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thevibraniumveterans · 3 years

Text

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Are you sure about that, Loki? Are you extra, extra sure about that?

Because you:

1. Joined a task force to look for Sylvie (even though you didn’t know her then) and entered the same tent she had just disappeared from mere seconds before;

2. Thought that she was you (which later she would disagree with and say “if anything, you’re me” but anyway) and therefore pretty darn easy to locate;

3. Wouldn’t at first accept the fact that she was superior to you (well, y’all are equals, and maybe she’s better than you, but we’ll get to that later);

4. Theorized with your new friend Mobius that she was hiding in apocalypses by stealing his salad and then proceeding to absolutely destroy it doing so;

5. Visited freakin’ POMPEII to prove said theory and then actually proved your theory correct;

6. Used a candy from the future as a clue to find out where she might’ve taken her next steps, and cross referenced it with the many apocalypses she might’ve been in;

7. Actually found an apocalypse that she ends up being in (Alabama 2050);

8. Went to said apocalypse to look for her (you seem pretty invested in looking for her at this point);

9. Found her first enchantment victim who then passed the enchantment onto her second victim (B-15, looking at you), whom you still thought was you;

10. Found her third enchantment victim who told you not to call her a Loki (which she’ll do again, don’t worry);

11. Acknowledged through her fourth enchantment victim that she was different than you for the first time (“I would never treat me like this,” you said);

12. Followed her through a Time Door back to the TVA after meeting her for the first time;

13. Somehow allowed her to get the best of you even though you probably didn’t mean for that to happen;

14. Grabbed her stolen TemPad and landed the both of y’all in yet another apocalypse, the worst one yet actually, one that she’s probably been to before;

15. Tried to shield her from a falling meteor, to which she said she didn’t need your help (I mean, did you have a reason to save her then?);

16. Called her weird (I mean, that’s funny as hell, I gotta give you that);

17. Opened a door for her and let her enter the mining shack first before you did;

18. Literally let down your guard around her (yes, you’re tired from all that running, but still);

19. Somehow didn’t even stop her from putting both her hands on your neck in an attempt to enchant you (it looked romantic as hell, dude, and how were you not even opposed to her doing that, given both of y’all’s antagonism toward each other?);

20. Told her mockingly “In my heart” when she asked you where you hid her stolen TemPad (I mean, you could have said literally anything else but you went for “in my heart”, okay, I see where this is going);

21. Kind of agreed with her when she said you needed her to get out of Lamentis, “you need me” being the key phrase;

22. Asked her where she was going, and followed her;

23. Acknowledged that she’s not a Loki (yay!), or at least the fact that she doesn’t want to be referred to as one;

24. Followed her into an abandoned mining town where you thought you could fool a resident who chose to stay (you couldn’t);

25. Let her get away with teasing you about your failed efforts;

26. Playfully grabbed her by the shoulders from behind as you used your magic to conjure up a guard’s outfit for yourself (which you looked absolutely hilarious in, by the way, that helmet did not help one bit);

27. Sat down with her at a booth on the train, just the two of you (I’m not calling this anything else other than a date, at this point, to be honest);

28. Told her a wistful story about your mother and how she taught you magic and how she believed in you;

29. Showed her a miniature version of the fireworks you said your mother once conjured up for you, in an attempt to make her happy (I mean, those are beautiful fireworks, and she likes them too!);

30. Playfully conjured up a feather and quill to tease her about saying “Love is hate” (she finds you funny, she just doesn’t want to admit it);

31. Asked her whether she’s got anyone waiting for her when her mission’s complete (well, she did give a sarcastic answer but that’s not my point);

32. Admitted to her that you courted both princes and princesses in the past as part and parcel of being royalty;

33. Disagreed on love being mischief (what does that even mean?!) and then told her that you might need a bit more of champagne to really get that line of thought going;

34. Sang (I’m sorry, serenaded is a better word) her a song about a fair maiden waiting for her beloved to return home (you’ll find out how prophetic that would be in due time, don’t worry);

35. Decided that a dagger was your best metaphor for love (what, does being inebriated make you better at metaphors now?)

36. Let her get mad at you for getting drunk on the train (tbh, that’s kinda your fault, but there was literally nothing else to do, so) and breaking her TemPad (honestly, how do you even break a TemPad when it’s hidden in one of your magic pockets?! How?!);

37. Asked her if she felt better after that frustration-fueled scream (I mean, that’s kinda the first time you’re looking out for her, because that’s about to get real routine);

38. Went along with her after she sarcastically suggested that y’all both should try to get the Ark off the moon, fully knowing the impossibility of doing so;

39. Bantered teasingly with her about enchantment;

40. Believed her on a dime’s drop when she said that everyone who worked that the TVA were Variants, just like the two of you;

41. Let her grab your hand before the both of you ran around the back of the Ark’s docking station in order to find another boarding point;

42. Asked her if she was okay after the both of you got knocked back by an explosion (aww, you do care for her, how sweet!);

43. Finally called her by her name just before the Ark exploded;

44. Apologized to her for ruining her mission and dooming the both of y’all to die on an exploding moon;

45. Sat and listened to her explain her motives for her mission, before telling her that though people like the both of you may lose in sometimes painful ways, y’all always survive one way or another;

46. Freakin’ COMPLIMENTED her (that’s a first), and while the both of you sat waiting for the explosion to wipe the both of you off the map, you took her hand for the first time after she put her hand on your forearm (lovely, by the way);

47. Looked longingly and sadly at her when the both of y’all were hauled back to the TVA for interrogation and then subsequently separated;

48. Denied, when interrogated (is questioned a better word?) by Mobius, that you and her are partners (ha, you’ll soon be, in more ways than one, if you weren’t already), with a look on your face that absolutely betrays your true feelings for her;

49. Couldn’t even sell your lie about meeting her to Mobius that he had to lie right back to you;

50. Thought she was dead and felt so worried for her (you should’ve seen your face!);

51. Asked if she was alive and then SIGHED IN RELIEF when you were assured that she’s still alive (oh, have you got it bad for her, and you know it);

52. Denied that she’s your girlfriend the first time Mobius teases you with that word;

53. Spilled your emotions and your feelings for her on the table when you told Mobius about how much you believe her about everyone at the TVA being Variants;

54. Didn’t even deny it the second time he called her your girlfriend;

55. When asked by Mobius if you cared about Sylvie, you didn’t know if “care” was the right word;

56. Straight-up told him, “I believe her” with such emotional conviction it’s hard to see it as anything else;

57. Nodded your head at her when the both of y’all were reunited at the very same elevators you met in front of (how poetic) and she asked you if you’re okay;

58. Literally had her back when the both of y’all fought the guards in the Timekeepers’ chambers;

59. Got distracted when she got knocked down to the floor by Judge Renslayer;

60. Were on the brink of telling her how you feel about her, telling her that revealing your emotions was kind of a new experience;

61. Decided the best option was to place your hands just by her shoulders for whatever reason;

62. Let go of her so that she wasn’t pruned like you were;

63. Admitted in a roundabout way in just three words that she was your glorious purpose (priorities shifted, eh?)

64. Proudly proclaimed that her being terrifying was the very thing that made her so brilliant;

65. Literally puffed out your chest when you said, “she needs me” (she will, much later, don’t worry);

66. Revealed that she’s the only one you do trust (oh, the way your voice just softens when you speak about her…);

67. Planned an unwise sneak attack (that would’ve involved stabbing a cloud, I mean…) on freakin’ ALIOTH because you believed that doing so would bring you back to her when you really had no idea whether it would or would not;

68. Ran down the hill you were on to reunite with her (classic reunion move, pity you didn’t complete it by hugging her, but I guess you’re not there yet) when she arrived by car and asked her if she’s okay (looks like it’s becoming a habit);

69. Hilariously tried to unsuccessfully argue, through telling her that you’ve been in the Void longer than she has (maybe for like, an hour or two? IDK) that stabbing a cloud with a dagger was your best line of defense;

70. Sat next to her and had a conversation with her, during which you…;

71. Said it was cold (whether it was or wasn’t, isn’t important), so you…;

72. Conjured up a blanket for yourself before asking if she wanted one as well and proceeded to deny that your budding romantic connection with her was the both of y’all’s nexus event;

73. Followed that up with revealing that your nexus event with her felt great, it was a nice moment (aww);

74. Proceed to deny it as another TVA lie (you really need to work on talking about your feelings!);

75. Reassured her that you don’t know what the both of y’all are doing with regards to this relationship you both have with each other;

76. Playfully wrapped part of your blanket around her shoulders (double aww, that’s the classic “I’m gonna fake yawn and drop my arm around her shoulders, y’all think she’ll notice” kind of move, and yes, she did, and she likes it) and smiled giddily like the lovesick puppy you are;

77. Acknowledged in a roundabout (and maybe not so subtle) way that she loves you;

78. Pledged to not betray her, to not let her down, because you’re not that kind of person anymore;

79. Adorably nudged her when you asked her what her plans were when all was said and done;

80. Suggested that the both of y’all could figure things out… “together”, you said (triple aww!);

81. Handed the TemPad she gave you to Mobius and told her, “You go, I go” (I mean…);

82. Let her take your hand before you went to attempt to enchant ALIOTH;

83. Interlocked both of y’all’s fingers while y’all were at it;

84. Walked hand in hand to the Citadel at the End of Time;

85. Asked her if everything’s okay after she becomes nervous before entering the Citadel;

86. Got really unimpressed when that creepy ghost clock offered the both of you a chance to rule the TVA together;

87. Stated that “We write our own destiny now”, cementing the fact that you and her are an item;

88. Warned her to not listen to He Who Remains;

89. Tried to stop her by warning her about the possible consequences of her actions;

90. Suggested that the best plan of action was to take a minute to think of whether allowing a multiversal war was better than the alternative both of y’all never wanted (unfortunate as it was to be a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situation);

91. Got upset when she told you she felt like you betrayed her (don’t worry, you didn’t);

92. Clashed blades with her even though you clearly didn’t want to;

93. Told her “No” when she suggested that you kill her and take a throne you never wanted;

94. Let her blade fall to your neck to get her to stop and consider;

95. Said to her that this feeling of revenge, bloodlust isn’t worth it because you’d once been in her shoes;

96. Told her that you didn’t want to hurt her (after acknowledging that she’s been hurt by the TVA for a lifetime) and that all you wanted was for her to be okay;

97. Shared a kiss with her.

98. Deepened that kiss (you know you did…);

99. Grieved the misfortune of not just losing her but also the outcome of recent events, knowing that what she had to do was her life’s mission that you’d previously supported her on;

100. Went up to a changed Mobius and told him by referring to her, “We made a terrible mistake. We freed the Timeline. We found him beyond the storm.”

And if that doesn’t say “she’s become my girlfriend and I’m damn proud of her”, I don’t know what does.

Go get her, Loki. Go get Sylvie back. We’re betting on it.

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arson-404 · 3 years

Text

Hello! @bubblyani inspired me to make this!

Truth | 01

Warnings: 18+, lime, blood, death, murder, suicide, depression

Fandom: Lucifer

Pronouns used for reader: she/her (reader is also AFAB)

Enjoy, loves. <3

"Please? It'll be so much fun!"

Your friend said, putting an emphasis on 'fun'.

You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. "Fine, but if either of us gets kidnapped at this club, it's not my fault."

"Oh my God, you're so dramatic."

"It's my talent. When are we going? I have work to do today." You asked, fumbling with a shirt that was on the floor of your bedroom.

"Does eleven o'clock work?"

You glanced over to the clock, reading the time.

7 PM.

You'd be done with work at around eight-thirty.

Thinking for a moment, you reluctantly agreed. "Okay. LUX, right?"

"Yay! Yeah, the owner's super hot. And so is one of the bartenders. Maya? Macie? Something with an 'a' and 'm'."

"Gosh, you thirst over everyone."

"You would, too, if you saw them! Which you will. Well, I don't know if the bartender will be there, but—"

You two talked a while, until you had to do your at-home work.

You liked working at home because you didn't really like going out to work for countless hours, but sometimes it was nice to let loose.

Like at this club you were going to go to, which you were kind of nervous about.

Your mind gave you flashbacks of one night when you just turned twenty-one and went to a club with your friends, Hørizon was the name.

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The sounds of booming music made it's way to your ears, your head pounding.

"Five shots of whiskey over here!"

"Um, I- I don't think I ca..." Too drunk, you couldn't even finish your sentence, as you wobbled a bit in your seat.

A minute later, a whiskey shot was in front of you — too drunk and tempted, you grabbed the small glass, gulping it down.

Delilah's friend, Tina, paid for the drinks.

The burning sensation in your throat didn't affect you much after the many shots you took before.

Your head turned to your best friend, Delilah, -which you had just met a few weeks ago at this time-, who was selecting the first contact in her phone to call, since she was a little too drunk to dial a number manually.

"Heeeeeyy, Fionaa, we're at a club." She slurred her words a bit, giggling. You could hear the faint voice from the phone.

"Oh my God, are you drunk?" Delilah only giggled in response, too drunk to make a coherent response. "Okay, I'm assuming you're at that one club you went to last week, right?" "Mmmhm!" "Are you with anyone else?" "Errr... like, my friends."

You could practically feel Delilah's friend pinch her nose. "How many?" "Uhhh... one... two... four..." She paused. "Fourth!" She said, giggling, adding a -th to the word she meant to say.

"Alright. You're lucky you're my... friend."

And then you blacked out, waking up at Delilah's apartment on the couch, others on the floor or sharing the couch with you.

You still remember that awful hangover you had afterwards.

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You chuckled at the memory, stretching a bit. After finishing an essay for your boss, revising and editing it, you glanced at the clock, checking the time.

8:51 PM.

It was definitely past 8:30, but you weren't going until eleven.

You had time to pick out your outfit, relax, and do some housework if you wanted to -which you didn't want to-.

Standing up, leaving the chair you'd been glued to for almost two hours, you sighed, making your way to the closet.

You rummaged through it, and after a little, you found an outfit you liked.

Humming, you put it on your bed, along with your extra wallet (which had less money than your normal wallet, so when you went to the club, you wouldn't lose a bunch of money from being robbed or losing it) and some water to put in Delilah's car to sober up after the club.

You checked your phone before putting it on your charger.

Footsteps padded against the floor as you made your way to the couch to watch some of your favorite show, 'The Good Doctor'.

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'Some' turned into almost three hours.

And now you had eleven minutes to get ready.

You rushed to the bathroom to do your makeup — not like anyone would see it, anyway. But you liked doing your makeup, not because you were insecure, but because you just liked trying new styles.

And you really liked eyeliner.

(Reference picture, I think it's Niki Nihachu, but I'm not sure.)

After you were done, you shoved the makeup into your container in the bathroom, hastily going to your room, fumbling with the clothing to put it on.

After about five minutes, you succeeded, and grabbed your phone from the charger, opening your messaging app up.

You

Hey, you ready?

Seen at 10:57 PM.

Lilah 💖

yep. i'm already headed there.

Seen at 10:57 PM.

You

Don't text while driving.

Seen at 10:57 PM.

And don't respond to this.

Seen at 10:58 PM.

You turned off your phone, putting it in your pocket, grabbing your stuff, your wallet shoved in your other pocket, two bottles of water in the other hand.

A few minutes later, your door opened to reveal your friend in a clubbing outfit, her curly black hair mostly laying on her right shoulder.

She had a see-through black top with another top under it, the same color.

Delilah had a black bag, the actual bag part laying on her right hip, the strap on her left shoulder.

She had a black skirt-shorts with a red and black plaid flannel tied around her waist.

The beautiful woman also had long, black, high heeled boots, going up to under her knees, but short enough to walk.

Her tattoos were slightly visible on the lower thighs.

(What I based her off of. Not sure who this is!)

"If I wasn't planning on making a move on that bartender — if she's there, I would try to date you, oh my God, you're gorgeous." Her lips formed a flirtatious, but platonic joke.

"Oh my gosh, you're definitely prettier, what the hell do you mean?" You smiled, winking.

"Alright, you've convinced me, I'm prettier." She said, shrugging her shoulders. You let out a playful pout, "Damn, I'm so broken."

"Whatever, you'll get over it. Let's go!" She smiled, tugging your arm, taking the water bottles and putting it in her bag so you could lock the door.

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Soon, you both arrived at the fancy, famous club called LUX.

Excitedly, your friend, Delilah, got in line with you, figuratively jumping up and down with joy.

"Oh my God, you'll love it here, Y/n. All of the men, women, and enbys are definitely gonna hit on you, bae."

"Assuming I'd be confident enough to let them approach me."

She rolled her eyes, chuckling.

You both got closer and closer to the doors of the provocative strip club, you both paid your halves when you finally approached the doors.

Stepping into the building, you both smiled. 'This time, I won't drink as much.' You promised yourself.

Oh, how promises break.

Immediately, Delilah went to the bar — partly for the drinks, but mostly because she saw a particular bartender.

Giggling at the absurdity of her actions, you went to a couch, not drunk enough to have confidence to talk to people or dance — not that most of them would remember, considering how many had drinks in their hands.

You fiddled with a silver ring you had bought about a month ago, which laid on your index finger.

"Why, hello! I've never seen you here before! I would remember a face like yours." A velvet voice was heard, oddly close to you.

'Wait, are they talking to me?'

You whipped your head up, mouth parted a little.

There stood a tall, dark haired man with dark eyes, a black suit with a slightly visible white shirt under it, black, shiny shoes on his feet.

You swallowed. "Hello..."

You should've gotten drunk beforehand.

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Hello, everyone! I have no clue how drinking or hangovers work, or strip clubs, since I'm 18, but I hope it's not too far off. 🖤

Sorry it took so long to get to Lucifer, it's more of an introduction to some characters in this chapter.

Also, Delilah is bisexual, and goes by she/they.

The reader is possibly bi-curious, it depends on your view of the reader. <33

Delilah may have a lil' crush on Maze and just thinks Lucifer is hot, haha

#lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer morningstar #lucifer imagines #lucifer morningstar imagines #x reader #female reader

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swiftgronmasterpost · 4 years

Text

GRYLES!!!

Rebuilding the Gryles Timeline expertly crafted here because I’m always afraid of broken links and people going private and losing data.

Not only is there a ton of great evidence that these guys were dating such as Harry leaving Nick’s place in the morning wearing the same clothes as he’d worn the night before, I’ve also got a friend who works in the UK music industry and she did tell me these guys did date. Nick is 100% out as gay so it really does all add up.

Gryles very obviously takes place during Haylor, debunking Harry as the 1989 muse, and if it’s not Harry you do have to wonder... who with green eyes and an obsession with Alice and Wonderland was heavily featured in Taylor’s life and then disappeared before 1989 - a breakup album about someone with green eyes who seems to relate to Alice in Wonderland drops?

You get it.

Anyway here’s Gryles:

This is a little game I like to call "let's talk about Nick/Harry dates and how they line up with Harry leaving and entering the country".

06. February 5th 2012 - Harry and Nick go to a Super Bowl party together.

One Direction in Sweden February 12th - 14th. (Came home by train on the 14th.)

07. February 14, 2012 - VALENTINE'S DAY!

08. February 18, 2012 - Stella McCartney Fashion show with Nick's mom.

09. February 21, 2012 - Brit Awards!

10. February 22, 2012 - They attend a party together. (Nick might have been DJing?)

11. February 23, 2012 - Harry spotted leaving Nick Grimshaw's flat in the same outfit he was wearing the night before.

The morning of February 23rd One Direction flies to the US for their tour and doesn't return to the UK until April 24th, 2012.

This trip is supposedly where Haylor 1.0 happens. Harry supposedly meets Taylor at the KCA’s on March 31 and they fall for one another. Taylor supposedly goes to NYC to be with Harry (even though she spends the whole time with Dianna) during the first week of April. Then they supposedly enter into a long distance relationship that is broken up because Harry was seen out with another girl.

All the while the last thing Harry does before he leaves the UK is spend the night with Nick and then the first thing he does is goes back to him.

Yeah, I’m not buying Haylor 1.0 it seems pretty clear to me that Taylor wanted to pin I Knew You Were Trouble on Harry as a big pop anthem to support her transition to pop. I think it’s even possible they faked Harry being spotted out with that girl or perhaps he and Nick had some kind of agreement. I’m not saying Gryles was always exclusive (they may have been), but regardless I don’t see Red era Taylor being cool enough to share her boyfriend with a man.

12. April 25, 2012 - Nick and Harry out together the morning after he returned.

Harry also calls into Nick's radio show on the 25th and confirms that the first thing he did upon returning on the 24th was meet up with Nick and Matt Fincham for drinks so one can theorize he probably crashed w/ Nick that night.

Harry goes to LA by himself on May 1st and returns to the UK on the 5th.

May 5th, 2012 - Harry out with Annie Mac and Nick. (Thanks to my anon for clueing me into this little gem of information.)

13. May 7th, 2012 - Harry and Nick out with friends

One Direction goes to Sweden from May 10th to May 16th.

14. May 17, 2012 - The Sun reports Harry driving Nick to work.

Also out shopping together

15. May 19, 2012 - Nick posts a picture to his instragram from the Kanye West/Jay Z show at the O2.

Who cares right? So he went to see a show. But then.

Hey guess what happened the very next day? One Direction flew to Boston on May 20th, 2012 to start their summer tour in the U.S. They're gone from the 20th to July 3rd.

16. July 5, 2012 - Nick and Harry attend the launch of Tinie Tempah's shoes line.

There's some downtime and vacation time here where Harry disappears for a week while Louis is France w/ Eleanor, Niall goes to Spain, Liam and Danielle are on vacation, etc and then One Direction goes back to work July 11th recording and doing photo shoots.

17. July 19, 2012 - Harry goes out with Nick and Aimee and tweets this.

18. August 10, 2012 - Harry attends Nick's 28th birthday party at La Bodega Negra.

Pregaming before the party!

Outside La Bodega Negra

19. August 11, 2012 - Primrose Hill picnic

20. August 20, 2012 - One Direction visit Nick at BBCR1 to announce their headlining of the BBC Radio 1 Teen Choice Awards.

21. August 25, 2012 -

Nick and Harry go to lunch. (Would also like to point out that they are switching places and that Harry is going to the driver's side of Nick's car :333)

and then to Reading Festival

then Nick accompanies Harry to Liam's party at Funky Buddha

and then they leave together and go see Rita Ora at G.A.Y.

22. August 26, 2012 - The morning after, Nick tweets a shot of his hangover breakfast from Harry's Range Rover (Nick owns a Mercedes).

then a lunch date with several people

They spend this entire day together and this is the day the pics of them in the grocery store are taken where Nick buys Harry a banana, etc

and then Harry drops Nick off for his nighttime show and picks him up again to take him to/stay with him while Nick DJs at Wonderland nightclub.

(Although, lbr. Given what we learn from Nick's final nighttime show about how often Harry hung around the studio, he probably never left.)

Wonderland! (the only time that fucking song has any bearing on Harry and he’s off being a MLM king)

23. August 28, 2012 - Leaving Nick's flat

spotted in the studio w/ Nick at BBCR1

24. August 30, 2012 - Harry films the Breakfast Show advert for Nick's #Team Grimmy commercial and then they go to Mahiki Club that night.

25. August 31, 2012 - Harry goes with Nick to his DJ gig at Paradise

and then to karaoke afterward

The lo and behold One Direction flies to Florida the very next day to film their Pepsi commercial. They're gone until September 11th.

on September 6, 2012 Taylor has Sushi with Ed and Harry in LA supposedly signaling the start of Haylor 2.0 as if Harry is not fully boyfriends with Nick.

26. September 12, 2012 - Nick's final nighttime show. (this was a gif of them being cute and playing around but I was too lazy to bring it over, you get it they’re touchy, flirty, and playful):

Nick and Aimee go on vacation together from the 14th to the 18th.

27. September 18, 2012 - This dude says he spotted Harry Styles waiting in arrivals at the airport while waiting for his sister's flight to arrive insinuating perhaps Harry was traveling with Nick and Aimee:

28. September 20, 2012 - iTunes Festival where One Direction was interviewed by Nick and Annie Mac

29. Harry calls into Nick's first Breakfast Show on September 25, 2012. Then they meet up after to see Perks of Being a Wallflower together. I can't find the tweets from the ladies who saw them there, but Nick and Emma Watson confirm later that Harry was indeed there.

30. September 29, 2012 - Spotted at Waitrose together and then the following morning Nick regales his listeners with the tale of a Spinach pie he made for a ~friend~.

31. October 5th (or 6th?), 2012 - Preparation for Ladz FM

But also on October 5th, Taylor is on Nick’s show:

32. October 6, 2012 - Ladz FM

Supposedly on this show Nick gives Harry hell for Taylor, the Haylor timeline I like puts it this way:

“One Direction and Harry make an appearance on Nick’s show the following day, and they talk about Taylor on-air for 4 minutes straight. Nick teases Harry by saying “Ol’ Swiftyyyy” over and over again when she is brought up in the conversation.” Yup that’s right, Nick was giving his own boyfriend shit about his fake girlfriend 😭😭😭 this is why I fuck w Nick’s energy.

then they went for lunch in notting hill (no Taylor? why not Harry aren’t you so happy to be back with her and in love w her?)

33. October 7, 2012 - BBC Teen Choice Awards

One Direction doing promotion for the new album.

Paris - October 11, 2012

Ireland - October 12, 2012

Manchester - October 16, 2012

Leeds - October 17, 2012

34. October 19, 2012 - Lunch in London

October 31 - One Direction in Spain

Early November One Direction goes to the US for Ellen, X Factor USA, and The Today Show. After The Today Show Harry flies to LA while the rest of One Direction goes back to London. Harry writes a song with the lead singer of Snow Patrol and rumors start flying about him hooking up with Taylor Swift.

Harry arrives back in London on November 16, 2012.

35. November 16, 2012 - Children in Need benefit concert

November 30th One Direction goes back to the U.S. for one off shows and MSG show. Haylor happens.

Harry returns to London on December 8th via Taylor's private jet and plays the Jingle Ball with the rest of One Direction. Harry and Taylor tour the UK together until December 15th when Taylor leaves for France. Meanwhile Dianna heads out on a mystery 14 hour long flight on December 14th.

36. December 16, 2012 - Roast Dinner!

One Direction returns to the U.S. for the X Factor USA finale. Harry stays in the U.S. and goes on a ski vacation with Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez.

He returns to the UK on December 24th.

37. December 25, 2012 - Late night Christmas leftovers. (Yes they’re spending Christmas together, that’s boyfriend behavior!)

Harry and Nick both leave London on the 29th (Nick for Puerto Rico and Harry for NYC) Harry spends New Years with Taylor and Nick spends New Years with Pixie, Aimee, and the rest of the hipster crew. Harry and Taylor then fly to Gorda British Virgin Islands where they are supposed to vacation until the 7th. Taylor leaves on the 4th and Harry goes to Necker Island alone. Tabloids say Harry and Taylor have broken up.

And that’s it for Haylor!

Harry arrives back in the UK on January 8th

38. January 8, 2013 - Sushi lunch date! (tweet confirming nick was also there.)

and harry with the girl who tweeted it.

39. January 10, 2013 - Tinie Tempah's GQ dinner.

The party was for people on the British GQ best dressed list (Nick was on it. Harry was not.)

Jessie J puts a picture of the table cards from her table on instagram. Harry doesn't have one which, you know. I'll just be here imagining him as Nick's + 1.

One Direction fly to Ghana on the 12th or 13th and return on the 15th. On the 16th Harry calls into Grimmy’s show to talk about how Fincham DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A MEMBER OF ONE DIRECTION. Finchy asks Harry when he’s back and Harry says “in a couple of days”. (Small side note here that I don’t think Finchy and Harry are at the level of friends where they keep track of one another’s schedules so the only way Finchy could have known that Harry was heading back out of town to Japan that very day is if Nick told him.)

One Direction in Japan from January 16th to the 20th.

I'm not going to count this as a time they were together because I have no hard evidence, but the night of January 20th Harry was spotted in a grocery store buying wine and Annie Mac mentions on her show that Nick ditched coming over for dinner that evening to have a friend round to his house instead. We assume it was Harry, but w/o actual proof I don't want to say it concretely.

40. January 21, 2013 - Baking for Radio 1! (Tweet confirming the friend was Harry.)

Nick tells this story the morning of the 22nd about how he forgot he had to bake, so he got up from bed, went to the store for supplies, and forgot eggs. So, he texted his friend who was coming over to bring eggs and then Nick baked while his friend yelled at him to add more butter.

41. January 22, 2013 - Watching Great British Bake Off

Do what you will with this one. Obviously there is not definite way to tell if this is Harry or not, but given the evidence of the amount of time they spend together that has been laid forth thus far, I feel comfortable saying those are indeed Harry's legs.

42. January 31, 2013 - Out for Harry's birthday at La Bodega Negra (the same place they celebrated Nick's birthday.)

Nick also went to Groucho Club afterward with Harry and mentioned on his show this morning that he hadn't slept at all. (He was still wearing the same outfit.)

43. February 1, 2013 - Aimee tweets about being in the car with Nick en route to play Laser Quest. (Can't imagine who they might be playing with.)

Nick tweeted this :)

Never

Getting

Over

This

February 19, 2013 - PreBrit Awards Dinner Hosted by Nick!

THEIR SMILEY LITTLE FACES. :3

Legit SHARING A TAXI ON THE WAY HOME

2/20/13 - At the Brit Awards together!

Leaving an after party!

taking a cab to Nick's house so Nick can change for work

hands hands hands

At Nick's flat

2/21/13 - On The Breakfast show the morning after the Brits!

Harry on The Breakfast Show!

2/23/2013 - Nick attends One Direction's first show at the O2 in London

THE DROUGHT IS OVER!!!

8/21/2013 - Nick interviews Harry, Zayn, and Liam for TBS

Then Nick and Harry hook up later for dinner.

September 12, 2013

Harry gets off the plane from LAX, gets on the tube and meets Nick at an Elton John concert

Harry and Nick's dad at the concert, posted to Nick's instagram.

September 13, 2013

This person says they saw nick and Harry at Apartment 58 (members only club) together

https://twitter.com/LightbownL/status/378610145271771136

But, Sadie Frost also posted a picture of her and Nick getting ready to go out for LFW with no mention of Harry, so the tweet could be false facts.

But then! September 14, 2013

Sadie posts this picture of Nick sleeping on her sofa

Followed by this picture of Harry posing with her daughter

And then Nick and Harry went to Henry Hollands show at LFW together

Then to a pub with Gemma, Kelly Osborn and others

Then to dinner with James Corden and his wife

September 15, 2013

September 17, 2013 - Fashion Show East in London

November 9, 2013 - Breakfast with Anne and Robin at the Wolseley.

So Anne tweeted this in the morning. You can see the Wolseley logo at the top of the plate.

Then this girl got a pic with Harry at the Wolseley during his breakfast with Anne and Robin.

and she confirmed that Nick was eating with them https://twitter.com/alexandra_imper/status/400204985222193152

Then off to Selfridges to shop!

At Alexa Chung's birthday party!

November 10, 2013 - Ladz instagram and Aimee Phillips birthday party!

LADZ VIDEO!

November 30, 2013

Harry playing with Puppy at Nick's house.

Poppy Delevingne's hen party!

Leaving Groucho club.

December 1, 2013

Primrose Hill lighting ceremony!

Nick with Daisy Lowe and his dad!

Then this girl met Nick

https://twitter.com/rpcheald/status/407224559687852032/photo/1

and saw Harry

https://twitter.com/rpcheald/status/407209332858552320

Class of '92 movie premiere

Nick and his dad on the red carpet

Harry meeting Beckham!

December 4, 2013 - London Fashion Awards

February 17, 2014 - Taking a random taxi ride?????

and leaving Nick's flat

March 29, 2014

Sleepover at Harry's house!

Nick posted this on instagram

http://instagram.com/p/mHpTBdPJyt/

At the time we weren't sure it was Harry's drive but...

https://twitter.com/cuppanarryx/status/481310537817399296/photo/1

Hiya, doggie.

Also Nick's tweet from the morning after just because.

https://twitter.com/grimmers/status/449814322399940609

May 24, 2014 - Radio 1's Big Weekend

May 28, 2014 - Barry's BC London

And link to post about the other tweets x

June 8, 2014

Nick attends One Directions show at Wembley Stadium.

June 12, 2014

Harry at Nick driving around London in a Ferrari.

and another tweet about the Ferarri sighting.

https://twitter.com/ItsJustMikey/status/477133631602065408

Then later that evening Harry went to Nick's for his World Cup barbecue and fans took pics with Harry outside Nick's house.

154 notes · View notes

soukokuwu · 4 years

Note

what if chu's s/o escapes port mafia, leaving chuuya to think she left him like dazai did (but in reality, she was pregnant & didn't want the child to grow up in PM. though she has taken extra measures so her son will not be endangered, PM still managed to kidnap him and hold him hostage in exchange for her to come back to their ranks. it is when she comes to save their son that chu discovers that the child is his. you do your own take if you want, your writing, your choice! 💓💓

HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARDS. genre. hmmm,, i guess it’s fluffy synopsis. you reveal a secret you’ve kept to yourself for so long, it’s time you finally come clean. word count. 2,680 author notes. hi, thank you this was an interesting request, i tried not to make it too long. & i usually don’t put so much dialogue (if at all XD) so i hope you can still enjoy this <33

PRESENT.

“Boss, the VIPs are here to see you, they’re being held down at the lobby. Do you want to send them up here?”

The chair swirls around, revealing the man behind the table, a picture of perfect composure. A curt nod is all it takes for the goon to leave the room, ready to escort the guests up.

Once the doors are closed again, he puts the cigarette out on his ashtray, exhaling that last puff of smoke. Gloved fingers intertwine together as he ponders long and hard about how he should greet them later.

The man eyes the drawer under his table, the bottom leftmost one — the special drawer. He opens it languidly to unveil a stash of letters, too many to count at one glance. That’s not surprising though. After all, it’s twelve years’ worth of letters. He grabs the top one, beady eyes glossing over its contents. He folds it back along the same lines.

They all look the same. Made out to him, but with no return address.

TWELVE YEARS AGO.

“They found someone at the house. We have him right now.”

The man on the other line seems to still have something to say, but the redhead doesn’t allow him. It’s a matter that can’t wait.

“Keep him there, make sure he doesn’t leave.”

Chuuya leaves the rest of the torturing to his colleagues as he exits the premises. He recalls what his subordinate reported earlier. ‘Him’? He scoffs. It’s been six years since you left the mafia and basically vanished into thin air. Which is a considerably long time, but Chuuya still can’t wrap the possibility around there being a new guy in your life.

Besides, the redhead didn’t do anything wrong. Why did you have to leave without a word? Why did you feel the need to leave at all, even? It couldn’t be stress. No way. You worked at the Port Mafia casino, yes. You were in charge of it all, and it did anything but stress you out. You loved working there. You loved the gamble. You absolutely revelled in the risk.

They put you in charge of the casino for more reasons than one. You were very calculative, very meticulous. You always had your moves planned out beforehand and you were always able to tell your opponents’ hand without even having to cheat. The gambling was definitely one of the reasons why you were so good at manipulating people. It was also one of the reasons why even Mori asked for your help in some cases.

But your best quality as a mafioso?

Your unpredictability. Or, as Mori dubbed it, your insanity. In both gambling and in general. You had helped the mafia win favours over more than just a few officials by winning against them — be it in poker or any other games. You weren’t even below playing russian roulette. Sure, Chuuya had been worried at first, but after a while it was pretty clear you’d always make it out of it safe — was it luck or was it pure calculation, or a mixture of both perhaps? Chuuya doesn’t really question it. And when it came to planning missions, your unconventional methods always helped, because no one would ever see it coming.

That blew up in his face though. You left him without any clues pertaining to your whereabouts or why you left in the first place. He thought you left along with his ex-partner, that maybe it had something to do with him. But it was apparent that wasn’t the case. Not when you didn’t surface at all even when Dazai did. He couldn’t help but keep thinking of potential things that happened to you. Did you leave because you met someone else? Doubtful. But given how long it’s been, it’s certainly not out of the question that you already did meet someone else by now.

You’re beautiful, smart, fun. You’re everything anyone could wish for. You’re so understanding that sometimes Chuuya questions where you get your patience from. You were just perfect, in every sense of the word.

Chuuya groans just thinking of everything. Even after being kicked to the curb, why is it that now he is still attracted to you? Lucky he was, though. Because that’s the only reason he agreed with Mori’s plan to put all efforts into seeking you out. You were incredibly elusive, and a pain in the ass because of that. And had it not been for a certain intense war against an enemy organisation, they would’ve let you go on with your life, wherever you ended up. You’ve been very quiet, not spreading anything about the mafia, or else Mori would’ve picked up on it. Very well-behaved, and a pardon would’ve been your reward.

But even the best needs help sometimes. And Mori specifically wants yours. He probably figured Chuuya was the biggest factor that would tilt things in their favour, and he agrees. Which is why he heads this mission in the first place. Not only is he the biggest shot at getting you back, but he wants to see you. Wants to know exactly why you left him the way you did.

Closure. He wants closure.

Life is funny though. Because he ends up with more questions than answers when he opens the door to his office.

Suddenly all the idle chatter he passes by in the hallway makes sense. The ones that just skip past his ears because he’s too deep in thought about you. He remembers the gist of them though. Things like “he’s so cute, like a model,” and “right? I think he looks handsome” (to which Chuuya was slightly annoyed by because he thought it was referring to your new beau).

But no, he wasn’t greeted with a man. He opened his doors to find a boy with eyes as blue as the ocean sitting on his desk, fiddling with his pens. Eyes that remind him of the exact shade he looks at in the mirror everyday. Chuuya hurriedly shuts the door, locks it, and steps hesitantly toward the boy.

This boy… looks roughly about six years old. And Chuuya feels his breath hitching in his throat. That’s around the time you went missing. He feels everything closing in around him, the fear of why you left him finally being made clear to him.

Weirdly enough, the boy isn’t the tiniest bit scared. His head is tilted, fingers still fiddling with Chuuya’s fountain pen, and waiting for Chuuya to reach him. He blinks his little eyes, before finally smiling up at him after a while. He opens his mouth, a simple word leaving his delicate lips.

“Daddy!”

Chuuya isn’t even allowed a further minute to process it before he hears knocking on the ceiling and someone falls through the vent onto the floor; one with an all-too-familiar figure. And who flashes an all-too-familiar grin.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Half an hour later Chuuya finds himself struggling to process all the information you’ve unloaded on him. He observes as his son draws on a random piece of paper he’s found lying around, in the other side of the room.

“You let them think they’ve captured our son, when in reality you were waiting for them to?”

You nod. Chuuya internally facepalms himself. How is it that you’re able to gamble with this, too? With your — and his — son’s life on the line? You basically left him there to be abducted, knowing that they won’t do anything without Chuuya’s permission (who’s to say he wouldn’t have allowed them to torture the kid? Well, he wouldn’t, but still…) and then sneak yourself past security and into his office, all in the hopes of letting him know he has a son?

Then again, you wouldn’t bet something like that if you didn’t believe that things would absolutely go your way. He’s been with you for so long before, he’s familiar with your moves and the way you think. Not completely, but good enough.

It was so brilliantly simple. (Also, you used to sneak into his office through the vents when your relationship was still under wraps, so it really wasn’t a surprise to him that you chose to sneak in through there now.)

“Why now, after all this time? Why tell me now?”

For a moment he catches a brief look of guilt wash over your face. You lie back on the couch on your spot next to him, and close your eyes, as though bracing for an outburst as his response.

“I didn’t want to tell you at all, at first…” you trail off, the guilt completely taking over you now. “I only came now because… I want you to get Mori off my back.”

Now Chuuya understands why.

So, you didn’t even intend to give him a chance to meet his son, let alone let him be involved in any part of your life. But you only appeared because you knew Mori would come after you, demand for your help. The only reason you showed yourself today… was to convince Chuuya to help you. Because if there’s anyone who could convince Mori to back off, Chuuya could. And you understood that all too well.

Chuuya can just laugh at himself right now. How foolish is he, to think that you came back because you still harboured feelings for him. How pathetic of him.

He can sense his expression growing grim. Not that he’ll make any attempts to conceal it. His cerulean eyes travel from his son to you. You seem a little less guilty now, though. You look… at peace, somehow.

“What makes you think I’ll do what you want?”

“Because you want to prove me wrong.”

Your answer catches him off guard, and his anger is replaced by utter confusion. You take his silence as your cue to explain.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t think you’d make a good father and do what’s right for our son. Prove me wrong. Keep our son away from this. Do what a good father would and give him a chance to grow up normal.”

Chuuya scoffs. So that’s why you didn’t tell him anything. Never told him you were pregnant. Never hinted at a goodbye. You’d rather be branded a traitor like Dazai instead of having to make Chuuya choose between you and the mafia. He knows; if you set your mind on something, it’s hard to change it. And in other situations it might’ve been negotiable, but not with your baby.

You know Chuuya would never betray the mafia. That’s why you think he’d never make a good father. Because he can’t put you or the baby first. And now… Now you come with good faith. You’re trying to believe that he can learn to be a good father.

Starting with this choice.

This impossible choice.

Except not really. He knows what he’ll end up choosing anyway. You were right. If he knew you were pregnant he’d have convinced you to stay with the mafia, convinced you that he’d make sure the baby is well-protected. But then he’d be missing the point of your whole argument. You grew up in the mafia, and technically, so did he. You knew how it didn’t allow a chance at normalcy, and you didn’t want to strip your baby of that choice. You wanted your child to at least have a taste of what being normal is like, before you ultimately let them choose what they want.

Now, even if he gives an unfavourable reply, he knows you’d do anything to keep his son away from the mafia. It’s only a question of whether or not you’d have to struggle against Chuuya for it.

Silently, he stretches a hand out to you as he gets up from the couch. He can see the subtle surprise on your face. You’re impressed, aren’t you? He has on the best poker face since you’ve met him. You can’t guess what he’s thinking, this being the first of such instance since you’ve met him. He doesn’t say a thing when you ask him what he’s up to, only continuing to offer his hand to you, keeping mum.

A gamble, a risk you’d have to take. You can either take his hand and see where he leads you, which could lead to you getting your way or it could just lead to total destruction. Or, you can refuse, and then you’d have to figure a way out on your own. Which Chuuya doesn’t doubt you’d already have ingrained in your head.

But he knows you’ll choose the former. Why? It’s the only one where an inherent risk is present. Because you’d be totally in his mercy.

And that’s why you find yourself flown out of the headquarters, onto some random building’s rooftop. A perfect view of the setting sun and an even more perfect view of your old lover, striking crimson locks imitating the beauty of the orange sunset.

Looks like it paid off.

“Will you let me know where you’re staying? A child needs his father,” Chuuya asks you, your fingers intertwined in his, and you forgot just how much you missed this; him.

“And the mafia needs you.”

A swift rejection, but he’s not going to give up so easily.

“I have a right to know. He’s my son too.”

You inch closer to him and he feels like his heart is going to leap out of his chest. It’s been six years since he’s been this close to you, and he can’t believe he has to let you go again. With your son in tow, too. Without so much as a clue as to where you’re going to move to. No way to find out. Given that they only managed to find you in the first place because you wanted to be found.

“Maybe if you’re the boss or something.”

PRESENT.

Now here he is, sitting in the office, new king of the Port Mafia. And his two very important guests are making their way up here. Chuuya hurriedly puts the letters back away. They were how you communicated with him, updated him on you and your son. Though you never put any return address, so Chuuya couldn’t send one back even if he wanted to. Also, you didn’t include any photos, so Chuuya is curious how his son has turned out.

Your timing is impeccable, to choose to visit him just as he’s taken over the office. He suspects maybe you have your ways, what with the vast amount of officials you have wrapped around your finger.

But as the doors open, every other thought he has is thrown out the window. You enter first, and his face lights up, seeing those familiar pair of eyes, so warm, so inviting now. And behind you, your son, now slightly taller than you (and probably Chuuya but he refuses to think of that), greeting him with a polite nod and a smirk on his face.

A wave of understanding washes across his child’s face when he spots something hanging on the wall behind his father.

“Hey! You kept the drawing I did when I first came here!”

He had drawn the three of you together, with himself in the middle, his parents on either side of him, holding his hands and walking in a park.

Chuuya chuckles. “Of course, it was the only thing your mom let me remember you by.” He shifts his gaze over to you as your son gets the hint, moving to admire another far corner of the room.

You let yourself fall into his arms, and Chuuya hugs you tight. Because it’s taken eighteen years. A long, torturous eighteen years apart, which honestly was a run in circles, though it was a necessary one. But now finally, he can be together with you, and his son. Chuuya looks down at you with the warmest gaze you’ve ever seen, wet eyes threatening to spill with tears any moment now.

“Welcome home, my love.”

tags. @yokelish @gogolparadise @fyowyn-writes @animatedarchives

369 notes · View notes

foryouthegays · 4 years

Text

spreading propaganda [Dream SMP] liveblog yall lets go. this is so long i am sorry but the end is an actual summary of what happens asldkfa

sellout timer pog: 00:30:20, 01:00:40, 01:31:35, 02:02:03 (for like a second), 02:03:00, 02:34:35

time spent reading donations: 10 minutes, 20ish seconds.

fanart credit he puts up (all from twitter i think): snumkt, reinneart, lihnsu, sestqr, jester_u, Brigade_Lost, natonyy

also taggin @antarctic-empire-technoblade :) theres an actual summary at the end that isnt just me ramblin so,,,,,,ye. i am so sorry its so long a;dkfja i dont know how to condense things

00:00:35 “i stole a lot of sand recently,” ah yes, a casual conversation starter, the admission of theft

00:03:55 hE HAS A VILLAGER TRADING HALL CHAPEL IN THE VILLAGE SIR THAT IS ILLEGAL

00:04:13

tubbo: -..--...---

ranboo: that means beans right

no, ranboo, not it does not (i put it into a translator and it just. it doesnt mean anything. i didnt see any spaces so im just. what was mr tubbo trying to say

00:04:35: relationship advice with technoblade! [reading donation] “‘techno, my boyfriend said he’ll never sub to you, how do i handle this travesty?’ uh, clearly you need to break up with him, and send me more money, is the most- that’s the most unbiased opinion I can give you, it’s just a good life decision, alright? It’s just a good life decision.”

00:16:00 ranboo hi!!!! him garden :D

HOUND ARMY HOUND ARMY 00:18:10

00:20:15 ‘i have not made a tier list [for dinosaurs] yet’ Y E T? ? ? ?? ?

00:20:55

“‘Hey, are you uncomfortable with being part of the SBI family dynamic?’ Uh, I don’t really- it’s not a matter of being uncomfortable, it’s just a matter of people making massive revisions to my character and the lore three months into the story without telling me, and it’s like, ‘no, that doesn’t- the story doesn’t- so many things don’t make sense now! What?? What???’ but if you want to make like, fanart of it, it’s fine”

00:21:25 imagine believing in airplanes, couldnt be me

00:21:35 SKLDJFAK a dono is like, hey can u call my new cousin a nerd, and technos like [claps] yOUVE COME TO THE RIGHT MAN im all about bullying infant children

lakjshdfl 00:26:15 ‘philza this does not sound lore at all please’ poor techno

00:27:30 HKJSFDL :crab: TUBBO IS GONE :crab: also i cant tell if techno says ‘KILL HIM DEAD’ or ‘KILL HIM, DAD’

00:30:20 ‘we should have a grinch episode, where i go around stealing presents from l’manburg’ DO IT

also i was in chat at 00:31:25ish and i said ‘subscribe to technoblade’ and RIGHT AFTER techno said ‘did i hear subscribe to technoblade?’ and i felt so heard

00:33:25 why is his only response to being seen in enemy lines to just stay realllyyyyy still a;lkdfjasf

00:39:45 ‘this is crucial information coming to you live from anarchy news’ A;LSDKFJA;LSDF

00:46:25 :CRAB: RANBOO IS GONE :CRAB: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

alkdfja; 00:47:55 techno talks (sarcastically) abt how great it is when chat tells him where his stuff is

00:48:50 awww techno showin his not-dad his hound army!!! so cute

00:55:30 techno specifies that theyre all characters/roleplayin!!!

techno talkin to phil is literally like a kid talkin to his dad after not seein him for a while. like yeah yeah family isnt canon in this but KSJDFLA hes like ‘phillll tommys being annoying also look at this new poster!!!!’ its so cute

01:09:20 A;SDJFADSL THE VILLAGER JUST. FALLS THROUGH THE FLOOR

techno nd phil reference smp earth at 01:19:50!!!!

(ik some people dont like enbyctechno so heres ur warnin, its just for this line tho) techno says ‘no one man should have this power’ but he HAS that power. therefore. mr c!blade is not a guy 01:35:00ish idk im not goin back to check

01:38:35 alright gang lets split up and look for clues

01:45:20 ‘my chat’s sayin theres a 0% chance this is gonna work,,,,thATS A CHANCE I’M WILLING TO TAKE, CHAT’ skjdflasl;dfjaf (also, bit after, after readin the wiki say its 0% chance: ‘i like those odds’)

01:48:15 [abt the zombie villager baby]

Techno: on the bright side, we may have inflicted the optimal amount of trauma onto this child for it to become funny?

Ranboo: ooooh yeah! it can become a minecraft youtuber!

techno: yeeeeeeah!!

pls get some therapy

a;ldkfassa the mental image of techno ownin an orphanage,,,,paldkfajslfasf 01:51:35

a;ldsifjasdklf ranboo is canonically a villager now, pog 01:56:50

01:57:50 ranboo: ‘they say that im built different, i am built different, in the fact that i have no moral backbone.’

01:58:30 BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD also why is techno so good at the bow like WHAT he looks in third person and turns nd shoots in like a second and hits most of the time its scary literally look at ranboo a;ldsjkfadsf hes like a porcupine

ASKLJDFASLDF RANBOOS ‘OH NO HE KNOWS HOW TO OPEN DOORS’ AT 02:02:25 JUST HAS SUCH TECHNO SKYBLOCK VID VIBES ADLKJFALSDFJA OH MY GOSH

02:06:35 “i feel there has been an attempt on my life,” "no thats just how we greet each other in our country” nether lore pog?

02:08:45 why does techno casually type at 120 wpm????? god i hate him so much why is he like thisssss ugh (also it took ~3 seconds to type 7 words (34 characters) which is 140 wpm and 680 cpm if i know how to do math i hate it here) /lh

nd then he types ‘punz we’re all outside your house get over here’ which is 47 characters nd 9 words nd it took him 5 seconds to type which is 564 cpm and 108 wpm so his average (from these two samples which. isnt a lot. should i do a post abt this in the future?) is 124 wpm and 622 cpm. hes so fast.

SDA;FKJASDF PHIL WHY R U SO VIOLENT

02:17:00 PUNZ POG ALSO MANIFOLD KILLED IN THE HOLY LAND

technos complainin bout the fights bein boring,,,,,,,fight them all, techno. do it. 1v8. do it, coward.

02:24:02 ‘maybe the real combat was the friends we made along the way’

02:25:16 i love that technos first instinct when someone dies is to check what sword/axe killed them nd what enchants r on it aldskfjads

i love how techno calls the manhunt music ‘dream music’ its so funny to me

right before he ends the stream he says ‘p e r h a p s’ to techno plushies and i just,,,, wa n t

if ya just want an actual summary and not that MESS:

Technoblade starts the stream in his house. the first thing he does is put another piece of fanart in his house, this one by snumkt on twitter. he goes to l’manburg, where he sneaks around very sneakily (/s) and replaces anti-techno propaganda with pro-techno fanart, stating that “If they take it down, it’s ‘cause they hate fanartists.” (00:09:18).

While placing posters, Techno checks in on his hound army, and reveals that he thinks someone had been in the area, because a wolf teleported to him while he was home. He thinks someone placed water, the dog stood up, and then teleported. (00:18:25)

After breeding the dogs, Techno reads donations and one of the questions is about the SBI family dynamics. Here’s what he says at 00:20:55

He then meets up with Philza, who is being escorted by Tubbo. Techno goes to Philzas house, and hides in his new basement. He joins their VC and finds Phil, Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo. talking about birthdays. Tubbo goes to the basement and sees Technos invis particles, hits him, and he is revealed. Techno kills tubbo, and declares it canon as a joke.

He goes back outside, deafened on Discord, and puts down more propaganda. Philza joins his call, and they meet up to try and find Technos stolen items. They don’t find the barrel, but they do find a hidden room under the podium. Techno puts a piece of propaganda in the room. (00:43:30)

While Phil is killing an enderman, Ranboo finds them, and is killed by Techno. (00:46:25)

Techno takes Phil to see his Hound Army, but they’re stopped by Tubbo. Techno tries to pretend to be Ranboo, but Ranboo goes up to them, so his cover is blown. Techno’s chased to the portal. Phil and Techno meet again in the Nether, and they go back to the house.

At the house, Phil and Techno talk about the SBI characters, the sellout timer goes off, and then they go downstairs to cure a zombie villager. While it’s curing, Techno gathers books to make a new bow, with Power V, Punch II, Unbreaking III, Flame, and Mending.

Philza reveals that Ranboo is coming over to give Phil a present. Techno seems excited at this, mostly at the fact that Ranboo can be his new bows test subject.

Before Ranboo arrives, the villager is cured, and they find out it is a nitwit, meaning it can’t trade or get a job. Techno and Phil start working on a tunnel to bring the villager to a lava pool, so the other villagers won’t gossip and raise their prices.

Ranboo joins the call at 01:15:35, right before they’re going to bring the villager to the lava pool. He gifts Techno and Phil four Netherite ingots.

After struggling to get the villager to the right height, Techno forces Ranboo to boat the villager into the lava. Ranboo escapes by throwing a pearl, and the villager dies.

Ranboo, Techno, and Phil talk about duping Netherite, and the current plot, and then Techno finds a zombie baby villager. It’s caught in a boat, and Techno nametags it ‘Orphan.’ They talk about the cobblestone tower, Philzas’ death to a baby zombie, and how if you don’t see a child's parents, you should assume that they are an orphan and attack them.

Techno talks to Jack Manifold through chat about his axe. Techno, Philza, and Ranboo go around and look for zombie villagers. Techno finds an igloo, with two villagers. Techno was going to try and turn them into zombie villagers, but decides to not when he finds out that theres a 0% chance of that happening on Easy mode.

They all go back to Orphan, and bully it when they find out it still hasn’t grown up. Techno and Ranboo make a joke about how it’s traumatized, so it’ll be funny and can be come a minecraft youtuber. please get some help. (01:48:15)

After Orphan grows up, Techno trades and gets the Bottle of Enchanting trade for one emerald. They all joke about Techno owning an orphanage at 01:51:35.

Phil, Techno, and Ranboo decide go to the Hound Army, but Techno remembers that Ranboo is part of L’manburg, and tries to kill him (with his new bow) when they enter the nether. He doesn’t succeed, and he continues fighting until he drinks and invis pot on the Prime Path. Techno and Phil meet up in the Bee Dome, where Ranboo finds them. Techno tries to kill him, but runs out of arrows.

After reading donations, Techno, Ranboo, and Phil are back together at the Bee Dome, and they decide to team up in case someone finds them. They go outside of the Dome, and chase Jack Manifold out of his own country.

Manifold joins the VC, and they try to blame Punz on his attempted murder. After Manifold says “i feel there has been an attempt on my life,” Techno says that that’s how he greets people in his country.

Manifold asks if they want to help him get revenge on Punz, and Techno agrees. They gather more people, and by the time they get to Punz’s tower, their party is Manifold, Techno, Phil, Ranboo, Fundy, and Antfrost. Punz is in the Nether, so they wait until he gets back.

Ranboo and Techno have a whisper conversation:

Ranboo: are you just going to jump fundy

Techno: no im gonna make jack 1v1 LMAO

Ranboo: good plan

While Fundy is taking a screenshot of Techno for his thumbnail, Philza attacks Fundy with a crossbow and his sword. He claims it was because he was getting bored.

In the same spirit, Techno asks if they could kill Manifold to pass the time. The mob, which now includes Fundy, chases Manifold. He runs to the Holy Land, and the mob boos him. Techno tells Antfrost to kill Manifold, and that the mob won’t tell that he was killed in the Holy Land. Manifold hands Antfrost his sword.

While Antfrost debates killing Manifold or not, the mob chants ‘peer pressure!’ at him. Techno quickly realizes that Antfrost isn’t in the VC, and is extremely confused. The sword gets handed to Fundy, who gets into a battle with Manifold. Philza tells Fundy that he’s forgiven, if he can kill Manifold. The battle calms, and neither of the contestants die.

Techno convinces the mob to go to the pit trap, and tries to lure someone onto the trapped blocks using rotten flesh. Fundy takes the bait, but moves out of the way before the button is pressed. Antfrost sneaks up behind him and punches him into the pit. Fundy survives the fall, but is shot by Manifold to death.

During the commotion, Punz makes his way back to his house, and the mob moves towards him to end his life. Manifold says that he’s going to kill Punz, and Techno says that the mob’ll have his back. He tells the mob to not have Manifold’s back.

at 02:17:00, Punz joins the call, and is confused as to why Manifold wants to kill him. Manifold explains that Punz tried to kill him, siting his source as Technoblade.

also, 2:17:15 technoswear!

Techno encourages Punz, saying “Punz, he actually dropped his sword by accident and now I have it, so it’d be really easy to beat him up,” and “he also just killed in the holy land, so you have a sort of...religious motivation to take him out.”

Punz tries to fight Manifold without armor (Manifold is wearing a full enchanted set of armor, with a Netherite chestplate and everything else Diamond), which fails miserably, and Manifold is killed.

Techno decides to fight Manifold with his goons (the mob) for the audience retention, and Manifold’s quickly killed. The final hit was from CaptainPuffy. Ponk rushes in and grabs some of Manifold’s items. Puffy takes the rest.

Manifold complains about getting bullied, so Techno gives him his sword back and tells him to avenge himself. While looking for Ponk (or Punz? this is kinda unclear), Punz swoops in and kills Manifold in two hits.

Manifold finds Ponk and chases after him, trying to kill him. The mob follows, and Ranboo kills Ponk with thorns. Manifold takes Ponks stuff.

Right after respawning, Ponk was blown up by a creeper, and Techno claimed both as canon.

The mini fights continue, and Manifold is killed by Punz.

Ranboo changes the ‘Days since last war crime’ sign to 0.

Phil tells Techno that he’s going back to the base, and the L’manburgians question him as to what base he’s talking about. Phil tells Fundy that he ripped off his ankle shackles and left. While they talk, Techno starts running back to the base, and Ranboo whispers “lets run back” to him. Ranboo follows Techno, but quickly looses him.

Phil and Techno join a separate VC together and they go back to the base.

At 02:29:15, Phil says “I trust you” to Techno and I am going to cry.

Right before getting to the base, Phil drinks some honey, and Techno says “that’s the only thing we have honey for, now that we’ve uh...uh I guess you don’t know about that.” He’s referring to the Vault, I think, because the redstone required honey to work properly.

Philza responds, “the honey- wait, what did you use the honey for?”

“uhhh....food.” Techno, for some reason, doesn’t want to show Phil the vault.

Ranboo whispers to Techno: “My alliance isnt with lmanburg, its with the people who help me. phil helped me.”

out loud, Techno laughs about it with phil, saying, “well, I’ve stabbed him like twelve times this week, so, I [laughs] I don’t know if that entirely qualifies here.”

Techno messages Ranboo back with “new phone who this”

Ranboo replies, “no one,” and then, “:)”

Going back to the honey talk, Philza asked if Techno had been hiding anything diabolical from him, and Techno asks if he would do such a thing. Philza guesses several things he could use honey for, such as a flying machine, TNT dupers, and a door.

Techno takes him to the vault. 02:32:00. i LOVE peoples reactions to the vault, it’s always so good. Philza responds with a surprised ‘HOLY SHIT’ and some laughing. Techno also confirms my math of 55 withers.

02:34:10 “i’ve seen this government, on the server, and everything to do with government is just bad. I’ve watched it completely destroy and tear down people’s wills and change people, I’ve seen it change the nicest people into complete and utter tyrants, so...I think it’s about time--”

“We need revenge. [sellout timer goes off] and more importantly, we neED SUBSCRIBERS ON YOUTUBE DOT COM” phil joinin anarchy pog?

anyway that was it ;alskdfjas;f

#this ended up bein abt 3000 words whoops #a;ldskfjasldf #technoblade #stream post

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eijie-cavies · 3 years

Text

Word of Honor Ending thoughts.

Alrighty, I think the time has come to talk about the ending of Word of Honor, it has been a wild ride being with the show and patiently waiting for new episodes. I can say that Word of Honor is one of those shows that DELIVERED and did not waste my time.

it’s not a masterpiece by a long shot but the heart and dedication put into this production just shone through and I know even we as viewers could see that. As a farewell to the drama that kept my BL loving heart alive i’ll be analizing the ending, from episode 34 to the end. i might talk about episode 37 in another post.

and without further ado, let’s analize.

I will be dividing this analysis into 4 parts:

1st: The right things we got from our last theories.

2nd: The wrong things we got from our last theories.

3rd. The plot and why I think it doesn’t take away everything formt he show.

4th: two part endings.

Part 1: The Right

The first thing we got right is the timeline. Shen Shen and Da Wu stood up in defense for Wen Kexing’s rushed plan. They needed to execute it in the heroes conference as the important people of the martial arts world would be there to witness everything. Shen Shen had stepped up to confess that the fake death was needed to let Zhao Jing’s guard down which worked wonderfully.

To add to that, Da Wu also confessed that he was a part of the reason why Wen Kexing did not tell Zishu, and this was because he needed to rest and not get into a fight.

this lead to our second theory being right, Wen Kexing was understndably worried and decided to just not tell him the plan, it is unclear if Da Wu knew of the entire plan or if he was only told some of it like A-Xiang, that would explain why he did not get to stop Zhou Zishu from leaving thinking everything would be okay as long as he gave the medicine to Zhou Zishu to cure any fatal wounds.

I think that about covers the right theories we have, now for the pther side of the spectrum which are the theories we got wrong.

Part 2: Wrongs

First we have Chengling and shen Shen, we were wrong in theorizing that it was Ye Bai Yi who told him of the plan, instead he was told of the plan by Wen Kexing when he returned to Shen Shen to explain everything to him (Keep in mind this is when he had finally rescued Zhou zishu and Chengling undoubtedly finally knew that Wen Kexing was the ghost valley chief after he was dropped off)

So this could potentially solidify our previous theory that Chengling sent that messenger in haste after he was told, it was already too late to call that messenger back when Wen Kexing explained. So what probably happened was Wen Kexing dropped Chengling off to Shen Shen, saved Zhou Zishu while Chengling was told of Wen Kexing’s identity prompting him to send the messenger and then finally Wen Kexing coming back to explain everything, and so that led to Zhou Zishu going out to search for him.

Second it was Wen Kexing who went to Ye Bai yi to negotiate on things and what to do to execute the plan. Wen Kexing only wanted to expose his enemy, not kill hundreds of people and this convinced Ye Bai Yi to help him, in return Wen Kexing will eventually shut down the ghost valley.

i think that is all we have for the wrongs, there is no clear evidence if the letter about the heroes conference is a clue to justify our last theory but I think it was just basically a warning to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu and let them know they may be potentially in danger of being hunted down by Zhao Jing.

and now we go to the last part. The plot.

Part three: The Plot.

Despite the Romeo and Juliet style of things, I don’t think it takes away everything that we had built up with the characters. If you take away the “Not telling Zhou Zishu;’ about the plan part it wouldn’t changed the fact that they were all in constant battle for the armoury key. in my opinion I think the writer made the safest route to lead to the ending. the conflict may be forced and I think there could be other plots that could have worked, but in their environment and how things are in their situation everything fell OUT of place and INTO place at the same time. If you think about it, if Zhou Zishu had not taken out the nails there would be no drive or urgency to go for the armory to shut down scorpion would lead to scorpion king realizing he had been cheated of the key and would undoubtedly lead an army to capture Wen Kexing. and the cycle would continue UNTIL they get the key. If Zhou Zishu had not killed the scorpion King and everyone in their alliance on that mountain they would not have been able to reach the armoury in time to heal Zhou Zishu as neither of them actually knew JUST where the armoury is. everything fell out of place (episode 32-33) then fell INTO place (34-36) and despite which ending you prefer it is up to you to choose that is why we were given the first and second (true) ending. Ye Bai Yi had also started withering the moment he started eating normal foods and is happy to live the rest of his life eating happily after he had finally completed both missions he had in mind.

now we move on the the last part.

Part 4: Two Endings.

Okay, admittedly the ending in episode 36 left SO MUCH questions rather than answers and that was what drove fans scratching their heads in confusion and going “What just happened?” only to be bombarded with a second ending that completely said “Fuck it we going the immortal route, let’s give them a happy ending”

The reason for the first ending is an ambiguous open ending. nothing was made clear and specified of the two masters that practice the cultivation technique made it out alive, and even Xiaoling wad depicted as a motherly figure even though Chengling said that he only saw her as an elder sister. the producers and screenwriters opted actually to have only one true ending and that was the two of our main leads being immortals. BUT this did not get past cencorship (sadly) the reason for that weird cut in the was because they had planned to to put the true ending after the scene of the kids walking away from the frame but since you know cencosrhip and everything. BUT if you look closely, Chengling’s lines are EXTREMELY over dubbed, if you take a look at AvenueX’s video where she talked about the ending and the dubbing and why it was confusing to the fans (Bless her soul) She had stated that because of production reasons again they had to cut out at least 3 to 4 minutes of the ending to please the censorship, they refused to have a sad ending of course and so with a lil bit of dubbing magic or vaguely translated words, they played the ending and made it an open one for the audience to interpret (this is one of the ways they had manipulated the loopholes of cencorship) and with hardcore Wenzhou fans getting their happy ending for episode 37 Thus concluding the story of Word Of Honor.

thus now we come to a close to our analysis for the last 3 episodes of the drama. Thank you so much for reading this far. if you guys have anything you want to talk to me about i am open to hearing your opinions, ideas and even future discussion topics that you want me to do. But until then i will now close this analysis and giving out gratitude to everyone who worked for WOH. more power to the cast and staff and more power to Youkou with loads of other shows in the future. Thank you once again, Peace.

#wenzhou #word of honor #shan he ling #faraway wanderers #wen kexing #zhou zishu #zhang chengling #analysis #plot breakdown #come cry with me about Wenzhou TvT

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randomingoftherandomness · 4 years

Text

Secrets I Have Held In My Heart

A/N: Modern!AU, Soulmate!AU, Soul Mark!AU, Angst, OT3.

This is quite honestly one of the longest things I’ve ever done in one sitting. I am exhausted. My prose and tenses are probably everywhere and I am so sorry for it. Enjoy x

(Edit 20/1/2021) It has recently come to my attention that lies and slander have been spread about my character amongst persons in this OT3 community. They are malicious lies made with the intent to cast a shadow over my credibility and my good standing in this community. I only ask that you come talk to me first before you believe the horrible things that have been levelled about me.

Please take care of yourselves x

Booker smiles placidly when he catches Joe's eye from across the room and let's the pretenses drop the moment he ducks out into hallway, finding a spot of quiet from all the music and chatter of celebration in the living room. He really should be happy but as it is with heartbreaks, happiness is something you can only fake until it feels real.

He opens the door when the doorbell rings and kisses the cheeks of the latecomers in greeting. They awkwardly avoid his eye with shifty smiles as they shuffle past him. Booker doesn't blame them. It's an awkward fucking situation all around.

Joe's warm and happy laughter carries through the air, and Booker just feels his heart twist in his chest. The sight of his head of curls bobbing along in the joy of whatever joke one of their friends was making while his arm was slung intimately low around Nicky's waist was unbearable. Booker has enough self-respect in him to recognise it as jealousy.

He has been in love with his best friend for almost as long as he has known him. It had been ridiculously easy for them; Joe had no soul marks and neither had Booker, so it was the most natural thing to move in together after they'd both hit 33 and when Booker decided to offer his fine art restorer skills up to go freelance, they make plans to spend the rest of their lives together. It made sense and they were happy. Booker had had no intentions of ever letting Joe know how he had truly felt and that was the mistake.

It isn't that he dislikes Nicky.

The man was beyond perfect and Booker could have never hoped to compare. From the briefest of familiarities, he knows that Nicky was a former theology student who left the seminary and is now deep in his work with a local NGO, well on his way to maybe working for the UN some day. He volunteers at a local shelter, helps at his church's soup kitchen, is handsome and funny, is a fucking Saint personified and looks great next to Joe when Booker looks like a twice drowned rat on his best day. It isn't that he hates the man. It's just that, well, Nicky isn't him.

Booker knew something had changed then. Joe had never looked at him the way he had when his and Nicky's eyes first met. And he knows Joe like he knows his own mind and there won't be any one as trusting or as kind. If he tells him he loves him, Joe would stay and he'd be Booker's, but that's not how love works and so he waits until the day they're both on the sofa watching a game and Joe turns to him to say, "Nicky's my soulmate."

Just like that. And because he could never hurt Joe, he smiles, nodding. "I figured he was. Congratulations man. That's amazing!"

There had been an indescribable look that crossed Joe's face when he said that but he hadn't lingered on it for too long. Joe's soul mark was on his left forearm set in stark, bold lines; a scimitar and a longsword threaded together with roses and thorns. Pretty cool and Booker made sure to tell him so.

That had been three months ago. Three months of waiting for the other shoe to drop, the inevitable moment when Joe says he's gonna move out and into Nicky's unit. For the second it hits his best friend that there really wasn't a place for someone like him in this equation. Two months of sitting around until he wraps up his current contract with the museum in the city and the curator takes him aside to ask him if he would be interested in working for a private collector in Turkey. Two years to work on a team of freelancers. Two years on the other side of the continent. Booker said yes with no hesitation.

"Hey, you good?"

Booker knocks his bottle of beer to Copley's. He is one of the newer persons to join their friend group but it feels like they've know each other for a very long time. His warm smile anchors Booker to the here and now and he is stupidly grateful for his presence. The man was steadfast and calm, and it made sense to Booker that he'd be the only one he told about his leaving. "Yeah. I'm ready to go whenever you are."

He'd snuck a duffle bag of his things out to Copley's house the day before and then two suitcases when Joe was over at Nicky's last night. Right before the party to celebrate Joe's birthday, he had brought his carry on out to Copley's car. His name was still on the lease and he has left instructions to help pay for his part of the rent until the end of the year if Joe would like to continue staying here. Copley will help ship the rest of his things after a month. All that's left to do is leave.

Joe had been looking forward to introducing Nicky to his family and friends, and this party was perfect for it. Booker feels bereft at the thought that this could be the last time he sees him in a long while and he cranes his neck to spy him in the center of the room, accepting a kiss from Nicky as the birthday cake is brought out from the kitchen. He holds that image of Joe, smiling from ear to ear and hopes he won't hate him too much for leaving without saying goodbye.

"Let's go."

His Turkish is passable at best but he gets by well enough. The rest of the restoration team were up and coming names mixed with pioneers in the field and despite the lingering heart ache, Booker finds himself pleasantly settled and happy with the work he gets to do. Everyone seems to be equally as excited as he is to be working on their employer's personal collection of paintings and sculptures, in addition to the rare books that Booker has never seen outside of museums and archives.

It's good work and it keeps him busy. It stops him from thinking about Joe too much.

Booker had found thirteen missed calls and twenty texts and ten voicemails when he lands. He hesitates only for a moment before deleting everything that wasn't from Copley or his work.

As if sensing he was being summoned by thought, his phone rings as he basks in the afternoon sunshine whilst reading a book on his off day, Copley's name flashes on his screen.

"You still alive, then?"

"Alive and kicking," Copley says over the line with a laugh. "I swear, Joe is going to eviscerate me one of these days."

Booker shakes his head, marking his page and setting his book aside. The sunlight feels good on his skin and he takes a deep lungful of air. "He won't. He's way too nice."

"You didn't see him glare when I packed the last of your things into the boxes. They're shipped, by the way. Should reach you in a week tops."

"Thanks. I owe you big time."

"Oh, you owe me more than big time. When I come over to visit, I want you pulling out all the stops for me. I want the five star experience, Mr Booker. No expense spared," Copley chuckles.

"Alright, alright," Booker laughs. "I'm sure I can rustle something up. Just let me know when, alright?"

Copley hums and they fall into a comfortable pause. "How are you? Really. Don't lie."

He tightens his grip on his phone, swallowing tightly. "I miss him every day but that's not new. I think I'll keep missing him for a while yet."

"That's normal. I'm not surprised. I think he misses you too, you know?"

"He has Nicky now. He doesn't need me. I'm... I'm just his best friend with a stupid crush that had made plans to spend the rest of my life with him. I don't fit in it any more and he deserves more than I could ever give him," He swallow tightly, licking his lips. "Copley, he'll be okay."

"But will you?"

Booker doesn't have an answer to that. When his things arrive a week and a half later, he accepts it and begins to unpack his books. He's grateful to have his familiar favourites and is eager to fill his shelves when he spots the edges of an envelope peeking out of a battered copy of Neruda. It was a letter and it was addressed to him, though the handwriting is unfamiliar to him.

Dear Sebastien, it starts and this clues him in that this person isn't someone who knows him well. No one outside of his employers and colleagues call him Sebastien.

I hope you don't mind. I'll be slipping this along with the books. I really do hope it finds you well. I don't have your number and judging by the way Joe seems to not receive a reply from you, you might have changed it. I would ask it from Copley but I do not know him well enough and you deserve someone you can speak to without any awkwardness. I write this letter because I want to know you better. It occurred to me that we have never exchanged more than a handful of words whenever we meet and it was always about Joe. I found myself curious about you even if it feels like I know you from all that Joe talks about you. He still talks about you. Even if it is in confusion as to why you left us. I don't write to judge you. I just want to be your friend. If you are amenable, please send your reply to me care of the address on the back of this paper. I hope that you do. I won't tell Joe if you don't want me to.

Sincerely, Nicky.

Booker flips the paper and sees that it's for the church he'd half-remembered being the one that Joe had mentioned off-handedly once. He rereads the words, thrown by the whole thing. He tucks it into his pocket, pushing it to the back of his mind as he focuses on unpacking his life. But the shape of it digs against his skin and he cannot help unfolding it every few minutes to read it all over again.

Each word was carefully pressed and written with intent. He finds his thumb brushing over the looping Joe, but it is the careful He still talks about you that decides things for him.

Scratching his chest absently, he tears out an empty page from his notebook as writes, If we're going to be friends, you'd better call me Booker.

The seasons change and his correspondence with Nicky grows from a weekly letter to every few days, to Booker posting a letter only to receive a reply for the one he sent two days ago when he arrives back in his flat. Booker takes to sending a box of baklava over an overnight service and Nicky sends him a handwritten recipe for his Nonna's tomato soup when Booker off-handedly mentions a sniffle.

Eventually it gets easier to talk about Joe and Booker tells Nicky on what he likes and what he doesn't, how to best care for him; he's allergic to a certain brand of detergent, he always forgets his scarf in the depths of winter so always stuff one in his coat pocket, he loves it when you caress his hair, he doesn't support any team in football but he loves watching a game and he always chooses the team that starts on the right side of the pitch, ask his mother for her recipe for lamb stew and make that for him when he's having a busy week.

Nicky never seems to be bothered by him telling him all these things and in turn, Booker learns that Nicky cannot function before his first cup of coffee, that he misses the quiet of his life in the seminary but he is glad he can do more as he is, that he has a few kids that he works with that he is hoping will get into gifted programmes that can help them excel in academia, that if he hadn't done the almost priest route, he would have been a doctor or a medic.

It was ridiculously effortless to be friends with Nicky and he finds himself actually looking forward to his letters and random bits and bobs in the mail. Sometimes Nicky sends Booker Joe’s sketches and he keeps them up on his bedside, keeping them in sight as he falls asleep at night. Other times there’s a picture or two, taken by Nicky, of Joe. Joe on the corner of the sofa, curled up and dozing, Joe eyes crinkling as he laughs at something. Joe with those ridiculous sunglasses they bought on a whim over a very wet Welsh afternoon.

As the first chill of the season sets in, Booker asks about Joe.

He's fine. Missing you. We're heading to his family's beach house. He said you both used to go together?

Booker finds that he can smile a little easier when the memories come or when it is brought up that Joe misses him. It still tastes a little bittersweet but he can be happy about how he had the chance to experience these things with Joe. Even if he hadn't been the one to keep having them.

Yes. He writes, But you both can do this together now. Make sure you pack extra blankets for yourself. I'm sure you know that he hogs them.

Nicky replies with a box of Marks and Spencer Welsh Cakes which Booker thanks with an assortment of Turkish Delights.

Their correspondence slows as the weather cools further. Copley, when he tells him about what’s happening over Skype, merely asks him if it i a good idea to be even putting himself in the same sphere as Joe and Nicky when he had moved across the continent just to get away from the heartbreak.

“I don’t see how it couldn’t be,” Booker says over the sizzling of the butter as he makes the cheese toasties that Joe used to love for breakfasts. He scratches at his chest, eyes watching the way the cheese oozes off its side.

“Mate, I don’t think you’re far removed enough to actually know how catastrophic this could be.”

“O ye, of little faith,” Booker huffs, flipping the toastie. “At some point I would like to be able to exist in the same city as him without melting into a puddle of heartbreak. If being friends with his soulmate helps get me there, I’m all for it.”

“You are a masochist, Mr Booker.”

Booker laughs even as he burns his finger on the pan.

He works harder than ever, learning and improving his own techniques under the tutelage of his colleagues and can appreciate the opportunity. There's already talks of him going to New York after the New Year's to accompany some of the artifacts that are being lent out for display. Booker is climbing the stairs up to his building, head down, free hand rubbing at his chest and reading through the latest methods of restoration on his phone when he bumps into a person rushing down.

“Oh, sorry--”

“Booker.”

Joe’s eyes are big and wide when their gazes meet. Booker blinks, breathes in deep before looking behind him to see Nicky watching them from his landing, exhaling shakily as he whispers, deep and with feeling, “What the fuck are you guys doing here?”

Nicky nurses his cup of tea from his lean against the window and deftly avoids the inquiring glare Booker keeps sending his way from the safety of the kitchen. Joe, on the other hand, is carefully prowling the space of his studio flat he has made home, obviously cataloguing the way his books sit on the shelf and the way he has kept the space marginally clean-ish, how there are pictures and sketches tacked to the wall behind the dining table, the clear signs of a life he has built here.

“Let me get this straight, you picked up Nicky’s mail from the church, saw my handwriting, and decided to come all the way to Turkey. Just to see me,” Booker says, gesturing at their backpacks leaning against his door. “Again, let me ask, why?”

“Why?” Joe laughs, throat clicking when the sound comes out rough and raw. “You ask me why I would fly out to Turkey in the middle of the holiday season just to see my best friend who left me without telling me he got a job in Turkey and was going to leave without even so much as a goodbye, and you are asking me why I would come all the way out here just to chase you down? Are you perhaps short of a marble!”

“And what was I supposed to do! Linger around you when I was dying every single time I looked at you and knew I wasn’t your soulmate? We were going to spend our lives together, Joe! I loved you!”

Booker slaps his hand over his mouth and turns away, focusing on his breathing. “You love me?” Joe says softly in the stillness of the flat.

“I did. I do and I’m sorry,” He sighs, feeling his chest shake with his trembling breath. He presses the heel of his hand to his sternum. “I do. And it’s okay, Joe. I know you don’t love me in that way. It’s okay. I just need some time away to figure out how to love you like you need me to.”

“And what do you know about what I need from you?”

Booker feels Joe come close and allows himself to be turned around to be face to face with him. “Do you know I love you too?”

“Yeah,” He chuckles wetly, rubbing his nose with the back a hand. “I’m your best friend.”

Nicky choose this moment to speak. “Booker, look at him and listen. It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you in our letters. “

There’s an insistence in Nicky’s gaze that galvanises Booker to turn to Joe and meet his eyes head on. “I love you, Book. I always did. I still do. Even after the bullshit you’ve put me through.”

“But Nicky--” “Nicky’s my soulmate and I love him too.” Joe smiles, eyes gone liquor soft when Nicky returns his fond look. “But I’ve loved you for the longest time, Book. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

The itch on his chest starts to burn.

“And you’re alright with this?” Booker breathlessly asks Nicky, taking a step back. “This- This whole Love, Actually thing is a situation you’re okay with?”

“Yes,” Nicky says, standing to cross the distance between them. Joe reaches for him then, tenderly touching him by the elbow while Nicky slides a hand to his cheeks and Booker feels immediately overwhelmed. He parts his mouth to speak when he doubles over dropping to his knees when the fire spreading over the skin on his chest sends him to his knees gasping for air.

Joe keeps a hold on him while Nicky looks him over with clear worry. “Fuck!” Booker groans, trying to arch away. Clawing at his shirt, he tears at it until the buttons plink on the floor as they fall. For a moment, he does not register the dark lines that spread over his sternum. Running shaking fingers over his raw skin, Booker barely holds back the awed gasp at the scimitar and longsword twined together with thorns and roses.

“Well,” Nicky laughs softly, cupping him by the side of the head, sweeping him into a gentle kiss. In that second that their lips touch, Booker feels his heartbeat skip a notch. “I guess this answers things, doesn’t it?”

-- Epilogue --

“That’s the last of the boxes.”

Joe kicks the door shut behind him, dropping the bags in his hands to the floor, ignoring the evil eye sent his way by Nicky who had warned them against scuffing up the hardwood floors. Booker throws himself onto the sofa with a sigh and Joe, grinning like a maniac, does a running start before launching himself onto Booker.

“Oof!” And then after a beat and a wiggle. “Joe, you’re suffocating me and I can feel your dick against my ass.”

They’ve finally moved into their first home together. It had taken a bit more effort after Turkey to keep their fledgling relationship going but all’s well, ends well and Booker is back with them after finishing up his contract with glowing recommendations and growing his contact list. Joe was ridiculously proud and he knows Nicky feels the same too.

They’ll need to work hard over the next two days to spruce the place up in time for their housewarming. Their friends and families will be here and Joe cannot wait to show off his loves. Wrapping his arms around Nicky and pulling him along back to the sofa where Booker is, he basks in the happy warmth of feeling whole with his heart in one piece.

#joe x booker x nicky #booker x joe x nicky #joe x nicky x booker #the old guard fic #gab writes stuff #please dear god give me wisdom to never do this again #this was too long and i am FUCKING EXHAUSTED #I am going to bed

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mldrgrl · 4 years

Note

I've been re-reading your old works for the Revival like Recocering Nicely and Flannel Pajamas,....I miss them being an old married couple doing domestic stuffs so much, can you write something like that again?

Friday Night by: mldrgrl Rating: PG Note: Set during season 10, erasing any season 11 from the table

Fridays are full of anticipation nowadays. At first, when they were just starting to get back on track, more often than not he was going home alone. But, now, he can’t remember the last time Friday rolled around and she didn’t have her weekend bag with her. There’s nothing he looks forward to more than a Friday night.

They take one car out to the house, usually his, leaving the other in the parking garage at work until Monday. The ride is long, but comfortable. Scully rests her hand on his arm across the seat and they talk about mundane things that aren’t about work. Mulder wants to cut the grass if there isn’t any frost in the morning. He loaded the crock pot with the stuff for that stew Scully likes this morning. Hopefully he remembered to turn it on before he left. That new thing Scully found online to weatherproof the windows came in. He needs to put in the order for the wood for the stove to be delivered soon.

“An hour and change,” Mulder says, stopping the car in front of their gate. “New record.”

“You really need to think about installing the remote.”

“I like the exercise.” He leans close to her as he unbuckles his seatbelt and gives her a peck on the cheek. She cups his chin with a backwards hand for a moment and then unbuckles her own belt.

Scully takes over in the driver’s seat as Mulder handles the gate. She drives down the dirt road slowly, avoiding the dips and bumps up to the front. She’s got her overnight bag from the trunk and Mulder’s dry cleaning that they stopped to pick up weighing her down by the time he’s made it to the car. He takes the dry cleaning from her and places a hand to the small of her back as they ascend the porch steps.

“My nose is telling me I didn’t forget to turn the crock pot on,” he says, opening the door for her.

“Gonna change first. Looks like we’re in for a beautiful sunset. Want to eat outside?”

“Sure.”

He puts the dry cleaning away while she puts on a pair of sweats and a long-sleeved shirt. He turns on the radio. It’s still on the classical channel Scully last had it on and he leaves it be, coming into what sounds like The Planets Suite. He thinks he recognizes Jupiter. He thinks about setting up the telescope.

While Scully dishes out the stew, he changes into jeans and a light sweater. Noticing a bit of a chill, he brings one of the blankets from the couch with him after he grabs the bowl left for him on the counter to join her. She tucks it around her and they eat to the strains of Holst in the background as twilight begins its takeover.

They head back inside when it turns grey and too chilly. Scully separates the leftover stew into two containers, one to store for leftovers for the weekend and the other to freeze for later. She washes the dishes and Mulder dries.

“Did you bring the paper in?” he asks.

“In my bag,” she answers.

“We need under 36 minutes to beat last week.”

“36 minutes and 14 seconds.”

“Across or down?”

“Down.”

They huddle close on the couch and Mulder opens the newspaper to the crossword. He folds it appropriately while Scully starts the timer on her phone. Mulder starts with the clues running across and Scully starts with the clues running down. They have a goal of beating each week’s previous time.

“Oh, they’re being cheeky,” Mulder says. “They’ve got the question marks in here.”

“You like the cheeky ones.”

“When they’re clever.”

After ten minutes, they switch directions.

“Life source?” Scully asks. “Is that the cheeky one?”

“You get the answer?”

“M-I-blank-blank-blank-N-blank-R-A-”

“Milton Bradley,” he answers, before she finishes.

“Clever or not?” she asks, filling in the blanks.

“They’ve done better. Hey, you’re supposed to fill-in all the Latin clues.”

“Mulder, do you know how many 3-letter Latin 101 words there are?”

“How many end in O?”

“Too many.”

“I think it starts with an E.”

“Ego.”

“I should’ve known that.”

“I’ll say.”

He bumps her shoulder with his and she chuckles. They switch for a second time a few minutes later and then they’re racing against the clock. He puts down his pen when there’s nothing but a corner left.

“You always leave the Tolkein monsters clue blank,” Scully huffs.

“I didn’t have 5 down yet, it still could be orcs or ents.”

“Ents. 5 down is Etsy.”

“What the hell is an etsy?”

“Online craft store. You know it, it’s where I got those bath bombs you liked.”

“The eucalyptus ones? You should get more of those.”

“I’ll see if they still have them. Time!”

“33 and 51 seconds. High five g-woman!” He grabs her hand when she slaps his and laces their fingers together. “Seriously, though, you need to go to the etsy store and get more of those bath bombs.”

“Remind me tomorrow.”

“Movie?”

“I’m thinking a shower and then bed.” She moves to stand, but he pulls her down to his lap. She chuckles and drapes her arms around his neck.

“Scully, do you remember back in the day when we used to pull all-nighters like it was nothing and now we’re lucky if we make it past nine?”

“Seems we used up all our reserve energy when we were young.”

“Younger, don’t go calling us old.”

“You brought it up first.” She gives him a brief kiss on the lips and then he lets her go.

While she showers, he takes the newspaper to the recycle bin and sets up the coffee maker for the morning. He checks the locks on the front door and the back door and pulls the shades in the living room and kitchen. He pulls his sweater off as he heads upstairs and tosses it on the bed before he goes into the bathroom. Scully has finished her shower and sits on the closed toilet in a towel, massaging lotion into her legs. The room is humid from the shower and the mirror is fogged over.

“I set the coffee for 7,” he says, pulling his toothbrush and toothpaste from the medicine cabinet. “Too early?”

“It’s fine.” She makes a noise and he turns. She has her hands held out to him and he puts the toothbrush and toothpaste on the side of the sink and gives her his hands so she can massage the extra lotion into his hands and arms.

“Is this new? It smells like oranges.”

“Yeah, some vitamin C thing a salesperson at the mall talked me into.”

“You hate the mall.” He pastes his toothbrush and starts brushing his teeth.

“I do, but sometimes the Labor Day sales are too hard to resist. 2 for 1 bras at Victoria’s Secret, I had to go.”

“What, now?” Mulder turns towards her and pulls the toothbrush out of his mouth. Foam coats his lips. She laughs lightly and shakes her head.

“Kidding,” she says. “But, good to know you’re still interested in my lingerie.”

“I might be old, but I’m not dead.”

Scully smiles and stands on tiptoes to kiss the corner of Mulder’s mouth. She pats his chest lightly and then rubs a bit of toothpaste residue from her bottom lip. He turns to finish brushing his teeth, wiping fog away from the mirror to watch her move comfortably around the room and get ready for bed. He waits until she’s dropped the towel and slipped her t-shirt on to spit and rinse.

She tosses his shirt at his head when he steps into the bedroom. He grins and hangs it up and then they turn the bed down together. He sheds his jeans and then opens the window just a crack to let some fresh air in.

“Almost time to pull out the flannel sheets,” she says, as he gets into bed.

“I’ll keep you warm,” he answers, wrapping an arm around her under the covers and sliding her into his chest. She laughs and wiggles out of his hold as he tickles the back of her neck and shoulder with his lips.

Briefly, Scully turns her head back and after several soft kisses, she pulls away to turn over and shut off the lamp. Mulder rolls onto his back and she settles on her side after punching the pillow flat a few times. Five minutes pass and then she sighs.

“Are you still awake?” she asks.

“Mmhm,” he answers.

She turns over to face him and he turns his head towards her. “I’ve been thinking about something,” she says. “Something I think we need to talk about.”

“Okay.” He turns over as well and folds his arm under his head.

“The lease on my place is up at the end of October. I don’t think I’m going to renew.”

“Oh? So, what are you thinking?”

“The commute out here is not ideal. Especially with winter coming. I was wondering if you might want to find a place in the city. Or closer to the city. Together.”

“Get rid of the house?”

“No, never. This is...this is our home.”

He nods in agreement. He’s always thought of it as their home, whether she’s been in it or not.

“I was thinking just a place we can be at during the week,” she continues. “And we’ll still come out here on the weekends.”

He mulls it over. As much as he wants to be with her and wants to return to the life they once shared, he has some reservations.

“Mulder?” she asks. “You’re never this quiet. What are you thinking?”

“You know I want this more than anything,” he answers. “But, what if this is only working because you got the space you wanted? And we’ve never done the living and working together thing before. It would be new. What if we recommit and then it becomes too much?”

She contemplates the ceiling for some time and he reaches out to stroke her hair and cup her cheek.

“I thought, at the time, that leaving was the right thing to do,” she says. “I know that I accused you of being a weight that was pulling me down into your depression and despair, but in hindsight, it was the other way around.”

“I never felt that way.”

“I know, but I did. I thought returning to medicine would be satisfying. I thought it was the key to happiness. Something normal. Instead it just made me sad. And then I thought leaving was the only way to fix it, but I was wrong. Really, what I missed was us. Being with you, working with you, just you and me. I don’t feel whole without you.”

“Hey now, that’s my line,” he whispers, running his thumb over her cheek.

“It’s true.”

“So, we’re doing this? Full time?”

“I’m ready for it if you are.”

“Bring it on, honey.”

She chuckles and they slide closer to rest their heads together. Their legs tangle and arms move to hold on to each other. He’s filled with a new sense of anticipation. He won’t ever have to wonder anymore if she’ll be coming with him Friday nights.

The End

#i wrote this #xf fanfic #msr #housetrained #old married couple #Anonymous

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casualotptrash · 3 years

Text

Fixes to the Persona Series

Oh boy I hope you all are ready to talk about this for the hundredth time!

My recent tirade about the FES vs Portable discussion started to make me think about what I think could be done in the next coming installments of the series to make it either feel a bit more fresh or just as an overall improvement. Now, I know many of the things I’m about to say have been said time and time again, but...this is my post so I’m going to give my opinion on this :)

Enjoy and feel free to vent with me about your biggest gripes with the series, because I’m always ready for a salt-fest.

(This post will pretty much have any spoilers about Persona 3, 4, and 5 (including Royal) so beware if you haven’t finished those)

To clarify right off the bat, anything I don’t mention in here as something I would fix I either don’t think it is a problem or I just happened to forget it.

1. Player Gender Options

(Royal Spoilers)

Starting off with a great one, I think that an improvement to the series would be to allow an option between a male and a female MC. I don’t think this choice would affect the story in Persona 3 or 4 very much (and we’ve seen that with Persona 3), but I have imagined and seen so many fanfics about how it would actually be a really interesting twist for Persona 5. For most of the story it probably wouldn’t matter too much, but it could impact the first palace so much. The first palace/story arc is already one of the best arcs in the game, so imagine if the player could relate to Ann and Shiho on an even deeper level? To be clear, I’m not saying the player has to be sexually assaulted or something, but I imagine Kamoshida would at least treat the player more like Ann rather than just a delinquent nuisance.

Also, and this just came to mind, but picture this: in the third semester Maruki actualizes things that he thinks will make others happy. Obviously, Joker and Akechi are against this. In the game itself there are a lot of clues to point that Joker does care about Akechi, and does want to see him again, but in the end they both agree that they need to fight for the real world that they worked for, not for a fake reality. If Joker was a female, they could still go the route of doing this (especially if romancing Akechi was an option? Or they just hint at them having feelings but Akechi doesn’t want to commit because he’s a self-loathing boi who needs to work on himself first).

Alternatively...what about a badass narrative of a girl, in a powerful position as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, fighting against a man who believes he knows what’s best for her and tries to appease her by just bringing back Akechi? Kinda like a “Yeah fuck what you did, you just need Akechi/a man and he’ll make you happy” type of thing. Obviously this would all be subtle, because I do think Maruki has good intentions, but he also blames himself for all of the hard things Rumi has gone through and may internalize that as women needing a “strong man” to protect them. Of course this might seem too preachy for people, but I thought it was an interesting idea to run with and that some people could relate to the whole “Woman trying to think and do things for themselves? Nah just sit in your little fake world and be happy, thanks.”

(Sidenote, Sae would be such a good role model...after her change of heart of course. You crush it girl.)

However, I do understand that this could be a lot of extra work, especially when the game is so long and tedious. That’s why I would also be fine with the strategy of “switching off” per say. By that I mean if Persona 5 has a male MC, then Persona 6 would have a female MC, and if a 7th game was made (in 2040 or whatever) then it could go back to a male. This would eliminate the issue of having to record all the voice lines twice or any other extra work that would come with having to make both genders an option. Honestly I know this option doesn’t matter too much to people, they just want an MC who is either a self-insert or actually a character (more on that later), but I do think it would be a very nice inclusion especially for the female fans of the game. It kind of sucks that three of the most popular games in the series all have male protags, and the female protag who was introduced often gets shafted for very dumb reasons. (Oh no, you have the option to romance a kid that most people don’t even choose or like, that means she’s a p*do! :I I know this comment is normally a joke but seriously it’s not funny).

2. Setting of the game (not transfer but also maybe involve the other games?)

(Spoilers for the Arena games and Persona 5/Royal)

So there are two main points to this suggestion: where the game takes place and how it relates to the other games.

As we all know, the three latest entries in the mainline Persona series have all followed a certain trend. They are all high schoolers, who transfer to a town, and know basically no one there. This formula has been repeated for the last three games, and while they are still great games, I think this trend needs to change. Any amount of switching this up would be better than nothing in my opinion. For example, the MC could be a new college student who goes to a new place for college (if they wanted the MC to move somewhere), and there meets the party members who are a mix of people who also don’t know the area (new to the college) and those who do know the area/some people there. This would appease people who have been really wanting an MC to not be a high schooler, while also giving the feel of meeting new people and seeing a new place.

On the other hand, the next game could take place in the MC’s home town, where plot stuff happens and they connect more to the people they already knew (aka party members) to solve the plot stuff. They could be in high school or college, either I think would work, but it would appease people who don’t just want to be a transfer student each time and also have some connection to the characters prior to the game. However, this would be difficult to do given the current “flow” that the games have, that is that the MC doesn’t know anything and has to ask a million questions. It would be very strange to go up to someone you have known most of your life and ask them a basic question, which is why that style of storytelling(?) would not fit well with this and other methods would need to be used.

Now, for the second point, I understand that they don’t make strong connections to the other games because they want each game to be able to be played as a stand-alone, and not to hold people back by forcing them to play the other games to understand this. Makes sense, but usually what happens is that people play one game in the series and then try another game, if they really like the one they started with. After playing through the ones they want to, and if they like them, then there is an appreciation for the series as a whole. Of course Atlus sneaks in little references here and there, like having the P4 gang go to Iwatodai or some TV news announcements on P5 that allude to Adachi and other characters, but those cant always cut it. One of the biggest letdowns I would come to know is the fact that the Shadow Operatives are not mentioned at all, outside of those small references, in P5.

Persona 5 literally has the PT’s broadcasting all of their heists, and includes major government officials like Shido. There are also the mental shutdowns/psychotic breakdowns, which also have people confused, along with how the PT’s steal hearts in the first place. I don’t know about you all, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to get the Shadow Operatives involved. This is like...literally what they were made for? Investigating persona/shadow activity and such, and we already know that the PT’s deeds reached at least Hawaii so it would be strange for the SO’s to have not heard anything. There are headcanons that they were blocked by Shido or something, which is pretty interesting to think about/develop, but it was only thought up to make an excuse for why they aren’t there. Persona 5 introduced a lot of people to the story, so yeah some people would probably be very confused about who the SO’s are and stuff, but it could payoff in the long run for long-time fans and those who play the other games after.

Depending on the story of P6, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to start including casts from the other games into newer ones...especially when each game introduces 8-9 new characters per game, and those games usually get made into spin-offs that include the characters made in the previous games! Counting only the characters introduced in the previous games (3-5), Persona Q2 has 33 characters (11 P3, 10 P5, 10 P4, and 2 P3P, this includes the velvet room assistants for each respective game). That’s a ton! Sure, having new characters each time is part of the fun, but I believe there is definitely a way to split them up. I don’t think it would be too much of an issue to have a smaller party member group (you can only have 4 fight at a time anyway), that way there is still the enjoyment of seeing new characters, while also filling up some of those spots with preexisting ones.

3. Characterization

This kind of piggybacks off of the second point, but personally I think they need to stop with the self-insert protags. First, like I mentioned earlier, it kind of messes up the “flow” of the game since they have to pretend that the character doesn’t know anything because the player doesn’t know anything (yet). For example, how many times did the option to say “Probation?” or “Expelled?” or something like that come up as a dialogue choice in P5? Too often, in my opinion. I assume anyone over the age of 15 would probably know what those things mean, but in case anyone doesn’t they have to make it an option to say.

Adding onto this, it also seems like people start to like the characters a whole lot more when spinoffs or movies/animations come out that really expand on the character, because in those games/mediums the player is taken out of the self-insert role. I would say out of the three games, the Persona 3 protags have the most characterization in game through their dialogue. I haven’t watched the movies, but I heard it fleshes the MC out a lot more. In Persona 4...well, I see what they’re going for but I also feel like Yu has the personality of a cardboard box. The animations definitely helped out this one, as did Arena, and I’ve seen other people agree that they liked Yu a lot more after playing/watching those things.

As for Persona 5, I think they tried to give Joker some characterization (and oddly enough “Joker” has a lot more to him than Akira/Ren, but he still fell more on the side of self-insert. P5 the animation is...of questionable quality, but I think Xander did a good job in the Dub (which is the one I watched) in trying to make him feel more like a human being. I haven’t played Strikers, but I assume it goes more on the route of P5 because you’re still controlling Joker. Oddly enough, I feel like the dancing game gave him the most characterization? Call me crazy, but his dance moves and voice lines just ooze of his suave, friendly, and supportive attitude. I wish that they took whatever those voice lines embodied and just put them into the game, because I would like Joker a lot more than I already do (which, to be clear, I do still like him a lot).

Although this doesn’t have much to do with the characterization, it would also be nice if Atlus could just put the “canon name” in the game while also still having the option to choose your own name. Again, this might add a little more work but maybe if someone chose the “canon” option then their name could be spoken in voice lines, but if they don’t then the names would be left out (except for text) like usual. Honestly this is mostly up to personal preference because I like some of the “not canon” names more so I would want to use those if I could, but I also don’t like having the characters just randomly cut off in the end of sentences when they’re saying your name. Just kind of breaks immersion, which is probably why I really like Joker because at least they say “Joker” quite a bit.

(Little rant, but why do the PT’s get like two group names? At first Morgana defaults to “The Phantom Thieves of Hearts” but then when you get to choose the name of your team, that name is what shows up instead. However, everyone still calls you the “Phantom Thieves” and the gang refers to themselves as that too! I get naming the group is kind of cool, but I would have preferred if they were just called The Phantom Thieves (of Hearts) and that way their name could be spoken in dialogue too.)

4. Choices matter...please? (romance and regular dialogue)

This might be easy or difficult to implement, I’m not so sure because I’m not a game developer, but I really wish choices mattered more in this game. I feel like most of these suggestions (especially later on down the list) are just little things that could be added to the game that would really amp it up, and this is one of them.

When I talk about choices mattering, I do not mean that dialogue should be so open that there are branching paths and that your choices affect the story. What I mean is that you could choose two different options and not get the same exact answer. I get that this isn’t always the case, but when it is it feels very strange. In this same vein of things, please stop with the illusion of choice because everyone sees right through it. I didn’t really see this as much in P3, and I still need to finish P4, but it was definitely apparent with P5. I felt that so many times in the game there were two options that were just “Option A” or “Synonym for Option A” as the choices.

Along the same lines, I think it would be great if romance choices were actually acknowledged. Again, there is a little of this in P3 and P4 where some party members comment on your relation to the other party members (Ex. Junpei saying to take care of Fuuka if you date, Yukari stating that Akihiko probably wouldn’t want FeMC going on a group date if they’re dating, and Yosuke coming to assumptions about who Yu spends the summer festival with), but they are very few and far between. I also saw no evidence of this at all in P5, which was pretty disappointing. In fact, in Persona 5 Royal if you are dating Ann and go on the Christmas Date with her, she makes some comment about not wanting the others to find out about them. Like...girl, considering someone can finish Ann’s social link as early as June or so on NG+ I’m pretty sure your friend group would notice if you’ve been dating for 6 months?? I know that romance is definitely not the focus of the game, but if you’re going to include it why is it shoved into the farthest corner and never touched?

Don’t get me wrong, it is cute to see the romances in the game play out and such, but on the same hand I can see how much better it could be. In reality it kind of sucks to romance someone in the Persona games because no one acknowledges it, and you only get like 3-4 small scenes in each game to spend with them (beach in P5, festival in all, Christmas in all, valentines except for 3, White Day in P5R). Just imagine if you could take a walk in Kyoto with whoever you romanced, or were able to take your partner to the Jazz Jin in P5R and they would get like special date dialogue or something? Very very small additions, but it would go a long way in making the romances feel a bit more connected.

5. LGBT Romances

I went into this in some detail in Part 3 of my FES vs Portable debate post, so I to save your eyes from reading more I’ll just quickly say that Atlus definitely needs to add in more LGBT romance options because it’s ridiculous at this point. The fact that you can’t romance any guy (because all of the MC’s are male, this is not including the FeMC stuff because that’s not typical in the Persona series) but can have a whole harem (despite what they may do to you) is just ridiculous. They’d rather let you date a fully-fledged adult than someone of the same gender.

Also they’re cowards for scrapping the Yosuke romance and that’s that :)

6. Fixing Social Links

Link to the stand-alone post about this section.

I literally was going to include this in this post, but this section alone (which I knew was going to be the biggest) was almost as large (a few hundred words off) than everything prior to this point put together. I’ll make a separate post with just this section soon, but this criticism of mine can basically be boiled down into the fact that the main growth of a character should happen outside of their social link in order to avoid tonal whiplash in the story, and that this will fix the problem of some characters feeling “one-note” if you do not do their social links/confidants. Essentially, go back to the P3 method.

However, something that needs to be fixed for all of the games is that you shouldn’t only get social link points for saying what the person wants to hear. I get the train of thought that if you say what they want to hear they will like you more, but that’s not how real friendships work? Obviously you shouldn’t be saying something that offends them and think it will raise your points, but sometimes people just need to hear things?

I can think of three standout examples: Nozomi in P3 (Gourmet King), Mishima in P5, and Shinya in P5. Nozomi’s link is a hot mess in of itself, but it was very frustrating to at one point just be like “Hey can you chill?” when he’s trying to induct you into a scam/cult or whatever, and it reverses the social link. Like ok buddy fuck you too, I was just trying to say no and that you need to stop scamming people?? For Mishima in P5 (I’ll go more in depth on him in a later post), it’s just kind of strange that you can clearly see him starting to obsess about the PT’s but you can’t really tell him he needs to stop until the social link demands it. Even then, the only way to get points is pretty much to go “Wow Mishima, you’re the best! You’re the reason we exist! We love you!!!” and it just feels kind of wrong. Shinya’s is very much along the same line as that, except you basically have to do something even worse and encourage him to keep being a bully? Thankfully P5 doesn’t reverse confidants, but I probably would have done so with Shinya because I kept telling him he shouldn’t bully others until I realized how to get points with him. It just feels wrong to encourage such behavior until the character suddenly realizes they’ve been acting wrong. No shit, I’ve been trying to say that.

I think social links need quite the fix to them, but this is definitely one of them. Strong, real relationships are not just built upon telling the other person what they want to hear.

7. Have Characters Hang Out

This is mostly a suggestion based off of P5′s downfall in this aspect. I think that P3 and P4 did a good job at showing the characters hang out in other aspects, or hang out separately outside of the MC. P4 had a lot of good group hangouts, but not many scenes without the MC. P3 had the opposite where members kind of hung out together a bit, but also showed or mentioned them hanging out without the MC. However, P5 didn’t have much for the group hangouts and also I can’t really recall a single scene of the party members hanging out outside of the MC.

Along with all of the problems I mentioned earlier with the cardboard cut-out personalities, I feel that this contributed to P5′s group feeling a bit less cohesive. Obviously when they all hung out they acted like a real group of friends, but it’s hard to see it as legitimate when 95% of their hangouts are just meetings for the Phantom Thief stuff. The only times they hang out outside of the PT stuff is the TV station, the fireworks festival, helping Futaba + the beach trip, and the culture festival. Like I said, I can’t recall them hanging out together outside of being with the MC/PT business, although I could have missed some stray text message if one was mentioned.

In this aspect, P5 feels like a small step down from P3 and a huge step down from P4. I think some of the events in P4 are a bit unnecessarily long, but at least they go through the effort of showing that the group is also a real friend group, not just people trying to solve the murder. Strikers may be a step up from P5, but I haven’t played it yet so I can’t judge that.

Also bring back school trips to prior locations of Persona games. Imagine P5 group going to Inaba and it turns out this is the small country town that Joker came from? And they sprinkle in references to P4? *chefs kiss*.

8. Remove/Change Certain Tropes

(Spoilers for the babe hunts, stupid ass hot springs scenes, and Ryuji abuse after certain palace)

By that spoiler tag, you can probably tell that this is the category I’m most passionate about. I can deal with social links feeling a bit disconnected. I can deal with the MC being a self-insert. What I cant deal with anymore? These. Dumb. Ass. Scenes.

Let me explain (insert Sojiro voice here)

Every game has three main tropes. One, the babe hunt scenes. Two, the hot springs scenes. Three, one character being dunked on by everyone else. I’ll go through each, scream about my feelings about them, and why they need to change.

First, the babe hunt scenes. I don’t have much of a problem with this trope to be honest, I just think it could be done better in some games. I actually think the one in P3 was quite funny, because the group treated it like an “operation” which added a bit to humor. Truth be told, I was just a bit disappointed in P3P FeMC route when you didn’t have your own version of the “babe hunt” thing. I know Yukari and Mitsuru aren’t the types to go hunt for boys, but perhaps the MC could have suggested it as a fun idea. In P4, this scene happens in Okina and largely remains the same as the P3 formula, but I think it lacks just a bit of the humor that the P3 one had. Lastly, in P5 this scene happens during the beach trip but compared to the others it’s pretty...lackluster?

It shows a montage of Joker, Ryuji, and Yusuke talking to girls but no actual dialogue goes on. After talking to three or so, Yusuke disappears and this is when Joker and Ryuji meet the two “flamboyant” men again. This time, the men either chase them down or call after them (?) depending on if you’re playing Vanilla or Royal. I don’t like how they use these men in the first place, but on top of that it kind of takes the “babe hunt” out of “babe hunt” if you don’t actually...hunt for babes? Like no actual dialogue is spoken when trying to convince the girls, which was most of the fun in the other scenes. You don’t even have free reign to walk around at the beach, and the scene is formatted in a more cutscene type of way. It just makes P5′s babe hunt fall flat in many ways, and overall I finished the scene with a strong “meh.” The only good things about this was watching Makoto and Ann defend themselves and Yusuke with the lobsters.

Now for the hot springs scenes....hoo boy.

Simply put, in my opinion, these scenes suck ass in almost all of the games. P3 is the least egregious in my opinion, for a couple reasons. First is that it shows that Junpei and Ryoji were kind of trying to peep on the girls, and Akihiko and MC were just dragged into it. They have some funny dialogue, and in FES and Portable they even included the option to try and evade the girls. I found the little evade minigame to be really fun, even though every time I can’t help but fail because I want to say “It was a cat!” I find it interesting that there is the option for the men to get off scott-free, and that their dialogue after the trip is over changes slightly because of this.

On the FeMC side, I also find it fun that you have the reverse of the minigame and actually seek out the boys. My only letdown with this entire scene is if the boys are caught. I get it, it’s supposed to be funny with Mitsuru executing them and such, but as a reasonable person with a brain it seems really dumb to me that Mitsuru would just punish all of them when it’s just Ryoji and Junpei’s fault? This is nothing against Mitsuru, but her actions just seem so...exaggerated for some reason? Like Mitsuru is usually smart, and even if she is embarrassed I don’t get why she would punish innocent party members. A huge disappointment for me was that the FeMC isn’t able to stop Mitsuru from doing this either. Not even a choice to try and encourage Mitsuru or discourage her (so both options would be available). You just kinda sit there and watch, even after Akihiko say “It was a misunderstanding!” or something. For me it was especially strange because MC was dating Akihiko at that point, so why wouldn’t I try to hear him out? Just struck me as kind of dumb.

If I thought that was dumb, P4 and P5 were out to really make me roll my eyes and sigh in disappointment. Unlike P3, which has most of the scene being pretty good besides the very end where Mitsuru punishes the boys, the P4 and P5 scenes are all bad. This is not the first time anyone has said it, and won’t be the last, but they aren’t funny scenes in the slightest.

In P4, it’s actually the girl’s fault that they’re in the hot springs when the boys walk in. They stayed over their allotted time and into the time when boys are supposed to be in there. So what do they do? Get flustered, yell at them, and throw buckets at the group. Oh, and they don’t listen to the boy’s protests at all. Really.

Who thought this was a good idea?? The girls even realize after that they were in the wrong, say they should apologize, but I don’t think they ever show a scene of them apologizing after. This whole scene, like the hot springs ones in general, are just exaggerated (ie. throwing masses of buckets) to be funny, but they really fail in my opinion. It just serves to make the player kinda angry (since they’re usually on the receiving end) and make the girls look wildly unrealistic and dumb. I have never really thought that needless physical abuse is funny, so these scenes are just the bane of my existence apparently.

There actually isn’t a hot springs scene in P5, but they did add one in Strikers.

If they wanted to still do these scenes, maybe they could switch from making it “just beat up the boys” into something else. For example, the girls could try to peep, or walk in on the boys. Equality y’all, sometimes girls can do those things too (but still don’t beat them up. Just don’t beat anyone up). If none of that happens, or maybe that’s how the scene ends, the rest of the scene could just be a chill, relaxing scene between those involved. Essentially, how the scenes go before the whole “lets beat up the boys” thing comes in.

Lastly, on basically the same vein as why I don’t like the hot springs scenes, I’m starting to get real sick of the “let’s shit on this one character” trope. In Persona 3, I don’t think it’s that bad because they kind of do it with Junpei but they also give him a lot of character development, and eventually the sort of hostile shitting on him turns into just gentle teasing.

For P4 I still don’t think it is too bad, because Yosuke is kind of the one being shit on but he also does the same to the other people in the group? I suppose the only thing that really sticks out to me is how Teddie abuses Yosuke’s wallet (making him buy/pay for a lot of stuff with his hard earned cash), but I also don’t like Teddie at all in the first place so I may be biased about him. Oh well, he still shouldn’t do those things and I don’t really find it funny but to each their own.

However...this problem walks and rocks the fucking runway in Persona 5. Namely, this happens with Ryuji. The most obvious aggressor in this is Morgana, because him and Ryuji butt heads so often, but the other thieves kind of do it as well. Obviously they don’t do this all the time, but it’s extremely frustrating when they do. Morgana getting into arguments with Ryuji at the drop of a hat get old very quick, and the other thieves poking a bit of fun about how dumb Ryuji can be is also not that riveting. Despite all of that, the scene that highlights all of this is the scene after Shido’s palace collapse.

You all knew this was coming, but I couldn’t resist talking about it. The scene is so tone deaf in so many ways that it takes away all of the emotional impact that they were trying to build. Even the first time I watched this scene, in which I didn’t think they would kill off Ryuji, I could still sympathize with the group being concerned about him. Then when he shows up they...just beat him up and leave him unconscious next to a pole while they walk away? Wow.

On all subsequent playthroughs I just skip this scene, but I truly cannot understand why that was the angle they went for. Were they trying to insert some humor right after an emotional scene? That can be done in certain cases, but....why??? It’s so unbelievable it’s almost laughable. It’s not even like the bath scene where the the girls think the guys are trying to peep on them. It’s simply because he survived which I assume is what they wanted!

“Oh no you made us thought you were dead (even though he didn’t because he couldn’t control any of this), we’re going to beat you up!” Now you just make the characters look like irrational idiots.

Seriously Atlus, stop doing this. In most cases it just serves to make the player kind of frustrated, and in this case it it literally takes all of the emotional weight out of the scene and makes me think worse of the entire female cast. Please. Stop.

Well that’s the end of that. I don’t think I said anything too revolutionary, although my opinions about the social links and characterization might get me some flak. I just want the characters to be more than one personality trait... This was a really long post again, so kudos to whoever made it to this point!

Next time, on Dragon Ball Z Casual’s pointless posts: something Persona related :)

#long post #persona 3 #persona 3 portable #persona series #persona 4 #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p3 #p3p #p4 #p5 #that's a lot of p's #ready to get shit on for my opinions #but maybe just ask me first before doing so #who's ready to play persona 6 when it comes out and be slightly disappointed #I am!#but I'll still like it because it's persona

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abrakophile · 3 years

Text

I was looking through a bunch of junk and found some letters from my dad when he was in the army. I’m afraid I'll accidently toss them, so maybe I’ll put them here?

OPs Name JUNE 02 03

I LOVE YOU

THIS IS MY NAME IN KURDISH

*my dad wrote his first and last name, and under it, in Kurdish*

ILL TRY AND FIND OUT HOW TO WRITE YOUR NAME AND MOMS TOO.

ITS STILL HOT. I WORK AND READ BOOKS TO PASS THE TIME AWAY.

HOW ARE YOU DOING? GOOD I HOPE. WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? DO YOU EVER HANG OUT WITH YOUR FRIENDS? TELL THEM I SAID “WASSUP?” NAH, DONT TELL THEM. TELL ME WHAT YOUR THINKING. I’M TRYING TO SEND YOU SOME MORE OF MY DRAWINGS. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DRAW YOU? DID YOU LIKE THE DRAWING I SENT YOU OF YOU NAME? ITS ALRIGHT IF YOU DIDNY. JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU DO WANT ME TO DRAW YOU.

(Flip Page)

THIS IS WEIRD! (The page does not have lines on the left side of it) i WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PIECE OF PAPER. HaHa

I MISS YOU ALOT. PLEASE SOND ME SOME MORE OF YOUR DRAWINGS, YOU CAN DRAW ME ANYTHING YOU WANT TO.

ARE YOU BEING GOOD FOR YOUR MOM? ITS NICE IF YOU HELP HER OUT WHILE I’M AWAY.

HAVE YOU BEEN ANYPLACE NEW? HOW IS SCHOOL GOING FOR YOU? IS MOMMY GOING TO SCHOOL? I KNOW I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL WHEN I GET BACK. HOPEFULLY I GET THE CHANCE TO LEARN EVERYTHING THAT THERE IS TO KNOW. THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

ALSO, ID LIKE TO DO SOME FISHING? HOW ABOUT YOU? I GUESS ILL END HERE. BE GOOD AND STAY IN SCHOOL. AND JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS.

THEYRE BAD.

I LIVE YOU OP

*hearts and x’s* DADDY

---

(I don’t know if all these pages are in order or if it’s missing any, but this was the letter in the same stack as the last but this one was for my mom. In some places his indents indicate passage of time.)

I HAVENT HAD ANY TIME TO WRITE SINCE WEVE BEEN ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION THAT WE CAN’T SEND MAIL WHEN WE’RE MOVING ALL THE TIME.

WEVE BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR ABOUT FIVE OR SIX DAYS, I HAVENT REALLY BEEN COUNTING. I KNOW I TOLD YOU THAT WE’D BE IN KUWAIT FOR A WHILE, BUT THAT WAS SO YOU WOULDNT BE WORRIED. I’M GOING TO KEEP THIS LETTER THOUGH, TILL I GET HOME.

ABOUT TWO NIGHTS AGO, WE DROVE THROUGH BAGDHAD, SOMEBODY SAID THAT THERE WERE PILED BODIES, I DONT KNOW IF IT WAS TRUE.

AND I GUESS YESTERDAY, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE SAID THEY SAW A MISSILE OR SOEMTHING SHOT AT US. I WAS TRYING TO FIX A TRUCK SO I DIDNT SEE IT.

ITS NOT AS DUSTY HERE IN IRAQ. IT REMINDS ME OF THE CONVOYS IN KOREA.

MOST OF THE PEOPLE WILL WAVE “HI”. SOME OTHERS DONT.

I SAW A KID OPEN HIS HAND ONCE WHILE MOVING, AND IT SAID “BUSH” THAT WAS KIND OF COOL.

OH YEAH. HERES A STORY. WHILE OUT DOING A MISSION, ONE OF OUR “BRADLEY” TANKS FIRED ON AN ENEMY AMMO TRUCK AND CLIPPED A KID. THE ROUNDS BLEW ONE OF HIS LEGS OFF AND SOME OF THE OTHER, FROM THE KNEE DOWN. SO THE MEDICS PICKED HIM UP AND BROUGHT HIM TO OUR RECONCOLIDATING POINT FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT. I GUESS HE EVENTUALLY DIED FROM LOSS OF BLOOD THE NEXT NIGHT AND YESTERDAY THEY TOOK HIM OUT AND BURIED HIM.

ALSO WE PICKED UP ABOUT 25-30 P.O.W.s AND SENT THEM SOUTH.

IT GETS PRETTY COLD AT NIGHT. AND THE DAY’S ARE VERY HOT.

SINCE WE LEFT KUWAIT ITS BEEN ME AND MENDOZA IN THE FIVE TON WRECKER AND I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT ITS BEEN EXCITING. WE KEPT GETTING SEPERATED FROM THE CONVOY AND BREAKING DOWN. BUT I THINK THAT WERE BETTER NOW. HOPEFULLY.

IM STILL WAITING TO BE AMBUSHED TO MAKE ALL THIS SEEM REAL TO ME. A PART OF ME WANTS IT AND ANOTHER DOESNT.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY OUR UNIT HAS TO STAY IN UNIFORM, EVERYONE ELSE WEARS T-SHIRTS AND BANDENA’S AND RAGS ON THEIR HEAD

WERE STILL GOING NORTH. NOBODY KNOWS HOW LONG WE’LL STAY. ITS NOT THAT BAD HERE. MEANING, IT COULD BE WORSE.

I USED A “SHIT-CHAIR”. ITS JUST A METAL CHAIR WITH A HOLE CUT IN THE MIDDLE AND THE SEAT FROM A TOILET BOLTED TO IT, GROSS.

HELICOPTERS CAN BE HEARD ALL DAY AND NIGHT. I GOT TO SEE THEM DROP BOMBS ALL DAY ABOUT 3 DAYS AGO, FROM A DISTANCE OF COURSE.

ILL BE DRIVING AGAIN, IN A MINUTE. PROBABLY RE-FUEL AND BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN. IM ENJOYING IT.

I HAVE 8 MAGAZINES FULL OF ROUNDS. NO GRENADES, BUT I LIKE IT LIKE THAT.

SOMETIMES IT SMELLS LIKE SHIT.

I GUESS ILL END IT HERE FOR NOW

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU TWO TWICE IF NOT THRICE AS MUCH AS YOU MIGHT MISS ME TOO.

HELLO AGAIN. WERE SOMEWHERE NEAR TIKRI + MOSUL. YESTERDAY, ME + MENDOZA WENT LOOKING FOR MOMENTO’S. WE BROKE A LOCK TO A NEAR BY BUNKER AND FOUND 6 A.K.47s! BUT ON OUR WAY BACK TO TURN THEM IN, MAJOR TATU GOT THEM FROM US. I WAS SO PISSED. BUT I GOT A GAS MASK w/ FILTER, A FULL MAGAZINE CLIP FROM ONE OF THE A.K.s AND A BERET WITH IRAQ 1 RANK ON IT.

I MADE A STENCIL FOR THE TRUCK WERE RIDING IN. ITS CALLED THE “GAMBLER.” YESTERDAY MENDOZA DROVE, SO TODAY ILL BE DRIVING.

IM NOT POSITIVE, BUT, I THINK WERE GOING TO TURKEY. NIETO SAYS THAT HE OVERHEARD SOMEBODY FROM S1 (or SI, I’m not sure) SAYING WE MIGHT GET PAID EXTRA FOR GOING THROUGH BAGHDAD.

I THINK NIETO’S MAD AT ME. CANT EXPLAIN WHY. MAYBE ITS BECAUSE IM RIDING WITH MENDOZA AND HE DOESNT LIKE MENDOZA TOO MUCH. OH WELL, WHATEVER REASON, HOPE THINGS GET NORMAL AGAIN. HAVE TO GO,

*hearts and xs*

TODAY IS THE 25th OF APRIL, I RECEIVED FIVE OR SIX (OR SEVEN) LETTERS YESTERDAY. THE LATEST WAS DATED 07 OF APRIL. THAT TELLS ME THAT ITS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE TO COMMUNICATE.

WE HAVENT RECEIVED MAIL BECAUSE WEVE BEEN MOVING NEVER STAYING IN ONE PLACE MORE THAN A DAY, OR TWO, UNTIL NOW. WE’VE BEEN IN THIS SPOT GOING ON FOUR DAYS TOMORROW?!

GIVE ME A MINUTE...

FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IVE BEEN HELPING MENDOZA PULL THE ENGINE OUT OF A 5 TON TRUCK AND SWITCH IT w/ ANOTHER ONE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY BUT THE FLY WHEEL SEIZED UP INSIDE THE BELL HOUSING. ITS FINISHED NOW AND THE RUMOR IS WE’RE LEAVING (OR MOVING) AGAIN TOMORROW.

ITS 10:33 THURSDAY MORNING. YOUR TIME IS 12:32 JUST TURNING THURSDAY.

I ALMOST CRYED WHEN I SAW ELIS PICTURE. I REALLY MISS BOTH OF YOU. LET ME BACK TO BEFORE I GOT DISTRACTED. I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO SEND MAIL BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN MOVING. BUT I GUESS THAT WHATEVER THREAT THERE WAS (IF ANY), ISNT SO THREATFUL ANYMORE, WE CAN START RECEIVING AND SENDING MAIL. NO PHONE TO CALL FROM, AND NO INTERNET TO E-MAIL FROM.

THE WHOLE UNIT IS SCATTERED, SO EVEN IF I GET WHAT YOU NEED IT’LL TAKE FOREVER TO GET IT TO YOU. LET ME PULL THOSE LETTERS BACK OUT. OH WAIT. I DID LAUNDRY AND SOME UNDERWEAR THATS DRY, FELT HARD, OH WELL, WAIT A SECOND, K

I HAD TO FOLD SOME T-SHIRTS. ALL MY SOCKS ARE STILL DAMP.

YOU CAN USE MY CONTRACT TO SHOW THAT I ENLISTED IN TEXAS AND HOWS THIS

*On a separate sheet my dad wrote a detailed note for my mom to give to someone to confirm that he did want to buy a house. He writes “I AM ALIVE AND WELL.” and “PLEASE ACCEPT THIS PAPER”, then he signed it with his scribble signature, and underneath it wrote his name in print and added “1st SQUADRON 10th CAVALRY HEADQUARTERS TROOP (I have no clue what this means)*

HOW’S THAT? HOPE I SPELLED EVERYTHING CORRECTLY. IM ALMOST READY WITH A DESIGN TO COVER THE OTHER TATTOOS ON MY LEFT FOREARM.

I JUST FINISHED LOOKING OVER ALL THOSE LETTERS YOU SENT FOR ME

IM BACK! I GOT SLEEPY SO I TRYED TO LAY DOWN FOR A LITTLE BIT. NO SLEEP. I DONT THINK. I DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH WATER TO WASH MY DCV’S AND A PAIR OF BDV’S. BESIDES FOR DRINKING WATER, BUT WE HAVE TO CONSERVE IT.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE RUMORS. TOMORROW WE’LL BE LEAVING FOR THE IRAN/IRAQ BORDER TO DO “PEACE KEEPING” FOR 3 TO 6 mths. OTHERS SAY THAT THE 4ID (i think is what this says) GENERAL WANTS TO KEEP US HERE TILL NOV., THATS WHEN 1 CAV WILL COME TO REPLACE US. WHILE OTHERS SAY WE MIGHT LEAVE BY JUNE. NOTHINGS FOR SURE.

SMALLER RUMORS FLOATING AROUND THE SITE ARE; RAMSEY AND SFC BACON ARE SLEEPING TOGETHER. SGT SIREK HAS PLANS TO TAKE NIETO AS HIS APPRENTICE AND PADIWAN LEARNER OF THE DARK SIDE. LITTLE BLACK ARNOLD IS MILITARY INTELLIGENCE FOR SPECIAL FORCES OPERATING UNDER COVER A SURVEILLENCE AS PART OF

*the rest of the page is blank*

IM BACK. TODAY IS THE 27th. I GOT BACK TO THE LITTLE CAMP AREA ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO. I LEFT YESTERDAY MORNING TO, WELL, AS PART OF DE-CON (DE-CONTAMINATION) MISSION. HERES THE INFORMATION THAT I GATHERED.

A SITE HAD BEEN FOUND THAT WAS THOUGHT TO HAVE CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND 1-10 WAS APPOINTED TO GO TO THE SITE AND DE-CON THE CIVILIANS THAT WERE GOING TO OPEN THEM. AS IT TURNS OUT THE CIVILIANS HAVE BEEN DE-LAYED AND WOULD BE SET BACK 1 DAY.

THE NBC TEAM THAT I WAS WITH WERENT PREPARED TO STAY OVER NIGHT AND AS FORCASTED BY SSG MINOR WE MIGHT HAVE HAD TO STAY 3 TO 4 DAYS. EVERYBODY WAS PISSED.

LATELY ITS BEEN GETTING REALLY COLD AT NIGHT AND WE JUST HAPPENED TO BE NEAR A RUNNING RIVER. SO THE, ITS ABOUT 9 O’CLOCK AND IM BEAT, NO SLEEPING BAG OR ANYTHING TO COVER UP WITH AND I DECIDE TO TRY AND SLEEP. I GET AS COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE AND I GET ATTACKED BY MOSQUITOS. NOW IM PISSED SO I DECIDED TO JUST TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT. ABOUT 10PM ONE OF THE HEMTT (this might just say “hemi”, I don’t know) FUELERS SHOWS UP AND SGT TORRES SAYS HE HAS EVERYBODYS SLEEPING BAG! THE SITES ABOUT 45 MINS AWAY AND THEY LEFT SOMETIME MID AFTERNOON TO GET OUR SHIT, I HATE THESE PEOPLE.

RIGHT NOW ITS 9:01 PM AND ITS 11:02 AM YOUR TIME. I MISS YOU.

RIGHT NOW IM GOING TO ADDRESS AN ENVELOPE AND HAVE IT READY TO SEND TOMMOROW THE 28th. IM SORRY IF IT SEEMS THAT IM NOT WRITING VERY OFTEN. FOR A WHILE WE COULDN’T. AND NOW THAT IT SEEMS WE MIGHT BE HERE A LITTLE WHILE, THEYVE KEPT ME REALLY BUSY. LET ME ADDRESS THE ENVELOPES (he drew a star here)

ALL DONE. I THOUGHT ABOUT THE HOUSE A LOT TODAY AND YESTERDAY. IM SURE BY THE TIME THIS LETTER REACHES YOU, YOU’LL HAVE EITHER GOTTEN IT OR GAVE IT UP. IM O.K. WITH EITHER DECISION YOUVE MADE.

YOUVE KEPT THIS FAMILY TOGETHER, AND THAT MAKES ME PROUD. YOUR SMART, ATTRACTIVE AND FUNNY. AND YOU DONT TAKE ANY SHIT FROM ANYBODY. I LOVE YOU.

I HOPE THAT OUR DAUGHTER TURNS OUT TO BE LIKE YOU.

I GUESS ILL MAIL THIS TOMORROW, FIRST THING, SO

EVER YOURS

EVER MINE

*my dad signed it with his scribble, and wrote his name under it. under that are hearts and x’s with my mom’s name and then my name under hers.*

#very personal but where the fuck am i gonna put them? you know where i kinda cant lose them?#letters from the guy that was my dad #pt 1 #long post

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blankdblank · 4 years

Text

Hobbit Soulmate Pt 33

“Ooh, this is nice.” You said inspecting the couch in the furniture store you had stopped at making Richard smirk knowing it’d fit with the armchair he had picked from the second hand shop to go with the old cabinet you had found he was curious as to why the doors and drawers wouldn’t open. That would be a project to distract him on nights you were gone back to train in New York, breaking that cabinet you adored into submission. One by one the boxes were ticked off the list of furniture to be gotten along with dishes he smirked in the teal and grey theme you chose to go with the wine glasses he wanted with silverware and knives to match. Nice and cozy you broke the apartment in arranging everything nicely for him with a very loving evening to part with for the taxi ride to fly back in time for your table read.

“Do you know how to juggle?” You asked once inside the salon to the woman behind the counter who shrieked in response noticing just who had arrived for their appointment alerting Cher and Lucy.

“There you are Lady Pear!” Cher said smiling on her way over as you stepped from the counter.

Lucy said, “Now our girl I do believe we are in for some more fun. And just what was Madge shrieking about?”

“Oh, do you remember who can juggle I need some lessons.”

Cher, “You need to talk to Emma then. I’ll give her a call. She’s in Jersey though visiting family when do you need the lessons by?”

“Well I’d like to get started soon, but I have some months before I’m set to film for that role. Up to Canada next week again then I have some premiers here then I’m off to England, won’t be filming till late spring for the juggling role. I’d pay-,”

Lucy shook her head after your trade of hugs saying, “Not a matter of money. Though by your skill I’m sure a couple tries and you could master it on your own after that by practice alone.”

Cher asked, “What role is this one now? Another sideshow based film?”

“It’s the King Kong remake, they have some Vaudeville scenes I wear a suit and fake mustache and juggle. Do the whole kick your hat and catch it on your head trick, might have to catch balls in it I’m juggling too, depending on what choreography we go for.”

Lucy, “Well you do amazing 20’s era, really have that whole doe eyes look they loved to flaunt and fake back then.”

“Thank you,” you said settling into the seat to be draped in a cape with Cher easing your hair out over your back after snapping the cape shut to your fingers clenching on the sleeves pooled into your palms.

Cher eased off her rings to ease through your curls saying, “I hear your film is doing well, off on Saturday and I am going to see it then, girls are under orders not to spoil it for me after prepping all week for the show tomorrow night.”

“That the costume one? Oh that’s always fun.”

Lucy smirked saying, “We could always use a guest judge.”

“That sounds like such fun, if you need me I’ll be there, could use some distraction with friends. Starting table reads in a few days.”

Cher smirked asking, “You don’t ever stop do you?” Making you giggle as she eyed the solution ingredients two aids brought over to the station while she and Lucy got to separating your hair into four sections.

“Real life energizer bunny at times feels like.”

Lucy said, “Now, ends first, and roots last since those lighten quicker.” Strip by strip they coated your curls making certain to get each ringlet in doing so to not miss any spots, foil covers for the tops of your ears were made to keep the bleach off them. The top half of your hair was next with roots done next from the bottom up using the long narrowed ends of the brushes to help divide the strips in a sort of grid. Closing your eyes however the itching was tolerated as it spread over your brows now coated in a thin layer of the bleach to match those closer to your new hair color. Up however you were helped to be taken to the rinse station, at which they carefully covered your eyes with a cloth to rinse your brows.

Cher, “This color is so pretty already.” Working the water through your hair as Lucy smoothed two drops of shampoo through your eyebrows Cher then rinsed out once she finished rinsing the solution from your hair allowing them to shampoo that as well. “Oh sugar this color is going to floor everybody. Still nice and chocolaty.”

Drying came next post conditioner rinse and up on the first chair again you settled watching your reflection to their towel drying task mingled with combing out knots before the blow dryers came out for the straightening ordeal aiding in the trimming of your ends to get it to the right length again. From boob level to chin surely your hair would spring up later and once paid you heard from one of the ladies that Emma would be at the show the following night. All morning to noon the appointment had stretched and when you finally got home you snapped a pair of polaroids of yourself and sent it off in a letter to the director for North and South to let them know on the shade your hair was now, one straightened and the other curly haired again. Giving them ample time to choose if you should lighten it more before filming or if that was a good shade to maintain.

Lee just about screamed lifting you into a hug excited on being a step closer to the filming while showing off the tips to his sideburns he had been asked to grow under his shaggy hair. And right beside you he sat at the club watching with a smile as you did the line of Drag Queens competing in an all out costume war thrilled to have you as a guest judge for the evening. Emma that morning had dropped by your place and with a trio of hackey sacks got to showing you the basics, having been a circus juggler before years prior used to juggling knives and flaming pins and such for talent portions on shows she took part in. True to the assumption roughly you had gotten the basics of juggling and with some practice you could easily master it. Daily with the balls she left with you you’d practice and weekly she’d come by to add in some more difficulty to the task to aid in whatever style of juggling they would ask you to do, promising to go over any others you would be asked to do after deciding on your routine.

Staring at the cabinet he’d hoisted down to the approved spots in the parking lot to the apartments assigned to you and Richard through your stay beside his rental he opened his tool chest and got to work on the cabinet. Around the back clearly marks of former tries to paint over the charred wood that clearly didn’t take the paint then sanded awkwardly he got to removing whatever coating they gave it with mask and clear glasses in place while he got to sanding the legs. Rough and chipped in a few places until he could wipe off the coatings to the body he smoothed those down and smiled after having added some wood putty to the deeper chips and gashes he would re-stain later.

Across the body the charred wood was a clue as to how the warping had come about and with the paint gone he caught sight of some hidden hinges he used to help wriggle some give in the front door until one of the doors slid out on the other end just enough for him to work a screw driver into it. Biting his lip carefully he wriggled the metal in the edge until an exhale worthy grunt like sound the wood gave in the door opening splitting a smile across his face. With that the second was opened, though view of the interior was not taken in full at the greeting from a neighbor on their way out for the day, returning the wave and good morning Richard chuckled in sharing a passing jest at picking up a second hand rebuild job, “See you picked up a diamond in the rough.”

“Oh ya, emphasis on rough. But my partner loved it, here’s to hopes I can get the drawers open too.” Chuckles were his answer with a wish of luck on their drop into their open car and Richard turned back to the open cabinet eyeing the somehow intact emerald velvet lined cubby beside three internal shelves with some odd papers and old pens inside.

With furrowed brows he pulled the top stack out of brittle old papers with ink well worn off, the remainder hinting at receipts with crests and names of the company long past readable. Each of the two mother of pearl and gold pens void of ink were tested on a bare notepad found on the second shelf he set under a spare wrench on the ground safe from the repair job. The third shelf with a silver folding frame with a black and white picture of a woman in a swing opposite a man in a suit with cane and hat in hand with a terrier tucked at his hip. Unable to help it he smirked and closed that adding it to the pile starting to use a small brush to try dusting off the velvet he would vacuum later before inspecting the drawer just below the lip under the belly of the cabinet.

Carefully again prying the seams with the screwdriver subtle wiggles enabled one inch to be managed. Enough for him to work his fingers in and jostle the sides enough to break whatever crud was stuck in the grooves locking the drawer in place to where he could not just ease it out but wiggle it off the groove allowing access to the second drawer as well. Excited and smiling again he sat on his stool with drawer on his lap eyeing the thin books he set aside with the papers from before his eyes fell to a brown paper wrapped parcel, lifting that he smiled in peeking inside to find a music rod for a music box he hoped to be in the second drawer. Old leather gloves too small for his hands could clearly be framed for display alone at their crafting he admired the style of. Both added to the pile to let him turn the drawer on end to use another brush to wipe out the grooves and see if the ends of the wood was warped and needed sanding to slide in and out smoother.

All the while that second drawer taunting him. Finally he got to wriggling this obstinate one free finding a metal money clip partly to blame wedged in the edge between the body of the cabinet and the side of the drawer that once freed eased out freely to be settled on his lap. The clip clearly bent beyond use was set down and his eyes fell to the glass topped music box stirring a pleased chuckle from him. “There you are,” he muttered lifting it and seeing inside a rod already. Setting that aside his focus turned to the handwritten note on the slip of paper above a worn advert for a play, softly he read the cursive French he could make out to himself taking in the meaning right away, a lover’s plot. “Call at five, something, something show, dinner at, The Grey Eagle?” Wetting his lips feeling his brows furrow unable to know if that was the right name or not. Then his eyes fell to the next line, “Ask the question, do not forget the ring.” The underlined and bolded letters for the second half made him chuckle to himself realizing this was a planned proposal. “Wonder how you managed old chap without your gloves.”

Again he wet his lips inspecting the play advert he set aside to eye the only thing left in the drawer, an odd indigo colored rock he lifted. “Hmm,” turning it over in hand his fingers clenched shut around it at his wide eyed notice of the split in the rock making him right it again and bring it closer to his face. Looking closely his palm eased open with his free fingers to settle around the top to lift it finding a hinge revealing the inner violet layer inside what his brain now classified as a geode box. Though those stones didn’t keep his focus long as the pair of rings drew his focus right off.

White gold bands, the female with a large emerald in the center rectangular with corners shaved off to allow the strips of diamonds around it accented by three sideways rectangular smaller emeralds shrinking in size down the band on either side. Heavy to lift on its own even without the geode he wondered how someone had forgotten about the pair in getting rid of this cabinet. However curiosity got the better of him and the male ring was inspected next. Another rectangular emerald, lined in white gold as were the other stones, each of which down the broader band like pyramids of two onyx stones surrounding diamonds, all in rectangular blocks for four layers on either side separated by similar thin white gold strips accenting each stone and their own beauty. Like the other he turned it over in hand feeling the heft of the clearly expensive beauty and chuckled seeing the word ‘spoon’ etched inside the band making him lift the other to find it there as well.

Placing both back into the rock he instinctually slid into his pocket he smiled getting back to work on the piece. Hinges were checked with doors sanded and ensured to open easily now with drawers tested to slide effortlessly as well before he got to giving the back of the cabinet another good sanding before staining the wood a deep mahogany how you had wanted around the decorative border to be left in its natural ashy tone. Once aired out and dry fully and he had carried the contents back upstairs he readied to take the cabinet back up on the dolly. With supplies cleared along with the tarp he used to keep the spot clean of any debris or stains as per the rules given by the landlord in the office who was pleased to see he’d been one to follow them.

All the same once it was settled back into place he photographed it and added that to the picture of the before pile from each angle then got to digging through the receipts again. with furrowed brows he used a torch to help write out what he could read off each until he got a name of a family he recognized from the remainder of a stationary pad. Horses, related to horse breeders up here in Canada he found the name Hercle Gibraltyr. To the phone book he went finding a number related to the eldest most notable relative certain to know of such a set of heirlooms missing and after about an hour of agitating reroutes to his call he finally got the bristly man himself on the line.

“What’s this about a ring purchased by myself?”

In French Richard replied, “No, Sir, my name is Richard Armitage. My Partner and I bought this cabinet at a shop and inside was some belongings. I found an old stack of papers with the name Hercle Gibraltyr on it. I was wondering if you might know about it?”

“Belongings? What sort of cabinet was it?”

“Just an old cabinet with some shelves and drawers in it, possibly from an office or sitting room.”

“Was it burned?”

“A bit charred on the back, yes.”

“Ah, must have been from his house then. After the fire his siblings pillaged the place and sold the rest. All you found was some receipts?”

“Receipts, some gold and pearl pens, a music box with a second song rod. Also some gloves and what looked to be plans of a proposal,” that had the man shifting in his seat making Richard’s chest clench a moment, “Along with this geode box with what look to be two expensive rings inside. Oh, and there’s a pair of photographs of a man and a woman in a silver folding frame, forgot that.”

“Emerald rings?”

“Yes sir, which was why I was calling. I’ve been researching rings for a time for my own partner and by their size they must be expensive and surely someone has missed them.”

A deep breath was taken and the man asked, “Would you be able to meet me somewhere today?”

“Yes, I’m free today.”

“You can keep the cabinet if you don’t mind bringing the things that were inside it.”

“Of course,” he said using his pencil from earlier to write the address to meet the stranger. Anxious beyond a doubt in a cloth messenger bag you had left there he settled it all carefully and shouldered it to get driving. It was a bit of a drive so he figured he could be early. And once at the upper scale bar he wet his lips and stepped out of his car he locked to approach the door where a bouncer seemed ready to kick him back off the curb until he gave his name that confirmed he was allowed to this exclusive establishment. Once inside a second man took his name and guided him to a glass encased side lounge decorated with black leather couches and tables to match with just the grey walls to offset the dim atmosphere even while the sun blazed its best outside between bouts of snow from days prior.

“Can I get you a drink?” A woman asked turning Richard around luring her grin out recognizing him in the drop of his coat onto the couch behind him.

“Soda, please?”

She nodded and without a word blushing her way back to the bar she went while he settled down onto one of the couches sighing in the internal screaming match with himself at how he was letting these perfect rings go knowing he could have easily kept them to propose the minute you got back to his arms again. Though earlier than he had expected the man who bid him here came strolling through the door. Silver hair brushed back with a suit putting Richard’s flannel and jean wearing self, with a pair of forced grins the men stood in the room closed off behind them by a second woman who had taken Jean’s order. In a shake of hands Jean said, “Thank you for meeting me so short notice.”

Richard shook his head, “No problem. Schedule is packed the rest of the week, this was our chance and I’d hate to have had to wait myself.” They sat and Richard opened the bag showing him the before pictures of the cabinet then got to bringing out the papers and pens along with the gloves. The former two Jean got to inspecting carefully. The music box and second rod was next, all unimpressive to Jean until the picture frame was out and Jean smiled in accepting the silver frame, “Ooh, poor great great uncle Hercule.” The playbill and to do list was next he chuckled at then looked to the geode box Richard offered in his palm.

“They are really beautiful, they’d be glad to have them back.”

Jean smirked saying, “Unfortunately he and his beloved Celeste passed ten years back. He had terrible luck all his life, absolutely adored Celeste, and she managed to help hold off the chaos of his life. He was successful with her at his side, used to tell me how a fire in his home office spoiled the perfect proposal he had planned while he was away in England. His family couldn’t find the right cabinet, as he built so many to try and perfect his household for Celeste’s taste and thought the rings he designed were lost to the flames. Though luckily for him,” he said lifting one of the two rings making him smirk at the engravings matching on both rings, “She preferred rubies and despised emeralds,” making Richard chuckle.

The doors opened and the blushing woman came back leaving their drinks on the table and backed out closing the doors again still smiling at Richard who said, “A bit lucky on that part then. Why spoon though?”

Jean chuckled saying, “When they met she was working in her family’s silver shop, polishing spoons. He always stopped in claiming he’d lost his stirring spoon for his tea, only wanted to speak to her. Had hundreds to pass down to their kids by the time they inherited his lot. How long have you and your Partner been together?”

“Few years now, bit rough at first, from different countries, we’re Mates actually, started talking online then managed to meet in person when she came to England for winter break. Took about a year to get settled into the long distance issue, but we’ve gotten used to working our schedules for time together between work.”

“I know the struggle, first two wives couldn’t handle my work, hated coming in second to my horses. I do hope that won’t be an issue for you both. Luckily my Mate and I are best friends and work so at least he helps to ground me between wives and moods.”

“Oh no, it won’t be. I’m making sure of it. Couple years back, there was this car that came barreling at her in the park, her friend saved her life,” parting Jean’s lips, “But our mark bruised and it terrified me to no end. Thought I lost her, and we were on bad terms at the time I’d been in such a foolish mood about the distance and just nothing. But I flew out and since I’ve changed my ways making certain to not let my doubts in the lowest moments of my moping when apart to cause a fight or anything to damage our relationship. Her dad approves, had been hinting he wants us to get married in the near future, given his approval, loves us together. So I’ve been looking at possible designs, though with the jumble of ideas from her cousins I’m likely to propose with a pebble and then drive her to a jewelers so she can pick for the both of us.”

Jean chuckled again and while they sipped on their drinks he got to sharing the dilemmas his exes had given him on the rings they ended up trading for others anyways. Leading to his third wife where he just sent the jeweler to the house while he was away on a work trip to design both of their rings to simplify matters. Which didn’t in the end as she resented him for not traditionally proposing to her. More stories were shared of the couple that brought the duo together until a call had Jean sighing and saying, “Work calls. It was a pleasure to meet you Richard, honestly I must say I am more interested in the papers, pictures, pens and gloves. You wouldn’t be interested in the music box would you?”

“Absolutely. Thank you, my Partner would love it.”

Jean chuckled and nodded gathering up the rest he added to his own briefcase still holding the rings while he brought out a pad and pen and began to write something down using of his own pens. One tear later and he passed the page to Richard encouraging his eyes to drop to it until Jean spoke offering the geode box parting Richard’s lips, “I want you to have these. You will make better use of them than I could. Perhaps unlike Hercule it might bring you and your partner some luck. With a receipt of your own. All their living triple great grandchildren wouldn’t appreciate them half as much as you would. Far beyond the roots their ancestors would have preferred and found themselves cut off, more likely to pawn them in any case. Have a good day.” Hands were shaken again. Richard’s hand molded around the geode box Jean got up and headed for the door easing those gloves from the cabinet onto his hands for a perfect fit, leaving the stunned actor in place, ears ringing in shock at the stunning gift.

Carefully he bagged up the receipt, music box and song rod pocketing the geode box again on his own way out leaving a bill to go with Jean’s on the table easing his coat back on readying for the chill outside. Once in the car he smirked turning the engine over feeling a chuckle freeing itself from his chest at the odd sense of relief washing over him. In moving the geode box from his pocket to the cup holder for a more comfortable drive curiously he lifted the male ring and found himself easing it onto his left ring finger for what would be a fated perfect fit.

Back towards the apartment he went stopping at a jewelers he had strolled past a few times days prior to renting the place here trying to build up courage to enter for some ideas. The place was quite upscale, surely out of his price range leading to his evident refusal to enter until he had a larger pool of funds tucked away to draw from. All the same he parked bringing the bag with him inside where that out of place feeling crept back up again.

Forcing a grin he caught the eye of two of the blondes in the shop along with the buzz cut bearing man in a suit who came over to handle the tall man and bring him a bit away from the redheaded upper class housewife here to have her ring resized. While designing a new necklace to go with her lavish collection at home to go with the new Bently outside. “How might I help you sir?” The man asked with a feigned grin of his own adjusting the top button on his suit jacket that was sitting a bit crooked on him from a sideways lean a few moments ago.

“Well two things really,” Richard said easing the geode box from his pocket, “I just found these heirloom rings,” easing the ring off his finger again to bring it with its partner into his vision lifting his brows at the pieces, “I was hoping to have them possibly cleaned up a bit and appraised.”

“You are wanting to sell them?”

“Oh no, I was planning on proposing to my Partner but I know her family will be wanting details on it for stone sizes and such.”

“Ah,” he said with a creeping grin now readying himself to aid in what could be a future client apparently on a rough day out in the country explaining the casual clothes and lack of suit. “All of that will be quite simple, and should not take long if you wished to wait here for the cleaning to be through.” He turned his head and another man from the back, his senior in the cleaning aspect of the job came to collect the rings and pause in simply testing the weight.

“Lovely rings, don’t find quality work like this anymore, where did you buy them?”

“Found them in an old cabinet I’m refurbishing actually. Great Great Uncle Hercule thought he lost them in a fire at his house but the drawers were just wedged shut.” The story just slipped out and in their eyes the glint of old money flashed evidently calming the duo even more that this customer had been doing repairs earlier and came right over to see to these heirlooms.

The salesman said, “The good sir here was wishing for a full disclosure of quality and clarity as well of the rings for when he proposes to his fiancé to be.”

“Of course, sir,” the cleaner said stepping away, “Your rings are in the best of hands, sir.”

In his absence the salesman asked, “Have you considered wedding bands yet?”

“For myself, no, I do know her cousins said maybe hearts,” to another counter he was led and a series of choices from simple barely visible thin bands both with and without stones absolutely baffling him.

“As always when you bring in your fiancé to get the ring resized, if needed, we could get her input as well. Most of our clients do take that route since she would be wearing them, then she could choose if she wants a full band all its own or something to ghost up against the engagement ring. And color talks could go on for days if she is quite picky like most women are in this important piece.”

The cleaner came back and Richard flashed him a hint of a grin as he said, “Quite stunning pieces originally you have here, even more so once they are cleaned and polished up a bit. Starting with the male ring. Seven carats for the center with the others at half a carat each on a 24 karat white gold band. The center stone was appeared to be scuffed but after cleaning it is like new again. Same as the female ring. The center stone on hers is just shy of eight carats actually surrounded by one carat diamonds and emeralds on the 24 karat white gold band. Any woman will feel quite the Princess wearing this ring. Both by my estimation could fetch up to 750k a piece, and that is being stingy since being polished could fetch even more with this clarity.”

“I don’t think I could tell her that. She might be a bit scared to wear it then.” Making the men chuckle as Richard did to himself, “And with that she might try to go skimpy on a wedding band in that case. Thank you for cleaning them they do look fantastic now.”

With a passing of bills over he paid and accepted a card to book an appointment for when you might want to shop for wedding bands or to drop off the ring should it need resizing. And just buzzing Richard with ring in hand finally parked back at the apartment spotting Lee in his return from another day out with a few friends. Trading nods he joined their group to the lift and into the hall where they split to head to the separate apartments. Freeing the Brit to have a moment in silence to walk from his now locked door to the living room where he gave an excited wiggle in settling the bag down on the couch at having such a huge score landed for the next step forward with you. Back into the cabinet the box and spare rod were settled and to your room he went to find a place to hide the rings in their velvet protective pouches and the geode box where you wouldn’t find them.

“What do you think of emeralds?” was the first question out of his mouth in dialing a number he hadn’t expected to upon fixing himself up some supper to eat.

“Emeralds?” Your father answered and gave a soft sigh having gotten back inside himself from a long day on the ranch. “For,” the reason clicked in his head and he asked, “You picked a ring?!”

“We bought this cabinet that Jaqi loved and I managed to get the doors and drawers un-jammed and there were these rings inside. I found a relative of the old owner and he said I could keep them. Got them cleaned and they’re appraised at over 750k a piece.”

“I want you to describe them but take a picture and mail it to me. You could give her a block of cheese with a bow and she’d say yes, but think I would like to get a peek before the grandparents get to see it in the press.”

“I will, I still have to see if it fits her first.”

“Details Rich, details.”

Pt 34

Hobbit – Soulmate - @evyiione, @deepestfirefun, @rhaenaatargaryen, @anastasialovers

X all Rich. A - @abiwim, @deepestfirefun, @thestorybookmistress

X Lee P - @tigereyesf

All –

@himoverflowers, @theincaprincess, @aspiringtranslator, @thegreyberet, @patanghill17, @jesgisborne, @curvestrology, @alishlieb, @jogregor, @armitageadoration, @fizzyxcustard, @lilith15000, @marvels-ghost, @catthefearless, @imjusthereforthereads, @c-s-stars, @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore, @mariannetora, @shes-a-killer-kween, @ggbbhehe4455

#Richard Armitage x Reader OC #Canada #New York #Salon #Juggling #New Apartment #Busy Work #Cabinet Discovery

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malecsecretsanta · 4 years

Text

Merry Christmas, magnus-the-maqnificent!

For @magnus-the-maqnificent. Greetings!I hope your holiday season has been good.You honestly challenged me a bit with your request because you made me think of soulmates in a different light.Thank you for the new perspective and challenge.Enjoy.

Read On AO3

*****

Strawberry Expectations

Chapter 1

“Please wait to the side, and your name will be called out shortly,” Alec directed as he handed the professor her receipt back. “It should only take five minutes.”

“No worries, I’m just glad I made it before the evening rush.” she politely excused herself and went to the side to play on her phone while she waited.

Alec turned and pressed the button so the order would pass over to Bat, who was working at the coffee machines today. He turned back and started to wipe down the counter. The customer had been right. In a few minutes, the 5 pm classes would release, and college students would flood the small college coffee shop. Alec knew he only had a short amount of time before that happened.

“Excuse me, this isn’t peppermint, right?”

A melodic voice pulled Alec from his thoughts, only for them to steal his breath. He knew those words. Not the voice attached them, but he knew those words, and had memorized them since the first time they had appeared on his shoulder blade. He recalled standing with his back to the bathroom mirror as his fingers swept over the intricate text.

When Alec got the job at the small cafe, he knew that there would be a few times where he would hear that line and not be his soulmate. Alec was well aware of how common his soul mark’s words were when working during the holiday season. Still, this was the first time someone had spoken the words.

Alec looked up, finally to see who had said his words, and immediately felt his stomach start to flutter. The man in front of him looked to be around his age, and by the backpack slung over his back, he was a college student just like him. Alec tried not to make it evident while checking out the other student, but the way the other’s chocolate eyes followed his own assured Alec that the student had caught him. Alec quickly looked instead to where he was pointing and was glad to see that it was some of their sugar cookies with strawberries in them; the specks of red in the soft colored cookie often gave the impression of a candy cane flavor.

“N-No strawberry, is that okay?” Alec cursed at himself when he stuttered his reply. Alec tried to reason with himself that there was still a high chance that the student wasn’t even his soulmate. But when Alec looked up to see them again, the other man’s wide eyes stared back at him.

“Are you allergic to strawberries?” the man asked in a hurry.

“No, they are my favorite fruit,” Alec found himself answering for some reason. He didn’t understand what was compelling him to this man. Alec didn’t know if it was the soul mark or himself trying to fool him into thinking he was lucky enough to find his soulmate on the first try. Alec shook himself back into reality and tried to mask his nerves. “Would you like one of the cookies with a drink?”

“I’m Magnus,” the man, Magnus, replied instead, extending his hand out for Alec to shake. “You’re Alec, right?”

Alec wondered for a second how Magnus knew his name and remembered he was at work and had a badge with his name on it. He took the offered hand and instantly understood why Magnus had acted so oddly and asked about strawberries. Alec felt a slight burn on his shoulder blade where his soul mark was and understood.

“Look,” Magnus called out to Alec as he rolled up his sleeve and allowed him to stare at the shining text.

‘N-No strawberry, is that okay?’

Alec saw his response to Magnus, neatly displayed on the other’s arm. It still held a soft golden glow to it, from just having established the bond.

“Dammit, Alec, only you could get yourself out of rush hour with a bond!” Bat cried out, annoyed behind him. “Go on, then. I’ll call Clary in to cover for you.”

Alec was still trying to process what was happening and why Bat was yelling at him about the Bond Protection Act. His mind was buzzing from the events. Then he felt a small squeeze on his hand, and he started to focus back on Magnus.

Magnus had his soul mark.

Magnus’ words were on his shoulder.

Magnus looked so beautiful with his slightly tinted blue hair styled perfectly, so that only a few strands fell over his eyes.

Then the panic started to return. Alec had no clue what came next. Everyone talked about the moment they met their soulmate, but no one ever explained the steps between finding them and loving them.

They surely couldn’t expect you to love a total stranger you just met. Right?

Alec’s eyes kept shifting between Magnus and the mark still displayed on his soulmate’s arm. The golden glow had subsided entirely now, and all that was left behind was the neat black text clinging to Magnus’ arm. The words brought an indescribable warmth over Alec, but with it came the whispers of uncertainty on what was to come. What ifs flooded Alec’s mind, robbing him of the small joy from the bonding.

Alec shifted his eyes away from the other and stood frozen behind the counter. His mind riffled through every romcom Izzy forced him to consume, and came back empty. None of the movies had ever talked about what was supposed to happen now.

Chapter 2

“Darling, are you okay?” Magnus asked as he looked at Alec, concerned. He hoped that the cafe employee was okay. He had come here looking for a pick me up after one of his professor’s monotone lectures and instead found his soulmate. “Alec?”

“Give him a moment,” the other attendant told him. “He’s free to go when you get him to move. Tell him not to worry about it; I will sign the witness papers if it comes to it.”

Since the initiation of a soul bond could sometimes disorient the pair, the government had agreed with doctors and set a protection law that allowed freshly initiated soul bonds a leave for two days to balance themselves without repercussions. A witness was only necessary if someone thought a pair was faking a bond initiation to get free time off. It was rare, but some people were that deplorable.

“You said my words,” Alec finally responded to him. “That was the first time anyone said them all in the correct order .”

Magnus understood the meaning of that. He, too, had heard many variances of the words on his arm. Magnus had allowed himself to cling to them only for him to end up crushed when the person would utter ‘I don’t like them’ instead of ‘is that okay?’, or the one time Magnus had tightly held on only for the last word to be wrong. Magnus knew that a soulmate wasn’t something he needed in his life. On his own, Magnus was strong enough to survive if he ever happened to be one of the 33% of the population that never found their soulmate. Still, Magnus couldn’t help how his heart skipped a beat at Alec’s wide eyes and adorable expression when Alec looked at Magnus’ soul mark.

The silent moment between them seemed to span, and as it did, Magnus watched as Alec’s expression turned to panic. He watched as the chime from the opening door startled Alec into the present. Magnus could hear the chattering of groups of customers starting to flood the cafe. He saw the way Alec began to rub the back of his neck and realized that this wasn’t the place they should have their conversation. Magnus lived on campus, but he didn’t want Alec to feel trapped in a room with him.

Magnus started to hear the students and professors behind him lining up. His mind was racing, trying to come up with a neutral private area. It wasn’t till he heard someone behind him complain about forgetting their student ID, because of that they couldn’t access the library, that Magnus found the right location.

“I think we should go somewhere else,” he offered, motioning to the people slowly starting to flood the small college cafe. “We can rent a room from the library to talk privately.”

“Yeah. Let’s go,” Alec mumbled to him in response.

Magnus watched as Alec grabbed some things from behind the counter and shoved his hat and name tag in a backpack. He followed Alec’s lead, and after an apologetic wave at Bat, they both headed out to the filled sidewalks.

The silence continued between them as they both made their journey through the campus. Magnus stole glances at the other, observing how Alec was fidgeting with his backpack as they reached the library. He started to question if Alec was instead one of the rare few who never intended to meet their soulmate, and wondered if he had forced Alec to follow him out of pity. Magnus thought of how maybe his soulmate was only following him so that Alec could reject him in private.

He opened the grand library entrance for Alec, while offering him a small smile.

“Thank you,” Alec softly responded as he entered the building.

Magnus followed after him and felt his heart start to summersault again from Alec’s shy smile. Even if Alec didn’t want to explore the bond romantically, Magnus silently hoped Alec would at least entertain the idea of a friendship. Magnus wouldn’t mind the idea of being friends; if he was honest, he preferred to know Alec before starting a relationship, but he would honor and accept whatever Alec offered him. He had witnessed what happened when a soulmate bond was forced and twisted into love. Magnus refused to put Alec through that.

“Study room for two, please,” Magnus said as he handed the library assistant his student ID. “They need yours as well.”

He watched as Alec jumped once again and shuffled quickly to retrieve his card from his back pocket.

“Sorry. Here you go,” Alec apologized, as he handed his card over to the clerk.

“No worries, at least you both have your IDs.” She took their cards and started to input their data. “I’ve had people come in here thinking we would rent them books or rooms with only their ID number and not the ID itself. Alright, you two have one hour in room 25; it’s the last one on the left down the hall. If you need it for longer, only one of you has to come back to renew it for another hour. Both of you can keep doing so, unless we have a queue.”

“Thank you,” they both chorused, causing them to stare at each other for a second.

“Shall we?” Magnus took the red card the clerk gave them to put outside the door. He watched as Alec nodded and made his way to the room. Magnus could feel his stress rising. He had always been confident when he did things, but this was uncharted territory, and he was afraid of sinking.

Chapter 3

They both entered the room, shutting the door behind them after placing the red card on the small outside sleeve.

Alec looked around the room and took in the window wall framing the door they entered. He assumed it was glass, so no students got any creative ideas while using the spaces. Alec watched his soulmate close the door and enter the room.

Magnus was trying his best to calm himself. The walk from the cafe to the library hadn’t been as soothing as he thought it would be. Magnus placed his backpack on the wooden table and pulled one of the four chairs out for himself. He drew the bag close to himself and looked up at Alec.

“I don’t know how this normally goes, if I’m honest,” Magnus confessed, as he watched Alec take his seat across from him. “Better introductions might help us get started. I’m Magnus Bane. I’m a sophomore and currently live on campus. I’m happy you aren’t allergic to strawberries.”

“I’m Alec Lightwood,” Alec responded, relieved that Magnus had taken the lead in the conversation. He wasn’t precisely uncomfortable with the situation; he just didn’t know what to do, “I’m a freshman but a sophomore in credits. I live off-campus with my twin sister and our brother. I still don’t understand why you keep saying the stuff about a strawberry allergy.”

“Well, darling,” Magnus replied, watching the way Alec slightly blushed at the endearment, “When I first got my soul mark, my dearest friends thought it was funny to put in my head all of the scenarios in which I could meet you. Ragnor and Raphael used to be fond of teasing me about eating strawberries, telling me to enjoy them while I could, in case your line meant you were allergic to them.”

Alec found himself laughing at Magnus’ statement. Jace had attempted the same with him, but he had always thought it just meant his soulmate didn’t enjoy the taste of peppermint.

“Just to be clear, I do like strawberries,” Alec replied while trying to suppress his laughter. “I take it you don’t like peppermint, though, or are you allergic?”

“I like some peppermint stuff, but I’m not keen on it being in my baked goods,” Magnus explained. He found himself staring at Alec and the way his eyes would crease a bit when he laughed. Magnus had been afraid that his soulmate would proceed to reject him as soon as the door shut. Instead, Alec was indulging him and enjoying himself. The conversation seemed easy; sure, it was awkward, but it didn’t feel forced.

“Wait! Lightwood related to Isabelle Lightwood?” Magnus asked as he recalled one of the girls in his Design Study class. Now that Magnus had a better look at Alec, he could see the girl and Alec’s resemblance.

“That’s my younger twin sister,” Alec proudly confirmed. “Are you in the fashion design program as well?”

“Yes, I had to do the introduction course this semester since I didn’t know they only offered it during the Fall and not Spring last year,” Magnus explained. He started to feel more at ease as the conversation flew by. The thought of Alec rejecting him was still present in Magnus’ mind, but it was like a faraway echo now. “What are you studying?”

“I am going for a bachelors in education,” Alec answered. He stopped fidgeting with his backpack and risked another look at his soulmate. Alec still couldn’t believe this was who fate had decided was destined for him. He noticed how it wasn’t just his hair that Magnus styled to perfection. Alec noticed his soulmate’s nails as he drummed them on the table. Magnus had painted them with a deep blue that matched the intricate designs on Magnus’ white shirt. “So you want to be a fashion designer?”

“That’s the dream,” Magnus answered. “So you have two siblings and want to be a teacher?”

“Three, I am the oldest,” Alec smiled at the turn the questions were taking. Talking about his family or degree were things he was capable of doing. “I want to be a child counselor. I am double majoring in education and psychology.”

“Wow!” Magnus exclaimed, surprised by Alec’s ambition. He was already buried in course work and intimidated by his degree plan. Magnus couldn’t imagine adding another degree to it as well.

“It can be a bit much at times, but it will be worth it,” Alec smiled as he explained. “Honestly, I am surprised I was able to meet my soulmate. Izzy and Jace kept teasing me that with the amount of time I spend in the library or study center, my soulmate had to be either a librarian or someone at the center itself.”

“Guess we have my economics professor to thank for that,” Magnus teased. “If he hadn’t driven me so close to slumber, I wouldn’t have gone to your work and met you.”

“Mr. Starkweather?” Alec asked. He attended an economics course, too, so Alec wondered if Magnus had the same teacher but a later class.

“You have him too?”

“Sadly,” Alec responded with a grimace. “I don’t understand why he hands out so many reading assignments. He is the only professor that uses the textbook. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we are at least getting to use the ninety dollar thing.”

“Ninety? Mine was over a hundred! Where did you get yours?” Magnus asked. The book had initially been two hundred dollars, and he had found it online for almost half that price. Magnus had searched for a full week, convinced he had the cheapest option.

“I got lucky one of Izzy’s friends was a sophomore and took the class last year,” Alec explained triumphantly. “She needed the money for some new books, and the school store was only going to give her fifty for it.”

“Lucky!” Magnus agreed. He enjoyed this side of Alec and wouldn’t mind getting to explore more of it. “Is your cafe work part of work-study?”

“Yeah, I was hoping the library would be hiring, but you can’t be picky with work-study since they take it if you don’t use it in time,” Alec groaned. When the semester started, he had hoped that he could get a position as a library assistant or even a book sorter but no luck. “Serving coffee isn’t so bad. The worst part is getting yelled at cause you put one too many ls or ms in someone’s name on the cup.”

“People yell at you for that?”

“Not often but once or twice we’ve served customers like that. Bat just smiles at them while they yell and have their tantrum. It scares and frustrates them that he won’t respond,” Alec smiled as he recalled the man who just gave up and left with his drink. He heard as Magnus chuckled at his story and decided that he really wanted to listen to that sound again. Magnus’ laughter, even as a chuckle, was beautiful. The fear and uncertainty of having met his soulmate had subsided and in its place was excitement. Alec wanted to get to know this man more. “Do you have work-study?”

“Yes, but I’m the lucky one this time; I work at the dorms as the person who signs in people who want to visit the residents,” Magnus smiled and started to play with his rings. “I do get my share of problematic people, though.”

“Let me guess they forget their student ID?”

“They forget their student ID,” Magnus confirmed with another chuckle. “It’s even worse because we can also accept their driver’s license or state ID but guess what? They usually don’t have those either! I swear what person goes to campus and doesn’t think to bring some form of identification.”

Alec smiled as he watched Magnus rant about his work. He started to think that maybe he could see a future with Magnus. Not immediately a romantic one, but Alec wanted to see where his soulmate could lead him.

“I think our hour is about to run out,” Magnus stated, looking at his phone. “We can ask for another hour if you want?”

“I can’t.” Alec regretfully answered. He knew it was a mistake when he saw the way Magnus’ eyes lost some of their previous shine. Alec truly wanted to spend more time with Magnus. But he was supposed to pick up Jace from some art exhibit he attended because of a girl.

“I understand,” Magnus smiled at him and tried his best to hide his disappointment. Magnus thought he could talk Alec into giving them a chance, but perhaps he had spoken too much. Magnus stopped himself before his mind dove too deep into those thoughts. If his soulmate didn’t want him as he was, Magnus wouldn’t betray himself. He refused to change himself for anyone else but his own whims. “Hope we can hang out again soon.”

Alec watched frozen as Magnus started to move away from the table and straighten himself up. He realized Magnus hadn’t understood what he meant and that had been partially his fault. Alec knew he didn’t always pick the best words to express himself. Magnus was already pushing his chair back in, when Alec heard the tender statement.

‘We are Lightwoods, big brother. We break noses and accept the consequences.’

He didn’t know if his little sister’s words applied right now, but he refused to let Magnus walk out of there, believing Alec had no intention of seeing him again. Maybe there was a chance that he was misreading this, and Magnus was relieved that Aled didn’t ask him to stay longer, but Alec was willing to accept the outcome if that was the case.

“I was wondering if you would like to come out to a small show with my siblings and some friends tomorrow,” Alec took the chance and reached out to grab Magnus’ sleeve as he spoke. Alec had pulled his backpack off the table in a quick motion and spilled some of his things. None of that mattered to him right now, though. His focus was entirely on Magnus right now.

“I don’t know what the proper etiquette for soulmates is, but I would like to see you again.”

Magnus stopped, turning to look at Alec in shock. He had been so sure that the other had just politely rejected him. Magnus had never been so glad to be proven wrong about something.

“I don’t think there is a proper etiquette,” Magnus answered as he turned to face Alec properly. He could see the sincerity in Alec’s eyes and knew he wasn’t doing this out of pity for his soulmate. “I think we should just do what feels right for both of us. I want to see you again as well, darling.”

Magnus watched as the light blush returned to his soulmate’s face and relished in the fact that he had caused it. He was still in uncharted territory, but it seemed less scary with Alec beside him.

“I’m not asking for a date, I think that’s too soon for us, but I would like the chance to get to know you,” Magnus continued with his newfound bravery, “maybe we could start as friends and see where that takes us?”

“Yes,” Alec immediately responded and decided that honesty was his best bet now. “I know everyone says that once you meet your soulmate, your whole life and relationship will just fall into place, like some sort of fairy tale ending. While that sounds nice, I want to know the person better before I jump into anything.”

“So we'll go slow, get to know each other first, and go from there,” Magnus reiterated.

“My sister’s boyfriend has a show coming up,” Alec stated, rubbing the back of his neck. “He isn’t great, but the food at the bar he is playing at is good. I-I don’t mean like a date, but maybe we could talk more there?”

“I’m sure if your sister is dating him, he can’t be that bad of a musician,” Magnus teased. “If you tell me the day, I can check, since I do have some evening classes.”

“It’s tomorrow,” Alec provided and remembered Magnus lived on campus so probably didn’t have a car. “I could pick you up? You could invite some of your friends as well.”

“Friday is one of my easy days. I should be able to make it,” Magnus eagerly agreed and noticed a paper that had fallen from Alec’s backpack. He kneeled and picked up the sheet, seeing something interesting in passing it. Magnus stood back up, sporting a smirk, and handed the paper back to Alec. “Here you go, Alexander .”

Alec’s hand stopped mid-reach when he heard his full name. He had never liked how his name sounded when others called him, but Magnus made it sound like a gentle call home, rather than the scolding he expected. Alec picked up his bag and took the sheet, still stuck on the way his name sounded coming from Magnus’s lips.

“As much as I would love to associate seeing you with coffee, I think it is better if we exchanged numbers,” Magnus suggested as he watched Alec stuff everything back into his backpack. Magnus noticed how Alec’s ears had turned red from him saying his full name. Magnus didn’t know still where things were going with Alec, but he knew his soulmate interested him. Not just as someone he could see himself dating - though that was a desirable option - but as someone who Magnus wanted to keep in his life.

“Here,” Alec held up a small piece of paper to Magnus. “I usually keep my phone on silent, but I check it often.”

“No worries, darling. I promise not to text you during your classes,” Magnus teased as he took the paper and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He quickly sent off a text and saw Alec smiling, looking at his phone. “Now you have my number as well.”

“I promise not to text you during classes as well, though I don’t know when that is,” Alec offered and saved Magnus’ phone number. He looked at the clock on his phone and grimaced. As much as Alec wanted to keep talking and getting to know Magnus, he was already going to be ten minutes late to pick-up Jace. “I have to go, though. I promised Jace I would pick him up.”

“No problem, Alexander,” Magnus smiled as he opened the door, seeing how once again Alec had slightly frozen when he used his full name. “I can stop using it, sorry.”

“No! I d-don’t mind when you use it,” Alec stuttered and turned to the side a bit to hide the blush making its way up to his face.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Magnus replied with a smirk and grabbed the red card from the door. “I’ll see you around, Alexander. Don’t be a stranger. Text me.”

“I will,” Alec called out as Magnus waved. He knew his sister was going to ask him a million questions, but it was okay. Magnus was another topic Alec didn’t think he’d mind talking about.

#magnus-the-maqnificent #malecsanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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