outside of hit the road to be accesible to new audiences. And possibly rights issues ala the tick, which REALLY needs a proper comics refresh that brings it all together. But that's a retrospective for another day (and if anyone's intrested let me know).
For now our heroes head to the moon, and we see our first of MANY character returns, as , fitting a season finale, at least one major character from every previous chapter shows up on the moon, now having joined Prismatology. The only exception is the soda poppers...
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It's a mildly weird omission but I get why: they only needed four call back characters for the puzzles, their terrible and I hate them, and their the only group present on the moon that didn't intersect in some way with Hugh's plan, so there's no real reason for him to care about them.
And we do find out his plan.. and I like how it's revealed: you can just casually find out in the gift shop. That's it. Hugh just has his plan up there.
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It also is a shockingly well thought out one, as each plan had a contegency.. and as we find out this episode Hugh had both a moon base and a final plan should all these fails. You gotta admire the guy for being through. And each one in the previous chapter was a seroius threat to the world, an amusing as hell one sure, but if our heroes hadn't stopped it Hugh woudl've likely conquered the us and eventually the world. And even if he couldn't do that last part , his controllign the us would at least stall for time long enough for him to carry out his masterstroke with no one to stop him.
You might also be noticing that Brady.. is absent. And that's because his plan, while kicking off our heroes knowing about hypnotisim.. wasn't planned. It's also nicely set up that way: unlike the others after ther'es never a reveal of a larger part of the conspiracy and his plan does nothing to help Hugh in the long run. It's just to make BRADY feel better and bigger, with his minons being chosen.. because their show was succesful and his wasn't. As for how Brady stole the protype goggles, also from the gift shop, hence Harry Mole now working as security. Thankfully he ONLY checks sam so we're able to smuggle a telekinesis talismen out in max... though we'll have to get it out later.
The TK Talismen is one of several we'll collect but first we have to get past sam and max's oldest and most dangeorus foe: DOORS!
Yes once again Agent Superball is guarding one. This time it's a bit easier though, as he gives us a unicorn which tests one's prismatology level. It also allows you to ask everyone "Want to touch my unicorn" which is just the best. Sam gives you the solution, pointing out how it likely works like a cheap mood ring, so you simply need to heat it up.. and I figured out HOW quickly... All it requires is a quick jaunt back to earth, as we start the adventure on the moon. Before we check in on Sybil and Bosco, I check the closet.. and also get the coat hanger for the tv again. Sadly... the last trophy room item is pretty weak, just the vr gag. There's a great and entirely close to home gag out of how they destroyed the internet
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But it feels like a let down after the presidents head and leonard> Leonard is plot relevant this time as Max fed him the deed to america. Like the talisman we can't get it YET, but we shall. So it's time to check in with Bosco but before using his micro we see his deal for the episode: He's become his mother!.. no really he's pretending to be her and unlike most of his personas which are just a shoddy accent, he commits to the bit and it's hilarious. Gratned Sam and Max being.. shocked by this as much as they are has aged like wet cheese on the titanic, he's just wearing drag, but Max's frustration Bosco won't break character and eventually buying into the bit is comedy gold.
Anyways Bosco is selling an earthquake machine but as usual we can't buy it yet. We can however use his Microwave to cheat the system, and I do like that Bosco's various conviences are something that commonly come up to solve the puzzles. It's something you'd think of instantly given their always there, especially after the ketchups come in play twice and instead of calling you a dum dum for thinking that they just.. let you be right.
Before we go back to the moon though we check on Sybil and for her final random job.. and i'm goign to miss these as I didn't realize till Kev told me that next season your quest buddies change. Sybil and Bosco aren't written OUT, but I will be sad to see them not around as much.
WIth Sybil though I kinda get it as it's entirely hard to top her FINAL JOB... QUEEN. OF. CANADA. Yes really. It's both so entirely random and such an escalation from her previous more mundane jobs as dating service person, carbondater and beta tester. It's a cermonial thing but it's still just a heck of a reveal and a lot of fun with canadian sterotypes. I assume Red Green is her minister of ducktape and her minister of annoyance is of course.. Lorne
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I assume he was one of Max's presidental pardons. I also assume one of the cofnidtions was he was shipped in a crate second class. It had at least one airhole though.. maybe... so that was nice of him.
At any rate this will naturally be useful to us later. It does give me a chance to talk about the gameplay loop though.. and how it works. You'd THINK after 6 chapters of "go to sybil or bosco to move the plot along" it'd get boring.. but honestly.. no. The writing is sharp, and each time things are radically different. I mean across these 6 chapters Sybil gets locked up by a patient, gives you a psyche eval, needs her death faked by you without her realizing it to save her from the toy mafia, has a dating service, gets her heart broken by you two via the lincoln memorial, beta tests and finally becomes queen of canada among some other shenanigans we'll get to. While with bosco he takes on various disguises, has some new doodad set up or someone hassling him, from jimmy twice, once as a skinbody once as himself, to whizzer.. you'll ALWAYS need to visit these two.. but they'll always have some funny stuff to say and something fresh. It's a way to recycle the enviornments sure but it dosen't feel stale. I can see why they swap them out next time: as sad as I was to find that out it DOES make sense to change your item buddies each game to keep things fresh.
Anywho, now we can get through the door via our bright red unicorn horn
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So we're on to the next part of this episode and it's fairly straight forward: Hugh Bliss is in the deepest part of his blister of tranquilty, which is a very close second with Ted. E Bears to my faviorite setting of the game. It's weird rainbow amusment park complete with a roller coaster, a shark floating in acid, and as said earlier a gaggle of familiar faces from each chapter, each having a new prismatology talismen that grants a psychic power we need to get to the final section of the chapter. Starting with the most familiar of faces, we have Abe Lincoln, whose not really happy to see the guys who blew him up real good a few chapters ago. Hilariously though it's not any of the obvious reasons: he's fine being just a head, and as for loosing the presidency only a "grade a psyschopath" would want the roll. Max is naturally touched> I mean grade a. His real beef is that they ruined his chances with Sybil... deciding he wanted to get back out there. Max has.. several questions about that.. questions we thankfully don't here as otherwise the rest of this review would just be me rambling incoherently from madness. Not the BIGGEST difference mind but I like to at least have the illusion of quality control here.
Our heroes are happy to help and thus we get one of the funniest sequences in the entire game as the two have to feed abe lincoln pickup lines. It's easily the best of these long strings of "answer it right or go back to start" puzzles, as there are just enough options to get a LOT of great comedy out of Lincoln's horrible pickup lines and Sybil's annoyance, but not so long it becomes frustrating like the midtown cowboys stuff in episode 2. You successfully get the head of abe lincoln laid
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And get us the talismen. The next one is an eye that can see through stuff and it's with our old friends the C.O.P.S. who are a TAD mad about our heroes taking away their goodhood, but allow them to beta test their game. Which once again and not with hyperbole, is one of the best jokes in all 6 chapters. Seriously the writing for this chapter is the peak of Save the World: In a post apocalyptic hellscae only the strong survive. Can you face the challenge of TIC, TAC, TOE?! Well you shouldn't as you need to loose. luckily the game just sorta. .had me loose. I was genuinly trying to win but either the game was rigged for me to, or the switch futzed it up. Either way , another talismen got. Now before we get our last one we need to open our present from the gift shop. Getting it out of max was easy, just use the gastronomy talismen, which I already had when I had him eat it. The hard part.. is getting the thing open. It took me ages and was the one puzzle that REALLY got me for this chapter. I looked it pu and it turns out it's simple. There's a lunar landar outside you can get into, using your coathanger, netting the key. You simply place the talismen under it, activate the lander which can only go up an ddown and boom, telekensis kyle. Well specifically bending anything similar to a spoon, which is clever. Is the puzzle frustrating? yes. Is the prize worth it? yes. So with that our final talismen, which allows you to pull jimmy out of a hat. Just him. To get it we talk to Philo Pennyworth, the most welcome return of all. I mean I fucking love the COPS but i've got minor spoilers they'll be in the next two games. I don't think Philo shows up nearly as much so his long awaited return was appricated. He can pull jimm y out of his hat but since jimmy's clinging to a parking meter to avoid more shenanigans from our heroes, we have to bend him off. With that philo pulls him out and is disgusted enough to let us have his talismen.
With that we can enter hugh's sanctum, which is neat, using the spoon bender to open the door, the eye to see so we can bend the door and jimmy to hit the switch.
Normally this would be where our heroes confront our villian, violence and some puzzles and jokes ensue... but in a clever twist on telltale's part... Hugh KNEW they were coming, would likely do some shenanigans to get into his sanctum and presumibly what htey had for lunch. For the record it was a hamsteak with extra gravy and extra ham and an all dress flavor stygian being of questionable origin. It also turns out our heroes are too late as while Hugh didn't do it 25 minutes ago.. his plan is already set up: to use a crystal thing with him in the center to make EVERYONE on earth Hugh bliss.
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As for WHY he'd do that, it turns out he's a sentient colony of plankton and eats emotions, a neat and utterly batshit twist, and his translucent look he takes on for a second is genuinely unsettling. Really Hugh's entire demeanor post turn is unsettling as he's still got that squeaky sing song voice, think Regular Shows Pops if he snorted hellium.. but instead of being just.. blindly happy and a tad hammy, you can also sense his malice and pride at what he's done. Sure guys gotta eat but he's just so gleeful. Now granted you could poke holes in this , say there were easier ways than mass hypnosis to get a free emotoinal meal, etc etc... but you have to remmeber what game we've been playing for the past 6 months
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So it REALLY dosen't matter and the fact Hugh went to all this lengths is likely part of the joke. But the one thing that can stop endless bliss? Max. His chaos is the one thing that can possibly upset this plan... so Hugh lured him here to steal his bliss... so he takes out his sloth, hunger and violence, leaving Max a shell, Sam disturbed and our heroes needing to round up three other maxes to restore him to proper zaniness and resotre the world. First up is Red Max, all of max's anger and violence.. and he's SHOCKINGLY disturbing. Usually max' s violent tendencies are played for laughs, the violence done off screen. This max.. has a gun, laughs manically and is geninely creepy. Dispatching him is nicely tricky but not too bad once you think it out: being a max, red max jumps around, jumpsa round, get up get up get down.. and his stalking grounds just so happen to be right next to the roller coaster. This.. really just gives him a fun ride, but luckily there's a big ole chekov's spork on the track, and since it's spon adjacent, you can bend it, send Red Max for a ride.. and disarm him. Or dishand him. Max gets his rage back and we're on to our next one.
Our next max to collect is the Green max, who being the embodiment of max's endless hunger for sentient planets and artifical cheese, is currently terroizing boscos. Suprisingly you DON'T use the gastrolgy talismen which is good as i'm pretty sure the contents of Green Max's stomach at this point would get Telltale brought up on obscenity charges. The solution is no less horrific though: you FEED HIM JIMMY. Yes you have him eat a rat.. which to be fair i'm sure Max's has done at some point but is still pretty .. eeeuuugh. We use the magician's hat from fethearly to pull him and max's stomach out which is way less graphic than it sound but still will haunt my nightmares for many moons to come, and thus max has his hunger back.
All that's left is sloth which, while max is OCASIONALLY lazy is the only one tha tdosen't quite fit. This max just... lays on the moon. To get him we finally give Sybil her due in one of the funniest callbacks of the game. So you remember how max was feeding the deed to the united states to leonard?
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Turns out you need to get him to cough it up, give the deed to Cybil and canada now owns the untied states!
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Seriously I.. don't see a downside. With that she gives us the money for bosco who charged a zillion dollars this time. I also love his justification "All I know is I keep making up the biggest price I can think of and you guys keep paying it, now tell me, whose crazy?". With that we have the earthquake machine.. aka the last of his satlite network. I'd also be remiss if I didn't point out the finally "do you have any" gag. See the rest are all just a great stream of Sam asking Bosco for random stuff. This one though.. turns out EVERY ONE is a solution to a previous puzzle. It's fucking glorious especially with Max's mounting bafflement that in all the things sam asked for he never asked for these when heneeded them. Bosco DOSEN'T have hugh bliss tied up back there, but can't blame Sam for trying. It's a brillaint payoff to what's already one of the best running gags in the series.
So with that we head, whoah oh, back to the moon again, and use the satlite to flip lazy max over, take his tale and max is' restored. With that we're FINALLY to the finale, with Hugh, mad they were able to beat him, deciding to put on a show.. specifically putting Sam thorugh a ton of magic stuff while max watches from the crystal chamber thing. It's easily the best climax of the whole game: tense, fun, and using every talismen you've gotten so far to turn the tables on hugh before using the lunar lander to finish him off. Hugh Bliss is no more. Problem is.. the machine goes off so now everyone is maxified. Our heroes naturally have a solution for that though... PUNCH EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD. I'm.. not exagerating or underplaying it. That's how season 1 ends. Our heroes are happy, the world is saved and Max is going to punch every last person to de-max them. And that would honestly be a perfect ending to a perfect season of gammery.. but this being sam nad max they took it one last step further for the credits.... which is max punching EVERY single character we've seen, or most of them at least to the games best song. I didn't think you could top War.. but .. here we are
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It both beautifully sums up max, and is a relaxing and hilaroius way to close out a relaxing and hilaroius game. I can't stop listening to it, not that i've tired very hard. It's so damn good. It utterly baffled me when I saw it, but I still loved it. I can't belivie THIS I show they ended it.. but I can't imagine a more perfect ending to this game. As an added touch the menu music for the remaster is an insturmental of this so it makes a nice bookened for your adventure.
So with that we've closed out Save the World.. and this may be one of the funnest experinces i've had reviewing. It not only opened me up to finally reviewing games, with more to come, but I got to play a game i'd long craved to , got paid for it and enjoyed every second of it. All thanks to kev. While this only ends the first third of this project.. it dosen't make it any less special or hard to say good bye to this game. This was true fun and I thank so many of you for reading... and see you next month for round 2.
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Day 5 of reading Beatles RPF
On our way back home by Kathleenishereagain || 5/56
Reading a chapter while my laundry gets dried (and hoping the dryer actually works today XD)
Though, first things first, I feel I should mention that thanks to @indiekidsupremacist and @the-bluebird-you-need, I now know that not only is there one Beatles movie, but multiple! I think I'll need to put time aside to watch them at some point. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When reading Beatles fanfiction, watch Beatles movies. For research purposes. Obviously.
In the meantime, I did think of something else I could do. A few songs have been mentioned in the fic so far, and it seems a little silly to go on like this without listening to their music. How can you understand why people are fans of a band without hearing what the band's most known for? So, I picked the first one the fic brought up, "I Feel Fine".
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This was so fun. The song itself is great (and catchy. Yeah, that's going to be stuck in my head for a week.) And at one point in the music video, one of them (the comments say it's Ringo) just?? gets on a bike?? and stays on it the rest of the song?????? Brilliant, fantastic, no notes.
Anyway, we're here for fic, and I absolutely have to share this passage that made me look away from my phone for a minute and just absorb it.
He did not have anything to tell him that he actually could say, anyway. Sorry I was an absolute wanker to you. Sorry I didn’t try to talk to you sooner. That I didn’t make more effort to patch things up between us. Sorry you died. I miss you. I have missed you for almost 40 years and I will never stop missing you. Seeing you so young and clueless is more painful than you could ever imagine. Talking to you makes me want to scream. It makes my head turn with happy fireworks and my belly burn with grief. He could not say any of that.
Just. Holy shit. That struck hard and fast, and the rest of the chapter didn't pull any punches either. I'm a huge fan of time travel related angst, so it's like this was tailor-made for me. With every chapter, I'm drawn more and more in.
(I think I mentioned before that I started this blog on a whim, half-joking. Not disrespectful, I should hope, as I didn't want to come into a fandom I'm not a part of and make a mockery of someone's hard work. I'm genuine in my desire to experience this and understand what draws people to it (and I suspect, will become a fan myself in time), but I won't lie and say I didn't come into this with preconceived biases about RPF. Which, to be honest, was a little hypocritical of me. Don't laugh, but my side projects are mostly Supernatural fanfiction, and I can see how easily someone might approach that with the same feelings I did this, whereas I, on the inside and putting my heart into it, take it very seriously. So, solidarity there, I think. We are all weird guys on the internet writing heartfelt love letters to things that matter to us.)
It's still fascinating to me getting little crumbs of knowledge, some of them devastating, chapter by chapter. I expect someone fully immersed in the history of the band and each member would take these in stride, facts they already know well, but some of them really throw me for a loop. The one this chapter was a mention that Paul didn't go to his father's funeral, or couldn't go. It wasn't specified why, and it's a drop in the bucket of this chapter, but it stuck in my mind nonetheless.
Oh, and I have a solid grasp of the distance between London and Liverpool now. The fic said a trip between the two would take about four hours by car, and Google provided me the helpful number of 354 kilometers. (Or, in American, for me, 220 miles.) That's further than the distance I used to go to visit my Grandpa in Mississippi.
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fleurcareil · 9 months
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Second month recap: July
Driving away from Sleeping Giant on 1st August means I've already completed two full months in the road!! Wow!! 🤩 And most amazingly, I still feel fantastic and am not ready yet to start going home by a long shot... 😁 in fact, I'm starting to get a bit concerned about everything that I still want to do in the remaining time, but I'm sure I'll figure it out!
I forgot to check the odometer but it was probably at around 67500 so that means I drove another 6,000 kilometers in the second month and slightly under 13,000 km in total. I still stick mostly with camping two nights in a row in a park (where I drive the absolute minimum), followed by a series of motels/inns/hotels when I drive larger distances, typically 3-4 hours a day interspersed with several breaks at viewpoints, small hikes, towns etc to get a feel of the area. I generally aim to arrive at my sleeping place by 6-7pm latest so that I have enough time to settle in before it gets dark (long summer hours help!) but once in a while I get there earlier around 3-4pm to get a lazy afternoon. And sometimes I only start at 10-11am taking it easy in the morning, especially when it's crappy weather 😅. The joy of absolute freedom to choose how I spend my days!! 🥰❤
I can hardly believe where I was at the end of the first month as that feels such a long time ago... in Matane in the Gaspesie, Québec. So last month, I did the entire Labrador loop which included a large section of unpaved road and more boreal trees than I ever imagined 😝. Got delayed on the cargo boat back to Québec so that resulted in some last minute changes to hotels and tours, then the ever-impressive sea along the Cote Nord all the way west to Québec City, several pretty national parks in central Quebec that were unfortunately impacted by flooding, a stay-over in Montreal and then along the Ottawa Valley via North Bay - Sudbury - Sault Ste Marie to the spectacular scenery of Lake Superior! 🎉 The diversity in the natural environment from maritime to boreal, from sea cliffs to inland canyons & massive lakes is so incredibly huge, and I'm only half way, as the Prairies and the Rockies are still ahead of me! 😍😍
What is constant though throughout is the friendliness of the people I meet, whether it's the staff at the visitor centres and in the parks, other campers or restaurant guests, or even if it's only a short "great day isn't it?" when you're passing each other on the trail or on the water. Canadians are rightly proud of their local area as well as their country, and are truly wanting to share that with others.
I've also come to realize I'm not alone in wanting to pursue my dreams as many have done so before me; from the scallops farmer in Québec to the inn owner in Ontario, several have shared with me their life trajectory often having moved away from the busy corporate/urban life to focus on what's important to them. No one has perhaps dared to tell me I'm crazy 😜 and it's surprising how many people can in some way relate to Chile 😅 so that makes me hopeful for the future!
Lastly, I wanted to share my reflection on the role that cross-country retailers like Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons and to some extent grocery stores and gas stations play in comforting travelers like me and unifying Canada as truly one country... as part of my job, I've ofcourse always known that CT has 507 stores across Canada but I've never felt what that means until now. When driving for 100-300kms in the middle of inhospitable forest without cell reception and literally only a handful of sideroads and buildings, it's comforting to know that at the end of it there will always be a place to e.g. buy a cup of tea & a donut or propane & kindling 😅. Typically, both CT and Tim Hortons will have signs 5-10km upon approach of a town (though mostly run down and overgrown 😉) and there's a real sense of relief & joy that I've been feeling seeing those signs; a combo of gladness that my car didn't break down or was hit by a moose/bear, and of happiness to be back in the familiar human realm (something like that, not sure how to explain). Secondly, it's also unifying to see the same brands in so many different places, as that creates a bond between all Canadians (in contrast, if you would drive equal distance in Europe you would likely have crossed a border with each country having its own brands/language etc). Having the same stores with the same products everywhere you go in Canada creates a commonality that clearly says: I am in Canada 🇨🇦 (actually, because CT stores are built on a standard proto design, I bought firestarters in exactly the same aisle in Pembroke as in Dryden 🤣)... I don't think this comforting & unifying aspect is apparent when you live in an urban area or only travel locally, but this roadtrip has increased my appreciation of both these Canadian brands (and I'm really not a big Tim Hortons fan although the branch in Marathon was phenomenal) .
I've rambled long enough now and need to light the fire 😃, so here's my top ten-ish of best experiences for the second month in chronological order. Scroll to my previous blogs for pictures!
1. Driving the Labrador loop including the expansive boreal forest and the Manic-5 hydro dam, QC/NL
2. Staying at Battle Harbour Island, NL
3. Seeing icebergs on the trails at Red Bay and L'Anse au Clair, NL
4 Taking the cargo boat from Blanc-Sablon to Kegashka, QC
5. Touring the Mingan archipelago (both west and east islands), QC
6. Whale watching at Cap de Bon-Désir & the Marine Discovery Centre, QC
7. Hiking the Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes at Grands-Jardins, QC
8. Meeting Nabil and spending the day in Vieux-Montreal, QC
9. SUPping at Barron Canyon & Restoule, ON
10. Hiking the pictographs trail at Lake Superior & the coastal trail at Pukaskwa parks, ON
11. Paddling on Lake Superior, ON
12. Guided PoW camp hike at Neys provincial park, ON
There's a few that I omitted such as the Manitou waterfall in eastern Québec, park La Mauricie and the Ouimet Canyon that are must-do's if you're in the area but I can't simply name everything that I did! 😉
I'll need to create better Gmaps next time I have internet on my laptop!
2nd month travel;
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Total travel since 1st June;
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hostilecityshowdown · 2 years
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folds my little hands. Would u pls tell us what u think HBK/Taker’s relationship is like maybe w some hc’s. are they friends? do they hate each other? both? pls I am asking so sweetly
co-written by @sychosid
It had been over an hour since the miserable excuse for a song accosted his hearing.
The vocals, supplied by Sensational Sherri, were enough to make any sane man’s ears bleed alone. Combined with an annoying backtrack and the hysterics of the audience upon laying eyes on the Boy Toy, he was not looking forward to enduring this torture for the unforeseeable future. Slowly flexing his gloved hands, the Undertaker could only hope someone would do something about it soon, because it was stuck in his head. The idiotic piece of anti-music was on loop in the now distant part of his psyche that was susceptible to influence such as this. It was an obvious sign of his host requiring more repression and, shower-soaked hair hanging over his face, the Undertaker could only sit on the locker room bench and wait for his fellow mortician to fetch him for the next taped segment.
His only match was complete, unfortunately. He was already beginning to miss facing Sid Justice each night. A man who’s desire to do the right thing overwhelmed his fear, who had valiantly fought to escape his casket. Tonight… The man he liberated of evil had been a simple man, influenced by the demons that thrived on lowly greed. The Undertaker was not even certain he had done much more than defeat him as a show of force, despite Bearer’s insistence otherwise. The wall mounted clock ticked quietly; when was the Funeral Parlour segment supposed to be recorded…?
-
“Whuh.” The Sundome was hot, even with the air conditioning on full blast, but beyond the threshold of the locker room door was a surprising reprieve from the Tampa heat. A shiver wracked Shawn’s body, head shaking, hair askew. How soundless the action was reminded him that Sherri still had his earrings, but he didn’t care. They were hers anyway, and she was likely to snag more off Dibiase before they rendezvoused. Starting to unwind the tape from his wrist, he made a beeline for the showers, foregoing a towel or change of clothes. Knowing no one in their right mind could complain about an encore, he treated any stragglers in the rocker room to his own half-mumbled rendition of his new entrance theme. Not a bad performance, if he said so himself.
“I take cash or card!” Shawn shouted when he turned the faucet off, squeezing some water out of his hair. He’d let it air dry until he shimmied into some clothes, blow it out tomorrow. The Boy Toy confidently padded to his locker across the cold tile floor, slamming it open with enough force to make it bounce right back into his arm as he rummaged around for something to wear. Owch. Bulldog better not have left a bruise. Mentally kicking himself for forgetting to order that sweet tiger print shirt out of International Male, he squeezed into the tightest pair of Versace mens’ jeans he could order out of the winter catalogue on Sherri’s credit and realised, frowning, that no one was responding to him. He couldn’t possibly be alone, right? Nah, this was a wrestling company, it was crawling with sweaty guys who needed showers.
When he went quiet enough he swore he could hear someone breathing, slow and deep.
-
Infuriating.
As if once wasn’t enough, the man was insisting on performing his repulsive, juvenile song in concert. Unfortunately, the showers offered fantastic acoustics, and all the Undertaker could do was exhibit as much self control as possible and remain seated. He ignored the Boy Toy, waiting for him to leave, and was dismayed when he heard his cautious footsteps approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, the Undertaker caught him peeking around the row of lockers, hiding behind his hands like a child. His hair was damp and not drying very quickly in the low temperature, water dripping onto his eyelashes and streaking down his neck lazily. The shift in his body language was almost instantaneous, a smug expression shattering the almost stubborn curiosity he had first worn, hesitant walk transforming into a confident saunter. It was a wonder he even had circulation in those jeans.
Further slowing his breathing in an attempt to quell his rising anger, the deadman watched closely as Shawn walked right up to him and propped an arm across his hunched shoulders, fingers not hesitating before they found their way into the Undertaker’s hair. He had never been so disrespected, his personal space never so violated. A death rattle tried to dig itself out of the grave of his throat. Paul Bearer insisted he could not harm people unless commanded. Shawn was merely mortal, even if he looked down at him as if he was a meal. The Undertaker’s upper lip twitched.
“Heeeey, big guy,” Shawn drawled, voice rasping like sandpaper over the embalmer’s senses. He tried not to uppercut him and found success in envisioning it in great detail, instead. Shawn’s hands kept wandering and he hoped he developed frostbite. “You like my little show? I specialise in intimate performances, you know.”
Uppercutting him. Stomping on his face. Tying his arms up in the ropes and chopping the everloving hell out of him. Rolling him into a bodybag and-
“Say, isn’t Death Valley in California? Never been to a Death Valley, Texas, and, well, you and me, we coulda been Lone-Star-neighbours for all I know. Maybe when we finally get out of the Everglade State I can hitch a ride in that fancy little hearse of yours.”
The Undertaker remained silent. Perhaps, if he ignored him, he’d grow bored and leave. Deciding that refusing to acknowledge his existence may suffice, he fixed his stare on the locker in front of him and steeled himself against flinching away from Shawn's hands exploring his back and shoulders.
“Hell-ohhhh? Earth to planet Undertakerrrr.” The Boy Toy leaned forward to see his face, waving his hand in front of his face.
Enough.
A dark gaze snapped to him, thin pupils visible through the long, curling tendrils of hair. The Undertaker placed his hands on his knees and rose slowly. Shawn took a step back, his neck straining as he watched the deadman's veil of hair rise and rise. He straightened his back to stand at full height, shoulders square. Near-black eyes stared icily through Shawn as he let out a throaty growl, expecting it to get his point across.
Shawn bit his lower lip, tinted red from the frozen atmosphere descending upon him. Clearly some cogs were turning in his brain.
“You got a sexy voice, you know. You should talk more.” Reversing his retreat, Shawn took a step forward and stood chest-to-sternum with him. A manicured fingernail traced a vague outline of the deadman’s pec, the white French tips in stark contrast to his black shirt.
The Undertaker clenched his fists. Slowly, as if straining to do so, he raised his right hand, poised to seize Shawn by the throat. He tried to remind himself that the creature of avarice before him was just a mortal man. A flawed one, an annoying one, but still, nothing more than a human. There was no reason for him to wrap his fingers around Shawn's thick neck, raise him up, choke him, and shake him and lift him and slam him down to the floor with all his might. None at all.
The so-called pretty boy glanced up at the approaching hand without an ounce of fear. Lopsidedly smiling in a way that made his eyes squint subtly, Shawn took the Undertaker’s hand into his own. He squeezed it.
“Pretty cold, even with the gloves! You know I could help you warm up,” he offered, batting his thin lashes at the deadman.
A flicker of a sneer crossed the mortician's face. He squeezed Shawn's hand back, matching him in force. Gradually, he folded his fingers tighter until he held Shawn's hand in an iron grip.
Shawn tried to retract his hand and found he couldn't. The Undertaker wouldn't release him - he didn't want to. He wanted to teach the brat a lesson. Pain. Indescribable pain, which he wished to inflict on The Heartbreak Kid.
“Owowow! Hey, buddy, let go!” Again, Shawn tried to yank his hand back to no avail, throwing his upper body into the motion. His hair flew, the icicles forming on his split ends melting where it touched his bare skin. Taking one, heavy, creeping step, the Undertaker walked him backwards. He only stopped when Shawn's back was pressed against the lockers.
“Shut…up…” He grumbled, getting close to Shawn, his heavy breaths causing some of the drying strands of Shawn’s baby hairs to sway. It was freezing, Shawn's shaky breath visible, his hand starting to burn in the Undertaker's grasp. Panic slowly rising, he started smacking at the other man's wrist. If he wanted to hit the Undertaker, he was wide open, but fear was granting him hesitance… For now.
"L-Look, pal," Shawn started, voice failing. His throat was dry. It was starting to hurt to breathe, the burning in his lungs similar to the burning in his hand. His thumb was starting to turn red. "Let's both pack it up and go home, how's about it?"
For a few moments, the Undertaker considered this. He inhaled deeply, chest pushing into Shawn's and pinning him further - a sure tell he was going to speak.
"Shawnie!" Heels clacked towards them like gunshots, the suffocating aura dissipating as quickly as it came. The Undertaker fixed him with a wide-eyed, rageful stare as he stepped back. "Where'd my sexy boy run off too, huh?"
The Undertaker continued slowly stepping backwards, heavy boots silent as he released Shawn's hand. The light that he'd blocked out began illuminating the space around Shawn again, but the void the Undertaker was fading into only seemed to grow darker and darker. Shawn's voice was a pathetic wheeze when he first tried to call out.
"H-here," he finally croaked out, grabbing his cold, cold hand and trying to rub some warmth back into it. He slumped back against the lockers noisily and slid down. "I'm here, Sherri."
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hakesbros · 1 year
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toukatan · 3 years
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You read every gojohime fic???? That's amazing!!! What are your favourites?
hello anonie! i guess i can say i’ve read at least a good 80% of all the fics, at least. probably. most likely because the fic tag at the start of the year was tiny and now the community’s grown so much there’s almost 600 of them. that’s insane to me. like hello?
i have a lotta fics that come to mind, that i should honestly make a master post on because i love them all. so here are a few many that came to mind immediately as i typed this up.
gojohime fic recommendations!
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limitations by ohmytheon 
“Parenthood chooses you," her mother used to tell her, but Utahime never understood that saying more than the moment she realized she was pregnant with Gojo Satoru's child. They were never meant to be something serious - never meant to be more than they were - and yet they both suddenly find themselves in a world that doesn't care about their desires - and that brings them closer in a way that no one else can understand. It won't be easy and it won't be kind to either of them, but it appears as if the universe has other plans for them
no one is what they were before by ohmytheon 
The world broke when Gojo Satoru turned on jujutsu society. It's not the hopeful place it was before, but Utahime has never been one to give up. Until she's placed in a dangerous position directly in his path, and she finds herself trapped in a web that doesn't seem intent on ever letting her go.
and touch me like you never by ohmytheon 
In public, Gojo is a special grade bastard, especially to Utahime, and has been all their lives. He knows exactly what insults to throw and what buttons to push to drive her up a wall. In private, however, he's got quite a few other things to tell and show her, which only makes things more confusing. It would be easier if she could avoid him entirely, but for some reason, he won't let her go entirely.
gravity by aerfei
This is Utahime, fierce and indomitable, and this is Satoru, who despite holding the world’s regard, still craves something that Utahime has had all her life. Coming together is sometimes an act of desperation, and sometimes a deliberate choice. Or: An Iori Utahime character study, through the lens of her relationship with Gojo Satoru, starting from the beginning and ending at the Goodwill Event arc. Manga spoilers and (at least 95%) canon-compliant through (at least) chapter 135.
count every single leaf in autumn by florieneofthesea
“I told my family we’re dating.” Utahime’s hand hovers over the door. “What?!” (or: Gojo tells his family that he's dating Utahime to get them off his back, so of course they invite her to the dreaded family dinner™)
favourite colour by otherthingsonhold
At 28, Satoru Gojo's responsibilities only start to multiply. With his clan looking to him to lead the family, and the balance of the universe in his hands, Gojo isn't thinking of much else. But when his mother brings something to his attention, the only thing Gojo can do is follow through. But how is Utahime Iori part of all of this?
gojo catoru by ashittywriter
Utahime is tasked to catsit a suspiciously large Persian dollface cat with pristine white hair, the most boop-able nose, and to top it off the cutest cerulean eyes. Too bad the cat also happens to be her idiotic colleague Gojo Satoru.
at the tail-end of spring by florieneofthesea
Utahime doesn't expect to remember her ex's number off by heart but it comes in handy when she's a little less than sober outside a club in a city she's not familiar with and her battery on three percent. She just wishes things turned out differently for them. (Or, post-break up exploration where outer forces refuse to let them have their happy ending.)
a second chance by onewordmore
In another world, it wasn't Geto who sneered down at humanity, regarding them to be worthless monkeys that deserved to die. In another world, it wasn't Geto who openly defied the Jujutsu Council and brought down terror and fear to all. In another world, it wasn't just Amanai Riko who died that day, amidst the cheers and delighted cries of the insane. And Utahime was going to learn, first hand, the consequences of her own death.
from you to me by onewordmore
A drabble series regarding Gojo and Utahime. From fluff to smut to angst to love. This is going to have it all.
oneshots
oceansize by aerfei
The marriage is arranged by their families, small clans both, with all their hopes and traditions laid gently upon the shoulders of their only heirs -- and yet, this distance is impassable.
under the cover of darkness by ohmytheon
It takes a little alcohol, early morning hours, and a game of truth or dare for Gojo and Utahime to admit some difficult truths to each other.
risk/reward by ohmytheon 
No punishment had ever been more effective in making Gojo do his actual job than receiving praise from his secretary - or more grueling than when Utahime withheld it.
like a good roommate by ohmytheon
Utahime has a problem: her bed wasn't delivered to the new apartment. Her ridiculous roommate, Gojo, has a solution - but he's kind of panicking on the inside.
aware of us by halspur 
“We did alright, didn’t we?” Gojo put his phone down after taking several dozen photos of Tsumiki walking across the stage, his eyes soft. “I mean, we were just kids, too.”
love song by halspur
“Because you’re weak.” Gojo said, muffled into the thin skin of her throat. “I can’t leave you alone.”
tear you apart by halspur
“I don’t want to be mean to you,” Utahime’s cheek was pressed into his spine, her voice muffled. “I like you.”
cuddles are for clean boyfriends by just_trying_my_best_everyday
Utahime finds Gojo Satoru sitting right behind the door, blindfold hanging on his neck, completely soaked in blood and petting her cat with both hands. And he stinks.
honey by florieneofthesea
Gojo Satoru experiences love a decade before he fully realises it.
roots by florieneofthesea 
At the start of winter, Utahime starts to cough up blood. She thinks maybe its just the lingering damage from her last mission, but the coughing persists and it starts to scratch her throat, and itch at her lungs and when she finally makes the trip to Tokyo to ask Shoko for her help, she doesn't even get the first word out. Shoko welcomes her at the entrance to Tokyo Metropolitan Technical School and Utahime hacks up a single, pale blue petal, smattered with blood. She stares down at the flora on the ground and wonders if she's been cursed. Utahime looks up, and Shoko's eyes are wide.
to have and to hold by ashittywriter
“M’sorry," Gojo said his voice slurring at the end. "But please go away, I have a girlfriend." Utahime blinked in confusion. What the fuck? 
souvenir by PrettyKittyLuvsU
“Aha!” Gojo tugged something out of his pocket, his long fingers curled around it as he held his hand behind his back. His other hand waved before him, a cheeky grin splitting his lips. “Ora, ora! Hold out your hand.” Utahime stared flatly. “Ora, ora!” Gojo persisted, continuing to wave his hand as he grinned. “Hold out your hand already!” Utahime scowled at the hand swaying infront of her face. She had half a mind to slap the man instead, but her students were closely watching. Even Gojo’s students, the second years mainly—for Sukuna’s vessel was apologizing profusely as the brown haired girl continued kicking him while the quiet one made no effort to stop her— looked in fascination at whatever ridiculous souvenir Gojo wanted to hand her. Utahime slowly lifted her arm, already planning on throwing the thing back in Gojo’s annoying face. Gojo gets Utahime a very special kind of souvenir. Set during the start of the Goodwill arc.
dayum this exposes me huh? i do be reading a lot but what can i say i love to see it. all these fics are amazing, to the writers y’all are doing fantastically like my goodness you be really putting ya girl in a loop with some of these fics with your plot-lines and doing it flawlessly. can’t thank them enough for them, their hard work and time!
be sure to show the writers some love and support with comments, bookmarks and fight that dayum kudos button when it smiles at you because lemme leave more—
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i think they’d really really appreciate it when they hear the bing and be sure to check out all of their stories including the ones in the pairing tag! happy readings 😙✨
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fruitcoops · 3 years
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Hi Eve! Could you maybe write something like Sirius having a majorly stressful week and he's been on edge all day and he finally decides to go talk to Heather if only to just let it all out. By the time he comes home he's exhausted but Remus is all ready for him, and he's greeted with the sight of Remus in a nice little heap of blankets and pillows piled up on their sofa with a Disney movie ready to play and all his favourite snacks lined up on the coffee table. And Sirius of course just about dissolves into a puddle of affection and gratitude because Loops 🥰🥰🥰
It's honestly concerning how much fluff I write. Oh, well! This is such a cute idea and I'll never pass up an opportunity to write soft Coops <3 SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!
“So, you’ve started baking?” Heather looked up as Sirius nodded, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie. It still smelled a little like Remus from the last time he stole it, but not nearly enough to drown him in comfort. “That’s awesome. If you don’t mind, can I ask why you chose that as a hobby?”
“It’s—” Stupid. He bit the words back at the last second; Heather never liked self-deprecation, and they had been working on positive self-talk for…as long as Sirius could remember, really. “Uh, I helped Re’s mom make a pie over the holidays and I just have good memories associated with it, I guess.”
Heather jotted something down, her soft smile never faltering. She was wearing a sweater the same color as her name—it was distilled comfort, and Sirius felt some of the tension release from his back. “You said you do it when you’re stressed, right?”
“Sometimes.”
“Does the rhythm help, or is it something else?”
He stared at his hands, rubbing his thumb over the callus from his favorite spatula that was beginning to form. “I think…” he trailed off and bit his lower lip. Honesty always wins. Why do you like it so much? “The rhythm helps quiet my head down, yeah. And it smells like home. And—and if I do it right, I can’t screw it up.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If I follow the recipe, it works. Every time. I can read the instructions as many times as I need to, and I can focus on that until everything up here—” He gestured vaguely toward his head. “—shuts up for a bit.”
Heather nodded; the room was quiet for a moment while she wrote before she settled into her chair and let out a slow breath. “I’m really happy you started doing this, Sirius.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep. We’ve talked about finding healthy amounts of control and tethers in your daily life, and from what you’ve said, this makes you happy in addition to helping you calm down. What do you do with everything you make?”
He shrugged. “Give it away, mostly. It’s healthier than store-bought stuff, and the guys like it. Re and I can’t eat it all ourselves.”
“How often do you stress bake?”
“Oh, probably three or four times a week.”
Shit, shit, shit. Heather’s eyebrows crept upward. “Oh?”
“…yes.” Can’t take it back now.
“Okay.” She made a quick mark on her clipboard—for the hundredth time, Sirius wished he could snatch it and run. “Interesting. Why are you so stressed?”
“It’s not like that all the time,” he said quickly. “Just over the past couple weeks.”
“What’s been going on?”
“Everything?” he said. It sounded more like a question. Heather made another note. “It’s—well, Jules got the flu two months ago and Re wasn’t sleeping because he was worried, so I got nervous and started staying up later so I’d be tired, but then I got bored and worried about both of them so I texted Hope about her pie recipe—"
“Sirius,” Heather interrupted gently. He closed his mouth and tucked his hands into his sleeves, palms itching. “Deep breaths, then tell me what’s been going on these past couple weeks specifically that was stressing you out.”
He obliged, counting ten before speaking again as his brain stopped feeling like someone poured pop rocks into it. “Right. So, this whole habit thing started two months ago, and we’re getting closer to you-know-what—”
“The playoffs?”
He made a quiet noise of distress and tapped the wood of the chair. “Oui, that. There’s a lot of pressure from last year, and when my friends are stressed, I get stressed, and baking is easy and fun so I just…didn’t stop. A lot of things are happening right now, and this feels like the only one I can control.”
“There you go,” she said with a proud smile. “Thank you.”
“What did I do?”
“You’re being more open and honest with yourself. It’s good to see.” She crossed one leg over the other and leaned slightly forward. “You’re a really, really good captain, Sirius. You are so in-tune with the other people in your life, but you’ve got to remember to step back and do things for yourself sometimes. Right now, baking is your stress relief because you can’t control your friends’ lives or emotional states. Try to find more things like that.”
He stared at her for a moment. “Are you diagnosing me with ‘needs a hobby’?”
“In a sense, yes. You have done an incredible job over the past few months of letting your world revolve around things other than hockey. Branching out to baking was an excellent choice. Now it’s time to find other things that give you similar comfort, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Fantastic. Let’s brainstorm.”
--------------------------------
Sirius dropped his bag next to the shoe rack and immediately leaned back against the door, closing his eyes with a sigh. Therapy was always exhausting, but usually in a good way. Already, he could feel the weight of the last three weeks lifting off his shoulders. “I’m home!” he called.
Remus materialized from the living room and padded over in his fuzzy socks, planting a kiss on each of Sirius’ cheeks. “You look tired. Good or bad?”
“Good,” he assured him. “We worked on finding a hobby.”
“Oh?”
“Apparently, baking every other day isn’t a great long-term coping mechanism.”
Remus kissed him lightly on the lips. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that.”
Sirius pulled back with a frown. “I thought you liked my baking.”
“I do. I also worry about how much space we have in our kitchen, and how much you sleep.” He gave Sirius a squeeze around the waist and patted his hip. “Now c’mere, I have a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?” Sirius asked warily as he allowed himself to be pulled toward the living room. “Do we have company?”
“Does Hattie count?”
The dog in question barked when they entered the room, though she was buried beneath a mountain of blankets and only her nose and tail stuck out. In the hour and a half Sirius had been gone, the living room had transformed into a massive fort—the couch cushions were propped up around a nest of pillows and blankets, and low amber light fell over everything from the side table lamp. It radiated coziness and warmth; he felt the last bits of his exhaustion settle into contentment. “Wow.”
Remus beamed at him. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.” He cupped his face in his hands and nudged their noses together. “And I love you. So much. I’m going to go rinse off and change, but can we cuddle afterward?”
“What do you think this is for?” Remus teased. “You took my sweatshirt.”
“It’s too big for you anyway.”
“How long until I find it in my laundry pile because it doesn’t smell like me anymore?”
Sirius pretended to think for a moment, though he couldn’t keep his smile down as happiness bubbled through every vein. “Tomorrow.”
“Go take your shower,” Remus laughed, then kissed him once again. “I’ll see if I have anything else that’ll fit you.”
212 notes · View notes
ohheyitsokay · 3 years
Text
just a day
welcome to the poly frontier? 
listen absolutely no shade to the other authors who write triple frontier poly fics (I got permission) I just wanted to try my take on what relationships with this group of guys would look like - and I honestly think my execution is going to look really really different. This one’s just for me to explore and start to develop the dynamics, so I really hope you all enjoy!
note: I’m going to say this is an 18+ series, sorry!
pairing: triple frontier guys - Will “Ironhead” Miller, Santiago “Pope” Garcia, Francisco (Frankie) “Catfish” Morales, and Ben “Benny” Miller x (f) reader
wordcount: 2k?
warnings: obviously a poly relationship, which includes kissing, domestic intimacy with all of them (not just with the reader, but not in-between Will and Ben because nope), mild sexual themes
another note: I will not be fetishizing male/male relationships, nor will I be including any romance or sexual between the brothers
>>
You wake up tucked into Will’s chest, his beard tickling your hairline like he fell asleep kissing it. Hand on his chest, you feel the steady rise and fall of it, slow and peaceful in the murky morning light. His arm is around your shoulder, half tangled in your hair, and there’s another arm tucked around your waist from behind - Santi's.
Pressing a kiss to Will’s collarbone, you gently begin the process of extracting yourself, apologizing with soft squeezes instead of words. Their hands find each others in their sleep, and you almost think you made it, for once, before Will’s blue eyes find yours for just a moment. It happens every morning – they need to know you’re okay. 
Verifying the time, he gives a bleary smile before rolling, free arm searching for a pillow to hold against his body in your place during the precious few minutes he has before he needs to get up, too. 
Frankie is in the kitchen already, and of all of them, he’s the best at hearing your quiet footsteps. His arms wrap around your frame, gathering you into him as he relishes the feeling of just you and him, for a moment.
Your nails run over his back, and he shudders at the feeling, smiling at you a little as the two of you pull things out of the fridge. It’s unreasonable, how many groceries you all go through, but feeding them is important to you, a love language in itself. Frankie was the first awake – his coffee is already brewing. In half an hour, give or take, Will and Santi will wander out, and the smells in the kitchen will change, but not yet.
For now, it’s dark roast coffee and there are quiet crunches of the apple you tossed into his broad palm. It’s not enough for the whole day so you tuck a breakfast bar into his work bag for later, with and extra jacket and a water bottle. There’s no need for notes, with him, the slow kisses he shares with you at the door are more than enough to bring him home to you in the evening. Before he can give up his time with you his hand slips under the shirt you’re wearing, just running over your bare side like he has all the time in the world. 
Then his hat is firmly on his head, and he brushes his rough thumb over your cheek, looks at the stairs to the bedroom with just a touch of longing, and slides out the door.
You’re mixing peanut butter into a premade jar of overnight oats when Will wraps his arms around you from behind, pressing his warm chest against your back. He’s tired – more than the others, and you let him borrow your strength for long moments. Santi watched from the doorway, giving them too you, his eyes fiercely affectionate, before he sandwiches Will between you half crushing you with their weight.
Laughter is a good way to start the day, even if it breaks the quiet. 
They bump into each other, happy, but silently arguing over who’s turn it is, before Santi relents and slips off to the shower. When you hand Will the jar, he kisses your temple before your mouth, and his hand is firm on your hip. He makes you eat with him, would make you pancakes if he had time, and asks what you’re working on today. His fingers flip the pen in his hand, but he’s too distracted by you to work through the paper like he did before. It’s new, all of you sharing the same space, and there are pros and cons. 
Then they trade places and Santi's body is damp and insistent as he kisses you, a little too needy for a man who has less than twenty minutes before he has to leave. You cant really deny him, though, indulging his touching while exploring him in turn, before pushing his distractingly bare chest away from you. He talks about his day a lot, considering it hasn’t happened yet, but his passion is contagious. He isn’t planning on telling you, but he fixed a bug on your laptop last night before he went to bed, and hid your favorite chocolate in your desk.
The kitchen smells like juice and granola now, and the ache of waking up is seeping out of your limbs.
When Benny comes out, you expect him to complain about the noise, but he doesn’t, just ruffles his hair and hugs Santi sleepily from behind.
His energy hasn’t quite built for the day, but he cant really sleep in like he wants to, and likes to see them off. He was restless last night, you could tell even with Santi between you on the bed, and you wonder if he relaxed at all. You give them space, retreating to get yourself ready and set up in your home office, pausing to send Will off with kisses and well wishes. When he forgets his timing and kissed down your neck, you hook your fingers in to his belt loops and he almost calls in sick.
It doesn’t happen, though, he’s too responsible without extra encouragement, and his eyes crinkle as he promises to continue, later.
Then it’s Santi and Benny’s turn, looking silly with the former prepared for tedious meetings and the other in his pajama's with a duffle bag, but that’s how it goes, sometimes. 
When Benny finishes at the gym, he finds you working away, lost in your music, and hovers at the door for awhile before his eagerness for you wins out. His hands are needy, but he doesn’t say words – his eyebrows speak for him and you nearly give in to his big, pleading eyes. 
He likes it when you run your hands through his hair, and you do, and press a promise into his cheek with your lips. You know today isn’t a day he wants to plan fights or check emails or update his socials, but he gets to it anyway, waiting for you, and needed to feel productive. They’re all too smart, beautifully, wonderfully overpowered with strength and mind and love and you know they cant help but direct it somewhere, Benny included.
As you finish your work for the morning your phone tells you the others are meeting up for lunch, and you thank them individually for the chance to give Ben a little extra attention.
Last night’s fight hadn’t gone great. The four of you had rallied behind him afterwards, patching him up while Santi yelled about justice and Frankie forced him to eat and drink, but now was time for something different. You were the center of this world they’d created, the one who’s undivided attention meant everything to them. 
Ben rarely wanted to talk about the pain, during, needed to punch it out at the gym or be soothed by Santi's validation before seeking you for heated, slightly painful kisses. Now, though, he’s frustrated with himself, and seeing it hurts in your chest like the cut across his skin.
You settle onto the huge bed in his corner, offering him your arms and a smile that soothes the throbbing in his bruises. This is a moment just for the two of you, and he takes full advantage, tucking his head onto the pillow of your chest and letting your hands wander his shoulders and hair and neck. Ben starts out ranting, but gets distracted along the way, soaking in your attention and the sliver of skin exposed on your stomach.
He kisses along the line, unable to resist half smiling at you as he licks it, almost losing himself to the temptation to go a round with you all on his own. They wouldn’t mind, really, but he doesn’t, just shifts back up to press your mouth against his. It’s slower and it’s nice for him not to have to be intense, with you.
The afternoon is spent quietly, both of you working diligently, knowing the others are doing the same, so you can cherish your precious free evening. You find a note from Frankie, a little inside joke that he knows will remind you of a story, and it makes you text him something that will make him laugh. 
At some point Santi calls you, frustrated, needing to verbal process, and the three of you on speaker phone navigate it with the gusto of heroes on a fantastical adventure. Will’s logic is absent with him, but you get the feeling it hardly matters, this time around. In truth, Ben is better at working the tightness out of Santi’s voice, and when you talk, you can hear him sigh like you’ve scrubbed a bit of darkness out of his day. 
When he gets home his mood is much improved and he picks Benny up with a grunt, spinning him around once, thick arms careful of the younger man’s sore spots. You get an equally soft kiss, and you smack him when he squeezes your ass, a glint in his eye.
There’s still a bit of shyness in Ben as he asks Pope to look over the videos from the fight, still a bit of awe and raw respect for the older man, and it makes you melt a little to see. The men are tentative sometimes, about the developments in their relationships with each other, but some things needn’t change. 
The couch is nice, a recent purchase, and you have a matching chair you like to settle in, mostly ignoring the distant voices and glancing out the window through the leaves of a large tree in the front yard. There’s a story on your phone you’ve been meaning to catch up on, and it’s peaceful, reading as the clouds float by.
There’s sounds of tires rolling over the gravel, and it makes you laugh when you open the door to see Ironhead and Catfish carrying no less than a small crate of take-out from Benny’s favorite Italian place. Unpacking it, Will spends more time invading your space, catching up, and flirting with you than Frankie does. He would never say it aloud, but he’s excited to see the reaction to their surprise.
He gets a perfect one – Benny yells when he smells it, and is jumping up and down, and the way Frankie’s chest puffs tells you it was his idea. Will gives you a squeeze and you know he’s proud, too, if for different reasons. He takes the moment of distraction, while the attention is on his brother, to slip his hand in your back pocket and kiss you without anyone noticing. If he had his way, he would yank you into the laundry room, but the idea of eating together keeps your feet planted and he sighs against your mouth. 
The boys eat like they’re starved, before they’re grabbing at you, coaxing you into the living room, and you’re beyond thankful there’s not really dishes to do. It’s not that they would make you do them, but it’s nice for all of you to be able to ride out the remarkably low-effort evening. 
Santi is insistent it’s his turn – the others have all had their time with you today, and only Will grumbles. They compromise, your legs over the later,  your side in the protective hallow of the formers chest. You choose a movie at random, knowing they’ll talk through it if you do. It’s nice, to listen to them banter from the cozy arms wrapped around you.
They get caught up talking about an old friend you’ve never met, and Frankie tries to explain things to you as they rapid-fire stories and bets on where he is now. You roll your eyes when you lose track again and again, but it’s full of joy, and he catches it before getting pulled into a ridiculous debate. 
Hands run over your calves, gently kneading, and you wonder if Will even knows he’s doing it – taking care of you is his second nature.
The film is finished but the talking hasn’t, now moved on to the inaccuracies in the movie as they try to outdo each other with random useless knowledge. There’s no real annoyance in their voices as they bite at each other, and you think that really, nothing has changed, and it’s good.
At some point you doze off.
There’s hushed arguing, and Frankie wins, scooping you into his sturdy arms and carrying you to bed. He likes the way you murmur your thanks, and his heart pounds as you sleepily pull off his hat and toss it somewhere. It makes him feel like you knew it was him, could feel it was, even in your mostly unconscious state. It’s a nice feeling, and he tucks it away in his mind, hoping to save it for if ever he get’s jealous. 
The sleeping arrangements are a mess – Will has tried multiple times to make cohesive charts, and none of them stick. It’s a tangle of limbs and everyone shifts depending on temperature and general neediness. Santi laments the choice of a movie over a long evening of unhurried lovemaking, and receives and smack on the stomach in return. It makes you wake, halfway, and when your arms reach for him, he forgets his previous complaints.
They settle at their own pace, quiet conversations floating in and out of your dreams, and the sounds of teeth being brushed and plans being made make you smile. Tomorrow maybe, you’ll be up without a thought, awake and talking or kissing with whoever else didn’t need as much sleep, but for now, you didn’t mind. It was just day, with many before and many to come.
>>
taglist:
@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost @writeforfandoms @beautyagegoodnesssize @princess76179 @mrsbentallmadge
237 notes · View notes
aerialflight · 3 years
Text
Fic Rec (it's been too long and I read a whole lot of fics)
I've read so many fics these past couple of months and my need to share them to the world has seized me by the throat. Please enjoy and support these fanfic writers! They are the best. XD
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[Naruto]
Nine-Tailed Foxes are Dead by RowlettLesbian
Ship: Shikamaru/Naruto
For Konoha, it's been one month since the preliminary Chunin exams. For Naruto, it's been six. And he wasn't in Konoha.
At the end of his ordeal, Naruto walks into the Chunin Exam finals without his left arm.
Shikamaru is very concerned. And, eventually, very precious to Naruto as they work together to solve the mysteries of Konoha and bring kindness to the Shinobi world, one adventure at a time.
(I would die for this fic. I know the summary sounds doom and gloom but IT'S NOT. This fic made me fucking cry, I don't think I've ever read a fic that characterized Naruto so right. He's so full of hope and love and develops into the best version of himself and I'm so HERE FOR IT. And it's not just Naruto, Shikamaru is absolutely amazing here along with Kakashi and surprise surprise Ino, I can't BELIEVE it took me this long to stumble across this fic. Also THE WORLDBUILDING IS TO DIE FOR!!! And the plot! Is! So! Interesting! Just, everything about this fic is just amazing so please PLEASE read this!!!)
The End of the Uchiha by RowlettLesbian
Ship: Naruto/Sasuke
“I promise, little electric spirit of this shrine,” he whispered into the soft dirt and fallen leaves, “I will never gain the eyes. I will never pass them on. And I will make sure the eyes end in my brother, so that they can’t hurt anybody anymore. I will be the last Uchiha, and see to the end of the Copy-Wheel Clan. Then all of the hatred here can stop, and my family can rest peacefully. I promise, little shrine.”
Sasuke is more than his brother thinks he is. He's more than any Uchiha has ever been. He will kill his brother, but it will not be vengeance.
It will be mercy.
(Same author as the one above, they are the gift that keeps on giving. Seriously, HOW did I NEVER FIND THESE FICS before now??? One of life's greatest mysteries. The author's sense of humor is so on point here along with the atmospheric writing that's so vivid in the mind. Their writing style is so recognizable to me now and makes me fall into the world they're creating, it's stunning. Sasuke here makes me want to hug him and the idea of him living like a feral ghibli character has me LIVING. Check the tags of the fic, all of it is true, hand to god. Please give all of the author's fics a shot, it's a rabbit hole I'm thankful I fell into!)
mil fantasmas (gritan en calma) by LegaciesandMemories
Post-Tsukuyomi, something in Uchiha Sasuke's mind shatters. The same night, Yamanaka Ino falls asleep and doesn't wake up for 15 days.
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In which Ino and Sasuke both wake from the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre with the ability to see ghosts, and no one is prepared for the fallout.
(This fic has arrested my curiosity and eagerness to know what will happen next. These poor kids need so many hugs and Ino is getting the spotlight she deserves. I am so excited for this fic and what it has in store! Please read! XD)
Lichtenberg Figures by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)
Name: Kakashi Hatake Rank: Jounin Status: Missing Nin Missing Since: June 15th, 271 AD Note: Flee on Sight . . . Haburashi looked his team in the eyes— three, fresh out of the Academy genin— and resolved to teach them as best as he could. And right now, his lesson was simple: “Stay. Away. From. Kakashi. Hatake.”
(Dimension travel fic with a slice of Kakashi being an absolute troll and dealing with the shitty hand he's been dealt with. Seriously, the man has the worst luck in all of Konoha. Also, the mystery of the other Kakashi's history has me leaning by the edge of my seat, I need to know.)
The Governess by Ysmirel
Ship: Kakashi/OFC
"“What,” he finally asked, “is so funny?”
Ibara bit her lower lip to keep the chuckles in, still smiling and making absolutely no effort to get more space between them, seemingly perfectly at ease within reach of a trained shinobi. Her self-control wasn't all that good, as she ended up snorting and was overcame once again by another fit of laughter. “I just- It's just-” She struggled to speak, trying to catch her breath and wiping away tears of mirth with the hand that wasn't still holding onto his vest. Finally, she looked him in the eye and said, with a smile that was all teeth and without a hint of her previous drunken stupor, “and who's going to believe you?”
As he stood there, stunned by her words and change in demeanor, he realized with dawning horror that she was right."
In which Kakashi finds himself at the other end of the troll shtick, and he doesn't appreciate it all that much.
(It's so hard to find self-insert fics with a fresh concept these days, especially in the naruto fandom. Not that I don't enjoy and devour a lot of self insert fics like it's going out of style, but it's just so nice to find something new and shiny and really damn good. I'm so pumped for this fic and how it's going to develop so please join me in rooting for this fic!)
half a league (until the valley of death) by SpectersShadow117
Kakashi can think of no reason for Sasuke's inexplicable and drastic change in behavior. He doesn't like the desperate, haunted gleam in his student's eyes, and he also doesn't like the nagging feeling that he's missing something very important. Aka: Future Sasuke goes to Past Sasuke and gives him a reality check with Specific Intentions, but as with most Uchiha, his methods leave much to be desired. (Featuring: Childhood trauma FTW, Konoha's shitty care of orphans, and absolutely no one having a fun time.)
(Sasuke wanting to change the future out of complete and utter spite has me LIVING. Sasuke is such a Mess here and the twist on the time travel premise is so good and the kid is so Traumatized and Desperate and Not Having A Good Time. Naruto and Sakura developing as better ninjas and Kakashi trying his best makes me want to scream. Also, how Sasuke thinks about Itachi makes me want to cackle. I am 100% down for this. I am rooting for this kid, go get them! XD)
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[Harry Potter]
fruit loops in time (circle around me) by justprompts
Ships: Harry/Draco, Remus/Sirius
"This is Crabbe, and Goyle," the blonde boy says, pointing at the two boys next to him. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Ma - "
Ron laughs, and Malfoy immediately bristles.
"Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy says, angrily. "No need to ask yours - "
"You're honestly so cute," Ron interrupts, yet again, shaking his head. "So tiny. And so angry, all the time. It's adorable."
Alternatively Ron Weasley, Time Traveller Extraordinaire, is stuck in the same seven year Hogwarts Loop, repeating the same thing over and over again. Naturally, he's so done with everything.
(This is the greatest hp fic I've ever read. I LOVE RON WEASLEY and by the time you read this fic SO WILL YOU!! This is the fic I WISH I have the ability to write. I read this entire fic aloud to my brother and we spent literal hours howling and talking about how utterly insane and incredible this fic is, it's amazing. This is hands down my favorite Ron Weasley. You Can Pry This Fic From My Cold Dead Fingers.)
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[Boku no Hero Academia]
Kacchan's Cult by Ourliazo
Pro Hero Ground Zero is attacked, originally meant to be de-aged out of existence by a desperate villain but is instead launched into his 14-year-old self.
But Katsuki is a fucking pro so whatever, time to fuck up someone's day. And sure, maybe he's only one man, but that's why he conscripts the entirety of the UA student body into tearing down some criminal empires.
(It's time travel, crack, and Bakugou being his usual explody, competent self. What more in life do you want? Seriously though, please read. I'm obsessed with this fic and having a Good Time!)
Cleaning Crew; Teaching Kids to Value their Safety, for Fun and Profit by Reavv
Takenaka Hideo is a thirty-two year old, in mild desperation for money, who has just been hired as a new janitor for UA's support staff. He has a quirk that lets him find lost objects, a liaison with the police because of it, and desperate desire for competent co-workers.
Oh, and he's already lived a previous life, in a world where quirks and heroes didn't even exist.
Not a big deal, though. It's not like you ever see the janitor playing a big part in action movies. He's here to get paid, and that's it.
On the opposite side of the equation, class 1-A has to wonder at the new UA cryptid that always seems to show up when things are on fire, and who keeps trying to convince them to let the adults handle the fire extinguisher.
(A great deal of fun packed into one fic. That is how I title this fic and nothing will change my mind! Hideo just wants to quietly do his job and not get in the way. I Relate. Please read!)
Poltergeist by WriterGreenReads
Class 1-A is haunted.
Well, not really.
I AM dead, though.
World's friendliest poltergeist, at your service.
(I don't know how I got so sucked into OC fics, but I found some fantastic fics along the way so I have no regrets. The author really tries to push the premise and I just love all the interactions and dynamics that form as the fic gets further in. And the OC character and all the hijinks they get up to cracks me up! At the same time, it's pretty heartwarming and it's practically a friendships galore fic! Definitely recommend it!)
invincible by supercrunch for Engrin
Ship: Bakugou/Midoriya
This is the way the world works: the sun rises in the east. The strong come out on top. Bakugou Katsuki rockets through life like a comet and Midoriya Izuku stumbles after. If he believed in such things Katsuki would say it was written in the stars. That some god of war had looked at him and said this one. That he’d been passed along a line to get his blessings – genius, willpower, fearless ambition – and dropped off on earth.
Then, of course, there is the question of Deku. The spitfire runt. Deku, no matter what the world does to him, never stops hoping.
Until, of course, he eventually does.
(Katsuki broke him. Snapped him in half like a twig and now has to scramble to put Deku back together. “We can do this, Deku," he says slowly. "There are so many mysteries that never got put to bed. Criminals roaming around looking to hurt people and you and me, we can fix that.”
There’s a long pause. The comforter slips a little off Deku’s skinny shoulders and drowns him. “You mean like a team?”
In that split second, Katsuki makes a decision he’s never even considered. He swallows his pride. “Yeah, Deku. We’d be a team.”)
(If there was any other way canon could've gone, this is the story I would've wanted. It's perfect.)
Inadvertent Wilderness Therapy by Cacid
Following an unfortunate encounter with a teleporter on the last day of internships, Bakugou Katsuki and Hakamata Tsunagu spend some quality time in northern Canada.
In no particular order they will: build ugly survival shelters, stalk rabbits, run from polar bears, reflect on the chemical composition of trees, insult each other, and complain about krumholtz.
(THESE TWO. TOGETHER. IN THE WILDERNESS. IN FUCKING CANADA OF ALL PLACES. I still can't believe this fic actually exists and just how INVESTED I became in their relationship. Blue Jeanist instantly became my favorite ranked hero with this fic alone. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR IS TERRIBLE, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FNIEWOPAF. BAKUGOU DOES TOO. IT'S FUCKING INCREDIBLE. *incoherent screeching into the wild*)
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[Stranger Things]
Baci D'aria by RabbitDarling
“Love is worth the sum of itself, and nothing more.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic
Steve learned a lot at his Aunt's side before she passed but his favourite thing she taught him was baci d'aria; special little spells that you created from the heart and put into the food you shared.
In opening his heart and gifts to those around him Steve slowly finds himself a family in a way he never thought he'd get to experience. One by One he collects pre-teens to trail in his wake like ducklings and Steve can't even refute it by the time he realizes what has happened.
(This fic is so soft and Steve is just collecting people and winning them over with his magical food (literally). I am always a sucker for heartwarming, good for the soul fics so if you want to make yourself hungry and feel all warm and gooey inside, read this!)
(Don't Fear) The Reaper by TeaFourTwo
Ship: Steve/Billy
He looks down at the blood on his hands and on the floor and wonders why the memory hasn’t broken yet, why he isn’t back in Starcourt mall with control of his body again, wonders if he's even still alive at all. Is this hell then? Or perhaps purgatory? It certainly isn’t heaven, that’s for sure. None of this makes any sense…but then what's new—nothing in Billy’s life makes sense anymore.
Billy laughs then, loud and long and unhinged. It's the only sound in the whole house, and it bounces off the walls like a fucked up echo, like the world is laughing with him.
“Jesus christ you’re insane…” It’s Max’s voice and it’s shaking. It only makes Billy laugh harder, because Max has it all wrong. Billy isn’t crazy, it’s the rest of the world that’s insane.
--
Billy dies a hero of sorts. He wakes up back in his bed on Saturday morning, the third of November, 1984...nearly nine months earlier.
(Billy is stuck in a time loop and it's slowly driving him crazy. And the fic shows just how much influence Billy did have in the plot and how doomed the world is without him in it. Great character exploration with Billy's character and all the ways he's so messy and human. Definitely recommend it!)
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[Knives Out]
The Road Less Traveled By by UisceOneLove
Ship: Marta/Ransom
If Harlan wants to leave Ransom to be on his own, fine. He'll show him just what Ransom Drysdale is capable of.
or, where Ransom chooses to prove his abilities through means of the non-homicidal variety and finds himself becoming exactly what Harlan was hoping he would.
(I found this fic out of sheer chance and god, Ransom is just, so fascinating to me as a character. Marta of course is the Best here and I will forever stan her. Seriously, this is such a good fic! Please read!)
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[Haikyuu!!]
Sky Full of Stars by grilledsquids
The Hinatas are twins. They're practically identical.
But while Shouyou seeks out Karasuno's volleyball team to become the next Little Giant, Natsu is scouted to to play soccer for Shiratorizawa. While Shouyou sets his eyes on playing volleyball at the highest level possible, his sister wonders how much longer she can play soccer... and if it's worth it to keep going.
A Natsu-centric story featuring: Shiratorizawa VBC shenanigans, too many soccer OCs, mild teenage drama, a little bit of plot, and Semi Eita not knowing what a period is.
(It's just!! So cute and wholesome!!! The Shiratorizawa volleyball team is so fleshed out along with the OC characters for the girl's soccer team and I swear, it's been a long while since I've laughed this much at the sheer shenanigans that happen in a fic. It's surprisingly hard to find good gen fics in this fandom so finding this gem made me so happy! If you want a fic that brings a smile to your face, read this!!)
like water by speakingincode
Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama
“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi says, and when Tooru looks at him, he can read My best friend’s an idiot off the crease of his eyebrows. “Are you telling me you spent the last three years weirdly obsessed with Kageyama – I still remember the time you made us play him on a dumb whim, you know – and now you’re at his beck and call? Are you okay? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m— I’m not at his beck and call! I said no last week. It’s… It’s like you said. I get bored easily. I saw him at the park a couple weeks after they played Nationals and called him a perfect little tyrant, and he pestered me into spending time with him after,” Tooru says. “I’m not a monster, Iwa-chan. If he wants the company of his cool, handsome ex-upperclassman that badly, who am I to begrudge him?”
Or: Oikawa doesn't know why Kageyama keeps asking to meet him on Saturdays. He also doesn't know why he keeps saying yes.
(The fact this fic is canon-compliant and covers post-canon too makes me want to shout to the heavens. Fucking incredible! One of the best Oikakage fics ever and it's a crime how it's not at the top of the ship tag. Please please read!!)
twist into your shape by kakkoweeb
Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama
The only thing better than sweets were sweets containing paper that told you whether your future would be good or bad--or in Kageyama and Oikawa's case, paper that somehow caused you to live inside each other's bodies.
(Everyone probably already read this fic but it needs to be said, you need to read this fic. How these two try and manage each other's lives and slowly start to care about one another is so beautiful and sincere and I am ready to wrestle anyone to the floor and comply them into reading this fic. Doesn't matter if you like the ship, you will become a fan if you read it, I promise. Please please read!!)
Take the Long Road Home by pepperfield
Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura
When Azumane Asahi goes missing before his engagement meeting with Kozume Kenma, what other option is there but for Daichi to impersonate his brother and fake his way through a first date with Asahi's fiance?
Okay, let's be realistic - there were probably at least four other options.
Unfortunately, Tetsurou couldn't come up with any of them either, so now he's here flirting with Kenma's future husband while trying to keep his web of deceit from collapsing.
It's going to be an eventful day.
(I got obsessed with this ship alongside Oikakage and SO WILL YOU. THE POTENTIAL. THE BANTER. THE FACT THEY'RE BOTH DORKS AND THE FIC HAS IDENTITY SHENANIGANS DANCING ALL OVER IT!! I had so much fun reading this and these two are MEANT TO BE FENIWPAF. If you don't see the potential of this ship, you will now.)
a misunderstanding a day keeps the boyfriend away by bartallen for betuls
Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura
Kuroo doesn’t fall in love hard and fast like many others do – he falls slowly, and very very softly. Most of the times he doesn’t even realise he’s in love with someone until it’s too late.
(Kuroo is the dumbest man alive and I've never related to someone so hard in my life. God help me.)
You like me. by roseknight
Ship: Daishou/Kuroo
Kuroo nearly lived a Daishou-free life, and sometimes he looked back and wondered how much better and how much worse that would've been.
(I didn't even know who Daishou was until I read this fic and now I can't unsee the potential this ship has. I'm a ruined woman and I regret NOTHING.)
Kings of the Road, Kings of the Universe by EzzyDean
Eight magical captains, one bus, an entire summer (and country) waiting for them.
What could possibly go wrong?
(The magic of friendship meets the magic of a summer road trip meets pure magic.)
(CAPTAIN SQUAD IS THE BEST SQUAD SOMEBODY PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SEND ME SOME CAPTAIN SQUAD FICS I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS SQUAD IT'S A PROBLEM AAAAHHHHHH!)
宿縁 : See You Soon by MissKiraBlue
Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama
Upon arriving at the train station of death, an impure soul is granted a second chance at life against his will. Reincarnating into the body of Kageyama Tobio, a 15-year-old boy who recently committed suicide. Tobio's soul will depart at death and the soul needs to slip in to replace it. If the soul's reformation succeeds, he’ll reenter the cycle of rebirth and regain the right to be reborn. He will have three months to accomplish this task.
“Even though you had enough of life,” the soul whispered into the void of the room, “you were still afraid to hurt your hands, Tobio.”
Afraid of giving himself a scar, if he survived.
He touched his pulse and grasped life and couldn’t help but pity Kageyama Tobio.
"You wanted to die and now I’m here making you live again," he whispered into the night.
(I'm not even exaggerating when I say out of all the fics in this entire goddamn, too long list, this is the fic I'm anticipating and heart eyeing the most. It's only starting, but I already cried on chapter fucking 2, the power of this fic, holy shit. The author also wrote the hq time loop Every Tomorrows series, which I have an undying love for and am full on praying for the day it updates, so you KNOW this fic will be just as good. (Anybody who hasn't read this series, where the hell have you been?? Read it!!) Just, everything about this fic hurts me and something in my chest just aches when I read this fic. Go into it blind with an open heart and I swear to you, it's going to change your life. I'm already calling it. Seriously though, please please read!)
-
[Crossover]
Learning to Fly by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)
Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, Naruto
The number three hero is a walking (well, flying) contradiction in every sense of the word. This includes his teaching skills. Why had Tokoyami agreed to this internship again? Oh right. He’d thought he was actually going to learn something. …….remind him to never be so optimistic again. . . . OR, Kakashi Hatake is reincarnated as the pro hero, Hawks. Tokoyami Fumikage suffers as a result.
(The reincarnation fic I never thought I needed and it's so good!! I've never really paid attention to Tokoyami and this fic sent me headfirst into loving him. Their dynamic is so interesting and I just love how their relationship develops. Also, Kakashi trolling the poor kid made me cackle, it's great! Definitely recommend it!)
Si Vis Pacem by athenoot
Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, John Wick
Everything has a price. That's what John has always known and will forever remember, even in death.
Which is pretty ironic considering his current circumstance.
Instead of a grown, scarred, weary body belonging to a man as cruel and broken as him, he's inhabiting a younger, smaller, unblemished one belonging to a child with strangely colored hair, and is living in what seems to be a superhuman society.
Well. May it never be said that John isn't a strategist. He can live with this. Maybe.
(Somewhere out there in the universe, he's certain he could hear the laughter of his enemies from beyond the grave.)
-
Or: John Wick is reincarnated as Midoriya Izuku. The world should probably watch its back.
(This should be one of the crackiest fics I've read in a while, but it's taken so seriously and I'm so HERE FOR THIS. John Wick being John Wick in a world of quirks and heroes is the GREATEST, honestly, he's so badass. Bakugou, I feel for you, you must be so fucking confused lol. Bakugou trying his best to be a good friend is one of the best things about this fic. Trust me, this fic will make your day, promise!)
A Girl's Mind is a Dangerous Place by clenastia
Fandoms: Naruto, Fairy Tail
Natsu wakes up in Sakura's body. It only gets worse from there. Also known as: In Which Natsu has No Idea what to do with Boobs.
(I binged this in two fucking days, I couldn't put it down. This fic reminded me why I liked fairy tail when I was younger and why Natsu is honestly such a great protagonist, god. And the fic does that thing, you know, the Thing where when two worlds collide, the characters struggle to acclimate and adapt to a completely another world with different rules and mindsets against their own. This fic is seriously one of the best when it comes to that aspect, it's incredible. I am going absolutely feral over here for this fic to update, I'm waiting in the wings, ready to pounce like a tiger, all the metaphors man. For the love of god, read this fic.)
Give me a landscape made of obstacles by Melise
Fandoms: Naruto, Natsume's Book of Friends
Kakashi Hatake isn’t who he says he is.
Because the truth is that he’s actually a youkai in disguise, a wolf spirit named Madara who stumbled across the Hatake clan during the Warring States Period. Intrigued by the shinobi he saw, he’d proposed a temporary alliance in which he would offer the clan protection in exchange for their teachings.
Decades later, Madara is surprised to find himself inadvertently summoned to Konoha by the last living member of the Hatake clan. Sakumo Hatake, who is mourning the recent deaths of his wife and stillborn child, doesn’t want to be alone anymore. So with his permission, Madara takes the place of Sakumo’s deceased son in order to watch over the last Hatake.
(Fusion in which the youkai of Natsume’s Book of Friends all exist in the Naruto world. No knowledge of Natsume’s Book of Friends required).
(Before this fic, I only had a very vague idea of what Natsume's Book of Friends was, and honestly, I still don't know much about it. But I didn't really need to know to get into this fic. I love the worldbuilding and the relationships Kakashi forms, both supernatural and mortal. I love how Kakashi's inhumane ways affect others around him, whether to stress them out or become used to the strange. You can go straight into this fic without knowing anything and absolutely still have a fantastic time. I definitely recommend this so please read!)
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boldlyvoid · 3 years
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Amoreena | chapter twelve
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Chapter Twelve
main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.
Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.
Chapter Warnings: spencers mom has a bad day at the doctor's and so spencer thinks he's going to have a bad day too but he ends up having the best day of his entire life.
talk of pregnancy, celebratory sex, oral (female receiving), grinding, no penetration, serious deep talks after sex about their most depressive episodes, sharing trauma and making sure they know the other is loved regardless of what goes on in their mind. it's a rough one so read with caution
word count: 4.5K
from the beginning <3
He was up before Amoreena, awaking for the second time that morning to the sound of his alarm, kissing Y/N on the forehead before leaving their bed, she simply laid there and watched him get ready.
Most of his clothes were here now, every time he was near his apartment he brought more and more things home with him. Because that wasn’t his home, it hadn’t been for a long time, even when he lived there it was just a trove of books and a bed he slept on occasionally.
They were probably going to move all his stuff over in the summer, after the second wedding… after the girls meet Taylor, and hopefully when Y/N’s actually pregnant and not too sick or tired to help.
“Come here,” she whispers before he can slip out of the room, “kiss your wife.”
He can’t help but smile as he bounds towards the bed, jumping in and wrapping her up in his arms. He smothers her face in kisses, making her laugh, still half asleep as she let him manhandle her.
“I love you,” he reminded her.
“We love you too,” she replied with a smile, answering for Amoreena even though she was still asleep down the hall, “don’t wake her up yet, she needs all her rest for today.”
“I’ll be quiet,” he responds with a smile, kissing her again before he finally gets out of the bed, if not he would have stayed there forever.
He tiptoes down the hall and into Amoreena’s room, kissing her sweet little forehead lightly before exiting just as quietly. It was like he was never there.
He snuck down the stairs quietly, locked the door behind himself on the way out, and took off down the driveway in his old blue Volvo amazon, paying extra attention to the path for any kitties or Rufus out on their morning strolls.
It didn’t take long for a happy day to go sour when he was in a doctor's office with his mom. Those were the worst places he could go with her, especially on a bad day. Her mind was playing tricks on her, she really didn’t like hospitals or government buildings, even lawyers' offices stressed her out.
Today she was convinced he wasn’t really her son, Spencer, and that he was actually leading her to be a government experiment. It was hard to see her struggle, especially on a day they needed to ask her serious questions while she sat still. It was the fact she had to stay awake for 24 hours that triggered the episode, the EEG requiring her mind to be deprived of sleep. It was rough, she barely knew him. They wouldn’t have the test results for a while but he already knew it wasn’t good.
He dropped her back off at the home as quickly as he could, not able to deal with the verbal abuse any longer, he didn’t even say goodbye. The woman he dropped off was his mother on the outside but not on the inside today. It was really hard to look at her and know her, but not see that same look in her eyes.
By the time he’s returning to the farm, it’s 11:45 and he’s exhausted.
He finds Y/N in the bedroom, lying in bed in just a t-shirt and her underwear, completely sound asleep with the blankets thrown off the bed. She looks so beautiful, he slips out of his clothes to match her, sliding into bed beside her and just looking at her perfect face.
He presses a kiss to her shoulder that startles her awake, “oh god, Spencer!” she places her hand on her heart as she calms down.
“Sorry,” he smiles, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in closer.
“How’s your mom?” Her tired words meet his ears and his smile dies.
“Not great, really don’t want to talk about it yet,” he was honest with her, snuggling in closer as she hummed in agreement to drop it. “How was Amoreena’s morning?”
“I told Amoreena I wouldn’t tell you, but I don’t need to you to freak out in front of all the kids or cry or pass out in front of all them, but there’s a positive pregnancy test on her all about me project,” she explains it like she’s about to say it’s just Amoreena’s from 8 years ago…
He pulls back slowly, looking into her eyes as she smiles wider and wider, “you’re pregnant?”
She nods her head as her smile gets bigger and toothier, she’s wrapping her arms around him so tight it’s like he can’t breathe for multiple reasons.
“We did it, Spencer, I made you a daddy again,” the words carry from her mouth in a beautiful tune.
He’s holding her back so gently, afraid to squeeze too hard and hurt her and the tiny little life that’s starting inside her. He’s silent, overjoyed but absolutely dumbstruck at the fact it’s real. A month ago he thought about walking into traffic after work and just seeing what happened, now he was a father of 2 with a wife and a happy farm and a life that was good.
A life he deserved.
All thanks to a beautiful little girl with an interest in dinosaurs and making new friends. Amoreena was an angel sent from heaven, improving both of their lives greatly, and now they were making another.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, oh my god yes, I’m just,” he didn’t know what words to say and it was evident. “Amoreena knows?”
She nodded softly, “she now knows girl parts make eggs, boy parts make sperm, and that adults have sex but you can only make a baby at 25, she really didn’t seem to be all that interested in the science, but she’s excited to be a big sister.”
“Wow,” it all caught up to him then, he placed his hand on her stomach softly, “hi little one.”
Y/N laid back against the bed, pulling her shirt up so he could see the barely-there bump, “It’s mostly leftover’s from Amoreena, but yeah, there’s another one in there.”
He couldn’t help himself from running his hands over the curve of her stomach, thinking about Amoreena being in there once upon a time and how tiny she must have been. It was even weirder to think that a part of her was once even in him.
“It’s strange to think that I jerked off into a cup and you made the most perfect kid on earth with it… it just feels like it doesn’t add up. She’s so perfect I can’t believe she was once a part of us both,” he can’t help but let his inner monologue seep out, she didn’t mind it, she loved hearing how his mind worked.
“I can’t wait to see you holding this little one,” her hands joined his on her stomach, the shape of her forefingers and thumbs making a heart over her bare belly.
Spencer leaned in and kissed right in the middle, beside her belly button, in love with whoever was in there already.
“Amoreena had a dream last night too,” Y/N cuts into his little moment, “guess how many sisters she said she had.”
“8?” Spencer can’t help but smile.
She nods, “I don’t know what it is about this house but the good dreams always come true, who knows how many babies are in there right now.”
“I hope just one for now,” he says in all honesty, “I really want time with just one little one, you and Amoreena. A family of four for a bit and then the twins, that’s how it was in the dream.”
“Did they have names?”
“You called them Elly, Junie, tho and Cordelia, and you said there were 3 sets of twins, two after Cordelia,” he remembers it all as if he was really there, whispering all the words against her stomach, his cheek resting on the band of her underwear as he laid between her legs with his arms around her.
“Amoreena, Elizabeth, Juniper, Theodora, and Cordelia were all the options I was choosing from last time,” she says with the widest smile, “how the heck did your mind know that?”
“It felt very real, which is why I was so worried about where I was, I don’t know how I could have missed anything but now I know that part was just my anxiety,” Spencer rationalized it. “Amoreena probably had the better version of that future in her dream last night.”
“I was having a great dream before you came back,” she teases him, running her fingers through his hair as he continues to kiss her stomach.
He loops his fingers around the band of her underwear, sliding it down just low enough to really kiss where that baby of his is hiding out. She lifts her hips into the contact, letting him slip them down her legs and completely off, she spreads her legs even more.
He takes his time pressing a kiss to every single inch of her, her skin is soft, her leg hair is prickly on his hands and his cheeks but it’s nice, he rubs his face against her like a cat marking his territory as she continued to scratch his scalp.
He spread her open with two fingers, he presses a soft kiss to her clitoris and all the way down to her opening before licking a wet stripe up the sensitive skin. The moan she releases is the loudest one he’s heard on her yet, it was really the first time he’s been allowed to really enjoy her.
“It’s important for your partner to help with the stretching in the third trimester,” she teases him, “but they don’t mention anything about starting too early being a bad thing.”
“I don’t want to disrupt anything in there,” he worries aloud, letting her decide if it’s okay.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she laughed, “I don’t think you’d reach them, but if you’re really worried there are other ways to help.”
“Such as,” he asks, lowering his face back down to her wet heat, continuing to explore her with his tongue as he expects her to talk.
“You, um you can, shit, wow,” she props herself up on her elbows to get a better look at what he’s doing as she stalls for a few minutes, “just rub yourself over me, Spencer please, I want more of you.”
She grips him by his cheeks and pulls him up into a kiss, both of them rushing to push his boxers down and off his legs, she spreads her own once more so he can press against her.
His hard cock resting flat against her, rubbing back and forth as he spreads her wetness around with him. The head gliding over her clit just the right way as she held him close to her body, kissing down his neck and sucking marks all over his chest.
She was desperate for him and who was he to deprive her, so he rocked into her more, grinding down harder against her body and making her shaking lightly. It felt better, more intimate, more euphoric than any other sex he’s had, just being close to her had him on the edge faster than he expected to get there.
She’s chanting his name then, head tossed back against the pillow as she digs her fingers into his asscheeks, holding him so close to him he can feel her orgasm rush through her. She stills, bucking up into him one last time as he finishes all across her stomach.
His hands are curled around her cheeks then, holding her perfect face in his hands as he hovers over her, using everything in his power to not crush her or the baby. He’s trying so hard to steady his breathing, so is she, they just smile at each other, laughing lightly at how in love they are.
“I love you,” he says on impulse, “you’re so good to me.”
“Look at all the good you’ve given me,” she whispers, “it would be wrong for me not to love you for everything you’ve done for me, whether you were aware of it or not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to tell you about my depression while your cum dries between us like glue,” she laughed at how crude it sounded.
He laughs lightly too, rolling off her to see just how much of a mess they made. “Tell me in the shower?”
“Seems appropriate,” she agreed, taking his hand and following him into the bathroom.
He loved the old feel of her bathroom, the green linoleum and floral wallpaper, the pink towels and bright orange shower curtain, it was happy and bright and the perfect place to laugh for half an hour as they washed each other.
She has him pressed against the shower wall then, water trickling over them gently as she stares into his eyes, “I don’t know how to say it without it coming out really scary,” she finally resumes the conversation they were about to have in the bedroom.
“I’ve probably been in the same mental state, I’m not going to judge your method of choice,” he explains it in a way that she’ll know he really, really gets it.
“I had a few suicidal thoughts when my grandma went to chemo before I chose your sample and before I did all the hormones, I was thinking why should I stay and bring another life into my misery when I could just die first and not have to see her go through that anymore,” she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth as she stops, letting him digest all the words.
“Did you try anything?” He’s not sure why he’s asking.
She shakes her head, the best no he’s ever seen in his life. “My grandma noticed on my birthday when I wasn't coming down for breakfast like normal, I was really depressed and so we went out and talked and had lunch together for the first time in forever cause she wasn't feeling sick, I’ll never forget it. It was the best and worst birthday of my life.”
“I’m the worst husband ever,” he says, taking her by surprise, “I don’t even know your birthday.”
It makes her laugh, taking her out of the sadness as she realizes he really doesn’t judge her, he gets it completely. “January 16th, 1986, three minutes after Evan,” she manages to say it with a smile.
“That’s the date Maeve died,” both of them stare at each other in shock, wondering just how many other coincidences they had out there to figure out.
“How many days after did you donate?”
“On the 19th,” he confirmed without taking a breath, “holy shit.”
“We both were suicidal on the same day,” she covers her mouth with a wet slap, laughing at the worst thing she’s ever said, it’s the shock and the emotions of everything catching up to her right then and there.
“Oh my god,” he laughs in response, both of them laughing as they hugged in the corner of her green shower. “we are fucked up.”
“Soulmate things,” she shrugged, holding him even tighter.
He wished she could see his face then, the looking that overcame him as he heard the word soulmates. She just called him her soulmate. He licks his lips, taking it all in and almost hyperventilating, she can feel the way his breathing changes as she looks up with concern.
“What?”
He shakes the thoughts out, swallowing sharply as he makes eye contact with her, “nothing.”
“No, I know that look Spencer, what did your brain say to you this time? I will go in there and kick its ass,” she pokes his forehead then, threatening his anxiety to fuck off.
“I never thought I’d get to hear someone say that to me, it’s stupid,” he felt too vulnerable suddenly, sky and closed off.
“Who hurt you?” She asks in complete curiosity, wanting to know why he can’t imagine someone loving him.
“My parents,” it slips out before he can catch it, “I love my mom. I always have to preface that, she did what she could but it was nowhere near enough. I don’t hold anything against her, I just hate that that’s how it was, that she had bad days at all because they always shine brighter in my memory than the good days.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you,” she worries this time, seeing the hurt on his face and feeling like she fucked up, he can read her micro-expressions easier than anyone else.
“I would have told you soon enough, my dad left because of my mom's illness and he made sure I knew he didn’t want me. I don’t care that he kept up with me on the internet, the fact he didn’t even care to let me know he lived 10 miles from me my whole life makes me feel sick. I was 14 point 6 miles away from Amoreena this whole time and I would give all my fucking organs to go back in time and be with her from day 1, I don’t get how he could just not love me?” The rant comes out of his mouth for the first time ever, the same thoughts that have been there building for 40 years bursting at the seam.
She reaches behind them to turn off the water then, stepping away from him while he cools down a bit, “Yeah, no I get it, I hate him too now. That's so fucked up, honey, I'm so sorry.”
It makes him huff out a laugh, “I’m sorry, you’re not my therapist you don’t have to deal with all that.”
“I’m your wife, I deal with that regardless. In sickness and in health remember?” She reminds him, “depression is just as real of an illness as cancer. I don’t want you to keep these thoughts from me. I want to know about every paper cut, every splinter, every bad thought that crosses that beautiful mind because I love you.”
“As long as you always remember that too,” he makes sure that she knows he feels the same. “Don’t keep anything from me thinking it’ll ruin the happy atmosphere of this kingdom, Amoreena would tell you that a castle is only as strong as its weakest brick. If you crack we all tumble.”
“My foundations are strong, if not Derek’s a renovator right?” She raised her eyebrows, making another joke. They were always going to be okay.
“Speaking of, how are we going to house all 12 of these children you plan on having?”
"We, smartie pants, we are having," she tosses the shower curtain out of the way then, stepping out and wrapping herself in a towel, “I was thinking we add a few more rooms, nanny and pop were always adding on to this place, it would be nice to fix it up a bit.”
“I can see if Derek wants to help, or we can find a contractor?”
“Well, Alli still has another 8 weeks till her baby comes, so you might as well do something with Derek here in that time,” she agrees with a smile, “my nanny left everything to me, so I have a decent amount saved still for whatever you guys think the house can handle, I just want it done safely, and it has to match.”
She was bossy, he loved every second of it. “Yes ma’am,” he smiles as he steps out, drying off beside her.
Y/N couldn’t stop smiling at him as she watched him fluff his curly wet hair in the mirror, “how would you like to go out and get our first kid a big sister present before the graduation?”
“We never had a chance to read on Saturday, would you want to get her a big sister book and read at the tree?” Spencer suggests, making eye contact with her reflection in the mirror, even backwards she’s beautiful.
She nods with a smile, “sounds great, daddy.”
He wraps his arms around her before she can leave the room, kissing her neck and shoulder as she squirms, trying to get away from him but failing on purpose. “Spencer, seriously we have to go.”
“Then don’t call me daddy,” he whispers in her ear, and he can physically feel the way it excites her.
“We will revisit this later,” she says with a stern look as she pulls away finally, dropping the towel on purpose as she walks towards her new closet.
She was going to be the death of him, and hopefully, that wasn’t for a long time. Hopefully, he thought right then and there, that the moment he finally does die, he dies is beside her. Happily in his sleep, as they’re in their 90’s, and in a perfect world she’d slip away with him.
“Can I ask a dumb question?” He rushes the words out, taking her up on that offer of hearing all the bad thoughts.
“Always,” she smiles.
“When we get to heaven, stay with me? Pick me instead of Stephen for the forever part?” He’s not sure why he’s crying, or why he’s thinking about it. But it’s where his mind went and she said she’d always follow.
She tilts her head to the side, dropping her shoulders as she sighs, “we can set Stephen and Maeve up with each other.”
It makes him smile, she always knew what to say. “Who knows, they could be the reason all this happened.”
She nods then, “I like the thought of that, they deserve to be happy together, I’m sure they would like each other.”
He really believed they were soulmates then, that something bigger set up all these dominoes and he was so excited to watch them fall. To see where they landed, the beautiful pattern that they would reveal. The wonderful world he was creating with her was always going to be amazing because something greater than them said so.
She looked more beautiful than he’s ever seen her as they rolled up to the school. She was physically glowing, her hair was perfect, her dress laid over her stomach in the right way that he could see proof she was with child, even if she called it leftovers from the last one. It was his favourite part of her, it was where she made the best person they knew.
They walked around to the back gate, hand in hand, smiling wide as they walked into the little classroom. There were balloons and streamers everywhere, they had little cupcakes all set up and all of them were in matching blue caps and gowns.
Amoreena waved at them when she saw them, not allowed to leave her seat from where they were practicing their ceremony. It was unbelievably adorable, Spencer couldn’t help but be that Dad who took a million photos on his cellphone. He was never going to miss another moment.
JJ wrapped her arm around him sneakily, startling him as she hugged him, “hello Spencer Reid, father and husband,” she teased him. “Still weird thinking of you as a dad.”
He wanted to tell her, but she’d know soon anyway once she saw the all about me project, “shit,” Y/N says from behind him as she realizes too. “Tell her.”
“We’re having another one,” Spencer whispers in JJ’s ear before she can even react.
She smacks his side as she pulls back, staring at him with her mouth wide open. The same face Henry made when he saw Y/N for the first time, completely shocked and nervous, “oh my god?”
He nodded, “we’re not telling anyone, I was supposed to find out on her all about me project but she didn’t want me to pass out in front of all the kids.”
It made JJ laugh, shrugging as she agreed with the idea, she pulled away from him and wrapped Y/N up in her arms, hugging her ever so softly. Y/N closed her eyes and pressed their cheeks together as she accepted the thank you, knowing JJ was just happy to see Spencer succeed.
She placed a hand on Y/N’s tummy before pulling away fully, “I always hoped I’d see the day where Spencer made a little genius, I still can’t believe Amoreena is his sometimes, that hasn’t really hit me yet, but this… this is real. I’m so happy for you.”
Y/N cried a little, wiping her eyes as she laughed it off, “okay, sorry this is a big day for me, my first baby is graduating, this baby is trying to grow a heartbeat, it’s all a lot.”
“I get it, believe me,” JJ agreed, placing her hand on Y/N’s lover back and holding her close to her side. Bonding in that moment, making Spencer’s heart swell.
“Where’s the cowboy?” She changed the subject, looking for Will.
“Oh there’s a case in Kentucky, I missed Henry’s graduation, so I’m here for Michaels while he’s on the case, it’s only fair,” she explained with a smile, content with how their life and relationship worked.
“Do you want to sit with us?” Y/N offered, pointing at the folding chairs, taking a seat with JJ in the front, sitting between her and Spencer so she could talk to both of them before the ceremony.
It was lovely having them become friends, his first love and the last one he'd ever have.
They passed out tissues (thank god) before the ceremony, Y/N and Spencer both using at least 5 as they watched Amoreena get her tiny scroll of paper, move the string on her hat to the other side and then wave at them. Spencer took at least 100 photos of her, unable to stop how proud he felt that he made her.
What Amoreena failed to mention was that she was chosen to be the class valedictorian, surprising them with a tiny speech at an even tinier podium. It was so cute, both Spencer and JJ recorded it to remember for later.
“My class chose me to talk to everyone because I’m the oldest, lots of my classmates like to think of me as an older sister,” she smiled right at her parents, hinting at the fact she knew when she thought Spencer didn’t yet.
So he played along, looking surprised at the word choice.
“I’ve had the best two years with all my friends in this classroom, Miss Kennedy was the nicest women they could pick to make sure we learned everything we need to before grade school starts,” her words were definitely chosen by her, possibly reworded by her teacher but definitely from her heart.
“My mom taught me the alphabet, she taught me how to spell and count, she taught me lots of things that miss Kennedy taught in here, at first it was hard being the kid who knew more, but then it was fun getting to help everyone else learn,” she continued with the most enthusiastic voice, going off-script as she thought of more. “My dad, though, he’s taught me how special our family is. How special it is to get to meet new people and learn about the world with them, I’m so glad my parents made me so I could learn with all of you these past 2 years.”
All the parents were crying, she was able to touch the hearts of everyone around her. At the age of 7, she was more well-spoken, more understanding and grateful than any of the adults in that room.
“I’ll see you all on the big kid yard next year!” She cheered, jumping up and down and clapping, all her friends rushed to the stage for a big group hug.
His little girl was so unbelievably loved, the way she deserved.
tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187
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embrassemoi · 3 years
Text
Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 20
Pairings: Sirius B, Remus L, [F]Reader      Content: Language, possible errors  A/N: Some ppl asked for a playlist... so ofc I made one! 
Series Playlist or Chap 20 Playlist
【 Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 】
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Chapter 20: Little Lion Man
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When Regulus was younger, his aunt Andromeda and Sirius were obsessed with Muggle stories. Andromeda would send them loads of books every month to the local Muggle post office to prevent their parents from confiscating them. He remembers the ten minute walks there and back, Sirius holding his hand tight, even stopping to buy ice cream during the warmer seasons. They would greet the delivery men and women, picking up a heavy stack of wrapped books before waddling out, each boy mirroring a large grin.
Every night at twilight, when their parents were asleep, Sirius would crawl into his bed and read to Regulus in a hushed voice. He would read a different story every night, lulling him to sleep. Sirius spent hours gushing about the fantastical tales Muggles wrote; how magical and mystical their minds were despite not having an ounce of magical blood. From Superman to Batman, the Joker to Daleks, Prince Caspian to King Miraz; Regulus quickly learned that they all had one common theme: the good guys and the bad guys.
Regulus often spent his time grappling with the notion; what made someone good? Because the definition changes depending on the person.
Were the good guys good because they were selfless — passionate? Those deemed good never let themselves be seen as selfish. The heroes would sacrifice themselves for the greater good, even going as far as giving up their loved ones. Or maybe it was because they went against the odds. But villains did that too.
So he re-worded the question; what made someone bad? Was it their selfishness or greed? Was it putting themselves above others? Did they know they were on the wrong side of history? Make a mistake, once, twice — but surely, that didn’t make someone bad. Did it?
If virtue is understood by both sides, then the bad guys would immediately cross that line time and time again. They lacked wisdom and truthfulness, filled with too much pride and vanity.
But now as he began to grow up far too quickly for a fourteen-year-old boy, he realized that there was more to people than just being good or evil, a saviour or tormentor, light versus darkness.
The definition of good and bad depended on who told the story and Regulus didn’t know who controlled his; him or his parents. The line was so blurred that he couldn’t objectively make the decision himself anymore. Was he more bad than good?
Laughter — rich and inviting beckoned throughout the library, snapping him out of his thoughts again; but it did nothing but chip away at his heart. Regulus got up, shoving his books and parchment into his bag, making sure to hide his face before they saw him. Today, the Marauders had come earlier than expected and he was caught off guard. He’d been doing everything to avoid them out of pure shame.
Before he went to turn, he eyed Sirius from the shadows. He smiled, carefree and happy, clinging onto Pettigrew, ruffling his hair like he once did to him.
What made them so special, so loved and cherished by Sirius? How were they able to make him laugh so effortlessly, able to brighten his day with a mere glance? What made them more of a family than he ever was to him?
But he knew, it was their family’s values and it had been taunting him every waking moment.
It’s not like he didn’t want to escape that night, but he wasn’t Sirius. He was never as bright or strong or as good as him. Sirius was bold and courageous and certainly had more bravery than he would ever have. Regulus was far too weak, a puppet for his parents to control. Sirius was everything Regulus was too afraid to be — a reminder of what he could have turned into.
Besides, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that his parents would have killed Kreacher had he left. And this way with Sirius gone, it left Regulus to be the sole heir. Sirius was free, not being hunted down by his parents now that he bore the title. That was his gift to him, freeing Sirius of all the responsibilities, pain and grief. He owed him that much. Besides, Regulus had already mourned the childhood he never had; that made everything easier.
The day Sirius left was the day before they were set to leave for Hogwarts again and the impact of his absence was massive. He no longer heard the thumping of loud Muggle music nor the clanking of piano keys or doors slamming shut. There wasn’t any screaming aside from his parents shrieking at him for taking his father's wand. The stairs creaked; he could even hear Kreacher padding his way to his room.
It was eerily quiet and lifeless in that damned house, and he was only gone for a day.
Regulus hadn’t been taking it well. Nearly every night, his face was pressed into a pillow muffling his sobs. Sirius had kept his promise, he hadn’t talked to him since.
If only he had a scarlet tie…
Ha! He could laugh; he’d been trying to get his attention in little ways. He’d even gone as far as growing out his hair to match his — coping by writing letters every night with words he wished he could’ve said before storing them in a box under his bed. Forever unsent. Hell, Regulus was a coward, every bit as pathetic as Sirius deemed.
Ever the winter break, his parents were relentless, dumping everything that was meant for Sirius onto him. Letters were sent daily; there were talks about an arranged marriage, lumps of money now being transferred under his name, getting the dark mark… and he was being watched. Every interaction he had, his parents always knew. Especially with Muggleborns; he had to limit his interactions with them to almost nothing, or it wouldn’t end well for either.
His mind reeled back to that night, where his parents and extended family toyed with that blonde Muggle, leaving her half-dead on the dining table, the image branded in his head. It made him sick just thinking about it, he never knew what happened to her, he was too busy trying to muffle out her screams.
Regulus had been questioning everything he was taught. Sirius’ words echoed in his head; was he willing to kill Muggleborns solely because of their blood status? He's a believer in old values and traditions: yes, blood should be kept pure, but to kill Muggles… that was completely different. He’d seen how his dearly beloved aunt was burned off the tapestry, threatened and almost killed for marrying a Muggleborn — a Muggleborn who he’s met and liked and respected. His family tortured them for the sake of it and more. That wasn’t the move of someone good, those were the actions of someone evil; filled with greed, spite and selfishness. But how was he going to stop a whole bloodline from their mania?
Some may call it obedience, the way he’s listened to his parents all these years blindly, but to him, it’s respect. But did he believe that? Did they deserve to be respected? He was miserable and this wasn’t a healthy way to show filial piety.
What did he believe in?
Perhaps there wasn’t such a thing, good or evil, maybe there was only power.
Regulus was lost and confused and most of all, lonely. He remembered Sirius promised him once, before the day he was set to leave for Hogwarts for the first time, that he would never be alone. What a funny thing, promises.
Tears were forming fast and if he didn’t leave then, they would fall any second now. He needed to get out of the library.
Regulus asked himself again; what made someone good or bad — or rather, was he good or bad? He’s veering towards bad.
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After catching word from Mary that Remus’ birthday was approaching, Y/N had been knitting him a sweater in her spare time (or trying to). It was sweet, simple and showed that she’d put effort into it, especially since he taught her. Although, the sweater was lopsided and she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of a certain stitch or how to close sections. Perhaps she should use magic.
Her fingers fiddled with the needle, looping the yarn over the other side. Without looking up, she made a sharp turn into the library before crashing into a hunched-over figure; sniffling and a complete mess.
An apology dangled from her lips before recognizing the figure as Regulus. It had been two months since she’d last seen him and in short, he looked like shit. His skin was grey and lost all sense of a youthful dewy glow. If Sirius had dark eye circles or Remus looked tired, Regulus beat them by miles.
Y/N stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do before gently patting his shoulder. “Regulus?” She asked softly, nothing more than a whisper.
There was a flash of pure terror as he looked up, his eyes nervous as his head spun around to look around the place like he always did. He looked mad, almost unhinged as his hands gently pushed her away, signalling for her to leave. “I — I can’t be seen around you.”
“Can’t? What are you going on abo —” She cut herself off, ignoring the matter entirely. He clearly wasn’t in the right mindset.
His voice was strained, quiet as he kept on murmuring, he almost sounded angry. “You can’t — we’ll both get in trouble. Y/N, go — please… ”
At this, Y/N felt her skin rise in small goosebumps. She looked back to the library, just making out her friend’s figures before looking down at Regulus again. She wasn’t going to leave him like this: crying and delusional.
She took a deep inhale before bending down, picking up her needles and yarn off the ground and slipped them into her bag. She placed a cautious arm around Regulus to keep him upright. “Come with me.” But Regulus wouldn’t budge, not until she flicked down her hood, obscuring her face.
She led him up to the astronomy tower, walking and twisting around before setting him down on a nearby bench, making sure to lock any entrances. They sat in silence, aside from Regulus attempting to regulate his breathing. The cold whipping wind tossed his hair and sank into her bones. With a few charms, they were both warm again, but still able to breathe in the crisp air.
He remained quiet. Y/N didn’t push. Instead, she began babbling softly about random things to distract him. When she heard a sharp exhale of air, mimicking a half-hearted chuckle was when she knew he had calmed down.
“Thank you,” he muttered. It’s quiet, barely above a whisper. Regulus’ cheeks were pink, colour finally returning to him from either embarrassment or the cold.
“Any time,” she smiled warmly. Her hand reaches into her bag, fishing out the snacks that were meant for the study group: blackberries that were for Remus, a muffin for Marlene, were now shared between them. She tried to encourage him to eat, to regain any sort of energy.
He listened without complaint, a tense yet thankful air engulfed them. It was only until he finished the food, about an hour gone by, was when he spoke again. “Why are you being so nice to me.” It’s not even a question, just an odd accusation.
She thinks for a while, searching for the best answer. “I wished someone was there for me when I was going through a hard time.”
“But you don’t know me.”
Her eyebrows raised, “Well, let’s get to know each other then. I’ll tell you something about myself and then you can go?”
Regulus looked up at her with a calculated expression, cautious and looked uncomfortable but he nodded.
“Let’s start simple. I have an owl named Celeste.”
He gulped, looking back to the entrance. His answer came delayed, strained and she wondered if she had pushed him too far. “I play the violin.”
Y/N smiled largely. “The violin is beautiful! Hmm… I can’t ride a broomstick to save my life, unlike you.”
At this, he smiles — a real genuine smile that causes his eyes to crinkle and sparkle. “Really?” His eyes burned with curiosity before he looked down, “I can’t swim.”
“Swim?” She repeats, chuckling to herself, “Who doesn’t know how to swim?”
“You’re making me feel grand. Terribly uncalled for.”
Her eyes rolled, “You should learn. It can save your life one day. Who wants to drown?”
“Maybe I’ll ask McGonagall — I heard for tougher punishments she’ll throw you into the black lake.”
“You’re the perfect candidate then.”
After a while, way past curfew, Regulus seemed cheerier; his tear-stained cheeks now replaced with a smile and relaxation. That day, Y/N unaware, was a day Regulus would never forget.
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March 8th, 1976
“Sirius, shut up.”
“You’re the one yelling!”
“... Right.”
Excused from their afternoon classes because their Puffskein was about to hatch, the Marauder’s dorm was bustling with panic and bickering. When Y/N partnered with Sirius for their project, she expected fighting (which happened every day) but not for Sirius to be like this. He’d been running around the dorm, grabbing warm towels, bowls of water and taking out his panic on her. He gripped his textbook, flicking through notes to see if they had everything. It was as if he was preparing for the birth of an actual baby.
She silently watched him, her mind thinking about Regulus rather than their project. This was the only time she and Sirius were alone and wondered if she should mention his freakout the other day but stopped — it didn’t take a genius to know they weren’t on friendly terms.
Since that night, she’d seen Regulus almost daily, but only at night before their study group. She would spend an hour or so with him before the Marauder or girls came barraging in; Regulus left before they appeared. The entire situation left her deeply confused, worried and most of all, suspicious.
“We need Kettleburn —”
Annoyance began nipping at her. “Calm down.”
“I’m not going to calm down!”
Sirius paced, both firing snide jabs. Too preoccupied in his panicked state, he didn’t hear the quiet cracking of the white shell, forming the shape of a lightning bolt before cascading over.
“Um, Black?”
“Let’s not start. How are you so —”
“Get your ass over here now!”
Sirius pressed his lips together immediately and rushed over, both huddled side by side near the roaring fireplace. The shell twitched, cracking more and they both gasped in amazement. The process was faster than either expected as they saw the small tuft of cream fur peek out along with a pair of black eyes. Its long pink tongue slipped out, already looking for its first meal. Y/N scrambled to grab a nearby dish of dried spiders to feed it while Sirius cradled it in his hand. His smile was wide, buzzing with excitement as he observed it. His hands gently glided over the soft fur as it emitted a low humming sound.
A deep chuckle erupts from Sirius and she could feel the vibrations from how close they were. His laugh, which once made her cringe, now made her skin feel fuzzy and heart flutter. But, it wasn’t like that, she thinks. Of course not! She still wants to jinx him, maybe even throw him into the fireplace. Yes, that’s it.
She snaps out of her violent thoughts when she finds Sirius already looking at her, a pretty flush to his skin as he observes her softly. Her brows crinkled; instead of a frown or on the cusp on an insult, he smiles.
“Do you want to hold it?” Y/N nods eagerly. Sirius shifts his body, placing the Puffskein in the palms of her hands. It’s incredibly soft, adorable and when it leans into her, falling asleep, she swore she fell in love.
“What do you want to name it?” She mumbled, afraid that if she were any louder it might wake it up. Sirius takes a long time to ponder and Y/N braces herself for an insult, already thinking of a plethora of her own.
“It looks like porridge… Oatmeal!”
“Are you serious?”
“I’d be worried if I wasn’t.”
Y/N tries to suppress her smile but fails. The Puffskein did look like a grain of oatmeal. Plain and simple, she liked it.
“Hello, Oats! You’re so cute — I could just eat you up!”
“Morbid much.”
Hours went by before they ultimately decided to head down to Kettleburn’s office for an examination of Oats’ health. Sirius cradled it in a small blanket, shielding it from the rest of the world. Marlene and Dorcas were standing by the sidelines, joining them as they walked past.
“Yours hatched already? Aw, it looks so cute!” Dorcas squealed. Her hands reached out, giddy as Sirius gently placed it into her arms but not without fretting. Marlene only looked down at her with a soft gaze, her face becoming pink as she wrapped an arm around her.
“Give it a rest. She’s not going to drop it.”  
“Now you, McKinnon?! I’m a father now! Our kid deserves the best care! Right, L/N?”
It catches her off guard. Sirius trying to include her in a conversation? That’s a new milestone. “Of course; the proudest parents.”
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Once done with Kettleburn, Sirius went to bring Oats back to his dorm, parting as Y/N went to find Lily who took her notes for her afternoon classes.
Out in the courtyard, walking around in the snow, both Lily and Snape wandered around before she picked up a snowball, throwing it at him. Snape sent her a deadpanned look as Lily kept hurling snowballs. Most missed him, others hit him before he retaliated and threw some back.
Y/N halted, watching the scene play out and debated whether or not to approach them. But decided to, shouting while striding up to them.
“Petals!”
Lily’s smile grew before her head whipped to her. She stopped her snowball fight, getting up to bounce her way over to her. Snape followed in suit, but as Lily began to babble on and on about what she missed, Snape’s eyes bore into her, vice versa.
“I’ll see you later, Sevy! We need to go,” said Lily, already turning to walk away. Y/N lingered back a pause, just enough to see Snape draw his wand and shoot a spell at her. She had just enough time to block it. Whatever spell it was, it sparkled like a firecracker. If Snape could easily send a hex or jinx her way inboard daylight with Lily just a little ahead, what was he willing to do had they been alone.
His angel persona around her was dropping quickly.
“Whiskers!” Shouted Lily. Her arms raised in question. “Get over here!”
A flurry of thoughts bombarded her before she could process them. She was about to cause a scene, yell and scream until that nasty sneer fell off his face until she felt a tug on her arm. Lily hooked her arm around Y/N, pulling her away. But she still had her wand drawn, ready to block another spell. She tossed one last look at him; he smiled wickedly.
“Are you okay?”
She had enough tip-toeing around Snape. She remained tranquil, gave him the benefit of the doubt and respected their friendship but that was enough.
“No, I’m not actually,” keeping her tone as soft as possible, trying not to sound defensive, “Why do you waste your time around him?”
Lily paused, her eyes going wide. An offended expression crossed her face as she took a moment to digest the remark. “Sev? What are you getting at?” Her tone was guarded which had Y/N debating whether or not to drop the conversation entirely. A fight with Lily was not on her to-do list.
“I just think you should be careful around him.”
“I can look out for myself,” she grumbled, “Severus has been there for me for years. I know how to separate myself from the wrong sorts.”
“I’m only saying this to look out for —”
“I know, but he isn’t like what you’re thinking.” Lily didn’t look mad, just tired as she nodded sharply. Taking a stack of parchment from her bag, Lily handed it to her and walked faster. “You’re around Potter too much. He isn’t like what he says he is.”
Y/N felt annoyance blossom in her chest at the accusation of James but bit her tongue to avoid more conflict. Right now, they trod on dangerous waters.
Neither spoke to each other for the rest of the day.
93 notes · View notes
harpyloon · 3 years
Text
i’ll catch you
Pairing: Charlie Weasley x fem!Reader
Summary: "Up close, Y/N could see the familiar freckles splattered all over his nose and cheeks. He was towering over her like he always did. She used to be the little second year Hufflepuff always idling by the entrance to the Great Hall hoping to bump into the famous Charlie Weasley. Studying on the Quidditch pitch, watching him behind her textbook, captaining the Gryffindor team. Climbing the beech tree by the lake again and again, hoping Charlie Weasley would somehow walk by once more to offer her a hand..."
☞ Curse Breaker reader x Dragon-tamer Charlie Weasley
Warnings: Fluff, sprinkles of angst, dragons (duh), mentions of a dead animal, mentions of dragon eating dead animal (lol), post-war timeline (although not that important)
WC: 4.5k+ , Part 2 coming soon!
Read on AO3
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Beautiful rays of golden sunlight were peaking through the blinders of Y/N's cabin. It was going to be a lovely day with the perfect weather to seek out a bit of adventure, and although she was sure she had countless other affairs to address before kicking off with her assignment the next day, a blathering Bill Weasley was not one of them.
"Are you even listening?" his tone was way beyond impatient. "You know what? Don't answer that. I know for a fact that you never pick up anything I say. Ever."
Y/N rolled her eyes as she busied herself with stuffing her socked feet inside a pair of brown chunky hiking boots. She didn't plan on going very far. Her colleagues were currently lounging in the dining hall about five cabins down, sipping piping hot ciorbă, munching on breakfast toast, and relishing their only foreseeable off day before the start of the big dig tomorrow. Some were even dozing off still, earning as much sleep as they could to compensate for the long nights to come.
It's true what they say about grumpy Curse Breakers. But nobody realized that they just spent too much time with their eyes wide open.
"You know, Bill," Y/N mused, "you always call me the drama queen. What does that make you then?"
The floating head over the fire scoffed, "A concerned superior."
"Well, there's nothing to be concerned about."
"Where are you headed?"
"I'm going for a walk."
"No walks," ordered Bill, his face stern.
"Everyone's out and about today!"
"No walks for you."
Y/N laughed. "Oh yeah?"
Bill sighed. He knew trying to be hard-nosed was futile. "No walks alone at least."
"Are you sure there's no bun in Fleur's oven yet?" Y/N teased. "You're sounding more like a papa bear with each passing day."
She heard a soft melodic laugh within the fire where Bill's head was when suddenly, another floating head appeared right beside his. This time, all blonde and very French
"There iz no bun yet, mon cher. But I think he az been practicing fatherhood with you." Fleur gave Y/N a wink. "I 'eard zer are many 'andsome men in Romania. With a leetle beet of exzploring yo—"
"There will be no exploring," barked Bill, sending his wife a warning glance, which she ignored.
"—you might find someone az adventurous az you are," Fleur beamed, "And very macho."
"Darling," Bill sighed, "is this necessary?"
With a flying kiss to Y/N, Fleur was gone.
Shrugging on a light parka, Y/N gave Bill a knowing look, "You see? Your wife said I could use a macho man."
"Oh please. You're in a Curse Breaker camp."
"Hey, there are loads of macho men here."
"Macho enough for you?"
Y/N wrinkled her nose but ignored the question.
"Well, William," she said, emphasizing Bill's full name, "I, am a Curse Breaker in the middle of the Southern Carpathians." Stuffing her wand through her belt loop, she looked at him with finality. "And I am not passing up this opportunity."
"Remember when they assigned you to Egypt with me and you went on exploring? Your exploring is bad luck, Y/N, and I did not assign you to Romania to bring bad luck."
"Excuse you, the Egypt Goblins loved me."
"Goblins don't love wizards," retorted Bill.
"I think they were particularly fond of me."
"You Reductored an entire bloody Pyramid!"
Y/N was losing her patience. She wanted to sift through the mountains in the morning sunlight. Discover hidden caves and wade through cold springs. She had her breakfast way earlier than everyone else for this sole purpose.
"I promise I'll be good."
"Take Weiss with you."
Y/N glared. "Absolutely not."
"Take someone."
"I'm walking out on you right now. Don't forget to put out my fire."
"Y/N."
"I'll see you later!"
"I have to tell you—"
Without looking back, she waved at Bill and stepped out into the crisp Romanian morning.
The skies were bright and cloudless, the sun slowly rising up east. The Curse Breaker camp in the middle of the Transylvanian Alps was in for a late morning. It was quiet, apart from the whispers of the forest beside them; chirping birds, singing crickets, and the distant sound of a nearby stream.
Trudging up the rough pavement towards the foot of the nearest hill, Y/N felt an ounce of guilt seep through as she marveled at the scenery before her. Bill was the reason she got the Romania assignment. She wasn't half bad a Curse Breaker. From an outsider's perspective, some would even call her brilliant. She's aced all her missions in her first year on the job—way ahead of all the others in her year, and was even able to crackdown a dark magic-infested tomb in an assignment she co-lead in Egypt. She was quick, smart, and as brave as the career entailed.
Only one thing stood between her and a good reputation in Gringotts. Her impulsiveness.
She couldn't help it. Y/N's successes partnered with tragedies—accidents; her brilliance came with sheer will and almost violent haste. The problem is you can't think twice Bill would always say. Not everything is done in a snap, Y/N.
Bill Weasley was the only senior Curse Breaker with enough patience to supervise her. It must have been fate or a miracle that had him in temporary assignment at the London Gringotts when she graduated Hogwarts. If she were received by anyone else, or if he were back in Egypt instead, she didn't think she'd ever make it out into the field. Or worse, last a few months.
"I'll be good," she mumbled to no one in particular. Or maybe she hoped that Bill would hear. She'd floo him again later.
Trekking up the slope with hands snuggled warm inside her faux-fur-lined pockets, Y/N inhaled the fresh earth surrounding her. This was her calling. Nature. Adventure. The unknown. She was fantastic with spells and jinxes and once thought of becoming an Auror—but Aurors spent too much time indoors, on desks, drowning in paperwork and tailing dark wizards. She knew in her heart she wasn't born to enforce the law.
On the opposite side of the hill was a deep gorge between two towering mountains and a long serpentine stream. Elated at the sight, she followed the gentle flow of water over the rocks. Without thinking (because when does she ever), she slipped off her boots and socks, and despite the chilly morning, prepared to wade the ice-cold water. She dipped one toe in for good measure—a pause.
That couldn't be right.
Submerging one whole foot into the water confirmed her confusion. Strange. Almost all waterways in Romania led to the Black Sea, if not the Adriatic. Why was it warm?
This isn't the bathing stream she thought. The senior Curse Breakers back at camp had instructed them of assigned fresher areas where warming charms would be cast. She didn't remember this gorge being part of last night's tour.
Ankles deep in the water, Y/N trailed the soft currents. It was deliciously warm. A deliberate contrast to the icy breeze left by the trail ends of winter. It was supposedly mid-spring, but the winds still gave her the chills.
She took no notice of how far she was going, the water neither rising nor falling. If she were to guess it must've almost been half an hour given by the direction of the sun. The warm water and small pebbles were therapeutic beneath her feet. The walk didn't tire her at all.
Finally, the chasm's end came to view. Heart beating with excitement, she hastened her pace, dampening the legs of her trousers that she attempted to roll up. But just as her feet crossed the lip between the two mountains flanking her, she felt the oddest sensation: it began at the top of her head, traveling down her arms to her toes—as if a big fat raindrop landed on her scalp and entered her body.
She glanced at the clear blue sky. There was no cloud in sight for miles.
And then, it was suddenly very humid.
"What the..." she glanced back through the gorge. Nothing was out of order and nobody was in sight. Looking down at her feet, her surroundings were now as warm as the water she stood on. Her parka felt too thick.
Again, strange.
Trying to shake away her curiousness, Y/N trudged on.
All is well she chanted inside her head. All is well and the wind just blows differently on this side of the alps.
But no matter what she told herself, ripples of unease still disturbed Y/N. She was beginning to sweat and it wasn't just her nerves. The wind didn't blow differently on this side of the mountains because there was no wind. It was dry, dank, and very very warm.
To rattle her nerves even further, the water she was wading on was getting hotter as she went on that she had to leap on land once again. But as soon as her bare soles made contact with the grass, she yelped in pain.
"Merlin—OW."
The earth was burning. As if it bathed in the sun for too long. As if she were in the middle of a dry desert. She knew the feeling, she's been to Egypt. But why the bloody hell would Romanian soil feel this hot? Moreso in the heart of the Southern Carpathians?
Locating a jutted-out slab of rock, Y/N hopped over to sit and gather her bearings, drying her damp feet and staring at her boots and socks. She didn't want to slip them back on. The heat was intense. But it was either the boots or the sizzling soil.
She shrugged off her parka after lacing up her boots and was grateful for her reckless choice of wardrobe this morning. She opted for a ribbed shirt under her jacket—instead of a sweater—in urgent intention to get away from a nagging Bill. Now it served her well. It wasn't as thin as she would have deemed appropriate for the current temperature, but at least her neck and arms could breathe.
Gazing over the expanse of the clearing she emerged in, she suddenly became aware of the lack of green in the area. The grass was almost a withering brown—crunchy and dry. Trees weren't scattered about like the thick oaks all over the Curse Breaker camp; instead, they were clumped, almost systematically, in relatively rectangular patch formations. As if deliberately rooted as such.
Muggles Y/N thought. It was only them who had the peculiar habit of reorganizing nature.
Tying her parka around her waist, she treaded the clearing, the grass crisp beneath her boots, and approached the nearest cluster of trees. She wondered if this were one of the areas they'd be digging up. Senior Curse Breaker Digby Youssif oriented them of specific crackdown areas to look forward to in the next few months. Although almost all wizarding families were well-accounted for in Romania, there were still trifling amounts of intel on hidden vaults under protective spells cast by untraceable ancient tribes.
Y/N loved digging assignments. She was particularly fond of discovery. And if Ancient Runes was Hogwarts' least-loved lesson, she rather enjoyed Professor Babbling's classes. Well, most of the time. It was her pride and joy to have snagged an 'Outstanding' for her O.W.Ls—
Crack!
A sudden gust of wind whipped through the trees ahead of her. On instinct, Y/N drew her wand from her belt loop. Nothing was so dangerous about the wind. But it felt so...
The sound came out of nowhere, she thought it was imagining it. A steady drumming beat. Powerful and humming. An engine? she thought. But that was impossible. They were told that the area was blocked off from muggles for the duration of their stay. She paused in front of a towering ashtree. The sound was growing louder and louder. Nearer. She didn't know why but she was compelled with the need to hide.
Climb.
She felt ridiculous, clambering up an ashtree and settling on its thickest branch. Her superiors back at camp were clear that the mountains were safe, its perimeters were secured for their dig. Curse Breakers always made sure missions wouldn't come across outside interference.
Then why was her heart beating so fast?
The drumming sound was growing nearer. Behind her—above.
Peering at the sky through the leaves, a massive dark figure swooped overhead and landed with an earth-shaking thud on the clearing right in front of her tree.
Y/N felt like she was going to choke on her own spit when a deafening, earsplitting roar echoed through the mountains.
Dragon.
Fully grown, enormous, and vicious-looking, the beast had emerald scales that glinted in the morning sun. Its body was bulky, way stockier compared to the common dragons in textbooks. It had a massive head that seemed even larger than its body, and on it sprouted two long glittering golden horns. Its claws had the same golden color, and it was rearing onto its hind legs, hunching over a figure... chewing...
All the breakfast Y/N had only hours before felt like rising up her throat. An enormous dragon only meters in front of her was chewing on a dead animal, clearly having his own meal. And there she was, perched on an ashtree, ready for dessert.
Don't panic she told herself, but feeling green. She's never faced a dragon on a mission before. They tackled them in her first year on the job—Curse Breakers didn't really need training, the task calling for hands-on work—but never in her life did she ever think she'd have to face a real dragon.
I don't have to face it Y/N thought, I just have to stay here until it flies away, and run back to camp.
Wiggling up to a squat, she eyed the neighboring branch a few feet to her right which was higher up and positioned behind a thicker cluster of leaves. It didn't require a jump, but more of a really careful split; hugging the trunk tightly, she stretched her right foot across, shifting her weight to her right leg, her arms choking the tree trunk in a death grip, legs spread wide midair—
"Scuzati-ma?"
Y/N didn't fall. Thank Merlin she didn't fall. But she lost her momentum in surprise and panic, her left foot sliding from the previous branch, making her push off the trunk in haste, throwing her weight across completely. She grabs a dangling thin branch above her at the last minute, her body tilted towards the forest floor.
A forest floor where a man now stood, peering up at her curiously.
She was breathing hard, her heart thumping erratically, both from the fear of falling and being heard by the dragon so close by.
"Er—esti bine?" the man asked. Y/N saw that he had his arms out as if braced to catch her if she fell. When she didn't answer, the man spoke again, "Ai nevoie de ajutor?"
She blinked down at him. "What?"
He chuckled. She hated it. It hurt her pride. "I said, do you need any help?"
He was loud. Too loud. She righted herself on the branch, pulling to lean back on the trunk behind her. Then risking a peek, she checked on the dragon who was still munching on the dead cow with gusto.
She looked back down to find the man with his eyebrows raised at her, his face painting amusement. It was impossible not to take note of his red mane pulled into a low bun. He looked awfully familiar... and he was going to get them killed.
"Could you," she whispered as loudly as she could, "keep your voice down?"
The man snickered once more, showing no effort of lowering his tone. "Why?"
"Are you blind?" she wanted to strangle him. "There's a bloody dragon!"
The redhead glanced at the scaly beast and heaved out a sigh. "Okay. Yeah, you're right. It's way past breakfast. He's missing nap time."
Y/N looked at him incredulously. He shrugged, "But what can I do? He slept in this morning. Lazy beast." Looking back up, he asked, "Want to meet him?"
He's mental she thought. That had to be it.
But the redhead only laughed. He keeps laughing. He must've noticed the stupefied expression on her face because he simmered. "Give him a minute and you can come down. It's already his fifth haul so he's bound to get dozy and fly back to the nest." He started walking towards the clearing when he paused and turned back, "Although, you can come down now. I promise he won't eat you."
Y/N watched as the man walked up to the feasting dragon—she was peering behind the thick tree trunk, using it as a shield. He's insane. Drawing a wand from a sheath attached to his calf, the man aimed a stunning spell right by the beast's tail.
"Alright, Darius, I think you've had enough," he called. He kept his distance, a good few meters away, but his gait was calm, almost lazy.
The dragon glanced at the man, its fangs bloody. Y/N wanted to grab the redhead and run. But it was a crazy thought, and she was rooted on her spot on the tree branch, frozen in fear.
The man gave a sharp whistle and the dragon grunted, smoke coming out of its nostrils. It ignored him and continued to munch on the cow.
Another stunning spell was aimed right by its claws and the dragon emitted a low growl. Y/N didn't know if she was imagining it but the creature seemed sluggish on its feet, swaying... almost drowsy.
"Off you go," said the man, "up." He sent one more stunning spell right in front of its snout. It was a clear miss, purely intentional.
The dragon heaved a loud angry roar. But instead of diving for the man like she expected, it started flapping its wings, gaining momentum. Y/N held onto the tree trunk tighter so as not to be swayed by the sudden rush of winds the creature was yielding. And then with a strong push off the ground, up it soared, growling low in its throat, and was out of sight.
Y/N's legs felt like jelly slugs, but her arms refused to let go of the tree trunk. What in Merlin's name just happened?
"Y/N."
She gave a short yelp, coughing on her next breath. "Excuse me?"
The man was back, now by the foot of the tree once again. "Come down."
"How do you know my name?" she demanded.
He had a really handsome smile. A really familiar, handsome smile...
"I should be offended," said the man. "Come down." There it was again, that smile. "I'll catch you."
I'll catch you.
I'll catch you....
 "Come on, Y/N, I'll catch you!"
"No you won't!" said Y/N. Her cheeks were wet with tears.
She was perched on the beech tree by the Black lake, her legs dangling above the shallow water. She had attempted to retrieve her Spellman's Syllabry textbook that Cassian Loxias chucked up the branches for fun.
"Yes I will, I promise," consoled Charlie. "I'm a prefect, remember?" he gestured to his badge, "I'll make sure you're safe."
Sniffing up snot that was escaping her nose, she hiccuped softly against the back of her hand. "Our prefect doesn't do that very much."
Charlie chuckled. "I'll make sure to have a word with Professor Sprout about her Hufflepuff prefects."
When he saw the horror on her face, he held up his hands, "It didn't come from you of course. Will you come down now? I swear I'll catch you."
Y/N looked into Charlie Weasley's eyes and saw nothing but pure candor. Biting her lip, she said, "Do cross your heart, or hope to die?"
He traced a cross right above his chest. "Cross my heart, or hope to die."
 "Y/N. Y/N?"
Y/N blinked.
Charlie Weasley. Charlie dragon-tamer Weasley. Charlie the hot brother Weasley—
"Are you still breathing? Do you need me up there?"
Trying to gather her bearings, Y/N extracted herself from her hold on the tree trunk, went down onto a squat, and leaped off, landing on the crunchy grass with a thump.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at her as she dusted her trousers, "I see you don't need catching anymore."
She took in the man before her. "Charlie Weasley."
His grin was dazzling."Caught on, have you?
From up close, Y/N could now see the familiar freckles splattered all over his nose and cheeks. He was towering over her like he always did. She used to be the little second year Hufflepuff always idling by the entrance to the Great Hall hoping to bump into the famous Charlie Weasley. Studying on the Quidditch pitch, watching him behind her textbook, captaining the Gryffindor team. Climbing the beech tree by the lake again and again, hoping Charlie Weasley would somehow walk by once more to offer her a hand...
There were so many things she could've done, seeing him again for the first time after all these years. He was gone as soon as he graduated Hogwarts, flying to Romania to study dragons. Everyone always thought Charlie would be going Quidditch pro, being captain and seeker. He had the build, the skills, and the charm. Hogwarts alone had fan clubs in his name and rumor had it that the Falmouth Falcons were just waiting for him to finish seventh year.
But others didn't see Charlie as Y/N did. They didn't see him hoarding books on care of magical creatures in the library. They didn't notice him sneaking off to Hagrid's on the weekends, taking Fang for walks or feeding the Blast Ended Skrewts in the garden. Nobody paid attention to the copy of Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them that Charlie practically glued to his side. Only Y/N did. And now that she thought about it, she didn't like that she knew so much. It made her feel like a creep.
So instead of hugging him in delight like she actually wanted, she took a swipe at his shoulder.
"You git," she hissed. "You scared me to death! How did you do that? I thought taming dragons was impossible."
"It is. Most of the time," Charlie shrugged. "Darius is a Romanian Longhorn. Mostly harmless compared to the others especially when he's full. Not that difficult to send him back to the nest when he can barely stand on his feet."
"Harmless? I could've been dessert!"
Charlie laughed. He was still always laughing. "You look delicious, yes, but I'm not letting Darius have you."
What the fu—Y/N inhaled slowly, cautiously. Then exhaled through her nose. She didn't know how to respond. Seeing him again after so long, without warning or preparation, was messing with her senses
"It's good to see you, Y/N," he said and walked closer. Close enough to tugged at her braid. She didn't know why he did it, but he looked like he just had to. "You look good."
Y/N's heart was beating rapidly once more, but this time, for all the wrong reasons. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Charlie gazed back into her eyes as if seeing her for the first time.
"Too long."
Again, she didn't know how long it took her to reply, but she cleared her throat, "How—did you know it was me? The first time?"
Charlie's eyes were still roaming all over her face. "No. Not until you spoke."
Y/N must've held a questioning look because he added, "I'll never forget that voice."
He was saying such strange things. Were they strange? Or was it just because he affected her so?
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, you wouldn't come down, would you? I see you still have a thing for trees."
Y/N rolled her eyes.
"I didn't know the dragon reservation was in the alps," she said. "Do you know we're camping nearby?"
"'Course I do. You lot are beside dragon territory for a reason."
Excitement and fear raised Y/N's nerves. "What are you talking about?"
Charlie bit his lip. "You'll see."
"Are we digging in the reservation?"
He was walking out into the clearing now, beelining back towards the opening of the gorge.
"Charlie!" Y/N jogged to keep up. "Are we?"
He only smiled, "Patience, darling."
Darling. He used to call her that all the time even when they were back in Hogwarts. She always tried to ignore the fluttering feeling her chest made when he used the endearment, reminding herself that he must've used it on everyone else, not just her.
"Why did no one back at camp tell us anything?"
"I probably should've kept my mouth shut," was his only reply. They were crossing the two mountains flanking the stream, and as soon as they cut through the border, Y/N felt the same sensation she did when she went through the clearing. But this time in reverse, it was as if the raindrop was sucked back up.
She glanced up at the mountains. "Did you feel that?"
"Shield spells," explained Charlie. "To keep the muggles out. Temperature charms as well to regulate the reservation climate. Although the dragons do enough of their warming on their own, it's for precaution."
They walked up the stream, tracing back Y/N's previous path.
"Are you bringing me back to camp?" she asked.
"That, and I have to see Digby. Iron out tomorrow's schedule."
"So we are digging inside the reservation," Y/N didn't know if she was more thrilled or afraid.
Charlie glanced at her, "You heard nothing from me."
Studying his features as they strolled, Y/N couldn't help but admire how much Charlie Weasley grew up to be. He's always been lean and strong, especially with being an athlete back at Hogwarts, but now he seemed so much larger than life. Red tendrils were escaping his low bun and framing his chiseled face, there were a few scars on his nose and one under his lip. She shouldn't have been able to see it but she couldn't stop staring. He was big. Stockier than she'd ever seen him; hands wrapped in gauze and rope slung over a hook on his hip.
Charlie Weasley, dragon-tamer.
And he was staring right back at her.
"You have to take me to see more dragons," Y/N breathed. She didn't know where her voice went. It was all airy and she didn't like it. She hoped he would assume it was because of their walk.
Charlie stopped, deep brown eyes boring into her own. He was panting slightly too. Maybe it was the walk.
"Okay," he exhaled. "Promise."
"Cross your heart?" she almost whispered. Almost.
Two fingers traced a cross over Charlie's chest, his gaze not leaving hers, "Cross my heart."
243 notes · View notes
Note
So, I'll blame this on you beautiful Grunge/Metal AU because since you mentioned Geralt wearing glasses, the image is leaving in my head rent free.
I can't help thinking about Geralt wearing black thick rimmed glasses (like Henry in one of his photoshoots, but make it nerdy-er), or maybe thin round eyeglasses? I don't really know but I love him anyway.
I think he'd be shy and a bit self-conscious about them, you know is appearance is quite unusual so he doesn't think glasses really look good on his face, but Jaskier is there to give Geralt's self-esteem a little boost! The way he does it is totally up to you ❤️❤️❤️
Hi lovely! This idea gave me ALL the serotonin and I had a free half hour when I got home from work 💖 this image also lives in my head rent free and I need more photoshoots with glasses he is a cinnamon roll
warnings: pda but its pretty cute
_____________
“Darling you’re adorable. Please don’t take them off,” Jaskier clung to Geralt’s arm as they walked from the parking garage to the party they’d been invited to. 
“I look like Napolean Dynamite,” Geralt grumbled, pushing the glasses in question up the bridge of his nose.
“But like, a sexy one,” Jaskier assured him, wiggling his eyebrows.
Geralt wasn’t wrong, the glasses were thick, both the frames and the lenses, and he wasn’t quite used to them yet so he kept fidgeting with them. They were prominent, but Jaskier thought they complimented the sharp angles of his face quite nicely. He’d wanted contacts. He ordered contacts. But something about his prescription was taking them longer than usual and being able to see after years of missing little details was too good to pass up, even if he did despise his glasses. 
“People are going to think I’m the professor,” Geralt was going to find any way possible to get Jaskier to let him go home. 
Jask rolled his eyes and laced their fingers together as they continued down the block, “You look distinguished and intelligent. I don’t see how this is a problem. Plus I think you’re absolutely dashing in that sweater.” 
Geralt let a tiny smile creep onto his face, “You picked it out.”
“And I have fantastic taste. But you’re the one who makes it pretty,” Jaskier insisted.
Blushing, Geralt adjusted his glasses again and mumbled, “M’not pretty.”
“You’re right. You’re fucking gorgeous. I misspoke.”
“Al-right,” Geralt stopped and swung Jask around to face him, resting his hands on the professor’s waist, “Now, you’re just angling for a kiss.”
Jaskier grinned and looped his arms around Geralt’s neck, “That’s a nice bonus-” he was uninterrupted by Geralt’s lips but continued as soon as they parted, “-but I really do like your glasses, and I really do want my husband to be able to see.” 
“Hmm,” Geralt tilted his head, pretending to think it over with a smirk, “If you say so.”
Jaskier kissed him again, “Oh I do.”
238 notes · View notes
scatter-the-stars · 3 years
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Badboy
So this became more than I anticipated.
TW: abuse (not Blaine to Kurt)
"Where are we going?" Kurt questions after only just then realizing they're not headed towards Eric's house where the party is. "I thought you said we were going to a party?"
From the driver's seat his friend Jackie lets a sneaky smile spread across her face. "We are."
"Okay. Why are we driving in the opposite direction of Eric's place?"
"I never said we were going to Eric's party."
"Jackie!"
Jackie giggles. Her long auburn hair blowing around her face from the wind.
"Jackie, where the hell are we going?" Kurt takes a look around to see if he recognizes anything. But nothing rings a bell.
"I heard about a... party."
"Where?"
"The south side of town," she replies.
"Hell no, Jackie." It suddenly makes sense why he doesn't recognize anything around him. He's in a part of town he's never been in. A part of town he's been told to stay away from.
"What?"
"We can't be here. It's dangerous."
"Says who?"
"Um... Everyone. Let's just go to Eric's party."
"No." Jackie starts to drive faster. "We're going to this party."
Kurt glares at his friend. "Why?"
Jackie says nothing while she parks her Jeep close by to the party they can hear. She pulls the keys from the engine and faces Kurt. "Aren't you tired of doing the same thing? Going to the same boring parties?" She tucks a strand of her loose hair behind her ear. "I want excitement, Kurt."
"Then go skydiving or something. Don't go to the bad side of town. And don't drag me along." Kurt unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out of the Jeep. He starts to walk back the way they came. Pulls out his phone in hopes of finding a different friend who will be willing to come pick him up.
"Kurt! Wait!" Jackie runs to stand in front of him and stop him from leaving. "Please, don't go. I need you with me on this. I can't go in there alone."
"I don't care." He moves around her and continues walking. Is pissed his best friend would drag him into her crazy idea. Plus, if his stepdad finds out where he was he’ll be punished. "I'm going home."
Jackie grabs his wrist and stops him. "Please. Stay with me. Kurt."
Kurt takes a few deep breaths before turning to face his friend. "Jackie, this is a terrible idea. All those people are trouble."
"And Eric and his friends aren't?"
Kurt opens his mouth to say no but snaps it shut when he remembers just the week before Eric and his friends decided a car race on the highway at night would be fun. And that's only one of dozens of dangerous, crazy things they've done over the years.
"Please, Kurt," Jackie pleads. "We'll stay an hour and then go to Eric's boring party."
"His party wasn't boring a few weeks ago."
"Yes, it was." Jackie loops her arm through Kurt's. "Aren't you tired of the same boring shit we do?"
"I mean..." There is some part of him that is bored by everything like Jackie said. It's been the same thing with the same people his entire life. Maybe a step outside the norm could be a fun, exciting adventure.
"See. This will be fun."
"But you don't know those people?"
"I'm good at making new friends. This will be no different. So, will you come with me?"
Kurt thinks it over for a moment. Considers he can survive an hour crashing a party full of people he doesn't know.
"Fine." He blows out a breath. "You owe me big time, Jackie. I'm talking about Chanel or Prada big."
"Deal!" Jackie bounces up and down on her feet in excitement. "Thank you so much." She plants a kiss on his cheek.
"Let's get this over with."
Music blares from the two-story house that has seen better days. There's people standing out on the yard and porch. They go silent when they see them. There's whispers as they walk by. Every set of eyes in the house immediately go to them when they step inside. Kurt suddenly feels like he's under a bright spotlight he doesn’t want on him.
"Come on," Jackie grabs his hand, "let's get something to drink."
He follows her through the house to the kitchen. Everyone watches and scrutinizes them as they pass them by. Their judging eyes make him feel two feet tall. They make him feel like the odd one out, which he is. Because he shouldn't be here. This type of place, these kinds of people, are not his scene. And he’ll be in so much fucking trouble if Caleb finds out.
"People are looking at us."
"Ignore them," Jackie casually says, like it's no big deal that a house full of people are staring at her.
Kurt wants to do that. Even tries to. But it proves impossible when he's watched like a hawk. He clutches Jackie's hand tighter and keeps his eyes forward. Says nothing. Not even when someone purposely bumps into him and loudly says, "Watch where you're going you rich bitch."
A few snickers and laughs follow the insult. It doesn't affect him. After growing up and being teased and bullied for his sexuality, a little remark about his wealthy lifestyle won't hurt him. It’s water off his back.
In the kitchen, sticking close to Jackie as she fills two red SOLO cups with beer from the keg, Kurt prays that the next hour passes quickly.
"Drink." Jackie holds a cup out to him. "It'll loosen you up."
Kurt takes the full cup and drains nearly half of it. The alcohol slightly relaxes him in a way he needs.
That relaxing feeling, though, dissipates with Jackie's next words.
"I'll be back."
He grabs for her hand before she leaves. "What? No. Don't leave me alone here."
"I'll only be gone a few minutes. You'll be fine." Jackie flashes one of her mock innocent smiles she's perfected over the years before disappearing in the crowd of people.
Kurt's heart immediately starts to race and breathing grows heavy as he stands there alone being looked at by the people around him. No longer wanting to endure the stares, he turns around to face the cabinets. At least they won't stare at and judge him.
He brings his cup to his lips and drains the last of his beer. Mentally prays Jackie comes back soon.
It's still crazy to him that they're here. That Jackie actually convinced him to come to this party. All his life he's stayed on his side of town. Never strayed to the bad side of town as his mom would repeatedly call it. Can remember her telling him it was full of criminals and people not worth their time. People below them. He never questioned her repeated demands that he stay away from that side of town. Was never curious. Even now he's not curious. He's terrified and wants to leave. Wants to go to the safety of places and people he knows.
Cup empty, he turns to refill it and runs into a wall of muscle. Kurt opens his mouth to apologize to the person he ran into. But his mouth goes dry and tongue grows heavy as he looks at the gorgeous face of the man standing in front of him.
The guy, who is older, is devilishly handsome. Everything about him is dark. From his hair to his eyes to the clothes he wears. Even his polite looking smile hides darkness and an edge of ruthlessness behind it. Kurt can just make out the tattoos peeking out from the collar of the guy's shirt. A light stubble covers his jaw.
The guy eyes him. Arches an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who are you?"
The guy's voice is deep and warm, and sends a shudder racing along his spine. Kurt wants to hear it again. Wants to hear the guy speak his name. To growl it into his ear as he fucks him.
That thought takes him by surprise. Because he doesn’t know this guy. Can’t be having wild thoughts like that over someone he literally met ten seconds ago.
But there’s something about the thought that doesn’t feel out of place.
"I, uh... I-I'm..."
The corner of the guy's mouth curls up. "What? Can't remember your name?"
"I can remember my name." Kurt glares at the guy.
The guy’s grin grows, as if amused by Kurt’s anger toward him. "Then what is it?"
What the hell is his name again? It starts with a K. He thinks.
Shit!
Seconds tick by.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The guy's dark hazel eyes fill with amusement.
"Did you bump that pretty head of yours and forget your name?"
"No."
The guy takes a step toward him. Kurt takes a step back. His back comes in contact with the edge of the counter.
What. The. Hell. Is. His. Name!
He feels like the biggest idiot as he stands there unable to answer a simple question. But his brain is a jumbled mess filled with static noise as he stares at the sexy guy in front of him.
The guy reaches a hand up and curls it around the back of his neck. Kurt gasps at the strong shock that runs through him at the touch. Trembles when the guy presses his thumb right at the racing pulse point in his neck.
"You'll be fun."
Kurt doesn't have time to consider what the guy means by that because Jackie calls his name right then.
The guy drops his hand, which disappoints him.
"Kurt."
He looks when Jackie runs up to him. She wears a look of concern and tightly clutches his arm, almost as if she's afraid he'll be snatched away.
"So your name is Kurt."
Kurt turns his attention back to the guy in front of him. "Y-Yeah... Kurt. That's my name."
The guy grins and Kurt feels a tingle race throughout his entire body.
"Good to know. See you later, Kurt," the guy says before turning on his heel and walking away.
Kurt watches him walk away. His gaze drops to his fantastic ass in the dark jeans he wears. He finds himself wondering what that ass looks like. What it would feel like in his hands.
Jackie tugging on his arm pulls his attention away from the guy. He sees his friend curiously eyeing him. "What?" he asks when he realizes she asked something.
"I was asking what Blaine wanted."
Kurt furrows his brows in confusion. "Who's Blaine?"
Jackie gives him a Are you serious? look. "The guy you were just talking to."
"Oh." Kurt looks at where Blaine walked away. Disappointment swirls in him at not seeing the sexy stranger. "He wanted to know my name." He looks at Jackie. "How'd you know who he was?"
"Kurt," Jackie lets out a breath, "that's Blaine Anderson."
The way she says his name implies he's supposed to know who that is. But the name rings no kind of bell for him.
"Who's Blaine Anderson?"
"Come on." Jackie grabs his hand. "We need to leave."
Kurt follows Jackie out of the kitchen. Surprised at the sudden urge he has to stay. "Why are we leaving? We've only been here a few minutes. We can stay." He wants to stay. Wants to see Blaine again.
"No." Jackie practically drags him out of the house.
As they leave, Kurt notices the people who eyed them earlier pay them no attention. A few even get out of Jackie and his way as they head for the front door.
Outside and walking to Jackie's Jeep, Kurt stops in the middle of the road after ripping his hand free of her tight hold. "What the hell, Jackie! Why'd you do that?"
Jackie turns to face him. "I was protecting you, Kurt."
"Protecting me. From what?"
"More like who."
"Who?" Kurt grows more and more confused by the second. "What are you talking about?"
"Let's get in the Jeep first."
In the Jeep, Jackie practically speeds away from the house like she committed a crime.
"What is going on, Jackie? Slow down before you crash!"
That seems to produce the opposite effect since Jackie picks up the speed. And what should have taken them thirty minutes, Kurt finds themselves outside of Eric's place less than ten minutes later.
Jackie shuts off the engine. She drops her head back against the headrest of the seat and lets out a heavy breath. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" She covers her face with her hands.
Kurt starts to grow worried something terrible happened. "Jackie, what's wrong?"
Jackie slams the palm of her hand against the steering wheel a few times after lifting her head. She curses a few times.
"You're starting to worry me," he says after she's calmed down.
"I'm sorry. It's just..." She breathes and turns in her seat to face him. "I shouldn't have taken you there. It was a stupid idea. I didn't think..."
"Think what?"
"I didn't know he was going to be there."
"Who?"
"Blaine," Jackie breathes out. "I was told he would be gone until next week."
"What does it matter if he was there? Who is he, Jackie?" Kurt wants to know everything about the sexy stranger who seemed dark and dangerous.
Jackie takes a breath. "He's dangerous, Kurt. And I'm not talking about those lame bad boys that go to our school. I'm talking about the kind of bad boy that got out of prison last year. He runs with the Dark Demons. You've heard of them, right?"
Kurt nods his head. Everyone has heard of them. They're a notorious motorcycle club. Known for violence and wealth and power. They run drugs and weapons. There's even rumors of some of the dark things they've done. Things that no amount of asking for forgiveness will grant them peace.
"Yeah, well, he's a member. One of the more fucked up ones, I've heard."
That nugget of information has Kurt thinking back to the small bomb Jackie dropped in his lap moments before. "You said he was in prison."
Jackie nods her head.
"For what?"
"What I heard, and it could be total bullshit, but apparently he beat some guy to death when he was seventeen. Who knows, though? It could be for something else."
Where that piece of information should scare him, Kurt finds himself mostly unaffected. He isn't suddenly terrified of the guy who went to prison. In fact, he finds himself curious for what the truth really is about Blaine's reason for being in prison.
"Stay away from him, Kurt," Jackie says when she catches him contemplating things. "He is nothing but bad news. Did he tell you anything?"
Kurt thinks of what Blaine told him before Jackie interrupted them. Thinks of Blaine's words You'll be fun and knows he can't tell Jackie about them. That she'll go crazy and do something even crazier.
"No." He shakes his head. "He just wanted to know my name."
"Good. Maybe he'll stay away."
"Maybe." Although he says that, Kurt finds himself hoping that isn't the case.
It should scare him that he wants to see an ex-prisoner who is apparently as twisted and fucked-up as they come. But for some reason, it doesn't.
There was something about Blaine that drew him in.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few weeks pass and nothing happens. His life goes on like normal. He hangs out and parties with his friends. Fools around with his friend Colin that he messes around with from time to time. He goes to school and acts like everything is okay at home.
The entire time Blaine is there in the back of his thoughts. He wonders what he's doing or how he's doing. If he's alone or with someone. If he's thinking about him.
Kurt hopes Blaine thinks of him. That he pops up in Blaine's thoughts in the middle of the day.
He doesn't want to be forgotten.
"Are we still on for tomorrow?" Jackie asks one Friday after school almost two months after meeting Blaine.
"Yeah. What time are you picking me up?"
"Early. Seven in the morning."
"Okay. That sounds-" Kurt comes to stop when he steps outside and sees who's there.
Leaning back against his bike, ankles crossed and hands gripping the seat of the bike, Blaine looks as devilishly handsome as ever. In a dark shirt, jeans, boots, and Aviator shades covering his eyes, he pulls off the bad boy, biker thing extremely well.
"Shit!"
Kurt barely hears Jackie's soft exclamation when she spots Blaine. His world has been reduced to this mysterious, sexy man.
Their friends around them all murmur and ask who that is. He pays them no mind. Only cares about the man who has been his go to fantasy when getting off these past few weeks.
He knows the moment Blaine sees him. Sees the grin spread across his face. His heart gives a hard thud in his chest at the sight.
Kurt takes a step forward.
Jackie grabbing his elbow stops him and pulls his attention away from Blaine.
"What?"
"Kurt, don't. He's bad news."
"I know. I just..." He locks eyes with Blaine. "I just want to talk to him."
Like a magnet, he feels drawn to Blaine. Like he's the innocent fish being reeled in by the tempting bait as he makes his way to the man who's been at the back of his mind since he last saw him.
As he makes his way over to Blaine, he notices students, guys and girls, curiously eyeing Blaine. Some wear looks of interest. Which isn't surprising since Blaine is extremely attractive and probably pulls attention wherever he goes.
Blaine pulls off his Aviator glasses. Kurt finds his breath catch at those dark hazel eyes watching him with so much interest and desire it sends a sharp thrill through him.
He stops right in front of Blaine. "Hi."
A devilish grin spreads across Blaine's face. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you again."
Kurt's pulse races. "H-How'd you find me?"
"Easily."
Blaine pushes off his bike and stands at his full height. He takes a step closer to Kurt. Kurt feels the heat radiating off him. Feels that heat wash over him. It intensifies when Blaine grabs the back of his neck like he did that night weeks ago.
Heart racing and cock pounding, Kurt is so desperate for whatever Blaine might do next that he would let him strip him naked and fuck him right there in the parking lot for everyone to watch and see.
Blaine stares into his eyes with his dark hazel orbs. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"
It takes a second for what Blaine asked to register. "W-What?"
"A bike." Blaine gestures with his free hand to his behind him. "Have you ever ridden one?"
"Oh... No."
"That's okay." Blaine lets him go and climbs onto his bike. Kurt goes weak in the knees at how sexy he looks straddling the powerful machine. He doesn't stop Blaine when he grabs his wrist and pulls him onto his bike. "Hold tight and don't let go."
Arms wound around Blaine's midsection, he holds tight like instructed. He jumps a little when Blaine starts the engine and revs it a few times.
As Blaine begins to drive away, he looks over at his group of friends who all watch him with shocked and surprised expressions. Except Jackie. Jackie wears an expression of worry and regret.
He doesn't let the look get to him. Forgets about everything he should have done, and will happen to him when he gets home, and instead focuses on how it feels to be pressed close to Blaine's backside. The power of the engine between his legs. The sensation of the cool wind whipping against his face and through his hair. Head dropped back and eyes closed, he smiles at feeling free for the first time in a very long time.
A hand on his right thigh squeezing the flesh has him pressing closer to Blaine. Even more so when Blaine drags his hand up and inside his jean-covered thigh and covers the bulge between his legs.
It's extremely fucking sexy the way Blaine teases him with one hand while guiding the bike with the other. He should probably yell at Blaine to put both hands on the handles. But he feels too good; somehow trusts Blaine. Remembers Blaine has probably been doing this for a long time.
Blaine drives until he's out of town and goes into the country. Kurt is not worried at all when he turns onto a gravel road and drives until an old farm house comes into view. The house has two levels. A large porch is on the bottom level. A hanging porch swing gently sways from the wind. The paint is chipped and grass is seriously overgrown. But Kurt sees past that and can see the appeal the place has. Sees how a family could live there.
He climbs off the bike after Blaine comes to a stop and cuts the engine. "What is this place?"
"This is my parents' old farm. It's mine now."
"Really?"
"Why the surprise?"
"You don't really scream farmer to me."
Blaine chuckles. Kurt likes the sound. "What do I scream?"
Kurt eyes Blaine up and down. "Trouble."
Blaine grins and lifts a brow. "Do you like trouble?"
"I do."
Hand taken by Blaine, Kurt follows him past the house and to the old barn that has seen better days. He takes in the old structure when they go inside. Sees old, rusted farming tools and equipment. There's a wooden ladder that leads to an upper loft area.
He doesn't question anything when he follows Blaine up the ladder to the loft area. Where he expects it to be dirty like the rest of the barn, he's surprised to find it's clean. Everything looks to have been taken away. The only things up there now are an old couch, some rugs, an end table, and a lamp.
"What is this?"
Blaine walks over and drops down onto the couch. "My safe space, I guess you can call it. I come here when I need to get away from everything and think."
Kurt goes up to the open doors and looks out at the view. "This is nice." When Blaine says nothing, he looks back and finds him eyeing him. "What?"
"Come here," Blaine softly growls while tipping his head.
The command has Kurt instantly moving his feet over to the mysterious man he can't stop himself from wanting.
Stood in front of Blaine, heart pounding, a small squeak escapes him when Blaine suddenly hooks a finger through one of his belt loops and pulls him down into his lap. He bites back a moan when he feels the hard length of Blaine pressing against his ass. Every nerve ending suddenly firing and demanding attention. His body shakes with need.
It should terrify him what he's allowing to happen. He tries to remember he barely knows this guy. But those thoughts are outnumbered by how good he feels. How right this feels. That it doesn't matter that he only met Blaine once before for less than five minutes. Because those few minutes were enough to greatly affect his world.
Those short minutes were enough to awaken something inside him that had been dormant for too long.
"Why does this feel so right?" he muses out loud while running his fingers through Blaine's dark hair.
"I don't know." Blaine strokes a thumb over one of his flushed cheeks. "But it does."
The racing of his heart, the wild fluttering of the butterflies in his stomach all calm when Blaine pulls him down and their mouths brush together. A sharp shock courses through him at the teasing touch. He immediately wants more.
With one of Blaine's hands holding his hip, he moans when Blaine crushes their mouths together. His eyes flutter close and hands clutch at Blaine's shoulders. The kiss creates sharp tingles that race through his body.
Lips part under Blaine's demanding tongue. He groans when Blaine teases their tongues together. When they push and glide against each other.
The hand on his hip moves to grab at his ass. And where he shouldn't want the touch, should shove Blaine's hand away since he barely knows him, Kurt finds himself wanting more. He wants Blaine's hands on him. Wants Blaine to touch every inch of him.
He wants to feel a soft touch where there's only been roughness.
Blaine slips a hand under his shirt and splays it over the heated skin of his lower back. The area grows warmer under Blaine's touch.
The kiss intensifies. Blaine deepens it. A shudder wracking his body when Blaine nips his lower lip and sucks on it before pulling away.
Kurt breathes heavy as he comes down from the high of the best kiss he’s ever had.
"Is it true?" The question spills from his mouth unprompted a few moments later. He never meant to ask it aloud. Would have sufficed continuing to go on in the dark. But the question is out there now, and there's no taking it back.
"Is what true?"
"Were you really in prison?"
Blaine takes a breath. "Yes. Do you know why?"
"I've been told rumors."
"What rumors?"
"Jackie said-"
"Jackie?"
"My friend. You saw her that night at the party."
Blaine seems to mentally go back to that night to recall his friend. "What did this Jackie say?"
"She said you killed someone." Kurt looks away for a few heartbeats before turning his attention back to Blaine. "Is it true?"
"Will you think differently of me if it is?"
"I... I don't know."
A few minutes of loud silence follows. Finally, Blaine softly says, "I didn't kill anyone."
Kurt lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "What did you do?"
"It doesn't matter. I served my time. And I don't regret what I did."
Kurt presses closer to Blaine. No kind of fear surfaces at Blaine's confession. His feelings don’t change. He still wants this man. Is deeply affected by him in a way that has caught him by surprise.
"Let's go swimming."
Down by the small lake, Kurt watches Blaine as he begins to undress.
"You joining me?" Blaine pulls off his shirt.
Kurt stares at Blaine as he stands there shirtless. Stares at hard muscles covered in black ink. Fingers and tongue itching to trace and learn every line of Blaine's muscles and tattoos. He’s intrigued to know every story behind them. To know which ones are the most important to Blaine.
He's been with guys who were fit and had tattoos. But not like this. Not a man who looks every bit the dangerous he is. A guy who could easily wrap his hands around his throat or haul him over his shoulder. A guy who is the true definition of a bad boy, and not the watered down version Jackie called the ones at their school.
"Kurt?"
Kurt shakes his head and lifts his eyes up to Blaine's that hold laughter. "What?"
"Are you going to join me?" Blaine gestures to the water.
After quickly stripping down to just his underwear, Kurt takes Blaine's offered hand and jumps with him into the warm water. He breaks the surface, sputtering water and laughing. Feeling the happiest he's been in a long time.
Blaine pulls him close and kisses him.
His heart flutters and stomach swoops.
They lose time kissing and swimming. Kurt barely notices the passing of time. Minutes feel like seconds. Time somehow ceases to be at one point. It's just the two of them and what feels like forever.
Where he fears his feelings are one-sided, that fear is put to rest when Blaine pulls him close and says he feels it too.
Kurt isn't sure what is happening. But he knows it's something special and magical and a once in a lifetime experience.
Out of the water some time later and lying on the warm, soft grass, they hungrily kiss like it's been days and not minutes since they last did so.
Thighs parted and Blaine lying between his legs, Kurt moans at their nearly naked, wet bodies pressing close together. Heat swirls in his belly as his cock grows hard. Against his hip, he feels Blaine hard as well.
Blaine reaches down and palms at his bulge. "Can I taste you?"
Although something reminds Kurt he barely knows Blaine, that he's still a complete stranger to him, he finds himself nodding his head. Because something else, something that overshadows his other thoughts, is yelling at him how right and perfect this feels.
Blaine pushes up onto his knees and hooks his fingers in the band of his underwear. Kurt lifts his hips to let him pull them off. His hard cock springs free and smacks against his belly. Blaine pulls his underwear and tosses them in the direction where their clothes are.
Lying on the grass naked, the sun warm on his wet skin, Kurt feels beautiful and wanted as Blaine looks at him with a hunger no other guy has ever looked at him with before. He wants to be owned by Blaine. To fall into this wonderful moment forever and forget about the horrible secret he's keeping. A secret that made the decision to come with Blaine easy.
Lips press kisses down his neck and along his shoulder. They brush over the scar on his left shoulder. The one he got when he was eleven. He sees the curious question in Blaine's eyes when he lifts his head.
"Please, don't," he softly begs. He can't let Blaine ask about the scar. Because he'll break and tell him. And he doesn't want him to know. Can't let him know. "Please..." He grabs the back of Blaine's head and pulls him down to kiss him. Against his lips, he softly pleads, "Please, don't question it."
He breathes a sigh of relief when Blaine nods his head and begins trailing kisses down his chest and stomach. Tenses when Blaine brushes his fingers over the scar on his left hip while his lips brush a kiss to the scar just above his belly button. He relaxes when Blaine continues his path down his body and doesn't question it like he begged for.
The first drag of Blaine's tongue along the underside of his cock has him loudly moaning.
Blaine doesn't tease him. He kisses the tip of his cock before taking it into his mouth. Gives a long, hard suck before setting up a steady rhythm.
The sensation is wonderful. Kurt finds himself quickly on the edge. Cries out not long after from a powerful release. He shakes and trembles as Blaine pulls off and kisses him. Is still doing so when he shoves his underwear off and starts to jerk his cock.
He looks down and watches Blaine fist his cock. Watches the leaking, purple head push through the tight fist of his hand.
Blaine drops his head on his shoulder and grunts and groans as he chases his release. "Fuck. I... Can I..."
"Yes," Kurt moans into Blaine's ear, knowing what he wants. "Come on me."
Those three words trigger Blaine's orgasm. His cock jerks as he spills over his fist and onto his chest and stomach. Kurt softly whimpers as Blaine's release covers his skin.
He's never felt more owned and desired.
A laugh escapes him after Blaine collapses on top of him in a breathless, boneless heap with a soft fuck.
As they peacefully lie there in a comfortable silence, the sound of their breathing mixing with the sounds of the world around them, the sun starting to set, Kurt wishes time would stop so he could spend the rest of his life in this perfect moment.
"We should clean up," Blaine says after a while when the cum on their skin begins to dry.
Kurt agrees. Follows Blaine back into the water. Smiles when Blaine pulls him close not long after and claims his mouth in a rough kiss.
They get off together one more time before climbing out of the water. They lie on the grass lazily making out while drying off. Start to get dressed once they are.
The sky is turning dark when Kurt climbs onto Blaine's bike behind him to head home. And the sun is completely gone when Blaine finally pulls up in front of his house.
"Nice house."
"Thanks," Kurt mumbles, hiding his hatred for the place where he lives.
He climbs off the bike.
"I had a great time," Blaine says.
"Me too." It was the best time he's had in an extremely long time.
"Can I see you again?"
Kurt lets out a soft giggle when Blaine pulls him close and grabs at his ass. "Yes."
"When?"
"I'll call you."
"I'll impatiently wait."
Kurt laughs and kisses Blaine bye. And as he stands there and watches him drive away, he's left to wonder if the Blaine he was told about was just Jackie talking shit. Because the guy he got to know today didn't fit the person described to him.
He turns on his heel and walks to the front door of the house he hates. The house that feels more like a prison than a home.
The moment he steps into the house a hand roughly smacks him across the face. Kurt stumbles the slightest but shows no reaction to the hit. Has learned to contain his anger and hurt when struck. To project any kind of emotion, he learned at a young age, will only draw out the punishment.
Head lifted, the left side of his face stinging, and lip burning where it was split open by the ring, he stares at his stepdad. At Caleb Rothstein. The man he regrets his mom meeting and marrying.
The first time Caleb laid a hand on him was when he was seven. He was playing around in the living room and accidentally knocked over a vase. Caleb was beyond pissed and punched him in the stomach so hard he threw up the lunch he ate. He cried until he fell asleep.
Life since then hasn’t been the same.
"Where were you?" Caleb snarls at him. His eyes are hard with anger and rage, both of which he doesn't contain.
"With a friend."
Caleb slaps him again. This time he falls to the floor. "That's bullshit! Jackie called and said you left with that criminal!"
Kurt breathes through the pain radiating on the side of his face. He glares up at his stepdad. Mentally tells himself he only has a few months left before he leaves this place, and this man, for good.
"Tell me the fucking truth!"
Instead of lying and being punished even more for doing so, he decides to just be honest and deal with whatever Caleb does.
"I was with Blaine."
"You son of a-"
Kurt pulls in a gasping breath when Caleb roughly kicks him in his stomach. Tears well in his eyes after Caleb does it several more times. He curls into a ball to protect himself.
"You stay the fuck away from him! I find out you're with him again and I'll make you regret it."
The threat doesn't scare him. Not like it would have when he was younger.
Only after hearing Caleb's retreating footsteps does he slowly push himself up and escape upstairs to the safety of his room. Once there, he locks the door and pushes the dresser in front of it. Knows from experience that Caleb sometimes isn't finished with him and will come into his room and take out whatever anger he has on him.
Later, as he stands in front of his bathroom mirror after a shower, towel around his hips, he eyes the bruising already starting on his stomach. He brushes his fingers over the discolored skin. Hates that he knows the bruise will take at least a week to disappear. Which means there's no point in him going with his friends to the lake tomorrow. The bruising will be worse by then.
As he lifts his eyes to his split lip, barely touches a finger to the broken skin, he touches his other fingers to his lips. A smile turns up his mouth as he thinks about Blaine's mouth on him. How right and amazing it felt. How he wants to feel that again.
He dresses and climbs into bed. Ignores his stomach when it growls. Would rather go to bed hungry than risk going to get something to eat and running into Caleb.
He grabs his phone to text Jackie.
Kurt: Can't go tomorrow. In trouble.
It's total bullshit since Caleb told him nothing about not being able to go with his friends. But there's no way he can go with them and explain his injuries.
Jackie: Why?
Kurt: You know why
Kurt: I'll talk to you later
Kurt shuts off his phone to avoid Jackie's reasoning for telling his stepdad about Blaine. He knows she only meant well. But he wishes she wouldn't have said anything at all. Because now he's holding a pillow to his tender stomach while fearful of what else Caleb might do to him.
As he lies there, though, he thinks of Blaine and how even with Caleb's threats, he won't stop seeing him.
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