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fandomxpreferences · 6 months

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Ashes to Ashes

Masterlist

Pairing: ex!Rafe Cameron x female!reader

TW: toxic relationship (past), sort of cheating (?), exes to lovers, angst, i think that’s it

Summary: (Loosely) based on that’s the way i loved you by taylor swift

Word Count:4k

A/N: this is not super edited and the format is fucked up since i have to post from my phone but it’s here nonetheless.

You follow his lead when he opens the door for you, and step into the Island Club where your parents await your arrival. The harsh a/c causes goosebumps to erupt and a large warm hand rubs up and down your arm in an attempt to warm you.

He leads you to the table, pulls out your chair with a smile, and briefly kisses your cheek before turning to your mother.

She stands to greet him with a tight hug that he returns before pulling away and nodding at your father.

“Good to see you, son.”

Your mother nearly sends you flying backward when she squeals and leans forward as he takes his seat.

“We have so much to catch up on!”

you try your best not to grimace while Topper flashes his charming smile and reciprocates her enthusiasm as she starts spilling the latest gossip.

You zone out when he starts talking to your father about business, and turn your attention to the menu, despite eating here every Sunday since you can remember.

You freeze when a familiar feeling similar to butterflies at the top of a rollercoaster settles in your stomach, and slowly look up. As if you’re hardwired to know his location at all times, your eyes land on Rafe instantly. You know he feels you looking at him when he smirks, but he doesn't meet your gaze.

Part of you is thankful but a bigger part is disappointed. After a tumultuous relationship, you found yourself seeking solace in Topper. It wasn't on purpose really; he was just there and he seemed to have the insight to offer.

Slowly, the two of you became official and the talk of the Island Club. You're always told how lucky you are, and you know they’re right. You know it's wrong to harbor any sort of feelings for an ex, especially when your fiancé treats you as well as Topper does.

You were with Rafe all through high school and a couple of years into adulthood. His internship and eventual job with Ward had him all over the place, and fights became more frequent. Paranoia blossomed and accusations were tossed around freely as the two of you wrestled with jealousy and insecurity.

Eventually, you both had to come to terms with reality and decided that you needed something more stable.

It's been three years since the breakup, and almost two since you’ve seen him in person. When word spread about you and Topper, he threw himself into his work and last you heard he was in Italy.

He looks good with tan skin and a broader figure than he had at nineteen, and you try your hardest to avert your gaze. Your trance is finally broken when you hear Topper whisper into your ear, and you try not to shutter.

“You look beautiful, honey.”

You really do feel awful; Topper is sickly in love and you can barely recall his name after seeing an old flame.

“Thank you.” You smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. Topper is none the wiser, but Rafe sees it from a mile away. He’s been watching since the second you looked away, and can’t help but want to be near you.

Despite his determination, Rafe has yet to find that something stable he’s searching for; he looks for you in every woman he crosses. It isn’t lost on him that even though you seem to have found it, you couldn’t look less in love.

He observes the way you interact with his old best friend over the rim of a whiskey glass, and can hardly recognize the woman in front of him.

There’s no spark in your eyes; no fire and passion the way there was with him. You're docile and indifferent as opposed to being a spitfire that was attached to his hip every second possible. A flicker of hope ignites in his chest and he can feel himself losing control and falling into your magnetic pull all over again.

Rafe has always been certain that the two of you have something far stronger than love. It's intoxicating and confusing and washes over you like a category-five hurricane. There is no choice but to surrender and let it rip you apart.

He’s considering saying hi just to hear your voice when you excuse yourself and scoot your chair back with a screech. He watches intently as you tuck your head down and make a beeline away from the table, then turns to see a baffled Topper staring at your back as you make a speedy exit.

Rafe gives a few seconds pause before setting down his glass and trying to follow after you nonchalantly. As suspected, you're hidden behind the back of the building with a joint and he smiles.

“Guess some things don't change.”

You nearly jump out of your skin when his voice rings out behind you, trying desperately to blame your rapid heart rate on the scare.

“Can’t say the same to you. You look like you vacationed on the sun and you're bald.”

There’s a moment of silence before you crack and the corner of your mouth curls up. It’s comforting in a way that is almost sickening and you quickly avert your gaze.

He shoves his hand in his pocket and tips his head forward as he laughs. You light up at the sound, and a part of you that you forgot about is revived. Suddenly, the world is in color again and you remember what it feels like to breathe.

He clears his throat and runs the back of his neck as his eyes travel to your hand.

“Yeah, and you’re engaged.”

He tries to keep some of the humor in his voice, but it comes out more pained and inquisitive. There’s a pause before he talks again, and if you didn’t know better you’d think he’s second-guessing himself.

“You don't seem too excited.”

You're caught off guard by his forwardness and shift on your feet.

“I’m comfortable and he treats me well.” You argue, and Rafe just nods while plucking the joint from your fingers and inhaling.

“Okay.”

You know it's a perfectly acceptable response, but for some reason, you feel the need to further defend yourself.

“He does! He’s polite, and he takes care of me and he respects me. Marrying him is sensible and I do love him!”

Rafe just watches intently, nodding along whenever it fits.

“You trying to convince me or yourself? I made a simple observation; never said you don't love him.”

Smoke billows out of his nose and you find yourself exhaling a breath you didn’t know you were holding along with him.

The side of you that only exists for Rafe starts to surface, and he can tell you’re resisting the urge to argue and yell. He’s always been able to get you worked up without even trying, and as much as you hate it, you love it all the same.

Rafe has a way of overloading your senses and emotions that you never understood, and it drives you mad.

You bite your tongue until you wince and huff loudly while crossing your arms. Rafe’s eyebrow quirks and you have half a mind to smack the antagonizing smirk right off his face.

“You don't ever get bored with sensible?” He presses and you narrow your eyes.

“We were insane Rafe. We would never work.” You sigh, but it does nothing to deter him.

He leans in close enough that you smell the whiskey and weed on his breath, and you pray he can't hear the way your heart is hammering in your chest.

“We’re the only thing that will work, Y/N. You can try and stick it out with Topper for the next sixty years, but you’ll always be mine first.”

Your mouth parts as you try to think of a response, but Rafe just tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and places the joint between your lips.

“If you're happy, then I can sleep at night. If you're not, then you always know where to find me. I’m back for good, now.”

He can see you processing the idea of him being around all the time and presses a daring kiss to the top of your head.

“Congrats on the wedding, kid.”

It's an old inside joke; when Rafe found out he's four months older he started calling you kid and when he realized it always makes your nose crinkle in distaste, he vowed to use it every chance he got.

With that, he walks off, and you're left reeling at the interaction and new information. You come around the corner just in time to see Rafe hug Topper goodbye, and nearly throw up.

You see Topper whisper something before Rafe pauses and then nods. Rafe goes in the opposite direction toward the back exit, and you make your reappearance.

Topper is naive and trusting, which should be a green flag. Despite a two-year disappearance and complicated history with you, he welcomed Rafe back with open arms and doesn’t seem to have a single suspicion.

Yet, you feel nothing except a pit in your stomach.

“Are you alright, Darling?”

You give your mom the same smile you always have when you don’t her to press further and nod.

“I’m great, there was just a long line for the restroom.”

You suffer through the rest of dinner and remain silent on the car ride home.

The shared house that you live in with Topper brings nothing but dread now, an overwhelming sense of familiarity that nearly causes bile to rise in your throat.

It was easy to convince yourself to be happy when you didn’t have to look at your past directly in its confusing and intoxicating blue eyes. Now that Rafe is back, you’re not sure your heart will be so easily fooled.

You try to remember why you broke up and how toxic the two of you are, which should be more than enough to drive any longing out of your mind. So then why are the memories of screaming and cussing and kissing all blurring together to form a montage that causes a black hole of sorrow and emptiness to open in your chest?

“Are you okay? You’ve been more quiet than usual.”

Your attention snaps back to the present and you scramble to appear normal and cover up your inner thoughts as if he can read them as they occur.

The genuine concern lacing Topper’s voice should cause butterflies, but you can’t bring yourself to feel anything but annoyance and borderline disgust.

“I’m fine.” You lie through your teeth, and much to your chagrin topper isn’t convinced.

“Are you sure, honey?”

His hand reaches out and you resist the urge to flinch away, as if the flesh of any man other than the one who was predestined for you will scorch through to the bone.

“Mmhmm.” You nod with a forced smile, biting your tongue hard enough to draw blood for the second time as you choke down what you really want to say just like always.

‘No, I haven’t been okay since the day Rafe became a stranger.”

‘No, I don’t want to marry you and have your babies in a stuffy house filled with even stuffier dinner parties. please don’t make me spend my life performing.”

‘No, I’ve never been so sure that I’m not okay as I am right in this very moment because with a single conversation, Rafe has turned my life upside and I’ve realized that there can never be anyone else.’

“Okay.”

He seems to finally relent and once again, it should bring you at least some sort of comfort; but instead, all you can think is that Rafe would know something is wrong.

It’s not until a short while later as you’re absentmindedly applying body lotion and staring off into space that the subject is brought up again, this time in a way that strikes you silent and halts your movements.

“It’s him, isn’t it?”

Four simple words that in any other arrangement would be meaningless, formulated just right to turn your blood to ice. To his credit, he’s more intuitive than you expected and in any other circumstance, that may just be something you could love about him.

However, in this situation, it means he knew of the demise your relationship is facing probably before you did. He knew from the moment Rafe showed up that you were never really his.

He felt you slip away the second your body went rigid before you even saw Rafe as if your body is designed on a molecular level to react to him. It was confirmed when Topper followed after you and overheard the conversation.

He was going to announce himself but as soon as he rounded the corner enough to see your face he stopped. The look in your eyes was one of love that Topper has never once witnessed, and he just watched for a second.

You didn't even seem aware as the words leaving your mouth contradicted your body language and it occurred to Topper that this isn’t something you can control.

It’s one of those things written in the stars; ancient and pre-destined to happen in every universe.

Ironically it wasn’t your relationship that convinced Topper of soul mates, but rather the way you look at the man he used to consider a brother.

Still, he has to give it one last shot.

“I know he was your first love, and if you want to go to him then I won’t stop you. Just consider the life we could have before you walk away.”

‘What life?’ You wonder. Scheduled date nights and forced show-casings at all the local events to keep up the facade of a perfect couple? Vanilla sex that never leaves you fully satisfied and eventually leads to having kids you can’t stand to look at because they remind you that the universe never asked what you wanted?

You watch Topper's face drop as you try to make yourself respond.

“No answer is an answer.”

Your lash line stings with hot tears as your mouth opens and closes a few times.

“I’m so sorry.”

And you truly are; sorry for the way this has all come to light, sorry for breaking his heart, sorry for the announcement and shame it will bring when you call off the wedding.

“Your parents will be livid. Not to mention the wedding is already paid for and only a few months away. We’re already receiving RSVPs.” He scoffs, and you nod slowly.

All valid points, but not a single one is even close to convincing you it's a good enough reason to stay.

You stare ahead for a moment and dig deep, trying to decide if courage would be doing the right thing this time, or jumping face-first into the most terrifying plot twist of your life.

“I think Mom and Dad might have to be disappointed in me for once.”

Topper gives a short nod and sniffs before standing to leave.

“Every woman around Rafe is goddamn poison.”

You watch as he slams the door and take a deep breath.

Perhaps he's right given his track record with you and Sarah, but whatever poison you bleed must be the same as Rafe’s. Maybe he’s just the antidote. Either way, the two of you seem to leech into each other's veins and seize all control of the heart and brain.

Your heart clenches in surprising agony as the reality of what you’ve just done sinks in, and you blink hot tears down your cheeks. You’re heartbroken and relieved at the same time, and after a moment you realize that lurking beneath those emotions is seething anger.

Anger at Rafe for coming back and planting doubts, anger at yourself for letting him, anger at the entire fucked up situation as a whole, and anger at the fact that despite all this, you really just want to see him again.

So against your better judgment, you throw on a comfy outfit and sneakers and slink down the hallway. Unfortunately, Topper is sitting on the couch with his head between his hands and you shift nervously when he looks up at you.

No words are spoken as you cast your eyes down and make a beeline for the door before he can try to stop you.

Twenty minutes later you’re sitting in the driveway at Tanny Hill with your eyes closed trying to figure out how the hell you wound up back here.

You’re supposed to be somebody's wife in a few months. Your wedding is the first of all your friends and fellow kooks, which means it’s going to be the biggest event of the year.

Your mother was elated when you crossed what seemed to be some invisible finish line to a race you didn’t want to compete in. You did the smart thing agreeing to marry Topper; so why the hell are you in your ex-boyfriend's driveway?

The reputation that would come with being married to Rafe is bad enough, but pair that with the scandal of how you ended up together and it’s a PR nightmare that may put your mother into an early grave.

Yet, you can’t bring yourself to care and that final thought is what forces you out of the car and around the house to rafes balcony.

You climbed the trellis more times than you can count in high school, and being back now brings a bittersweet wave of nostalgia.

Before you can think it through, you pick up a rock and hurl it at the window with a satisfying thunk.

“Fuck you, Rafe! I was doing fine and then you came back and I'm that eighteen-year-old girl again!”

Rafe's eyebrows furrow when he hears your familiar voice float through his bedroom window, and he’s just about to call himself crazy and move on when he hears it again.

“I know you hear me, asshole!”

He can’t help the devilish smirk that pulls at his lips as he stands, but he tucks it away and turns his mouth downward as he stands on the balcony.

“Y/N?”

You give him a blank expression as he feigns confusion, and throw your hands up dramatically.

“No shit! Oh-“ you begin, now feeling water drop down your back. “Just great, now it’s raining too!”

Rafe can't contain his grin; he’s always thought you’re cute when you get mad or frustrated and this time is no exception.

You’re about to start ranting again but you stop when you look up and see that Rafe is gone.

“Did that son a b-“ you start to mumble only to be interrupted by the French doors opening to reveal him in a pair of joggers you bought him and no shirt.

“Why are you here?” He asks and you just stand and stare at him for a moment before gesturing around and turning your face to the night sky.

“God only knows.”

He just watches for a moment and waits for the impending explosion he knows is coming.

“God you are such an arrogant ass!” You shout, no longer caring if the entirety of Figure Eight hears this fight.

“You’re the one who showed up at my house in the middle of the night!” He argues, and you push your now-soaked hair out of your face aggressively.

“You’re the one who showed up to shake my fiancée's hand like nothing happened almost two years after disappearing on me!”

He bounds down the steps, and you intentionally avoid looking at the beads of water forming on his golden skin.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

The two of you seem pulled together by magnets as you talk, each sentence bringing you closer together until you’re screaming in his face.

“God, you piss me off.” You growl, and Rafe just rolls his eyes in response.

“What’s new?”

His lip betrays the smile he’s biting back when it quivers, but you seem to be too focused on your thoughts to notice the tell.

“I really hate you sometimes.” You whisper and the sincerity in your voice causes him to falter.

“I know.” He frowns, and you swallow nervously.

“We slam doors and get jealous and start stupid fights.”

“But?” He presses, and the tears finally start to flow.

“But I miss it. I miss you. I shouldn’t miss you because Top treats me well and he loves me and I should be at home with him right now!”

The two of you are still pressed chest to chest, and you try not to let his cologne overwhelm your senses.

“So then why are you here?” He breathes, fingertips twitching at his sides as he resists the urge to reclaim their place against your flesh.

“Because he loves me..” you start, and Rafe gives into temptation as he pulls your hips into his and presses his forehead to yours while praying you’re about to say what he thinks you are.

“And I love you.”

The entire world comes screeching to a halt as your words settle over both of you and seep into your bones.

“And you love me.” He murmurs, partially to confirm and partially just to hear you say it again.

“Yes, I hate you and I love you and I hate that I love you but I do. I can’t spend my life living a lie.”

He stands still for a moment and you start to babble nervously as you realize for the first time that he could reject you.

“I kno-“ you start but you’re cut off by Rafe's lips smashing against yours.

“Shut up.” He groans into your mouth while both hands cup your face firmly and hold it in place.

You allow yourself to succumb and melt into him while nodding in agreement.

“You’re so infuriating and addicting and fucking beautiful and I hate it.” He growls between kisses, his hands tangled into your hair.

“But?” You whisper, recalling his sentiment from earlier.

“But I’ve been in love with you since 8th grade and I can’t seem to stop no matter what I do.”

Your lips part at the confession as you stare up at him doe-eyed, and he thinks this might just kill him. Even so, he’ll gladly lay at the feet of a weeping angel just to have you one last time.

You peer up at him for a moment and take him in all his glory with wild eyes and a heaving chest before making a split-second decision.

Your lips crash into his and he catches you with ease when you fling your body against him. One of his large hands settles on the curve of your waist to pull you closer while the other one grips your jaw and you melt into him.

The two of you submit to each other wholeheartedly, all but completely supporting each other's weight by the time you break apart.

“You might want to sleep with one eye open, Topper seems pretty pissed.” You try to joke, but Rafe shrugs.

“Topper has never been on my radar. Besides he already knew it was coming. I called him a week before I came back, he was just in denial until he saw how you reacted to seeing me.”

Suddenly you’re reminded of the country club and you pull away.

“What did Topper say?”

He reaches up to brush a hair off your face and contorts his face to a knowing grin.

“He told me to take care of you.”

Your eyes widen to the size of saucers and you start to feel the adrenaline drain. Reality sinks in and you feel your throat close up.

“Hey, don’t cry. It’s okay.” He soothes and you stifle a sob.

“I have to move out and call off a wedding that’s less than three months away!”

Rafe contorts his face into the scowl he only uses when he’s deadly serious and wipes your cheek.

“I’ll handle all of that, don’t worry.”

You sniffle and blink up at him tiredly.

“You would do that?”

Rafe chuckles as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and kisses your head before pulling you in the direction of the house.

“For you, I’d do anything.”

#rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron fluff #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron outer banks #outer banks imagine #outer banks angst #rafe cameron angst #outer banks #obx

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100percentdirtball · 10 months

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i'm sorry but tumblr am i the asshole just doesn't have the spice. every other reddit aita post is like "i [800m] called my girlfriend [16f] a dumb cunt in front of her family. she cried and ran away. so anyway i threw her mom's ashes in the sink.

EDIT: all of my bros ( they are serial rapists and career criminals ) are on my side because one time they heard her complaining to her friends that i wouldn't hang out with her except on the first tuesday of every month; if she weren't such a dumb cunt she would understand that i need all the other days of the month to follow my dreams of being in a c-tier blues rock band and underpay sex workers.

EDIT 2: i guess i overreacted with my girlfriend, but i apologized to her for saying she 'smelled like a new york street corner on trash day' so i don't know how i'm still the bad guy here"

and all the tumblr aita posts are like "because of my agonies i cried in front of my mom. she called me a spiteful gremlin. i feel really bad for hiding in my room instead of doing the dishes."

i'm sorry but on tumblr aita we have all the spine of a reply guy with an anxiety disorder while reddit aita posters have all the juice and lack of self awareness of trump tweeting at the top of his game.

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creepydudesinthedesert · 10 months

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Mad Max Fury Road: Drunk Commentary Edition

EDIT: I figure I might as well post this since, surprise!! I'm actually sober now so there's no chance of me very finishing this lol. But it was funny to read when I wrote it up like a year ago. Enjoy!

I’m starting after drinking 2 canned mojitos, and a glass of wine WITNESS ME!!!!!

- I watched this movie because a friend of mine wanted to get with a dude, and here i am, 6 years later and it’s still my favorite.

- It’s crazy having a boyfriend whose super into cars and telling him all the trivia for this movie lol

- Max NEED SOME MI:Lk after that car crash

- Guys i found a movie poste r for fury road at a thrift bookstore this year amd its thebest $30 ive ever soent

-someone tatoo my bloodbAG info on my back

-yO anyone remember that furiosa comic that reached NO ONES expectations??? idk about that guy but im built different i could write a better one

- THE CHASE SCENE

- CHARLIZE THERON WITH THE BRAND WALKING AWAY FROM THE CAMERA

- poetic cinema/im gay

- WE. ARE. WAR. BOYS.

- Everything about the i,mmortans reveal gives me straight up D****T***** Vibes and you all know why i am not taking questions or criticisms

- you know youer drunk when you accidentally open inspect element

- KEEP HER NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH

- bro im abbouto rise from the ashes from this world b/c im GONE

- That reminds me, when drinking, HYDRATE

- I DO RESENT ITS ABSENCE YOU DONT GOTTA RUB IT IN

- FUCKER

- THE LOOK. THE DETAIL

- Organic always felt the most aussie of of the cast

- The fact they al respect her decision for "heading east”

- Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss.

- They dialogue between the brothers always got me because they seemed so normal. Maybe they actually had a good relationship together and rictus was actually mourned when it was revealed that immortan joe was dead.

- I did a paper on this movie my freshman year of college, yess i was a nerd, and yess I got a 100%

- ‘YOU CANNOT OWN A HUMAN BEING!”

- GASSLIGHT. GATEKEEP. GIRLBOSS

- ngl miss giddy you could’ve saved us a good 2 hours if you didnt miss

- #Killrapists

- NUX

- problematic fave turned wholesome fave

- “thas maigh whill!”

- “IM GONNE HISTORIC ON THE FURY ROAD”

- THE BEST SEQUENCE

- THE DRUMS

- THE GUITAR

- THE CARS

- DUN NA NANANA, DUN NA NANANA

- nux fangirling like me at the black veil brides concert last week

- I AM AWATED

- “...it’s a detour...”

- Im so gay

-oh my god i realized i havent seen this movie since majoring in russian language, I heard that whole exchange while not even looking at the tv

#mad max fury road #mmfr #furiosa #max rockatansky #nux #for anyone thats interested im actually 8 months clean!#life is good :)

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sweetest-florida-blue-peach · 1 year

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Southern Roots Series:

Song: Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That

Artist: Dolly Parton

Characters for Scenario: Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

{{And before y'all come at me with your pitchforks and torches, HE IS AGED UP, so stop clutching your pearls and quit looking at me like I scandalized a nun}}

Warnings: None that I can think of other than Bakugou's usual potty mouth. Part of the scenario takes place in a bar, so there are mentions of alcohol and drinking, and cigarettes. Not sure if any of these are relevant for a warning, but I'm adding them just in case. Oh, and breakup angst, because, why not?

Notes: Tried to keep the reader GN. Concept is almost entirely from Reader’s perspective, so lots of usage of the pronoun ‘you’. Bartender calls Reader “sugar, hon, darlin’,” etc. Bartender is ‘she/her’. {Bartender is my self-insert, and no, this post was not intended to be all about her, but she is integral to the underlying story}. Uses they/them pronouns when discussing Reader. If I slipped up anywhere, politely tell me, and I’ll go back and edit.

Word Count: Bruh, I ain't got the mental capacity to count right now 🤣😭

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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

For @trashpotatoess.

Sloane, my love, my darlin', my dearest, my wonderful friend--I am so, so, SO sorry for the lateness of this, and doubly sorry if it’s absolute garbage, but I sincerely hope you enjoy your requested scenario. 💙

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

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Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your cowboy boots and your painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream. Why'd you come in here looking like that?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The bass of whatever song is croaking through the speakers is doing nothing to help the ache that’s been building up in your head for the last few days. Between that and the seemingly never-ending hangover, your brain was constantly pounding against your skull.

It’s been three months. Three months of tears, anger, denial, depression, alcohol, and mornings where you struggled to get out of bed. Three months of staring at the cracked screen of your phone, hoping for a notification from him. You had thrown it at your bedroom wall in a fit of rage after he had texted you for the last time asking for his things back. One half of you wished that you’d never deleted your social media, but you did it because you were prone to stalking his account, and you were glad you did. You were downright terrified of what you might find on there. Or who you might find on there. The other half wished that he’d text again, perhaps even be so courteous as to call. Just so you could answer and tell him to go to hell before hanging up.

Three months of this back-and-forth war with yourself was about to drive you absolutely insane, as was the thought of spending another aimless night holed up in your apartment. So you did the logical thing. You came to the only decent bar Yuuie had to offer and were drinking your sorrows away--for the eighth time this month.

As you down your second drink of the night, you stare down at the brim of your empty glass, mulling over how you found yourself here. A pair of crimson eyes, ash-blonde hair, and a devil-may-care smile flash through your mind. Sighing, you lean your elbows on the bar, bringing your fingertips up to your temples to massage them, trying to rid yourself of some of the discomfort.

The worst part about the breakup wasn’t actually the breakup itself. Sure, there was the screaming and the arguing before he eventually hopped in his truck and left you in a cloud of dust, but that wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst part was the fact that everyone knew about it almost as soon as it happened. And it’s all anyone had been gossiping about. For weeks. So even if you wanted to try and forget and move on, you couldn’t. The price and curse of living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone, and you have no kind of privacy whatsoever. You couldn’t even nurse your heartache behind closed doors because someone was always dropping by your place to “check up on you”.

It also didn’t help that your ex was practically famous. A traveling bull rider and Yuuie rodeo champion for the last six consecutive years, he’d made quite a name for himself.

His rodeo stage name was ridiculous.

The Great Explosion Murder God and his equally explosive steed, Dynamight.

That was the title the papers had graced him with after his amazing win on the bull riding portion of the rodeo. No one expected him to last eight seconds on Yuuie’s most notorious bull, Samson. Samson was the bull that put more cowboys out of commission than any farm accident ever could. But your ex craved challenges just as much as he craved the sweet taste of nicotine in his favorite cigarettes. So he rode Samson. And hung on for twenty-three seconds before being flung off. He’d been the town hero ever since.

Around rodeo season, everywhere you looked, pictures of TGEMG could be seen on every visible window, telephone poll, and building wall imaginable. But you never saw him as the golden boy of Yuuie. You saw him for who he was. A troublemaker with an explosive temper, as hotheaded and stubborn as Samson the bull. To Yuuie, he was The Great Explosion Murder God.

But to you? He was simply Katsuki Bakugou.

Just the thought of his name caused a sour taste to build up in your mouth. Running your fingers through your already messy hair, you seriously contemplate banging your head onto the polished bar.

“Can I get you another, sugar?” A sweet voice draws you out of your thoughts. You glance up and see the bartender swiping down the counter with a wet cloth. Her dark hair is pulled back into a messy bun, with a few loose strands hanging out here and there. Light, subtle strokes of mascara cling to her lashes, accentuating the color of her eyes, two different hues of brown; the left eye a much lighter shade than the right.

A black Jameson Irish Whiskey racerback clings to her curves, accentuating her hourglass figure. A delicate silver chain hangs around her neck, an unknown pendant playing hide-and-seek in the plunging neckline of her tank.

She cuts her mismatched eyes to your glass. “Do you want another, or are you calling it a night?”

Without a word, you shove it toward her. She raises a questioning brow at your actions, lips quirking up slightly, but to your surprise and thankfulness, she doesn’t say anything else. She just grabs the bottle of your favorite liquor and refills your glass for the third time. As she works, you take a moment to study her.

She was new in town. Landed a job as a bartender. Quiet, kept to herself. A walking enigma as no one really knew anything about her. Hell, you weren’t even sure what her name was. All anyone knew was that she moved to Yuuie shortly after you and Katsuki had called it quits. But from her accent and manners, you would’ve thought she was a local. She fit in well enough, seeming to belong with the rest of you, as if she’d been here the entire time.

Setting the glass back in front of you, she gives you a small smile. “Here you go, darlin’.”

You blink once. Twice. You then seem to realize that you still need to pay for your drink. Snapping out of your daze, you reach into your pocket to pull out your wallet. Your fingertips barely brush the stash of bills you have tucked away when the bartender shakes her head.

“On the house, hon.”

You stare incredulously at her. She shrugs, grabbing up empty beer bottles. “You look like you need it.”

You wince as the coolness of the glass seeps into your palms. “That obvious, huh?”

She snorts, wiping down the counter again before throwing the towel over her shoulder. “I’m a bartender; it’s my business to be observant. Kinda part of the job description.” Brushing back the stray hairs dangling in her face, she sticks out a hand. “I’m Blue.”

This time, it’s your turn to raise a brow. “Blue? Like the color?”

An expression settles on her face as if she’s in another place, another time, but she doesn’t give you a chance to dwell on it or even ask what she’s thinking about. The look disappears almost as quickly as it came, replaced by a wistful smile. “Exactly like the color.”

“That’s not your real name is it?” You ask. Again, you lived in a small town. And small towns came with a variety of names. Some were vintage, a little older but still respectable: Beau, Imogen, Pearl, and Edmund. Others were very Southern: Cash, Oakley, Easton, Wes, and anything that ended in ‘Lynn’. And then there were the off-the-wall ones like Cooter, Gator, Coon, Younique, Texas, Amarillo, and a few others that were just plain ridiculous. All in all, Blue wasn’t too bad a name to be saddled with.

She shakes her head, a small chuckle rumbling through her. “No. It’s....a nickname. Well, one of them. Two different nicknames gifted from two very different people. Blue and Peach.”

“Peach?” The dubiousness of your tone causes her to throw her head back and laugh.

“A long story from a lifetime ago. I got so used to them when I was younger that I sometimes wouldn’t respond to my actual name. Feel free to call me either. I’ll respond to both, but if I’m being honest, Blue is my preferred choice.”

Stretching out your arm, you take her hand in yours, giving it a firm shake. “Well, nice to meet you then, Blue.”

Her eyes sparkle, wrapping her fingers around yours. “Likewise.”

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Even though the clock on your phone reads only a quarter past ten, the tavern was nearly jam-packed with patrons.

Several people crowd the bar. Few were playing pool or making bets on a game of darts. Others had paired off and were line-dancing on the dance floor to whatever playlist Present Mic had geared up for the evening.

Laughter bubbles in your chest as you take another shot. You were tipsy, borderline drunk, your giggles growing louder and louder, everything becoming funnier by the second. You were finally beginning to unwind and relax a little.

Okay, you had relaxed A LOT.

Blue made you hand over your keys after your fourth shot of vodka. When you tried protesting, she silenced you with a glare that nearly rivaled your mother’s.

“I’ll give you a lift when my shift ends. Until then, these,” she jangled your keys in front of your face before dropping them into a glass jar that she stashed behind the counter, “are staying with me.”

You begrudgingly but gratefully accepted, especially as you were aware of the way Sheriff Enji Todoroki had been cracking down on drunk driving lately. You didn’t want to take any chances of getting thrown in the slammer and giving the town yet another reason to talk about you. The breakup was enough fuel to keep the fires going for a good long while.

To keep yourself from reliving the event and becoming a blubbering mess, you impulsively decided to ask Blue to tell you about herself.

She gave you a look that you couldn't quite perceive before sucking in her bottom lip and whistling to her partner.

"Neijire! I'm taking ten."

Your eyes travel in the direction of Blue's attention, landing on the bouncing figure of the other bartender. She wore nearly an identical outfit to Blue’s, but her shirt was more strategically ripped to bare more skin and bore the Jack Daniels logo instead of Jameson. She was happily putting a hefty bill into the Tip Jar, but Blue's words turned her mouth down into a pout.

"You're just now taking a break? Blue!" Neijire scolds, throwing a rag at the back of Blue's head. "You need to take your breaks as they come. Being on your feet for hours gets real exhausting real fast. I don't need you burnt out during your shifts."

Blue gives her a sarcastic salute while Neijire just rolls her eyes. She reaches across the counter, grabbing a pen, scribbling something down on a notepad. Ripping the paper cleanly off, she shoves it into Blue's hand, her golden eyes glittering in the low lights of the bar.

"Go ahead and give this to FatGum. He'll whip up something for you in the back. Take all your missed breaks and get yourself some dinner too. I don't want you back behind this counter until you've eaten something, you hear?"

“Neijire-chan! Can I get another over here, sweetheart?” One of the patrons calls, holding their glass up.

Neijire winks at you both, tucking back a curly lock of lavender-purple hair. “Welcome! What can I get y’all started with?”

Blue limbos under the ‘employees only’ trapdoor and plops herself beside you on a cushy barstool, grinning. "What do you wanna know?"

"Anything,” you answer, slamming your shot glass down after swigging the contents. “Do you like living in Yuuie? What's your name? What's your sign? When's your birthday? Do you have any tattoos? Have you ever done anything illegal?" The questions were pouring out of you like water from a leaking spicket.

Blue laughs as she hands off her meal ticket to one of the passing waiters, setting it on top of his empty serving tray. "Thanks, Mirio!”

The blonde bows at the waist, a thousand gigawatt smile flashing. “A pleasure, Miss Blue.”

She waves him off, shaking her head at him and his antics before turning back to you. “This sounds more like an interrogation than a getting-to-know-you icebreaker."

"Well, it's not only me that's curious. The whole town has been abuzz about you since you got here. You're like a mystery novel with no ending."

Blue's face scrunches up in disbelief. "I'm an open book! Hit me."

“Do you have any pets?”

Her entire face lights up when you ask her that.

"Do you wanna see my cat?"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

And that’s how you found yourself about an hour later, learning everything there was to know about the elusive new bartender.

She whipped out her phone, showing you pictures of a tiny white kitten with a splotched black tail and scattered salt and pepper patches on her face and back. For reasons unbeknownst to you, she named it Queso Mozzarella but lovingly calls her 'Mozzy' for short. Your heart squeezed at the absolute adorableness.

After Blue put her phone away, she began to tell you about herself, bit by bit. Almost like putting together a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

One of the first things she told you was her favorite flavor. Any and everything peach.

"I actually got the nickname 'Peach' when I was in elementary school because I always brought a fresh peach for lunch, even when they weren't in season."

She despises oranges, mainly because she's allergic to them.

"I swell up like a Goodyear Blimp. It ain't very comely."

She likes chocolate milk, mozzarella sticks, forget-me-not flowers, 80's movie soundtrack music, and her favorite color is blue (real surprise there).

"Told you, I'm an open book."

But the thing that shocked you the most was when you discovered that your previous assumption about her had been right. She did grow up in Yuuie.

"Born and raised."

"Then why did you move away?"

Blue fiddles with the basket of fries that came with her mountain of a burger. She’d polished off most of her food, playing with the remaining bits she couldn’t quite eat. Mirio dropped it off earlier, as well as a giant glass of sweet tea. He had playfully ruffled her hair despite Blue's protests before disappearing back into the sea of dancing bodies.

"My dad was in the military. He ended up getting promoted to a higher rank and stationed in another country the winter I became a junior. He packed us up and moved us overseas before I could finish the year out." A heavy sigh escapes her lips. She picks up a French fry, dipping it into a small bowl of ranch dressing. That was yet another thing you learned about her: she hated eating ketchup with her fries.

It drops back onto the checkered parchment paper in the plastic basket.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye."

You slightly sober up at the sadness in her tone. However, before you or she could say anything else, a frazzled-looking Neijire rushes to y'all's end of the bar. "Blue, it's the Pre-Midnight Rush. I need some help back here."

Blue nods. “On my way, darlin’.” She wipes her hands on her jeans, standing.

“Back to work, then.” She pushes the basket towards you. "Here. You should eat something to soak up all that alcohol you've been drinking."

You take it, deciding to heed her advice. She rounds the bar, walking to the sink to wash her hands before clocking back in.

“Hey, y’all,” she greets the fresh flood of customers alongside Nejire. “Pick your poisons.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"So why did you come back?" You shout at her over the pumping bass. Present Mic turned the tunes over to his DJ in training, Kyoka Jirou around midnight. The later it got, the louder the music became. And Jirou seemed to prefer it that way.

Blue vigorously shakes a silver canister before pouring a pink margarita into a salted glass. She throws a cherry in the middle of it, topping it off with a sliced lime before handing it off to the person who ordered it.

"My gramma is sick," she answers, shoveling ice into a few glasses. "I'm the only person willing to come take care of her."

Blue didn't seem too keen on delving into details, and you were smart enough to take the silent hint and not ask. You’re nursing your eleventh, maybe twelfth drink? as she steers the conversation away to lighter subjects.

She regales you with a story of how the town flirt and electrician, Denki Kaminari, shocked himself on an electric pole after he tried hitting on her as she was walking home with her groceries the other day.

“He kept giving me a thumbs up from the back of the ambulance and muttering ‘yay’. I feel so bad but I couldn’t help but laugh at him,” Blue chuckles as she polishes another pint glass before putting it on the shelf. “Bless his heart.”

“Sounds like a typical day for him.” You slur, a hiccup escaping your lips. “He gets electrocuted so much that everyone in Yuuie calls him Sparky.” You chug back the rest of your bourbon, belching loudly. “Except for Jirou. She calls him ‘Jammingyay’.”

Blue gently pries the glass from your hand. “Jammingyay? Well, that’s certainly creative. I always used to call him Pikachu.” She places it in the sink, eliciting a drunken whine from you. “Sorry, sugar. I’m officially cutting you off. You’re three sheets to the wind.”

“Am not,” you insist, but your vision blurs and you aren’t sure which Blue you’re looking at. The one on the left or the one on the right. Both of them frown at you.

“Yeeeeaaah, definitely time to call it quits. You’re as full as a tick on a bloodhound.”

You burst into a deep belly laugh at her euphemism. Your laughter ends, as does the song that had been playing. Some rough feedback from the speakers grabs everyone’s attention, as well as the tap-tap-tapping of someone’s finger against a microphone.

“Alrighty, y’all. It’s that time of the night. Karaoke hour,” Jirou announces, stirring up the crowd as they erupt into a fit of cheerful hollers. “You know the rules. Take a number, pick a song, and sing your little drunk hearts out.” Jirou places a couple of spare mics on her counter as a slew of girls immediately rush her DJ station.

You scoff. “Who would wanna do something as dumb as karaoke?”

Blue flips a bottle behind her back, catching it before filling up a row of shot glasses. She takes out a lighter from her pocket, flicking it before setting the row on fire. They burn for a couple of seconds before she whips out two coffee mugs, setting them over the shots one at a time. After the flames die down, she passes them out to awaiting patrons.

“I dabble in it from time to time. It’s a good way to get your emotions out or feelings across.”

“You’re joking, right?”

She shrugs. “To each their own. We all cope in different ways.”

You feel the corner of your mouth twitch.

“Blue! I need a pitcher of sangria and three whiskey sours!” Neijire shouts the orders as she places more bills into the Tip Jar and rings up tabs.

Blue sighs, glancing up at you from under her lashes. “Never a moment of peace around here, I’ll tell ya that.”

As she makes her way to Neijire, you replay her words over and over in your head.

‘We all cope in different ways.’

The first song gears up on the karaoke machine, lyrics displayed on an ancient projector screen. Familiar chords of a song you loved singing on long road trips start to filter out of the speakers, and the soft, subtle backup vocals of Dolly Parton croon in your ears.

You had no idea who was currently butchering one of the best songs (in your opinion) that Dolly Parton ever created, but you couldn’t help but want to sing along.

“Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your cowboy boots and your painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream. Why'd you come in here looking like that? Here comes my baby, draggin' my heart behind. He's drivin' me crazy! Who says love is blind? He's got a wanderin' eye and a travelin' mind, big ideas and a little behind. Out with a different woman every night, but I remember when he was mine.”

And how had you been coping? Not moving from your couch in several days, refusing to change out of your ratty pajamas. Hygiene had been a foreign concept during the first week or so after you and Katsuki had called it quits. You didn’t shower. You didn’t bother putting on a new outfit. You hardly opened your blinds, reveling in your misery in the dark. Netflix should have sent you a medal for watching nearly every romcom known to man on their streaming platform, all while sobbing into your ice cream cartons. You deactivated every platform of social media from your phone because you didn’t want to see how happy he was without you and didn’t want to give yourself any opportunities to fall into a deeper spiral of stalking his accounts. You chose to send your liver into an early grave and your bank account into the red with how often you frequented the bars and dives around town, doing your best to forget him.

How he smelled: like burnt sugar and salty caramel. How he tasted. How it felt when he held you in his arms. Like you were the only person he wanted to touch. To kiss. To love.

“Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your high heel boots and painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream. Waltzing right in here lookin' like that. Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? When you could stop traffic in a gunny sack. Why you're almost givin' me a heart attack! When you waltz right in here lookin' like that I just can't stand it. To see him on the town, he's out slow dancing with every girl around. I'm a softhearted woman; he's a hardheaded man, and he's gonna make me feel just as bad as he can. He's got himself a mean streak a half a mile wide Now he's dancing on this heart of mine.”

You feel as if the song is directed at you. Like an evil version of Cupid crawled from the depths of hell just to play with your already broken heart strings. That, or the person singing just had it out for you. Either way, each word hit you like a slap to the face.

“Ooh, Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your high heel boots painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream.Why'd you come in here lookin' like that?”

Tears stung your lower eyelids as the song ended and the crowd exploded in whooping applause.

Maybe whoever just got off the stage was in the same boat as you. Still in the tender stages of a splintered heart, trying to figure out how to put the pieces together. Perhaps that was their way of doing their best to move on and start fresh.

‘We all cope in different ways.’

How had you been coping?

Not well. Not well at all.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

“Darlin’? Darlin’, you still with me?” A gentle shake to your shoulders startles you, causing you to jump a little. Blue retracts her hand. She meekly tips her head. “Sorry to wake you, sweet pea, but I’m nearin’ the end of my shift.”

You yawn, rubbing some of the sleep out of your eyes. “What time is it?”

“Nearly two. You fell asleep about thirty minutes ago.”

You grimace, rolling your neck from side to side. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. If we had a decent taxi service or some type of Lyft or Uber, I would’ve gotten you one a while ago. Let me just get a few of these stragglers and then I’ll take ya on home, okay?”

You yawn again. “Thanks, Blue.”

She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Ain’t nothin’ but a thing.”

“No,” you blurt out. She stops in her tracks and stares at you. “It’s not.”

“It’s just a ride home. I ain’t really doin' much, sweet pea.”

“It is a big thing.” You insist. “It’s a really big thing. Thank you.”

She shakes her head. “No, really, darlin’, it’s--”

“You’re the only person that hasn’t treated me like I’m made of glass.”

There’s a heavy, pregnant pause.

“Well, why on earth would I do that?”

“Because he broke up with me.” Damn you for drinking so much. You always were a bit of a talker when you got more than two sips of alcohol in you. You lost count of how much you consumed this evening, and now you were no better than the town’s gossip columnist who went under the alias of Mount Lady. Here you were, bearing your heart and soul to someone you didn’t even know, but you couldn’t stop yourself.

Blue tilts her head to the side, her eyes searching yours. “Who broke up with you, sweet pea?”

A bitter laugh nearly chokes you as it collides with the sob rising in the back of your throat. The same tears you tried keeping at bay earlier decide to form a prison break and escape the confines of your eyelids, slipping down your cheeks.

“The Great Explosion Murder God of Yuuie, Katsuki Bakugou.”

You weren’t sure if it was the strobe lights coming from the dancefloor or the way your tears caused impairment of your already compromised vision, but you could have sworn in that moment that Blue blanched.

“Ka...Katsuki....Bakugou?”

“Yeah,” you swipe at your eyes with the heel of your hand, sucking snot back in before it could drip from your runny nostrils.

“I’m...I’m so sorry, darlin’.”

She says it with so much sincerity that you know she means it. Truly means it. Not like the other people in town who said it to you so flippantly. No. Blue was different. And maybe that’s why you felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with her, sans all the alcohol running through your system. Because Blue had something a lot of folks in Yuuie didn’t. A sense of realness.

And that was something you needed right now. A real friend.

“I hate to leave you like this, darlin’, but I gotta finish these orders. Will you be okay for a few minutes by yourself?” Blue apologizes, handing you some napkins. You take one and angrily blow your nose.

“I’ll be fine.”

Blue’s upper teeth knaw at her bottom lip as she looks at you, skepticism written all over her face.

“I promise I’m fine.”

“Okay....I shouldn’t be longer than fifteen minutes. We’ll leave right after that.” She reaches up on the shelf to pull down some beer steins, ready to run them under the taps. Once they were filled to the brim, foam spilling down the sides, Blue slides the beer down to Neijire for her to pass on to the people who ordered them.

“Blue?”

“Yes, darlin’?”

“Thank you.”

A small burst of air leaves her nose as her face relaxes enough to gift you with a gentle smile. She opens her mouth to reply to you, but the sound of the double Western-style saloon doors draws her from the conversation.

“Welcome!” Blue shouts over her shoulder. “We’re fixin’ to get ready for last call soon. What can I--”

Shattering glass can be heard in the quiet pause between music selections.

“Blue!” Neijire hurries over to her coworker, mindful not to step on the broken pieces. “Are you okay?”

You glance up to see Blue’s wide eyes staring at something behind you. You assume her concerned gaze is directed at whoever just came in. Her skin pales, and you see her visibly gulping. “Oh, sugar honey iced tea...”

Neijire follows her line of sight. Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline.

“Uh oh.”

Her eyes dart from you, to behind you, to you, to behind you again. She snatches the towel out of Blue’s hands, firmly shaking her as if trying to snap her out of her daze.

“Blue, you’re shift is over. Go home.” Neijire says in a tone you’ve never heard come from her before. “Tamaki and Mirio can help me with the mess, but you should go. You need to go.”

You stare at the two of them in bewilderment. Why were they looking at you like that?

The stomping of boots encroaches on your space, coming closer with each step.

“Cat got your tongue, dumbass? What the hell are you starin’ at me for?”

All the blood in your body turns to ice at the sound of a gruff, grating voice. One you were all too familiar with. One you hoped you’d never have to hear again. Not since the day he left you in a cloud of dust, never to look back.

Blue is in front of you in a millisecond, seemingly teleporting from one end of the bar to the other. “Hon, I’m clockin’ out now. Grab your stuff and we can go.” Blue reaches under the counter to grab your keys. But you don’t move. You can’t. You’re glued to your seat, your hands shaking.

“Leavin’? I just got here! Neijire, what the hell kinda service is this?” The voice draws closer until it’s directly behind you. A hand slams down on the surface of the counter, right next to you, causing you to nearly jump out of your skin. “I swear this town ain’t got nothing fuckin’ going for it anymore.”

You try swallowing, but the lump in your throat won’t allow anything past it. You squeeze your eyes shut.

Don’t look up. Don’t look up. Don’t. Look. Up.

“Service can be refused if the occasion calls for it and the occasion is callin’ for it. My shift is over and I’m headin’ on to the house. You need somethin’ you ask Neijire and you ask her politely.” Blue huffs, irritation and disdain coating every word.

“Who the hell do you think you are? My mother? I already got one old hag harpin’ on me day and night. I don’t need another.”

“I ain’t old and don’t you dare talk about your mama that way, Katsuki Bakugou. I will call her and tell her you’re causin’ trouble again. Don’t think I won’t.”

“Still the same ole’ tattletale, aren’t you, Blue? Even after all these years, you ain’t changed a bit.” He pauses, but you can hear the salacious grin in his tone. “Well, parts of you have.”

A resounding slap echoes in the air and you hear several gasps. Your eyes fly open to see Blue almost climbed over the bar, her arm raised high, palm a burning red. In your peripheral, your ex is hunched over, fingers pressed to the side of his face.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me, Explosion Boy. You never did. Don’t pretend like you do now.” You hear betrayal, hurt, and a slight tremble in her words. You stare at her.

Did they know each other?

But just as you opened your mouth to ask the silent question, the familiar sound of your keys clinking together snags your attention away from the scene unraveling beside you.

“Come on, sugar. I’ll drop you off.” Blue tells you, lifting up the trapdoor of the bar before closing it behind her.

A hand shoots out, clamping down on her upper arm. Her eyes shoot daggers at the person it’s attached to.

“Off in such a hurry, Blue? Always willin’ to start a fight, but ain’t ever willin’ to finish it. I was right. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Get your hands off me before I have Tetsu knock you on your arrogant, conceited, spoiled little Southern ass.”

“Hah? That extra? Please. He wouldn’t last two seconds.” He tugs on her arm, trying to draw her closer, but his elbow knocks you in the back of the head. You weren’t expecting the impact, so it’s no surprise to you when you fall clean off your barstool.

You crash to the ground in a graceless, drunken fashion. You hear Blue call your name, several people shouting, (all of their insults and anger directed at your ex), and three or more pairs of hands reaching down to help you to your feet. However, one set is faster than the others. Warm calloused fingers encircle your wrist, yanking you up off the floor.

“Don’t toss them around like a ragdoll. Lord above, Bakugou. Sometimes I wonder if you’ve got anything up in that spiky head of yours. Then again, if your brain was leather, you probably wouldn’t have enough to saddle a Junebug.”

“Shut the hell up, you fuckin’ extra.”

“Don’t you swear at me.”

“I’ll do whatever I so fuckin’ please.”

Blue pinches the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. “You could make a bishop mad enough to kick in stained glass windows with that outhouse of a mouth.”

You want to laugh. Really you do. The entire situation is like something you’d read from a tacky fanfiction, or would be a terrible scenario for one of your cheesy romcoms. You’re on the floor while your ex and new friend are above you, bickering back and forth like an old married couple.

It’s like a trashy Southern soap opera. With a Dolly Parton soundtrack to boot.

However, your entire world comes to a standstill when a pair of furious ruby eyes stare into yours.

Katsuki Bakugou.

His forehead is crinkled into those grumpy lines you slowly grew to love, once upon a time. Bits of his hay-colored hair poke out from beneath a black cowboy hat. He’s wearing a dark button-up shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, displaying his muscular arms. A clean pair of Levi’s cling to his legs and ass, perfectly sculpting the body worthy of a mythological god.

So maybe there was some semblance of sense to his rodeo stage name. The god part at least. Because honestly, looking that fine should be considered a sin. You suck in your bottom lip, a not-so-subtle attempt to make sure that you’re not drooling.

Damn, boy.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He all but yells at you, giving you a hard shake.

The lyrics from the song from earlier dance around in your mind as your eyes drift down to his custom-designed cowboy boots. Black with bright orange X’s running across the front of them and olive green grenade emblems stitched to the sides near the top.

Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your cowboy boots and your painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream. Why'd you come in here looking like that?

“Did you hear me, or are you deaf now? I said, what the hell are you doing here?”

Your mouth works faster than your brain.

“Getting over you.”

His eyes widen, and for once in his damn life, he seems at a loss for words.

“W-what?”

“Getting over you. The only way I know how. Because we all cope differently, don’t we, Blue?”

She stares at you with such sadness that it makes you feel guilty for even asking her.

“I cope by drinking myself into oblivion, and you cope by inviting whoever the fuck you want into our bed. Oops. I mean, your bed.” The words are out before you can even process them, and you can’t take them back, even if you wanted to. Because, again, the more you drink, the more you talk.

And you drank quite a bit.

You really, really wish that you had gone through with the plan you first concocted when you first arrived. Because a concussed head was sooooo much better than what you just did. You recall what Blue said the moment that she saw Bakugou enter the bar.

Sugar Honey Iced Tea.

Shit indeed, Blue. Shit indeed.

Bakugou still stares at you, mouth hanging open. You reach over, placing your fingers under his chin, tenderly applying enough pressure that his lips slam together, shutting his mouth. Again, a feat you once thought to be impossible, but hey, you were just full of surprises tonight.

“Trying to catch flies, ‘Suki? It’s easier if you use honey.” You purr, hand falling to his chest. His heart flutters underneath your fingers.

“You drunk or somethin’?” He asks, clearing his throat as pink stains his cheeks.

Giggling, you lean forward, your lips mere inches from his.

“And if I am? What are you gonna do about it?”

His eyes narrow, glaring down at you.

“Alright, I’m breaking this up,” Blue announces, tugging on the sleeve of your shirt.

“Katsuki already did that for you,” you giggle, leaning back to look up at him. “Ain’t that right, ‘Suki? Dropped me like a sack of hot potatoes the moment I was no longer of any value to you.”

Bakugou says nothing, lips pressed into a firm, narrow line.

“Time to go home, sweet pea,” Blue urges you, all but shoving you out the door.

You throw up a casual wave, flipping Bakugou off in the same breath.

“This was fun, ‘Suki, Let’s never do it again.”

And with that, Blue guides you through the double doors, allowing them to swing behind you. Your lungs greedily suck down the cool night air, goosebumps raising on your skin. Your body leans on Blue as she walks you to her truck.

“Almost there, darlin’,” she assures you with each step. Finally, you’re brought to a halt in front of a navy blue Chevy Silverado. But before Blue can even reach over to open the door, you crumple into a sobbing heap. Your knees slam into the broken asphalt, but you barely register the pain.

The agony consuming your heart is enough. And after the scene you caused inside, you only gave the town more ammunition to use against you.

You hated this place. Hated this town. Hated the people in it. Hated him. But most of all, you hated yourself. Hated yourself for still caring about him. For still holding some kind of hope that things would work out and you’d be happy again.

With him. Just the two of you. Like you always wished it would be.

A pair of warm arms wrap around you, and you allow yourself to be held as you finally have the breakdown that’s been building up for the last three months.

“It hurts, Blue,” you blubber into her shoulder. “It hurts...so much.”

“I know, sweet pea. I know. And I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.” She whispers, smoothing down your hair. “He was an ass anyway. Always has been.”

“But he was my ass. And I loved him. I loved him. I loved him.” You repeat, clawing at your chest, desperately trying to reach into the hollow activity of your ribcage and rip your heart out in a pitiful attempt to find some relief, hoping that if you were able to do it, it would make the pain go away.

Blue doesn’t have an answer. No magic cure or spell to help you through this.

But she’s there with you.

And that was more than you could have ever asked for.

"Why'd he have to show up like that? All decked out in his fancy boots and favorite button up and that hat. That fuckin' hat, Blue." You ask, salty tears dripping down your chin. "Just when I think 'to hell with him, I deserve more and better,' he waltzes on in like a damn movie star and steals my breath away all over again. Despite everything he's ever done, I love him. And I think part of me always will."

You look up at Blue through your haze of tears.

"Why'd he have to come in there lookin' like that?"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Why'd you come in here lookin' like that? In your cowboy boots and your painted-on jeans, all decked out like a cowgirl's dream. Why'd you come in here looking like that?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

IT'S DONE. I HAVE FINISHED. I HAVE COMPLETED THE TASK BEFORE ME. ALL HAIL THE EXHAUSTED BLUE PEACH.

Seriously, I am so thankful that I was finally able to finish this request.

It's currently 2 in the morning my time and this entire scenario is probably flaming garbage that resides in a sewage plant because I wrote most of this half asleep. And before you tell me, yes, I am aware that it looks like the spirit of an 1800s author took hold of me and had a field day using commas for ridiculously long sentences. I KNOW.

But I had a lot of fun writing this, and if you don't like it, don't read it. It wasn't for you anyway. 😘

I write for my own pleasure and enjoyment, not for the validation of others.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

This is the first scenario of the Southern Roots Series. I will do my best to update as often as I can but life gets busy so don't expect too much out of me.

I really hope y'all enjoyed and I can't wait to write more.

Later, Taters! 💙💙

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

#southernrootsseries #southern au #country au #cowboy au #bakugou katsuki #why'd you come in here lookin' like that #dolly parton #request #blue answers #blue writes

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nuri148 · 8 months

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LOOK AT THIS POINT

No, really, take a look at it.

For at 17:23 CEST, on September 23rd of the Year of our Lord 2023, I have finished the first draft of the 15th and last installment of Clarity.

Peeps, I am grieving.

When I set out to put this story into words, I had never written anything beyond 10K. The idea of doing a chaptered story, a slow burn at that, was so foreign to me. I was convinced I'd either solve the plot in 3-4 chapters or, as it's happened to me in the past, I'd lose faith in the story and ditch it, and it'd become one of those abandoned fics we all hate to love.

It wasn't easy, not just because I'm writing in a language not my own. Some of the scenes I'd played dozens of times in my mind before sitting to write them, and then they would... jut not come out? Emotionally charged scenes drain me; Blorbo's feels are my feels. I felt insecure about a myriad things that I'm not experienced about, or didn't do the research about, or just plain thought were too silly or self indulgent for others to like.

I got caught in the rabbit whole of worldbuilding, and created props and hid them as easter eggs and no one but one person found them but I had a blast anyhow.

I got also caught in the rabbit hole of tea and drank a ridiculous amount of it to create a menu and make it more than just a character quirk.

I had lots of fum coming up with the fake preview posts before every chapter (did you getthe hidden message in the last one? did you?)

Most of all, I rekindled my love of writing and I've found amazing people in the fandom, fellow delulus from all around the globe who support and inspire each other and (gasp!) even liked my fic.

Thank you all who accompanied me in this amazing journey, be it by reading, commenting, kudosing, or just supporting me with likes and reblogs here. Special shout-outs to @chaosisbeauty23, one of the most talented fic writers out there, for sharing so much of my delulu as well as the outlook on life of us the not-so-young ones; @onigiri-dorkk my first fandom friend here, for being a ray of sunshine and always encourage and support fellow fans; @bryhaven (even if idk when you'll read this) for your amazing feedback; @ash-aot for bringing my fic to life with your lovely voice; @binibchielq for creating a safespace for us rm spawnlings; @lucysarah-c for the "aguante" and the fandom talks with Argentine taste; @lividayis for the beautiful fanart you created for my humble story.

The party isn't over yet though! I still have to edit this, as well as a last look at ch. 14 before I upload it, but this is it for this story for now. While I still have ideas in the Clarity universe, I would also like to chase other things and/or take a break. In the meantime, Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

#clarity tea house #rivamika #levi ackerman #mikasa ackerman #rivamika fic #aot fanfiction #levimika #rivamika fanfiction

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richincolor · 1 year

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New Releases for the Week of May 22, 2023

We have a nice collection of books to look forward to this week with a few contemporary realistic fiction novels, one fantasy anthology, and a story with a bit of a mystery.

If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So Harperteen

Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.

In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make… — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Magic Has No Borders edited by Sona Charaipotra and Samira Ahmed HarperTeen

A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds…

A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil…

A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers…

A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny…

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders.

With stories by: ▪Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series, and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My Rage ▪Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series ▪Preeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma ▪Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce, and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. ▪Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow ▪Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial Trilogy ▪Olivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red Hand ▪Nafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee, The Candle and the Flame ▪Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of The Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash ▪Naz Kutub, author of The Loophole ▪Nikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce Fairytales ▪Swati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogy ▪Shreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selection ▪Tahir Abrar, New Voices selection — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes Balzer & Bray/Harperteen

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers, despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)

I’m safe here.

That’s how Sadie feels, on a perfect summer day, wrapped in her girlfriend’s arms. School is out, and even though she’s been struggling to manage her chronic anxiety, Sadie is hopeful better times are ahead. Or at least, she thought she was safe. When her girlfriend reveals some unexpected news and the two witness a violent incident of police brutality unfold before them, Sadie’s whole world is upended in an instant.

I’m not safe anywhere.

That’s how Sadie feels every day after–vulnerable, uprooted. She retreats inside as the weeks slip by and relies on her phone to stay connected to the outside world. When Sadie’s therapist gives her a diagnosis for her debilitating panic–agoraphobia–she starts on a path of acceptance and healing. Meanwhile, Sadie’s best friend, Evan, updates her on the protests taking place in their city. Sadie wants to be a part of it, to use her voice and affect change. But how do you show up for your community when you can’t even leave your house?

I can build a safe place inside myself.

That’s what Sadie learns over the course of one life-changing summer, with some help from her family, her best friend, an online platform for activists, and a magnetic crush she develops for the new boy next door. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

#new releases #young adult lit #YA Lit

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fireemblems24 · 2 years

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Scarlet Blaze Ch 6

Onto Ch 6. Spoilers beneath the cut.

STORY

Edelgard: Invades everyone. Everyone: Turns against her. Edelgard: Surprised Pikachu face. Like, seriously.....

Wow, you mean these people don't want Edelgard conquering them? Shocking.

Poor Petra. Having to save the man who brutalized her country. And Caspar is so dense, saying that right by her.

Hubert making it clear Edelgard intends to rule the Alliance lol.

LAMO, Monica calling it "listen to reason" instead of exactly what it is - a brutal, violent, bloody conquest.

I had Shez express hesitation and he's wondering why friends have to sometimes fight each other. WELL - 👀👀👀 I think we know, Edelgard.

MAP

ANOTHER facility?? What on earth . . .

Petra feels conflicted about Count Berlitz. After her underwhelming map dialogue last time, this is an improvement.

Aww, Dimitri told Ashe to prioritize living over loyalty? Ashe seems pretty miserable right now. Hope he gets better.

Bernie is terrified of getting surrounded by enemies. That just makes the burning death on the hill so much worse.

That's rich. There's a merchant worried about being invaded. Maybe . . . don't invade other people first?

LAMO a noble defected from the Alliance because he thought Edelgard was more noble-friendly in her ruling than Claude.

Sounds like Dorothea's conflicted about the war.

SIDE BATTLES

Anna running around the map and setting up random shops is pretty neat.

LAMO, Edelgard thought Glouster's betrayal may have come from TWSITD.

How can anyone claim Edelgard never really meant to conquer everyone when you have them over here wishing Claude never took charge of the Alliance and it was chaos over there?

That conversation was villain behavior 101 lol.

Feels bad. Having to attack Leonie. Then Judith.

I thought Shez became short, but really Anna was just standing on a slope.

SHEZ & MANUELA C SUPPORT

So Shez stumbles on Manuela talking in her sleep about love gone bad.

Manuela's mad that even in her dreams love goes bad lamo.

She's a disaster in this support. She's hungover and has a messy healing tent. Shez calling her out. #Deserved.

So she says "who are you, my husband?" in the support. Anyone know if she says "wife" to F!Shez?

She's a disaster and I love her.

SHEZ & DOROTHEA C SUPPORT

Dorothea was known as the "Mystical Songstress." Some cool lore.

She's not thrilled with it though, since it implies that it's shocking (or "mystical") someone poor like her rose to the top.

Oh, man, more awkward singing. Like, the actress is good, for sure, but I find it so awkward. Like, who just asks someone to sing in the middle of a conversation?

Shez doesn't know what to make of opera lol.

SHEZ & LINHARDT C SUPPORT

Shez is asking a good question, why isn't Linhardt more interested in Shez's power? Is it just crests for Linhardt?

Even Linhardt doesn't know why he's not interested.

Linhardt called Shez's power sinister and his sword cold. This is soooo different from how Dimitri treat Shez's abilities.

MONICA & HUBERT C SUPPORT

Hubert's editing other people's (Monica's) reports. Dude deserves a raise.

So Monica sees herself as a servant. Does Hubert?

Oh, are we finally addressing that Hubert was brainwashed and gaslit into his loyalty to Edelgard? Ok, guess not.

Mannn, Hubert just does not take her seriously.

BERNADETTA & EDELGARD C SUPPORT

Nice to see some development about a MOM for once, but unsurprising it becomes actually about the dad and the mom's letter is just to give updates about dads. Ugh.

I really hate how much "put Varley in charge of a government controlled religion" is a joke at Varley's expense and not ever discussed as problematic. At least in AG it bites her in the ass.

MANUELA & JERITZA C SUPPORT

It's too bad they didn't get a support in Houses where Manuela could've addressed why she's so casual about fighting in the same army as the man she hated so much.

Oh, dear, she's thirsty.

Girllll, get better taste in men.

She comes across so desperate, poor woman. He wants nothing to do with her though. So that makes 2 people with terrible taste in this support.

MAIN BATTLE

Man, so far this is depressingly like CF. Oh, look, we're attacking Claude again.

Edelgard really set submit to me or die.

Linhardt's like, let me be part of the diplomacy. But, my man, what diplomacy??? All there is is terms of surrender or die, lamo.

Ick. Caspar - "When in doubt, take 'em out." He legit just called murdering people for daring to defend their homeland instead of considering surrender instead "sweating the small stuff." I forget how much I despise Caspar when he's fighting for Edelgard. No concern for human life.

"Defeat Lorenz and Count Glouster" :( Seriously, Lorenz is REALLY growing on me in GW by virtue of having the most interesting plot line there so far.

It would be so fantastic if Edelgard had to abandon her attack on the Alliance because Dimitri was raining hell down on her invasion of Faerghus.

So recruiting Balthus, Ignatz, and Lorenz. Lorenz deserves better than this. Balthus and Ignatz I get.

Hubert's like "Glouster's upset we hurt his heir." No shit, you injured his son. But SB doesn't have the guts to admit we just brutalized a man's son right in front of him and instead spins it with ugly words like "heir."

"Claude's shady scheme." My sister in Sothis you are INVADING him. Edelgard's self-awareness still at 0 I see. The funny thing is that you know she thinks she's the morally superior here one and that Claude's some dirty trickster using brains against her. How dare he!! /s

Edelgard: "I may be killing innocent Alliance soldiers for their own good, but at least I'm not using dirty tricks!" Says the woman with the most money and soldiers to spare. My God this woman never realizes her privilege.

I do not remember Glouster being loved and respected by his people in Houses, Lorenz, lol. I remember them finding him a greedy power-hungry dude who was suspected of killing merchants for gain. But hey, what do I know.

Lorenz makes such a good point. Glouster sees it as pointless because he lost, but I know Glouster sees otherwise in GW when he won.

I hate, hate, hate this is getting viewed as a "misstep." You were defending yourself from an invasion. Glouster is NOT in the wrong.

I LOVE how they view Glouster as "stabbing them in the back." You were invading them. OH MY GOD. This game is allergic to holding Edelgard responsible for anything and shifting blame to her victims.

xxxxx

#fire emblem #fire emblem three hopes #scarlet blaze #three hopes #scarlet blaze spoilers

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mischievousblade · 9 months

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Short Story: Naomi Kanakia “Everquest”

If you are a trans gamer, it’s practically a guarantee that some of your first experiments with gender were digital. I absolutely created more than a few female Night Elves on my friend’s World of Warcraft account when I was a deep-in-the-closet preteen. Naomi Kanakia’s “Everquest” dives deep into this relationship between avatar and self. By literalizing the fantasy of this transformation, Kanakia captures a uniquely trans feeling of escape that gaming allows and ends in a space that is both melancholy but also undeniably hopeful and at peace.

The short story is available for free in the Lightspeed Magazine.

This short story is also available in the book:

We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 by C.L. Clark

Book Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Short Stories ISBN # 9781952086274 Edition Language: English Date of Publication: 2021-8-

We’re Here 2020 includes the following stories from 2020: “If You Take My Meaning” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tordotcom, February 26, 2020) “A Voyage to Queensthroat” by Anya Johanna DeNiro (Strange Horizons, August 2020) “Rat and Finch are Friends” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo (Strange Horizons, March 2020) “Salt and Iron” by Gem Isherwood (Podcastle, May 2020) “The Currant Dumas” by L.D. Lewis (Glitter + Ashes, edited by dave ring) “Everquest” by Naomi Kanakia (Lightspeed, October 2020) “Portrait of Three Women with an Owl” by Gwen C. Katz (The Future Fire, February 2020) “The Ashes of Vivian Firestrike” by Kristen Koopman (Glittership, May 2020) “To Balance the Weight of Khalem” by RB Lemberg (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, March 2020) “Thin Red Jellies” by Lina Rather (Gigonotosaurus, February 2020) “Body, Remember” by Nicasio Andres Reed (Fireside, November 2020) “Escaping Dr. Markoff” by Gabriela Santiago (The Dark, March 2020) “The Last Good Time to Be Alive” by Waverly SM (Reckoning 4, edited by Danika Dinsmore and Arkady Martine) “Monsters Never Leave You” by Carlie St. George (Strange Horizons, June 2020) “The Wedding After The Bomb” by Brendan Williams-Childs (Catapult, April 2020) “8-Bit Free Will” by John Wiswell (Podcastle, November 2020) Our incredible cover is by Sajan Rai.

#everquest #short story #lgtbqia+

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illegiblehandwriting1 · 1 year

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Hi there!

Hey guys, I'll admit it.

I'm not sure what I'm doing.

But I'm a writer, musician, and Zelda enthusiast! I write for Linked Universe mainly (Illegible_Handwriting on ao3) and I figured I should make a Tumblr, so here we are! I like a bunch of other things too, though (marble hornets, stormlight archive, gravity falls, unravel 2, metroid, doctor who, the owl house, rottmnt, ben drowned/awakening, generation loss, episodes 4-9of star wars, HUMAN RIGHTS DAMMIT, just to name a few) so I'll pretty much post whatever I want to.

I swear a lot, so be warned.

Nonbinary (and everyone is hella valid, homophobes/terfs/transphobes/racists/ableists/anti-Semites etc. beware >:( so be nice everyone)

I use "#illeg scribbles" for my writing, and #chicken scratch for any other rambles or posts I make. #reblog is exactly what it sounds like!

#smoke & ashes has its own tag, and so does #dear four chronicles! #the chosen and the champion also exists but I don't really use it anymore because I'm working on s&a, so if you want updates on that, use the smoke & ashes tag thx :D

And I don't know how active I'll be on here (probably not a lot) but we'll see how this goes! If I'm not active, don't be alarmed, that'll be normal probably lol.

I guess I should make a masterpost huh. Ok that's under the cut.

The Chosen and the Champion series (in progress)

The Chosen and the Champion (Switch gang tribute): Completed. A ton of Wild and Sky content because I saw Skyward Sword on Switch and went FUCK yes. This got off the rails very quickly. Just read all of them at this point, cuz I don't know what I'll bring back next. Chapter 20 and onwards is Exploring Sky's Hyrule.

Smoke & Ashes: Incomplete and in progress!! continues where C&C left off, with a huge fucking focus on Sky's adventure, specifically the end. However, unlike most fics, people are NOT very happy or forgiving with Sky. If you know, you know. VERY ANGST HEAVY. PLEASE READ ALL THE TAGS AND WARNINGS.

Like Mounds of Molten Gold: Incomplete and in progress!! Just a bunch of extra content for the C&C universe! Some are companion pieces to a specific chapter or section, while some are just random shit. There might be cut content every now and then. All of them help to give a deeper/more enjoyable experience to the main fic (in my opinion).

The Dear Four Chronicles (in progress)

Dear Four: completed. oneshot. pre-Minish Cap Four and post-LU Sky. Shenanigans ensue.

Hey Time: completed. oneshot. pre-OoT Time and post-LU Four. Shenanigans but it's 12k this time.

Hello Wind (temp title): being written! IDK when it'll come out, but it'll happen eventually. I promise.

The Groose is Loose! (temp title, in progress??? Maybe???)

A Weight Called Eternity: completed. oneshot. I asked the question "what was Groose doing during the Demise fight?" This is absolutely spliced from ch16 of S&A. Do I care? No. It's edited substantially as well, and is not LU, but SkSw instead. ALSO HEAVY ANGST

Other fics:

There it is again, that funny feeling...: Incomplete and in progress!! multi-chapter. It's a bunch of different ideas all stemming from the same base question: "what if Sky was the Fierce Deity?" Each chapter is a separate AU. Please heed the warnings on this one.

Imagine all the fun you and your future self could have, if only you had a driver's license: Completed. multi-chapter. Long-ass title because I never thought of a better one. Basically, pre-LU Wild and Sky are in Mariokart! Bunch of crack. Lots of fun.

Here lies Link: completed. oneshot. Four digs a grave for a dear friend. Also Wolfie is there for emotional support. Heed the tags.

Storybook: completed, i guess. oneshot, i guess. pre-Minish Cap Four knows about Sky and I think that's the most precious idea. If I ever come back to this, I'll let you know.

Freezing Flame: completed. oneshot. halloween from a couple years ago. Wind finds a graveyard. Heed the warnings.

All the Lights in the World (Are Slowly Going Out): completed, i guess. discontinued, really. multi-chapter. I tried Wumptober 2022 and I only got 3 prompts in. heed the tags and warnings.

Fluffy Pillows and Angsty Teens: incomplete! multi-chapter. Random shit i wrote!!

Beyond Recollection (discontinued): done, i guess. Multi-chapter. Was gonna be about a female hero after twi who people couldn't remember, but i left the idea.

As twilight fell: completed. oneshot. my first fic. don't read it. save yourselves. I might rewrite it eventually. heed the warnings in the tags.

#chicken scratch #smoke & ashes #dear four chronicles #illeg scribbles

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its-ashehausen · 1 year

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Introduction post since I haven't done one yet.

◇ Hiyaa everyone, my birth name is Tammra but I preferred to be called Ashe as a gender neutral name

◇ I'm a video editor as you can tell from my edits of Hookhausen on here, you can subscribe to me on YouTube under XxTammra'sEditsxX where some of my old Hookhausen edits from 5 to 6 months reside on there.

◇ I'm also a fanfic writer, I mainly post stuff here or on Quotev/Ao3 (mainly I write for Hookhausen or Ulquihime)

◇ I'm also a Facepainter, I've been painting my face for 2-3 years now. I'm still a beginner but I'm slowly getting better each time.

◇ I'm Pansexual/Asexual/Genderfluid and my pronouns are They/Them/Her

◇ Fandoms I'm in: Supernatural, Ginny and Georgia, YOU, Never Have I Ever, Legacies (despite it being over) Wednesday, Gotham (I'm currently in the midst of season 2) Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Chucky, Friends, Degrassi, The Nanny, Vampire Diaries, tons of anime that I don't feel like listing lol and many more shows.

◇ Wrestling: AEW Wise- Hookhausen of course, Ricky Starks, Ethan Page, The House Of Black, Abadon, and MJF.

WWE Wise: Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss, Shinsuke Nakamura, Dexter Lumis, Indi Hartwell, and Edge.

◇ Favorite ships: Hookhausen, (AEW) Nygmobblepot, (Gotham) Destiel, (Supernatural) Juke, (JATP) Gallavich, (Shameless) Palex, (Degrassi) Wenclair (Wednesday) etc.)

◇Likes: Anime, Wrestling, C Drama's, Fanfic Writing, Video Editing Hookhausen, Facepainting, and Sketching although I suck at it

◇Dislikes: Homophobic people, Transphobic people, Ableism, People who bodyshame, and bullying.

Feel free to message me if you want to become friends, I do suck at keeping conversations depending on the situation but I'm always up to talking especially about Hookhausen 😊 or anything in general

- Ashe🖤🖤

#introduction post #Hookhausen #about me thingy

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shay-the-maker · 5 months

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Intro Post

Hello and welcome! I'm Shay (he/they/it). A variety artist, struggling writer, puppy cat-boy, and Maker-God of the world Exalos.

Tag and ask game friendly! Asks and conversation encouraged! I am slow to respond sometimes, but I try to answer what I can. I am also far more scared of you than you are of me. Thanks social anxiety!

I’m currently focused on my WIP called “Dread Secrets,” but I have several other WIPs in various stages of development (mostly in the “vibes” stage, but they count!). Dread Secrets is my first attempt at planning a story with the intent of actually finishing the story someday. Volume of projects is not indicative of me being put together, it is quite the opposite.

Tags listed in ~ABOUT~ tab of blog.

~WIPS~

This part will be edited as I work on these stories, so there'll eventually be more information to read here.

Dread Secrets (Current WIP)

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Medieval Fantasy, mystery, action, romance, adventure, found family/family bonds, Mature

TWs: blood, gore, violence, body horror, war, death, murder, mental/psychological/emotional manipulation

POV: Third person limited

POV Characters: Xiang, Neph, Ansellus Kestrel, Celesto, [redacted]

Progress: First draft, incomplete timeline, almost finalized plot

Summary:

Fifteen years ago, King Ansellus Kestrel of the Wisea Kingdom made a last stand against the Dread Queen Celesto, his first love, as the benevolent kingdoms banded together to lay siege to the aptly named Dread Kingdom. Against all odds, Celesto was defeated and her kingdom fell to ruin. Celesto's final moments were preserved as the Ancient of the Forest transformed her body into a dark and twisted tree, her face contorted as her rage-filled scream grew silent in the midst of the burning remains of her kingdom.

They had been in love; however, in four, short years the life and love they shared had fallen to shambles. Celesto had betrayed not only Ansellus and the Wisea Kingdom, but their friends and even her own goddaughter, Hibiki, who, even now, clings to her father to feel safe. How did it come to this?

Xiang, a student of Prophis, attempts to aid a friend cursed to a wakeless sleep as Grim Twilight Ivy grows around and from his body. Xiang's good intentions are rewarded by a similar curse being placed on him. A strange mark over his heart and plagued by nightmares of being hunted by the Dread Queen Celesto in the Dread Kingdom's ruins, Xiang leaves the ancient towers of Prophis in the hopes of breaking the curse before he succumbs to his curse with a protector by the name of Malianna Ash, a half-immortal from the Kingdom of Rosha.

The two are joined by the strangers Neph and Celine while travelling through the independent city of Rudrian and Kubo Hibiki at the Golden Palace of the Wisea Kingdom. With no alternative, they must travel to the Dread Forest, enter, and find the ruins of Celesto's Dread Kingdom. Is Celesto still alive? Or could someone else be behind the curse placed on Xiang and his friend? Will Xiang find the answers? Or is his fate to succumb to the curse in the Dread Forest and never return to his former life?

Neph, a half-immortal from the independent city of Rudrian lives comfortably with their caretakers. Distant memories of horses made of snow and houses with beautiful purple flowers growing around them is all they remember of their birthplace. Neph hopes to, someday, ascend to immortality to reunite with their immortal mother in Elorial, the realm of immortals.

They seize their chance after bumping into Xiang when the Prophis student is separated from Malianna in the crowds of Rudrian. Through the use of incessant begging and a sprinkle of charisma, Neph manages to get permission to join the two strangers on their quest. Celine, the most soft-spoken of Neph's caretakers, joins the group as well, having been at Neph's side since they were young.

Can this quest be enough to bring Neph to the next step of their ascention? Can these strangers become the key to reuniting with Neph's enigmatic mother? Perhaps they could aid Celine in recovering her lost memories from before joining Neph and their other two caretakers?

Cast: Xiang, Malianna Ash, Neph, Scy Drakenscale, Phelan Noctus, Lorne, Kubo Hibiki, No Eiko, Celine, Scorch (Malianna's unicorn), Flit (Malianna's magic pigeon), Celesto Krone/Kestrel (Dread Queen), Felix Kestrel, King Ansellus Kestrel, Queen Tianna Kestrel, Artos Oak, Kubo Mai, Ling Yazhu, Bao Mingmei, Bao Yating, King Snydus Ash, Silas Ash, Draco, Dissonantia, Bryn Creek, Sasha Creek, Leandra Ash, Xaver Ash, Ferna Krone, Obelus Krone, Imposa Kestrel, Mightrus Kestrel, Ling Chao, Bessarion Thorne

Gods/Ancients/Primordials of note: God of Memories, God of Sanctuary, God of Guardians, God of Passion, God of Vengeance, God of Lore (Lorne), Ancient of Wisdom, Ancient of Knowledge, God of Dreams, The 11 Immortal Villains (See: Corruption of Heroes), Ancient of Forests, Primordial of Death, Primordial of Life

Song Association: Guns for Hire by Woodkid + What Could Have Been by Sting and Ray Chen

Excerpt: (from chapter 1)

“Xiang.”

Hearing his name uttered by the Dread Queen sends a shiver down the young man’s spine and he turns to look at her again. In the seconds he’d taken his eyes off her to yell for his friend, she’d closed the distance entirely to stand almost nose to nose with him. Her red and blue eyes staring right into his own coal black without the skull to create a buffer between the two. Xiang is startled to find just how unnatural Celesto’s red eye is. The whites appear to be bloodshot, though only light red, her iris blood red. Rather than being dark, almost black, her pupil is white and shaped like that of a deer’s. He stumbles back and nearly falls before Celesto’s hand grips Xiang by the collar of his middle robes, her fist pressing against his chest thanks to how she’d grabbed him. Her hand is clean of any blood it had just a moment ago, though the rest of her remains covered in someone else’s blood.

Xiang almost grabs Celesto’s wrist instinctively, to catch his balance, before bringing his hands defensively over his face and chest. His heart beats erratically under the knuckles of her fist as he shuts his eyes tight, preparing for the worst.

Tinnitus:

(probably a series, connected to Heir of Chaos, pt 1)

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Fantasy, modern setting, double reality, suspense, adventure, Young adult?

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Gong Jiahao, Soul Warren, Maddox Elijah, Jung Taeil, Fable Book, Kace Asher, Nym Cardinal, Zhang Remy

Progress: Vague ideas, loose plot, vibes

Summary:

Jiahao, Soul, Maddox, Taeil, Fable, Kace, Nym, and Remy befriended each other while in high school and began using a secluded corner of the local scrapyard as a hideout. Kace became friends with Jiahao, Taeil, and Maddox during a failed dance tryout, suggesting the hideout location and getting permission from the owner as he worked at the scrapyard part-time. The friends spent their free time practicing dancing, singing, and helping one another in creative and academic pursuits. Kace, Taeil, and Maddox would meet a younger boy named Remy while buying some snacks from Maddox's uncle's corner grocery store and invite the younger boy to join them. The four older boys would take the younger under their wing and invited him to join and use their hideout with them. Nym and Fable would join the group next, two quiet friends who were drawn to the larger, more outgoing group who showed no fear nor shame in being themselves. Soul, ruled by his own lists and routines, would be the last to join the group since he went to a different school. He had been taking a short-cut past the scrapyard when he heard the others playing on the other side of the fence and opted to give in to his curiosity. Not having any creative extracurricular activities in his school and parents who discouraged nonacademic study, Soul would find a joy and freedom he hadn't experienced before. , Here, they all became a group of diverse dreams and passions that were able to mesh well enough to give them the idea of uniting to form a self-reliant group with a single goal.

Several years would go by, the oldest among them (Jiahao and Soul) now in their final year of high school with Nym and Fable being bumped up a grade to join Kace, Taeil, and Maddox in second to last year. The group grew together, Remy being treated as a close friend of them all as well as everyone's younger brother. Tensions that arose among the older ones were hidden from Remy as the others recognized his soft heart and never wanted to worry him. One day, while in their hangout, Remy discovers a red book that gives the boys the ability to walk through mirrors and enter a vast, empty dimension. They are approached by a stranger who invites them to use the space however they'd like. If they can imagine it, they can do it.

Not long after the group begins using the dimension, they are shocked to discover copy versions of themselves that have been created out of the passion and determination of each of them during their time in the dimension. The foundations of the group begin trembling when Remy suddenly refuses to return to the dimension, insisting they were spending too much time there when they hadn't fully read the red book and its rules.

Temptation. Obsession. Numbness. Disappointment. Fear. Selfishness. Anger. Loneliness.

Cast: Gong Jiahao, Soul Warren, Maddox Elijah, Jung Taeil, Fable Book, Kace Asher, Nym Cardinal, Zhang Remy, Primordial of Chaos, Ace Siren, Mirroh, Pavel Nox, Rune Coin, Xander Coin, Ambrose Song, Shen Song

Song Association: Illusion by Ateez

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Heir of Chaos:

(probably a series, connected to Tinnitus, pt 2)

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Fantasy, modern setting (+medieval setting?), double reality, suspense, adventure, mystery, Young adult?

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Deimos Muse, Baek Kwan, Adriel Sky, Warrick Red, Zhang Remy

Progress: Vague ideas, vibes

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes.

Cast: Deimos Muse, Baek Kwan, Adriel Sky, Warrick Red, Zhang Remy, Gong Jiahao, Soul Warren, Maddox Elijah, Jung Taeil, Fable Book, Kace Asher, Nym Cardinal, Primordial of Chaos, Ace Siren, Mirroh, Pavel Nox, Rune Coin, Xander Coin, Ambrose Song, Shen Song

Song Association: Frost or Crown by Tomorrow X Together

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Corruption of Heroes:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Medieval Fantasy, mystery, action, adventure, found family, Mature

TWs: blood, gore, violence, body horror, war, death, murder

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Unknown

Progress: Vibes, vague ideas, ending planned (rip)

Summary:

A story that follows the formation and eventual fall from grace of the Eleven Immortal Evils of the Dread Forest. A time when the citizens of Rusa and Centuros were ruled by Dissonantia Krone and her husband Meniq Krone, before the two's ascension to the God of Trickery and Discord respectively. Before the Dread Forest gained its name and the Ancient of Forests was worshipped by both Rusa and Centuros. When the Primordial of Life had curved horns upon its head and Immortals walked the same earth as mortals. How the Eleven Immortal Evils came to be, their rise to heroes to thier downfall of being known as the Eleven Evils. How the Dread Forest came to be and how the Eleven Evils became imprisoned in the forest.

Cast: Lux (placeholder name), Shysie Crimson, Kallista Rose, Gwin Snow, Faraph Snow, Echo Song, Vasha Alice, Eilla Alice, Whisper Song, Nyssa Song, Leucis Bard, Valrus Bard, Dissonantia Krone, Meniq Krone, Primordial of Chaos, Primordial of Life, Primordial of Death, Ancient of Forests

Song Association: It Seemed the Better Way by Leonard Cohen or Hunt You Down by The Hit House and Ruby Friedman

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Finding Family:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Slice of Life, Medieval fantasy, comedy, pg/pg 13

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Unknown

Progress: Vibes, Vague ideas

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes.

Cast: Amphon, Yvonna, Pangari, Demarcus, Fintan, Bunsom, Lorne

Song Association: Family by Mother Mother

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Shadow of Doubt:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Mystery, thriller, horror, crime, action, suspense, murder, modern setting, mature

TWs: blood, violence, deaths, murder,

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Kit Tong

Progress: Vibes, vague ideas, vague plot

Summary:

Imagine you're a guy with a cat and you move somewhere and suddenly, MURDER!!!

Not worked on yet, no plot only vibes

Cast: Kit Tong, Milo, Kim Jae-soon, Ito Genji, Sunnie Lee, Zander Blight, Freddie Smith, Mik Forest, (more to come)

Song Association: You'd be Paranoid Too by Waterparks or Saints by Echos

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Background of Love:

(probably another series, rip)

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: romance, comedy, slice of life, BL, GL, fantasy?, modern setting, mature?

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Elio Santiago, Tia Amor, Season Light, Wins Michaels , Rowan Winters, Kim Mingi, Huang Jun

Progress: Vibes, Vague ideas, mismatching plots

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes.

Cast: Elio Santiago, Tia Amor, Season Light, Wins Michaels , Rowan Winters, Kim Mingi, Huang Jun, Xu Mian, Takura Haru, Dom Wong, Dai Angsan, God of Soulmates

Song Association: Fake Protagonist by Getsunova or Lose (english ver) by Wonho

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Misfortune:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: medieval fantasy, mystery, romance, action, double reality, mature?

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Runais, Xadrian, and/or Lykos (Mirroh???)

Progress: Vibes, vague ideas, is trying to absorb the Deja Vu WIP

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes.

Cast: Xiang, Neph, Runais, Xadrian, Lykos, Mirroh, Primordial of Chaos, Malianna Ash, Scorch, Flit, Phelan, God of Passions and Self-expression, God of Pleasure, God of Festivals and Celebrations, God of Dreams, God of ????, God of Music

Song Association: Seraph by DPR Ian or Who Are You by Sam Kim

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Love AfterLife:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Medieval fantasy, romance, GL, rated?????

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Tahri or Nocturne/Aqualise

Progress: ~Vibes~

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes. A sapphic tale between the God of the Afterlife and an immortal spirit.

Cast: Tahari, Nocturne/Aqualise, more to come

Song Association: ???

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Demon Eye:

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

~Imagine there's a moodboard here~

Genre/Rating: Fantasy, action, dark fantasy, romance?, mature?

TWs: None yet

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Unknown

Progress: ~vibes~

Summary:

Not worked on, no plot only vibes. Cool idea go brrrrrr

Cast: ????

Song Association: ????

Excerpt: Nothing written yet.

Deja Vu:

(Scrapped story that refuses to die, would be connected to Tinnitus and Heir of Chaos somehow)

Moodboard: (images from Pinterest)

Genre/Rating: Fantasy, modern setting (+medieval setting?), double reality, suspense, adventure, mystery, Mature?

TWs: death,

POV: Unknown

POV Characters: Pavel Night

Progress: Technically scrapped, rough draft up to chapter 4 or 5, character designs, vague ideas, loose plot

Summary:

Living under the same roof to save money with his six(?) friends, Pavel has had the luxury of having a room to himself thanks to winning a long game of rock/paper/scissors. His ideal world is flipped when one of his friends, Lucas, asks if a friend of his could move in. Though Pavel doesn't know the friend, he trusts Lucas' judgement of character and agrees to let the friend share a room with himself since it'd be easier than Malia moving her things out of one room and into another. As soon as this friend, Mirroh, arrives, Pavel feels a strange distrust of the stranger. Mirroh keeps to himself unless he's with Lucas and seems to settle in well enough. But when an accident leaves Pavel's friend Shen dead and Ambrose in critical condition, strange things begin to happen. Mirroh's personality becomes stranger and he seems to know when something bad is about to happen, though he doesn't seem to lift a finger to stop it. What's stranger is that Pavel wakes up to find himself back on the day of the accident that began it all. What can Pavel do to prevent the accidents? Can he do anything? Does Mirroh know something and is keeping it a secret? Who is the stranger that confirms that Pavel should not trust Mirroh? Should he listen to the stranger?

Cast: Lukas Siren, Mirroh, Pavel Nox, Rune Coin, Xander Coin, Ambrose Song, Shen Song, Gong Jiahao, Soul Warren, Maddox Elijah, Jung Taeil, Fable Book, Kace Asher, Nym Cardinal, Zhang Remy, Primordial of Chaos, Deimos Muse, Baek Kwan, Adriel Sky, Warrick Red,

Song Association: Save Me by BTS or Eternally by Tomorrow X Together

Excerpt:

Ambrose and Shen froze in the headlights before there was a shattering of glass and squeal of tires. Pavel wasn’t sure who all yelled, but knew his own voice to be among them.

Pavel snapped out of his shock what felt like hours later, glancing around to regain his bearings. Rune stared straight ahead, pale faced with pale knuckles and unfocused eyes. Xander and Lukas moved in the bed of the truck, regaining their own bearings and moving slowly in case either were hurt. The shocked faces of Ambrose and Shen flashed through Pavel’s mind and he quickly unbuckled and opened the door.

The hood of the truck hugged a sturdy lamp post which was embedded a third of the way through the hood. The windshield was cracked, but mostly still in one piece. Pavel left the door open and looked at the street where two bodies lay sprawled on the road. One groaned painfully and mumbled incoherently, a hand lifting a few inches off the ground before dropping back down painfully. Against his own will, Pavel’s body stumbled towards the motionless body whose breath was quick and shallow.

Pavel knelt beside Shen whose head rolled limply as though trying to turn towards Pavel. Pavel didn’t know what he was doing. Everything felt surreal and hazy and his body moved of its own accord.

“S-Shen…?”

Pavel held Shen’s hand to let him know he was there as tears fell down Song’s face. “Pa-ful… Don’t… don’t let me die… please… I… I don’t… Don’t wanna go bac… “

Pavel came to realize his own cheeks were wet as the situation began to sink in. He wanted to check on Ambrose as well, he knew he had to call an ambulance… but now his body refused to move…

“Pavel! Pavel! I called an ambulance, they said it’ll take them a few minutes to get here. Are you okay?”

Pavel lowered his forehead until it touched his and Shen’s hands, his shoulders shaking as reality crashed through the haze. He couldn’t answer with more than a shaky nod of his head. How could he be okay? But he wasn’t hurt and knew that’s what was being questioned.

“I’ll go see Ambrose. Stay with Shen. Lukas is with Rune.” Pavel could now recognize it was Xander who was speaking to him.

#writblr #writblr intro #My Projects #World of Exalos #Dread Secrets #Shadow of Doubt #Heir of Chaos #Tinnitus #Love AfterLife #Deja Vu #Background of Love #Finding Family #Corruption of Heroes #Misfortune #Shay Excerpt

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rg060295 · 9 months

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This list includes a list of 5 anthologies coming out between now, and the end of the year! I am based in the UK and therefore all dates and relevant links I have found reflect this!

In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology

Published by Titian Books on September 12th

Look I have not really enjoyed any dark academia I have read, nor have read from any of these authors so this is a risky choice. However, this is the season for dark academia and I am intrigued. This collection of 12 stories includes well known authors of the genre (sub genre?) Olivie Blake & M.L. Rio as well as David Bell, Susie Yang, Layne Fargo, J.T. Ellison, James Tate Hill, Kelly Andrew, Phoebe Qynne, Kate Weinberg, Helen Grant & Tori Bovalino.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Peach Pit

Published by Dzanc Books on September 12th

A collection of 16 stories about and following unlikeable, unhinged and monstrous women. Which basically sums up some of my favourite types of short story collections. With story description makes it sound similar to other collections such as Out There with a bit of Cursed Bunny. Edited by Molly Llewllyn and Kristel Buckly featuring stories from; Lauren Groff, Deesha Philyaw, K-Ming Chang, Megan Giddings, Sarah Rose Etter, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, Alicia Elliott, Chana Porter, Alice Ash, Maisy Card, Vanessa Chan, Chantal V. Johnson, Amada Leduc, Alison Rumfitt, Yah Yah Scholfield & Aliya Whitely.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Mermaids Never Drown

Published by Titian Press (UK) / Feiwel & Friends (US) on September 26th

From the team behind Vampires Never Get Old (which you may know about from the Story ‘First Kill’ which became a Netflix show) comes a second Young Adult collection exploring mermaids. Edited again by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker and featuring many well known and beloved YA authors such as Darcie Little Badger, Kalynn Bayron, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Julie C. Dao, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Adriana Herrera, June Hur, Katherine Locke, Kerri Maniscalco, Julie Murphy, Gretchen Schreiber, and Julian Winters. I am particularly excited to see Darcie Little Badger who I have loved both their long work (Elatose) and their short fiction (in Love Beyond Body Space and Time) and also I am intrigued by June Hur who I have only read Historical mystery work from so this will be a different spin.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon //

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror

Published by Random House on October 3rd

An anthology I surprisingly only found out about when putting together this list. Out There Screaming is a collection of stories edited by writer and director Jordan Peele. It is an anthology of ‘all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation. Alongside an introduction from Jordan Peele it also features stories by Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L.D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon // Libro.fm //

The Book of Witches

Published by HarperVoyager on August 1st (US) and October 26th (UK)

Edited by Jonathan Strahan the editor from The Book of Dragons and featuring art from artist Alyssa Winans throughout This is large collection focusing around witches featuring 29 stories and poems from well known contemporary SFF authors; Linda Addison, C.L. Clark, P Djeli Clark, Indrapramit Das, Amal El Mohtar, Andrea Hairston, Millie Ho, Saad Hossain, Kathleen Jennings, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Khaw, Fonda Lee, Darcie Little Badger, Ken Liu, Usman T. Malik, Maureen F. McHugh, Premee Mohamed, Garth Nix, Tobi Ogundiran, Tochi Onyebuchi, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Kelly Robson, Angela Slatter, Andrea Stewart, Emily Teng, Sheree Renée Thomas, Tade Thompson, and E. Lily Yu. This is a must pick up for me for two reasons, I enjoyed reading The Book of Dragons last year, and found some new favourite short stories, and two it includes some of my favourite authors. So even if I only enjoy their stories this would be a win for me!

Goodreads // Storygraph // Amazon // Libro.fm //

#my posts #my tbr

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booksandwords · 11 months

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Return to Sanctuary (Anthology)

Read time: 2 Days Rating: 5/5

Edited by Carol Shaughnessy Contains contributions by: Sherrilyn Kenyon/ McQueen, Nicki Nance, Lina Acevedo, Sabrina Diaz, Sheri-Lynn Marean, Cole Jackson, Hunter J Skye, Leigh Bulls, Alice Sable, Cynthia Agutun, Trinity Blaslo, Dawn Chartier, Eva Nela, Sarah Compton and C Stripes.

To me this is not as strong as Sanctuary. It at least doesn't feel as well organised, Love's Absolution is a strange way to start, too tightly tied to the previous book. Second Chance for a Forever Mate is a strange way to end at least to me, utilising arcadian wolves it rightfully uses their base forms in the mating process something that I've never been a fan of (not an uncommon opinion). I can see the choice to use Stripes' inclusion last could leave a bad taste in readers mouths. It could however have been a decent first entry with Nance's last.

What is improved in Return to Santuary is the variety of supernaturals used in the stories. I found Santuary focused heavily on Werehunters this one is more diverse most importantly including more Dark Hunters as ocs. There is an origin story for one of the more enigmatic couples in the Hunterverse, some surprising pantheon appearances and a story written in entirely in what I shall refer to as the Simi speak. It is clearly one for the fans for through. There will be a story for everyone and probably a story that will leaving them going "Ahhh... no not for me". To me at least this is what an anthology should be, diverse.

Love's Absolution by Nicki Nance

“I’m not a doctor, but I think it’s your species.” Dev sat down against the wall and put his elbows on his knees in anticipation of a long talk. Shem glared down at him. “What?” Dev pointed at him. “You, my friend, are human. Mistakes come with the territory. Hence the term ‘human error.’” — Dev Peltier and Shem

Love's Absolution is a continuation of Mourning Shadows Nicki Nance's story from Sanctuary. It's a firm addition to that world, though something tells me you may be able to pick it up and read it without knowing Mourning Shadows. It builds on the world that Nance created in that story. It feels like an alternative reality, our timeline but not. What we do find out that I appreciated is the inclusion of Shem's family, particularly his maternal line. Shem comes from a long line of very strong women... the Devereaux women. It is a story of family and forgiveness. There is an on-point Ash conversation that cannot be ignored.

Music and Storm by Lina Acevedo

The sensation of her body next to his when they escaped to dance in the rain, the smell of the rain, their feet buried in mud, the sound of thunder, their laughter and their hearts racing like a song. A kiss that she had wanted and had never happened. — Eliša

This is the story of Egyptian Dark Hunter Eliša and squire Basilius Nizar. And huh... I honestly did not see that ending coming. I'm not going to think too hard about the interplay of pantheons here. If one of the big six can be hiding out in a different pantheon we may as well use it. The ending kinda feels off to me. Are squires tied to a single hunter? If not why isn't Nizar made Eliša's squire? I know Queen of All Shadows plays with a squire Dark Hunter relationship (Brynna and Xander). Either way, it is a choice interpretation. Leaves them happy. Answers the whys of their history. And Eliša is a truly interesting Dark Hunter with her mix of power and perhaps damaged mind.

Follow the Thread by Sabrina Diaz

He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His blue eyes were even more intense in the light. His blond hair was cropped short in a way that suited his face. She noticed that he had burn scars on his face and arms. But that only made him more attractive to her. The scars proved he was a survivor. — Nyssa

This is different. It blends multiple well-known Greek myths but centres them around Sanctuary as a base and point of safety. Exactly as it is intended to be, as was I suspected the brief of the entries as well. Nyssa is a strong heroine well matched to the traumatised Ladon. I like the shades, the way Nyssa sees supernatural beings, showing, their most common presentations. It is so good to see Eris or a Devereaux woman in any piece. The Devereaux's are just a matriarchial tour de force and Eris is well Eris.

We All Got Beasts by Sheri-Lynn Marean

“You really think they guard treasure?” “It is, and maybe. At least I hope so,” Genna said. “A girl can’t have enough sparklies.” “Exactly,” —

Okay, let's be honest this is so hard to read. It's reading a whole story of Simi speak essentially, props to the author for that alone. Is just a cute little adventure kinda story. Genna is an acquired taste but her relationship with Thaniel is cute. Trying to make the gnomes come to life just to protect what is most precious is so sweet. like Nicki Nance's story, this is a pair to her piece in Sanctuary, though stands alone with more ease.

Saved by Stone by Cole Jackson

She was young enough to get carded for a drink and old enough to be served it. A girl her age would rarely come out alone at night and those that did would know to keep an eye over their shoulder. He watched her a moment more and realized that she wasn’t from around here. — Garin

There is a fantastic cyclic feeling to the ending. The hero, Garin has such a good voice. He's a gargoyle everything about him screams Victorian, his prestenation but more importantly his manner of speaking. The choice to give him that older voice is one of the best, it's like keeping the manner of speaking for a Dark Hunter after they made their deal with Artemis. I like that someone wrote a story using a protagonist who comes from a place of conflict with the Peltiers and the Sanctuary staff. Not everyone is on their good side, and bears have long memories. Aimee does her brilliant insightful female thing here too when it comes to Garin and Frankie's relationship.

Wendigo Weekend by Hunter J Skye

I hadn’t meant to select such an upscale hotel, but they’d had a cancellation and I was a lunatic with a credit card. — Ari

This is a very different take on self-discovery set before Bad Moon Rising. Wendigo protagonist Ari feels almost voiceless though. It almost seems like Hunter J Skye decided to use the Hunterverse and Return to Sanctuary as a way to introduce readers to a new mythological creature. One with a dark side. Also, it comes from Native American myth, not something we see a lot of in the Hunterverse. This is a story that does brilliant work with Lo. It shows a caring side of her we need to see more.

Bayou Honeymoon by Leigh Bulls

Jamison had come back from New York. She’d said she loved him, and her life wouldn’t be complete without him. He remembered their wedding day. When asked, she’d said, “We do” instead of the normal “I do.” It was her way of telling everyone she carried his child. — Rafe

This one is all mystery all the time. Leigh Bulls tells the story of a late honeymoon for werewolf, Rafe and Jamison his pregnant human wife. It features frequent appearances by Menyara freaking out the tourists, telling them their unborn child so is highly important. But you never get any real answers as to why Jamison's son is so important. You know, I like it as a piece of storytelling it is effective. If there is a third vol it will be curious to know if this one continues on.

Enter the Sanctuary by Alice Sable

“What the hell are you?” Acheron snorted. “I’m your best friend and your worst nightmare all wrapped up in tight leather pants.” “Mmm, sexy,” Tory whispered. Acheron grinned and kissed Tory’s forehead. “Later, baby.” — Logan, Acheron and Tory

I'm not sure that to make of this. Great use of the one demon army that is Simi. Tory being the big boss she is, one theme of the series all the men are cowed by their women. Fang being allergic to subtlety. I like the concept of the elementals but not so much how they were played out. The lore governing the elementals is effective, blood is an earth element. Alice sable does introduce an interesting play on the infamous sign "You entered the Sanctuary in peace, now go in peace.” (Acheron). Side not which book did we meet Psyche and Eros in? I remember it happening but not when.

In Another Place by Cynthia Agutun

There was darkness in him, but also light. He had a heart filled with love, fighting to keep the darkness at bay. My intuition told me that at some point he would meet someone who would tip the balance and add more light to his life. I gave him a smile. “Keep fighting. Never let the darkness overtake your heart. The light will come.” — Cassie

Cynthis Agutun uses a smartly heroine in her story. Commonly, especially in the Chronicles of Nick, we are introduced to characters that are born of dual and conflicting natures. This is exactly what Cassie is, the daughter of a demon and a guardian angel. She runs into the most iconic dual nature character in the entire Hunterverse... Nick Gautier. Agutun is the only person to use the canonical Nick, post the breakdown of the relationship with Ash. Cassie's quote was directed at him. The whole story is just clever

Sanctuary's Sheltered Heart by Trinity Blaslo

She is the tornado that flies by but notices everything not touching a thing Her heart is that of gold, yet no one dares goes digging to find it. Only a true one will be her king. — 🎼 Sanctuary 🎙

Look this is just weird. Not sure if that is good weird or bad weird. It more makes an unexpected twist that doesn't sit well with me. I did like Simi's absolute loyalty though and Sanctuary repaying it. But Lore's "his woman" language got old fast. That sort of pocessive linguistics without her knowledge or mutual agreement puts me on edge. Particularly given the background for this couple.

Awakwnwd by the Dark Hunter by Dawn Chartier

“I’d rather believe you’re a vigilante.” A deep laugh escaped him. Something he hadn’t done in a long time. He wasn’t sure what possessed him, but he reached up and cupped her chin. “I’m no dark hero, Alyssa Brooks.” — Alyssa and Cole

I quite like this. Cole is perfectly charming. Alyssa is sassy and nearly realistic given the pull that does exist. Also, she's a librarian. 😇 Dawn Chartier was aware of the word count limits and it made the right choices with their characters and the plot. It feels like the compressed early parts of a novel. You get just enough of a feel for what is going on, where they come from, what their hang-ups are but it is about them, their now and not their pasts. It's seemingly one of the few in this collection that goes explicit and it does that well.

How a Demon Made a Friend by Eva Nela

"You shouldn't be walking alone if you can't defend yourself properly." He growled aggressively. “But… Well, that also gave me a chance to meet you.” He smirked, flashing his sharp teeth. “I'm Xedrix.” — Xedrix

OMG 🤩 it was only when I looked up Xedricks that I realised what this is. This is the first meeting between Simi's older brother and owner of Club Charonte, Xedrix and his partner, Dimme demon Kerryna. I barely remember these two but I remember meeting them in Bad Moon Rising (how is it that book is a point of confluence for so much?). That said it did leave me so confused. Kerryna comes across as a moralistic demon. But what did surprise me was the main Peltier in play, Kyle. It's so nice to see a different cub. Eva Nela also honours Nicolette in the best possible way.

Plague of Pantheons by Sarah Compton

“Gwendolen is a grown woman. She should have the right to decide for herself what must be done. She doesn’t seem like the type to stand in the background.” — Aimee Peltier

This is a well thought out pairing. Gwain, Knight of the Round Table now a Dark Hunter and immortal Gwendolen. Though immortal Gwendolen is only 23, she is the daughter of Celtic goddess Cerridwen and Roman god Saturn. I call it well thought out because there is serious compatibility there culturally and personality-wise. This one certainly leaves the reader feeling like there is more to come. Gwendolen is not as strong as I would have liked but maybe it is more Saturn is super protective and she is wholly trapped. Not too many people could break that shield.

After I finished reading this I looked up what Cerridwen and Saturn functions were. Saturn was the God of time, wealth, agriculture, and liberation, Cerridwen is slightly more difficult but modern interpretation has her as the goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration. There are other interpretations that have her as the Crone in the female cycle and as Underworld Goddess. They wouldn't necessarily be incompatible. But their daughter could be very interesting when she comes into her powers. Am I overthinking this? Yes but don't mix pantheons and expect me to not think about contexts.

Second Chance for a Forever Mate by C Stripes

“You should come to the bar. Show everyone you’re still alive.” “That’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it?” Beau locked gazes with Serre. “Am I still alive?” — Serre Peltier and Beau

Gosh when was the last time I saw Serre? I adore seeing thing the Peltier cubs. Katagarian wolf Beau's story is built from a sad base, the loss of a mate days after they claimed each other, so before they tied their life forces. The loss of his Cassie has as you would expect destroyed him to a degree and made him very reckless, yet he is still the pack alpha. For me, it is more about him and his growth than his relationship with Madigan St. Jules. he knows something about her is different. Nothing wrong with it and it is so good to have a second chance. I always struggle with Katagaria and the animal base forms. What that means for consummation. Really that is not my thing. Regardless of how much I like a plot.

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