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#most of this was done weeks ago i just lost motivation to finish it until now
ineffably-good · 2 years
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Nanowrimo 2022 Is Looming
Anyone else doing nano this year?
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I did nanowrimo last year for the first time and found that, challenging as it was, something about my brain responds really well to the structure and deadline of the event. I drafted my first novel, The Afterlife and Other Problems, during last year's event, hitting 50k by the end of the month and finishing the whole initial draft about two weeks after the event ended at around 74k.
At the time, just getting it done felt like a major miracle -- I was reeling from the loss of a really important friendship, desperately burnt out at work, and literally wrote 15 of the 30 days of it at the hospital bedside of my critically-ill father feeling very dark and lonely and lost. (He survived, thank god.)
But writing it? Writing it saved me, I think, at a very bad time. Writing it was fun and exciting and above all, kind of a great distraction, and I went on to revise it over the next six months and came out with a pretty good book.
So, of course, I'm gonna do it again because I'm a glutton for punishment I'm highly motivated. :)
And I've got an idea I'm really excited about. It's funny and deep and weird and I think it's gonna be great, if I can pull it off.
So I'm doing Preptober, right now, where you outline and plot and do writing prompts and figure out enough of a roadmap to get yourself able to sit down every single day in the month of November and pump out 1667 words, more or less. Even though I tend to be a pantser when I write (meaning someone who just wings it without much planning), you have do at least some kind of minimal planning to write this much in a month.
And it's interesting, because I suddenly am seeing how much I've learned over the last year. My approach this time is very different!
For one thing, I seem to have learned something about how to outline. Last year I had maybe three major plot points and a series of possible funny events that would happen in the first third of the book and that was it. This year, I've got a high level, rough, but much more thorough outline of most of the book. (With some holes, sure, but for me this is a TON of information.)
More importantly, I'm finding myself instinctively starting from a whole different perspective. Last year I had maybe a hook and some events, but knew very little about my characters, and this year I'm starting from a very clear idea of who my main character is and what she wants and fears, which is how the writing books always tell you to do it, but honestly until now I've never begun a project that way.
It remains to be seen if this will turn out to be a viable book or not -- but I *love* seeing progress in myself with respect to the craft of writing. I've learned so, so much, since I started drafting Faeted, three years ago, or since I eeked out my first Doctor Who fanfics in 2017.
SOOOOO anyhow, that's a long-winded way to say this: if you're nano-ing next month and want to be buddies, drop me a note! It was fun to have writing partners on the nano site last year to chat with about the process and cheer each other on as we posted our daily word counts. I'd love to connect!
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Episode 49
So it´s been 5 years since I last posted here. I´m honest, I forgot about it. I was busy, life was hectic, I lost two family members, both rather suddenly. But I´m doing fine - I got my MSc in biology, and will start a new job in ca. 2 weeks in a very interesting lab! I´ll post new episodes as often as I can. Not too much of the old MSA RP is left anyway.
Thank you for everyone still reading and following. I appreciate it. Really <3
-Yoshi
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Yoshi Raven: "Of course! You don´t have to ask that!" he squealed, grinning at Lewis while he gave Gear small pieces of his food.
"But since Vivi takes care of new missions we have to ask her if we really have a free day. Vivi!! Breakfast is ready and I´ll eat it without you!!" Arthur called, knowing she´d give him a scary glare at this. He pushed her plate away from his own, just to make sure she wouldn´t bite his hand.
Charlie McCarthey: "Here comes the blue blur now--followed by her second-in-paw, the white blur." Lewis joked as he watched the two careen around the corner and flop into their seats eagerly. They dug in, but not before Vivi noticed Lewis and brightened up.
"You look awesome, Lew--how do you feel?" She asked gently.
"Pretty good. We wanted to know if today wss a day off or if we need to go anywhere."
"Hm, well, come to think of it I did take a case a few days ago--with the two Lewis' I had to put it on hold. The owner was a really nice guy, he let us put the case off for a few days. The sooner we get started the better."
Yoshi Raven: Arthur giggled at the two racing in. He had already finished his last pancake and saw that Vivi and Mystery had eaten half of them. Within seconds. Unbelievable.
"What kind of case is it? A non-dangerous one I hope."
A small case would be nice - especially because Lewis still needed some more rest and a big fight would be bad for him.
Charlie McCarthey: "You know, I think it will be? To be honest, from what he told me over the phone, I think it's just a low level poltergiest? We're in luck--its haunting in a bar. You know what that means."
"Poltergiests can be mistaken for demonic haunts--IF they're sorrounded by negative energy." Lewis nodded. "But, if you're in a bar, chances out you're going out to have a good time."
"Exactly! So he's just sounds like a mischievous one if you ask me."
Yoshi Raven: "Oh that´s good. Maybe that ghost is just bored and likes playing pranks on people. But as long as we can help without fighting, everything will be fine."
Arthur stretched his arms and gently put Gear from his lap, then got up and put his plate in the sink.
"Actually I´m really looking forward for this mission. Getting some work done, you know. When can we leave?" he asked, looking at Vivi and Mystery with a small grin.
Charlie McCarthey: "It's three hours out, and when I asked when he wanted us to investigate he said we could do it during open hours. The ghost seems to be most active around people--another poltergiest motive."
"They do like attention." Lewis mused as he flicked his wrist,, shooing some Deadbeats away absently as he stood up too.
"If we leave in about an hour, we should get there by 3, 4 at the latest. Everyone okay with that?" Vivi checked.
"I'm good."
Yoshi Raven: "Yep, me too. I´ll check on the van until then."
He walked over to Vivi and Mystery and patted both their heads. "Don´t eat all of our food until then." Arthur mocked and quickly moved away from her tickle attack, heading towards the door.
"Lew, you coming with me?" he asked, smiling at him.
Charlie McCarthey: "Coming!" The ghost practically trilled, floating after him.
"You haven't worked on your baby in a while." He realized quietly when he saw the van sitting in its spot. He frowned a little, shifting through the memories he had to see if he--or his ghost half--was to blame.
Yoshi Raven: "I know but I have been busy in the last few days" he purred and tousled his hair.
"Besides, there was no mission where we had to drive that far away for a long time. I prefer checking before long road trips, there´s no need for a check every time we drive."
Arthur opened he engine bay and inspected it. He was quiet for a while, then grabbed a wrench and worked on some parts.
"By the way ghosts... I think I haven´t told you yet, but I was taking notes. You know, about... you. Me. Us. Our relationship. I guess this might be helpful one day. And I thought about a new spell for you... not sure if this will work, though."
Charlie McCarthey: "Yeah?" Lewis had been floating up on the roof, his arms behind his head and legs crossed as he hovered lazily in place. But at Arthur's words he sat up and shifted down, giving Arthur his attention.
"What did you have in mind?"
Yoshi Raven: "You know... I had the idea some time after that last cult incidence. I never expected that our bond could break for a while because of a high stress level." he mumbled and closed the engine bay, then leaned against the van.
"You can´t change into your Ifrit form without that connection. And that´s the thing that bothers me. I never hope it will happen again, but - what if we have to fight a dangerous monster, ghost or demon and because of whatever reason, the bond is broken again? You could go down within seconds, depending on how strong the enemy is. And that´s why I´m trying to find a solution, an emergency spell. To give you energy so you can turn into an Ifrit for, let´s say 10 minutes. Even if you don´t win the fight you could get us all out of the danger." Arthur explained with a serious look on his face. Yes, he hoped this would never happen but who knows what monster where out there.
Charlie McCarthey: "Yeah. I mean--that sounds like it could be a dozy of a spell. The monster form isn't something I can just... slip into." He winced, shuddering just by thinking about it. "Try for a shorter time period for now. 5 ought to do it, Art. Every second in a fight counts, you've got a good point. I don't want to see any of you hurt because I can't change fast enough." He sighed a little, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.
"Be careful, alright?"
Yoshi Raven: "Don´t worry, I´ll be. I still have to do some research anyway and it´ll take more time. As soon as I finished it, we can do that spell." He walked to the ghost, hugging him for a few minutes but then got back to work on the van and check everything until they could get on the road and start the mission.
Charlie McCarthey: Lewis smooched the mechanic's cheek, and headed inside to see if Vivi and Mystery were getting ready. He was right, the two were ready to go after having their customary third helping.
"How's she look, Artie?" Vivi asked as they all headed outside. "Ready to go?"
Yoshi Raven: Arthur was already sitting on the driver´s seat, waiting for the others.
"She´s perfect as always and we could drive to the moon. Come on, get in here, I wanna drive! If you don´t hurry I´ll go alone!"
He waved at the others, a big smile on his face while he started the engine.
Charlie McCarthey: "Shotgun!" Vivi shouted. Not that there was a big demand for it, usually Arthur and Vivi were the ones who got into those competitions--Mystery liked sleeping in the van and Lewis was either driving or didn't mind sitting in the back.
Today it was the later, the ghost and dog piled onto the baxk bench and stretched out together. Lew still needed rest, and he was warm to lie against. The two soon fell asleep, Mystery head in Lewis' lap and his hand over the little dog's body.
Yoshi Raven: Arthur had put on some quiet, relaxing music for the two in the back and talked a bit with Vivi then and now, but most of the time they were silent so Lewis and Mystery could sleep some more. Finally, they reached the town with the club. Arthur parked the van next to it and turned off the music, then got out of the van and opened one of the back doors.
"Mystery, Lewis, wake up. We arrived."
Charlie McCarthey: Waking up took a few moments. The ghost didn't seem wholly aware of anything until he was standing out of the van and stretching. Lewis yawned lazily, and finally blinked open his eyes to see where they--
"You have got to be kidding me." He deadpanned, staring up at the caustic, neon font blazing over the little club.
"This place!? Seriously?!" He moaned, actually taking a step back. Vivi looked at him like he was crazy, and when he saw Artie taking a step toward it he grabbed his wrist and held him back.
"You can't go in there!"
Visions--memories of that Arthur, Arthur the poledancer flashed through his mind.
Yoshi Raven: Arthur, who had no idea of that alternate version of himself, was looking at Lewis.
"Eh? Why? Lewis, the owner needs our help, we have to enter the club! What´s wrong with it? Well ok, they have strippers and more and it´s mostly for gay men but that shouldn´t bother us. We´re not here for fun. Come on, let go of me."
Charlie McCarthey: Lew only pulled a pleading face, but his hand slipped from Arthur's wrist at his command. "Maaan..." He groaned under his breath, reluctantly following the rest of the gang into the club.
"Of all the places in the world, it had to be this one." He grumbled, remembering all the worry 'that' Arthur had put through him, how unstable his life seemed.
Lewis entered the joint with a mildly annoyed, agitated and decidedly negative aura.
Proably not the best idea with a poltergiest hanging around.
Yoshi Raven: Arthur just looked at Lewis, then at Vivi but she looked just as confused as him. He´d ask about this place later.
The club looked just like Lewis had seen it. Men sitting or standing everywhere, talking, drinking, some were smoking and music was playing. No one was dancing at the pole, at least. The gang was just a few seconds in that club and they already saw the bartender chasing a few floating drinks. He was able to grab and give them to the customers. Luckily, they didn´t see this and walked away to their table. The bartender sighed and sat down on a chair, his hands supporting his head. The guy looked slightly grumpy.
Charlie McCarthey: Vivi introduced the gang, and Lewis managed to settle his nerves long enough to flash the bartender a reassuring smile. With the mood Lew was in right now, it didn't matter if things got 'ugly.' He'd be more than happy to take out his emotions on low level ghost, if it ever came to that. Lewis kept his arms crossed and stood behind Arthur, shooting a few dark and worried looks toward the stage every so often.
Mystery put his nose to the ground and snuffled around, weaving inbetween tables and chairs as he let the humans do their talking. He had a better way of finding spirits, after all!
Yoshi Raven: The bartender, his name was Jeremy and he was the owner, too, was relieved to see the gang and told them everything that had happened.
"... floating glasses, plates fell down or the lights flickered - none of this is dangerous but the guests slowly notice something is wrong. If they stay away, I can close this club but I don´t want to! I worked for a very, very long time to give these people a place where they can relax so please. Whatever is causing this, make it go away."
"Don´t worry, we´ll solve this case. Just take care of the guests and let us do the rest." Arthur smiled at him. This would be an easy case, the ghost was not dangerous and just playing pranks.
"Alright, let´s search for the ghost."
Charlie McCarthey: "Artie, you stay here and check the main room. Lew, since you seem so invested in the stage area, why don't you go check there? Mystery's already off--he'll come get one of us if he finds anything." Viv made a mental check list of where she sent her boys, "And I'll check the kitchen and the basement. Let's see if we can convince this ghost to go haunt somewhere else--so be open, friendly and safe!" She reminded cheerfully.
Lewis grumbled and headed off--his height alone made the people move out of his way, to say nothing of the slightly perturbed look he had, and the fact he was wearing sun glasses inside.
Yoshi Raven: "Got it. See you!" Arthur immediately started looking around for signs of ghost activity. He slowly made his way through the crowd, stopping here and there but there were no floating glasses or flickering lights. As if the ghost was hiding, now that Lewis and Mystery where here. They´d find him anyway.
Most of the guys here were much taller than him - but he was short, anyway and only a few were as tall as Lewis. Just minutes after he had started looking for the ghost, he noticed that some of the guys were looking at him. Most of them just because he was moving through the whole room but some - some had that flirty, no, predatory look in their eyes. He wasn´t afraid, though. If someone would try anything, it wasn´t Arthur that would be in trouble then.
Charlie McCarthey: Lewis vanished behind the curtain to the backstage with barely a sound, keeping an absentminded pull on the bond. It wasn't like he expected anything happen, from the ghost or Arthur or otherwise, but being in this...place...already had Lewis on edge.
He knew his fears were illogical and it was just a timeline, but, damn. He won't ever forget that Arthur he met.
It's because of these thoughts that Lewis forgets to keep a tab on his Arthur. He doesn't notice the fleet strings of negative emotions Art was giving off.
Yoshi Raven: After walking around for 20 minutes, he sat down at the bar and got a drink from Jeremy. He took a sip then turned to look over the room. Maybe he could see something from far away. There was nothing happening for a long time besides these looks from some guys that slowly made him nervous, but then there was a light flickering at the other side of the room. Arthur observed it, not noticing the two guys that were coming closer.
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ilaiyayaya · 6 months
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I think I can pretty definitively say that I'm finally out of the era of my life where I'm doing literally nothing and on the verge of killing myself everyday. My life definitely isn't perfect right now, obviously, but I think I've finally actually clawed my way far enough out of the pit that I'm not constantly feeling like I'm at risk of slipping into a depressive state again. I'm finally actually doing stuff again, I'm making a lot of progress toward moving out of my father's house as well as transing my gender, I'm not completely apathetic at all times and I've gained a lot of self-confidence, and most importantly to me, I've regained passion for a lot of stuff again, I've started doing 3D modelling again, and I'm learning new things again that I actually enjoy and feel the motivation to continue doing, and I'm actually enjoying a lot of the media I'm consuming! (Finally I can once again feel something when I watch horrible kuso-anime that has no appeal to anyone EXCEPT ME IT HAS APPEAL TO ME I LOVE GARBAGE I LOVE EATING GARBAGE YEAAAAA!!!)
Pretty much since, at least late 2020 but really the dominos started in 2019, I had been extremely depressed, a lot happened around that time that completely left pretty much every aspect of my life in ruin (surpringly not caused by the pandemic at all, although that definitely didn't help), I lost a lot of friends, most of the things I had been working toward in life were pretty much nullified, and a lot of mental health issues I had, and still have, started actually becoming major issues, it wasn't a very fun time. The worst of it was easily 2021, I'm not really gonna go in depth both because, I don't particularly want to remember the details of it more than necessary, and also because it would just be a paragraph of me talking about trying to kill myself constantly and the mental state that led me to do that, and that's not particularly fun or really even important to know the specifics of, but the one kinda good thing I guess about that year was that by the end it got so bad that in 2022 I just said fuck it and started doing a bunch of things that really should not have worked out as well as they did, but by 2023 I had a car and my driver's license, a job, and had regained some of my lost friends, and told the ones that I really didn't ever want to speak to again to [REDACTED]. 2023 was pretty much just a continuation of that, albeit with a lot more stability, almost the entire year was spent focusing on my job and getting as much money as possible as quickly as possible because I didn't really have much else to focus on and a majority of what I needed to move forward in life required a lot of money capitalismamiright. Now in 2024 I have a lot of money saved up, enough that realistically I could probably move out at any time, I'm finishing tying up the last few loose ends of like, basic adulting things that I should've done a long time ago, I have a decently large, stable group of friends, I've come out as trans to like, at least 90% of the people in my life that I plan to actually keep in my life a year from now, I'm still extremely emotionally unstable (I don't think that's going away like, ever tbh lol) but at least now it's in a way where I'm still actually getting stuff done consistently and not just turning into a pile of goo for 3 weeks out of each month, and I'm FINALLY FUCKING PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING STUFF AGAIN WOOOOOOO LET'S FUCKING GOOOO TIME TO MAKE Bucket of Wet Slop grins.
I didnt even realize that I was in such a significantly better spot in life now until like, really recently, like really really recently, like as in like a couple days ago. The thing that made me really notice it was that I used to pretty much dread days I was off work like, I kinda don't particularly love my job, it kinda fucking sucks in a lot of ways, but also like, if I'm just at home all I was doing was rotting and like, looking at my phone waiting to get called into work anyways so it sucked either way. About a week ago I had 4 days off in a row and like, that never happens, like at all ever, probably the last time I had been off for more than 2 days continuously was like, literally long enough ago that I have no clue when, and before like, 4 days off would be like, bad, like 4 days of not making money *and* still being miserable, but like, those 4 days were great, I popped off I got so much shit done and I felt great while doing it it was so pog, and now like, work's kinda just like getting in my way of getting stuff done, like I actually have stuff I want to do now it's great! Like, I don't plan to quit my job (probably) or anything like that anytime soon but like, it feels weirdly good for my job to actually feel like a job that's sucking out my soul instead of it being the only thing keeping me from saying "off to hang myself, watch and le" because now I once again have the passion and motivation to do things that I actually want to do.
Moral of the story: life is good and capitalism sux :litwickthumbsup:
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cattarattat · 1 year
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A MUST READ!!!
More manipulative underhanded attempts by extremist Trump MAGA cult member conspiracy theorists to UNDERMINE AMERICAN CITIZEN 'VOTES' BEING LEGITIMATELY COUNTED IN THE COMING 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION in order to get dictator-wannabe Trump re-elected. 🙄
"In a basement event space in the Denver suburb of Parker, Tina Peters surveyed a crowd of Colorado Republicans last week and made an unusual pitch for why she should become chair of their beleaguered party: 'There’s no way a jury of 12 people is going to put me in prison.'
Peters was referring to her upcoming trial on seven felony charges related to her role in allegedly accessing confidential voting machine data while she was clerk in western Colorado’s Mesa County. The incident made her a hero to election conspiracy theorists but unpopular with all but her party’s hardest-core voters.
Peters, who condemns the charges as politically motivated, finished second in last year’s GOP primary for secretary of state, Colorado’s top elections position.
Now Peters has become part of a wave of election deniers who, unable to succeed at the polls, have targeted the one post — state party chair — that depends entirely on those hardest-core Republicans.
Embracing election conspiracy theories was a political albatross for Republicans in states that weren’t completely red last year, with deniers losing every statewide bid in the swing states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But the movement has focused on GOP state party chairs — positions that usually are selected by only dedicated activists and have the power to influence the party’s presidential nominating contest and some aspects of election operations, such as recruiting poll watchers.
'The rise of this dangerous ideology nationwide and the rise within party machinery are ominous,' said Norm Eisen, a prominent Washington lawyer and former ambassador who is executive chair of States United Democracy Center, which tracks election deniers. 'It’s an outrageous phenomenon.'
Kristina Karamo, a former community college instructor who lost her bid last fall to become Michigan’s secretary of state by 14 percentage points, won the chair of the Michigan Republican Party a week ago. She beat a fellow election denier, failed attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno.
In Kansas, Mike Brown, a conspiracy theorist who lost his primary bid for secretary of state, was named chair of the state party.
Peters is just one of multiple candidates for the Colorado position who have repeated former President Donald Trump’s lies that President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election.
'We can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s time to get over 2020 and be done with that,''said Aaron Wood, a self-described Christian conservative father also running for Colorado GOP chair, who organized a slate of candidates to take over the party’s top posts. 'Until I have 100% confidence that the election has integrity, I will not be done with that.'
The wave of election deniers follows a push by Trump during his administration to stock the roster of party chairs with loyalists, several of whom supported his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and remain in the White House. Of those, Kelli Ward, the chair of the Arizona GOP, did not run again and was replaced by another Trump loyalist, former state Treasurer Jeff DeWitt. In Georgia, chairman David Shafer has announced he won’t seek another term this June, amid scrutiny over whether he could be indicted for efforts to help Trump overturn the 2020 election.
As in most states, the new Georgia party head will be selected by leaders of local county parties. Many of those are Trump loyalists who also backed Shafer’s bid to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss in the state. But Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who defied Trump’s request and easily beat a primary challenger last year backed by Shafer, has marginalized the state party, creating a parallel structure to raise money and turn out voters.
That’s an example of how the once powerful post of state party chair has changed.
'It used to be adjacent to public service, to be the state party chair, and now it’s something where you get to dunk on Democrats on Twitter,' said Robert Jones, a Republican pollster in Idaho.
In that state, Dorothy Moon, an election denier and former state representative who made an unsuccessful primary run for secretary of state, became the Idaho GOP chair last year.
Still, Eisen noted that state parties have important roles in appointing poll workers and poll watchers in many states. A perennial fear has been that conspiracists could fill those positions and disrupt elections, though that did not happen in 2022 despite a prominent conservative effort to find more poll watchers.
'Maybe the Karamos and the Browns and the Moons will implode,' Eisen said. 'There is a kind of incompetence that goes with this ideology. But it’s a concerning trend given the power these state parties have.'
Parties also have a major role in structuring their primaries. In Michigan, the party apparatus that Karamo now leads has the power to move its nominating contest to a closed convention, where activists select the winner.
'Donald Trump would love there to be a convention for Michigan’s delegates,' Jason Roe, the former executive director of the state party, said in an interview.
Ironically, Trump had endorsed DePerno, a lawyer who unsuccessfully sued to force a new count in 2020. Instead, Karamo, whom the former president had supported in her secretary of state race, won. She has described abortion as 'child sacrifice' and Democrats as having a 'Satanic agenda.'
Last wek, on the podcast of Trump adviser Steve Bannon last week, Karamo said Michigan was 'ground zero for the globalist takeover of the United States of America.'
In Colorado, many Republican strategists say they are prepared for Peters or another election denier to win the party chair position next month.
'People seem almost resigned that the party is going to fall into the hands of this crowd for the next two years,' said Sage Naumann, one of the operatives, who said usually a chair’s impact on elections is 'neutral,' but that could change.
'If they’re constantly making controversial statements, then they can be detrimental,' Naumann said.
The insurgent candidates running for Colorado’s chair argue things can’t get worse for the GOP in the state. Republicans lost every statewide race by double digits in November and have their smallest share of seats in the Legislature in state history.
The candidates for party chair claim the Colorado GOP has been too timid and needs to be more outspoken and conservative — a risky bid in a state that has been rapidly moving to the left. As part of that, they seek to restrict the primary to only registered Republicans, shutting out voters not affiliated with any party who have been eligible to participate. That would require overturning a voter-approved ballot measure, which activists failed to do in a lawsuit last year. They hope to have a better shot with the party chair’s support.
At the debate last week in Parker, former state Rep. Dave Williams said: 'It’s time we had a warlike leader who is going to go toe-to-toe' with Democrats.
Williams later added: 'Joe Biden is not a legitimate president.'
Only one candidate, Erik Aadland, a military veteran who unsuccessfully ran for Congress last year, cautioned about the election denier rhetoric. He noted that Democrats effectively used a tape of him questioning the validity of the 2020 election against him in his race. In an interview, he said specifically that he worried about Peters’ candidacy.
'It’s not healthy, the words we’re using, the rhetoric we’ve been using,' Aadland said. And, he added, 'I don’t think it’d be healthy to have a chairwoman under seven indictments.'
Peters, however, reveled in her national profile. She noted that she had just started a podcast that had 60,000 downloads on its first day and that she raised $250,000 to fund a recount in three days after the 2022 primary —a recount that confirmed her loss."
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softeddiek · 5 years
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so @aryaofoldstones answered this ask awhile ago about gendrya’s favorite fast food place and, as a Sonic fan, i loved their answer (tags included) and ended up writing about some of it??
so modern gendrya first date au 
read on ao3 
i’ve got a hunger, twisting my stomach into knots 
Arya is standing in front of her full-length mirror tugging at the bottom of her shirt when, out of the corner of her eye, she sees Bran wheeling himself into her doorway.
“Sansa’s going to call and order us some pizza. Want your usual?” he grins, thinking she’ll request her own box of sausage and mushroom that nobody else will eat. But not tonight.
“No, I’m going out for dinner actually, but thanks,” she answers, turning her head back toward her reflection.
She can still feel his eyes on her and hears the confusion in his voice when he asks, “Out? Like, with someone else?”
“Just with Gendry.”
She’s turning toward her bedside table, reaching for her phone to see if he’s texted her to let her know he’s here, when she realizes she hasn’t heard the telltale sound of Bran’s wheelchair rolling away on the hardwood floors of the hallway.
“So, like on a date?”  
She whips her head around to see a shit-eating grin on Bran’s face. “You and Gendry are going on a date,” he states this time, pleased to have figured it out. Or to think he’s figured it out, because even if Bran would likely be cool about this sort of thing, no way in hell is she going to let him blabber on about her and Gendry and dates to their siblings.
And yeah so, maybe the past few weeks all she’s really had to go off of was the way things between her and Gendry had started to feel…different, but when she’d agreed to grab dinner with him tonight—something they did frequently—he had actually looked her in the eyes and said “Great, it’s a date then.” So really, it was a date. But again, Bran couldn’t know that.
“A date?” she scoffs, “Very funny Bran, I don’t know how you came up with that. Gendry and I go out for food all of the time.”
“Yeah but this is different. I can just tell.”
“Oh please,” she says, rolling her eyes, “don’t even start with that intuition shit again. We’re just going out for food. Like we always do.” If the raised eyebrow he gives her says anything, it’s that he sees right through her. “Sonic,” she blurts out. “We’re going to get Sonic. Now tell me that’s somewhere you go on a date.” That should do it.
“Arya,” he starts, a quizzical look forming on his face, “you guys love Sonic.”
She can feel the heat creeping up her cheeks and is preparing to defend herself by trashing her favorite drive-in when she hears the front door opening, accompanied by voices carrying up to her bedroom.
Deciding to use this as her out, she turns back around quickly to pocket her phone and slips into a pair of shoes lying at the foot of her bed.
“Bye Bran enjoy the pizza,” she says, edging around where he still sits in her doorway. She takes the stairs down two at a time, coming to an abrupt stop at the foot of them when she sees Gendry in her living room. Gendry in her living room having a conversation with Rickon.
Despite having been friends with Gendry for years, she can count the number of times he’d been inside of her house on one hand. At first, there hadn’t been a reason for them to hang out at her house. She’d met him and their other friends, Lommy and Hot Pie, in the park downtown a few blocks from her school. She’d asked to join them on the basketball court where they were messing around with a ball. Lommy and Hot Pie hadn’t been too thrilled to let a girl join them, but after some terse words from both herself and Gendry, they relented. After that, it had just become sort of a routine to meet up with them at the park after school each day.
Eventually though, Lommy moved away and Hot Pie had had to start helping out in his parents’ bakery after school, so it was usually just Gendry she’d meet up with when he wasn’t trying to pick up shifts at his new job. When she finally started attending the high school he went to along with Sansa and Jon, he’d been surprised to find out she was a Stark. (How it took that long to find out her last name, she didn’t know.)
He continued acting strange around her for a few weeks until one day when Jon was away visiting his sick uncle Aemon and Arya had no way of getting home after school. Sansa usually got a ride from her friend Margaery, but she wasn’t in the mood to ride with them, so she went to Gendry. He’d reluctantly agreed to drive her home in his beat-up old pickup. With plenty to tell him about her first few weeks of high school, things between them seemed to have gone back to normal as they talked on the ride there. Until they reached her house.
She’d invited him inside to play some video games, not picking up on the wary looks he was shooting her as she all but dragged him through the door. As he stood in their front living room, taking in the ostentatious furniture her mother had it decorated with at the time, his brow had begun to furrow, and a frown formed on his face.
“I gotta get going, actually. My mom’s expecting me home.” He turned quickly to rush out the door, ignoring Arya’s shouts behind him until she’d caught up just as he was reaching for the driver’s side door, grabbing onto his arm to turn him around.
“What’s going on, why are you leaving?” she’d asked.
“I already told you,” he’d said, eyes looking at everything but her, “I’m expected home soon.”
“No, you aren’t,” she chanced. “So why are you being a dick Gendry?”
He looked up at her with a scowl. “I’m not—”
“Yeah, you are, so just tell me why so we can move past it because you’ve been weird for weeks now.”
He looked at her for a minute, face betraying nothing, until finally, seeing she wouldn’t leave it alone, his resolve broke. Sighing, he’d said, “You’re rich, Arya. Like, really rich.”
“Technically, my parents are rich--.” She stopped at the look on Gendry’s face that seemed to say, ‘Are you serious?’ “Okay, my family is rich. So what?”
“So, you’re rich and practically live in a mansion. My mom and I live in a run-down, one-bedroom apartment. I just don’t get why we’d be friends is all.”
She’d tried not to let the hurt show on her face, but at his guilty look she’d known she hadn’t succeeded. “We’re friends because we like hanging out together,” she’d supplied. “I don’t care about that kind of thing; I never have, and you should know that seeing as we’ve been best friends for years.”
After a bit more cajoling on Arya’s part, he’d relented and gone back inside with her, but she noticed his discomfort the rest of the afternoon. She had thrown out the occasional casual invitation to come over the last few years, but she could only be shrugged off so many times before she stopped asking.
And it’s not like he has a phobia of her house or anything. Once Jon had graduated with his AA and transferred down to King’s Landing to finish his Bachelors, Gendry had taken to picking her up after school. They’d usually grab some food to take back to the shop while he worked the last couple hours of his shift, and then he’d drive her home. He rarely ever came inside though.
But now, here he was, perched on the edge of the couch having a conversation with Rickon. Or, listening to Rickon.
“And the Direwolves drafted Margaery’s brother, Loras, from Storm’s End two years ago because he led them to the Final Four, but he tore his ACL in his second game with us and sat out basically his whole rookie season and just hasn’t been the same since he came back. Arya thinks we should put him in some kind of trade package and send him to the Riverlands, but I think that’s just because she didn’t like him when Margaery introduced them.”
Gendry’s head is nodding as Rickon speaks, but she knows he has no clue what Rickon’s talking about. They may have met on a basketball court, but Gendry was too big and clumsy to seriously play, and he never had the time to watch professional games with her.
“I don’t like Loras because he thinks he’s the next Arthur Dayne,” she pipes up, moving from her spot at the bottom of the stairs to stand behind the couch they’re sitting on, “but he has none of the defensive skill and his handles are trash.” Gendry is grinning up at her now. “You’re right though, he did piss me off the first time we met,” she adds.
“Hey Arya. You ready to go?” Gendry asks, still smiling.
“Go? Where are you guys going, Sansa’s ordering pizza and Bran and I were going to play Smash,” Rickon interjects, a small frown on his lips.  
“They’re going to get Sonic instead,” Bran’s voice calls out across the room from the bottom of his wheelchair ramp.
Gendry glances over at Arya confused, while she and Bran hold each other’s stares.
“Oh, can you guys pick me up that new Red Bull slushie they have? I’ve been wanting to try it, but Mom won’t let me,” Rickon pleads.
Arya glances at Gendry out of the corner of her eye before fumbling for a response. “Umm, actually Rickon, I don’t think—”
“Hey Rick, I forgot to tell Sansa you want cheese bread, and she’s placing the order right now,” Bran interrupts, saving her from the mess he made.
“Oh shit,” her brother exclaims, jumping up off the couch and darting into the kitchen.
Bran starts following him, only looking back at Arya’s icy glare once to call out, “Have fun guys!”
Gendry, now off the couch and standing at her side, is rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, keys in the other. “I’m guessing Bran knows about our…us?”
He hadn’t used the word date and not quite wanting to ask for clarification—especially when her siblings are still in the other room and she knows, just knows, that if Sansa were to come and see them, she’d know exactly what was going on—she just nods her affirmation.
“Let’s get going,” she says, heading for the door.
His truck is sitting in their circular driveway, parked in the spot it usually is when he drops her off. She’s reaching for the door handle, but he beats her to it, his arm reaching out in front of her, chest lightly brushing her back. She lets him open it for her and slides into the cab of the truck. When she looks over as he’s shutting the door, she sees a blush spreading across his cheeks.
Okay, this is definitely a date. One hundred percent a date. As much as she had made fun of Sansa for combing over magazines for relationship advice over the years, she’d still listened to some of the things she went on about. And in this moment, she can hear her sister’s voice saying, “A gentlemen always opens doors for a lady, Arya. It’s just proper date etiquette.” She always thought that was dumb—because yeah, it’s nice and polite, but she doesn’t want anyone to open a door for her just because she’s a girl—and Gendry doesn’t just regularly open doors for her.
“Thanks,” she mumbles out.
He’s slid into his side of the cab and taken a deep breath when he looks over at her and says, “So. Sonic?” She can hear the confusion in his voice. They hadn’t really discussed it before, only agreed to get dinner, but if that’s how Bran’s going to spin it to her family, they might as well. And besides, Bran was right, they do frequently pick it up to take it back to the shop with them, they’ve just never actually pulled in to eat because that would be so, well, date-like.
“Yeah, I mean. That works. I could really go for a slushie right now.”
He cracks a smile at that. “Can’t you always?” She grins back at him as he starts his truck, slowly pulling out of the driveway.
Sonic is only about a fifteen-minute ride from her house, closer to Gendry’s side of town, but now, only a few minutes in, the silence is beginning to become oppressive. His fingers are tapping on the steering wheel, whether to an imaginary beat or out of nerves, she isn’t sure. She reaches forward to turn on the radio, messing with the dial until it lands on a station she enjoys, and he tolerates. She hums along to the radio under her breath for a little while and, from the corner of her eye, can see the tension slowly start to seep out of his shoulders.
Gendry’s never been much of a talker. His surly looks and generally shy personality tend to put people off, and that’s just how he likes it. Arya on the other hand loves talking to people, always has. Her parents’ friends had taken to calling her Arya Underfoot as a child because at their big fancy holiday parties she could always be found darting around the room, catching snippets of conversations, before taking off to see whatever else caught her fancy.
But just because Gendry didn’t love holding long, drawn-out conversations, that didn’t mean he’d been exempt from holding them with Arya. And, seemingly quickly, he became comfortable with that. So, this was just weird. Just because this could now be classified as a date and not just the two of them hanging out, didn’t mean there was a reason for either one of them to be this nervous, right? One of them needed to speak.
“How was Tobho’s today?” Good, that’s a safe question. Gendry loves talking about the auto shop he works at and she knows he had a heavy workload today, even going so far as to seeing if she could get Sansa, who was home from school for the weekend, to pick her up after classes.
He looks over at her then—for the first time since they pulled away from her house—and the relief she sees on his face is practically palpable.
“Great actually. You know how I said that old rich guy, Lannister, was being an ass about me working on his car, had all these stupid ‘rules’ and stuff?” She nods her head with a scowl, thinking about the family her Uncle Robert had married into. “Well apparently he actually thought I did a good job on his car and gave me a decent tip. I mean,” he scoffs, “not like it’s much to him. With a car like that, the man probably shits gold.”
He continues talking about his day and all of the technical aspects of what he worked on, with Arya only slightly struggling to keep up—she has spent most afternoons after school at the shop for a few years now, after all—and the rest of the ride flies by.
As they pull into Sonic, they’re busy laughing about that time Arya was sitting inside a car at the shop and accidentally blew on the horn, not knowing that his coworker, Lem, was working on it. She surprised him so badly that he jumped up and nearly broke his nose on the hood.
When her laughter dies down, she notices only a handful of the drive-in spots are taken and a few people are sitting at the tables outside. He pulls into an open space near the middle.
“Do you know what you want,” he asks, looking over at her.
“Umm…a large watermelon slushie with Nerds and some fries.”
Face scrunched up and laughing, Gendry says, “A slushie with Nerds? That’s so gross Arry.” She sticks her tongue out as him as he leans forward out of his window to press the button to order.
A vaguely familiar voice crackles out of the speaker, asking to take their order. “Yeah, can I get a large watermelon slushie, with Nerds,” he pauses, looking over at her for dramatic effect, “a large order of fries, a bacon double cheeseburger, a corndog, a large Coke, and umm, some onion rings, and an order of chili cheese tots?”
He’s fumbling for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and listening to the voice rattle the order off back to him, not noticing the incredulous look she’s shooting him.
“What?” he questions, when he finally looks over.
“I’m sorry, is Hot Pie in the bed of the tuck and you just forgot to tell me?”
“I missed lunch,” he grumbles out. “And besides, I told you I got a big tip today. Might as well spend it on something, right?”
“Gendry, I can pay for my half, you don’t have to—”
“Arya,” he cuts her off, giving her a familiar look, one that says, ‘Don’t argue’. They usually alternate paying for food that they pick up and she knows for a fact that he paid for their McDonald’s the other day. But she knows how self-conscious he gets about money. As much as she doesn’t want him to have to spend his hard-earned tip on their food, she knows that talking about it anymore will only make him crabby. Besides, this is a date, right? Dates are allowed to want to pay for each other’s food.
“Fine, but I’ll get it next time.”
“Sure,” he says around a smile, knowing she doesn’t just mean the next time they hang out at the shop. “Next time.”
They grin at each other for a minute, the air around them silent but for the sound of the radio outside playing some song that she can vaguely identify as being sung by Bruce Springsteen and the occasional sound of roller skates on the asphalt. As goofy as she knows her smile is and as much as she would normally call this moment a cliché, she can’t find it in herself to care, what with the feeling of Gendry’s blue eyes on her and knowing that she’s the reason for his wide grin.
“So,” he begins, “how was school today?”
“Pretty good actually,” she starts, thinking on it. “I found out I got an A on my Braavosi test. Mr. Terys said that when I go to college, I should take a Pentoshi class for my foreign language credit since they’re pretty similar. And then, in drama, Ms. Sand announced that we’re going to be doing Antigone for our spring show, which I personally think is way too much for us to handle but she loves her tragedies.”
“Is she the one that was dating the chemistry teacher a few years back?”
“Mr. Martell, yeah. I think they’re off-again right now,” she muses, “she’s been having us perform lots of sad monologues in class.”
“So, are you going to audition?”
“Oh yeah. There aren’t a lot of speaking roles or female roles, but Ms. Sand always gives preference to seniors for leads, so I think I have a pretty good shot.”
He’s opening his mouth to say something when they both spot someone on a pair of roller skates in the rearview mirror headed their way. When they pull to a stop by Gendry’s rolled down window, greeting them with their order and the total, Arya realizes why she recognized the voice on the speaker.
“…and one large Coke,” she finishes off, taking payment from Gendry. It’s when she looks up to begin handing them their order that she notices Arya in the passenger seat. “Arya, hi!” she says, complete with a friendly smile.
“Hey Brea. I didn’t know you worked here.”
“Yeah, the waters are too cold right now for me to stay busy working with Dad, so I applied here for some extra cash.” Arya nods at this, vaguely remembering Brea’s dad being involved in deep sea fishing or something like that. “Who’s this?” she asks, giving Gendry an appreciative look.
“Gendry,” he grunts out, more focused on the food they have yet to be given than the sly glance she’s sending Arya.
“Oh, so you’re Gendry?” She lets out a giggle that gets his attention. Arya narrows her eyes at Brea, confused. She’s mentioned Gendry to Brea in passing, he’s her best friend, how could she not? But she hadn’t said anything that would warrant the giggle and the knowing look Brea now wears.
“Yeah,” he draws out suspiciously, looking between the two girls. “Think we can get our food now?”
“Of course!” She begins handing Gendry the outrageous amount of food—a bemused expression forming as she realizes that all of this seems to be for them—while he sets it down in some pseudo-picnic style on the stretch of seat in between them.
“See you around Arya,” she says after collecting the money, skating away with ease.
Gendry thrusts her slushie into her outstretched hand. Arya expects him to ask about Brea, but when she’s done poking her straw into her drink and looks at him, he’s already shoveling onion rings and a few of her fries into his mouth while one-handedly trying to pull his burger out of the slip of foil.
“You know,” she starts, “the meat’s already dead Gendry. I don’t think your burger is going to be running away anytime soon.”
He gives a dry laugh and sends a deadpan look her way, where she’s smirking around her straw. “Don’t know how you drink those things.” He nods toward her. “They sound toxic, pure sugar,” he says loftily, nose pointing in the air.
“Oh please, don’t act like you didn’t only stop ordering them because you always get a major brain freeze.”
He pouts at that for a minute before biting enthusiastically into his burger. After swallowing his bite and taking a large gulp of his Coke he says, “Do you know what night your play will open? I wanna make sure I let Tobho know in advance I’ll be needing to leave work early that day.” Gendry’s boss often has him stay later in the spring, when daylight is easier to come by. Opening night is bound to be on a Friday, and while Gendry always come to see her performances at some point during their run, she doesn’t want him missing out on work opportunities because of it.
“Oh no,” she says quickly, “you can just go on the weekend or something, I don’t want you missing work because of me. Besides, I might not even get a part.”
He chews thoughtfully on his corndog for a moment. “But if you don’t, you’ll still be doing tech, right?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Then I’ll be there opening night. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Okay,” she says, ducking her head to hide her small smile, under the pretense of trying to drink her slushie.
Their conversation moves onto other topics—Gendry’s coworker, Harmon, who’d just been fired; a new scone recipe that Hot Pie had been using them as taste-testing guinea pigs for; the new single from that terrible alt-rock band, The Brotherhood, that Gendry likes. Before she knows it, Arya’s reaching for her slushie again, only to be met with the sound of her straw sucking up air. Eyebrows furrowing, she looks at the stretch of seat between them only to see that Gendry’s managed to finish all of his food.
He has a hand rubbing the back of his neck and is looking at the clock on the dash that says they’ve been parked for at least an hour and a half. “Guess we’ve been here a little while, huh?” It’s really not all that late for a Friday night, but she knows her parents will be getting home from their night out soon and she’s not ready to have a conversation about her and Gendry with her mother just yet. Or her father.
“Yeah, I probably need to get back soon,” she reluctantly replies.
“Yeah of course.” He gathers up the wrappers and trash littering the seat (and really, it’s an awful lot) along with Arya’s empty slushie cup and hops out to toss it all in the trash can.
Buckling up, she starts thinking about how the night had gone. Things had definitely been flirty, but that had been happening more and more lately. Really it hadn’t been any different than any other time they’d hung out. But did that just mean that they were comfortable around each other or had this not actually ended up being a date? Going to Sonic wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for them, so what if, by suggesting they go there, he thought that she didn’t think this was a date? By the time he’s made the short walk back to the truck, Arya’s head is swimming.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” she chokes out, a strained smile on her face. He gives her a quizzical look and, sensing his confusion, she attempts to make it more genuine. It seems to work because his eyes only linger on her for a second longer before he starts to back out.
Luckily for her, Gendry’s chosen the drive home to vent about his mom’s newest boyfriend, which requires little response on her part.
“And he’s just so boring, you know? He’s always trying to talk to me about golf, as if I’ve ever golfed in my life. Oh, and don’t even getting me started on how often I’ve caught them making out on the couch—my couch! The one I slept on the whole time I lived there—”
Oh shit. All of a sudden it’s no longer Gendry’s diatribe she’s hearing, but her sister’s high pitched, fourteen year old voice as she reads, “And at the end of the date, a gentleman will walk a lady to her door and, should the date have gone well and she seem receptive, give her a chaste kiss on the lips.” While Arya is sure she said something snarky at the time about the magazine being shit, even she knows that people usually kiss at the end of dates. And while she’s certainly been thinking about kissing Gendry (a lot), thinking about it and actually being in a situation where she can, are two totally different things.
Wanting to steer clear of this train of thought, she decides to jump into Gendry’s rant before he gives himself an ulcer. “But she really likes him, right?”
He stops his sentence short. “Well, yeah, but she’s liked all of the other guys too, and you know how those all turned out.” While Arya wouldn’t categorize Ms. Waters as a serial dater, Gendry is right in saying that the past few men she’s dated haven’t had the winningest personalities.  
“Didn’t you say he had a steady job though? Something in an office with a salary?”
He hesitates. “Yeah. But he just seems…like he’s trying too hard.”
“Better to try too hard than to not try at all, right? Maybe you should give this one a chance. I’m not saying don’t be cautious, especially with how a lot of the last guys turned out. But she’s an adult and she’ll want you to trust her judgement. And it won’t do her any good if she thinks you already don’t like this guy right away.”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I guess you’re right, I should at least try.” There’s a brief silence before he starts again. “And maybe,” he pauses, sending her a sly, sideways glance “you could teach me a little about golf?”
“Wait, what? I don’t know anything about golf.”
“Then Bran was lying when he said your mother sent you and him to some fancy golf summer camp when you were kids?” he asks.
Her face is heating up furiously. “How long have you known about that?”
He shrugs. “Awhile now. I’ve been waiting for the opportune time to bring it up.”
He’s laughing at the scowl on her face, managing to get her to crack a smile, when they pull into her driveway. When the truck is in park, they both sit in their seats, hesitating. She’s scrambling for something to say, but he saves her when he quickly jumps out and jogs around to her side of the truck, opening up the door.
Suddenly nervous again, all she can manage is a mumbled thanks as she trails alongside him to her front door. They stop on her stoop.
This is it. The moment of truth. Only he’s just standing there, staring at her, his face looking a bit washed out under the harsh porch light.
“Are you alright Gendry? You’re looking a bit queasy. Few too many onion rings?” She jokes. He lets out a small chuckle with her, tentative smile on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted to say umm,” he clears his throat, “I had a good time tonight. With you. I mean, I always have a good time with you. Hanging out. But a date is a bit more than hanging out, isn’t it? I mean, it felt like hanging out though. Which is good. That is good, isn’t it? God, I’m shit at this.” He rushes this all out, shaking his head when he’s finished, and Arya honestly doesn’t think she’s ever heard him this tongue-tied and nervous before. She’s trying not to let a laugh slip out, what with how distressed he looks, when it hits her that he finally called this a date again. And that’s all she needed.
If anyone were to ask her later, she would definitely deny that she ever had any doubts that this was a date. And how could she have? She and Gendry just worked, of course they would end up dating. She would, however, agree that she had broken the cardinal rule in Sansa’s teen magazines and initiated their first kiss. And it was anything but chaste.
Gendry’s hands have managed to wander to her hips, holding her flush against him, her left hand has found itself tangled in his hair while her right is pressed against his chest. As he slips his tongue in between her lips, brushing it against hers, all she can think of is how she was completely right that kissing Gendry and thinking about kissing Gendry are two totally different things—actually doing it is way better.
They break apart for air, both smiling breathlessly at each other, when they hear footsteps approaching the other side of the door. She takes a step back from Gendry while his hands drop from her waist immediately.
When the door opens, Rickon is standing in front of them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. After staring at them for a moment, “Did you guys get my slushie?”
“They were all out of uh, Red Bull,” Gendry lies.
He stares at them a moment longer, eyes shifting between them both as if ready to call them out on the lie, before his face relaxes.
“Alright. Well we ordered a lot of extra pizza incase you guys were both still hungry.” The idea of Gendry still being hungry almost makes her laugh. “You coming in Gendry?”
He glances over at Arya, as if silently communicating with her that he agrees that they’d be grilled by Sansa and have to deal with Bran sneaking little jokes about them into conversation, and says, “Thanks Rickon, but I ate a lot actually.” Then, turning towards Arya, looking significantly less apprehensive than before they kissed, “I’ll see you Monday?”
“Of course. I’ll text you.” She’ll have to remember to bring up the door opening thing.
He moves forward, as if to give her one last kiss goodbye, before realizing their audience. Playing it off with a quick squeeze to her arm, he gives her and Rickon a nod and a goodnight before walking back to his truck.
She watches him start his truck and pull out, feeling Rickon’s gaze on her neck. She sighs heavily, already knowing he’s figured it out, and turns around.
“So, you and Gendry huh?” He looks curious, less smug than she’d expected.  
“Yes,” she answers, no hesitation.
He nods thoughtfully for a second. “Tell you what. You get me my slushie next time you’re out, and I’ll tell Sansa and Mom that Gendry just dropped you off like usual if they ask. Deal?”
She cracks a smile. “Deal.”
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harryskalechips · 3 years
Text
one and done
A/N Hi everyone! I’m back with a one shot :) I know I don’t write as often anymore but since I’m self quarantining and I’m just about finish with high school, I thought I should try and give it another go? I’m also re starting up my jewellery business so ahhh many goals in mind but no motivation ??? Okay, I hope you guys enjoy this one!!! It is definitely a slow burn with smut but part 2? I dunno!!
Y/N and her brother’s best friend Harry, has had some pent up sexual frustration for a while. Wouldn’t it be best if they just had a one and done? you know to get it out of their system ;) 
*smut includes spanking, choking, male and female receives oral, harry dom but Y/N rides, magic face cream treatment for anti wrinkling results? Yes, and what else? sub space, hair pulling, gosh I forgot please read it 😁
Word Count: 6.1k // Masterlist // one and done PLAYLIST
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“Don’t you think it's a bit of a cliché to be crushing on your brother’s best friend?” Ness teases Y/N as they walk out of her house. They were just on the steps about to go on a walk around the block. It was definitely one of their favourite things to do as the sun was just about to set.
Y/N had her butt sat on the spruced wooden steps as she ignored her best friend’s comment. First off, she knew it was a cliché. Secondly, her last encounter with him just seconds ago was already making her plan her own execution.
In her head, it was simply her just jumping out of her window multiple times until she lost consciousness. Ness on the other hand was standing up, watching the poor girl tie her laces. “Okay, I was just teasing. We can change the topic.” She lends her hand out for Y/N to take.
“It’s not just that Ness.” She gladly accepts the gesture and stands up. She wipes off her butt and glances back at the door. “I’ve never had a thing for him! Ryan and Harry have been best mates since what? 8th grade and for some reason ever since the cruise from last summer, I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“It’s because he was shirtless half of the time.” Ness laughs as she hands Y/N’s water bottle to her. “Okay, we can admit it though. As a senior he is 10 times more attractive than he ever was. He looks like a frat boy that could jump my bones.”  Y/N stops walking and just stares at Ness while the girl continues to walk. She grabs her hand and pulls her forward. “Okay, I’m sorry for the bad comment.”
“He is hot though. Really hot.” Y/N smiles.
“See, that’s why you should sleep with him.”
“What are you crazy? Ness, Ryan would kill me or him -maybe the both of us!” 
“It’s pent up sexual frustration. Harry legit watched us walk out your door while eating a banana and you still managed to trip on your shoes.” She laughs.
“He was making eye contact with me!”
“All I’m saying is that he throws parties at his house and always invites us despite y’know us being juniors. Just offer, do it, slip out, and never say anything about it ever again.” Ness elbows Y/N as she crosses her arms. 
“Maybe I will.” She laughs pretending to actually sound confident in the idea.
“Good, there’s a party this Friday anyway.” Ness shrugs her shoulders. “It’s the best remedy sis.”
~
“Harry, can we talk?” Y/N follows him into the kitchen while everyone else is God knows where around the house. 
“Ryan is in the backyard, trying to get Cassidy back.” He barely glances at her as he pours himself a drink. He notices an empty one in her hand so he decides to pour coke in hers. 
“I um wasn’t really drinking coke.” She states confusedly as she watches the bubbles in her cup dissolve.
“You think I’m trying to get you drunk at this party. One alcoholic beverage is good enough for yeh.” He smiles at her as he screws the cap shut and taps the top of her head. He was treating her as if she was a child, which definitely pissed her off since she was going to ask him a really fucked up favour in the matter of 60 seconds.
“I can handle myself, you know.” 
“Yup.” He rests his back against the counter and bites the rim of the plastic cup as he looks at her. “What do you need though?” He genuinely asks her. Although they weren’t that close, Harry knew her long enough to know she wouldn’t start random a conversation with him. It was more like a hi and bye situation. Not her trying to actually talk to him. 
“I have a favour and you can’t tell Ryan.” Y/N lets out a big breath as she watches his reaction change into a confused one. 
“Look Y/N, if you want to try and smoke a blunt, I think it’s best you find yourself a dealer that doesn’t know your brother.”
“No, not that.” She whispers as she moves in closer. There were more people entering the kitchen and this was about to get really fucking awkward. 
“What?” He looks at her and notices her body shifting closer to him. Her chest was touching the side of his arm, making his eyes look towards the cabinets instead.
“I-”
“Yes?”
“Do you wanna fu-?” His eyes widen as he downs the rest of his drink in one go. Harry doesn’t even let her continue as he steps away from Ryan’s little sister. 
“I’m sorry do I already know the rest of that question?” He tries not to obviously choke on the liquid in his mouth.
“Well, I don’t know you didn’t really let me finish.”  Her sassy tone comes out. Her cheeks were really red and although Y/N came to the party with Ness feeling really confident in the dress she picked. She just wanted to go home and not show her face to him ever again. This was the stupidest idea! Why on earth did she think Harry would want to sleep with her when there are so many girls that try to get his attention. 
“I’m sorry Y/N.” He bites the inside of his cheek and watches some familiar people leave the room. Once it’s clear again, he speaks up. “Like are you serious?” He could feel his throat becoming more stuffy. “You and me?” She nods. “Really?” She nods again. “That’s crossing the line and Ryan is pretty overprotective. I can’t do that to him.”
“Cool.” Y/N stands perfectly still as she tries her best to maintain eye contact with him. She takes a sip of the coke but later, grabs the bottle of alcohol and pours it into her cup regardless of him watching her. “Well, don’t let Ryan know.” She shrugs her shoulders and laughs. “Thanks for answering my survey!” She gives him an awkward smile then walks out of the room. How can a guy pass up on her??? First rejection has gotta sting. 
This wasn’t some weird guy she was asking though. This was Harry, Ryan’s best friend. If Ness was put in his position, she wouldn’t want her to say yes either. God, she was also going to kill her best friend for putting the most ridiculous game plan in her head.
And although the party continued on, Ness and Y/N didn’t let the earlier events bother them. The two spent hours just fucking around until they found a comfy spot in the living room.
“Y/N, don’t look.” Ness sits beside her on Harry’s couch watching a few strangers play an unfamiliar game on the floor. 
“What?” she quickly looks up to see what Ness is talking about. It wasn’t a surprise to see Harry holding Carla Laws’s hand as they walked up the stairs. They looked pretty excited for a room tour too.
Oh hell no, everyone knows a girl doesn’t go to Harry Styles’ room to just hold hands and a cute sentimental room tour!
“Are you sure he didn’t want to with you?”
“Yes Nessa.” She rolls her eyes and drinks her third cup. “Whatever, if anything at least I don’t feel attracted to him anymore. I found a new ick. He doesn’t even find me attractive.”
“Good. Rejection may hurt but it makes you wake up and face reality.” 
~
Okay if there was one thing Y/N could say now, it was that she is finally over Harry. Overall, he was nothing but a phase. Yes, she was crushing on him for the first semester of the year but after that weird conversation they had, it made sense why they couldn’t work out anyway. He’s a stuck up douche - a typical senior, all while she was a junior who was either too infatuated with him or too horny. Maybe both?
It’s been about two weeks and although Ness made sure to keep trash talking the guy, Y/N knew there was more to him than what her best friend thought. She knew him for years! Maybe the fact he was athletic, charismatic and just kind that made her realize what a perfect guy he was. She knew he was a bit more complex than what other people thought of him and it wasn’t bad at all. 
What she never thought was how awkward it was going to be the next time she saw him. “Hey, Haz.” Ryan opens the door for his buddy as Y/N covers herself with the blanket more all while pretending to watch TV.
For the past couple of days, Ryan was going over to his house and maybe Harry asked him too to come over, but what she didn’t expect was to see him again so soon. 
“Hey Ryan.” Harry takes his jacket and boots off as it just begun to snow outside. “Hey Y/N.” She quickly glances at him and waves. 
“Let’s go to the kitchen first, I wanna get snacks.” Ryan suggests as he walks away, assuming Harry would follow him like usual. 
After thirty minutes, Y/N thought the boys would be upstairs but as she entered the kitchen wearing nothing but her shorts and her brother’s old t-shirt, she was surprised to see Harry and Ryan eating sandwiches at the breakfast bar, looking pretty serious. Did Harry tell him? 
As she walked closer, she noticed both boys were just on their phones, scrolling through different social media platforms. She quickly brushes past them to put her dish in the sink. Ryan seemed unbothered but she could definitely feel Harry’s eyes on her. Once she makes eye contact with him, he quickly takes a sip of his juice and looks at his phone once more. “Y/N can you grab the chips in the cabinet please?” Ryan looks up at his phone and notices his sister was standing right in front of the cupboard. 
“Yeah, no problem.” She turns her back on them and opens the cabinet. She goes on her tiptoes reaching for the only bag of chips. Once she grabs them, she puts them on the counter and walks out of the room, only hearing her brother murmur a thank you. 
It was about 6:30 PM and the parents weren’t home yet. Ryan and Harry decided to chill in the living room when the doorbell rang. Pausing the game, Ryan opened the door to see Tom standing in front of him. “Y/N it’s for you!” He calls out for his sister since he knew Tom was her friend.
“Who’s that?” Harry mouthed.
“Her boyfriend.” Ryan shrugs as he unpauses the game. 
“Tom? What are you doing here?” Y/N walks down the stairs, pulling her shirt down. 
“Vanessa told me to come by. Apparently you need help with the calculus homework? I’m free tonight anyway.” He smiles and gives her a hug. Tom was a really good friend of Ness and Y/N. He was a smart boy that was really kind and obviously had a big crush on Nessa. There was anything he could do for her. 
Y/N instantly bit her cheek and laughed as she remembered Ness’ text message a couple of hours ago when she told her Harry came by. This was definitely one of Ness’ master plans. “You’re so sweet.” She pulls away and laughs. “We can go upstairs, I have a few questions to ask.” She quickly glances at her brother who doesn’t care all while Harry tried his best to maintain his eyes on the screen. 
“Y/N, Put some shorts on!”  Ryan finally yells out as the two went up the stairs. 
“I don’t get why he throws parties every weekend.” Ness takes a sip of her drink as they sit inside Harry's dining room. They probably weren’t going to stay too long. Everyone was inside due to the cold weather with the occasional smokers outside. Being the only few juniors, there wasn’t much the girls could do other than loiter around, drink a few cups and play the games they knew so well. Y/N wasn’t the type to have random hook ups but you know her exception with Harry. 
“Gemma has gone off for college and Anne is always working really late shifts at the hospital. He’s pretty much anywhere and everywhere besides his house unless it’s a party.”
“True.” 
“I’m going to say bye to my brother then we can head back to mine if you want?” Y/N offers as Nessa nods and downs her drink. 
“I’m going to drink a cup of water. Meet you at the front?”
“Mhm.” They both stand up and leave the room. Nessa was heading straight to the kitchen while Y/N began to wander around the house. 
“Y/N.” Harry calls out her name over the music. He was wearing a while long sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned. It made him look really attractive which almost made Y/N lose her breath. 
“Hey Harry, You know where Ryan is?” The only typical thing she would ever ask him before that one time. (Pretending as if she didn’t sexually harass him last time.) 
“He’s downstairs with the rest of the boys.” He glances around at everyone and looks at her once more. “I’m sorry, are you um- leaving?”
“Yeah me and Nessa are going to call it a night.” She wraps her hoodie around her figure and tries to make her way to the stairs. 
“Want me to give you girls a ride?”
“No no, it’s okay!” She smiles and waves her hand at him. “Nessa drove. You also have a party to h-”
“It’s kind of late maybe she should head home and we can-” And that’s when it hit her. Was Harry Styles trying to isolate her? 
“Oh.” She widens her eyes and slowly nods. “Okay. I’ll let my brother and Ness know. Should I meet you in your car outside?”
“Yeah.” He runs his hand through his hair and quickly leaves her side. After bidding her farewell to Ryan and explaining her interpretation of Harry to Ness, she was  quietly leaving the house as she watched Nessa walk by herself to the car down the street. What surprised Y/N more was to see him in his brown jacket standing by the passenger door. 
“Did you tell Ryan I was dropping you off?” He  nervously smiles as he opens the door for her. He makes sure no one is watching them leave together as he feels the butterflies forming in his stomach. 
“No.” She puts her hood on and sits in his car. She was picking on her stockings trying to avoid the awkward tension between them. Once Harry sat inside and they both put their seatbelts on, they were on their way to her house. It was weird knowing she was actually leaving a party with her brother’s best friend so she could suck his- 
 “What happens if they notice you’re gone?”
“Um, I’m sure they’ll think i'm elsewhere doing stuff.” She knew what he was thinking about and that made her a bit uncomfortable but it didn’t change the fact it was true.
“Are you still down to y’know?” Harry honestly never thought he would be this nervous talking to Ryan’s little sister. 
“Yeah.” She bites her lip as they glance at each other. 
“Cool. Are you like a virgin or something. I mean is there anything that I should know about?”
“No.” She shakes her head and low-key observes how he drives. 
This was going to be one hell of a night. 
Harry has seen Y/N’s room a countless number of times but to actually be with her by themselves in Ryan’s house made him feel really guilty. That guilt however, was shoved in the back of his throat. The girl in the room with his was obviously the best distraction. “I like your room.” he smirks at her as he looks at her soccer trophy collection from grade school. 
“Thanks.” She laughs lightly as she takes off her jacket. She quickly texts an update to Ness before putting the phone on do not disturb. 
“So before we start, what made you ask the offer?” He takes his jacket off and throws it on her chair. He sits on her bed and glances at the time. It was still early, so people probably weren’t going to be looking for him. 
“This is going to sound really dumb but I’ve had this crush on you since the cruise last summer. Well, you know Nessa... she had this thought and she thinks it is just pent up sexual frustration?” She shakes her head of saying the whole idea out loud. “So I thought maybe I should just get it out of my system.” Harry laughs as he takes in of what she just said. it made her smile as well.
“You were checking me out all summer?” He asks her in disbelief. “Little Y/N wanted to jump my bones?” He started to smirk at her. Although they didn’t know each other too well, the awkward tension was gone with just one simple laugh of his. 
“Stop laughing.” She throws a pillow at him. “I didn’t think you would say no.”
“I didn’t want to say no Y/N are you crazy? I’m laughing because I kept checking you out in those tiny bikinis you used to wear.” He throws the pillow to the side and shakes his head. “I don’t want to cross Ryan like that but I think i need to get you out of my system too.”
“Mhm and why’s that?” She locks her door and sits on the bed with him. “Because Carla couldn’t distract me from seeing you in my sheets.” He leans in and kisses her. “Tom coming by a few days ago with you wearing nothing but those little shorts was already making me lose my mind.” He whispers and kisses her again. 
Y/N immediately sits on his lap while trying her best to keep his mouth on her’s. Everything about this was so hot. She was about to just rip his clothes off. 
“One and done yeah?” Y/N rubs herself on him as her fingers tangle themselves in his hair. He kisses down her neck while grabbing her ass. 
“One and done. Just to get you out of my system.” He confirms with her as he gently throws her on the bed. He’s pulling his long sleeve off and taking his shirt off but once he begins unbuckling his jeans, he couldn’t help but notice Y/N trying to take her shirt off as well. “Fuck.” He murmurs as he gently unbuttons her long sleeve to help her take it off. In a flash, he’s on his knees unzipping her skirt and taking her stockings off as well. “You looked really pretty tonight by the way.” His cheeks flush as he throws her bottoms behind his back. Y/N laughs quietly and she sits up and brings his face closer to hers. 
“I actually would like to say the same exact thing.” He leans in to kiss her once more. Her lips were extremely soft and forbidden and it was making him slowly lose his mind all over again. Y/N thought Harry was just a phase but that seemed impossible as she was already dreading the fact this was a one and done situation. 
“You’re just so fucking soft and alluring.” He whispers in her ear as he unclasped her bra. “I already know I need to fuck you hard.” Y/N eyes’ roll back as she feels his wet mouth on her nipple as the other one massaged the other. Her hands were trying really hard to focus on the task at hand which was to undo his pants but it was definitely not working with the way he was distracting her. Not a single thought could process in her mind.
“I think since this is a one and done situation, you better make this memorable.” She whispers and bites her lip as she tries to hold back a moan. His fingers were teasing her covered entrance but Harry could feel her drenched spot already clenching at his presence. 
“Memorable? I’ll definitely leave my mark on you.” He sucks on her mouth more roughly than usual as he rubs his fingers on her centre. “You wanted me so bad baby? You just had to beg me huh?” He gestures his hips more forward to help her with his pants. 
“I’m kind of new to this. Be a bit patient.” Y/N laughs as she gently unzips his pants after numerous attempts.  
“You just ruined the moment.” He laughs with her as he kisses her forehead and takes his pants off as well. “Just kidding, this is probably the most fun I had.” He hovers over her again and teases her entrance. 
“What do you mean?” She lays on her back and roams her hands all over his chest. 
“Never got the chance to tease the fuck out of a pretty girl then fuck her hard.” He slaps her clit and bites down on her lip. She suddenly lets out a moan that makes her eyes flutter and her chest rise closer up to his face. 
He brings two of his fingers to her mouth and slowly lets her lick on it before rimming her entrance and shoving it in without any warning. His thumb slowly rubs her swollen numb as he can’t help but rub himself on her sheets as well. “You mind if I get a little bit of a taste? I’ve been dying to know. I saw you earlier at the party and I had to jerk myself off seeing you in those little stockings of yours.” 
“You. You jerked yourself off thinking about me, baby?” She looks down at him and smiles softly. He gives her a little smirk before pulling his hand away and heading his head down a bit south. His tongue dips slowly on the left side of her leg as his hands grip her thighs tightly, sure of the bruises to form soon.
“You’re like a fucking wet dream. How can I say no to you?” He urgently swipes his whole tongue on her centre. “I saw you earlier and had to go to my room.” He takes another lick. “Fuck baby, the best i’ve fucking tasted. Fuck oh fuck.” He precisely observes the way your whole swallows his fingers in and clench so tightly around him. His tongue dipping and switching with his fingers because he honestly can’t decide which is best. 
“Harry, fuck me please baby.” Y/N moans loudly as she harshly grabs on her boobs. She’s never been fucked this good. It was honestly feeling like a dream. With that being said, she’s only had sex a handful of times but Harry seemed like such an expert in the field. “Oh God.” She tries to pull away. She wasn’t sure if she could continue on with Harry obsessively licking and sucking on her wet centre. 
He looks up and watches her eyes roll back as her fingers begin to pull on his head aggressively. His only reflex is to spread her legs wider. After her first orgasm, Y/N lays on her back staring at her ceiling trying to catch her breath. 
“Fuck me.”
“We aren’t done yet, love.” He laughs at her cuteness. He can’t remember the last time where he wasn’t rushing to finish himself off. He was taking his time with Y/N since it’s what she deserves. He lays down beside her and kisses down her chest. “Tell me when you’re ready to go, yeah?” He dips his tongue on her shoulder until it reaches the huge hickey he left on her collarbone. He gently licks around it and sucks on it again. 
He was a bit surprised to see Y/N sit up and grab a condom from her drawer. “Thank you for fucking the shit out of me, I’ll gladly return the favour.” She smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear as she focuses on putting the contraceptive on him. Just touching it was already forming butterflies in her stomach. 
“I could’ve been fucking you on that cruise.” he mischievously smiles at her as he watches the way her pretty tits move. 
“You were sharing a room with my brother.” She hisses as she holds onto his shaft trying to gently ease the pain as she fully sits on him. 
“But you were alone.” He grabs onto her waist and helps her. “You’re so beautiful fuck.” He sits up on her headboard as her palms rest on his chest. Both of their eyes couldn’t help but watch the way he was easily penetrating her. 
“Was touching myself because of you.” She mumbles out as her speed begins to increase.
“What did you say baby?” He almost chokes on his breath as he can feel her fully taking him in. 
“Couldn’t stop thinking of you on that cruise. I needed you to rail the fuck out of me.” She moans louder as she starts to feel his hips meet her. 
“Fuck me. So perfect, Shit.” He quickly turns them around and shoves himself back into her. His hand immediately tightens around her neck and once he is about to pull it away, she keeps his hand on her. 
“Fuck me harder.” She cries out as his arm begins to push her legs up. He spits in between their centres before thrusting as hard as he can. All you could hear was her headboard banging against the wall as his hand continuously choked the fuck out of her. 
“I bet you like getting spanked too huh?” He bites his lip and semi turns her body before slapping her ass. 
“Harry fuck.”
“Come on, baby. Be a good girl and come around my cock.”
“Fuck fuck fuck.” Y/N cries out as her fingernails scratch his back. “Come in my mouth. I want to taste you so bad please.” tears begin to form in her eyes as she continues to clench around his dick. Harry immediately pulls off the condom and helps her sit up on her knees. She absolutely could not feel a thing below her stomach but with Harry’s hard cock in her mouth, she was already closing her eyes and trusting him with everything she was. She’s never been this fucking vulnerable, she was literally about to pass the fuck out. 
She was softly holding onto his thighs but her hands found comfort on his waist as he began to fuck her mouth harder. Harry on the other hand, kept his eyes on how her mouth was taking him in. He watched the way his fingers wrap around her hair tightly as he brought his hips closer and closer until he could feel her gagging on his dick. Without a warning, he immediately pulls out and spills all over her face.
“Why’d you do that?” She opens her eyes and pouts. She was pretty upset how she couldn’t taste him spill into her mouth. So her finger immediately takes a swipe of his spill and puts it in her mouth. Without hesitation, she’s taking his forming soft dick in her hands before softly licking it clean and softly sucking on his balls. She takes his shaft and swipes her cheek once more before licking the rest of his spill from his shaft. 
“You’re going to make me hard again if you keep doing that baby. Might not be as nice as I was this time.” 
“Maybe I want another round?” She gestures him to lie down as she continues to kiss and suck on his cock. 
“Thought it was a one and done.” He softly smiles as he removes some of the hair from her face.
“How about a one and done night?”
“Deal.”
And although they thought this was crossing a line, they already knew the moment their lips touched, they wouldn’t be able to stop.
~
“Wait so he changed his mind!” Nessa laughs as they drive back home. “Bitch how are you at school today? I literally saw you limping at lunch.”
“Shut up.” Y/N mouth widens as she rubs her face. “I don’t know what happened okay? We said one and done but we honestly went a couple of rounds before I had to wake him up so he could drive back home.”
“But is he out of your system? Don’t get me wrong Harry’s a fine guy but like dating wise? He’s been with other girls but somehow always goes back to Carla. They’ve been like that before you and Ryan moved here.” 
“Yeah, he’s out of my system.” Y/N laughs but truth be told, some nights when she can’t sleep, she’ll find herself staring at the ceiling. 
“Why are you guys home so early?” Nessa asks once they step inside the house. There was a good comparison between Nessa and Ryan with Y/N and Harry. First off, Nessa literally saw Ryan as her older brother which meant they were pretty vocal towards each other. Secondly, Nessa was very comfortable at Y/N’s house almost as if this was her second home. 
“Carla and Cassidy are coming over.” Ryan smirks as Harry cleans the living room behind him. “During the party last night, I may have asked if they wanted to come over for a double date game night thing. Mom and Dad are cool with it since it's a Monday which is their date night too.
“Oh have fun.” Y/N buds in and laughs. “Make sure to actually vacuum please. You don’t want the girls finding your crumbs on the carpet.” She takes her jacket off as Nessa follows behind her up the stairs. Harry obviously tried to ignore the fact, she bluntly ignored him. 
“Double date? Damn, you guys really did just fuck and brushed it under the carpet.”
“It meant nothing right. So?” Y/N tries to brush off the topic as she sets her backpack down. “Why won’t you sit down?” “On that bed?” Nessa smiles awkwardly as she glances at the double bed near the wall. 
“I changed the sheets.” Y/N takes her shirt off and replaces it with another loose top. She unzips her pants and wears her black tights instead.
“So should we invite ourselves to their double date?” Nessa raises her eyebrows as she lays down on the bed. 
“No because it’s weird and I don’t want Harry to think I’m jealous.”
“I think you are.”
“Nope, I told you I don’t like him like that anymore and he’s out of my system.” She tries to ignore the fact, how she swallowed him without hesitation.
“Okay but wouldn’t it be better to prove to yourself you are just by being around him.” And although Y/N wanted to protest that, the two best friends ended up being invited by Ryan to play downstairs anyway. 
“You girls want a refill?” Ryan sits up from the coffee table as he cleans up the empty red cups. Ness, Carla, and Cassidy wanted a new one which made Y/N go help her brother out in the kitchen. 
“Are you having fun?” Ryan asks as he throws the cups in the recycling. Y/N pours the preferred drinks in the new cups as she looks up at her brother. 
“Yeah, I was wondering why you invited Ness and I. Don’t you think we’re cock-blocking?”
“Harry suggested you guys hang out with us while we played games. More competition is fun y’know. Plus you and Nessa can leave whenever.”
“Oh cool. Thanks, I guess?” 
“Yup.” He grabs two cups as she does. She couldn’t help but notice how Ryan suddenly started cheering. “Yeah, Styles get it! Woooo!” Y/N turns her eyes to notice Harry and Carla making out on the floor by the coffee table. 
“Are you guys dating again?” Cassidy laughs as she tries not to watch them make out.
“Sure.” Carla pulls away and pecks his cheek. Nerissa was just watching Y/N’s reaction and she knew it was a bad one. 
“Y/N could you walk me to the car? Appa just texted me and he’s wondering where I am. I forgot it was his birthday.” Nessa speaks up.
“Oh shit.” Y/N was clueless of her excuse. Which thankfully made her seem more genuinely in a rush to get out of the room. She sets the drinks on the table before going upstairs with Ness.
“How did you forget it was Appa’s birthday, Ness?” 
“I don’t know.” She packs her things up. “Why don’t you come with me? He’s gonna blow his cake soon.”
“Oh, I don’t want-”
“Come.” And if there was one thing Y/N knew well about Nessa, it was that she wouldn’t ever forget it was Appa’s birthday, especially if she just celebrated it a couple of months ago. Without a fight to say no, Y/N immediately grabs a hoodie as they walk down the stairs. 
“Ryan, I’m going to Ness’ to celebrate Appa’s birthday. I’ll be home soon before Mom and Dad comes home.”
“Oh okay.” Ryan waves at his sister as his arms rests on Cassidy’s shoulder. 
“Bye guys!” Ness and Y/N wave as they both exit the house immediately. Harry stays unbothered as he takes another sip of his beer. 
“Thank you for getting me the fuck out of there.” 
“It’s okay. We don’t actually have to leave you know. It’s 6 PM, I can drive the car to a different neighbourhood and you can cry all about him there.”
“I love you.” Y/N begins to tear up. 
“I love you too.”
~
“What’s Tom doing here?” Ryan’s eyes are in shock as he watches his sister hold hands with the familiar boy. What’s confusing is that Y/N went to Ness’ for a birthday. 
“He just wanted to come over.” She smiles innocently as she waves hi to the same party. It was just about 7 PM and the double date duo was watching an unfamiliar movie on TV. Nessa called Tom and Y/N had to explain their situation. Although he didn’t really want to do it. He knew Y/N wanted to prove something to the Harry guy. So as long as they didn’t do anything romantic or weird that would cross his boundaries, Tom was okay with it. 
“Aw, I didn’t know you were dating Thomas?” Cassidy smiles as she walks in with a bowl of popcorn. She hands it to Carla who is cuddling up against Harry on one of the sofas.
“We aren’t dating.” They both look at each other and laugh. Tom shakes his head and pulls Y/N up the stairs instead. 
Once the pair is gone, the dates begin to watch their movie again. “Ryan, you really don’t care if your sister is by herself with that boy?” Carla laughs as she feeds herself and Harry popcorn.
“I’m definitely not going to interfere with that, they’re probably doing the nasty already.” His eyes widen as he stuffs more popcorn down his mouth and although, Harry was keeping his eyes on the screen, there wasn’t anything sitting well with him knowing the girl he was with on the weekend was already in somebody else’s arms. 
The goal was to get each other out of their systems, why the fuck are they so jealous then?
great plan Vanessa. 
Part deux ici 
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Text
𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝
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Pairing: Neighbour!Bucky x reader
Warnings: Mentions of knife, blood, cursing, murder, mention of cannibalism, dark!Bucky(?), major character death, slight smut, fluff.
Summary: Bucky set his eyes on his sweet and cute neighbour who had suffered from a loss recently, determined to make her his.
Word count: 4.3k
a/n: This is my entry for @ambrosiase hotel indigo writing challenge. It’s my first ever writing challenge, and I had a lot of fun writing this! Honestly, I'm really grateful for this challenge because it motivates me to finish this wip that has been sitting in the draft for too long. Thank you for this lovely challenge mae ♡♡
Not beta’d, all mistakes are my own. If you see any mistakes, do let me know!
Room ⥤ Modern muse
Room service ⥤ neighbour + criminal
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“Oh that poor thing.”
Bucky whipped his head in the direction of the voice. It was Mrs. Lockwood, his neighbour on the right.
“Huh?” He didn’t mean to voice out his confusion, but his brain was somewhat short-circuited, barely able to function when his sight was filled with you, and you only.
“That sweet girl over there,” Mrs. Lockwood was referring to you, his sweet neighbour to the left he was staring at, before the old lady came interrupting.
He had been staring for 5, 10 minutes maybe? He swore he wasn’t a pervert, you were just a sight for sore eyes, the healer of the wounds in his soul.
“What about y/n?” He asked, curious to listen to what his neighbour would say about the other neighbour. Also, he was fairly new to the neighbourhood, having just moved in last month, he ought to catch up with the gossip.
“Her boyfriend went missing a few months back, poor girl was devastated. Police suspected it was murder, even suspected y/n!” The old lady shook her head, casting pitying glances at the oblivious girl in the sundress, bathing under the sun with a book in her hand. “She’s such a sweet girl, how could they have suspected her?”
Bucky glanced at you, heart racing when you caught him looking. You shyly waved at him, a small smile plastered on your face hiding the underlying sadness of the loss of your loved one. His hand felt clammy when he raised one of them to wave back, his usual flirty self vanished whenever you were involved in the equation.
“Boy, you are in love aren’t ya,” Mrs. Lockwood teased, “I say go for it. Our lovely y/n definitely needs some lovin’ after what she’d been through and young man, I think you are the right person.” Her eyes crinkled as she patted Bucky encouragingly on the shoulder, like a loving mother cheering up her son.
Bucky, who was usually composed, blushed furiously. That big brain of his still hadn’t regained its functions thus he found himself unable to stop Mrs. Lockwood when she hollered at you.
Clearly immersed in your book, you jumped a little when you heard your name being called.
“Y/n, this young man would love to take you out on a date, what d’ya say?” His eyes widened at the accusation, though it was true that he wanted to date you, he just needed time to gather the guts to ask you out.
He saw you put down your book, walking towards him and Mrs. Lockwood. You were a front yard away from him, shielding the harsh sunlight from your eyes with your hands while leaning onto the fence.
“I’d love to,” you had to speak louder, and Bucky loved your voice as he only heard it only a handful of times now, often you were shy and quiet when you saw him.
“U-uhm, how about Saturday then,” He stuttered like a teenage boy who first received a love letter, suddenly forgetting how to speak, speech lost in the sea of disbelief and excitement, and affection.
You said nothing, only nodding and smiling at him, flashing those pearly whites.
“Great. 6pm. I’ll pick you up,”
“See you soon, James.” He watched as you walked away, a teasing smile on your face before you disappeared into the door. Gosh how he loved the way his name sounded on your lips, and he’d give anything to hear it again, and again.
Saturday came too soon, Bucky was not prepared at all. Well, he had done the reservations for the restaurant he’d planned to bring you to tonight, ironed out the creases and wiped off the non-existent dust on the dress shirt he would be wearing, so why was he nervous?
5:50 pm.
Call him old-fashioned or whatever, he’d prefer early to late and would love to escort you to his car. He stood in front of your porch, palm sweating and if his metal arm could secrete sweats, he was pretty sure it would end up like its counterpart.
You opened the door as soon as he rapped his knuckles on the wooden door, seeming eagerly waiting for him as he was for you.
He took in your outfit, the moderately revealing dress he liked, the one he saw you undress from, through his window countless times.
If it was possible to fall into a deeper love, he would.
The date couldn’t possibly be better than he imagined, it was perfect. Everything was great; the atmosphere of the restaurant, the quality of the food, and most importantly, you.
You were shy at first but opened up fairly quickly, telling him stories about you, and vice versa. You sympathized with him when he told you how he got the metal arm, your fingers grazing the delicate and intricate loops and lines on the metal surface.
His fingers were woven into yours halfway into the dinner, the cool metal fingers of his absently caressing your knuckles as you shared the story about your family, who disappeared mysteriously, then your ex-boyfriend, who went missing 5 months ago, like your family.
It was hard, talking about missing loved ones. Bucky could tell, by the way your hand unconsciously tightened, the lingering sadness in your eyes as you mentioned how happy you were before him. The way your tears were brimming in your eyes, threatening to glide down your face, it wrenched his heart, seeing how broken you were. He would try to pick up every broken piece of you in a heartbeat, mending them back together, fixing you until you were happy again if you would let him in.
He was kind of glad your ex-boyfriend was out of the picture, though it was a selfish thing to say. He desperately wanted to claim you, wanted to be your last and only boyfriend.
He’d been going on dates with you for a few months now. You were perfect, almost too perfect if he would say. You were practically his dream girl, so kind and generous. So sweet and loving. Pretty much everybody in this neighbourhood would agree with him and he sometimes wondered if he really deserved you. A beauty mingling with a beast. No one would ever want to see that, after all, even the beast turned into a handsome prince at the end of the fairytale.
Bucky wondered, if you found out what he did every night after you were asleep or what he took from your closet when you were away, would you still want him? If you found out the beast within him, would you still love him the same?
His thoughts were occupied and it wasn’t until the sharp pain in his fingers that he snapped out of his trance.
“Fuck!” You heard him cursing and went to him, gasping when you saw the streams of blood flowing from the deep cut from two of his fingers.
Hastily reaching out for the clean cloth from one of the drawers, you placed it over the wound, applying pressure on them.
The red quickly seeped through the pristine white cloth, two colours clashing as the red engulfed the white.
Bucky noticed you wincing at the red, gulping at the sight, head slightly turned away. It was obvious you were uncomfortable at the sight of blood, so he took the cloth himself and nudged you to wash the faint hint of blood on your palms.
“Sorry, now you might have to do this alone,” Bucky gestured at the ingredients on the counter, “and sorry for the cloth, blood stains are quite hard to get rid off.”
“Don’t you worry, a little hydrogen peroxide and the cloth will be as good as new,” Bucky let you tend to his wounds and pushed him towards the living room where he would sit at the couch for the next hour while you were busy at the kitchen preparing dinner.
While he was in the living room, he took in the interior of your house. He never got to take a close look, as he always had to sneak in when it was dark. The beige colour walls, cream coloured furnitures, books arranged perfectly on the floating shelves. The pictures and art hung on the clean walls, not one of them is crooked. The square coffee table with only the remote and a display plant on it, and when he shifted himself to sit at the center of the couch, did he realize the coffee table was lined up perfectly in the middle of the TV and the couch.
Bucky’s eyebrows raised, he didn’t depict you as a meticulous person. No wait, whenever he went out with you, you’d arrange the plates to sit between the utensils perfectly. When you get boba, the straws must precisely be in the center of the cup, and if you missed it, your eyebrows would furrow in annoyance subconsciously.
His eyes wandered over to your figure in the kitchen and was not surprised to find you wiping and hanging the cutting board on the ceramic wall, adjusting it with your fingers so it wouldn’t be crooked while waiting for the stew to simmer.
You caught him looking at you and threw a smile at him in which he reciprocated, then continued to let his eyes wander through your living room. This could easily be an IKEA showroom, he thought.
Another week went by, Bucky found himself more and more in love with you, if that was possible in the first place as if he didn’t already dedicate all the space in his heart for you.
You were both in the kitchen again. This time however, he was busy mixing the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder mixture, with you snuggling behind him, arms circling his waist as you watched him do the magic.
He felt sorry for not helping last time so he was making up to you by baking some brownies.
As you both were cleaning up, brownies baking in the oven, Bucky turned to you.
“Hey, I never asked, but what do you do for a living?” He questioned nonchalantly while wiping the huge plastic bowl.
The wet spatula fell from your grip, dropping into the sink of water, droplets of soapy liquid flecked on your shirt.
“O-oh, i’m an artist!” You let out a laugh to conceal your flustered state, “Aspiring artist to be exact.”
“An artist,” he hummed, as if chewing onto the meaning of the word, “could you show me your works?”
Your head whipped towards his direction, mouth parted in surprise. Nobody has ever appreciated your dream. Your family, your friends, your ex-boyfriends, all of them claimed that being an artist would lead you to being unsuccessful, and you deemed to prove them wrong.
“Yes, yes, of course,” you were overjoyed. Abandoning the half-washed utensils, you clasped your hand around his wrist and dragged him to follow you towards the second floor, into a room hidden behind another beige coloured door, where you kept all your works.
Rows of headless mannequins clothed in white dresses painted with red blossoms appeared before him as you pushed open the door.
He was utterly mesmerized. He trailed his gaze across the display, a smile painted his lips as he deduced that every piece of them was unique. No two dresses had the same pattern.
Some had plain red blossoms splattered on it, some had dark red waves littering on the bottom hem; some with brush strokes of red. There was also a different tone of red, bright and dark or somewhat in between.
“Wow, this is just … amazing!” He found himself at a loss for words, “are those blood?”
“Yes, they are.”
“I thought you don’t like blood?” Bucky teased.
“These are animal blood. I’m fine with it as long as it’s not coming out from a human,” you retorted.
He chuckled. Once again admiring the intricate patterns of your works, marvelling at how talented and perfect you were. His heart sank at the thought of the question he frequently found himself asking, how can someone so perfect like you end up with someone less than perfect like him.
You apparently noticed his changed demeanor as you inched yourself closer to pull him into an embrace, placing your chin on his chest, eyes searching for his sad blue ones.
“Are you okay?” He hugged you tighter, sighing.
“I’m fine. I just … I think you’re perfect and you’re everything I've ever wanted. But I'm not sure if I'm perfect enough for you.”
“Oh James, you’re more than enough. I assure you, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted too.”
Bucky felt like his heart was filled to the brim with adoration, butterflies erupted from his stomach. Your assurance was everything to him, keeping his wandering soul anchored and he was grateful for it, grateful for your existence. The more the reason to cage you by his side so you couldn’t ever leave him.
His lips were on yours the next second, his grip on your waist tightened as you deepened the kiss, tongue finding his; busy hands sliding from his stomach to his shoulder.
Both of you were drowning in this ecstasy, unwilling to part away from each other’s touch.
The loud ding of the oven startled the both of you. Momentarily parting from each other, you stared at him with a heated glance. His eyes were hooded, filled with lust, desire.
“Fuck the brownies,” you whispered, molding your soft lips on him once again, the hunger for each other far greater than the stupid brownies, “need you now.”
Bucky didn’t need to be told twice, large hands cupping your bottom as you hopped and hooked your legs behind him, arms instinctively went to his shoulders for support.
He brought the both of you to your room, the one he was all too familiar with, the one with the same cream coloured theme which could definitely pass as another IKEA showroom judging by how perfect the layout was.
The only odd thing that stood out in this far too perfect room was the trail of scratch marks extending from the door frame to the wall outside of the room.
The deep scratch marks were somehow etched deep in his brain, he couldn’t let it go. It felt as if there was a dot of blank ink on a piece of white paper, and even though there was more white than black, you’d only be fixated on the dot of black.
He would ask you about the haunting marks on the wall and your fingers that were tracing patterns on his skin would falter, you’d give him the warm smile he loved while brushing it off saying it was the huge Dobermann your aunt owned which did that.
Even when he was balls deep in you, the vivid image of the scratch marks were there in his head, though you were quick to draw back his attention with a grind on his hips, both of your bodies covered with sheen of perspiration. Strands of your hair sticking to your body, but you pay no care to them as you rocked your hips, chanting his name over and over again like a mantra, like a prayer.
His eyes were on your fucked out state, his grip on you like steel. The cool surface of his metal arm contrasted with your hot flushed body as you chase your high like a traveller chasing the oasis in a desert, desperate for a quench of thirst.
Even when he was chasing the same high, vision blinding with bliss, the marks were still there and this time they were accompanied by the white dresses painted with red, and red only.
Bucky was always a doubtful person. Doubting every single decision he’d ever made. Doubting himself, doubting others. But there was one thing he was certain of, there was something less than innocent lurking underneath your skin. Of course, he was still head over heels for you but he was pretty adamant to find out the sinister in you, hoping it would answer his questions, mainly the recurring image of a certain mark.
Bucky was a lot of things, dumbass , dork, clumsy(per sam), but he was not stupid. Hell, he was far from stupid. Those scratch marks, definitely not the Dobermann.
You were a perfectionist, you couldn’t possibly leave the mark there and acted like nothing happened in the first place. He’d imagine if it was the dog, you’d probably have someone fix the dent the same day, unwilling to allow even a speck of blemish in your flawless house.
Bucky was a lot of things, and being a dumbass was definitely one of them as he was showing up on your porch in the evening unannounced.
He’d considered sneaking in like he used to do but he knew, he saw that you were still in the house. He couldn’t and wouldn’t jeopardize your relationship with him knowing he’d get caught.
He knocked on your door, hearing footsteps paddling, rushing to him.
As you opened the door, your eyes widened at the sight of an awkward Bucky. Although you were quick to throw him an unalarming smile, he still caught the nervousness in you.
There was something off with you. The disheveled hair, thin layer of sweat adorning the crown of your head, unknown wet liquid staining your shirt.
He caught a whiff of the strong smell of chemicals wafting through the door, it smelled a lot like bleach.
“I’m sorry,” he scratched at the back of his neck, “is this not a good time?”
“It’s fine, come on in.”
The smell of bleach invaded his nose the moment he stepped into your house, flooding and overwhelming his senses causing him to wince.
“Were you deep cleaning?”
“Yeah, I accidentally spilled some of the animal blood this morning. Had to use hell lots of hydrogen peroxide to get rid of them. Sorry for the smell.”
“No no, it’s okay. Let me just open the windows and door, okay?” He was getting a little light-headed now, desperately needing some fresh air. “Doll, you need to ventilate every time you use bleach, it’s harmful for your health to inhale all these fumes.”
You blushed at the term of endearment, yet wanting to blame him for not calling you that earlier.
He went over to open the windows, sighing contentedly at the waves of fresh air hitting his face as the wind blew in.
He felt your arms snaking around him, head leaning against his broad back.
“I love you, James. Wouldn’t know what to do without you.”
“I love you too.” He turned around and hugged you, his chin propped on your head, not knowing you had a solemn expression on your face.
He’d spent the evening with you, watching TV on the couch with you in his lap. It was so mundane yet he’d never got bored of this, wanting to do this with you for the rest of his life.
Outside the window, the orange and yellow sky faded into darkness.
“Let’s order take out, how about Thai food?”
“I’ll cook,” you kissed him on the lips and got up from his lap before he could reply anything.
“Ok, you need help?” He heard a faint ‘no, it’s fine’ coming out of the kitchen followed by the clanking of pots and utensils.
His neck stretched to peek at your figure in the kitchen, too busy chopping up ingredients to notice he was no longer at the living room.
He made his way down the basement, where the pungent smell of the bleach was still lingering.
The wood creaked as he stepped on the stairs, announcing his arrival to the darkness surrounding the basement. The soft glow of light illuminated the large space, a wall of tins stacking on each other revealed to him. A few easels of different sizes were propped on the wall with several grey aprons hanging beside them.
He walked closer to examine the insane amount of tins. A small label that said Pig blood was stickered on the body of the white tin.
His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Do people really sell animal blood in metal tins, wouldn’t they go bad?
There were loads of questions in Bucky’s head, questions with answers only you could provide.
He noticed a chest freezer sitting in the corner of the basement and his legs brought him to it before he came to realize. The whole basement was so quiet he could hear the soft ringing in his ears, the racing of his heartbeat amplified as his hand inched towards the lid.
There was nothing in the freezer, to his surprise.
The empty freezer stared back at him, as if mocking his fruitless attempt. He was relieved, or disappointed, he couldn’t tell the difference and there was no point in distinguishing them now since you had nothing to hide. He wasn’t even sure what he was expecting to find in the freezer.
“Babe?” You stood behind him with an apron on, a knife in your hand, a second after he closed the door to the basement.
He leaned against the door frame, hand went to his head, eyes squeezed shut as he pretended he was having a headache.
“Felt dizzy all of a sudden, I was just making my way to the bathroom.”
“Oh, okay. I was just about to tell you dinner's almost ready,” a tooth-rotting smile was plastered on your face.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” he watched as you walked away, letting out the breath he’d been holding. His palm was clammy, heart beating rapidly.
“I love you,” You placed your hand on his arm, eyes meeting his.
“I know, doll. I love you too.”
This was seconds before dinner.
“James, I love you.” You whispered, watching him giving you a grin before he stuffed the meatball into his mouth.
“Wow, I'm so loved today. It’s the secon- no, third time you’ve said ‘I love you’ to me today.” He grinned, heart bursting with love. “You know I love you too.”
This was mid-dinner.
“I love you so much, James.”
Bucky was getting suspicious of you. Were you hiding something, perhaps cheating on him? For there were no reasons for you to keep telling him you loved him even though he knew how much you loved him and vice versa.
“I love you,” you kissed his knuckles, “this might be the last time I get to say I love you, James.”
His eyebrows furrowed at your statement, mouth parting to question what you meant. Before he could voice out something, the world faded into nothingness.
A thin film of blurriness clouded his eyes when he opened them, Bucky had this feeling like he was drowning in a swamp and his whole body was bound.
Blinking furiously, he regained his vision. You were sitting on a chair leaning forwards while looking at him endearingly, your elbows propped on your knees, palms supporting your chin.
“Hello, my love,” you were smiling oh so sweetly. The same smile that got him mesmerized and head over heels, except this time he didn’t feel the warm fuzzy feeling exploding in his chest, this time it was the goosebumps crawling on his arms and the chill creeping up his spine.
Now everything made sense, every single of his questions was answered.
You looked down at his body, the one that was once full of life, full of love. You watched as his glassy blue eyes etched with fear quickly reduced into this grey lifeless orbs, still pretty but lacking the element of a beautiful soul.
You weep for him, mourn for him. Mourning the short duration of love shared between the both of you. Mourning for yourself, for falling too hard. Mourning for him who kept you always in his heart.
To be honest, you were a little hesitant to end his life, he was better than the last one. He was perfect, warm, kind, loving, gentle, but not perfect enough. He simply did not reach your expectations, and you, could not bear imperfections, even the slightest. The answer to his downfall was pretty easy, he was too close to the ugly truth. And despite you knowing his love for you outweighs his doubt and fear in you, you simply couldn’t risk it.
Your love for perfection exceeds your love for him.
The melodious music of your ringtone echoed in the ample space of the basement, you brought up your phone to your ears as you answered the call.
“Mrs. Lockwood? Yes. Of course. I did. No no no, I’ll do it for you this time. He would definitely taste delicious I assure you.”
Time to get to work, you sighed as you stood there with a white dress splattered with blood. How artistic, you thought.
You always loved this part of the process, you’d wear the whitest piece of dress you own whenever you work with your projects.
You loved how the blood peppered your clothes, forming blossoms of dark red flowers on the fabric.
You kept every single piece of them, because no two are the same. Every one of them tells a story, of men and women who loved you and who you loved, of those who were once a body with a soul.
Wiping away the tears rolling down your cheeks, you gave Bucky one last loving look and the blade of your butcher knife came in contact with his once pink but now pale skin as you hummed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the basement, forming echoes.
A few blocks away, a baby cried, body covered in mucus. The tiny infant cried, each time louder than the previous, wailing his lungs out, as if mourning. For one soul born, another reaped.
130 notes · View notes
junowritings · 3 years
Note
Hello there mighty one!
May I request the bois reacting to fem!reader carrying tyem 'princess' style?
Reader looks week, skinny she looks like they don't have that much muscles. (Ironically they radiate big_D energy). She carries them like they don't weight that much. (+ Bonus points if reader acts like it's a normal thing!)
Be it a bet or one of the boys got injured or something else but reader ends up carrying them. That's literally it lol
Thank you ahead! ❤️💓
OH MAN THIS TOOK SO LONG IM SORRY! I had so much fun with this and I really hope that it was well worth the wait thank you so much for requesting!
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Riddle
♡ Honestly, you get a serious kick out of surprising people with your strength. Everyone always underestimates you, thinking that you’re too scrawny to pick up a chair much less even try picking up a person. You always protest about it, but unless someone actually wants you to show off just how strong you are you rarely get the chance to show off just how strong you are. Your fellow students would lose it if they found out just how easy it was to get swept off of their feet - you yanked Ace up into your arms once when he made the mistake of teasing you about it, giving him a little hoist into the air for good measure and cracking up at the shocked wheeze he let out at how easily you lifted him. Needless to say you’re pretty strong even if you don’t look it.
♡ You’d been lying if you said you hadn’t at least been a tiny bit tempted to carry Riddle around if only to see how he reacts - just thinking about the priceless look on his face was an amusing thought, but it remained as thoughts because as funny as it would be you value the life of yourself and your fellow classmates over the idea. It just so happens that thanks to a certain series of events, you actually get the chance to see the scenario play out in real life, surprisingly through no fault of your own.
♡ There’s certain times of the day where the crowds of students around Night Raven College swell and dissipate depending on where you are. In the middle of the day the rush is arguably the worst to anyone hoping not to get lost within a swarm of students bustling from their classrooms. It’s the period right before lunch actually starts, and whilst you should technically be in class right now, you’d all gotten enough done that you were allowed out a few minutes earlier than usual. Frankly you were more than happy for the extra minutes - it meant a few precious moments where you could tear through the hallways and get to the cafeteria to nab a snack before the main crowds started clogging up the exits as they did everytime the lunch period rolls in.
♡ You’re humming around a mouthful of the sweet treat you’d snagged from the days menu when you cross paths with Riddle, and though he doesn’t look too chuffed about you eating food outside of the appropriate dining hall he doesn’t call you out on it. You two fall into stride retreating down the hallway from where you’d first entered; it seems that you’re both heading towards the same area and you don’t mind the company so it suits you just fine to spend a little time with the dorm leader before going your respective ways for the next class. The peace doesn’t last for very long - soon enough the rest of the classes are being let out, and you’re suddenly reminded of why you were rushing to get away from the dining hall in the first place.
♡ All you see is the dinner rush crowd making a mad dash to the cafeteria and you act without thinking. You just know that Riddle would step in to enforce at least some kind of order to the pandemonium, but even if he could scare the crowd into stopping they’re still going to barge right over the two of you at this rate, and you’d rather avoid having the ghosts scraping either one of you off of the hallway floor. You’d much rather suffer through getting reamed out by Riddle for the stunt you’re about to pull than getting trampled by a stampede of students with no sense of personal space. When you mutter a quick “sorry!” Riddle gives you a confused look, which turns baffled when you toss your snack for him to catch in order to free up your hands (he catches it, thankfully - you don’t wanna make the journey back to buy a new one.)
♡ It’s a swift motion - all Riddle feels is your hands grabbing hold of him and suddenly the world is spinning and he finds himself pulled right up into your arms as you race back the way you’d come. His shout falls deaf on your ears in favor of the curses you’re chanting under your breath as you run, shifting the dorm leader around in your arms till you find a good enough position that he’s not going to fall out of your hold as you pick up your pace.
♡ You’re fast, and strong enough that carrying Riddle is no chore at all - you could probably do this under normal circumstances with no problem, not that you’d probably get the chance to after this. That little fact can be stewed over later, you decide, instead focusing on finding a place to get out of the way of the crowds. It isn’t long before you find an open classroom, and no sooner have you skidded through the doorway do you watch the student horde race past, completely oblivious to the pair of you. You let out a breathy laugh, more than a little relieved as you lean up against the doorframe and finally cast your gaze down to the boy in your arms.
♡ Yep, you were right about the priceless expression.
♡ Okay, so maybe the sudden grab and dash had left the dorm leader looking a little more...disheveled than usual, if the popped collar and skewed strands of hair from where his head had been pressed against your chest are any indication. You’re guessing that he’s still reeling from the fact that you’ve hoisted him up and carried him away like a princess as though he weighs nothing, because he doesn’t immediately start chewing you out about your little escape. His face is beginning to flush though, reaching the midpoint between pink and that signature red that’s close enough to match his hair; you certainly don’t make things any better when you move him around in your arms again, lifting him up a little more as your head ducks down.
♡ Riddle bristles, stuttering whatever planned retort he’d had only to freeze when he realizes you’re leaning towards the snack he’s managed to hold onto as you’d run. Your teeth snag its corner and you let out a triumphant “ha!” that’s muffled as you ease back up to finish off your self-proclaimed reward. It’s at that moment a soft cough turns both of your attention to the rest of the classroom, where several loitering students give the pair of you curious looks at the display. That finally kicks things back into gear, and you narrowly avoid dropping Riddle with how hard he wriggles out of your grip, working quickly to act as though the whole thing never happened which earns him an amused snort as you resolve to finish off your snack whilst he fixes his collar.
Leona
♡ Food has become a very effective bargaining chip when it comes to bets with your fellow students. You’re pretty sure placing monetary bets would get you in trouble if you were caught by one of the staff (especially Crewel, you don’t think anyone can handle his punishments more than once), and with all the maintenance going into your dorm betting money just isn’t an option you’re interested in. Food on the other hand is always in the ballpark, and with the limited edition dishes that pop onto the cafeteria menu throughout the year, alongside some of the phenomenal cooks amongst the student body, there’s no shortage of food bribes to use as a motive to get things done.
♡ Your strength has come into play on more than one occasion, because it either leads to people trying to call a bluff and wanting you to prove yourself, or they wanna see just how strong you are. You certainly don’t mind thanks to the little rewards your feats manage to net you, plus it makes for an interesting point of conversation when you’re bored. It’s boredom that leads to the following conversation with Cater during break - being outside the only real entertainment is walking around, talking to other students that cross your path, or just lounging around till the break’s over.
♡ You’d been walking around with Cater for a while before the appeal of watching the scenery faded and you elected to find some place to sit. You’re leaning against his shoulder watching him text and swipe through his pictures to pass the time; soon enough an image of you shows up and you snort at the picture of you holding up Deuce by his legs. It was taken a while ago, and the telltale shit eating grin on your face is a testament of how amusing the whole situation had been; seeing it now sparks up the same conversation you’d had at the time - can you really pick up anyone with no problem?
♡ Eager to jump at the opportunity for entertainment, the two of you turn your eyes across the field, where Cater takes to pointing people out. Epel? Easy, but wouldn’t be too happy about it. Kalim? You’ve done it before and it went pretty well minus the fact that his enthusiasm made him damn near slip out of your arms. You answer yes to most of the people he points out to you, until his gaze lands on someone lounging under the treeline and he points them out to you. Following his line of sight, you catch sight of Leona and the two of you share a look as you huff and say that yeah, of course you could pick that big lug up!
♡ Cater asking you to actually prove it wasn’t what you expected, and you give him a doubtful glance trying to gauge if he’s joking or not. Turns out he’s not, and at your hesitation he offers a bribe to convince you, and at the mention of one of Trey’s signature tarts you visibly perk up. He doesn’t even have to pull out the treat from his bag before you’re up onto your feet and jogging right over to the treeline, shooting him a confident grin over your shoulder as you approach the sleeping lion.
♡ To be honest, you probably would have tried this at some point anyway, but Trey’s tarts are a hell of an incentive to do it right now, and it’s the driving force that steels your resolve as you approach him. You know that he notices you - you’re not exactly quiet, and while he doesn’t open his eyes or turn to look at you his ears twitch in your direction at the sound of your footfalls coming towards him. It’s only when you squat down beside him that he cracks an eye open and lets out an inquisitive grumble asking you what you’re doing.
♡ You only tell him not to worry, but that just makes him more wary given that every time you’ve said that before it’s definitely cause for concern. You end up proving him right to be wary when you shuffle close enough to actually touch him and slot your hands under his back, promptly hefting him up from his once comfortable spot beneath the shade and into your arms.
♡ Leona jolts in response and you narrowly avoid an elbow to the ribs at how he squirms about at the sudden position change; his ears are pressed flat against his head and he squares you with a scathing look as he orders you to put him back down, calling you a brat for good measure. You only huff at the dorm leader and strengthen your hold on him, making sure to keep one hand safely cradling his back as you spin around to show Cater your latest catch. There’s no missing the amusement in Cater’s face as he makes a poor attempt to hide his snicker with one hand as he holds up his phone to snap a picture commemorating the moment.
♡ Seeing the camera you flash a smile and a thumbs up with some careful maneuvering of the man in your arms, quickly returning your hands back to him when he hisses and shifts again. It’s probably not the wisest idea to hold onto him for very long, and you can tell Leona’s none too pleased by suddenly being picked up from the spot he was comfortable in, so you don’t keep him up for very long before you amble back over to the trees, setting him down as gently as you can without accidentally pulling in his tail as you pull away. This time his elbow makes a solid hit against your hip on the way down and you end up dropping him the rest of the way, keeling over with a pained wheeze as the pair of you topple none too gracefully to the ground, devolving into complaints and groans at the turn of events.
Azul
♡ It’s not entirely unheard of for Azul to stay behind in some of the classrooms once classes have concluded. Whilst the Monstro lounge is the ideal location to get things done, sometimes the patrons get too rambunctious for his liking and he prefers a little bit of peace and quiet while he works on the day’s schoolwork. The classrooms are perfect for this as most students are all too eager to filter out and go about their own business, leaving the rooms empty for people to mill in and out of as they please.
♡ He works uninterrupted for the most part, only pulling his attention away from the papers spread out across his desk to look towards the door, hearing the chatter of passing students outside though they only last a brief moment before their voices filter off and disappear as they move away from the classroom. These momentary distractions come and go so the school work is almost completely finished by the time any notable interruptions actually come this way. Unfortunately when they do it almost immediately stops him in his tracks; there’s a slam on the wall leading out to the hallway, and Azul jolts in his seat as he hears something slide up the wall getting higher and higher before it’s finally revealed.
♡ Azul watches Floyd’s head poke up from one of the overhead windows, and that’s enough to get him to pause mid writing as the pair lock eyes. Now, the Leech twins are tall, taller than most of the students in Octavinelle, but there’s no way that he should be visible so it's reasonable to assume that he couldn’t manage the height without the help of a step-ladder. That step-ladder theory goes out of the window when Floyd’s head drifts over to the far side of the window, and the Leech twin flashes his dorm leader a toothy grin and a wave for good measure as he drifts backwards and forwards in a way that looks...off.
♡ It’s bizarre, but not the weirdest thing that Azul’s seen Floyd do so whilst he does marvel at the sight for a moment or two he tries to return back to his work - tries being the key word here. Floyd makes an effort to peer through the glass, calling down to someone as he leans closer towards the window. That leads to the twin nearly slamming his head into the glass and a hand flies up to stop the would-be injury as he looks down out of the window's line of sight.
♡Floyd’s stance totters and momentarily his head ducks out of view as though he’s dropped. That’s enough to get the dorm leader to his feet to finally investigate, and he rises from his desk and works his way over to the door, letting out a sigh as he slides open the door and prepares himself for whatever trouble is going to be on the other side. Sure enough Floyd’s leaning up against the wall, greeting Azul when he steps out into the doorway. Floyd’s not the only one there though - there’s a few miscellaneous students milling around the Octavinelle students, but the main point of interest is the person standing right below Floyd, arms wrapped around his knees and keeping him up in the air as they twirl around to face Azul without even a tremble in their grip.
♡ The grin you offer him is similar to Floyds, brimming with amusement as you move your grip to offer a wave, shifting your weight around so as to not drop the boy in your arms as you do so. The raised brow and inquisitive look only makes you grin wider before a tap on your shoulder brings your attention back to the person you’re holding. Azul watches Floyd motion for you to lower him which you do without issue, and once you do the younger Leech twin leans down to whisper something in your ear. He doesn’t catch what he’s saying, but when two pairs of eyes suddenly square him with a scheming look he knows all too well he takes a cautionary step backwards, folding his arms across his chest.
♡ You drop Floyd the rest of the way and turn your sights on Azul, beginning to approach him with open arms and a deceptively warm smile as you call out his name. Now he knows that you’re up to something, and moves to take another step away when you suddenly dart to close the distance and pull him towards you. There’s no hesitation in the way that you quite literally sweep the dorm leader off of his feet, tucking him close to your chest as your arms move to rest along his back and the crook of his knees - you’re carrying him like a princess, and from the wide grin on your face this was clearly the impromptu plan you’d been given by that mischievous twin.
♡ Azul splutters, completely speechless at how effortlessly you’re able to sweep him off of the floor and into your arms, and he becomes acutely aware of just how many eyes are on him as you cradle him to your body making sure that he doesn’t fall. Your strength is no joke, and you make a small show of it by twirling around, catching his hat in the process when the action causes it to topple off of his head and placing it neatly back on his head by the time you come to a stop. For a second you could almost say he looks pleasantly amused beyond the initial surprise, which only makes it all the more entertaining for you.
♡ But then Floyd steps forward and goes to take him from your arms and Azul’s desperately patting you until you finally relent your grip and allow him to stand back onto his feet. You and Floyd share a conspiratory giggle as you watch Azul straighten his outfit back out and step out of the reach of the both of you, giving the pair of you a wide berth in case you decide to try sweeping him off of his feet again.
Kalim
♡ Your strength makes you perfect for doing heavy lifting tasks when the time calls for it. Moving things from one place to another has been the jobs left for the more physically strong students, so despite your otherwise unassuming appearance you’re usually the first person people come to when there’s any kind of heavy lifting to be done. You’ve been a huge help at events as a result, and more often than not the other students leave the cleanup to you, confident in your abilities to get things back to where they need to go.
♡ This particular cleanup task had taken quite a while, but with some diligent work and a couple snack breaks you and your friends had narrowed down the leftover mess, packing what could fit into the boxes provided so that they’d be easier to transport. When the inevitable question of which people were going to take what came up you were quick to step in, offering that it’d be no problem at all for you to handle this yourself - it was late anyways, so you’re sure everyone was eager to get back to their rooms for the night. It took a little convincing, but soon enough you’re left alone with the necessary keys and wishes for good luck with the work.
♡ You’d planned to take care of this task by yourself, reasoning that two or three trips should get the job done. You’d actually finished the first trip and was making your way out with the last couple of boxes when you cross paths with Kalim, who upon recognizing your face peeking out from behind the impromptu cardboard tower all but jumps in to help. Any protests fall on deaf ears, as once Kalim’s decided on something like helping you out he’s not gonna stop until it’s done.
♡ Before long he’s taken about a third of the boxes off of your hands (he tried to bargain for more but you were set on carrying the heavier stuff) and the pair of you are off to get them off to the right destination. Kalim fills the silence with conversation as he leads the way, which given the fact you’re the one who actually knows where storage is, ends up with you having to tug him in the right direction more than once before he charges down a wrong corridor. Despite that though the two of you make good progress, and you end up getting there faster than the initial first trip, and within a few minutes you’re nearing the storage room, albeit from a different direction than last time.
♡ You’re shifting about the boxes in your arms to fish through your pocket for the storage room keys with your free hand when you realize you’re getting close. Kalim skips ahead of you as you rummage for the keys, giving you an easygoing smile over his shoulder urging you to catch up. You feign a sigh of exasperation but move to pick up your pace which only prompts Kalim to charge on ahead aiming to get to the door first, still with that easy-going smile.
♡ That smile disappears in an instant however, as when you next blink, Kalim disappears from your field of vision and your heart drops at the sound of something scattering across the floor. Ditching your effort to find the keys, you race to catch up, stopping just short at the top of the stairs and looking down to where Kalim’s sat at the bottom, shaking off the dizziness from the fall. It’s fortunately only a few steps but you still rush to close the distance, hastily placing your bags onto the floor as you kneel down beside the dorm leader to check if he’s alright.
♡ Upon seeing your concern Kalim grins and makes a point to tell you that he’s fine, hoping to ease your worries. This time the sigh you let out is one of relief and you rise back to your feet, offering out your hand to pull him up with a playful jab to watch where he’s going next time. Kalim laughs and takes your hand, but the moment he gets to his feet he yelps and leans to one side, easing up off of one foot. He must have hurt it in the fall and your expression drops watching his smile falter, brows creasing in clear discomfort.
♡ Kalim’s still reassuring you he’s fine despite the fact that he’s visibly doing his best to put as little weight on his one foot as possible. You aren’t convinced in the slightest, and after a few seconds of him talking you’ve had enough; he doesn’t notice you nodding to yourself as you roll up your sleeves, but he does catch your mutter of “Don’t worry - I’ve got this.” as you step forward and place a hand on his back.
♡ You move carefully so as to not agitate the leg more than you have to, tucking your free hand under his knees and easing him off of his feet until you’re carrying his full weight, keeping him upright like it’s nothing at all. Kalim, for what it’s worth, is captivated by the strength, but he’s more focused on asking if you’re really okay with carrying him - he’s fine, he swears! (he’s not). Paying no heed to that, you nudge the boxes over to the side of the hallway with your legs, leaving them in a messy but contained pile to avoid anyone tripping on them while you’re gone. They can be sorted later, is your excuse as you start walking - he’s going straight to the infirmary, and then back to his dorm, the boxes can wait a little longer.
♡ He squirms a bit, but that’s only so that he can wrap his arms around your neck, bringing his head close to your shoulder. Kalim knows that he’s not gonna convince you otherwise, so why not enjoy the ride while it lasts? Besides, it’s nice to feel weightless sometimes! And he’s so sincere when he gushes about how strong you are that you can’t help but preen under the compliments, boasting a little about how you’ll have to properly show off just how strong you are. Some other time though, because as nice as pleasant as it is carrying the dorm leader around, you can do that just as easily once he’s been seen by the school nurse.
Vil
♡ You may not look like you’re that strong but looks can be deceiving. You’re more built than a lot of people realize - sure, it may not look like that to others, but these uniforms do a damn better job of hiding your strength than one might think. Friends and those who have seen it for themselves know that you’re strong, and Vil is one of them; you make no show of hiding that fact, because why would you? It’s something you’re proud of, and you use it to your advantage whenever the chance calls for it, and Vil’s not one to stop you from doing so.
♡ You also don’t shy away from challenges either, if anything they’re one of your weaknesses. Confident in your strength, any time someone questions it you’re eager to jump right in and prove them otherwise. Usually they’re arguments you’ve heard a hundred times before, the same old story as far as you’re concerned, that doesn’t mean the comments don’t tick you off though. Scrawny scrapper this, all bark and no bite that, it gets on your nerves that just because you don’t look that strong they immediately assume that you’re just weak.
♡ It’s a sore topic, and as such Vil can usually pinpoint the trouble that brews as a result of such challenges because of the way you react to such jeers. He’s attempted to ease your anger about it in the past, or at least told you to go easy on said challengers lest you get sent to Crewel’s office again, and for what it’s worth you’ve made fair progress in brushing off most comments.
♡ This time it appears that brushing them off isn’t quite so easy. Your voice can be heard even before you storm into the main hall accompanied by another student, and your planned curse filters off into a hiss to just leave it when you catch sight of Vil out of the corner of your eye. The student however doesn’t let up, and the dorm head soon catches wind of what this is about when he hears “Strong? Seriously? Pff, do you even have any muscles?” Vil can see the way your lip curls back into a snarl, and he turns his full attention to the scene just waiting for the inevitable show of strength you’re about to pull off. You do this every time without fail, and it’s only proven when you snap.
♡ “Oh yeah? Well, do you think someone without muscles can do this?” Vil’s halfway through taking stock of all of the items not bolted to the floor when you spin around and stride over to him, the confident shout of “Vil!” being one of the few warnings that he gets before you’re standing before him and wrapping your arms around him. It’s quick and smoother than he thought it’d be, and were this not the first time you’ve attempted this trick on him Vil could swear you’ve practised this before. Granted, you stumble a little near the end, but that’s more so because you overestimated the swoop of pulling him up into your arms and knocked your hip into a table in the process. Besides that it’s an otherwise practised landing, and suddenly Vil finds himself swept up into a bridal carry by a pair of surprisingly firm arms.
♡ You spin back around, triumphant grin on your face as you heft Vil up even higher, like a child proudly showing off their prize to anyone watching. True, you’re strong, and there’s not a moment that Vil feels like he’s going to fall out of your arms when you’re holding him, but the lack of warning and the abruptness of being hoisted up as though he weighs nothing more than a bag of feathers makes for a jarring situation. Your shout of “Ha! Believe me now?” doesn’t make the situation much better, and Vil has to rub his temples to stop the incoming stress lines at the amount of eyes you’ve drawn to your little display in the process of your shouting.
♡ Whatever challenge had been posed seems to have been sated by your show of strength, as the student throws up their hands in a mock-surrender as they concede, shrugging off the surprise that Vil can see clear as day on their faces. Clearly, they weren’t expecting you to be so brazen about showing off, but you’ve never been one to clam up when there’s a point to be made.
♡ Satisfied, you let out a huff and drop down onto one of the nearby chairs, shaking your head as you grumble “Can you believe that guy? Teach him not to doubt me next time.” It seems you’ve neglected to remember exactly who you picked up, and Vil’s swift to remind you with a soft cough to direct your attention back towards him. You look down at the dorm leader still firmly settled in your arms, lips pursing as you exhale a breath to mask your obvious realization upon meeting eyes with him.
♡ Muttering an apology, you gradually release your grip, giving him ample time to rise back to his feet and you let out a nervous chuckle when he folds his arms across his chest and gives you a stern gaze. Thankfully you’re let off with a chide of giving someone a warning the next time you decide to pick them up, but he doesn’t miss your grin as you parrot back “Next time?”
Idia
♡ Idia had gotten hurt. Those are the only words you needed to hear before you dropped everything and raced over to his bedroom, already thinking of the worst case scenarios. I mean, for a guy who spends the majority of time in his room there’s only so many ways he can get hurt, and none of them are a pleasing thought so you do your best to quash the thoughts till you actually get there to see him for yourself.
♡ When you first step inside his room nothing’s out of the ordinary, as far as you’re aware nothing’s been destroyed and besides the usual controlled chaos everything seems to have been moved out of place. Idia’s even sat at his computer chair which isn’t an unusual sight, though as you get closer you realize he’s got one of his legs pulled up against his chest, hands cradling his foot with a sour expression that morphs into discomfort each time he makes a move to roll the appendage to one side. That sour look doesn’t dissipate when he notices you, but he does jump a bit when you announce your presence by rounding the chair and leaning onto the one arm, leaning down as you ask what happened.
♡ You’ve gathered that he’s hurt his foot, you just don’t know how and as he hunches over even more in his chair you perk up, noting his reluctance. He doesn’t tell you, not at first, but with a bit of prodding he eventually caves that maybe he kind of accidentally got his feet tangled up in the wires under his gaming desk and got yanked right out of his chair when he’d finally pushed himself away from his computer. He hadn’t thought anything of it (besides the obvious embarrassment of getting tripped up in the first place) but the moment he’d tried to stand up it was clear that something had rolled the wrong way, which is precisely what led to him huddled up in his chair glaring daggers at the injured foot as though that’s going to magically fix the injury sustained.
♡ Admittedly, the image of the whole scenario would have made you laugh, but for the sake of your friend (and the fact that he glowers at you when your lip trembles trying to fight back a chuckle) you don’t, instead giving the simmering dorm leader a comforting pat on the shoulder reassuring him that he’ll be fine. Chances are it’s just sore from landing the wrong way - you’ll know for sure once he gets seen by the nurse.
♡ However, when you tell him that he hunkers down, insisting that he’s not budging; it’ll be fine if he just sleeps it off, is his argument, adding that it’s not like he can go anywhere since he’d rather stay put - what’s he gonna do, hop the whole way to the infirmary? Obviously not.
♡ You frown at his stubbornness, but give a determined huff as you hop off of the arm of the chair with a “fine.”. Idia’s surprised that you’re not fighting his decision more, but that surprise lasts but a moment until you lean down and promptly pluck the dorm leader right out of his seat. He just about chokes on his words and twists about in your arms, but you don’t even bat an eye at it as you shift him around until you’re cradling him close to your chest, eventually just settling on a princess carry for the sake of simplicity.
♡ When Idia cries out, asking what you’re doing, you merely shrug and offer “Since you can’t walk, I’ll carry you.” as your explanation. He balks at the notion, but doesn’t really have a leg to stand on when you pull him even closer to you, holding firm to make sure he doesn’t fall.
♡ His hair tickles your nose each time he shifts about in your arms, which you promptly pat back down as gently as you can as you move towards the door, nudging it open with your hip until you can slide the pair of you through the gap. You make a point of ignoring his protest of staying put until he finally relents and settles into you, arms folded across his chest as he leans back. His hair frames his face like he’s trying to hide in the thick blue flames, but even you don’t miss the fact that his expression, once twisted in discomfort, eases up into something more comfortable now that the pressure’s off of his injured foot.
Malleus
♡ You’d like to think that you’re pretty strong, stronger than people give you credit for at least. And you also like to think that your strength is appreciated by the people who know about your carefully honed skill. Lilia is one such person, as he seems to be particularly amused by just how easily you’re able to heft and move things about, be it both objects and people. He’s especially entertained when it’s people, and it’s because of your penchant for carrying people around to show off that you end up with the third-year student bundled up in your arms as you travel through the Diasomnia dorm.
♡ The only indication the others have of the event is when you promptly come striding into the room, arms wrapped around Lilia's waist and hoisting him effortlessly up into the air as you enter. Malleus looks up from what he’s doing to watch the curious display, and upon spotting the fae you shift Lilia's weight to release one hand and wave, grinning as you swivel around and begin moving towards his direction. You’re keeping the Diasomnia student upright with ease, showing no signs of fatigue or strain as you carry him around, coming to stand behind the sofa that Malleus is sitting on and leaning over with a nonchalant question about what he’s doing.
♡ Malleus raises a brow, unsure whether to answer you or ask what exactly you’re doing with Lilia first. Before he can decide however Lilia gives you a gentle nudge to be let down and you take the hint, proceeding to lean over the sofa and drop him none-too-gently onto the seat beside Malleus. The cushions bounce when he lands on them, and though disheveled from all the carrying and the drop, Lilia looks thoroughly entertained by the whole ordeal,
♡ You catch Malleus glancing between you and Lilia, and though you couldn’t hazard a guess as to what he’s thinking you lean forward and chuckle, jokingly asking “Want me to try you next?” as you rest your arms on the back of the sofa. The smile on your face falters a little when you don’t immediately get a response, locking eyes with him for a few seconds too long. When he nods you have to fight every muscle in your face not to look surprised, and you don’t trust your voice to get the words out in response, instead returning the gesture with a blank nod of your own.
♡ The last thing you expected was for him to agree, but you’re never one to back down from a challenge and soon enough you’re standing face to face with the dragon prince once he stands up and rounds the sofa so that you’re standing in front of each other. You’re doing the mental maths in your head as you size up the dorm head. It’s not picking him up that’s gonna be a problem - you’re pretty sure the Leech twins weigh more than him and you’ve been able to carry both at the same time once before (when Floyd wasn’t intentionally wriggling around in your arms that is.) It’s figuring out the best way to carry him that’s the problem; you’re not sure a fireman carry would be the most dignified look for the dorm head, and just giving him a piggyback probably wouldn’t be too effective if you want to avoid knocking his head against something while you’re running around.
♡ It takes a moment but you don’t leave Malleus standing there for very long before you take a step forward, moving to place a hand on his back while reiterating if it’s okay for you to still do this. The noise of confirmation steels your resolve and in the next moment you quite literally sweep Malleus off of his feet and into the air, landing safely in your arms; he lets out a sharp inhale at the sudden action, but is more surprised at the fact that you’re able to carry him with such ease, even flashing him a confident grin as you begin to sidle around the room, making sure that he remains firmly tucked in your arms as you do so.
♡ The experience is interesting, to say the least - Malleus isn’t uncomfortable, if anything it’s actually rather nice to feel so weightless in someone’s arms. Not to mention it’s not something Malleus has been able to recently experience, so . You on the other hand are having a great time with it; you get used to carrying him quickly, and despite the initial worry of getting stabbed in the face with his horns you realize there’s nothing to worry about - it’s going pretty well.
♡ That is until Sebek enters the room and spots you cradling the young lord in your arms, and he shouts loud enough that you all whip around to face him. You’re undeterred by the shout, if anything you just assume that the first year wants a turn so you gently place Malleus back onto his feet, giving his uniform a cursory once over to make sure he’s okay before you back away. Malleus gives you an inquisitive look, watching you as you skip away, racing over to where Sebek’s standing with arms outstretched ready to scoop him into your arms, laughing when the student all but dives out of your reach the moment you approach him.
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kimanda · 3 years
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I guess I’ll drag myself out of my silence to react to this.
Guess the day I had been dreading for the last few years has finally come to pass. After all this time though, I’m surprised by my own feelings. I’m a little bit sad but otherwise... just kind of feels it is my time to move on. 
My own OCs for the UK are now (finally) canon deviant. And I’m okay with that. 
Even if I was still active in this fandom, one truth has remained for me. I will never retire my OCs. They’re my interpretations and I love them dearly. No matter what canon versions of these countries Himaruya throws at me, I will keep holding on to my own versions.
It is maybe time for me to make it official that I will take a break from Hetalia. 
I’m not sure if it will be temporary or permanent, I’d hate to say permanent because I invested too many years to say that I’m done with this series. For all its flaws (from the series to the fandom itself), I’ve met too many wonderful souls along the way to hand wave this experience away. I’ve remained so long because of all the creativity and love people invested in their work, their characterizations and their OCs. For the time I was here, I was happy to participate. 
But I’ve honestly been running on fumes the last... 2 years I’ve been in this fandom? The motivation of drawing just kept dropping until it completely disappeared and now I haven’t drawn a thing in several months. The motivation of writing anything worth uploading died about 3 years ago.  Maybe I just need to stop being in denial and take a step back from the fandom. Give it a few years and I might want to rejoin again with renewed energy. But I’m not really sure if that will happen. Most of the friends I’ve made here have long since moved on, from the fandom, from this site, from everything. I’ve lost touch with them and that upsets me. The fandom has for the most part become a very silent place to me and I miss the people I used to interact with. 
I’ve come to realize that the only reason I was still in the fandom was because I was attached to what other people were creating and me contributing with my own creations. I have still not watched the latest season of the anime and I’ve been barely keeping up with the comic strips. I’ve not been invested in the canon for a loooong time. It got me into the fandom, but it wasn’t what was keeping me around.
I don’t want this to feel so final. I still want to finish Behind the Mask. I promised that I would finish it. I know I keep saying that I will, and believe me, if finishing Behind the Mask is the last thing I will ever do in this fandom, then so be it. 
I guess the timing of the canon UK characters couldn’t have come at a better time. Just last month, something surprising happened: A new series broke through my walls and hijacked the place that had been occupied by Hetalia for so long. I’m obsessed with the new series, something I didn’t think could happen again after Hetalia. I’ve been in a state of almost perpetual giddiness for the past few weeks, just hungrily consuming everything in the series and from fandom and all of it feels like a breath of fresh air. 
The most shocking thing that has happened is that the series successfully broke my writing block with a new story idea. I’ve been writing again! It’s been an amazing feeling and I’m still struggling to understand why this series is the one that got me writing again. I’ve watched tons of other series and films since Hetalia, but none of them managed to capture my attention as fully as this series has.
So that’s me, looking at the introduction of the canon UK characters and walking away from it. I thought I was going to have a much worse reaction to their introduction, since I spent years being anxious about wanting to keep my own OCs and not wanting to be confronted by fans that believe that the canon versions should be immediately accepted without any hesitation.  But surprisingly, I just feel a bit of sorrow. It feels like an end of an era to me. The last page of a book that I’m not entirely sure I want to close. I suppose the sadness comes from knowing that this is the end of seeing different kinds of UK OCs. A lot of people with their OCs will keep holding on to them, but I don’t think I’ll see any new interpretations. 
That does tell me, in some way, why I remained in the fandom for so long. It wasn’t the canon that kept me going, it was seeing the different possible interpretations for all the Scotlands, Wales and Northern Irelands out there. It feels like this phase of the fandom is over now, at least it will not be as active as it used to be.  
I’m still not sure how active I will be on tumblr. I’m so attached to the idea of being a Hetalia blog, almost all blogs I follow are Hetalia blogs and the entire site is reminder of the time I spent being in the Hetalia fandom. I technically should be able to transition my blog to the new series, but a part of me is weirdly anxious about it. But I also don’t want to make a new blog. So I still need to figure this out. 
All of this long ramble is basically me trying to say that I’m taking a break from Hetalia and I’m surprisingly not that heartbroken over the UK becoming canon. Them becoming canon isn’t what is driving me to leave, but I am taking it as a sign that I need to stop being in denial about where I stand. 
Hetalia, for all its flaws, will forever have a special place in my heart. It helped me realize that I actually did enjoy history and wanted to learn about it. It allowed me to explore my own culture and to become invested in others. I met so many wonderful friends through this fandom. I learnt that I could write and tell stories that were worth telling. For all that, I’m grateful.
So you might still see me around, you might not. Wishing you all my best and stay safe!!
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starswallowingsea · 2 years
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It's book review time! This time for a book I actually finished like a month ago and completely forgot to do my review until now!
So I read the Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner back in August. I got it through Book of the Month because nothing in July (when I signed up) particularly called out to me and this book has been on my TBR for a while so I took a chance on it.
Overall it was... kinda meh. It reads easy enough and I finished it in a week but I wish there had just been more to it.
My overall rating was 3.5/5 stars and I'll get into the details under the cut.
So this book is one of those split historical/modern perspectives books, similar to the Paris Orphan but not done quite as well in my opinion (and a lot of other people's opinions too). The concept is there, an apothecary that helped women kill their abusive spouses or men in their lives, which certainly existed (side note: if that is what interested you about this novel, I would highly recommend the first season of the podcast Criminalia, which was all about lady poisoners and each episode includes a cocktail recipe to go with the story. Anyway,) and are important to study, but the modern perspective was lacking.
I'm in the minority that didn't really mind Caroline, but I kind of interpreted her as being raised in like an Evangelical household where the decisions she says she made with regards to her husband (such as not going to grad school, taking a job she didn't want just for the stability, etc) made more sense? But then towards the end her husband shows up and it just makes everything very, very weird. He admits to drinking some of her essential oils on purpose to get her attention because he thought she was going to leave him for cheating on her (no fucking shit dude). If she wasn't already preparing the divorce papers when you cheated on her with one of your office workers, then she definitely would after you intentionally poisoned yourself and almost died.
The past segment of the book also felt somewhat weak. I understand that it had to take place before the invention of poison detection in forensic analysis during autopsies started getting better and more accurate, but other than that it didn't feel like Penner utilized the setting to its fullest extent. Also the twelve year old character thought her vagina was haunted by the ghost of her old master and nobody explained the concept of periods to her? Why. They kinda just brushed it off as "all girls and women bleed once every lunar cycle" but never explained that it was natural to her.
Finally, my biggest gripe with the book was the absolutely insane focus on pregnancy. It feels like all the characters except the child are obsessed with having children. The old lady who runs the apothecary laments how her lover had forced her to have a miscarriage (which at first I didn't mind as a motivation for her, but then), one of her customers comes in and wants to kill her husband's lover so he'll sleep with her and get her pregnant and she can have children, and the most egregious example of all, the modern character, as her husband was being taken to the hospital, thinks that one of the emergency responder's making a remark about keeping essential oils out of reach of children is an attack on her for not having children. Girly, it's just a statement of fact. You shouldn't keep essential oils within reach of children or they will eat it and die.
I think towards the end Penner was trying to go for some sort of magical realism or just in general actual magic in the setting but it was not very well executed. The only real sign of it was the 12yo girl character believed that magic could save the little hole in the wall apothecary and brewed some "potions" to keep them alive in dire situations and she chugged it before jumping from a bridge into the Thames, which certainly the impact into the cold water should have killed her almost instantly and we have not been led to believe she knows how to swim either. At the end we see that she survived and hinted in the one piece of writing about her that survived to the 21st century that she believed the potion protected her on that day. Yeah. If she wanted to add that little hint of magic, I wish it had more of an influence on the plot and more of a presence in the book or was just left out entirely.
Anyway, it's an easy read. If you need something quick to read and get out of a slump, it'll do that. It's not awful but it's certainly odd and could have done more with the connections between modern and historical instead of just some random tourist coming across one of the old bottles in the river on a vacation away from her cheating husband. It's not the worst book I've ever read but it's also not worth writing home about because it was so good. It's average. It's so unfortunate that it has such a beautiful cover and such a mid-tier story.
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symphonicmetal101 · 4 years
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After watching some anime, can I request the brothers and Side characters with an MC that makes really great bentos in their aesthetic with their favorite meals? MC could make Lucifer a fancy dish of steak done to his favorite temperature, side dishes are organized neatly, and the bento is red and black to match his design or she made pink/pastel treats for Asmo is a very cute bento that matches his style. I think it would make their day when they receive something so cute from the human
ABSOFRICKINGLUTELY! ANON! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! However, I write gn! Whenever possible, so I hope you don't mind. Also, I've only made bento once, so I did a tinny bit of research. Most of them stray from traditional bento, however I tried to make sure I had the four components, (protien, carbs, salad/veggies, and fruit) (except Asmo), and different cooking methods for each. Some of them I forgot to explicitly say what colour the box was, so I'm sorry about that. I didn't do Luke because he had a role in Simeon's, and I blanked. (Sorry) Also, some of them have links bc I started to lose inspiration and motivation to write the same thing over and over again bc brain juice went bye. Hopefully I did this justice, I may have gotten a little carried away...sorry for rambling.
MC Makes Bento For The Boys
Lucifer
Lucifer had been working non-stop for the past few weeks
You had barely seen him, as he was so busy going back and forth from the castle, meetings, and he had banned everyone from his office. It had gotten so bad that he would "postpone" his meals, but nobody had seen him eat in a while.
You had a lot of spare time, so you did meal prep for the whole week just for Lucifer.
It was a little past noon by the time you finished, (and made Beel swear he wouldn't touch the food because you would treat him at Madam Scream's later), so you decided to make a bento box for Lucifer's lunch today with some leftover beef and rice you had.
With your protein and carbs taken care of, you prepared some roasted asparagus to add some colour to the box as well as a couple of carrots. You also added an umeboshi plum on top of the rice to match the colour of the box. (A/N I personally don't mind umeboshi on it's own, but if anyone wants to try it, I highly suggest you eat it with rice or have water on hand 😂)(oh yeah, umeboshi is a small, sour, pickled plum.)
In the final box you arranged a couple of orange slices, strawberries and grapes.
Satisfied, you brought the box and a glass of water up to his study. You didn't even bother knocking, knowing he would just send you away anyways.
You were greeted by a low growl. "Get out."
You rolled your eyes. "No. You need to eat Lucifer, and I'm not leaving until I know you've finished this."
"I don't have time for this MC. I have to-" he was cut off by his stomach rumbling.
He blushed slightly, and continued to busy himself with work.
"Please? I hate seeing you overwork yourself like this. Have you looked in the mirror lately? When was the last time you slept? Eaten? Had something other than coffee? Have you even gone to the bathroom in the past 48 hours?"
He sighed, folded his hands under his chin and looked up at you through disheveled raven locks.
"...you really aren't going anywhere until I eat." It wasn't a question, rather a statement with a trace of relief in it.
You extended the bento box out to him once more, though this time he accepted it.
"....thank you MC.....this is quite delicious. Perhaps once I'm done my work I can take you out to Ristorante Six to show my appreciation."
You pushed his hair back and planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Once you're done your work, you're going to sleep. That's an order, sir."
He silently cursed himself as he felt himself blush again
You were planning to stay until he finished, but then you heard Mammon and Levi fighting.
"I'll take care of that love. Make sure you drink that water too. Also, I prepped meals for the rest of the week for you, so you have no excuse to not eat. I bribed Beel, so they should stay there, but as an extra precaution I got Satan to teach me a protection spell. I didn't tell him what it was for, so it should be fine."
He watched you close the door behind you and wondered what he did to deserve someone like you.
Mammon
He was complaining to you because his actions finally caught up with him, and tomorrow he had to go out and repay some witches with time and favours, (being a bagboy), instead of money
He started belly-aching even more when you told him you weren't interested in joining him.
Luckily you were on dinner duty tonight, so you had a legitimate excuse to leave his pity-party
However while you were making dinner, you decided to show Mammon a little bit of sympathy, and set some rice and pork cutlet aside that you could use later.
After dinner, Mammon followed Lucifer, trying to convince him to give him money.
So you had ample time to continue working on his bento.
He had a three compartment wooden box
You scooped the rice into the box, put the cutlet on top, and two thinly sliced pieces of lemon on top.
You cut up some yellow, red, and orange bell pepper to put in the top left corner of the box
In the last compartment, you cut up golden kiwi, pineapple chunks, and a couple blueberries
You were about to put it in the fridge, when Mammon came screaming into the kitchen.
"MC HELP ME LUCIFER'S MAD I DON'T WANNA GET STRUNG UP AGAIN AND- wait, what's that?"
You sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise Mammon! I made lunch for you for tomorrow, because you're going to be doing some running around and who knows when you'll get a moment to yourself? I was going to cast a spell on it to keep Beel from eating it, so it would have lasted overnight too... I just want to make sure you have something healthy to eat and so you don't have to spend money on take out. If you don't want it though, I'll just give it to Beel..."
He blushed furiously. "Ya don't gotta worry bout me, silly human. The Great Mammon can take care of himself! But-uh, I'll probably end up taking it anyways, because it's umm, it's free food! And Mammon ain't about to pass that up!"
He tried to grab it, but you pulled it close to yourself and turned, blocking him.
"You only want it because it's free? Ok. Fine. You'll have to pay me if you want it." You teased
He whined a bit. "Aw come on, ya even said ya didn't want me spendin money tomorrow! And ya said it was for me! MC, this ain't fair!"
"I didn't say you had to use money."
The next day while Mammon was out and about, trying to carry multiple bags of stuff for the witches, he happily ate his food, a light blush on his cheeks as every bite reminded him of the way you felt against his lips yesterday.
Leviathan
Levi had lost out on another draw despite having spent copious amounts of money on the tickets
As such, he had locked himself in his room to temporarily drown in his sorrows
You decided to make Kyaraben, character bento, for him. (Kyaraben can also refer to animals, real life celebrities, or natural settings)
(I would do Ruri- Chan but I have no fricking clue, so here's a link to a recipe for Pikachu Kyaraben because that's what you did instead)
Hesitantly, you brought your creation to his room and lightly knocked on the door.
"...I don't wanna talk to anyone right now."
"Levi, it's me. I brought something to cheer you up! At least let me give it to you if you don't want me to stay."
You could hear some scuffling and mumbling from behind the door. "I highly doubt there's anything a normie like you can do to help."
You tried to brush that off, because, ouch, but you knew he was upset so you tried not to take it to heart.
He was pouty as he opened the door, his demon form on display.
His expression immediately changed when he saw the bento in your hands.
"WOOOOOAAAHHH!!! THIS IS FOR ME??!! YOU MADE ME BENTO??!! This is something straight out of anime!!! Uh...uhm...d-do you maybe w-want to share it?"
The last part of his sentence had him blushing furiously, and he refused to look you in the eye.
"Sure. Maybe we can watch that anime you texted me about a couple days ago too."
His eyes lit up with joy as he used his tail to gently grab your wrist and pull you excitedly to his couch.
Once he had arranged everything to his liking, he sat down and bashfully accepted the bento.
At some point, he asked if he could feed it to you, however, there was only one pair of chopsticks
Blushy otaku very much enjoyed the bento, not only because it was like his anime, but also because it was you who made it.
He also got a couple indirect kisses, and could not focus on anything but that for the next few days.
Satan
You and Satan had been spending a lot of time together lately because he was helping you study for a test
Thanks to Satan's tutoring, you had managed to get a much higher score on the test than you had imagined.
As thanks, you wanted to make a kitten Kyaraben
You found him in the library at a desk, hunched over a book, studying some foreign language.
He was so engrossed in his studies that he didn't notice you right away, so you tapped him gently on his shoulder.
"Ah, MC. I'm afraid I missed you coming in. Are you alright?"
You smiled and nodded. You brought the box out from behind your back with your test papers on top, the mark clearly visible.
"I couldn't have gotten that mark without your help, so I made you some bento as thanks. I hope you like it."
His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh MC, that wasn't necessary. Spending time with you was enough for me, but thank you."
He slid the lid off the bento and chuckled when he saw what you had done.
"That's quite clever kitten. Perhaps next time you can show me how to make it?"
His pet name made you blush a bit, but that didn't stop you from agreeing.
You two spent the next few hours discussing different meals you guys could learn to make together.
Asmodeus
Asmo had been taking you shopping lately, hyping you up and helping you destress with spa nights
In return, you decided to make a dessert bento box in a pretty pink container.
It was a square container split into nine compartments.
Across the top three compartments, you arranged a rainbow of mochi.
On the bottom three you arranged a rainbow of macaroons.
In the two outside compartments left, you put a mini Wicked cupcake in each
Finally in the middle, you arranged Hershey's kisses into a heart.
Satisfied, you made your way to his room and announced your presence at his door.
"Come in darling~ I'm just finishing up my nails!"
You let yourself in and settled across the table from Asmo.
"I brought you something. I just wanted to thank you for helping me out lately and show you how much I appreciate you!"
You placed the box next to him so he could see what you had done.
His squeal of excitement almost decimated your eardrums, however moments later you were enveloped in a very tight, heartfelt, "smooshy" hug, but his elated expression made up for your temporary loss of hearing.
"Ohh MC! You're so sweet!!!! These look delicious, let's share them!! Just let me take a picture first with my favourite snack!!"
You sat back and expected him to pick up a cupcake, but yelped as he pulled you into the frame.
"I said with my favourite snacc MC, and I meant it!!" (Yes, he still took a picture of the bento)
Beelzebub
You wanted to plan an outdoor date for the two of you that wouldn't require you to excersize.
So you decided to try and make Koraku Bento, or picnic bento, but even bigger in hopes you would be able to temporarily satiate Beel's hunger
Because you were making so much, you needed multiple boxes, and a couple days to prepare, so you asked Simeon if you could work at PH so Beel wouldn't get to it early.
Of course, he agreed
Day one, you prepared five different fillings for the Onigiri you were planning to make: sha-ke (salted salmon),umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), okaka (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce), kombu (simmered kombu seaweed), tuna mayo (canned tuna with Japanese mayonnaise)
Day two you prepared three large protiens, (chicken, beef, and pork), each enough to fill about two containers each. You cooked each of them differently. You also cut up/prepared vegetables you wanted to use for tempura.
Day three you woke up early in order to be ready to take Beel out after his game. You made rice and finished making the Onigiri, (which Luke was adamant you let him make with you).
And Simeon helped you make the tempura and a beautiful salad to accompany everything else.
However, now there was a lot of stuff to carry and you wanted to greet Beel out of his game.
So the angels took care of transporting the food to the roof while you went to get Beel
"Why are we going to Purgatory Hall? Are we having dinner with the angels?"
"Not quite. The date I wanted to take you on had a slight change of plans. We just need to get to the roof-"
"Do you want me to fly us up there?"
You considered it for a moment then agreed. If nothing else, you would be avoiding Solomon.
Once you landed, appreciation for the angels swelled as they had laid everything out so beautifully.
"...oh. It looks like someone else is doing something up here. It smells really good, so we should probably go. I don't want to eat someone else's food and ruin their night by accident....again." He tried to leave, but you pulled on him gently.
"I'm glad you think it smells good. This is for you! I made it for you, and the angels helped me bring it up here when I went to pick you up."
His eyes widened. "...All of that...you made it for me?"
You couldn't help but smile and nod at his bashful expression.
He hugged you gently. "Thank you MC. I know that took a lot."
"It was worth it! You haven't even tried it yet. Come on, I'm hungry!" You giggled.
Beel's stomach growled in response, causing a slight blush to light his cheeks. You're so good to him❤
Belphegor (this has a bit of crack energy, I'm sorry. So will Solomon's😅)
"MC....can you pass me my D.D.D?"
"MC....can you give me a massage?"
"MC....can you switch my laundry for me?"
"MC....can you pass me my pillow?"
"Belphie, I love you. I understand you're the Avatar of Sloth. But what the actual fuck? Your pillow is under your arm, just move it under your head. I've already gotten up, like six times to do stuff for you."
He groaned. "But it takes too much effort!" He smushed his cheek into his arm and attempted to give you puppy-dog eyes.
"Sorry, only Beel can pull that off. If you want your pillow moved less than a foot, you're going to do it yourself. You of all people should now how frustrating it is to get up as soon as you sit down."
He groaned again and grumbled as he moved his own damn pillow.
You tried to relax a bit. Normally your time with Belphie consisted of cuddles, movie nights, planeterium visits, or just plugging into some music and enjoying each other's company, like you were trying to do now.
Until you made eye contact with him again.
He was going to ask something-
"MC........... can you get me a snack?"
Dear God, he was not gonna like this.
"Of course Belphie. I'd love to."
You made your way to the kitchen with new found energy.
You were going to make Shikaeshi Bento (revenge lunchbox)
Basically, it's supposed to be inedible or embarrassing, and be used to convey anger or overall dissatisfaction
So you grabbed his bento box, dumped uncooked rice into it, cracked an egg and left the shell in the box. You used purple food colouring to make a heart.
You brought the box up to Belphie, who was surprisingly still awake
"That was quick."
You grunted in response and walked out
"Hey why are you leaving?!"
A few seconds later, you heard, "MC! ...WHAT DID I DO??!! I JUST WANTED A SNACK!!...MC PLEASE COME BACK I DON'T WANNA GET UP!!"
Diavolo
So, usually Barbatos is in charge of making sure the Demon Prince eats
However, you told Barbatos that you wanted to make something special for Dia
"My Lord would thoroughly enjoy anything you made for him. He's been very busy lately, so I'm sure he would appreciate the kind gesture."
Barbatos graciously gave you precedence over the kitchen, giving you full access to everything you could ever need or want.
You decided to make him bento with your favourite protein
One compartment you filled with rice, using sesame seeds and an umeboshi for garnish
You arranged pieces of your favourite fruits in one of the smaller compartments
Then you made your favourite type of tempura, and prepared the sauce to go in the last two compartments
You asked Barbatos where Diavolo would be, and he escorted you to his office.
"My Lord, MC has come to speak with you."
Diavolo's head shot up and his face lit up with delight as he watched you walk through the door.
"MC! A welcome surprise. How are you? Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine! I actually just wanted to give you something." You gave him the black box.
"I made bento with some of my favourite things...you mentioned wanting to get to know me a little bett-"
You were cut off by Diavolo crushing you in a hug
"...My Lord, MC needs to breathe."
"Ah, my apologies MC. This is the most wonderful, meaningful thing anyone has ever given me. How can I adequately express my gratitude? Simply name anything you want, and it shall be yours."
Once you had regained your breath, you gave him a small smile.
"Anything? Could I trouble you for your time?"
"MC, Lord Diavolo must finish his work in a timely matter. I can clear his schedule for afterwards."
"Barbatos, could they stay long enough for us to share the wonderful meal they've prepared?"
Usually Diavolo's begging and sad eyes™ would be powerless against him, however the soft spot he had for you and your much- less-seen sad expression were enough for him to bend this once.
"My Lord, I'll be back in an hour. I'm afraid that's all the time I can allow."
He stepped out, and allowed a small smile form on his face as he heard the two of you celebrate, also knowing that later on he would be listening to a very happy prince recount everything you two talked about and how much he loved you.
Barbatos
You, the brothers, and the other exchange students had been invited to the demon lord's castle for another event
It wasn't for another day, but you felt your chest tighten as you remembered Barbatos
Did he even get to eat those days when everyone was there?
You didn't want to take that chance, and decided to set up a small, filling bento box.
It only had three compartments, so you stuffed each one.
One had rice and meat.
You made some sushi and tamagoyaki to go on top.
For the last compartment, you made a simple chickpea salad.
The next day, Barbatos welcomed you all to the castle, as per usual.
However, this time he stuck around once the brothers and others had left.
"I...Well you already know, but this is for you!"
He nodded and graced you with a smile. "My knowing does not take away from my appreciation MC. Admittedly, nights like this are very demanding. I will repay you later. Thank you."
He tried to walk away, but you yelled after him, "You're not supposed to repay someone for a gift! Just take it!!"
He smiled to himself as he started to eat some food.
Perhaps this night would not be as taxing as he thought
Simeon
You had been experimenting new dinner recipes with Luke at Purgatory Hall; you were watching him while Simeon was away.
"If we leave these leftovers out, Solomon will get to them and ruin them."
"....why don't we make bento for Simeon? He's coming back tomorrow, isn't he?"
Luke beamed at you. "Okay!"
He went to get a small bento box divided into fifths (two large bottom compartments and three small top ones).
"Ok, so in one of the big ones, we can fit the rest of the rice."
Luke nodded. "Can I use this?" He held up a star-shaped cookie cutter.
"Of course!" You helped him mould the rice into a stable star shape.
He looked so happy designing stuff, you let him take the lead.
By the time you were finished, it was easily the most stunning dish you had seen.
"Wow MC! We should do this more often!" He was very proud of himself, and rightfully so. "I can't wait to give it to Simeon!....Is it ok if I give it to Simeon? It was your idea, so it's ok if you want to do it instead..."
You just smiled at him. "You can give it to him, you did most of the work anyways. For now though, you need to get to bed."
He pouted slightly, but complied.
The next morning you woke up to Luke speaking very animatedly to Simeon.
"Yeah! We tried a bunch of new things, and then MC suggested we make you a bento box with the leftovers, and it turned out really well so I can't wait for you to try it!!"
You leaned against the kitchen doorframe observing the interaction.
"Thank you Luke, it looks wonderful. Good morning MC. I hope you slept well. Thanks for ba- for helping Luke while I was away."
He smiled gently at you before Luke was trying to get him to try the bento again.
He took a bite and smiled at Luke.
"It's delicious. You guys must have put a lot of love into it, as always." He looked directly at you at that point, but Luke was too elated to notice the silent exchange between you too.
Solomon
"Don't get mad at me! You agreed to test spells with me!"
"You asked me when I was half asleep Solomon! I also meant later, not right away!"
"Well, you're not a frog anymore, so I don't see what the problem is."
.... No, you weren't a frog anymore
That didn't mean you were happy about being a frog in the first place.
You texted Simeon, 'Who's on lunch duty today?"
"Me. Why?"
"I'll make us bento. We can picnic, the exchange students, that is."
So you spent the next little bit making normal bento for the three of you.
"Simeon said we should probably leave in five minutes" you thanked Luke and started on Solomon's.
You made Shikaeshi bento; you cracked four eggs and aligned their yolks into a rather phallic shape, added way too much fish oil, and threw a few sesame seeds on top.
However, once you made it to the picnic grounds, Solomon opened his box and gasped.
"MC, you know me so well!" And proceeded to drink right out of the box, the rest of you looking on in horror.
"I thought you were mad at me and you were going to give me something disgusting like Mac and Cheese. I guess all is forgiven. Thank you!"
At that point you couldn't even stay mad, that was just disgusting.
Aye, I hope you liked it anon, not sure if this is quite what you meant but....yeah.
Love y'all!
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pitviperofdoom · 3 years
Text
Me: I’ve got some time and motivation on my hands! Maybe I should work on one of my immediate projects, like putting the finishing touches on my RQBB piece, or making some headway on my TMA BB piece, or editing the next chapter of the DND AU...
Me: *writes a 5k opener for an au that’s basically The Owl House*
------
“Again.”
Jon held still and kept his eyes shut. Everything ached, his head most of all; the slightest movement sent lightning bolts of pain through his skull. Even now it throbbed like a quiet threat behind his closed eyes.
“Get up, Jon.”
He couldn’t. He was done. Wasn’t that obvious?
“I don’t have time to indulge you. I know you can do more. Now get up.”
He couldn’t.
“Open your eyes, Jonathan.”
That was a simpler request, at least. He could do that much, couldn’t he? He could open his eyes. It barely counted as moving.
Dutifully, Jon forced his eyelids apart. Punishment was swift; this time the pain was so intense that he couldn’t even scream, only curl up tighter on the floor with a strangled whimper. The polished tiles were cold against his face, but they did little to soothe the ache. Warm liquid trickled from his closed eyes; when had he started crying?
Across the room, Jonah sighed. “Already? We’ve barely scratched the surface, Jon. I expected another hour from you, at minimum.” Footsteps echoed against the floor, and Jon tensed in spite of the pain, but the hands that picked him up were gentle. “Come now. Our work is too important for me to indulge you like this. For Titan’s sake, your endurance was better when you were a mere child.”
Jon kept his eyes shut, and hated the part of himself that wanted to curl up again, apologize, and promise to do better. The ache was beginning to recede, just barely, but he kept his eyes shut. If he opened them too soon, then Jonah would take it as a sign that he wasn’t as tired as he behaved.
“Can you make your own way back?” Jonah asked, steadying him by the shoulders. “Or do you need help?”
Jon’s blood ran cold. That was a dangerous question. If he chose to go under his own power, then Jonah might change his mind about letting him stop. But he didn’t want help. His limbs felt like wet clay, and there wasn’t a single muscle in his body that didn’t hurt, but at least they were still his.
“I—” HIs voice cracked in his dry throat. “I can—I can make my own way. Th-thank you, Jonah.” He held his breath.
After far too long for comfort, Jonah sighed again, heavy with disappointment. “Alright, Jon. Get some rest. We’ll do better in the morning.”
“Yes, Jonah,” Jon replied, faint with relief, and waited.
He was met with silence.
“Have you changed your mind?” Jonah said, after a moment. “If you’d like to continue…”
“No,” Jon replied. “No, I’m—thank you. For letting me stop. Just…” He held his hands out in a blind plea. “It’s my eyes, so I need…”
“Ah, of course, how could it have slipped my mind?” He heard a faint rustle from Jonah’s robe, before warm, smooth wood was pressed into his waiting hands. Jon swallowed another sob of relief. “There you are, then.”
“Thank you,” Jon repeated, and turned toward where he hoped the exit was.
The shape in his hands shifted. Smooth wood became downy softness, before the feeling left his hands and landed gently against his face. Soft wings brushed his cheeks, tiny legs grasped the bridge of his nose, and the world returned to him.
He hadn’t opened his eyes, but he could see the room once more: the library’s main room, a vast space where he and Jonah did most of their work. He could see Jonah as well, watching him with the weary patience of a parent indulging a child’s tantrum.
Jon looked away, muttered his thanks again, and limped out of the room.
Even with a closed door between them, the weight of Jonah’s scrutiny never left. Not helping the matter was the wallpaper that, currently, was openly tracking his progress through the countless eyes hidden in the intricate pattern.
That was the downside to navigating with these eyes; when he used his own, he couldn’t see the Beholding that soaked every nook and cranny of the manor. At least then he could pretend that closed doors and distance meant something.
It was a long way from the research wing to his quarters—their quarters—and Jon had to pause several times for a moment’s rest. By the time he reached the last flight of stairs, he was shaking from exhaustion, and strongly considering the benefits of simply curling up in a corner of the hallway and falling asleep on the floor. Jonah certainly kept the carpets plush enough.
His borrowed vision went hazy for a moment, and soft wings beat gently against his face. Jon braced himself against the wall as another powerful headache washed over him, closed eyes be damned. His face was wet with tears again.
“Alright,” he murmured. “Alright. Just a bit farther.”
The mask of wings left his face in a sudden flurry of beating, leaving him blind again. Jon bit back a cry of alarm and stayed where he was, leaning against the wall. He wouldn’t leave—surely he wouldn’t. He’d be back. Maybe he was just…
Before he could work himself into a proper panic, he heard the door at the top of the stairs creak open. Familiar footsteps came tumbling down the steps.
“Fuck, Jon,” a familiar, wonderfully welcome voice breathed out, and Gerry caught him before he could fall.
Jon made the rest of the journey leaning heavily against him, blind and trusting. He could feel gentle puffs of air against his face, fluttering wings that didn’t quite touch, and smiled gratefully.
Eventually Gerry deposited him in a chair and went to retrieve something—from the potions stand, going by the clatter of glass vials. Less than a minute later, one of them was pressed into his hand.
“Here. Need help drinking?”
Jon shook his head. “I can manage. Thanks.” He downed the potion and was rewarded by a receding headache. His eyelids were so sticky that he had to massage them open, and his vision came back in blurry patches, one piece of the room at a time: A single table and chair by the kitchenette. Two beds shoved together in the far corner. The sparsest alchemy array on the Isles. Gerry's face, watching him with open concern.
"Do you know how much you lost?" Gerry asked.
"What?"
Gerry gestured to his face, and Jon mirrored the motion until he found rough, sticky stains streaked down his face. He was confused until some of it crumbled off at his touch, and he looked down to find flecks of congealed blood clinging to his fingertips. "That's probably not good."
"Yeah, Jon," Gerry sighed, short and forceful with held back anger. "Probably isn't." He moved off to the kitchenette, and returned moments later with a damp towel.
Jon cleaned his face, sighing in relief at the coolness against the lingering ache. He put the now-soiled towel aside, eyes finally clear, and caught the briefest glimpse of amber eye spots on coppery wings before their owner alighted gently on the side of his head.
"Yes, of course," he said, reaching up to stroke one of the moth's large downy wings. His familiar nuzzled his finger in return. "Thank you, Atlas."
"He alright?" Gerry asked grimly, already checking the moth for any sign of damage.
"Jonah had him for the entire session," Jon replied. "No overt threats today, he just… didn't let him go until we were finished. So. Could be worse."
"Could be a lot better," Gerry muttered.
It will be, he carefully didn't say. Soon, it will be.
It wasn't safe to talk like that. Not here. Not yet.
After Gerry coaxed food into him, Jon crawled beneath the covers and curled up as small as he could manage. Patched and mended blankets didn’t offer any more protection than the walls of this place, but huddling in the dark made it easier to pretend that Jonah couldn’t see him here. It was the only way he could make himself sleep, these days.
When he awoke to Gerry’s gentle shaking, Jon found that he hadn’t moved so much as a finger in his sleep.
Without a word, he slipped out from under the blanket. The light in their quarters was dimming as twilight approached. Gerry barely glanced up from the book he was reading at the table as Jon shuffled to the kitchenette and the kettle.
Casting the spell was a simple matter of well-practiced sleight of hand, disguised beneath mundane activities. One spell circle traced idly by Gerry’s finger against the page as he turned it, the other drawn in the air as Jon waved away the steam. They never did it the same way twice, nor with any regularity by day or week or month. If it became a pattern, then Jonah might catch it.
The spell slipped into place smoothly, with none of the clumsy ripples of their earliest attempts, and Jon let out a shaky sigh. They had to assume that Jonah was always watching—but now, if he was, all he would see was Gerry reading at the table, and Jon drinking tea at the kitchenette. It was a routine they had set long ago. It was exactly what Jonah would expect to see.
Titan willing, it would be enough. They couldn’t afford to slip up now.
“It’s almost ready,” Gerry assured him. “Everything’s in place. All we have to do is wait for the moon’s alignment to power it.”
Jon ran his hand absently over his arm, scratching at the pockmark scars that dotted his skin. Some of the ingredients had cost them dearly to procure. They likely wouldn’t get another chance on any of them.
When he looked at Gerry again, his friend was watching him with something indescribably soft in his face. “It’ll work, Jon.”
“And if we’re caught?” Jon blurted. “We can’t hide this ritual behind false visions. He’ll sense it no matter what his eyes tell him.”
“Once it’s cast, it won’t matter,” Gerry said with grim satisfaction. “We’ll have our out. And where it leads, Jonah won’t have any of the power he does here.”
Jon took a deep, shaky breath, and nodded. His hands curled and uncurled at his sides, nails digging deep into his palms.
Gerry’s eyes never left him. “What’s on your mind?”
Swallowing against the thickness in his throat, Jon struggled to find an answer. “Is it—is it wrong that I’m afraid?”
“Jon, no—”
“I didn’t want to be here,” Jon went on. “I never wanted—ever since I came here, I’ve wanted to leave. And now we finally have a chance. Why am I afraid?” Gerry opened his mouth like he was about to reply, but Jon couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried. “It’s not like I’m safe here. Today wasn’t even that bad, compared to… it wasn't that bad.” A bitter, ragged laugh tore itself from his throat. "He pushed me until I bled from my eyes, and he was happy to keep pushing, and all I can think is it wasn't that bad. Why am I afraid to leave?" His voice trailed off. Atlas’s wings fluttered against his head, mirroring his agitation.
Instead of answering, Gerry held out his arms. Jon walked into them without hesitation.
“You were a kid.” With his head on Gerry’s shoulder, his hand to his heart, and Gerry’s arms holding him close, Jon felt surrounded by his friend’s voice.
“I was nearly eighteen,” Jon protested. “Hardly a child.”
“I’m just saying, you’ve been here too long not to be scared of what’s out there,” Gerry reminded him. “And it’s not like we’re escaping out the front door. We don’t really know what we’ll find on the other side.”
Jon’s hand curled into a fist against Gerry’s chest, and his other arm tightened around him. If they did this right, then their exit strategy would dump them into an entirely new world, of which Jon had only ever read old books or heard second and third-hand stories. A fresh wave of apprehension seized him.
Not for the first time, he let himself be desperately, pathetically grateful that he wasn’t doing this alone.
“Can you keep it together?” Gerry asked, still quietly gentle. “I just—I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But I can’t do this alone. This is a two-person job at least, and—”
“Of course.” Reluctantly, Jon pulled back to look him in the eye. “I’m not going to give up at the last moment. You can rely on me.”
Gerry smiled. That was a rare thing, these days. All the more reason not to lose his nerve. Once they got out, Jon was going to spend the rest of their lives giving Gerry every reason to keep doing it.
“I know,” Gerry replied. “Now come on. Let’s finish prepping before we run out of twilight.”
***
“You know,” Gerry whispered late at night, as Jon settled himself into the curve of his body. “By the time I left home, I’d passed up five chances to escape.”
Jon listened in silence. He was never quite sure what to say when Gerry talked about how he grew up. Nothing felt like the right thing to say. Luckily, Gerry never seemed to expect him to say anything at all.
“Those are just the ones I was looking out for, at the time,” Gerry went on. “Couldn’t tell you how many I just didn’t see.”
“You were a kid,” Jon murmured back.
Gerry scoffed into Jon’s hair, and Jon smiled. “Don’t you turn my words back on me. How dare you.” A moment later, “But… you’re not wrong. I was a kid. She was all I knew. I didn’t know who I was without her.”
Safely out of Gerry’s line of vision, Jon allowed himself a thoughtful frown. It was different for him, wasn’t it? Gerry had been born his mother’s son, but Jon had been someone before he was Jonah’s… whatever he was. Student, research assistant, test subject, prisoner.
Before, he’d been the son of parents he barely remembered. He’d been the grandson of a woman who did her best until he drove her to give up on him, and a coven leader came to her with a kind smile and a promise to take away her burden. And now…
And now he wasn’t any of that. Because there wasn’t anything for him to go back to. The only way out was forward, into the unknown.
“I figured it out in the end,” Gerry told him. “You will too. I know you will.”
“I might need help with that,” Jon admitted. “I could use your expertise.”
A soft huff of laughter jostled him. “I’m gonna be in the same boat as you, you know? I’ve never been to the human world.”
“You still know more about it than me,” Jon pointed out.
Gerry was quiet for a moment. “He didn’t tell you anything?” he asked eventually. “It didn’t take much to get him talking, when I was running around with him.”
“Only a few things. His family, his brother, some of his favorite foods. It was all we had time for before we parted ways.”
“Ah, that’s a shame,” Gerry sighed. “The human world sounds amazing—if even half the things he told me about were even real.”
Jon laughed softly. “I know what you mean. Can you imagine someone actually swimming in the ocean? It would strip the flesh clean off your bones.”
“Not if the water’s cold and non-corrosive. Which it apparently is. People swim in the ocean all the time. It’s a thing. They take their kids and everything.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Jon stifled a yawn.
“It was weird, you know?” Gerry went on. “The things he’d talk about like they were nothing. Sometimes he’d say just the wildest thing, and he’d look at me like I was crazy when I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.”
“Like what?”
“Hmm… trying to think of one I haven’t told you before…” Gerry hesitated. “Did I tell you about how mornings in the human realm just… make water?”
“You mentioned something about the rainwater being cold,” Jon replied.
“No no, this is different. Titan, how did he explain it…” Gerry hummed thoughtfully. “Something about how, when it’s cold enough, everything’s covered in little droplets of water in the morning. The air just… does that. Makes water out of nothing.”
“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
“Can’t remember,” Gerry admitted. “He showed me a picture, though. Water droplets on a spiderweb. Looked like tiny little diamonds. Dunno what kind of face I was making, but he laughed at me.”
“Rude,” Jon murmured.
“Still not sure I believe it.”
“Maybe we’ll see it for ourselves. One day.” One day very, very soon.
Gerry’s only reply was to run gentle fingers through Jon’s hair, again and again, until Jon finally fell asleep.
***
The moon sat at its apex, round and bright and wreathed in blue fire that seemed to dim the stars around it. It was the first thing Jon saw when Gerry gently shook him awake.
He stirred, wincing when his movements jarred his injuries. Most of the day had been devoted to Jonah’s experiments, and Jon had fresh wounds to prove it. The burns on his face would heal without scarring, but his right hand was still wrapped in liniment-soaked bandages. Jon avoided putting any weight on it as he rose to a sitting position and pushed back the blanket. The sight of the moon, burning brightly in celestial alignment, chased away any lingering weariness.
They cast their usual cloaking spell with less caution than usual. It was only a stopgap measure at best, a few minutes’ safety to get everything in place. The table, chair, and alchemy set were pushed aside to clear the floor. With steadier hands—Jonah had been focused on Jon today, leaving Gerry a day of respite—Gerry borrowed Jon’s staff to draw the circle. Atlas alighted on his place at the top of the staff, colors fading as he shifted back into wood, and the symbols glowed brighter. Jon fetched each component from their hiding places around the room, and began laying them out amid the lines that Gerry was tracing.
They worked quickly, not speaking, barely breathing. For all their planning, there had been no time to practice. They would get only one chance, and no more.
And so, there was no time or opportunity to brace themselves before Gerry drew the last line, and Jon poured the last drop of Titan blood, and the circle caught the moonfire blazing through the open window.
The spell ignited, and the sheer force of clashing power nearly knocked them both off their feet. Their flimsy cloaking spell shattered, exposing them to Jonah’s sight, but it was far too late to turn back.
Jon had barely regained his footing when his own magic, coursing through the spell circle alongside Gerry’s, was caught in the moonlight’s amplifying effect. For a single, glorious moment, for the first time in years, Jon felt magic—wild magic, covenless magic—coursing through him. He smelled fire and earth and sea air, felt wind against his face, sensed the distant light of stars above them, tasted blood in the back of his throat as drumbeats pounded in his ears. Every sensation rushed him at once, melding together into a storm of color and music. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt.
And then the coven brand on his arm blazed, burning away the storm until only the Beholding remained.
It seized him mercilessly, knowledge clamoring its way into his head all at once. It was a confusing mess, so many sights and sounds and thoughts that he couldn’t have picked out a single one among them. But in the end he adjusted, the stream became more focused, and his mind was his own once more.
At the center of the circle, a seam formed in the fabric of the world. It split neatly down the length of it, opening wide into a ragged doorway.
Jon’s heart leapt. They had been planning this for years, researching in secret, sneaking and lying and stealing to get the components together, and yet—only now did he realize that he had never expected it to actually work. The fact that it had, that freedom lay only a few steps from where he stood, was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
Jonah was on his way, he realized absently. It wasn’t just the inevitability of it; even without his focus on the river of knowledge flowing through him, he couldn’t help but catch a few drops. One of them showed their captor flying up the stairs toward their quarters, wild-eyed and intent.
“Gerry,” he said. “We have to—”
Another scrap of knowledge slipped into his mind, like a dagger between his ribs.
“Jon?” Gerry’s voice sounded far away. Everything was suddenly muffled, even the portal. Even the Beholding, swollen with moonlight, felt far away. The whole world was contained in a single, inescapable truth.
“We can’t.” The words slipped from Jon’s mouth. His hand closed on Gerry’s arm. “Gerry, we can’t.”
“Jon, let go, the portal’s right—”
“It won’t work.” Jon squeezed his arm. “It won’t—there’s not enough power. It’s not stable enough for both of us. As soon as one of us goes through, the spell will fall apart and the portal will close. It won’t work.”
Gerry stared back at him, face suffused with dismay.
Dismay, but not surprise.
Jon’s heart sank like a stone in mud. “You knew.”
“Jon, there’s no time for this, now let go—” He was pulling away, prying Jon’s fingers from his arm, and the portal was within his reach, and Jonah was so close to their door.
“You knew,” he repeated. “How long have you known? How long have you been lying?”
“I had no choice!” Gerry shouted over the crackling, ringing din of the spell. “There was no other way! What was I supposed to do, sit here while both of us wasted away? What other chance was either of us going to get?”
The worst part was, Jon couldn’t bring himself to be surprised, or even all that angry, really. Of course this was going to happen. It was simply the culmination of his entire life, thus far. His parents, his old friends, his grandmother—and now Gerry.
Maybe it was just his lot to be left behind.
Across the room, the door rattled. Jonah called to them from the other side. Jon barely heard either.
“I…” His throat grew thick. “I understand.”
“Jon, I’m sorry,” Gerry said desperately. “I wish there was another way.”
“No, I—” He really shouldn’t be crying. This was a happy thing, after all. Gerry was going to be free. “At least—even if it’s just one of us—”
Gerry smiled through his own tears. “I’m really gonna miss you,” he said.
“It’s not fair,” Jon blurted out. “We were supposed to go together. We were supposed to see it together!”
“When has any of this ever been fair?”
Tears gathered in his eyes until Jon blinked them away. His last sight of Gerry should be a clear one. “Please don’t forget me.”
The door rattled again, and Gerry choked back a sob. “Fuck. I could never. You’re not the sort of person anyone just forgets.”
Before Jon could reply, Gerry lunged forward. Not toward the portal, not toward freedom, but to Jon. The kiss was fast and clumsy with desperation, but the hands against the sides of his face were ruthlessly gentle.
“I love you,” Gerry whispered. “Don’t look back.”
Jon blinked back his tears, confusion cutting through the grief. “What?”
Gerry curled Jon’s hands around the staff and threw him into the portal.
He fell through the riot of color and music, too shocked to scream as the image of Gerry shattered into pieces above him. The light winked out, and Jon fell into the emptiness alone.
***
Jon landed hard, though not nearly hard enough for how long he must have been falling.
He lay in darkness and silence, wheezing softly as he regained his breath, gripping his staff until his fingers went numb and his injured hand screamed in protest. The air was cold and smelled stale. The light show from the portal was gone, but he could still feel its power humming beneath his skin, threatening to burst free.
After a while, Jon gathered himself enough to roll over. The floor felt like stone beneath his hands, relatively smooth but unpolished. With a grunt of effort, Jon planted his staff on the ground and pulled himself to his feet. It was too dark to see well when he opened his eyes, so he felt along the length of the staff until he found the shape of wooden moth wings at the end.
“Atlas?” His voice rasped in his chest. The wood turned to soft chitin, and Atlas took off from the head of the staff to flutter in frantic circles around his head, buffeting him gently when he flew too close. “Yes, yes—it’s alright. We’re alright.”
Atlas landed on his shoulder, and Jon’s eyes adjusted.
Was this the human world? For all he knew, the portal might have simply dropped him elsewhere in the demon realm. He was in a room, possibly a basement, judging by the clutter. Boxes sat in stacks and piles, some of them too full to close properly. Indistinct objects sat against the walls—an old mirror, frames wrapped in thick brown paper, a tall wooden clock that didn’t seem to be working. A thick layer of dust blanketed everything, untouched by fingerprints or footsteps.
He was alone.
Of course he was alone, he’d seen the portal break apart as soon as he fell into it, with Gerry still on the other side. Jonah had been seconds from breaking the door down, and now—
A harsh sob took him by surprise, and tears blinded him all over again.
Jonah had never set a clear punishment for escaping. And now, whatever it was, Gerry was facing it alone.
They weren’t supposed to be alone, they were never supposed to be alone. It shouldn’t have been him going through the portal, it should have been Gerry, why couldn’t have been Gerry, why couldn’t Gerry have been selfish for once in his life—
A distant scream rang out, shocking him out of his tears. Jon stared around, wide-eyed and searching, but the room was still. Then the ceiling shook with a crash, drawing his eyes upward.
“It’s above us,” he murmured. “Stairs—we need to find stairs.” Atlas took off from his shoulder, eye spots glowing in the gloom.
With an extra set of eyes, Jon found the stairs within a minute. He ran up them, his brand warming as he loosened the leash on his swollen magic. The door at the top of the steps was locked, but he Knew within seconds where to find a key. Atlas vanished from his side and returned moments later, clutching it in all six of his legs.
The door opened to an unlit hallway. Jon hesitated, took one last look back at the dark and cluttered basement, and hurried on.
He could hear more, now that he was really listening for it. Running footsteps, multiple sets by the sound of it. Shouting, always muffled and bitten-off, as if whoever was doing it was trying very hard not to. There were people in trouble—this was the human world, wasn’t it? Was it as hostile as the demon realm after all?
The hallway ended and took him up another flight of stairs. He expected to see light at some point, either artificial or from the windows. The last time he saw the moon, it had nearly blinded him. But instead, the darkness of the stairwell only seemed to grow thicker as he ascended, and reaching the door at the top did nothing to abate it.
At the very least, what he could see of the room he stepped out into looked more like the ground floor. There were proper floorboards, high ceilings, and windows that only showed faint outlines of trees against a dark, starless sky. The house was unlit, and his eyes refused to adjust. Jon drew a quick spell circle on his forehead with one fingertip, and magic poured into his eyes to light the way.
Shouting rang out again from somewhere above. Jon raced to follow it.
Around him, the house was in the slow process of falling apart. Ornate wallpaper hung faded and peeling, shreds of old rugs showed the ragged remains of color and embroidery, and broken shards of wood protruded from walls and doorways alike, as if any ornamentation set into them had been ripped out long ago. This must have been a fine-looking house once, but now it was a crumbling wreck.
Eventually the hallway opened up to another dilapidated chamber, this one a rotting front hall with its doors still standing ajar. Opposite them, the sagging remains of a grand staircase led up to another floor.
Jon had nearly reached the foot of it when he spotted movement at the top of the steps, and his vision went black.
For a split second he thought he’d lost consciousness, but the floor remained firmly beneath his feet. His breath came in short bursts of alarm as he drew another spell circle for sight in the darkness, to no avail.
Jon settled his grip on the staff, wincing at the pain in his burned hand. The bad news was, nothing that simple was going to let him see through this darkness. The good news was, it meant he knew what he was dealing with. He should have figured it out as soon as he left the basement and saw how dark it was. Stupid.
He could hear the others. Their running footsteps had fallen still, but the sound of panicked breathing was unmistakable. Someone was whimpering in pain with each breath. Someone else was whispering frantic reassurances. The darkness swallowed up everything else.
Jon hardly had to reach for his magic. It was brimming all the way to the surface, swollen from the storm of half-wild magic that had brought him here. When he drew a spell circle in the air with a tight whirl of his staff, it all came boiling up and out like a geyser.
Eyes opened everywhere—in Jon’s face and neck, along the length of his staff, in Atlas’s wooden face and wings, and in the choked air all around him. The darkness burned away as quick and clean as thin paper, revealing the scene before him.
There were three people now at the foot of the stairs, in such a state of panicked disarray that Jon could hardly tell whether they’d run or fallen down them. The larger of the two men had the others pushed behind him, backing away from the creature that menaced them, all three of them too frozen in terror to even attempt to cast a spell.
In spite of the glowing eyes that lit the room, a single wriggling mass of darkness remained, crawling and twitching toward its prey with wispy feelers that reached out to touch them. Sour air wafted from its body, filling the room with the smell of rot.
An acid shade. Nasty, hateful things that hunted prey by blinding it, then dissolving it while it was still alive. One touch was enough to melt the skin off your hand. Gerry still had scars from his last encounter with one.
Gerry.
The eyes blazed, and for the first time the brightness touched the shade’s slick hide. It recoiled, convulsing with a sound that was not a scream, but close enough.
Jon didn’t remember crossing the room, but he stood between the writhing mass of shadows and its would-be victims, so he must have. Fear warred with wild, directionless anger. He missed Gerry and hated Jonah. He remembered the feeling of lips on his, and the sight of his only friend weeping as his image shattered. Jon took all of it, gathered up every last drop, and poured it all into the merciless light of his swollen magic. He gave it all of himself, until it was blinding, until he could See every part of the room he stood in, down to every last crack in the walls, down to every convulsing wisp of darkness that made up the shade.
It let out another not-scream as it was utterly, agonizingly Seen.
And then it was gone, and Jon’s last drop of magic trickled out and left him hollow.
The darkness returned—not a demonic creature this time, but regular unconsciousness creeping up on him. He fought it as he turned and looked back at the faces of the people he’d saved. A round-faced man, so pale that his freckles stood out in his face; a woman with wide eyes and dark hair in disarray; and the second man clutching a corrosive burn that covered his arm, whose face—
—whose face Jon recognized.
“Danny?” Half-blind, Jon struggled to focus as the world grew smaller, and the darkness overtaking it nearly obscured the look of shock on the man’s face. “You found your way home?”
He lost his grip on consciousness before he could hear the answer.
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beelzegrub · 3 years
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can I request what would happen if we summon them while we're on human realm bc we missed them so much but lose so much blood in the process I don't really know I'm a sucker for these kind of things. thank youu!!
EDIT FROM FUTURE OP: This ask has been sitting in my drafts for months half finished and I finally found the motivation to finish. Anon, I’m so sorry for the wait. You’re a sweetheart ❤️ I was only able to do the three eldest though and I’m so sorry!!
Um hello??? I love this so much thank you!!! I thought it was kind of silly to go through all of that at the end of season 2 to just.... not use it so I’m excited about this!!!! (Sorry if this is too angsty my brain got super pumped about this and took off.
PS the request said “we” so I used a reader insert type of style. Hope that’s what you were looking for :)
MC Summons Their Demon, but at What cost?
Trigger warning!!!! Self harm/blood
How long had it been since you’d seen the him? Weeks? Months? Who knows. They all blended together after while. All you knew is that it had been too long. Why was this all so tedious? Solomon had promised to teach you the summoning ritual as soon as you could handle it. Why hadn’t he done so? Did he not trust you? Was he purposely keeping you away from the them? Surely you were strong enough at this point. Enough with the waiting. You wouldn’t sit around and any longer! You needed to see them. You needed to see him.
You flipped messily through book after book. Solomon had given you many to study for your apprenticeship. There had to be something about summoning in one of these!
“Hmm..”
You carefully read through the worn pages of one of the larger and dustier tomes. Something about this one called to you. You zoned out as you took in the information on the pages, following context clues until you found what you were looking for. The images drawn on the page seemed foreign and surprised you. A summoning circle? You had expected as much, but the repeated mentions of ‘sacrifice’ and ‘blood oath’ seemed ancient and outdated. You couldn’t help but notice there was no mention of sentimental possessions of the demon you were trying to summon as well. You were sure none of the brothers would suggest a summoning if it were dangerous though...
Out of options and out of patience, you gathered your courage and set up the ritual to the best of your ability. Things seemed to match the books instructions, at least. All that was left was the blood. You stepped into the middle of the circle and closed brought a sewing needle to the top of your finger. The book hadn’t specified the amount of blood needed, but it was better to start small, you reasoned. You closed your eyes and pricked it, quickly squeezing a single drop of blood into the center of the circle, and said the name of the person you had been desperate to see.
Lucifer
The day of the summoning, Lucifer had felt this nagging sense of danger from the moment he opened his eyes. He was so sure it was one of his brothers about to cause trouble for him once again.
Lucifer spent the day preparing for the worst. Had Mammon stolen something of vast importance? Did Levi buy another piece of cursed media? Surely Beel hadn’t eaten a poisonous dish??
That evening, tired from being on edge all day, he had retired to his study, hoping some music would help calm his nerves. He settled into his chair and closed his eyes.
Then came the pull.
It had been ages since he had felt a sensation like this. When was the last time someone had tried to summon him? Hundreds of years ago, it had to be. And it never felt as strong as this force pulling him now.
There had once been a cult of devil worshipers who sacrificed many of their members for a chance to pull him to the human world, quite surprised to find out their sacrifices had been in vain, considering Lucifer wasn’t interested in a bunch of worthless humans. But even then the tug hadn’t been this strong. Sure, he could still resist it, but the strength of it still left him awestruck. Who had the power to call to him like this?
“Lucifer!”
His blood ran cold. Immediately, he stopped resisting the call and gave in, allowing the summoning to take place.
You had done it. Lucifer was here! The strongest and most fearsome of the seven, and you had Summoned him to you. Your heart swelled when you though of how impressed he’d be when he found out you had done it all on your own. Would he praise you? Would he tease you? Would he tilt his head and smirk, then ask you if you had really missed him that much?
You smiled softly, looking up at him. The look on his face wasn’t one of pride. His eyebrows had furrowed and a frown creased deep into his face. Was he angry at you? No... you had seen his anger many times. This wasn’t it.
“MC....what have you done?”
He cradled you softly in his arms. Wait. When had he picked you up? You looked at your surroundings, the fear in the pit of your stomach ever growing. Where had all this blood come from? You had only pricked your finger! Lucifer’s hand touched your cheek, pulling your face back to him.
“Don’t look.”
You had no choice but to obey. You simply didn’t have the strength to move anymore.
“I’ve called for help, it’ll be just a moment, MC. Just keep your eyes on me.”
Lucifer’s voice was soft and soothing, and you felt your tired body relax into his hold.
“I did it... I brought you here... I did it...” you closed your eyes, a smile on your lips.
“MC, keep your eyes open. Look at me. MC! MC!”
Mammon
That day had started out much the same as always. Mammon, still sore from last nights punishment, groaned as he slumped into his desk at RAD. He rested his head in his arms against the desk, and glanced at the seat that used to belong to you. Obviously, you weren’t there, but it didn’t hurt to check....
“MC is still in the human world, Mammon.” 
Mammon jumped and sat up straight in his seat, his cheeks red from being caught.
“I know that Belphie! I was just-just uh zonin’ out! MC’s old seat just happened to be in the same direction!” He stuttered out an excuse. 
“Just call them, Mammon. I’m sure MC would be happy to hear your voice.”  Oh great, now Beel’s getting involved too. He knew his brothers meant no harm, but all this talk about MC was getting him riled up!
“Fine! I will! I’ll call MC tonight! and you two AREN’T invited!” Mammon laid his head down once again, this time hiding his face, not wanting his blush to show a second time. Tonight he’d finally hear MC’s voice again. And he could blame Beel and Belphie for the call!
 Come dinner time, Mammon had just about run out of patience. His head kept telling him to wait just a bit longer, but something in his heart was yelling for him to quit dragging his feet. 
“I’m going to my room and NOBODY better interrupt me, ya hear?!” Mammon stumbled to his feet and started marching to his room, six pairs of eyes staring at him questioningly. He only made it a few steps when he felt it. A tug. He closed his eyes and swayed on his feet, dizzy from the force of it. This was a summoning, wasn’t it? He had felt it plenty of times from those damn witches, but something about this was different. He turned around to look his brothers again, a look of confusion on his face.
“I...think I’m bein’ summoned.”
Levi snorted and crossed his arms. “I’m sure you’re guilty of something. Better just get it over with.”
The rest of the brothers mumbled in agreement.
Except Lucifer.
Lucifer quickly pushed out his chair and hurried to Mammon. Something was wrong. A simple summoning wouldn’t have this effect on a demon of Mammon’s stature. 
The pull came once again, stronger this time. Mammon winced and held his hand to his aching head. Lucifer’s hand came down to rest on his shoulder
 “I don’t know how long I can resist this. Somethin’ isn’t right. Lucifer, what’s happening to me?” He looked to his brother for help, and found the rest of them had gathered around as well, a look of concern on all of their faces. 
“Someone call for Diavolo and Barbatos. Mammon, hold on just a few more moments.” Lucifer commanded. 
Mammon would have agreed, if not for the voice that rang out clearly in his head, calling his name. 
“Mammon!”
Mammon’s eyes snapped open and stopped resisting the pull, hearing the shouts from his brothers disappear as he followed the call.
“Mammon! Mammon! Mammon Mammon Mammon! Please!” You couldn’t keep this up for much longer, you knew it. You had fallen to your knees moments after the initial call. You could feel every drop of blood flowing out of the pin prick on your finger, but you didn’t dare give up. You had come this far, and you wouldn’t give up now. Not until you had to.
But you didn’t have to. A flash of light blinded you momentarily, and when you could see again, there he was. Standing there was the Mammon. Relief flushed through your entire body, and you stopped pouring your magic into the spell. Utterly exhausted, your body came crashing forward, landing in front of his feet.
Mammon quickly slid to his knees on the ground, picking you up off the floor and resting your head in his lap.
“You....Are you okay, MC?” Mammon tried to keep his voice even and steady, not wanting to scare you, but his hands that held too tightly and his body that quivered gave him away. 
“I am now.” You answered quietly, unsure if it was true. At least Mammon was here and holding you in his arms. Things would be okay as long as he was with you. 
“You...You idiot! Stupid! What the heck were ya thinkin’!? Can’t you see how much blood you’ve lost? This isn’t how you’re supposed to be summoning us! I’m gonna kill that damn sorcerer!” Mammon felt his blood boil with each second that passed. How Could Solomon have allowed this?
You softly squeezed his hand, not having the energy to yell for his attention. Immediately, he stopped, looking at you questioningly. 
“Solomon didn’t teach me this. He wouldn’t. But.... I just couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to see you.” You answered.
He frowned deeply, more troubled with this answer. You had done all this just to see him? He felt a lump in his throat form. “I would have come to you. You didn’t have to do this.” He pressed his forehead to yours, closing his eyes to stop any tears from escaping. 
You cupped his cheek, returning the affection he so rarely showed. “S’okay. All that matters is you’re here now. I just...need....to rest....a little...” Your eyes fluttered closed, feeling at peace and calm in your love’s arms. 
Panic. Once again, Mammon’s eyes snapped open. He placed his hand over yours, trying to gently coax you into opening your eyes once more. 
“Not yet, you can’t yet, MC. We have to wait for help to come. Come on, wake up.” He knew his brothers would come. Someone would come. They wouldn’t let this happen to you. He wouldn’t let this happen to you. “MC!” When gentle touches didn’t work, he got rougher, shaking you and yelling, desperate to see your eyes open.
“Enough playin’ around MC! Wake up! WAKE UP, DAMMIT! Wake... Wake up...You have to..... Wake up....”
Leviathan
To say that Levi was missing his MC was like saying humans like air. Is it true? Yeah, but kind of an understatement. Humans needed air to live and breathe, and in his eyes, you were air. It’s no secret that Levi wasn’t exactly popular. One might even say it was well known that he was a dorky loner demon, if they were feeling particularly sassy. Being a loner has it’s advantages, like having more time for gaming and anime binging, but it sure is, well, a lonely once you’ve had someone to share your passions with. And once that someone is gone, their absence weighs heavy.
So yes, Levi was missing MC. So what? Everyone was missing MC. Why wouldn’t they? His MC was a ray of sunshine in a world of darkness. Ugh. That line sounder way cooler when the hero in his latest otome had said it. Of course his thoughts couldn’t sound that cool. But that’s not the point! Levi figured he had no right to complain about MC being gone, because he was just a gross, annoying, worthless otaku. He didn’t deserve to miss them. He was lucky he got to spend as much time with them as he did, really. 
But nobody could blame him for thinking these thoughts, right? Thinking about how much he missed the way MC would cram themselves as close to him as possible to get a look at whatever mobile game he was playing was harmless. So was remembering all the nights they’d spent binging anime and then realizing the sun was up, smiling sheepishly at each other and promising not to stay up so late next time, even though they always did. Okay, so maybe  thinking about the way they looked when they were fresh out of his shower, smelling of his soap and shampoo was less than innocent, but what was he supposed to do!? Leaning your damp head on his shoulder and curling up close to him like that! Doing things like that is bad for an otaku’s heart! You might give them hope or something...
Enough was enough! He didn’t have time to be obsessing over how much he missed MC. It was taking time away from his one and only true love. “Ruri-Chan, you’d never abandon me right? No, I know you wouldn’t. You’re not like that.” Levi began speaking to his latest figure. “Not to say MC IS like that! No, of course their not! They didn’t have a choice!” He stuttered out a quick fix to his hurtful words. He was glad they weren’t around to hear, but it still felt wrong to say. He was quiet for a minute, staring at his floor in shame. Slowly, he lifted his eyes back to the figure. “Do you think they miss me like I miss them?”
And then he felt it. It had been so long, but he knew this feeling.This was a summoning, wasn’t it?! Based on the intense tug he felt, it had to be a super powerful sorcerer or maybe a group of basic magic users? Honestly, he was flattered. Someone wanted to summon HIM? No, They must have made a mistake. Surely this summon was meant for one of his brothers.
Leviathan was so lost in his own self pity he missed the first two calls of his name. The third one, sounding so desperate and pleading, snapped him out of his funk in an instant. He knew that voice. Without hesitation he let the summon take him, and there he was. He was finally reunited with MC.
But it wasn’t supposed to be like this. When he finally saw them again, he was supposed to feel elated and whole again, not like a piece of his heart was ripped right out of his chest. But when he locked eyes with them, surrounded by blood and their eyes looking glassy, that’s exactly what he felt.
“MC! Oh no. Oh no.”
Levi. He was here. He had to be. You heard his voice and felt his presence, felt his arms circle around you and cradle you tightly against his chest. But why couldn’t you see him? And why did you feel so… empty?
“Levi? That’s you isn’t it? Why is it so dark?” Had the candles all gone out? No, even before you lit them, you remember it hadn’t been this dark. Something was wrong.
Levi inhaled shakily, holding back the sobs he desperately wanted to release. “MC, what are you talking about? I’m right here! Can’t you see me?”
Like a bolt of lighting, the realization hit you. It wasn’t dark. The candles hadn’t gone out. It was your eyes.
“No, Levi. I can’t. I can’t see you. I can’t see anything.” You shakily reach your hand up, frantically feeling around for your love’s face. Leviathan’s usual timid nature word have normally had him reeling away, but in this moment, he had no reservations as he helped guide your hand to his cheek. His lips trembled as he fought the urge to scream.
“MC…. Why would you do this? You’ve lost so much blood… and.. and your sight? I’m not worth this. I’m just a useless otaku! It isn’t fair!” His tears began to flow, the guilt of it all was ripping him apart.
You closed your eyes and smiled as you remembered the many faces of this man you had called to you. “It was worth it. I did it because I love you, Levi. I need you. After all, what good is a Henry without his lord?”
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the-str33tz · 4 years
Text
I’m doing just fine
Jotaro Kujo x AFAB Reader
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This fic was written while listening to the Boyz II Men song “Doin’ Just Fine”
Summary: Years after leaving you to raise your daughter by yourself, Jotaro Kujo comes back with one thing in mind; wanting to be a father and husband.
Content warnings: Angst, pregnancy, arguing around children.
Your grip on the flimsy pregnancy test tightened as you glanced over the results. Positive. Maybe looking it over again will give you a different result. Positive. Blink a couple times. Positive, positive, positive. Your world came to a halt as you shiver while sitting on the toilet. What were you going to do? You weren’t ready for a child at your age. What would you tell him?
Thoughts of your boyfriend wave and crash in your mind. Jotaro Kujo, the silent and cold man from Japan who you had fallen in love with. In just a bit over year you both had become each others rock. He had walked into your life when you thought everything was lost, and it seemed like it was the same for him too. He didn’t talk too much about it but you could piece it together. He had gone through a traumatic experience as a teenager that left people that he knew dead. You didn’t question him too much, letting him come to you when he was ready.
This was going to crush him as much as it was going to crush you. Jotaro had brought up how eventually he’d like to have a family; have a successful career in marine biology and have multiple sons. But right now you were both in college, living off whatever you can get your hands on. He’s definitely had an easier ride than you but he always helped you without expecting anything in return.
You start to think back to a couple weeks ago when you had sex, an activity you both partook in regularly. There was something different that night, he was out of condoms but you both agreed that he’d be able to pull out in time. It seems that he pulled out a bit late. Embarrassment heats up your neck and up your face. A headache begins to take over when you hear a knock at your apartment door. It has to be Jotaro you think. He was clued in to your scare earlier today so he must be here to see the results.
You quickly clean and dress yourself hearing harsher and faster knocks. He was never the most patient. Running over to the door and greeting him, he lets himself in to walk to the bathroom. You try to catch up to him trying to talk but fumbling your words. You walk into the bathroom where he’s leaning over the counter, hands in fists. He looks over at you with a look in his eyes that you had never seen before. Fear.
You stay where you are, keeping your distance. You never liked too much physical attention and were grateful that he was the same. You can feel your forehead crease with your eyebrows, your eyes beginning to sting from keeping your eyes open at him. “What are we going to do?” You cough up while shaking. He loosens his fists, “We now have a responsibility as parents, but I can’t do this.” And with that he pushed you aside and started to head out the door. You lean against the door frame finally letting loose all the tears that refused to come out moments ago.
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Seven years later you live in a small home with your daughter who you named Jolyne. She is the apple of your eye, your sunshine that motivates you everyday. She has green eyes that she got from her fathers side of the family but she looked like you in every other way. You had given up your education all those years ago but seeing your daughter run to you everyday after school made you think that you’d do it all over again if you had to. You make your way up the walkway of the tiny primary school, strain in your ankles from a long day of work. Thoughts of dinner swirling your mind before you stop in your tracks. Jolyne hugging her teachers leg looking away while a tall man with a ripped cap talking to the teacher knocks you into reality. There’s no possibility right? He wouldn’t have the balls to try to sidestep you to see your daughter. But you were proved wrong after you jog up to the teacher.
“Jolynes mother should be here soon I do not know of Jolyne having a father.”
“I’ll wait here to talk with her.”
You catch the end of their conversation, going in to pat your hand on Jolynes back. She turns to you and immediately grips your leg yelling, “Mommy this man says that he’s my dad, is that true?” You look up at the man and you’re immediately taken aback. Turquoise blue eyes are staring you down with the old frown that you used to love. “You really suck you know that?” You scoffed, kneeling down to take Jolyne in for a hug. Her black hair tickling your chin as she nuzzles into your neck. “Yes baby that’s your father like in the pictures remember?” You coo into her ear.
“I came to see you.” He states in his familiar deep voice. You stand up, taking a light grip on Jolynes tiny hand. You give him the strongest glare that you’re able to muster up, snapping, “You probably already know where we live so why did you come here? Forget it, just follow me. We live about a block away.” He grunts and nods at you, allowing you to walk in front of him with your daughter in hand. You thank the teacher for taking care of your daughter before you begin to stomp off.
Jotaro lets his eyes wander down your figure, watching how you walk. He can’t help but feel his chest tighten looking at you hand in hand with his child. This was a sight he had always wanted but he never let himself indulge in it until today. He lets you lead him into your tiny home; two bedrooms with a shared bathroom, a small living area, and a kitchen with little to no counter space. You kneel down again to talk to Jolyne, telling her to go do her homework and to let the grownups speak. She gives Jotaro a small glance before running in her room.
“Where have you been? Why are you here now?”
“I just got back from a trip in Japan for work. I wanted to come back to see how you were doing. I also need to apologize, I made a big mistake. I shouldn’t have walked away from you all those years ago.” Jotaro takes off his white hat letting his hair dark hair fall out of place. You can feel yourself tensing up, you really didn’t want to have this sort of conversation with Jolyne in the house. She doesn’t know everything that happened with Jotaro and you didn’t want her to hear any arguing or yelling. You sigh, “Why did you think showing up at my daughters school was appropriate? You could have called me and we could have spoken in private. I know Jolyne is also your daughter but you haven’t been around as a father, not even when I took that test when we were both twenty one.” You motion for him to sit on the old couch in your living room. One that was on clearance at a rent center years ago when Jolyne was only a year old.
He sits down causing a big dip and creaking. His face goes solemn, looking down at his black and white boots. “I never meant to take your love away like that. I wasn’t ready to be a father and I wanted both of you to be safe.” He looks up at you with disappointment dripping off his features. You sit down next to him, smoothing out your work clothes and relaxing your ankles. “I know you weren’t ready to be a father but you know what Jotaro? I wasn’t ready to be a mother either. You left me alone, I had to leave university so I could raise my baby the way she deserves. You got to finish your education and seem to be doing well, I don’t know why you think making a tired apology will do you any better.” You whispered close to him. His eyes hadn’t left yours, listening intently to what you had to say. He leaned close to you acknowledging, “I am aware of the sacrifices you made for our daughter, I didn’t allow myself to be the proper father I should be. Please allow me to be a part of her life. I know you’ve most likely moved on from our love but I’ve thought about you everyday since then. I sat in my dorm, refusing to leave because I didn’t want to have to go out. I didn’t want to see you walk by and breakdown. Please understand that I’ve wanted to be the father and husband that you both deserve but I thought that I’d bring you nothing but danger. I need to be here for both of you, I want to give you a better home and a better life. Let me take care of you.”
You could feel tears wanting to spill out, why did he think he would be too dangerous to be around both of you? Could it have something to do with what happened to him when he was a teenager? “It may seem hard to believe but I’m doing just fine. We’ve been getting along very well without you. Time has made me stronger and you’re not longer on my mind.” That bit at the end was a lie, you thought about him everyday like he had about you. You had a picture of him in your wallet and in one of the drawers in your bedroom. He placed a hand over yours, covering it completely and squeezing lightly.
“You are my earth, my number one priority. You were the last woman I gave my love to, and I plan for it to only be you. You could ask me to do anything and it’d be as good as done.” Jotaro moves his other hand up to lay over your shoulder, wrapping it around your back. You sink into his white coat letting your tears waterfall down your face. He soothes your back warmly while wrapping his arms around you, squeezing you into his chest. “I really needed you Jotaro I really did. You let our love fall apart and I really want to say that you no longer have my heart and that I’m doing just fine. I haven’t had too much time to worry about myself because I’m everywhere doing everything.” He lets you ramble on against him.
You pull back after a while, looking back into his turquoise eyes, “I’ll only allow you back if Jolyne is okay to have you around. I want her to have the choice to get to know you but if she doesn’t want to, I won’t force her.” He nods, squeezing your hand again before letting his thumb rub across the back of your hand.
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padme-amitabha · 3 years
Text
Anidala Week 2021
Day 2:  Canon Divergence or Favorite Canon work
Padmé Amidala.
The name resonated in young Anakin’s heart and soul. He hadn’t seen her in a decade, not since he, along with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, had helped her in her struggle against the Trade Federation on Naboo. He had only been ten years old at that time, but from the moment he had first laid eyes on
Padmé, young Anakin had known that she was the woman he would marry. Never mind that Padmé was several years older than he was. Never mind that he was just a boy when he had known her, when she had known him. Never mind that Jedi were not allowed to marry. Anakin had simply known, without question, and the image of beautiful Padmé Amidala had stayed with him, had been burned into his every dream and fantasy, every day since he had left Naboo with Obi-Wan a decade ago. He could still smell the freshness of her hair, could still see the sparkle of intelligence and passion in her wondrous brown eyes, could still hear the melody that was Padmé’s voice.
 *
Anakin, though, didn’t see either of them. He focused on the third person in the room, Padmé, and on her alone, and if he had ever held any moments of doubt that she was as beautiful as he remembered her, they were washed away, then and there. His eyes roamed the Senator’s small and shapely frame in her black and deep purple robes, taking in every detail. He saw her thick brown hair, drawn up high and far at the back of her head in a basketlike accessory, and wanted to lose himself in it. He saw her eyes and wanted to stare into them for eternity. He saw her lips, and wanted to ...
Anakin closed his eyes for just a moment and inhaled deeply, and he could smell her again, the scent that had been burned into him as Padmé’s. It took every ounce of willpower he could muster to walk in slowly and respectfully behind Obi-Wan, and not merely rush in and crush Padmé in a hug ... and yet, paradoxically, it took every bit of his willpower to move his legs, which were suddenly seeming so very weak, and take that first step into the room, that first step toward her.
“Annie?” she asked, her expression purely incredulous. Her smile and the flash in her eyes showed that she needed no answer. For just a flicker, Anakin felt her spirit leap.
“Annie,” Padmé said again. “Can it be? My goodness how you’ve grown!” She looked down and then followed the line of his lean body, tilting her head back to emphasize his height, and he realized that he now towered over her. That did little to bolster Anakin’s confidence, though, so lost was he in the beauty of Padmé. Her smile widened, a clear sign that she was glad to see him, but he missed it, or the implications of it, at least. “So have you,” he answered awkwardly, as if he had to force each word from his mouth. “Grown more beautiful, I mean.” He cleared his throat and stood taller. “And much shorter,” he teased, trying unsuccessfully to sound in control. “For a Senator, I mean.” Anakin noted Obi-Wan’s disapproving scowl, but Padmé laughed any tension away and shook her head.
“Oh, Annie, you’ll always be that little boy I knew on Tatooine,” she said, and if she had taken the lightsaber from his belt and sliced his legs out from under him, she would not have shortened Anakin Skywalker any more.
*
Padmé sat at her vanity, brushing her thick brown hair, staring into the mirror but not really seeing anything there. Her thoughts were replaying again and again the image of Anakin, the look he had given her. She heard his words again, “... grown more beautiful,” and though Padmé was undeniably that, those were not words she was used to hearing. Since she had been a young girl, Padmé had been involved in politics, quickly rising to powerful and influential positions. Most of the men she had come into contact with had been more concerned with what she could bring to them in practical terms than with her beauty, or, for that matter, with any true personal feelings for her. As Queen of Naboo and now as Senator, Padmé was well aware that she was attractive to men in ways deeper than physical attraction, in ways deeper than any emotional bond. Or perhaps not deeper than the latter, she told herself, for she could not deny the intensity in Anakin’s eyes as he had looked at her. But what did it mean? She saw him again, in her thoughts. And clearly. Her mental eye roamed over his lean and strong frame, over his face, tight with the intensity that she had always admired, and yet with eyes sparkling with joy, with mischief, with ...With longing? That thought stopped the Senator. Her hands slipped down to her sides, and she sat there, staring at herself, judging her own appearance as Anakin might.
 *
Padmé’s mind whirled as she tried to sort out Anakin’s thoughts, and his motivations. He was surprising her with every word, considering that he was a Jedi Padawan, and yet, given the fire that she clearly saw burning behind his blue eyes, he was not surprising her. She saw trouble brewing there, in those simmering and too-passionate eyes, but even more than that, she saw excitement and the promise of thrills.
 *
She looked over at Anakin, who was sleeping somewhat restlessly. She could see him now, not as a Jedi Padawan and her protector, but just as a young man. A handsome young man, and one whose actions repeatedly professed his love for her. A dangerous young man, to be sure, a Jedi who was thinking about things he should not. A man who was inevitably following the call of his heart above that of pragmatism and propriety. And all for her. Padmé couldn’t deny the attractiveness of that.
 *
“Naboo,” he said again, looking back to Padmé. “I’ve thought about it every day since I left. It’s by far the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
As he spoke, his eyes bored into her, taking her in deeply, and she blinked and averted her own gaze, unnerved. “It may not be as you remember it. Time changes perception.”
“Sometimes it does,” Anakin agreed, and when Padmé looked up to see that he was continuing to scrutinize her, she knew what he was talking about. “Sometimes for the better.”
 *
Anakin smiled as he recalled the ornate outfits Padmé had often worn as Queen of Naboo, huge gowns with intricate embroidery and studded with gemstones, tremendous headpieces of plumes and swirls and curves and twists.
He liked her better like this, he decided. All of the decorations of her Queenly outfits had been beautifully designed, but still could only detract from the more beautifully designed Padmé. Wearing a great headpiece only hid her silken brown hair. Painting her face in whites and bright red only hid her beautiful skin. The embroidery on the great gowns only blurred the perfection of her form.
This was the way Anakin wanted to see her, where her clothing was just a finishing touch.
 *
Anakin studied the holograph a moment longer, then looked up and laughed, seeing Padmé wearing that same long and stern expression. She laughed as well, then squeezed his shoulder and went back to her packing.
Anakin put the holographs down side by side and looked at them for a long, long time. Two sides of the woman he loved.
 *
“It’s like that on Tatooine—everything’s like that on Tatooine. But here, everything’s soft, and smooth.” As he finished, hardly even aware of the motion, he reached out and stroked Padmé’s arm. He nearly pulled back when he realized what he was doing, but since Padmé didn’t object, he let himself stay close to her. She seemed a bit tentative, a bit scared, but she wasn’t pulling away.
“There was a very old man who lived on the island,” she said. Her brown eyes seemed to be looking far away, across the years. “He used to make glass out of sand—and vases and necklaces out of the glass. They were magical.”
Anakin moved a bit closer, staring at her intensely until she turned to face him. “Everything here is magical,” he said.
“You could look into the glass and see the water. The way it ripples and moves. It looked so real, but it wasn’t.”
“Sometimes, when you believe something to be real, it becomes real.” It seemed to Anakin as if she wanted to look away. But she didn���t. Instead, she was falling deeper into his eyes, and he into hers.
“I used to think if you looked too deeply into the glass, you would lose yourself,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
“I think it’s true ...” He moved forward as he spoke, brushing his lips against hers, and for a moment, she didn’t resist, closing her eyes, losing herself. Anakin pressed in closer, a real and deep kiss, sliding his lips across hers slowly. He could lose himself here, could kiss her for hours, forever ...
But then Padmé pulled back, suddenly, as if waking from a dream. “No, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“I’m sorry,” Anakin said. “When I’m around you, my mind is no longer my own.”
He stared at her hard again, beginning that descent into the glass, losing himself in her beauty.
 *
Padmé gave a helpless little laugh. “Are you going to use one of your Jedi mind tricks on me?” 
“They only work on the weak-minded,” Anakin explained. “You are anything but weak-minded.” He ended with an innocent, wide-eyed look that Padmé simply could not resist.
 *
Orange flames danced about his silhouette, dulling the distinction between Anakin and eternity. Padmé had to consciously remember to breathe.
He stared at her intensely for a moment, then looked back to the fire, seeming defeated.
“No, you’re right,” he finally admitted. “It would destroy us.”
Padmé looked from Anakin to the fire. Which would destroy her—destroy them—she had to wonder.
The action or the thought?
 *
Anakin stared at her, hardly believing what he was hearing. He couldn’t resist, though, and his smile, too, began to widen. For some reason he did not quite understand, the Padawan found a good measure of justification in his abandoning the letter of his orders now that Padmé was in on, and agreeing with, the plan.
 *
“Home again, home again, to go to rest,” Anakin recited, a common children’s rhyme.
“By hearth and heart, house and nest,” Padmé added.
Anakin looked over at her, pleasantly surprised. “You know it?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“I don’t know,” Anakin said. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if anyone else ... I thought it was a rhyme my mother made up for me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Padmé said. “Maybe she did—maybe hers was different than the one my mother used to tell me.”
Anakin shook his head doubtfully, but he wasn’t bothered by the possibility. In a strange way, he was glad that Padmé knew the rhyme, glad that it was a common gift from mothers to their children.
And glad, especially, that he and Padmé had yet another thing in common.
 *
“I want him to know that I care about him, Threepio,” Padmé said quietly. “I do care about him. And now he’s out there, and in danger—”
 *
“No, I’m a Jedi. I know I’m better than this.” He looked at her directly, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“You’re like everybody else,” Padmé said. She tried to draw closer, but Anakin held himself back from her. He couldn’t hold the pose of defiance for long, though, before he broke down again in sobs. Padmé was there to hold him and rock him and tell him that everything would be all right.
 *
The tunnel was dark and fittingly gloomy, and quiet, except for the occasional echo of cheering from the huge crowd gathered in the arena stands beyond. A single cart was in there, an open oval with a sloping front end that somewhat resembled an insect’s head with the top half cut away. Anakin and Padmé were unceremoniously thrown into it, then strapped in place against the framework, facing each other. Both of them jerked as the cart started into motion, gliding along the dark tunnel.
“Don’t be afraid,” Anakin whispered.
Padmé smiled at him, her expression one of genuine calm. “I’m not afraid to die,” she replied, her voice thick and soft. “I’ve been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life.”
“What are you talking about?”
Then she said it, and it was real and genuine and warm. “I love you.”
“You love me?” he asked, overwhelmed. “You love me! I thought we decided not to fall in love. That we would be forced to live a lie. That it would destroy our lives.” But her words had brought a wash of contentment over him.
“I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway,” Padmé replied. “My love for you is a puzzle,
Annie, for which I have no answers. I can’t control it—and now I don’t care. I truly, deeply love you, and before we die, I want you to know.”
Padmé leaned against her restraints and craned her head forward, and Anakin did likewise, the two coming close enough for their lips to meet in a soft and gentle kiss, one that lingered and deepened, one that said everything they both realized they should have spoken to each other before. One that, to them, mocked their false heroics in denying the feelings they’d had for each other all along.
 *
On distant Naboo, in a rose-covered arbor overlooking the sparkling lake, Anakin and Padmé stood hand in hand, Anakin in his formal Jedi robes and Padmé in a beautiful white gown with flowered trim. Anakin’s new mechanical arm hung at his side, the fingers clenching and opening in reflexive movements. Before them stood a Naboo holy man, his hands raised above their heads as he recited the ancient texts of marriage. And when the proclamation was made, R2-D2 and C-3PO, bearing witness to the union, whistled and clapped. And Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
— R.A. Salvatore , Star Wars : Episode II -  Attack of the Clones
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mxflo · 3 years
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I’m not fine after Kihyun’s cover of Bad ... so imagine this scenario of Kihyun being in a band /vocalist obviously/ and there is the new female drummer aka y/n and guess what ahem ahem
Hi dear, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write this. I had it almost finished and I had technical difficulties and lost everything I had written. It took me a while to feel like coming back to it since I was so bummed about losing all I had written. I hope to do this justice with a fresh mind now. Hope you enjoy it!
Warning: NSFW
“Great job today.” Kihyun smiled.
“Thanks.” You grin shyly back.
You had just finished running through the songs with the new band you just joined. Their original drummer left for personal reasons. Just two weeks ago you made the decision to join after your brother gave them your name and contact info as he used to go to school with Kihyun, the lead singer.
“I was worried about finding a replacement, but all my worries are gone. You’re not allowed to leave us now.” Kihyun winks.
“It helps that I’ve listened to the songs before, and good, I don’t want to leave. It’s been fun, and your songs are great.”
“I have been told you compose songs too?”
“Ummm...if you could a couple of songs, but not really.” 
“I need help with new songs, if your interest?” 
“I can try.” You agree.
You both agree to meet at his house tomorrow evening. On the drive home you call your brother and fill him in on everything. Once you’re off the phone with him and back to your apartment alone, you can’t stop thinking about Kihyun and find yourself feeling nervous about going to his house. You try to ignore the feelings, and going to bed early. 
The next day crawls by. Each hour seemingly taking longer and longer. When you finally pull up in front of Kihyun’s house you take a deep breath and chuckle to yourself about how silly it is to feel this nervous. It’s just working on a few songs with Kihyun. Though this is the first time you’re spending time with him alone. With one more deep breath you get out of your car and head to the door, and ring the door bell. 
“Hey.” Kihyun answers the door as he steps back, inviting you inside. “My studio is this way.” 
Following him to the back room of his house you walk into a room that he made into a little home studio. There’s a couch against the wall opposite from the desk with the computer and keyboard. In the corner next to the computer with foam padding on the walls, there’s a mic on a stand. The desk has papers scattered around the computer and another mic. There’s an untitled track paused on the screen. He pulls up a second chair to the desk and hits play. The track he’s been working on starts and you listen silently. 
“Well?” Kihyun looks to you once it stops. 
“It’s good, but I do have a thought for your bridge.” You admit.
“Let’s hear it.” Kihyun rolls his chair to the side more and pulls your chair more center of the keyboard.
You mess with the keys a bit to get used to the keyboard and soon hit record as you play the idea you had. When your done you stop the recording and hit play again to listen to it all together. “If you don’t like it, I can change it back.” 
“We are keeping it! That’s so much better. Actually gives me another idea...” Kihyun grabs his notebook and starts to scribble a note down. 
You watch him, unaware that you are staring for to long. His hair is slightly falling forward into his eyes as he writes. Your eyes wonder down, his plain white t-shirt is just a loose enough fit to look comfortable.
You realize it’s been silent for a little while and look back to Kihyun’s face, and when your eyes meet his you quickly look away, down at your hands in your lap. Embarrassed to be caught staring at him. 
“Everything okay?” He asks, breaking the silence.
“Yes, sorry.” You sigh. You look back to him. His eyes lock onto yours and your heart races. The corner of his mouth curls up in a slight grin as he tucks your hair behind your ear. 
“Nothing to be sorry over. Shall we work on the next song?”
“Yeah.” You nod, turning your attention back to the computer screen.
“So this song...” He clicks on another he had been working on, “I don’t have much of anything.” 
You listen to the small part he has and when it stops your mind continues it, almost naturally you hear what it should be. Quickly leaning to the keyboard to you start recording as you play what is in your mind. When you done you hit play and look to Kihyun, and he listens to it all together he smiles widely, approving. 
“How did you do that so fast?” He asks.
“It just popped into my mind.” You shrug. “So what about the lyrics?” 
“I don’t have any yet.” He lifts his notebook and gently tosses it back on the desk. “I have a lot of ideas in this, but not sure anything will fit for this.”
You grab the notebook and look at Kihyun, when he nods you start to look through it. Kihyun goes to grab a glass of water. He offers you some, but you turn it down. When he returns he leans over you, looking to see what page your reading. One hand on the desk beside you, you feel his warmth behind you.
“This song, the lyrics are great. It looks done though?” You ask looking back over your shoulder at him. He’s just inches away from you and your breath catches.
He starts to softly sing the melody, once he gets the feel of it again he sings more confidently. Hearing him sing to you makes your stomach flip. Your arms get covered in goosebumps. It’s beautiful and when he finishes it you just stare at him.
“What?” He asks.
“Kihyun, it’s perfect.”
“It’s not a great sound for the band though.” He shrugs. 
“You should still record this.” You argue.
“Maybe.”
You playfully smack his arm. “You better.” Without missing a beat he spins your chair around so your facing him. 
“I better?” He lifts one eyebrow. 
“I won’t leave until you do.” You sit back more in your chair, to further the point that you would sit there until he records it.
“That isn’t motivation if I don’t want you to leave.” Kihyun says as he places his hands on either side of you on the desk that is now behind you. Leaning down to you, there isn’t much space between you two.
Shocked by his words your speechless, but you see his eyes fall to your lips. He takes one hand, cupping your cheek as he uses his thumb to pull your lower lip from your teeth. You hadn’t realized you had been biting your lip. He looks back to your eyes, searching your expression. 
“Kihyun...” you whisper. 
“Hmm?” He guides your face towards him slightly. His lips now hovering over yours. 
You press your lips to his in a quick, soft kiss. The tension between you two breaks as he pulls you back to him. Your hand grabs onto the side of his shirt as he kisses you deeply. His second hand guides you to stand with him and you throw your arms around his neck as his hands pull you against his body. He breaks the kiss only to move to your neck. Letting your head fall back to give him easier access you let out a soft moan. His grip on you strengthens hearing you react to him.
“Come on.” Kihyun almost growls as he starts to lead to out of the room.
Guiding you to his bedroom he continues to shower you with kisses as you start to pull at his clothes. After you both are rid of your clothes and inside of his room he lays you on the bed. His hands on your knees as leans down to kiss your thighs. You gasp as you feel his teeth gently rake against the sensitive skin on the inside of your thigh. He slowly runs a finger to your center.
“Fuck baby.” He sighs as he feels how ready you are for him. He slips two fingers inside and your walls clinch around them as he draws a whimper from you. You grip the bed sheets as he continues to work his fingers to bring you closer and closer to your release. 
“Kihyun...” You moan. So close to the edge, but he stops and withdraws his fingers. 
You cry out in protest, but he smiles in return. “Not yet.” He smirks as he licks you off of his fingers. 
“Please.” You plea. 
“Don’t worry, you will cum, but only when I let you.” He grins as he centers himself between your legs. He grinds against you, his hard length pressing where you want him most. Pressing gently he guides himself inside of you. Slowly sinking all the way into you, you both moan. He lets you adjust to him before he moves again. When you go to rock your hips, needing to feel him, he takes the hint and draws his hips back slowly. Your walls clinching down around him he drops his head to your neck, biting it as he groans. 
Without warning he slams all the way back inside of you and you cry out as the sudden fullness from him. Now finding his rhythm he thrusts repeatedly deep into you hitting that spot just right. You feel yourself getting closer and closer again. He claims your mouth with his in a deep kiss again as he feels you nearing your climax. 
Your walls tighten even more around him. “Fuck.” He hisses. His thrusts become faster. “Cum for me.” He whispers in your ear.
Seconds later you do just that, as he pushes you over the edge and waves of pleasure shake through your entire body. He follows behind you, as you push him over the edge. 
He slows with each thrust until he stops, still inside of you. Kissing you deeply, he rolls, keeping you with him so you are now on top of him. His hands roaming your body. You break the kiss and sigh as his mouth trails soft, gentle kisses down your neck, to your collarbone. 
“Kihyun...” You pant.
He continues to leave kisses on your heated skin.
“Kihyun...We...Shouldn’t....” You try to form the words to express how bad this could be for the band and that this needs to be a one time thing, but he starts to rock his hips into you again and you loose your train of thought. Feeling him side of you getting harder once again you close your eyes.
“Shouldn’t? No. I’ve felt this since the first day I saw you play. I want this, you.” He grips your hips, guiding you to move, matching his movements just right. He groans. 
“...But....” You try to protest. 
“Do you want this?” He asks as he bucks his hips into you with a single powerful thrust. 
“....Yes...” You admit. 
“Then let it be.” Kihyun stills and waits for you to look at him. “Lets just see how things go. Don’t overthink it.”
You nod and he pulls you down into another kiss before rolling you back under him. 
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