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dedalvs · 1 year

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do you have any tips for making and evolving grammar? ive gotten pretty good at phonology but grammar still trips me up

The idea behind grammaticalization is that it happens in roughly the same way every single time.

The first stage is some expression takes on some additional grammatical meaning. So at one point in time "I am going to eat" met "The reason I am presently moving is I'm heading toward a place where I intend to eat". It meant something not too different from "I'm walking to eat" or "I'm heading to eat". Given that there was a clear parallelism between the logical series of events described and a grammatical notion (futurity), the expression took on an extra grammatical meaning.

The second stage is the expression becomes conventionalized, and so it feels different to use that expression vs. some similar expression. Thus, "I am going to eat" indicates futurity in a way that "I'm walking to eat" does not.

The third stage sees the expression undergoing phonological erosion. This can take many, many, MANY different forms, and it can go in stages. There are some general strategies you can use here that will apply elsewhere in conlanging. Sound changes occur here, but general only lenition/reduction, and they're not universal (i.e. they can apply only to this expression or lexical item). It may result in affixes of some type; it may result in the word itself being pronounced differently; it may result in stress or tone changes and the complete loss of the original word or expression... It depends on the shape of the expression, the phonology and phonotactics of the language, and the position of the expression with respect to the rest of the sentence.

I'll give you two examples from English. We have something like "I am going to" becoming "I'm goin' ta" becoming "I'm gonna" becoming "I'm'unna" becoming "I'm'a", which is a pretty radical reduction. On the other hand, we have "used to", which saw the [z] devoicing to [s], and the loss of the final [d]/[t] in the verb, but otherwise it remained pretty stable—still have [ju] in the beginning, and we have the option of ending with [tǝ] or [tu] still (for the latter pronunciation, consider when we use it as a response: "Do you play Warcraft?" "Well, I used to..."). The expression has definitely been reduced, but not as radically as "I am going to".

The fourth and final stage sees the loss of the original expression entirely—that is, it has no more meaning save its grammatical meaning. I don't think we've quite hit that with "going to", but we darn sure have with "used to". It's now a completely different lexical item from to "use" (compare "A remote control is used to control a television" vs. "My remote control used to work, but now it doesn't"). If you try to force the original "use" meaning into the "used to" expression, your brain twists in knots trying to figure out who's doing the use and what that has to do with past habituality.

As a conlanger, I think we look at the third stage as the most difficult, but it's something you can learn and practice and get better at. I see the first stage as the hardest. It's easy enough to identify instances of grammaticalization in one's own language, but to create novel ones? That's challenging! You have to identify common phrases in your conlang and imagine how they might get repurposed as grammatical expressions, and some of these grammatical expressions may be things that don't necessarily exist in natural languages (or things that do that the conlanger happens to have not come across). The reason is the grammatical expression results from the unique lexical combination, and the one you create may be entirely novel.

For example, I have this experience with blueberries, where no matter how they look, I swear like 50% of the time they're sour, miserable little sods. Then you take one of his brothers that looks identical and it's a sweet, perfect cinnamon roll. So you can imagine that a word like "blueberry", if mine was a common experience, might double as a modifier that means "50/50 chance this thing will be the way you want it to be". So then if you ask, "What are Steinbeck's books like?", and you could say, "They're blueberry books" (because like half of them are great, and half of them are To a God Unknown).

If that got conventionalized, it might get used with verbs, too, so you could say, "I'm going to blueberry shop for furniture at the swap meet this Saturday". And then if it gets used enough, whatever the word for "blueberry" is could reduce phonologically and become its own grammaticalized expression, but what would you call it? A 50/50 marker? Does it exist in a natural language? Some kind of "uncertain" marker, I guess? Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you call it or if it actually exists in some natural language somewhere, since what matters is how it works, and where it came from. As a conlanger, if you can demonstrate the latter, that's all you need.

So that's grammaticalization in a nutshell. Hope that helps!

#sillysanddweller #conlang #language #linguistics #grammaticalization #grammar #language creation #English grammar

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crackedpumpkin · 2 months

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I need to ask have you ever thought about making an underground racing au for the ninjago boys 🥹 I think it'd be interesting, I'd write it myself, but I always end up writing gibberish 😭

hmmm i dont think ive ever thought about that au before, but it sounds super interesting!!! id love to see how that plays out tbh, u shld def give a try at writing it!! dont worry about whether or not its gibberish, we all always have something to improve on!! people have different writinf styles and ways of perceiving characters and i think thats amazing in itself!

if youd like some writing advice (lol look at my audacity) id recommend these:

- readability is something i prioritize at all costs. having a hugeass paragraph with too much information is much harder to read and understand compared to smaller paragraphs with the same information, but broken down effectively to make it smoother.

- grammar can be learnt, so dont be afraid to make mistakes.

- one piece of advice a friend gave me is basically: when writing in 3rd person pov, replace 'You/Your' with 'The' so that it doesnt get too repetitive. i abuse the SHIT out of this advice

- you don't need to have so much vocabulary under your sleeve to write. i like to keep this simple and easy to understand. yes, vocab does make a difference depending on how you use it, but for new writers, making sure that people understand your story is what i think matters most

- if you have an idea, write it down somewhere in your notes. i had a shit ton of ideas that came to me and my google notes were FILLED with random blurbos. be it good or bad, you never know if you might use it.

- dont be afraid to get feedback!!! literally every single writer ive met or chatted with on tumblr are the SWEETEST human beings alive. theyve all been there. they know how it feels, and the feedback theyve given me has been nothing short of amazing

- last but not least, write for YOU. i used to think getting recognition for my work was SO IMPORTANT but honestly? u shld write because it makes you happy, not the other way round. be proud of whatever youve written, and if u think u can do better, go for it! write it again!

love u loads and make sure u tag me if u ever write it. give me more thoughts on this au, im genuinely intrigued now!!!

#writing advice #lols #ninjago #ninjago asks #cprambles

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silverynight · 2 months

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Could you write a Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel fic of Bee and Ozzie coming to visit Charlie at the new Hotel along with Tex and Fizz. (Vivs’ apparently loves the idea of the other 6 sins being like Charlie’s aunts and uncles, so I’d imagine there they’re very close to her and Lucifer (I didn’t add Mammon cause fell I hate him, but you can add him in if you want)) (Also something Ive just come to consider sense it hasn’t even been briefly mention in Hazbin, and sense it is canon that sinners can’t enter the other rings..what they don’t know said other rings exist? Like, I just think it’d be a very funny subject at some point in to the fic that Charlie mentions that Ozzie and Bee are the Sins of Lust and Gluttony, and others are like; wait…WHAT. (Also just would love to see a conversation between Angel and Ozzie, and Angel comes to learn that the Sin of Lust himself believes in consent, and may or may not spell some details about Val, and Ozzie is like; ..ok so know how do want me to kill this bitch. Totally can see Bee making all sorts of beverages both alcoholic and not, as well as making all sorts of treats for everyone. (I’m really getting ahead of myself here, but I really want to see more of that concept, the very few I’ve found, as either cut the story very short, given up on it, or that it’s just has very bad grammar and use of words)

That'd be cool! Unfortunately, I don't know that much about Helluva Boss because I just watched the first two or three episodes, I think.

#asks #ask silverynight #hazbin hotel

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scotianostra · 5 months

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On December 10th 1616 the Scottish Privy Council mandated the establishment of publicly funded, Church-supervised schools in every parish of Scotland.

With the good came the bad, he same document commended the abolition of Gaelic, they wrote “That the vulgar Inglish toung be universallie plantit and the Irische language which is one of the cheif and principall causis of the continewance of barbaritie and incivilitie amangis the inhabitantis of the Ilis and heylandis may be abolisheit and removit.” basicallly they said that Gaelic caused "barbarity and incivility amongst the inhabitants of the Isles and Highlands" , but in truth the reformation was in full swing, and while most of Scotland embraced the teachings of the new church, the gaelic speaking majorities in the Highlands and Islands were staunch Catholics.

Don't get me wrong, the law helped set Scotland on the way to becoming one of the most literate nations in Europe in the 18th century and probably paved the way for the Enlightenment, but at what cost? Thankfully the destruction of Gaelic was never carried out to any great extent.

Indeed, the Act itself was fatally flawed, because although its intention was to educate the population from a young age, it did not say exactly how this was going to be done. Nevertheless, it is the starting point of modern Scottish education and should be seen as such.

Before the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church was in charge of education in Scotland. From the early 12th century, there had been schools for the education of priests, monks and choristers – the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral was founded in 1124 and its modern descendant is the High School of Glasgow.

As Scotland progressed through the Middle Ages, most schools were connected to church establishments – cathedrals, monasteries, abbeys and major churches in the bigger towns. These schools in time became known as grammar schools from the teaching of their main subjects – reading and writing.

It was a haphazard system, with only the teaching of Latin and church dogma standardised. Every school had its own curriculum, usually set by the man in charge of the church establishment who was nearly always intent on preparing boys for church service – there were a few nunneries and they did try to educate girls in subjects such as sewing and embroidery, though a few, a very few, girls did receive more formal education.

Directed by King James IV, who was passionate about education and the arts, the Scottish Parliament passed the Education Act of 1496 which made it compulsory for nobles, property owners, the landed gentry and merchants to send at least their eldest sons to grammar schools from the age of eight.

The king’s idea, backed by the likes of Bishop Elphinstone, founder of Aberdeen University, was that Scotland would have an educated elite able to converse with anyone across Europe which in turn would boost trade, secure better relations across the church, and help maintain political, diplomatic and military links with allies like France. The ordinary folk, the peasants, the poor, remained uneducated.

Come the Reformation and Scotland saw a change in the delivery of formal education. John Knox gets a lot of the credit and no doubt he felt he deserved it. In 1560, Knox's 'First Book of Discipline' outlined a national system for providing a “virtuous education and godly upbringing of the youth of this Realm”. The mechanism was the establishment of parish primary schools, burgh grammar schools, high schools, and new universities; Edinburgh, which was established in 1582 and Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1593.

The Kirk wanted to ensure that everyone could read the Bible, but its heart was in the right place when it added, “For the poor, if need be, education may be given free.” The result was the setting up of schools in various towns and parishes, but it was no means widespread. Subjects taught were as proposed by Knox and his cronies, namely the Catechism, grammar, classical literature, French, and Latin “if the town be of any reputation.” In the high schools, such as were provided, was taught in addition “the Arts, at least Logic and Rhetoric.”

Fifty-six years after Knox's book and one hundred and twenty years after James IV's act, James VI's Privy Council passed the School Establishment Act of 1616, which mandated that a school be established in every parish. According to the section on the 'Acts of the Parliament and of the Privy Council of Scotland, relative to the establishing and maintaining of Schools' published in 1840, in the 'Miscellany of the Maitland Club', “Thairfoir the Kingis Majestie with advise of the Lordis of his secreit Counsall hes thocht it necessar and expedient that in everie parroche of this Kingdome whair convenient meanes may be had for interteyning a scoole That a scoole salbe establisheit and a fitt persone appointit to teach the same upoun the expensis of the parrochinneris.”

This Privy Council act was neither the first nor the last attempt to sort out the descendants of the Picts, and the Gaels.

It took three more acts of Parliament, in 1633, 1646 and 1696, before a solid foundation was established and schools became sufficiently widespread to be classed as nationwide. At first, success proved elusive, because of Scotland’s relative poverty and the prevailing political and religious circumstances. The 1633 act was introduced to levy a tax on local landowners; to ensure that money was available. The 1696 Scottish Parliament act for 'Setting Schools’ ensured that every parish not already equipped with a school was required to establish a schoolhouse and to provide for a Dominie. By the end of the 18th Century, most parishes in Scotland had at least one school. No accident then, that from the 18th Century onwards, Scotland had one of the highest standards of literacy of any nation in Europe.

The second pic is of a carving of a seventeenth-century classroom with a dominie and his ten scholars, from George Heriot's School, Edinburgh.

Thereis some more info on Scottish education on the University of Edinburgh's web pages here https://www.ed.ac.uk/education/about-us/maps-estates-history/history/part-one

#scotland #scottish #history #education #church of Scotland

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binarysunset17 · 7 months

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Ive never written a fan fiction before but i really wanted some spooky gvf fictions (cuz i love Halloween and spooky season) so i thought id give it a try!

Warnings: swearing, ghostys, poor spelling and grammar

The Cabin Trip

Jake sat in an old wooden chair slightly uncomfortable on the hard surface, he leaned back with his legs tucked up.

Him and Josh decided to stay the night in the old cabin for a ‘nature retreat’. Some place to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of tour life while they could. It was October and they’re headed off to Europe for their Starcatcher tour come November.

"yknow autumn would be a lot nicer if it didn’t get dark so fast" Josh motioned as he slipped inside the rigid old wood door, to find Jake pretzeled on the wooden chair.

Jake shrugged his shoulders barley taking his eyes off his book.

"eh, I kinda like it.. don’t have to wear sunglasses all the time."

"HAH- yeah except you do anyway" josh chirped grabbing his jacket and some kindling from a dusty silver tub.

"I get overstimulated alright!" Jake said fake mad turning his head to see josh giving him an eye roll as he turned the corner into the dark hallway.

Josh went out the back door. 'To the firepit to start a fire' Jake assumed given the kindling tucked in his arms as he left.

Some time passed and the quiet sounds of nature came to a hush. Its almost too quiet. The darkness of night came so quickly Jake hadn’t realized he was sitting in total darkness until his eyes strained to see the words of his book.

He was about to flick on the lamp beside him when he heard a creek in the floorboard down the hall. He almost forgot about Josh outside. Jake paused his motion leaning his head to get a better view of the dark hall.

"Josh?" Jake asked casually into dark. Still paused in his motion of reaching for the lamp. His eyes strained and saw a dark figure walk passed the hall with heist. Quickly Jake finished the motion of turning the lamp on without removing his eyes from the source of the movement. He waited in silence for a second.

"Josh?!" Jake called out annoyed this time. I know you can hear me he thought.

"Seriously Josh fuck off... what are you doing!?" Jake voiced into emptiness. It was deathly quiet all throughout the cabin.

Until a loud bang from the front door opening made Jake jump and rip his eyes off the hallway. Josh walked in completely chipper and said

" oh there you are! what the hell I thought you would’ve came out? some hell,ve a book" he said doubtfully grabbing more kindling under his arm. Jake wide eyed, still shaken up from the bang of the door.

“hey, did you call my name by the way?' Josh asked bent over picking through pieces of wood.

"Yes! I saw you walk down the hall why the fuck didn’t you answer me?!"

josh frowned a confused look matching his twins face.

"I didn’t? I was outside the whole time" Josh said standing straight up slightly irritated

"Why did YOU lock the back door, now I had to walk all the way around to the front?" Josh retaliated.

"I didn’t! -…" Jakes voice trails off remembering the human figure he had seen earlier. If josh was outside the entire time ...jakes head quickly turned back to the hall scanning wide eyed.

" What?!" Josh said more irritated than anything.

Jake stood up not taking his eyes off the hall as he did. He slowly walked towards his twin and pointed to the hall as he spoke.

" There was a person-w-walking past the hall earlier-I saw it!" He spoke in hush tones as if fearing being heard by anyone else but josh. Josh looked at him skeptical, trying to rationalize what Jake was saying.

"No, I’m deadass right now Josh I’m not fucking around!!" Jake pleading Josh to believe him. The seriousness and panic in Jakes eyes were enough.

" .. and you didn’t lock the back door... are you SURE??" Josh said equally hush locking his eyes down the dark hall.

"YES, I’m fucking sure!" Jake said between is teeth.

A thud came from the corner of hall where their eyes couldn’t see. All corners where pitch black even with the lamp on. They froze not making a breath. Staring at the location of the sound.

The light switch to the hall was far to close to the source of the sound for that to be an option. Plus neither of them could move... even if they could.. would they want to see ?

They stood for what felt like hours. Finally, Josh grabbed Jakes arm lightly and tugged, whispering to him

"we need to go .. like now.."

With that they bolted out the front door and straight to the car without looking back. Jake driving, quickly started the car and made heist down the dirt path back to civilization.

As they drove, dirt dusted up behind them, sparkling under the moon light. Josh looked back to see the dying fire he left was completely out.. and standing by the firepit where Josh had been all night..there was a black figure of a man, with glowing eyes waving at him as the car turned the corner leaving the old cabin behind.

#greta van fleet #josh kiszka #jake kiszka #greta van fic #gretavanfleet #greta van fluff #greta van fanfic #gvf fanfiction #kiszka twins #spooky season

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little-writing-drabbles · 3 months

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ᖫ Interview ᖭ

Ask: N/A

Type: x reader

Word count: 4,244

Reader: gn, no pronouns specified

TW: death, description of a murder, mutilation (not reader), mental illness potentially, mention of a car accident, not proofread, grammar, probably really shitty

Sunsets were always your favorite. You remembered when you got your first car in high school and you would drive up a mountain in the outskirts of your town and would watch the sun set almost everyday. It helped you relax on bad and stressful days, like the sun was taking it away from you, leaving the moon to keep you company. You loved the colors, the orange and yellow of the lowering sun mixing with the blue sky and shades of purple and pink color the clouds, making them look like cotton candy. It was peaceful. You didn’t watch the sunset as much as you used to, work takes up a lot of your time.

Your job isn’t one you liked talking about or telling people, in simple words, you were a true crime podcaster. Researching crimes took up a lot of your time, you needed any and all details you could get your hands on, news articles, accounts of the people involved, witnesses reports, interrogation footage and even crime scene photos were things that were important to recounting cases to the public. You were thankful two of your friends had offered to help you with your research to not overwork yourself. Your relaxation time was interrupted when your phone rang, reaching into your cupholder where your phone sat, you picked up your phone to read the caller ID ‘Melody’. You sighed a little and answered her call, the sound coming out of your car speaker.

“Hey Melody.” You couldn’t hear anything coming from the other side, causing you to sit up in your seat and fiddle with the volume, “you there?”

“Where are you?”

You covered your ears quickly, after messing with the volume knob, you had left it on max volume. Melody’s voice boomed through your car and you quickly turned it down. “Hello?” You sucked in a breath through your teeth.

“Yeah I’m here”

“Are you ok? What happened?”

“I couldn’t hear you so I messed with the volume and blew my eardrums out.”

“Dumbass.” Melody laughed. You fixed your jacket on your shoulders and listened to the thump and rustling from Melody’s side of the call. “You never answered my question.” more rustling, “Where are you?”

“Beach, watching the sunset.”

“Did you edit the footage?” You froze as you shuffled in your car, “You haven't even started yet huh.”

“No!” You rubbed you'd face and turned your car on. “I'm heading home now ok, I'll start working on it.” Melody hummed.

“Good, Ive given the other two videos another watch through and fixed a few things here and there and now I just need to make thumbnails for them.” You nodded and to took to the road to head home, watching the sunset from the passenger window in glances.

“Ill be home soon, Ill text you when I finish editing ok?”

“Alright, dont forget to eat something”

“I won't, text you later.”

“yeah, by biatch.” You laughed as Melody ended the call and you pulled into your driveway. Quickly getting inside before the cold wind picked up. You let out a sigh of relief as you turned on a few light that lead to your living room where you set up your computers for editing.

You waisted no time in sitting down and turning on the computer to get to work editing on the footage you had already uploaded into Adobe™. You out on your headphones and played to footage right see what you gas gotten, preparing for the first watch though.

— — — — — — — ✂ — — —

“Hello ladies and gents, welcome to ‘The Dark Truth: A Candid Conversation with Convicts’. A series where I sit down with criminals and ask them about their crimes from their perspective.” You shuffled in your seat as you motioned to the person in front of you. “I'm sitting here today with Max Watson.” Max nodded and he sat straight in his chair in front of the mic that you had set up in front of him. “Max there's two sides to your story and I want to split that up and take it in parts.”

“Ok.” Max stared at you as he spoke, making you squirm a little in your chair. Max had an intense stare, chocolate brown eyes bore into you as he waited for his turn to speak.

“There was a point in your life when things at home weren't doing so great, how old were you?” Max sighed as he thought.

“I would say…” Max bounced his head from side to side as he remembered back to his life before being locked up, “I would say when I was about sixteen.” He nodded, content with his answer.

“Can you tell me about your life before then?”

“Well, for a majority of my life I grew up on the west coast on the cliffs right next to the beach in a beach house, we moved there when I was nine, my sister was six I believe?”

“How close to the beach were you? Was it a town or just a house?” Max tapped his nose a little before looking at you.

“It was right there, like there was just a road between my front yard and the carved in stairs that led down to the beach.” Max used his hands to map out the layout of his house on the table.

“Did you have neighbors?” Max titled his head to the side as he scratched his head, tangling his fingers into his hair that matched his eyes.

“I had like one, I think.” Max placed his hand back onto the table as he lifted his head to an upright position, “They weren't super close but not far either. My mom hated it.”

“She hated the beach house?” He nodded.

“Yes, my mom has a very intense fear of the ocean, she never wanted to move into that house.” You opened your mouth to speak but Max beat you to it. “My dad didn't care, we moved anyway.”

“Did they argue about it?”

“Of course. My dad was an architect and he made that house we moved into.”

“Were you upset when you moved?”

Max shook his head while you readjusted yourself. “No, I was a daddy's boy, if he wanted to move then I would follow without a second thought. And he made that house for me.”

“He made it for you?” Max nodded, “how so?” Max's eyes seemed to sparkle as he rubbed his hands together, excited to tell the story.

“I had always seen people surf in movies and tv and I wanted to learn how and told my dad about it all the time and so he designed a beach house for me.” You nodded a little. A cute memory of Max and his dad but you reminded yourself where you were both sitting.

“Do you think people are living in that house now?” He shrugged.

“I don't know, honestly it makes me angry to think about that. That the house my dad made for me is being lived in by other people.” You nodded in understanding.

“Can you tell me about your mom? Were you close?” Max whined a little and shook his head sheepishly as he scratched his head. He chuckled a little before placing his hand on his thighs.

“I didn't really care for her.” Max looked down at the table, “She was in the way most of the time.” Max looked back up at you, “my sister was always with her.”

“They were close weren't they.”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me about your sister?”

“Not much to say, she was in the way too.”

“You don't love her?”

“Not really.” Max shook his head and almost shivered at the thought, “She wanted to be a detective so she was always talking about clues and mysteries. I know she loved Sherlock Holmes. Called me her Watson and all but made me play detective with her.”

“This beach house, did you ever learn to surf?” Max perked up at your question and nodded excitedly.

“I did.” Max leaned in, “my dad got me a surfboard and I spent all morning everyday out on the water learning.” Max smiled fondly at the memory, “I would stay our and watch the sunrise all the time, and the sunsets were just as devine.”

“Wow, it must have been beautiful.”

“Oh always.” Max tapped the table a little, “I loved it, I would watch the sunset almost every day.” He sighed before scratching his hand, “not always but at least I never missed a sunrise.” You nodded as your rubbed your arms and stretched your back.

“i'm assuming you got better over the years?”

“Yes, I was doing surfing competitions by the time I was in High School. My dad would go but my sister and mom never did.”

“Mmm. So while you got better your mom got worse.”

“Yeah.”

“How bad did it get?”

“She got really pale, she never went out because you would just be looking at the ocean so she only ever went out to the backyard but it wasn't often.” Max scratched his head again, “She and my sister would beg to move so mom could get better but my said would just tell them ‘we're not moving’ to their faces.”

“Why didn't your mom just have her family come take her away?”

“She wasn't close with her family ever, like no contact so she didn't have anywhere to go.” You hummed a response and tapped the table a little.

“What happened when you were sixteen?”

“My dad died.” Max's voice was flat as he stared at you, almost glaring at you for asking. “Car accident, he was coming home from town at night and was hit by a group of teenagers that were driving on the wrong side and my dad swerved but so did they and they pushed him off the side of that cliff.”

“Did you know the teenagers that were in the car?” Max clenched his teeth and began grinding his jaw before nodding.

“All of them were in my English class.” Max shook his head in a disapproving way, “They couldn't even look at me.” Max shuffled in his chair and clenched his fists to calm himself down, “They tried for weeks to apologize and make it up for me but I wasn't gonna let them.”

“Their apologies wouldn't bring your dad back.” Max looked at you stunned.

“Yeah.” Max couldn't be angry anymore, he looked around awkwardly before looking back at you. “It was really hard for me, I guess it was also hard for my mom and my sister.”

“You were the man of the house at that point.”

“I was, my dad left me a majority for his things and the house, while my mom and my sister got some money.”

“Did you keep surfing?”

“I had too.” Max stared at the mic in front of him, “Surfing was my thing. It helped me cope.”

“Things didn't get better with your mom after your dad passed, did they.” Max shook his head.

“No, I was sixteen when my dad passed and eighteen when my mom lost her vision.”

“Your mom listed her vision? Was it an eye disease?”

“No, it was self-inflicted.” You raised your eyebrows in shock, “I look a lot like my dad and when he passed my mom didn't have many ways to cope, I don't know if she didn't try or it wasn't working but she started calling me Willas–my dads name–and kept telling me to not go outside and stay out of the water and telling me that we should move away for Max's safety and I was sick of it honestly.”max shrugged as he waved his arms about slightly before leaving then. on his lap.

“So what did you do?”

“I told her to leave me alone.” Max shook his head, “I thought her fear of deep water was annoying at this point and since I was of age all of the things my dad left me were now in my possession including the house.” Max rubbed his face as he leaned forward again, “so since I was so fed up I grabbed her arms-” Max held one of his forearms and shook it lightly, “ like this and I started dragging her out of the house, telling bee that if she wanted to stay in my house she needed to get over her fear because I wasn't gonna leave.”

Max let his arm go and propped his head up with his arm on the table, “I didn't get her out of the house but I got her to the front door and she lost her marbles and broke down. My sister was out at the time and she had just gotten home and got really mad at me.”

“She helped your mom back inside?”

“Yeah,” Max rubbed his temples, “a few days later I went out into town to get a few things and even a new board and when I got home I saw my mom on the kitchen floor with a bunch of cleaning products and she was holding this like,” Max moved his hands in front of him to make a cylinder as he thought, “it was like a soup take out thing and she lifted it up and poured it on her face so it would get into her eyes.” You covered your eyes in discomfort before looking back at Max.

“It was cleaning products, wasn't it.” Max nodded in conformation.

“Yeah, I called 911 and they confirmed it there and when they had asked her why she said I saw the ocean I saw the deep over and over again.” Max scratched his forehead, “My sister was mad at me that I didn't stop her and well I don't blame her for that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I had ample time to stop her, and I just didn't want to.”

“What was going through your head at that time?”

“I just thought, well maybe if dies she won't be such a nuisance but she didn't and that's when I called 911.” Max glanced down at the mic before looking back to you, “I watched her cry for about…” he shrugged “like almost five minutes.”

“Did your sister ever forgive you for that?”

“Eventually yeah, she shouldn't have.”

“So this was a pretty dark period in your life you'd say, right?” Max hummed a response “Is this where you had met your girlfriend.” Max nodded quickly.

“Yeah, it was a year later.”

“Where and how exactly did you meet her, your girlfriend.”

“Oh.” Max looked at you stunned again, “No one's asked that before.” He picked at the table a little before leaning towards the mic “Well, I met her–my then girlfriend– on the beach while surfing.” He leaned back in his chair a little, “She was new in town and she was on the beach watching me and when I got out of the water to go back home she stopped me and asked me to teach her.” Max shrugged.

“And you said yes?” Max laughed a little.

“Kinda, I thought she was pulling my arm so I said meet me here tomorrow at 7 AM and then I'll teach you. And she did.”

“And a love blossomed?” You smiled and Max smiled back.

“It did, but I always felt like it was too fast.”

“like you got into the relationship too fast?”

“Yeah, it was only like I wanna say,” Max shrugged his shoulders as he looked around. “like a month later?”

“A month? Did you ask her to be your girlfriend?” Max shook his head quickly, a slight look of panic on his face.

“No no no she asked me.” Max interlocked his fingers with his own. “I would have waited for much longer than a month.”

“I think it's time I asked you the big question.” Max nodded and smiled, “why are you in prison.”

“I'm in prison for killing my girlfriend of four years and her sister.”

“How long were you and your girlfriend in a relationship before you killed her.”

“Four years.”

“That’s quite a while.”

“It was the longest relationship I was in, yes.”

“Why'd you do it?” Max shrugged again.

“Lyla loved her sister, they were joined at the hip. I knew she loved her because she told me but I never knew just how involved Sidney would be.”

“Sidney was the sister?”

“A huh.” Max nodded as he shuffled. “It was after the first year of us being together that Lyla told me her sister would be moving in with her and I didn't mind because—well what was I gonna do—and Lyla kinda kept blowing me off after that.”

“How so?”

“Like we would make plans to hang out and I would either be stood up or she would bring Sidney without ever letting me know.” Max ran his fingers through his hair and sharply exhaled, “I forgave her and let it slide multiple times before I brought up the issue with her and I said ‘Do you want to break up with me?’ and she was super confused and asked me why I would bring it up and I told her,” Max fixed his posture and tapped the table.

“You've been bringing your sister everywhere with us, or straight up ignoring me. I don't mind that you're hanging out but I want your attention sometimes too, just the two of us because I haven't lately.” You nodded along with him. “I like when people are direct with me, to tell me what bothers them or what they need from me so having to sit Lyla down and listen to me was important.”

“Did she stop?” Max tilted his head in confusion, “like did she spare some time for just the two of you?” Max shook his head.

“No,” He shrugged, “well she did but it was just for one week and even then she was texting her sister constantly.”

“And when did you tell her this?”

“It was two years into the relationship, then a year went past and I sat her down again and said ‘I already told you once, I want your attention sometimes too and you didn't listen to me, why?’ and she tried to defend herself and shit but it just caused the argument to escalate.”

“Did you hit her?”

“No, but I grabbed a vase that was near me and threw it at the wall and left, which isn't great either.” Max shrugged again, “I regretted it after I got home.”

“When did you decide you wanted to kill her sister Sidney?”

“Honestly after she moved in with Lyla. Like I saw how close they were and how I was being pushed to the side I just, “ Max sighed. “I never shook the idea off and as the years went on it only made more sense to me that she should die.”

“What happened that day?”

“We were hanging out at her house and for once I thought, finally I can have her to myself for a little while, and then she looked at her phone really quick and told me, Sidney’s coming home soon so we can all hang out–and my first reaction was to get up and leave because I was getting sick of it, I wanted out and Lyla begged me to stay and I did.”

“What did she tell you?”

“Just to stay and hang out, that it would only be a little while but she said it in this very sweet way and couldn't say no. And then when Sidney got there she all but shoved me to the side as she went to greet her as if she doesn't live there with her and I said I was gonna go to the kitchen and make myself something to eat and Lyla looked at me and responded with ‘get me and Sidney something something eat too will ya darling?’ and that shit got on my nerves.” Max rubbed his face before continuing.

“I had wanted to make myself a sandwich but I could hear Lyla and Sidney laughing in the other room and I couldn't focus on anything besides the fact that I wanted her dead.” You felt a chill run down your spine as you listened, keeping poker face on you let Max continue. “Like I grabbed a knife and looked at it as I thought about it and it wasn't long before Sidney got up and left again to the store or whatever and Lyla called me out to the living room and I went.”

“Did killing Lyla cross your mind at all?”

“Briefly, in that moment when I stood behind her I thought ‘do I really want to kill my girlfriend? yeah’ and then I turned her to look at me, covered her mouth with my hand, pushed her down and stabbed her.”

“How many times did you stab her?”

“At least six or seven times, I didn't really count but I wore myself out, I was tired so when she stopped moving I got up and sat on the couch next to her.”

“Were you waiting for Sidney to come back?”

“Of course, I killed Lyla but I wanted Sidney dead too. I waited for about fifteen minutes before Sidney got back and I stood by the door.”

“Did she scream when she saw what you did?” Max shook his head once more.

“No, Sidney was looking at the ground when she came in and turned her back to where I was standing–” you cut Max off.

“Where were you standing?”

“I was by Lyla's body, like I wasn't trying to cover it, I wanted Sidney to see Lyla like that.”

“Why?” Max shrugged and you nodded as a chill ran down your spine again.

“I just wanted Sidney to see her like that, and when she did I covered her mouth with my hand and pushed her against the door before stabbing her too.”

“Did you know you were gonna get caught?” Max nodded.

“I did but I didn't know how long it would take.” Max scratched his hand, “I washed the knife, got into a change of clothes and went home, it was kinda late so I just entered to bed.”

“How were you caught?

“Lyla had nosy neighbors and she lived more in like an actual residential area so they probably heard the screams I don't doubt it.”

“Where were you when you were caught.”

“Take a wild guess.” Max laughed a little and you felt the blood drain from your face. “I was out on the water, I figured they would come the next day but I wanted to surf one more time before I was taken in.”

“What did they say?”

“They just waited on the beach and told me to come back to shore and I took my time so I could watched the sunrise and I did. I didn't fight or resist I just wanted this over with, even with the interrogation, the dude just hadn't even sit down and I told him.

“You told him you did it? What did you say?”

“Yea I just said ‘your here because of Layla and Sidney Rowland, they were found in 736 Coral Road, yeah I killed them.’ and he was stunned.” There was a long silence between you and Max.

“What's your sentence, Max.”

“Life without parole.”

“How many years into your sentence are you?”

“Three years, I'm 25 now.”

“Do you regret killing Lyla?” Max stayed quiet for a while.

“Sometimes. I really did like her.”

“Would you do it again?”

“Kill? Yea.”

“Thats all the questions I have, thank you for sitting down with me Max.” You stood up from the table you were sitting at and held your hand out to him. Max stared at your hand before looking over to the prison guards standing and watching you both.

“Can I shake their hand?” The guards looked at one another and nodded, giving him the green light. Max reached over and gave your hand a shake before standing up and making his way to the guards while you collected the mics. “It was nice talking to someone Y/N, thanks.”

You looked up at Max who was being escorted away and you gave a nod. “Thank you for sitting down with me.” You and Max shared a laugh.

“As much fun as I has with this interview and talking to you, I hope I never see you again.” Max spoke with seriousness that left you a little shaken.

“Why not?”

“I like getting attention all to myself, I get used to it very fast.” You dropped the smile on your face and Max shot you a playful wink before laughing at your reaction and following the guards back into the building. You quickly walked over to your camer that stood on it's tripod and you stopped the recording.

You were starring at your own shirt on the computer monitor. You rubbed your face as you were put back in that prison with Max. The things he told you as he left burned into your mind and made your stomach feel funny. You took off your headphones and put them on your desk before walking over to the large floor to ceiling windows and stood there, looking out to the dark ocean that spread out right across the street.

#oc #Max Watson #criminal oc #murderer oc #oc x reader #character introduction

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callmeyoursblog · 4 months

Text

just somethin’ i wrote at 4 am and decided to share :) an extension of the childhood best friend!simon fic im currently working on. first thing ive posted on tumblr so bear with me <3

} some suicidal ideation (like one sentence), not checked for grammar or spelling

my phone kept ringing.

i let it ring.

and i threw it into the river.

no phone. no name. no trace.

new hair. new country. new life.

as i stood on the bridge i debated simply jumping. i knew this job would fucking kill me. i didn’t know it would come so soon. i didn’t know it would happen right after i got simon riley back.

i walked towards the thick of the city again. it was getting dark. i scanned the streets as i walked, assuring no one was following me. i could have passed as an anxious young girl, walking alone in the streets. and that’s what i fucking felt like. helpless.

i entered my apartment above whatever local bar it was. assuring there were no intruders. i suppose my location helped. no one could get in unless they entered from the bar. and no one could get up there without being seen.

i set all my belongings on the bed, spreading them out to make sure i had everything.

my gun. my holster. my knife.

my clothes. my hair dye. my mask.

the one simon had given to me. i grinded my teeth remembering i had left him like he left me at 16. reminding myself it's just temporary. i shook the feeling off and walked towards the bathroom. dimly lit. not ideal for dyeing my hair, but i had to. everyone on the field knew my long, brown hair. i opened the black box dye and mixed everything together, turning on the fan to vent the smell a little bit and applying the dye to my hair. i let it sit for however long the box said and sat on the edge of the bath, keeping track of the time through the alarm clock in the other room. barely awake and spacing out as i realized what i was doing.

i’m a fucking fugitive.

as the clock neared closer to the rinse time for my hair, i brought my gun and knife into the bathroom. never letting them get too far from me. the water never reached a proper temperature. maybe that was good. wouldn’t get caught off guard being comfortable under the warm water. i still stayed in the shower until the water ran clear.

when i exited the shower, i wrapped my hair in a towel and threw on sweatpants and simon’s t-shirt that i’d stolen after a night together. it smelled like him still, somehow.

i looked at myself in the mirror.

a mess. a goddamn mess. pitiful, honestly.

a caught a glint of light out of the corner of my eye through the open door. the kind you’d see reflecting off of someone’s eye. i quickly turned with my gun already pointed in the direction of the light.

“it’s me, it’s me, put the fuckin’ gun down, love.”

simon.

“you have to leave. you can’t be here.” i warned him, lowering my gun.

“the fuck got into you? why’d you run?” he asked, getting closer to me.

“graves is chasing me. i have to get to him first.”

“you know we could have helped-“

“he would have sent all of the shadows to fight 141. he won’t send any of them to find me. i’m keeping you safe, simon. so please, leave.” i urged him, resting a hand on his chest. it was a lie. we both knew that. graves would send whoever the fuck he wanted to just to chase me down. i didn’t want to bring all of 141 down with me. simon sighed, sitting on the bed. i knew he wasn’t leaving.

it was him and i against the world.

} i know the plot probably moved too fast but it was 4 am and it was just an idea that popped into my head, but i’ll probably rewrite it. definitely going to expand on this idea though

#simon ghost riley #simon riley #i need this man so bad #task force 141 #phillip graves

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saladzz-o · 1 year

Text

Just a summer.

What if Baxter doesn’t want to be included and/or remembered because he’s sick and know he won’t be there for long.

notes: this writing include -> gn mc, angst, death, mention of death, mention of illness, happens mostly in a hospital

-> 2,5k words.

A/N: I apologise in advance if there is any typos or grammar mistakes. The combinaison "not being a native speaker" & "dyslexia" killed me. If any native english speakers out there would like to be beta readers for futur writing project, it'll be really nice! I hope you'll still appreciate it!

“It’s just for a summer”, is what he told them when they went on a first date. It was always clear to the both of them, their relationship would only last for a season. It was new, exciting even, to them. It seemed normal to him. Still it was quite an adventure for them, meeting a man who became a simple flirt and quickly evolved into their first love. Obviously, given the circumstances, they never said anything to him about their feelings. After all, summer was coming to an end way too fast and it was just for a summer.

Years passed and with it the hope of a lasting romance faded. The summer boyfriend left a long time ago, taking along a part of their heart as he vanished.

But in all his great plans and schemes to be forgotten, he never thought the impact he, as a person, had on them. He never planned they’d still care after all these years. Wondering if he was alright, if he was happy, if he had any regrets. Every now and then, they’d get hit with nostalgia and a bitter feeling of “unfinished”. Especially when the vision of his flirtatious smirk randomly popped in their mind, often followed with the sound of his voice echoing in their head and the great memories they shared together. From time to time, the wonderful gift that is technology would add to their misery as it brought back pictures from the time they had together.

If it was so great then why didn’t he reach out? Why didn’t he picked up the phone once, even if it’s just for a summer?

At this point in their life neither of them even considered it possible to see each other again, how could they?

It was a bright day in the middle of June when they went to visit one of their neighbor who moved a while ago to be closer to her children. She was a nice and caring old lady, they always loved her company. Which wasn’t really complicated, any older person looked like an angel when compared to the mean grandparents.

Unfortunately, she was staying at the hospital due to a minor accident. The nice grandma insisted that it was unnecessary to come visit her but they came anyway, they still wanted to bring some warmth to their aging friend.

And that’s when fate decided to give them a new chance to meet.

They weren’t a fan of hospital, who was? They tried to get past the cold feeling the place had, that and the smell of hand sanitizer. Everything seemed so bland, the wall, the light, the uniforms,..

Even the people are pale.

They shook their head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Overthink other people condition won’t help them cheer up their friend. They kept walking down the corridor until they found the one room they were looking for.

They texted the neighbor’s son a few days ago, asking for the room’s number. It was easier that way. Once they reached the door, they knocked and op. They smiled as they entered the room until a familiar figure caught their eyes.

At first what they felt was confusion, they were shocked by the sight of the man who has been living in their mind for the past few years. What were the chance they’d meet today? And in this hospital out of every place in the world. To the confusion, a deep feeling of worry grew in their chest when they realized the IV pole along with the bags of liquid and its tubes were not meant for the eldest person in the room.

“Oh hello darling, what a wonderful surprise!” the woman cheerfully said. “ And what a wonderful timing! Look who’s keeping me company during my recovering!” she beamed, clearly grateful for the attention and apparently oblivious of the situation happening right before her eyes.

She didn’t seem to notice her two visitors staring at each other, different range of emotions displayed on their faces. From shock to embarrassment on Baxter side, probably due to being confronted to his ex-lover in such a vulnerable state. What felt worst though was the look in said lover eyes, it was evolving as the time passed alas it didn’t evolve positively. Shock and worry as they scanned him then frustration and anger as they brought their eyes back to his face.

If looks could kill.. he thought but honestly, could he blame them?

He excused himself out of the room pretending a lack of energy and a desire to let the two acquaintance chat among themselves. Which was true, he did start to feel tired, he also didn’t want to interfere in any possible conversation. But mostly it was a good way to avoid confrontation or having to explain himself. He wouldn’t be able to handle it, he didn’t want to handle it, not now.

They had to gather all the will power they possessed to not follow after him, they still had to get over what has happened first. They were aware of how troubled they felt and if they learned anything from their many arguments with Elisabeth it was how quickly things could go south if they didn’t calm down.

It wouldn’t be Baxter if he didn’t disappear out of the blue.

They brushed the whole thing off, trying to report their attention to the main reason of their trip to the hospital. They stayed for a while, something like 1 or 2 hours chatting with the grandma as nothing happened.

They were sitting in their car now, not moving a muscle, car still parked. They tried to proceed what the f went on during the afternoon.

Was that even real? Was he really there? What does all those tubes meant? Was he injured and if he was, was it serious? Oh hell, f*ck it!

They went out of their car and back through the hospital main entrance, going straight to the front desk, asking for their “close friend’s” room number since they apparently “forgot” it.

“Sure, what’s the name?” the secretary asked.

“Baxter Ward.”

They walked around the corridors for the second time that day, following the instructions given to them previously. Who knew if they’d have another chance to finally close that chapter of their life. They still hesitated a few seconds before they took a deep breath and knocked at his room’s door. They entered the room soon after, standing in front of the man they still liked so much.

“..I ..huh .. Hi ..again.” they tried to say, not so sure if that was really smart to come back.

“Oh hello there. I didn’t expect to see again this soon.” the young man replied, surprised and maybe a bit uncomfortable too.

“Yeah I’m sorry, but I think we need to talk. Before we do..” they stayed silent a few second. “ Are you alright? I mean- obviously you’re not, if you were you wouldn’t be there but.. are you perhaps leaving soon?”

He was taken aback at first by their questions, he expected a lot of things coming from them but worry? That is definitely something he didn’t even consider.

“No. I’m afraid I won’t be out anytime soon.” He looked at the floor, seeming guilty for some reason, probably due to what he had to confess now. “In fact, I won’t be able to leave at all.. I doubt I’ll last long to be honest.”

Each word coming out of his mouth was heavier than the one before, what the hell was going on today?

“Baxter I’m really sorry.. When did you find out?” they blurred out the question before they could even think if it was the good thing to do.

He chuckled nervously, still looking pretty interested in the pale plasticky texture of the floor.

“I don’t remember exactly. Maybe when I was something like huh 13?”

“You were sick when we dated?” they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “You knew, it wasn’t even new, you were sick and you didn’t say anything? Do you have any idea how dangerous it could have been?”

“Did you expect me to talk about it and have the whole town be extra cautious around me during my whole stay? Like I’m some wounded lamb about to pass out any minutes? No, I preferred the time I spent with you forgetting about everything that was wrong, just enjoying life normally. Even if it was just for a summer.”

“ I never said you had to make it the front page of the newspaper but you could at least mention it to your PARTNER ?! Also if our time together was sooo great then why? Why did you left me hanging? You never picked up the phone and answered my call. You didn’t even sent a text pretending to be busy or anything, you just got rid of me. Just like that, poof, you disappeared!” they retorqued keeping their calm but not hiding how frustrated they felt.

“It was supposed to be easy. We went on some basic dates, basic activities, nothing unforgettable. I left, you forget about me after a few weeks and move on with your life and I do my thing, on my own without having to bring anyone down with me.”

“Oh come on! Please! That excuse sucks.” They said clearly annoyed. “There is no way I could have forgot you”

“It’s true! I swear, I just- I can’t get involved, don’t you get it ?!” he finally let out, a point of sadness in his voice. “I don’t have the luxury to let myself be an important part of anyone life. I won’t last long here and I don’t want to leave knowing it’s making the people who loves me suffer.”

Having him admit it like that was enough to shut them up. As the silence filled the room, they took a deep breath and sight. They didn’t fully processed the whole thing yet but they could easily guess what would happen next. He’d negotiate his way out of their life already, they didn’t wanted to let him go again, not yet.

“Fine, good for you, I don’t like you. I hate you even. I’m still mad at you for ghosting me so.. I guess I can stay around. It’s not like you could take your IV pole and run to the other side of the country this time, right?”

“That’s not what I-“ he tried to reply but they stopped him directly.

“You said you cared for the people who love you and I’m not one of them. And even if I agree, old ladies tend to be some really nice company, I guess you won’t complain to have something else to talk about than grandkids and old days. Also to be honest, who wouldn’t want to witness the downfall of their ex AND get to bother him until the end his days? It’s a win-win deal.”

He knew them enough to not take what they said at heart, he knew what they were doing and how they tried to sneak back in his life. He also knew they’d keep finding argument to any complain he’d make so he just gave up for now. He started to feel tired and he could still try to argue on that subject later. He shook the hand they extended to him, sealing the arrangement.

After that day, they came to visit him as often as they could, bringing with them funny stories from Sunset Bird and your current city. Telling him everything from what kind of trouble Cove created again to how overly adorable Terri and Miranda were. They also used their so called “hatred” for him as a way to keep him entertained or to subtly show him some affection. Nobody could be fooled anyway and all the exaggerated way they’ll complain about him being either “such a pain” or “unbearable” were just a way for them to get some funny reaction out of him.

Summer passed by, it was somewhere around the middle of august and Baxter’s condition had already declined more than what they had expected. He spent most of his time asleep or laid down, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice anyway. Most basic task such as feeding himself or siting up felt like an impossible challenge. It was heartbreaking to witness all this, having the man they loved and cared for so much on his deathbed, visibly in pain. If it wasn’t for the past months they spent by his side, they aren’t sure they would have been able to recognize him. He lost his signature smirk, he lost the strength to jokingly flirt and barely reacted to anything that was said to him. The saddest part of it all? In the weeks they spent with him, they were his only visitor. Not once have they heard about some relatives or acquaintance coming by to check on him and yet, in the few moment of consciousness he had, he still tried to push them away.

“You shouldn’t be there..” he managed to say as he opened his eyes and noticed the person typing away on their laptop keyboard, sited in a chair by his bed.

“And where exactly should I be?” they replied, shifting their gaze from the screen in front of them to the man by their side.

“Work.., Out with friends.., anywhere..”

“Mhmm but actually that’s what I’m doing. I’m out of my place with a... friend?.” They told him, running their hand softly through his hair. “And someone has to make sure you don’t pull on some trick on the nurses and mysteriously disappear on them.”

Their remark got the closest thing to a faint smile out of him. He slowly closed his eyes again, leaning into their touch since they moved their hand to cup his cheek.

“Not so bad” he whispered.

“What isn’t so bad dear?” they asked, quite surprised

“You here” he admitted

“Glad to hear it love. It’s about time you got used to it because I didn’t plan to leave you alone.”

They moved closer to his face so they could place a single kiss on his forehead before going back to gently play with his hair, enjoying for once a nice moment together. It kind of gave them hope, if Baxter could admit having someone caring for him was a good thing then maybe another miracle could happen.

Unfortunately, life is unfair and has quite a cruel sense of humor. A few hours later it played a dirty trick on them.

When they went to sleep that night, summer came to an end and with it Baxter was gone for good. He didn’t take just a single piece of their heart this time but the whole thing along with a part of their crushed soul.

Maybe he was right after all, maybe it wasn’t meant to last more than a summer.

#our life beginnings & always #our life #ol:ba #olba #baxter ward #jamie last #gb patch games

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royalwriteroftheuniverse · 2 years

Text

I woke up feeling sick so- Sick with Ransom

Plus size reader or at least not skinny reader lol

No reposting or publishing anywhere without consent

Reblogs are welcome

I woke up and I knew the bed was empty because Ransom is usually cuddly or at least the bed is warm from another body.

My ear was killing me. Maybe it was the way I slept. No couldn't have been. Ive slept like that before with the side of my head against/lying(maybe pushing) against the backrest.

I groaned.

My ear hurts. And I'm cold. I vaugly remember being half awake cold and just putting one arm inside my nightgown instead of getting up to grab a blanket.

So I did the only thing an adult does in this situation and I picked up my phone and texted Ransom, (my boyfriend whom I am living with for a few days... ok a while but I have my own place his is just nicer and more private.. )

"My ear hurts and im cold" forgoing grammar

He came in a short time later not sure how long or if I fell asleep.

“Hey baby you don't feel good?”

"No," I shook my head pounting. He felt my head with his hands and then with his lips.

"Hmmm" he just looked at me. I could tell my eyes were glassy -they felt glassy.

"Why dont we get you in the other room where its warmer?"

I wimpered.

"I know."

He bent down and slid one arm behind my back and the other under my knees carefully avoiding my injured leg as he lifted me. I snuggled into his chest. He brought me into another bedroom which is facing the sun. A guest bedroom I’d stayed in in the beginning of out relationship when I slept over if the weather was bad or I was too tired.. or too drunk. It wasn't that I didnt trust Ransom i just didnt trust his hands (or his lower brain)so to speak in the middle of the night. When he was “sleeping.”

First time he had rose his eye brows at the possibility of me spending the night.

I inwardly groaned knowing he was acting too nice to be true given his "reputation" which thinking back on it I’ve heard more crap about him from his familly than anyone else. Minus very scorned lovers.

He thought foor a moment and said "I have the perfect one for you."

The sunrise woke me up the first time I stayed over and there was a soft knock at the door. It was that morning that he told me it was his favorite room in the house because of it.

But it was also the warmest room in the house because if it. The air in the room- yes he has centeral air and heat but I don't remember why I got him to install a window air conditioner was at 78 and I was still cold as I brought a blanket over me.

"Aw kitten." He sat next to me brusing hair out if my face.

"What do you want for breakfast.

"Cookie crisp please."

He came back around 15 minutes later with the food.

"Sorry I started eatting them."

He sat down next to me and gave me a kiss on the temple followed by a quizzical "hmm"

"Still cold."

"No." I replied still burred under my blanket mind you. The blanket wasnt too thick, think early fall or early spring. But a blanket in the heat of august when its 78 degrees in the room..well you do the math.

I hungrily started on the cereal snuggling with my Captain America plushie while continuing to scrolling through Disney+ as I still havent found a thing to watch. He just sat there watching me. I almost ate the whole bowl quickly.

"So I take it you weren't into breakfast." He said taking the tray from me putting it on a table in the room and joined me in the bed. I turned and snuggled into his chest still hoding my Cap plushie. He saw the intruder-

"Hey what's he got that I haven't?"

"He's a hero."

"What am I the villian?"

I thought for a moment.

"Yes" I fervently nodded my head.

"You ate cookies without me. Your sick girlfriend was upstairs miserable and you could have been eatting them here with me."

"Ok Miss America. You're right I'm sorry. I should've broken up with you first and then brought you breakfast."

"Now was that so hard to admit?"

He chuckled and I loved the vibration in his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. It was comforting and I closed my eyes.

"You still tired it's noon. Its past noon its 1:30." He sighed. “And you’ve only been up what two hours max?”

"You dont have to stay you can do whatever you were doing before."

"I was waiting for you to wake up." He played with a curl in my hair.

"Didn't want to wake you with any noise or jostling around. Want lunch?"

"No not hungry. Just had breakfast."

"Ok you still cold."

"I'm snuggly warm." I said contently which I knew was making him concerned

"Hmm"

"Babe I am in a long night gown and underwear youre" in i just realized he had at some point taken his shirt off for a undershirt and in long pj pants that I often "borrowed" becuse they were comfy.

"Sweating. It's hot in here. Your ear still hurt."

"Yea kinda."

"Ok how about a quick luke warm shower should help."

I groaned I hated showers well just right now because I wanted to sleep and with my knew it hurt but wasn't unbearable Just bothersome because I hurt my ankle and knee same leg. Or did I not mention I look like a freaking stormtrooper.

"Do you need help?" He asked with a small smile it was a question out of concern not anything else.

“No I'll be ok.”

I told him what I needed and he got most of it. Some i had "sprinted" to get myself only to find him following I didn’t ask why as he’s been constantly claiming him following me is in case I fell again....

He put the items on the side

He sat down on the toilet seat grabbed a magazine

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure you'll be ok and dont fall or something”

"Ransom come on. I can do this myself."

"What if you fall?"

"Afraid of being charged with murder?"

"My family with love that." And he was serious.

Half his family, ok basically everyone except Richard, Linda and Harlan contacted me separately to see if I needed a lawyer for domestic abuse. I had feeling Linda thought that too- never saw anyone have such sustain for their own child. The only one who seemed genuinely concerned about my injury, besides Harlan, was Meg but she had also suggested stay at her apartment. Harlan knew I was safe hands with his grandson. Ransom is big teddy bear To be honest. I think practically his whole family thought he hurt me when in fact It was simply me tripping over something and then falling over my own feet.

“You can sit outside.”

"And miss the show?" He smirked with his hands on my hips. Then he got serious.

"I really am worried you'll get hurt. You could slip you could hit your head. I'll wait outside if you want I just-“.

"I know."

My parents were the same worrywarts when I had sports injuries. Waiting in my bedroom just in case.

I allowed him to sit in the bathroom as I took a quick shower mosty washing my hair. But the steam felt nice.

"Ransom can I just sit in the bathroom with the steam for a while?"

"Of course babe you want your towel or-"

"Yes please"

He handed me my XL towel and I wrapped it a round me when he lifted me up.

"Please stop doing that you'll hurt yourself."

"I’ll l be fine how many times do I have to prove to you I bench press 305."

I'm not skinny or lightweight by any means.. well maybe if we were on the moon. I got curves. I was an athlete in school but I wasnt and was never small and like I said not fit, Ransom says he loves me and my curves but still.

I sat on his lap and closed my eyes as I was breathing in the steam. I didn't realize how much my breathing was bothering me until the steam helped.

I leaned against Ransom as I closed my eyes and breathed. Next time I woke up I was in the bedroom.

"You fell asleep in the bathroom I thought you might be more comfortable in bed."

"Thanks and thanks for dressing me." He knows how I feel about sleeping without underwear.

"You really should eat something."

"I had cookie crisp."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this but cookies aren't a meal," he sighed. "How about chicken salad.

"I guess."

He walked towards my head.

"You need to eat sweetheart" his thumb caressed my cheek.

"You look really pale."

"I'm always pale. I make casper look tan." "Yea well now you're making the white sheets looks dingy. Ear still hurt."

"Bit how you know?"

He smirked, "you keep trying to tug your ear lobe, even in your sleep."

"I did?"

"Yea."

"You called the doctor didn't you?"

"He’ll l me here in two hours."

"Ransom I'm not that sick."

"You say that now but tomorrow yoll wake up moaning scratchy throat and cough we should get ahead of it while we can." He kissed my head.

"Ok"

"That was easy." He looked surprised.

"Docs was comming either way so…. Can you put celery in the chicken salad?"

"Yes and" he stepped outside the room for a moment and he came back with a tray I even put some olives on the side like you like."

"Aww Ran. Thank you"

"Of course love."

As I sat up I looked ouside briefly and it was dark.

"How long was I sleeping?"

"'Bout four hours."

"Geeze."

"Yea. Wanna try and tell me still you're not sick"

He plopped down next to me and took an olive.

"Hey that's my olive."

"Mine now-Wanna get it back?" He raised his eyebrows stuck out his tounge showing the olive resting against his teeth."

I shook my head, "Stop besides I'd get you sick."

"So a day without kisses from you I’m already sick."

"What are we watching."

"Anything your heart desires."

I sighed leaning my head on him. I hate being sick but if I have to be sick. I'm glad Ransom is here. He's such a sweet and soft and caring man.

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